At its press conference at CES 2024, Samsung shared its vision for how Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology can enable people to experience their devices more intuitively and conveniently. Samsung teamed up with key partners to outline the technology behind this vision and how new products and services use AI capabilities to help make life easier.
Samsung Australia vice president of consumer electronics, Jeremy Senior said, “We’re thrilled to mark another year at CES, announcing a broad portfolio of products. We’re reinforcing that AI is about efficiencies – from ease of use to saving time and energy. This includes our 2024 audio, visual and display line-up, which showcases how we are redefining technology and unveiling a new class of premium TVs and appliances that cater to growing demand for high performance features.
“This includes the new Neo QLED 4K and 8K TV range, The Premiere 8K and the first-of-its kind Music Frame. Our latest TV line-up is even smarter – every action is smoother, each command is faster, and the visuals are sharper, with sound and dialogue optimised.
“We’ve also revealed Ballie, the true AI companion. Ballie is mobile, smart and connected, equipped with a projector that enables consumers to live more convenient and connected lives as it seamlessly integrates with their home through SmartThings.
“We’re also proud to announce the Bespoke 4-Door French Door Refrigerator with Family Hub+ and Bespoke Jet Bot Combo. Both of which use AI innovations to learn usage patterns and provide recommendations, bringing further convenience to daily life.
“These announcements are a testament of our investment in AI, which has spanned over a decade, because at Samsung, we believe AI critical to building a better future for Australians.”
AI-enabled visual display products
During the CES press conference, Samsung Electronics America head of connected experience centre, Jonathan Cabrio, outlined the ways in which AI technology is transforming how visual display products and appliances are used.
For example, Samsung Neo QLED 8K QN900D boasts a built-in AI processor, NQ8 AI Gen 3, equipped with an eight-times greater AI neural network and two times faster NPU than its predecessor. Thanks to the NQ8 AI Gen3 processor, Samsung Neo QLED 8K can automatically upscale content to provide users with up to 8K quality viewing experience and sharpens fast-moving images via AI Motion Enhancer Pro.
The Samsung Neo QLED 8K also features Active Voice Amplifier Pro, which analyses voice and background noise by AI to optimise the TV listening experience. Samsung Neo QLED 8K also features Tizen OS Home, which offers the latest apps, services, personalised content, and service recommendations.
Samsung also provides accessibility features, including a sign language feature that can be easily controlled with gestures for the hearing impaired, and an Audio Subtitle feature which turns text subtitles into spoken words in real-time for those with low vision.
Samsung is introducing the new The Premiere 8K, a projector that features a 150-inch display, and wireless transmission for users to enjoy a full-scale viewing experience.
As for sound, Samsung introduced Music Frame, a speaker with a customisable cover (sold separately. Via Q-Symphony, the Music Frame syncs with compatible Samsung TVs and soundbars, bringing bass and surround sound of dual built-in woofers to the home.
AI-enabled kitchen and laundry appliances
To enhance kitchen and food experiences, the Samsung Bespoke 4-Door Flex refrigerator with AI Family Hub+ boasts a 32-inch screen with new AI Vision Inside. The internal camera can recognise up to 33 different food items that are put into and taken out of the refrigerator and suggests recipes using those ingredients. Users can also set ‘use by dates’ for food items on the screen which allows the refrigerator to send a notification when the date draws near. The Anyplace induction range takes AI connectivity a step further, as recipes saved on Samsung Food can be shared to the cooktop’s display for users to easily follow along while cooking.
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, a seven-inch LCD display that acts as an intuitive control centre for managing laundry. It can personalise washing and drying by remembering habits and using machine learning to suggest cycles.
Samsung’s upcoming vacuum and mop robot cleaner, the Bespoke Jet Bot Combo utilises AI technology with AI Object Recognition upgraded from Samsung’s previous robot cleaner line-up to distinguish more objects, as well as detect stains and spaces. The Bespoke Jet Bot Combo can also recognise the type of floor including carpet length to adjust settings accordingly.
AI robot Ballie
Samsung also made major upgrades to Ballie; the rolling AI robot first introduced at CES 2020. Ballie has evolved into an AI companion capable of interacting with other smart devices to provide customised services or projecting images and videos of key information such as weather or other relevant content.
Connecting users and devices through Spatial Intelligence
SmartThings executive vice president and head, Jaeyeon Jung highlighted the new ways in which AI technology is impacting the relationship between users and their devices, including Samsung’s vision for SmartThings – the more Samsung devices a customer uses, the smarter those devices become and the better they can understand and support daily life.
Spatial AI is the key to enabling this vision, by helping devices understand the user’s living space and routines, enabling a personalised home management experience. SmartThings uses LiDAR on connected devices like robot vacuums to create digital floor plans to check the status and location of devices. In March, SmartThings will roll out the upgraded 3D Map View for a more detailed experience on Samsung smartphones and TVs. A QR code will allow users to add family and friends to their SmartThings ecosystem, so every member of the household can create their own routines.
Using smart sensors and AI, SmartThings will be able to detect unusual circumstances, such as a fall, and send alerts to designated family and caregivers. Thanks to the Galaxy SmartTag2, users can track their pets’ activities and digitally store contact information by attaching the tag to a collar or harness.
In addition, the Bixby voice assistant is allowing smart homes to become more dynamic with enhanced AI capabilities. Bixby can now automatically route commands to the most appropriate devices based on an understanding of the user’s location and activities. Key technologies like Multi Device Wakeup combined with a shared communication protocol, enable Bixby to listen to commands with all the devices in a room but then only perform the requested action on the most relevant device.
For example, if a user is in the kitchen watching a recipe video on their Family Hub, and say, ‘Hey, Bixby, play music’, music will play from the smart speaker, but the recipe video will continue to play on the Family Hub.
The TV, with the Samsung Daily+ service, will increasingly become a central hub for smart home functionality, while granting access to additional services including video calls through ConnecTime, video veterinary consultation services, and Workout Tracker. Samsung also announced the new Samsung Now+ service, which displays information such as the weather or a live security camera feed without the TV being turned on.
Responsible materials, energy management and accessibility
Samsung Corporate Sustainability Centre vice president, Inhee Chung highlighted Samsung’s plans for a more circular economy. The company is utilising AI to help track energy usage of compatible devices through features like SmartThings AI Energy Mode, which can help automatically optimise energy usage.
Samsung is adding new features to increase device accessibility, such as appliances responding to hands-free gestures. Mobile devices provide auto-generated captions during calls, and TVs offer a new AI-enabled text-to-speech feature that converts subtitles into spoken audio. For those with low vision, Relumino Together is a new viewing mode on Samsung TVs that enables users of all abilities to watch TV together, with or without visual adjustments.