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My opinion on AI on smartphones this year has shifted dramatically. It went from "interesting", to "some of this is cool", to "most of this is generic slop", and it's sinking further down from there.
One of the features I dislike the most is the AI portrait function, where the device will create animated avatar of your appearance. Because it's AI, it creates multiple versions and you can choose which is the least offensive imitation of your face.
With Apple Intelligence arriving in Australia today, it was one of the first things I checked. But I wanted to compare it with the images produced by Samsung's smartphones when I tested those out earlier this year.
So which is better? Or should I ask, "which makes me look more like a person you would cross the street to avoid?"
Let's find out.
Samsung vs Apple: differences in approach
I should point out that the process for generating a digital avatar is a bit different on the different platforms. Samsung uses an individual photo to create a likeness, whereas Apple's Image Playground uses a range of photos in your photo library.
(I can't say exactly how it works. But I know if I ask it to produce a drawing of my son, who's profile pic is a baby photo, it produces illustrations of him looking like the teenager he is. So it's obviously pulling in multiple data points).
With that in mind, it's reasonable to expect Apple's illustrations to be more accurate, as it is referencing multiple images up front.
So let's take a look at what we get.
Samsung:
I don't know who this guy is, but I hate him.
I included the source image here because that's how the AI portrait works on Galaxy AI. You can see that all the portraits ran with the hat and beard. Though hair and glasses differed a bit in the different styles.
Across the board though, I don't think the illustrations look like me. Sure, it's not the best sample photo to start with, but if I saw any of those illustrations on a telegraph pole, I wouldn't take a second look and think they were me.
Apple:
I am somewhat lost for words here.
Apple really nailed my receding hairline. Sometimes it nailed it too hard though...
Universally, my head is too big for my body. I'm not sure if that's just a stylistic approach, or something I've jest never noticed about my physical presence before.
I've never had my hair in some of these hairstyles - like never ever - so I have no idea where that idea came from. But across the board, I hate these images as much as the Samsung ones, just for different reasons.
Summary
I hate the Apple AI portraits of me as much as the Samsung ones. You can see that they are all generic caricatures, highlighting particular elements and amplifying them (the receding hair, the glasses, the bigger teeth).
But it still gets things wrong. From the shape of my face, to my hair cut to the clft in my chin, neither of the platforms is actually drawing a picture of me. They are algorithmically analysing one or more pictures of me and trying to create an image based on millions of images it has scanned before.
I know it's interesting that your phone can do this kind of thing now, but if you actually want an illustrated portrait of yourself, hire an illustrator to do it. They will capture you properly, and create something that no software could ever do.
And if you wanted to switch Apple Intelligence off after you set it up, it's easy to do.
