Samsung is betting that its plan to integrate artificial intelligence on its devices next year could lead to very strong sales of the Galaxy S24 and ultimately propel the company to the top of the smartphone market.

The South Korean tech giant said Monday that it expects to sell 35 million Galaxy S24 units next year thanks to its plan to integrate AI directly into the phone (the company is calling it "on-device AI").

The Korea Daily reports that instead of relying on third-party services to drive the AI capabilities of the Galaxy S24 lineup, Samsung will integrate AI directly into the software and make it work immediately in all major apps, including phone calls and messages It wants to do this. Samsung also plans to integrate Google Bard and OpenAI's ChatGPT directly into devices.

Like other major tech companies, Samsung is spurring the AI boom across its entire product line. So far, however, AI integration in the best Android phones has been cumbersome, requiring users to access third-party services in order to use the technology, most of the time. [But the heart of Samsung's apparent plan is to integrate AI into its Galaxy S24 lineup, allowing users to use AI without hassle. More importantly, according to one source in The Korea Daily, Samsung is confident that such integration will enable it to overtake Apple and other smartphone makers.

"If AI smartphones get off the ground, it's a chance to take the lead in the smartphone [field] in 10 years," a source told the Korea Ilbo about Samsung's strategy.

Even if AI integration gets off the ground, selling 35 million Galaxy S24s next year is no mean feat. The past three generations of Galaxy (Galaxy S21, S22, and S23) have all sold around 30 million units worldwide. Samsung's projection of 35 million units suggests a year-on-year surge of more than 15% compared to the previous generation.

Samsung, on the other hand, is losing its shine in the flagship market, Apple's perennial favorite. The outlook for Apple's flagship iPhone has not been made public. However, the company expects to ship about 250 million iPhones next year. Samsung forecasts shipments of 253 million units across its smartphone product line.

Samsung may also find that its expected AI lead is short-lived. Just last week, Apple CEO Tim Cook said the company plans to integrate generative AI into its product line starting next year.

"We're investing quite a bit [in AI]," Cook said on an earnings call last week. But there is one caveat to Apple's plan: the company plans to deploy it "responsibly." It is unclear exactly what Apple's AI integration means and how it might conflict with Samsung's own plans.

Samsung plans to announce its flagship Galaxy S24 lineup in January or February of next year. Samsung is expected to release several versions, starting with the Galaxy S24 Ultra. The company is also planning a lower-powered Galaxy S24 Plus and Galaxy S24, according to reports. Pricing is still unknown, but could range from $799 to $1,199 depending on the model.