Samsung's Galaxy S24 series has many exciting new features with Galaxy AI, but these features may require separate payment down the road.

Free access to the Galaxy AI suite will apparently be discontinued by the end of 2025 and will be free for up to two years, depending on when the phone is purchased. This was discovered in Samsung's Australian press release for the Galaxy S24 series (via Android Central). A small note at the end of the release says: "Galaxy AI features will be available for free until the end of 2025 on supported Samsung Galaxy devices."

Not that Australian Galaxy S24 buyers happened to be unlucky. Looking at the small print on the Galaxy S24 Ultra page on the Samsung site, a similar disclaimer reads: "Galaxy AI features will be provided free of charge on supported Samsung Galaxy devices until the end of 2025. Different terms and conditions may apply for AI features provided by third parties."

Galaxy AI has been the biggest buzz surrounding Samsung's new phones since Galaxy Unpacked on January 17, with features like Circle to Search, generative AI photo editing, and Chat Assist showing how diverse the possible uses of this system are. but perhaps losing some of their luster as these features may eventually become paid extras.

There are pros and cons to Samsung's decision to charge for AI. The development and execution of these features, especially those that require an Internet connection to operate, will undoubtedly cost Samsung money. Likewise, it would be a mercenary move on Samsung's part to remove features from a phone that has already been on board for two years unless they are paid for and unless they make that fact clear at launch.

There could be some silver lining to look for in these small print findings. The statement does not say that billing will definitely take place, only that it will be free for a specific period of time. There is nothing stopping Samsung from extending the free period, as Apple did with the satellite safety feature on the iPhone 14 and iPhone 15 series.

Additionally, there is the fact that Samsung's own AI features are separated from third-party ones in the disclaimer. Perhaps some of the features may still be available for free. To our knowledge, this may be the case for Google-provided features such as Circle to Search, as Google has not specified any restrictions on free use of AI features on the Pixel 8 series.

Pre-orders for the Galaxy S24 will be accepted until January 31, when it will go on general sale. If you need more details about other features like the Ultra's new 5x telephoto camera and titanium frame before you hit the buy button, or if you want to know about other AI features you might lose in a few years, see our Galaxy S24 hands-on and Galaxy S24 Ultra hands-on reviews for more information.