Nam Hyun-woo has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2013, mostly covering business and politics. He currently belongs to the Business Desk where he covers topics such as emerging tech, AI, ICT and Korea's chaebol community. Prior to joining the team, he was the paper's correspondent for the presidential office of Korea during the Yoon Suk Yeol and Moon Jae-in administrations.
Samsung envisions more convenient future powered by AI
Samsung Europe Chief Marketing Officer Benjamin Braun delivers a keynote speech at Samsung Electronics' press conference for the IFA 2024 at Messe Berlin, Germany, Thursday (local time). Courtesy of Samsung Electronics
By Nam Hyun-woo
BERLIN — Samsung Electronics portrayed a future where artificial intelligence (AI) technologies enhance and simplify everyday life during a press conference at the IFA 2004, Thursday.
Samsung stressed that AI will improve each individual’s quality of life, transform their lifestyle and expand what they can accomplish. Additionally, the company introduced new appliances and devices that will help people achieve these goals.
"At Samsung, we belive that we want to democratize AI," Samsung Europe Chief Marketing Officer Benjamin Braun told The Korea Times. "Therefore, we are rolling out our newest AI today, called One UI 6.1.1, not only to the people having the current version (of the Galaxy smartphones), but also to last year's model and before that. (This is) because we want as many people as possible to use AI to their benefit."
One UI is Samsung Electronics' multi-platform user interface, and the latest version, 6.1.1, brings new features. This upgrade will extend AI capabilities from the latest Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Z Flip 6 — such as live translation — to the Galaxy S24, Z Fold 5, and Z Flip 5.
“Since our presentation at IFA last year, discussions around AI and its role in our lives have grown significantly,” Braun said during his keynote speech.
“At Samsung, we are proud to make AI more accessible and understandable, showing how it can simplify life rather than complicate it. We believe AI should act like multiple pairs of helping hands, meeting the needs of its consumers and the world beyond them. Our AI-enabled products allow people more time to focus on the things they care about.”
Samsung expects there will be 200 million users using its AI-enabled devices by the end of this year, but at the same time, it acknowledges that there are barriers between users and AI technologies.
According to Samsung’s own survey, only 15 percent of consumers said they had full understanding of how AI can be used in their daily lives, though 66 percent said they are looking for ways to create more time with AI. The poll surveyed 11,000 adults from ten European countries between July 11 and 19.
During the press conference, Chris Brauer, director of innovation at the Institute of Management Studies at Goldsmiths, University of London, highlighted a significant finding from a joint study with Samsung Electronics. He said there is "a very strong relationship between frequent AI use and quality of life indicators," noting that "frequent mobile AI users are about 1.4 times more likely to report a high quality of life compared to those who rarely use it."
"In fact, across almost every quality of life indicator, from social relationships to physical health, frequent AI users came out ahead," Brauer said. "So as the tools become more advanced, people are looking for more ways to use AI."
Under this belief, Samsung introduced a number of AI technologies that can power its appliances to provide a greater accessibility to users. The company presented voice command technologies, which allows users to open the doors of its Bespoke AI refrigerators and washers and control other home appliances with voice. Additionally, Samsung revealed an AI-powered outlining technology for its TVs, to enhance visibility for those with low vision by clearly outlining objects on the screen.
Models present Samsung Electronics' Galaxy Book 5 Pro 360 laptop computer at the company's booth at the IFA 2024 at Messe Berlin, Germany, Thursday (local time). Courtesy of Samsung Electronics
During the press conference, Samsung first unveiled its new laptops — the Galaxy Book 5 Pro 360 and the 15-inch Galaxy Book 4 Edge, with senior executives from Intel and Qualcomm introducing the new rollouts.
“Intel and Samsung Electronics have been partners for more than 20 years, unlocking new PC experiences for our users all around the globe,” said David Feng, vice president of Client Computing Group at Intel. “Powered by Intel’s latest processor and Samsung’s Galaxy AI, the Galaxy Book 5 Pro 360 will deliver a breakthrough to a new level of productivity and connectivity.”
Also presented during the press conference was Samsung Food+, which is an AI-upgraded premium version of the company’s health care service program, Samsung Food.
Samsung Food enables a more advanced and comprehensive approach to health management, by using personal information such as body metrics, age and exercise habits. It provides features including setting intake goals, planning weekly meals, offering personalized recipes, tracking nutritional progress and analyzing trends in the consumption of the five essential nutrients.
As part of the company’s expansion in the health care business, Samsung also introduced its latest Galaxy Ring, which monitors the user’s sleep pattern, activities, heartbeat and other health indicators around the clock, and the new Galaxy Watch Ultra, which enables more accurate and precise monitoring of body signals and workout data.
For televisions, Samsung presented its Generative Wallpaper function, in which AI can create TV wallpapers in upscale quality, and AI-powered Bixby, which understands the user’s intentions to enable smart search of content.