At CES® 2024 yesterday, Samsung shared its vision of how artificial intelligence (AI) enables users to have a more intuitive experience with their devices.
“With the advent of artificial intelligence, smarter and better experiences will redefine the way we live,” said Jong-Hee (JH) Han, Vice President, CEO and Head of Device eXperience (DX) at Samsung. “Samsung’s wide range of devices, combined with our commitment to open collaboration, will help make AI and connectivity accessible to everyone.”
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AI in TVs, projectors and soundbars
AI is also transforming Samsung’s TVs. For example, the Samsung Neo QLED 8K QN900D features an integrated AI processor called NQ8 AI Gen 3, which automatically enhances any low-resolution content to deliver a visual experience that can reach 8K quality. What’s more, AI Motion Enhancer Pro displays fast-moving images in sharper focus. The Samsung Neo QLED 8K also features Active Voice Amplifier Pro, which analyzes voices and background noise using AI to optimize the TV viewing experience. Tizen OS Home, also added to the Samsung Neo QLED 8K, offers the latest apps, services, personalized content and recommendations to enrich the entertainment experience.
Samsung also offers new accessibility features, such as a sign language function. Available on the Samsung Neo QLED, this feature is very easy to use for the hearing impaired.
The Premiere 8K is a projector with a 150-inch screen and the world’s first wireless 8K transmission, offering a cinematic experience at home.
Samsung has also launched Music Frame, a speaker with customizable coverage that blends perfectly into any interior. Thanks to the Q-Symphony function, Music Frame synchronizes with Samsung TVs and soundbars, making it easy to install surround sound with dual subwoofers at home.
Ballie 2.0
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Ballie, the AI robot first presented at CES 2020, has been significantly improved. Ballie has evolved into an AI companion and can now communicate with other smart devices to facilitate difficult tasks, project images and display videos on walls, for example. This enables users to consult important everyday information, such as the weather or other relevant content, wherever they are.
Smart home
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Samsung’s AI technology extends to appliances beyond the kitchen. The new Bespoke AI Laundry Combo™, an all-in-one washer and dryer, features the AI Hub[1], a 7-inch LCD screen acting as an intuitive control center for laundry management, offering users a simplified washing and drying experience. It personalizes wash and dry cycles by remembering users’ habits and using machine learning to make suggestions. Samsung’s new robot vacuum and mop, the Bespoke Jet Bot Combo™[2], meanwhile, uses AI technology to deliver a more convenient and efficient cleaning experience. With improved object recognition over the previous robot range, it can distinguish more objects, as well as spot spots and spaces[3]. The Bespoke Jet Bot Combo™ also recognizes floor type and adjusts its settings accordingly, including carpet length.
Samsung launches laptop series most open to AI
Samsung has extended the capabilities of a PC and is collaborating with Microsoft to create new, even smoother connected experiences. These experiences are now enhanced with new connectivity features that make the Galaxy Book4 series smoother, smarter and more flexible, reinforcing Samsung and Microsoft’s commitment to delivering the best PC experience possible.
Using the intelligent and intuitive capabilities of AI, Microsoft Copilot[4] connects the Galaxy Book4 series to the Samsung Galaxy smartphone to make them work seamlessly together, giving the impression of being a single device. Microsoft Copilot can search, read or summarize text messages from a user’s Galaxy smartphone, and even automatically create and send messages on the user’s behalf, directly from the PC.
With the Galaxy Book4 series, the powerful camera on Samsung Galaxy smartphones can now be used as a webcam[5]. Users can switch freely between front and rear cameras, and with a simple click, features such as background blur and auto-framing can be activated, putting the focus on the user in any environment.
Samsung and Microsoft are working closely together to make these intelligent features – and many more – available from March on the Galaxy Book4 series. This series can be paired not only with smartphones, but also with other Galaxy devices. For example, the Tab S9 Ultra can be used as an additional PC monitor, and users can enjoy crystal-clear sound with minimal latency thanks to the Galaxy Buds2 Pro.
How AI affects SmartThings
Jaeyeon Jung, Executive Vice President and Head of SmartThings, highlights the new ways AI technology is influencing SmartThings: as a customer uses more Samsung devices, these devices become smarter and better able to support everyday life.
Spatial intelligence helps devices understand the user’s living space and routines, enabling a more personalized experience. SmartThings uses LiDAR[6 ] on connected devices, such as robot vacuum cleaners, to create digital maps, enabling users to easily check the status and location of all their appliances. This March, SmartThings will roll out the enhanced 3D Map View on Samsung smartphones and TVs. What’s more, users can easily add family and friends to their SmartThings ecosystem with a simple QR code, enabling each household member to create their own routines.
Using smart sensors and AI, SmartThings can detect unusual conditions, such as a fall, and send an alert to family and caregivers. With the Galaxy SmartTag2, users can also track their pets’ activities and store information digitally by attaching the tag to a collar or harness.
In addition, Bixby has received an enhanced AI system to make smart homes more dynamic. Bixby can now automatically transmit commands to devices based on an understanding of the user’s location and activities. Thanks to key technologies such as Multi Device Wakeup, Bixby can listen for commands from all devices in a room, and then execute only the requested action on the most relevant device. So if a user is watching a recipe video on their Family Hub™ in the kitchen, they can shout,“Hey, Bixby! Play some music!” The music will then play from the user’s smart speaker, but the recipe video will continue uninterrupted on the Family Hub™.
The TV, with the Samsung Daily service , will increasingly act as a hub for various smart home features, offering access to a variety of additional services. These include video calling via ConnecTime, veterinary consulting services[7 ] and Workout Tracker, which synchronizes workout data with Samsung smartwatches. Samsung also announced the new Samsung Now service , which displays useful information about users’ homes, such as the weather or a live feed from a security camera. As with SmartThings features, users can also access this information via voice commands.
Home and car closer together thanks to Home-to-Car possibilities
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Samsung also announced developments in the automotive industry, starting with a partnership with Hyundai Motor Group. Samsung and Hyundai have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU), announced in the run-up to CES 2024. Under this agreement, users will have access to Home-to-Car and Car-to-Home services thanks to SmartThings connectivity.
Via SmartThings, users can use voice commands to remotely perform functions in their car, such as preheating the car or opening and closing windows. SmartThings connectivity also works the other way round, enabling users to control home functions from their car. Users can automatically open and close garage doors based on the car’s location, and regulate the temperature at home. All these actions can be performed via voice commands.
In addition, Samsung has deepened its long-term collaboration with HARMAN to enhance users’ driving experience. Michelle Gattuso, vice president of product management at HARMAN, discussed how the two companies are developing new technologies to enhance the driving experience. “Samsung’s leadership in consumer technology, combined with HARMAN’s expertise in the automotive industry, has paved the way for groundbreaking experiences such as HARMAN Ready Care, Ready Vision and Ready Display,” said Gattuso.
HARMAN Ready Care, focused on driver safety, uses neural network techniques with deep learning to monitor the driver’s movements and cognitive attention, and can provide personalized reminders and warnings. In addition, Ready Care can now identify whether passengers are adults or children, and adjusts airbag activation settings accordingly.
Ready Vision brings intuitive displays directly to the windscreen using augmented reality, precisely when the driver needs them. For example, drivers have access to a map updated in real time according to routes, as well as recommendations for the quickest route or where to stop for a coffee.
Another HARMAN product, Ready Upgrade, enables automakers to regularly update their vehicles’ hardware and software, keeping vehicles more relevant, modern and efficient.
Security and confidentiality for all devices
In this future of totally connected devices, Shin Baik Mobile Experience Security Team recognizes the crucial importance of security and privacy. He discussed the company’s security solutions as a foundation for the hyperconnected era.
One such solution is Samsung Knox Matrix, which now offers end-to-end encryption for many Samsung Galaxy smartphones and smart TVs. This technology enables devices to monitor each other to identify and isolate security risks. Knox Vault, which helps secure user data on some of Samsung’s most popular devices, is expanding to more connected devices via SmartThings, such as Samsung Neo QLED 8K TVs. What’s more, Samsung’s partnerships with leading technology companies guarantee users a security and privacy experience tailored to their specific needs.
Samsung makes strides in responsible materials, energy management and accessibility
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Samsung incorporates recycled materials in various products, such as recycled plastic from discarded fishing nets in Galaxy devices[8], recycled plastic in televisions and recycled aluminum in Bespoke refrigerators[9]. Galaxy Upcycling gives consumers the opportunity to reuse or creatively reinvent their old phones. The company is also planning extensions in the field of recycling and upcycling.
In terms of sustainability, Samsung is using AI to optimize the energy consumption of its products through features such as SmartThings AI energy mode. These features demonstrate how AI technology not only makes daily life easier, but also enables consumers to live ecologically and economically responsible lives. Thanks to a new partnership with Tesla, SmartThings Energy becomes even more powerful, both inside and outside the home. The collaboration integrates SmartThings Energy with Tesla products, including electric vehicles (EVs), the Powerwall home battery, the Solar Inverter and the Wall Connector EV charging solution. SmartThings Energy users can also benefit from the Tesla app’s Powerwall “Storm Watch” feature, which reports inclement weather both in the Tesla app and on Samsung TVs and phones connected via SmartThings.
Samsung adds new features to increase device accessibility, such as digital devices that respond to touchless gestures. Mobile devices automatically generate subtitles during calls, and TVs and displays introduce a new AI-enabled text-to-speech feature that transforms subtitles into spoken audio. For the visually impaired, Relumino Together is a new viewing mode on Samsung TVs that enables users of all levels to watch TV together, with or without visual adjustments. This makes home entertainment accessible to all.
