New Galaxy S24? Unlock Every Galaxy AI Feature with This Complete Beginner's Guide

Master Circle to Search, Live Translate, Generative Photo Editing, and every AI feature your phone can do

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The Galaxy S24 isn't just another smartphone — it's the first Samsung phone built around Galaxy AI, and most new owners have no idea what their device can actually do. From erasing objects out of photos to translating phone calls in real time, the AI features are genuinely game-changing once you know where to find them. This complete beginner's guide walks you through setup, the essential controls, and every hidden AI feature so you can get the full value out of your new phone.

🎥 WATCH THE FULL VIDEO TUTORIAL

Why watch? See every Galaxy AI feature demonstrated live — including Circle to Search transforming any image into a Google query, and generative photo editing erasing objects like magic.

📋 Quick Overview: What You'll Learn

  • The complete Galaxy S24 setup process — from Wi-Fi to Face Recognition to fingerprint enrollment

  • How to use Circle to Search — Galaxy AI's coolest new feature

  • Setting up Live Translate for real-time phone call translation

  • Using Generative Edit to remove or move objects in any photo

  • Galaxy AI features inside Samsung Notes (auto-format, summarize, translate)

  • How to customize your lock screen and home screen with widgets

  • Navigating the three-button bottom bar like a pro

📦 What's in the Box?

Samsung keeps the unboxing minimal. Inside you'll find:

  • The Galaxy S24 itself

  • A USB-C to USB-C charging cable

  • A SIM ejection tool

  • A Quick Start guide and terms documents

⚠️ Important Note: There's no charging brick included in the box. You'll need a USB-C power adapter (sold separately) or an existing one from another device.

🔌 Step 1: Powering On and Initial Setup

Getting started takes about 10 minutes if you follow these steps:

  1. Peel off the protective film on the screen

  2. Press and hold the power button until the Galaxy logo appears

  3. Select your language and tap Start

  4. Agree to the terms of service (the third option about diagnostic data is optional)

  5. Choose Set up manually to walk through the full setup

  6. Connect to your Wi-Fi network and enter the password

  7. Skip Mobile Network setup if you're configuring eSIM later

  8. Choose Don't copy if this is a fresh start, or transfer from another device

🔍 Quick Tip: If you have an old Android device nearby, you can transfer everything wirelessly during setup. Just place the phones close together and follow the prompts — it's significantly faster than starting fresh.

🔐 Step 2: Setting Up Face Recognition and Fingerprints

The Galaxy S24 gives you multiple ways to secure your phone — and you can use them all together:

Setting Up Your PIN First

  1. Tap Continue on the screen lock screen

  2. Choose PIN (recommended 6 digits)

  3. Enter and confirm your PIN

Adding Face Recognition

  1. Tap Continue on Face Recognition

  2. Remove your glasses for the initial scan

  3. Look at the camera until your face is registered

  4. Toggle on Require open eyes for extra security

Adding Fingerprints

  1. Tap Fingerprints to begin

  2. Press your finger on the under-display sensor

  3. Lift and reposition until you reach 100%

  4. Add additional fingers if you want

🔍 Quick Tip: Enable Require open eyes under Face Recognition settings. This prevents someone from unlocking your phone while you're asleep or by holding it up to your face against your will.

This is hands down one of the coolest things on the Galaxy S24. You can search anything on your screen by literally circling it.

  1. Open any app (browser, photos, messages — anywhere)

  2. Press and hold the home button at the bottom center

  3. Circle, highlight, or tap any object, text, or image on screen

  4. Google instantly searches based on what you selected

Where It Works

  • Photos and screenshots — find similar products or identify objects

  • Web pages — quickly look up names, terms, or images

  • Camera app — identify products you photograph

  • Messages and notifications — search images friends send you

▶️ Try This Now: Open the Camera, take a photo of any household object, then press and hold the home button and circle the object. Google will instantly show you matching products and information.

🌍 Live Translate: Real-Time Phone Call Translation

This feature is genuinely magical. Talk to someone in a different language and your phone translates the conversation in real time during the call.

How to Enable Live Translate

  1. Open the Phone app

  2. Tap the three dots in the top corner

  3. Tap Settings

  4. Tap Live Translate under Call Assist

  5. Toggle the switch on

  6. Tap Continue to enable Advanced Intelligence

  7. Select your language and the other person's language

  8. Download the language pack for the language you need

Languages Supported

English, French, German, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese, and more.

⚠️ Important Note: Both language packs need to be downloaded before the call. Without Wi-Fi or cellular data, translation won't work, so plan ahead before traveling.

🎨 Generative Edit: AI Magic for Your Photos

This feature lets you move, remove, or resize objects in any photo — and AI fills in the missing background automatically.

Enable Generative Edit First

  1. Open Settings

  2. Scroll down to Advanced Features

  3. Tap Advanced Intelligence

  4. Tap Photo Editor

  5. Toggle on Generative Edit

How to Use Generative Edit

  1. Open the Gallery app

  2. Select any photo

  3. Tap the edit button (pencil icon)

  4. Tap the Galaxy AI button (three stars)

  5. Circle the object you want to edit

  6. Hold and drag to move it, or tap Delete to remove it

  7. Tap Generate to let AI fill in the background

  8. Tap Done and Save as copy

🔍 Quick Tip: Edited photos get a small AI watermark in the lower-left corner to indicate they were modified with AI. This is built-in and can't be removed — important to know if you plan to share these images.

📝 Galaxy AI in Samsung Notes

Samsung Notes has built-in AI that can format, summarize, translate, and rewrite your notes automatically.

What You Can Do

  1. Open Samsung Notes

  2. Type any unstructured content (at least 200 characters works best)

  3. Tap the Galaxy AI button (three stars)

  4. Choose from:

    • Auto Format — turns messy notes into structured documents

    • Summarize — condenses long notes

    • Spelling and Grammar — fixes errors automatically

    • Writing Style — converts between Professional, Casual, Social, and Emojify

    • Translate — converts notes into other languages

▶️ Try This Now: Open Samsung Notes, write a rough paragraph with messy grammar, then tap the Galaxy AI button and choose Spelling and GrammarWriting StyleProfessional. Watch your draft transform instantly.

🧭 Mastering the Bottom Navigation Buttons

The three buttons at the bottom of your screen are the foundation of navigating your phone:

  • Left button (three lines) → Opens the app switcher to jump between recently used apps

  • Middle button (home) → Returns to the home screen (and press and hold for Circle to Search)

  • Right button (back arrow) → Goes back to the previous screen in any app

How to Access Google Assistant

Google Assistant moved! You no longer press and hold the home button — that's for Circle to Search now.

  1. Swipe up from the bottom-left OR bottom-right corner

  2. Google Assistant pops open

  3. Speak your command or tap the keyboard icon to type

🎨 Customizing Your Lock Screen and Home Screen

Lock Screen Customization

  1. Press and hold anywhere on the lock screen

  2. Authenticate with face or fingerprint

  3. Tap Wallpapers to change your background

  4. Tap the shortcut icons (lower corners) to change which apps appear

  5. Tap the plus button to add widgets like battery percentage

  6. Tap Done to save

Home Screen Customization

  1. Press and hold an empty area on the home screen

  2. Choose from Wallpaper and Style, Themes, Widgets, or Settings

  3. Tap Widgets and drag your favorites to the home screen

  4. Swipe left to access Google Discover or Samsung News

🔍 Quick Tip: Add the Custom Camera widget to your home screen for one-tap photo capture. It also shows your most recent photo as the widget background.

🔄 The First Thing Every New Owner Should Do

Before exploring features, update all your apps for the latest improvements:

  1. Open the Play Store

  2. Tap your profile icon in the top right

  3. Tap Manage apps and devices

  4. Tap Update all (or update individual apps)

This ensures you have the latest security patches and features across every app.

AI Agents Are Reading Your Docs. Are You Ready?

Last month, 48% of visitors to documentation sites across Mintlify were AI agents, not humans.

Claude Code, Cursor, and other coding agents are becoming the actual customers reading your docs. And they read everything.

This changes what good documentation means. Humans skim and forgive gaps. Agents methodically check every endpoint, read every guide, and compare you against alternatives with zero fatigue.

Your docs aren't just helping users anymore. They're your product's first interview with the machines deciding whether to recommend you.

That means: clear schema markup so agents can parse your content, real benchmarks instead of marketing fluff, open endpoints agents can actually test, and honest comparisons that emphasize strengths without hype.

Mintlify powers documentation for over 20,000 companies, reaching 100M+ people every year. We just raised a $45M Series B led by @a16z and @SalesforceVC to build the knowledge layer for the agent era.

⭐ Top 3 Takeaways

  1. Circle to Search changes everything — Press and hold the home button anywhere on your phone to instantly Google any object, text, or image. It works in the camera, browser, messages — literally everywhere.

  2. Galaxy AI is hidden in plain sight — Live Translate, Generative Edit, and Samsung Notes AI features all need to be enabled in Advanced Features → Advanced Intelligence. Turn them on right after setup.

  3. The home button now does TWO things — A regular tap goes home, but press and hold activates Circle to Search. To get Google Assistant, swipe up from the bottom-left or bottom-right corner instead.

❓ Common FAQs & Troubleshooting

Q: Why doesn't pressing and holding the home button open Google Assistant anymore?
A: That gesture now triggers Circle to Search. To open Google Assistant, swipe up from the bottom-left or bottom-right corner of the screen.

Q: My Generative Edit feature is missing from the photo editor. Where is it?
A: Go to Settings → Advanced Features → Advanced Intelligence → Photo Editor and toggle on Generative Edit. You may need to enable Advanced Intelligence first.

Q: Can I remove the AI watermark from edited photos?
A: No, the watermark is permanent and built into the system to indicate AI-edited images. There's no setting to disable it.

Q: Live Translate isn't working on my call. Why?
A: You need to download the language pack in advance under Phone → Settings → Live Translate. The feature also requires Advanced Intelligence to be enabled.

Q: How do I switch between Google Discover and Samsung News on the home screen?
A: Press and hold an empty area of the home screen, swipe to the far-left panel, and toggle between Google Discover and Samsung News.

Q: My fingerprint isn't being recognized after setup. What should I do?
A: Re-enroll the fingerprint. Go to Settings → Biometrics and Security → Fingerprints, delete the old fingerprint, and scan a new one. Make sure your finger is dry and the sensor is clean.

Q: Can I use Galaxy AI features offline?
A: Most Galaxy AI features (translation, generative edit) require an internet connection because they use cloud processing. Samsung Notes formatting works on-device for some tasks.

🎬 Ready to See Every Feature in Action?

This guide hits the highlights, but the full video demonstrates Circle to Search live, walks through Generative Edit with multiple examples, and shows you exactly how Live Translate handles real conversations.

👉 Watch the Complete Galaxy S24 Beginner's Guide Now

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