An Insider Peek: Samsung Employees Share Which Innovations for 2021 They are Most Excited About

This year, Samsung has showcased a broad range of innovative products that are set to lead the market in 2021. Spotlighted at events that include the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), these products have included cutting-edge solutions in the fields of display, home appliances, mobile and semiconductor solutions.

Read on to find out more about some of the company’s innovations for 2021 and hear more about the latest products from those who worked on them.

Visual Display: From Display to Packaging to Remote Control, the 2021 Samsung TVs are Packed With Innovation

(Clockwise from the back row) Joice Jeong, Jieun Kim, Yowon Jang, Mina Kim and Seongyeon Kwon of the Marketing Group of the Visual Display Business at Samsung Electronics

Q. Which products do you want consumers to pay particular attention to in 2021?

We at the Visual Display Business have announced ‘Screens Everywhere, Screens for All’ vision and unveiled our 2021 portfolio of Neo QLED, MICRO LED and Lifestyle TVs. Along this line, we would like to draw attention to the 2021 Neo QLEDs recently announced at CES 2021. Samsung’s Neo QLEDs incorporate Quantum Mini LED, which are 1/40 the height of conventional LED. Thanks to Samsung’s Quantum Matrix Technology, the scale of luminance has been increased to 12-bit with 4096 steps, enabling a more precise viewing experience. Neo QLEDs also feature a Neo Quantum Processor with enhanced AI upscaling technology that can optimize picture quality to 4K and 8K picture output regardless of the input quality.

Furthermore, thanks to its slim and delicate Infinity One Design, the Neo QLED can fit into any space by merit of its sleek design – providing viewers with an even more immersive viewing experience. Audio innovations such as SpaceFit Sound, which uses AI to analyze a TV’s physical environment, and Object Tracking Sound (OTS) Pro, which corresponds to the movement of objects onscreen, also further bolster the truly premium viewing experience offered by the Neo QLEDs.

The 2021 Neo QLEDs also include numerous functions specially customized for the recent change in living patterns, wherein one’s home has become the center of one’s life. Those who enjoy workout at home can take advantage of Samsung Health’s new Smart Trainer feature that tracks and analyzes workouts and provides feedback, and those who enjoy high-quality gaming can harness Super Ultrawide Gameview to play on a screen with a ratio of up to 32:9, along with the Game Bar for customized and convenient game settings.

We would also like to highlight the recently launched MICRO LED line. The new MICRO LED line produces stunning brightness and vibrant colors thanks to 24 million individually controlled LEDs. Its 4Vue (Quad View) feature is also worth noting – viewers can watch up to four different content sources from news or sports to Internet content simultaneously on one screen, and can even connect their game console for even more diversified entertainment.

Q. Part of Samsung’s 2021 vision for Visual Display products is a commitment to sustainability and accessibility. Could you tell us more about the innovations that correlate with this?

Firstly, in 2021, Samsung TVs will come with a solar-powered remote control that can be recharged by indoor light, outdoor light or USB — a first-of-its-kind innovation for the brand. This will help prevent the unnecessary waste of a projected 99 million AA batteries over seven years. Secondly, we are expanding the use of our ‘Eco-Packaging’ Design to our all 2021 Lifestyle TVs and most of the 2021 Neo QLED line. Thirdly, we are set to increase the use of recycled materials in our products so that resources can be upcycled and constantly circulated throughout the product cycle.

Samsung’s 2021 accessibility features – now available on all 2021 QLED and Neo QLED models – bring the latest advances in technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to help more people comfortably enjoy their TV experiences. The 2021 line adds new features such as Caption Moving, Sign Language Zoom and Multi-Output Audio, giving those with the hard of hearing, the deaf, people with low vision and the blind the ability to optimize their viewing to their needs and preferences. We will continue to develop new AI based features to enhance the accessibility of Samsung TVs in the years to come.

Home Appliance Category: In the ‘New Normal’, the JetBot 90 AI+ Works Harder and Smarter for Your Home

Taesoo Kim of the Customer Experience Team of the Digital Appliances Business at Samsung Electronics

Q. Which products do you want consumers to pay particular attention to in 2021?

As people spend more time at home, the home space itself is becoming increasingly important – and in turn, domestic hygiene has become a priority. Times like these require the most cutting-edge cleaning solutions, and we answered the call with the JetBot 90 AI+ – a robot vacuum that harnesses AI to intelligently clean every corner of a user’s home.

The first-ever robot vacuum to be powered by Intel^® AI, the JetBot 90 AI+ is capable of processing a lot of information fast. The vacuum comes with over 1 million images pre-learned so that it is able to autonomously avoid various obstacles like towels, socks and electric cables as soon as a user sets it to work. That means users don’t have to tidy their floors before running the JetBot 90 AI+!

Q. What are some features of JetBot 90 AI+ that make it stand out in comparison to other robot cleaners?

Previous robot cleaners recognized obstacles in 2D, whereas the JetBot 90 AI+ features 3D sensors. This extra dimension helps the robot cleaner accurately identify different obstructions and select the most efficient driving method. In addition to these 3D sensors, the JetBot 90 AI+ is fitted with LiDAR for precise location mapping.

Another special feature of the JetBot 90 AI+ is its Clean Station™. The Clean Station™ not only empties the dustbin automatically, but also traps 99.999% of fine dust¹ and allergens for easy maintenance.

Q. Which function of the JetBot 90 AI+ do you recommend the most?

I strongly recommend the Live Cleaning Report function of the JetBot 90 AI+, which is particularly useful if you want to use the device while away from your home. Users can connect to their vacuum from anywhere via the SmartThings mobile app in order to see where the vacuum is cleaning in real time and monitor the spaces that haven’t been cleaned due to obstacles the robot vacuum has encountered. When you get back home, those obstacles have already been identified, so all you need do is remove them ahead of the JetBot 90 AI+’s next clean.

Mobile Category: Tune Into the Future With the All-New Form Factor of Galaxy Buds Live

Sejin Jeon of the Wearable PP Group of the Mobile Communications Business at Samsung Electronics

Q. Which products do you want consumers to pay particular attention to in 2021?

I would like to recommend Galaxy Buds Live, Samsung’s innovative earbuds with a revolutionary form factor. From the earliest stages of planning, we factored user comfort and fit into our process, and the product we have now is the result of extensive trial and error. While minimizing the parts that protrude out of the ear during our design process, we struggled to find a design that simultaneously sat comfortably in the ear. After much modification, we were able to develop an ergonomic earbud design that is completely different from any of our previous earbud offerings. The exterior design exudes a luxurious aura thanks to its glossy and matte appearance, and even the earbud case has been designed with care to provide that perfect finishing touch.

The unique open-type of Galaxy Buds Live is another point worth noting. Through the combination of sound technology by AKG, Harman’s premium audio brand, and Samsung’s innovative hardware technologies, we have been able to provide a fully immersive audio experience. The speaker and the bass woofer have also been enhanced to provide richer surround sound to users.

Furthermore, Galaxy Buds Live’s Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) is another brand-new function to the Buds portfolio. Not only does it help users focus more on their music, it also reduces background noise within the low-bandwidth range (less than 700Hz) up to 97% to avoid that ‘earplugged’ sensation when listening while in a car or on a bus. Galaxy Buds Live will still let conversation or audio announcements through to users so that the sound is kept balanced but the user is kept aware of their surroundings.

Finally, the call quality of Galaxy Buds Live is another area I’d like to draw attention to. Galaxy Buds Live include a total of three microphones, one on the inside and two on the outside, and an acceleration sensor to filter out external noises. We also improved the audio signal in order to highlight the user’s voice so that they can enjoy the clearest call experiences possible.

Q. We have heard that your team challenges itself with developing innovations that put the environment first. Do Galaxy Buds Live include any such sustainable innovations?

We are in the process of manufacturing recyclable plastic (Post-Consumer Material, or PCM). We have also designed our products in a way that allows users to replace separate components of their earbuds in order to extend the lifespan. These efforts have in fact led to us being awarded the Best of Innovation Award in the area of ‘Eco-Design, Sustainability’ at this year’s CES event.

Memory Category: Small Yet Powerful Secrets Inside our Mobile Devices

Seunghee Han of the DRAM Memory Planning Group of the Memory Business at Samsung Electronics

Q. Which products do you want consumers to pay particular attention to in 2021?

I would like to highlight the Samsung uMCP, which received a CES 2021 Innovation Award and is a high-end mobile memory solution that combines 10nm-class 12GB LPDDR5 (Low-Power DDR5) and sixth-generation 256GB UFS²3.1. The LPDDR5 is the fastest mobile memory solution currently available, supporting high-resolution displays such as 4K or 6K on mobile devices, as well as smooth multitasking. Furthermore, UFS3.1 technology enables much faster data processing and is more energy-efficient than before. Above all, the biggest advantage of this solution is its 11.5mmx13mm size, which combines both DRAM and NAND. Component size is very important in smartphone design, and the uMCP makes the best use of its size.

Q. Could you highlight any specific areas that users will be able to notice this improved product experience in?

When it comes to choosing a new mobile device, one of the most important criteria is a device’s multitasking performance. Our solution provides a more seamless experience with 4K or 8K multimedia, AR/VR experiences and more. The LPDDR5, adopted in mobile devices such as smartphones and tablet PCs, currently supports 6400MB/s and is offered in up to 16GB-sized packages. It is around two times faster than its predecessor, LPDDR4. In the case of UFS3.1, the sequential write performance – used mainly when downloading videos – comes in at 400MB/s, which is also almost two times as fast as its predecessor, UFS2.2.

LED Category: Innovations Capable of Brightening a User’s Day

Jinha Kim of the Lighting Marketing Group from the LED Business Team at Samsung Electronics

Q. Which products do you want consumers to pay particular attention to in 2021?

I’d recommend that users keep an eye on our new indoor lighting solution, a CES 2021 Innovation Award-winner, the LM283N+. It has been developed to help users stay more alert and to improve sleep quality by helping to adjust melatonin levels. The DAY iteration of this product is for daytime activities, and prevents users from falling asleep by controlling the creation of melatonin. On the other hand, the product NITE helps users enjoy deeper sleep through its control of melatonin release.

Whether you need to be concentrating or are just looking to relax, the LM283N+ can come in useful as it is customizable depending on the use circumstances – such a capability is why the LM283N+ received a CES 2021 Innovation Award in the category of Health & Wellness.

Q. What are some special features of the LM283N+?

The development of LM283N+ began from a question: ‘What kind of lighting can contribute to better daily life?’ I believe that the LM283N+ not only lights up a space, but also opens the door for the new ways that lighting can exert influence over our daily lives.

We introduced the LM302N in the market for the first time last year as a truly human-centered light. Based on the LM302N, the LM283N+ has been developed as a platform exclusively specialized for LED light bulbs, meaning that users can easily incorporate the model into their own daily patterns, as it can be applied to replaceable lighting fixtures such as desk lights.

¹ Based on internal testing, using Max mode, in accordance with the IEC62885-2 Cl. 5.11 standard. Results may vary depending on the actual home conditions.

² Universal Flash Storage

* Revision has been made from ‘AAA batteries’ to ‘AA batteries’ with regards to the Solar Cell Remote Control on March 4, 2021.