SIF, 20 Years of Innovation in 1 day

What is Samsung Innovation Forum (SIF)? Imagine Samsung Electronics meets the Louvre. Now, replace paintings with electronic gadgets then scale it down to the point where you can see all of that at once. OK, maybe it’s a little bit bigger than that.  SIF was held in Korea, so I would assume a lot of you couldn’t make it (sad face). But I don’t want anybody to have a FOMO. Let me tell you what SIF is all about! Sit tight!

In the movie ‘Man in Black’, when Kay (played by Will Smith) enters the MIB HQ for the first time, he passes through a long aisle of futuristic doors, then takes an elevator before finally getting to the main office. Getting to SIF was similar, but instead of a room full of aliens, I was greeted by two helpful attendants.

SIF was divided into two stages: ‘Innovation of Product’ and ‘Innovation of thinking”

As a fan of electronic products, the ‘Innovation of Product’ stage was like being in an All-star game with legendary athletes. From prototypes to the latest high-tech gadgets, VCRs to the Curved OLED TV, you could see 20 years history of various Samsung Electronics’ products all at once.

I am old enough to remember the past 20 years, so this brought me back to my childhood. However, I never realized Samsung Electronics has been the pioneer for two decades. Memory chips, LED, washing machines, mobile phones and many more, the list of ‘first-ever’ products was longer than list of words in a dictionary. OK, that is an exaggeration.

Did you know Samsung Electronics produced the world’s first watch phone and TV phone back in the 90’s?

Do you remember how refrigerators, washing machines, and air conditioners used to look 20 years ago? I would totally understand if you prefer not to. But I have to say, they were gigantic. You would be amazed how much energy and resources the latest home appliances can conserve compared to two decades ago.

TVs were the highlight of this stage. The light setting of the stage was a bit dark, so the display of the LED TV stood out. Literally, I stood in awe of the TV. I’m really not exaggerating. The display of the TV, such as 85S9UHD and Curved OLED, was so clear, it left me curiously speechless.

If the first stage was an All-star game, the second stage, “Innovation of thinking’, was more of a playground. People got to toy with the latest products, such as Galaxy series and NX Cameras and even play video games on a UHD TV.

The Second stage is also where they held the seminars. They invited the developers and designers of Samsung Electronics products to tell people the behind-the-scenes stories and more.

The message of SIF was clear. It wanted to tell us ‘Samsung’s endless story of Innovation’. Normally, I’m not a big fan of endless stories, but this one I think I can listen to at least for 20 more years.