Konsta Punkka has devoted his time to capturing intimate portraits of wildlife since he was 17. His work has appeared in dozens of outlets including the BBC and National Geographic. Based in Finland, he travels all over the world to share memorable moments from the lives of wild animals — but he is most at home following bears and wolves in the remote forests near the border between Finland and Russia.

 

Samsung Electronics recently released two videos that showcase the outstanding performance and connectivity of the Galaxy Book4 series. The videos feature Finnish wildlife photographer Konsta Punkka and Seong-hun Kim, who has directed hits such as “Kingdom” and “Ransomed.” Both artists show how the Galaxy Book4 series frees them to focus on art.

 

Samsung Newsroom sat down with Konsta Punkka to learn more about his creative process and how the Galaxy Book4 streamlines photo editing.

 

 

 

Q: What attracted you to wildlife photography?

 

I have always been fascinated with the hidden world of wildlife — how we humans so often go about our busy lives without acknowledging that there are animals among us, other beings living their lives. I wanted to show that world to people. The more you learn about nature and its precious creatures, the more you’ll get out of wildlife photography. My goal is to show the personality and emotions of each animal I capture.

 

 

Q: Are there any memorable experiences you can share with us? How have they influenced your work?

 

There are families of foxes I have known for years. When I stumbled upon my first fox subjects, I was hooked instantly. Their facial expressions just spoke to me, and I managed to capture a few shots in beautiful surroundings. Another time, I was photographing raccoons in New York City and took some stunning portraits with skyscrapers in the background. Even in the biggest cities around the world, you can find wildlife wherever you are.

 

 

 

Q: What’s your favorite photograph and why?

 

This is always a hard question. Right now, I’d have to say it’s a photo of a mother fox hunting vole at sunset. I captured her in midflight while she was jumping around in a field. It took weeks of searching for the best place to observe the fox hunting and many days of lying in the field. Everything lined up perfectly one beautiful evening, and I managed to take that photo. I think it perfectly showcases the world of wild animals that we often forget exists.

 

When I uploaded these photos onto my laptop, it was incredible to see how the details were retained. A person looking at my photo can feel like they were there. I added my unique style to the photo by making some minor edit s to the light and darks, hue and saturation.

 

 

Q: I’d like to hear more about role of technology in your creative process. What features are most important to you in a laptop?

 

I spend long stretches of time in the wild. It might surprise people to know I bring my laptop with me on my photography expeditions. As such, some of the most important features in a laptop for me are battery life, computing power and display — so that I can edit and publish my work wherever I am in the world.

 

When I’m editing photos, it’s critical that the display shows true colors and blacks. It’s also important that my laptop screen is extremely high resolution because I zoom in on different parts of my photos to make sure there are no blemishes.

 

 

 

Q: Which programs do you use the most? How do you use them?

 

Since I edit while I’m on the road, the programs I use the most are Adobe Photoshop Lightroom for photo editing and Adobe Premiere Pro for video editing.

 

 

Q: Can you walk us through your photo editing process?

 

After a wildlife photo shoot, I upload the images to my laptop. I might take thousands of photos during an average shoot, so it’s important that my laptop has a high GPU¹ to handle large raw files.

 

Then, I select the best shots — I use Adobe Photoshop Lightroom for that.

 

When I’m happy with my choice of photos, I’ll go to the Develop module in Lightroom and adjust the highlights and add some contrast, texture and vibrancy. After that I head to the color grading section, where I fix the colors to match my taste. The correct hue is especially important for oranges and greens.

 

Lastly, I view the photo in full-screen mode to see if there are any flaws. Inconsistencies are especially clear on the Galaxy Book4 Ultra’s dynamic display. I can then use the touch screen to zoom in on different parts of the image and fix these areas. I might add some gradients and brush to better highlight my subject before exporting the photo and sharing with the world.

 

 

Q: What frustrations do you have with your current laptop?

 

There’s nothing more frustrating than your laptop dying while you’re in the middle of a project. As you may know, the Galaxy Book4 Ultra has great battery life and comes with a compact charger that supports faster charging. Editing during a shoot is difficult because my laptop often doesn’t have enough power to run heavy programs like Adobe Photoshop Lightroom and Adobe Premiere Pro at the same time, or even separately. I love that the Galaxy Book4 is powerful enough to run multiple programs at once.

 

 

Q: Can you talk about a few Galaxy Book4 features that you’ve found helpful?

 

The touch screen really helps my workflow since you can just use your hand as a cursor. It’s easy to zoom in and edit a small portion of a photo, even for fine brushing.

 

 

 

A powerful processor is crucial because I like to run many programs simultaneously. Editing videos and photos without any lag creates a stress-free environment.

 

The 3K screen resolution allows me to view my work in a completely new light. Seeing everything in beautiful, crisp detail on screen is essential when I’m reviewing my work before publishing.

 

Good color calibration is vital too — helping me see true blacks and create better color-graded art with less hassle.

 

Finally, I’m able to let my creativity flow freely using enhanced AI. I can plan my craziest wildlife shots and then replicate them later in real life.

 

 

Q: How does a powerful laptop such as the Galaxy Book4 streamline your creative process?

 

The Galaxy Book4 makes everything so much faster. I can edit while I’m on the go, and there’s enough power to run multiple programs at once.

 

 

 

Q: What was your first impression of the Galaxy Book4’s AI-accelerated performance?

 

I was very excited to see how AI could improve my workflow. All the shortcuts and improvements that help me work a little bit faster or easier are more than welcome.

 

 

Q: How have technological innovations in laptops, like the Galaxy Book4, impacted wildlife photography and the photography industry in general?

 

Advancements in laptops have made photo and video editing on the go so much better. Now, there’s no need to wait until you get back home to your bigger work setup. It’s easy to touch up photos without any delay while you’re still in the field — simplifying the whole editing process and giving us more time to do the actual work.

 

 

Q: Are there any additional features you hope to see in future versions of the Galaxy Book series?

 

I’m just looking forward to seeing where the Galaxy Book series goes next!

 

 

Samsung Newsroom can’t wait to see what adventures Konsta Punkka will embark on next and what new wildlife images he will bring to life.

 

 

¹ Graphics processing unit

Source: Samsung Mobile Blog
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Moving contacts, calendar reminders and photos to a new Galaxy device is a simple task when leveraging Samsung’s data transfer app Smart Switch. Up until recently, it was nearly impossible to move KakaoTalk conversations using Smart Switch without natively backing up records in the Korean messenger app. Many users experienced inconveniences when they did not consider this problem in advance.

 

Now, Galaxy users can rely on Smart Switch to safely and easily restore KakaoTalk data. Samsung Newsroom met with Seungho Kang from the Experience Planning Team, Mobile eXperience (MX) Business at Samsung Electronics, and Jiyoung Hwang, product manager and Talk Service planner at Kakao, to discover how the two companies collaborated to improve the data transfer experience.

 

 

 

From Recovering Open Chat Messages to Simplifying the Account Verification Process

Q: Smart Switch can now restore KakaoTalk conversations in their entirety. Please give us details about the new function.

 

Kang: When transferring data between Galaxy devices through Smart Switch, users can now easily restore their KakaoTalk conversations and related media including photos and videos. The update goes as far as to maintain the unread status of texts. Furthermore, it is now possible to save Open Chat messages — which was previously difficult to enable.

 

Hwang: Galaxy users will be particularly interested in the support for Open Chat conversation recovery. Due to the flexible nature of the feature, KakaoTalk did not support any backup capabilities for Open Chat in the past. However, we decided to offer restoration support for the first time given the popularity of Open Chat among Android users.

 

 

Q: How will this update make the user experience more convenient?

 

Kang: Previously, users had to restore KakaoTalk data through a manual or paid backup when the app was moved from their old phone to a new one. In addition, the self-verification process created a high barrier to entry for older users and those who are not familiar with the platform. Since both companies have a common goal of improving user convenience — as Samsung wants to create an effortless experience for Galaxy users setting up new devices, and KakaoTalk hopes to optimize the app for more convenient messaging — we worked to alleviate the account verification process.

 

Hwang: In this new update, KakaoTalk users only have to complete the account verification process once. When the data has been transferred to their new device through Smart Switch, users can enter their KakaoTalk account password to prove the transferred data is theirs. Everything can be simply and securely restored with this single verification step.

 

 

User Convenience as a Shared Value

Q: How did this collaboration between Samsung and KakaoTalk come about?

 

Kang: Users have wanted KakaoTalk data restoration support for some time now, but complex data security and technology policies posed some challenges. However, Samsung and Kakao agreed to develop updates at the end of last year — in a joint effort to improve user convenience.

 

Hwang: We wanted to launch the service as quickly as possible. During the collaboration, we communicated in real time through messenger and organized our ideas as if we were one team. We carefully discussed what aspects each company would like to support and methodically carried out development to launch the service on our target date. For me, it was a memorable experience as we were able to complete a cross-company collaboration in a short time period.

 

 

Q: What was the most important aspect of the development process?

 

Hwang: Security was crucial. A tight security system is necessary to reassure KakaoTalk users that their data will be protected in the case they lose their phones. Both companies deliberated over the best way to safeguard users and their data. In the end, we streamlined the account verification process and introduced a system that would invalidate data transfers if authentication was not performed within a certain time limit.

 

 

 

 

Samsung and KakaoTalk: Dedicated to a New User Experience

Q: Since the update, have there been any memorable reactions?

 

Hwang: We’ve been monitoring the app since the update was released, and seeing the positive reviews and comments makes me proud. Some people are wondering what the next level of restoration will look like — which amuses me and makes me want to leave replies.

 

Kang: The response to the support for Open Chat restoration has been remarkable, especially since this function was not possible before. We expect to see even more favorable reactions from users as new Galaxy devices are released moving forward.

 

 

Q: How do you feel about the collaboration on this feature? What are your future goals?

 

Hwang: Collaboration between companies with different interests and corporate cultures is rare and doesn’t come easy. I’ll remember this experience for a long time since our partnership was made possible because we both had our users’ best interests in mind.

 

Kang: This meaningful experience will serve as a guide for other collaborations in the future as we strive to provide better customer experiences. I’d like to hear users say, “I can buy a new Galaxy phone without worrying because Smart Switch will take care of the data transfer for me.” In addition to messenger apps such as KakaoTalk, Samsung is teaming up with apps from various industries to further improve how users transfer data. Keep an eye out for updates from Smart Switch to see who we will be working with next!

 

Committed to providing a satisfying experience for all, Samsung is always listening to the voices of Galaxy users and looking for open collaborations and product enhancements. Please follow the guide below to learn how to use the KakaoTalk restoration feature through Smart Switch.

 

 

 

* KakaoTalk data transfer is only possible between Galaxy devices.
* KakaoTalk data transfers are not supported from other devices with the “Use with Another Device” feature.
* Data will not be restored if KakaoTalk is already installed on the new device (remove it and reinstall through Smart Switch).
* Logins from other devices will be erased when the Kakao account verification is completed on the new device.

Source: Samsung Mobile Blog
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Samsung Electronics today announced the upcoming expansion of three new languages for Galaxy AI: Arabic, Indonesian and Russian, as well as three new dialects: Australian English, Cantonese and Canadian French. In addition to the 13 languages¹ already available, Samsung empowers even more Galaxy users around the world to harness the power of mobile AI. In addition to these new languages and dialects, Samsung plans to add four more languages later this year, including Romanian, Turkish, Dutch and Swedish, as well as the traditional Chinese and European Portuguese.

 

“Committed to democratizing mobile AI for all, Galaxy AI’s language expansion this year will allow even more Galaxy users to communicate beyond language barriers on a scale that is completely unique to Samsung,” said TM Roh, President and Head of Mobile eXperience Business at Samsung Electronics. “We will continue to innovate our technology and pioneer premium mobile AI experiences so that even more users are equipped with the right tools to unleash their unlimited potential.”

 

 

Galaxy AI Feature Descriptions

 

• Live Translate produces two-way, real-time voice and text translations of phone calls, making it easier than ever to book reservations while traveling or chat with your grandparents in their native language.
• Interpreter can instantly translate live conversations through a user-friendly split-screen view, allowing people standing opposite each other to read a text translation of what the other person is saying.
• Chat Assist can help perfect conversational tones by generating context-aware suggestions to ensure communication sounds as it was intended, whether it’s a polite message to a coworker or a short catchy phrase for a social media caption.
• Note Assist can create AI-generated summaries, pre-formatted templates and cover pages, elevating your day-to-day productivity.
• Transcript Assist uses AI and Speech-to-Text technology to transcribe, summarize and even translate voice recordings.
• Browsing Assist helps you stay up to speed on what’s happening in the world while saving time by generating concise summaries of news articles or web pages.

 

Starting in April and rolling out over the upcoming months, the newly supported Galaxy AI languages and dialects will each be available for download as a language pack from the Settings app.

 

For more information about Galaxy AI, please visit: Samsung Newsroom, Samsungmobilepress.com or Samsung.com.

 

 

¹ Supported languages include Chinese, English (India, United Kingdom, United States), French, German, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish (Mexico, Spain, United States), Thai and Vietnamese.

Source: Samsung Mobile Blog
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