In this second article, we’re exploring how SmartThings has been enhanced to become a built-in feature of your Samsung Smart TV and Smart Monitor,¹ so read on to learn more about how the 2022 lineup lets you take total control of your devices and your smart home — right from your sofa.

SmartThings, Opening Up an Era of the Smart Home Previously Only Dreamed of

As the devices we use at home have become more diverse, so, too, have the methods necessary to connect them. From Cloud to Cloud (C2C) connectivity, wireless (WiFi) connections and the Zigbee method, a variety of different systems available for us to control our homes with have emerged — a diversity that resulted in it taking a while for Internet-of-Things (IoT) to be cohesively applied within the home.

Previously, you would need a separate device, or hub, to act as a connecting bridge for these devices, ultimately impacting accessibility. Therefore, in order to help mitigate this inconvenience, Samsung, for the very first time in 2022, has integrated a built-in SmartThings Hub directly into the 2022 screen lineup, providing reduced latency and total control for more immediate smart home control experiences.

The Samsung Home IoT Hub — your SmartThings hub — is now built directly into your TV or Smart monitor, making it possible to easily connect, monitor and control all the connected devices in your house, all without a separate hub device.² This advancement is the first step towards Samsung’s fully-realized home IoT ecosystem.³

This innovative SmartThings Hub is not only compatible with hundreds of millions of devices, but has also been further expanded thanks to the introduction of an all-new interoperability standard. As the premier technology enabling connected living and driving the future of IoT, SmartThings recently announced the addition of a new smart home interoperability standard named Matter,⁴ which has been developed by Apple, Google, Amazon and others and allows for users to control Matter-enabled devices using their Samsung products.

With these innovative advancements in your SmartThings home control system, you are set to enjoy the utmost convenience with your 2022 screen — like never before.

Anywhere, Anytime and as You Wish With the 2022 SmartThings Hub

Thanks to the fully-integrated SmartThings Hub, your 2022 screen is a central hub from which you can conveniently control the smart devices you have around your home.

To make the smart home experience more enhanced than ever before, Samsung made sure to develop SmartThings Hub to be the most streamlined platform it could be for ultimate user convenience. Along with the greater screen real estate available on your 2022 screen for monitoring, making the process easier on the eyes, SmartThings Hub features an intuitive Map View interface that not only shows all your devices and their current status, but also where they are located in your home.

1. Map View: Locate IoT Devices in Your Home at a Glance

When you launch your TV or smart monitor for the first time, ‘rooms’ can be created automatically for you based on the location of your connected devices through SmartThings, and this will be displayed on-screen for you in Map View. If you want to further customize the layout of your devices, you can use your remote control to change the location of the device within the interface to match your actual room layout, and if you have the SmartThings mobile app, you can easily add rooms or change its location using Touch & Drag. You can even change room shapes to be polygons, if desired.

Say you’re settling down to relax in the living room with a good film after a long day, but suddenly realize you’re not sure if the lights are on or off in the garage, simply pull up SmartThings Hub’s Map View on your smart TV or monitor. Now, you can check and manage the status of your smart devices and then click back into your film for a truly hassle-free end to your night.

2. Voice Control: Manage All Your Devices With a Single Word

As well as streamlining the smart home management experiences that SmartThings brings to users, you can also enjoy smart experiences that may have previously seemed impossible with SmartThings on your 2022 Samsung screen.

For example, the always-on Voice Control capability provides you with next-level connectivity and control over your devices, no matter what you are doing and whether your screen is on or off. Thanks to Bixby, Samsung’s AI voice assistant, you can verbally switch your lights on or off or control a connected device, even while in the middle of a movie, just by saying ‘Hi Bixby’ to your screen.

3. Smart Doorbell: Check Out the Front Doorstep While Watching TV

Furthermore, the Smart Doorbell feature lets your smart home control radius expand as far as your front doorstep. Even if content is playing on your 2022 Samsung screen, a notification will appear on-screen when someone rings your doorbell, allowing you to see right through to who is waiting at the front door and even talk to them directly from your screen.⁵

With such convenience-first capabilities, the future of the truly connected smart home, something that Samsung has been working diligently towards, is getting closer and closer each day.

The Hub of Smart Home Life: Your 2022 Smart Screen

Although smart homes have been around for quite some time, the process of building a smart home ecosystem that allows all kinds of IoT devices to interoperate is still underway. Samsung intends to develop a smart home that is optimized for your in-home activities and that lets anyone easily build their own connected home, making it easy to harness the power of IoT for device control anywhere in the house — using just your screen.

The first step of this next-generation smart home ecosystem has been taken with the 2022 Samsung screen lineup. With your Neo QLED 8K or Smart Monitor M8, you can now enjoy easy and convenient control of all your smart home devices directly on-screen thanks to the all-new SmartThings Hub. Take a look at the video below to learn more.

Be sure to stay tuned for the final article in this series where we will be diving into even more smart features offered by the 2022 screen lineup, including those capabilities that let you manage your aesthetic and even your workouts more intelligently — directly from your screen.

¹ Models that support the SmartThings Hub include: QN900B/QN800B/QN700B/QN95B/S95B/QN90B/QN85B/Q80B/Q70B/Q60B/BU8/The Serif/The Frame/The Sero/Smart Monitor(M50B and above), released in 2022.

² Make sure to log in to the same Samsung account on your TV or monitor and your mobile SmartThings app.

³ To use products with Zigbee protocol, you must purchase a SmartThings Dongle (VG-STDB10A) separately.

⁴ Samsung also joined over 200 global companies in support of MATTER, a new standard for simplifying smart homes.

⁵ Ring Doorbell is currently the only solution supporting the 2-way talk function. It is set to be available on more solutions soon.

It’s no surprise that many of us spend more time these days working, studying and relaxing at home. But what if there was a way to make that time more comfortable, meaningful and efficient?

In line with the new era of home life that we’re experiencing today, Samsung Electronics has launched the 2022 Smart Monitor M8 — an all-in-one screen that combines key advantages of both a monitor and a smart TV. Allowing users to work and study even without a PC, and enjoy OTT services without a TV, the Smart Monitor M8 has emerged as a must-have item for the new era of working from home and streaming content.

The Smart Monitor M8 is enhanced for users’ convenience and features an even slimmer design than past models. Recently, Samsung Newsroom unboxed the device to see all the new features and details up close. Let’s take a deep dive into the new, all-in-one experience.

Easy To Install

After opening the box, we found that the 32-inch monitor’s neat white color really stands out. The device features a vertical herringbone pattern on its back that creates a sophisticated vibe, as well as an eye-catching attachable camera. The box also includes a simple yet sturdy-looking stand, a USB-C cable, a micro HDMI cable (micro HDMI to HDMI) and a tiny remote control that fits comfortably in your palm — a rare addition for today’s monitors. The monitor comes with a battery-free remote control that conveniently charges via a USB-C port. There are three external ports in all: one micro HDMI port, one upstream USB-C port and one downstream USB-C port. The middle USB-C port also supports 65W charging.

With a simple assortment of items, installation is easy. First, connect the stand’s neck to its base and fasten the bolts at the bottom. Next, connect the assembled stand to the monitor by sliding it into place top edge first and then pushing down until you hear a click. To disassemble the device, simply push the button that disconnects the stand from the monitor.

An Ultra-Slim Design That’s Easy on the Eyes

After assembling the monitor, we immediately noticed just how simple, neat and slim its design really is. Measuring just 11.4mm thin, the device is less than one-third the thickness of the previous version. Its warm white hue gently radiates a soft vibe, complementing any design or space. The organic herringbone pattern on the back adds a sophisticated touch that stands out even more when the monitor is installed in an open room setting.

The monitor’s Height Adjustable Stand (HAS) is particularly convenient. When a monitor is aligned below a user’s eye level, it forces them to constantly look down, which can cause neck pain. The Smart Monitor M8 can not only be tilted at different angles, but also allows users to adjust its height to match their eye level. This means there’s no need to use other items or stands to elevate the screen. The height of the monitor — measured from the surface of the table to the bottom bezel — is 3.6cm at its lowest setting and 15.6cm at its highest setting.

SlimFit Cam Makes Video Calls More Satisfying

The Smart Monitor M8 also comes with a wireless SlimFit Cam (1920×1080, 30p) that makes it perfect for video conferencing and online classes. The camera can be conveniently attached or detached from the monitor at any time. It connects to the device using pogo pins, which means there’s no need for wires. This keeps the monitor’s back uncluttered and streamlined.

Creating the Perfect Home Office Environment, Even Without a PC

In the work-from-anywhere era, it can be quite daunting to manage urgent tasks without access to a PC. The Smart Monitor M8 removes that worry by making it possible to work PC-free as long as there’s a Wi-Fi connection. The device’s Workspace feature combines all work-related services into one screen, while the included Microsoft 365 cloud service¹ allows users to manage files using programs such as Word and PowerPoint even without a PC.

The Smart Monitor M8 also supports Samsung DeX, which allows Galaxy smartphones to support a PC-like experience, making it easy to connect to the monitor and start multitasking. Additionally, the monitor is equipped with Eye Saver Mode and Flicker Free technology to minimize eye strain and prevent flickering.

Enjoy OTT Services to the Fullest

When you feel like sitting back and enjoying a show or movie, the Smart Monitor M8 transforms into a TV thanks to the built-in Smart Hub, which features various OTT services such as Netflix, Disney+, YouTube and more.² You can also view a variety of movies, TV series, sports matches and other content on demand — completely free — using Samsung’s proprietary smart OTT service, Samsung TV Plus.

* Remote control shortcuts vary by country.

But that’s not all. The monitor’s included remote control makes finding and managing content a breeze. Other features and enhancements that make the viewing experience even more satisfying include the device’s UHD (3840×2160) resolution, HDR10+ support, 99% sRGB color gamut, 400nit brightness, 2.2 channel stereo speakers and Adaptive Sound+, which automatically analyzes the monitor’s surroundings to optimize sound effects. The result is a rich content experience filled with detailed visuals and sound.

A Home IoT Hub for SmartThings

With built-in support for SmartThings Hub, users can easily connect their IoT devices to their Smart Monitor M8 and monitor their devices at a glance. The SmartThings app’s Map View function allows users to check on the status of devices including Samsung smart home appliances and Bluetooth, IR (infrared spectroscopy) and IoT devices. Plus, with voice recognition technology, users can even control the lights, home appliances and more while in the middle of watching a show or other content.³

The monitor’s built-in microphone enables its Far Field Voice feature, which recognizes voices even from afar, enabling you to control voice assistants like Bixby and Amazon Alexa.⁴ If users talk to Bixby while the monitor is turned off, the Always On Voice feature springs into action, allowing users to interact with Bixby and displaying the information they want on screen. Users can also use Bixby to switch from one app to another and manage videos or home devices.

With our homes even more central to our lives, Samsung’s Smart Monitor M8 is the all-in-one screen that complements modern consumers’ lifestyles. Combining smart and practical features with a sophisticated design, while offering consumers the ability to use their monitor wherever they want, the Smart Monitor M8 is the perfect choice for consumers who are looking for a new monitor this spring.

* The content was revised on Feb 28, 2024 to provide more accurate information.

※ Some images have been edited to help readers’ understanding of the product.

¹ Requires users to log in to their Microsoft 365 account.

² Streaming service availability varies by country. Subscriptions may be required.

³ A separate SmartThings Dongle (VG-STDB10A) is required to connect to Zigbee devices (connection to Z-Wave device is not supported). VG-STDB10A can be purchased within April.

⁴ Amazon Alexa availability varies by country.

This is why the all-new Galaxy A53 5G features an AI-enhanced camera experience designed to power every moment of learning, creating and exploring. You can make every photo and video pop, even in low lighting, with a camera that automatically adjusts its framerate to different light conditions.

Whether you’re snapping pics alone or with friends, you can take your best photos yet with an enhanced Portrait mode that captures depth and subject outlines more accurately. What’s more, with Fun mode, you can add playful filters to turn any gathering into an impromptu photo shoot. Sometimes, things get in the way of the perfect photo — like an accidental photobomb or a distracting glare. Using Photo Remaster, you can breathe new life into old and low-quality images or use Object eraser to remove any background distractions to create your picture-perfect shot.

Take a look at the video below to learn more about how the Galaxy A53 5G’s AI camera functions make every moment awesome.

“Samsung Home Hub brings seamless connectivity to the smart home and makes users’ lives easier by understanding their preferences and setting their home devices and smart appliances up accordingly,” said Hyesoon Yang, Executive Vice President and Head of Customer Experience at the Digital Appliances Business of Samsung Electronics. “The connectivity of our devices and the Samsung Home Hub’s intuitive interface allow everyone in the home to get through their to-do list quickly.”

Connecting a Broader Range of Devices

With Samsung Home Hub connecting to smart home appliances in every corner of the home, you can now manage your daily routine, handle chores and take care of your house, all on a single device. As a home controller, it gives you a sweeping view of your entire connected home and allows you to stay on top of everything seamlessly.

From launch, Samsung Home Hub will be able to connect to every product within the SmartThings ecosystem, including your Samsung smart appliances. Soon, you will also have direct connectivity to other devices in your smart home system, such as your lights and door lock system.

Customized Experiences With AI and SmartThings

For the first time ever, a broad array of customized, AI-based SmartThings services have been united and can be controlled from one dedicated device with the Samsung Home Hub. These SmartThings services fall under the categories of Cooking, Clothing Care, Pet, Air, Energy and Home Care Wizard.

To make dinner time easier, SmartThings Cooking allows you to conveniently search for, plan, purchase and prep weekly meals with Family Hub.  When it’s time to do the laundry, SmartThings Clothing Care connects to appliances like the Bespoke Washer and Dryer and the Bespoke AirDresser and provides customized care options based on your garments’ material types, your usage patterns and the current season. What’s more, SmartThings Pet allows you to check in on your pet with the smart camera on the Bespoke Jet Bot AI+ and adjust settings on appliances like the air conditioner to make the environment more comfortable for your pet.

Meanwhile, SmartThings Air can provide automatic dehumidification and connect with air conditioners and air purifiers to manage the air quality in your home according to your preferences. To help you save on energy costs, SmartThings Energy¹ on the Samsung Home Hub analyzes your usage patterns² and uses its AI-equipped power saving mode to help reduce your energy bills. And to stay on top of it all, SmartThings Home Care Wizard monitors all of your smart appliances, sends you notifications when parts need to be replaced and offers guidance if something goes wrong.

Elevated Usability With Bixby

Samsung Home Hub is an exclusive 8.4-inch tablet that can be operated from its dock or used on the go around the home. For voice control, the Samsung Home Hub has two microphones and two speakers to allow you to easily hear notifications and use Bixby voice commands. If you have a question, just ask Bixby. Featuring high-performance microphones, the Samsung Home Hub can pick up verbal commands spoken from the broader room when docked.

In recognition of its innovativeness, Samsung Home Hub received a CES Innovation Award from the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) ahead of CES 2022.

Samsung Home Hub will be available in Korea in March, and globally after that.

For more information about the Samsung Home Hub, please visit Samsung.com

¹ Available in Korea, the UK and the US

² Users can track and monitor energy consumption data with smart meters, through power suppliers and energy monitoring providers such KEPCO (Korea), DCC (UK), and Copper Labs and Eyedro (US)

During the event, Samsung highlighted its consumer-centric approach to innovation. In particular, the company showcased how advancements in AI, IoT and security work alongside the breadth of Samsung’s portfolio to create experiences that fit into how people live, ultimately unlocking a new era of connectivity and collaboration.

“We are proud of the pioneering work we are able to do in partnership with the creative developer community,” said DJ Koh, President and CEO of IT & Mobile Communications Division, Samsung Electronics. “As society becomes more closely connected through new tools and devices, we want to make people’s lives easier and smarter – wherever they are.”

Platforms Designed for Connected Experiences

A strong platform of technologies across AI, IoT and security enhances the consumer experience and accelerates the ability of developers to build creative applications. Samsung detailed its plans to strengthen core platform technologies such as Bixby, SmartThings and Samsung Knox.

During the SDC21 keynote, Samsung announced improvements to Bixby, which has become a central part of the user experience for more than 300 million Samsung devices. Bixby now uses on-device AI and deep neural networks to process commands on devices themselves. Thanks to on-device AI, this development makes the service up to 35% faster than before.

For developers, Samsung also announced the Bixby Home Platform, which serves as an intelligent layer between Bixby’s natural language processing and SmartThings. With the platform, voice commands can now be executed more intelligently, taking into account the state and context of various devices.

Samsung made further announcements with regard to SmartThings, including how the platform will be fully integrated with Matter, the newest standard in smart home compatibility. Matter solves developer interoperability challenges and with an expansive list of partners, will be the catalyst that makes smart home connectivity nearly effortless. SmartThings Hub software will also be embedded into the Samsung product portfolio, which includes Samsung Smart TVs and Family Hub refrigerators.

Samsung believes that consumer data and personal privacy is just as important as the experiences they enable. Samsung is committed to providing a seamless consumer experience, and to ensuring that its devices and services are secure from beginning to end. Samsung Knox, the company’s defense-grade security platform, offers built-in protection for more than 100 million Samsung devices. To further secure consumer data, the Samsung Knox Vault comes in a combination of security-specific hardware (a new secure processor and isolated secure memory) and new integrated software that shields the most secure data from the Android OS and applications. During the SDC21 keynote, Samsung highlighted the importance of collaboration and its philosophy of open innovation to improve security and privacy, reiterating its work to continue releasing security analysis tools as open source projects.

Samsung also outlined its Privacy Principles at SDC21, highlighting the three commitments that guide all innovation at the company: Protection, Choice and Transparency. With these principles, consumers, developers and partners are given the information needed to make decisions about how data is managed. The company offers users the option to review and manage their permissions from the privacy setting on their Galaxy devices and Smart TVs and discloses Samsung’s privacy policies through the Privacy Portal. Going forward, Samsung will collaborate with global security experts while continuing to release open source security analysis tools to make its ecosystems more secure.

Tizen Takes Smart TV to New Heights

Based on its ‘Screens Everywhere, Screen for All’ vision, Samsung continues to build on its position as the world leader in TVs by developing new experiences that enhance connectivity, functionality and immersive entertainment. At SDC21, Samsung introduced various ways that Samsung TVs are enabling new experiences, including:

• Video communication based on partnership with Google to allow users to enjoy better video calling on TVs via AI-enabled focus and zoom features.
• Samsung Health on Smart TVs that connects with a webcam to analyze movements and provide real-time feedback during a workout.
• More realistic gaming thanks to HDR10+, with automated settings for low latency and HDR calibration.

For enterprises, Samsung will launch Tizen for Business. This service supports interactive e-boards in schools, kiosks in malls, and even displays in restaurants, airports and subways. With new management portals, businesses can conduct real-time monitoring and control screens remotely, easily applying settings to multiple devices with one simple touch.

With the Tizen TV Platform Licensing, manufacturers who want to introduce a premium TV platform like Tizen can do so quickly with minimal cost. This enables them to use the Tizen TV presence to promote their products in the Smart TV market, and ultimately, help more consumers enjoy Tizen.

Innovating Across the Galaxy Ecosystem

Samsung provides a user experience that meets the needs of all users and devices. And with an expanding range of device types and form factors, developers have a breadth of opportunities to innovate in new ways.

At SDC21, Samsung introduced the new One UI 4, the latest version of its user interface for mobile devices. One UI 4 will provide new levels of customization to enable users to create an experience and a device that is truly theirs. It combines Samsung’s leading privacy and security features with options for users to personalize permissions so that they are always in control of their data when using a Samsung device.

Samsung demonstrated the possibilities of One UI 4 to developers at the event, particularly for foldable devices such as the Galaxy Z Fold3 and Z Flip3. Thanks to One UI 4, users will be able to make use of features such as Flex mode and Multi-Active Window, which enable users to enjoy more intuitive and user-friendly experiences that are unique to the foldable form factor. SDC21 also included a Galaxy Watch session that showcased developer tools to help them build new apps in the new watch app ecosystem.

Samsung invites developers and partners on its journey to bring new and secure experiences to life. For more information about the Samsung Developer Conference 2021, please visit developer.samsung.com.

Voice Recognition With Bixby: More Convenient Than Touch

Artificial intelligence (AI) enhances the performance of all kinds of devices essential to our daily lives, including smartphones, tablets, TVs and more. In particular, AI-powered voice recognition facilitates more seamless interactions between these devices. Principal Engineer Joohwan Kim from the AI ​​Client Development Group, Mobile Communications Business at Samsung Electronics, shares below how the Bixby voice assistant platform is set to enable more convenient experiences – using just your voice.

Q: What does the newly updated Bixby voice assistant platform look like?

Bixby aims to be the best voice interface able to control multiple Samsung devices using only a small amount of data. From this standpoint, we focused on providing a unique user experience that only Galaxy can provide when developing Samsung’s latest devices. For example, Galaxy Z Flip3 provides a Bixby function that allows users to utilize the Cover Screen, and Galaxy Watch4 series includes hands-free functionality.

Bixby has advanced in many ways as an AI platform, and, in terms of the engine, it supports Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) on-device. Because it processes users’ voices immediately from within the device itself, it is fast and secure in terms of privacy protection. Moreover, the development of Bixby Home Platform further expands the range of supported devices. What used to require multiple voice commands is now possible with only a single command that the device understands and performs accordingly.

Q: What are the areas of possible collaboration with developers around the world for the Bixby Platform?

There are several ways third-party developers can participate in Bixby. They can develop various voice services using Samsung’s AI engine in our smartphones, watches and Family Hub. This service, called a capsule, is provided by the Bixby Developer Center. We have also updated the developer tools to make debugging and natural language learning easier, and to allow convenient use of various UI components, all of which will be presented at SDC21.

The update being announced will make it possible to use for developers to harness multiple contexts when adding devices. Smarter device control has been made possible by Bixby Home Platform, an intelligent layer which sits between Bixby Voice – which provides natural language understanding and issues commands – and SmartThings’ Internet of Things (IoT) layer – which provides connection and operation between devices. Commands that previously had to be made individually for separate devices can now be more efficiently undertaken using the Bixby Home Platform. We are introducing this tool at SDC21 and currently working on providing it to third-party developers in the future.

Enjoy More of the Content You Love: Samsung Smart TV’s Tizen

In the past, TVs were evaluated only on their resolution and design, but given changing lifestyles and user demands, the kind of content a TV is able to provide has become paramount. Thanks to the Tizen platform, Samsung’s Smart TVs are able to provide users with a wide range of content able to suit any taste. Ju-hyun Choi, a Staff Engineer at the Software Development Group, Visual Display Business at Samsung Electronics, describes below how Tizen has evolved to provide partners with the optimal environment in which they can develop with wide compatibility and stability.

Q: What are the new functions of Tizen Web Platform for Samsung Smart TV?

Through a powerful web standard technology called WebAssembly, high-performance web apps can now be developed on Samsung Smart TVs. For SDC21, we have prepared an upgrade plan that allows for the installation of the very latest web features for previously-released Smart TVs.

Q: The competitive edge held by Tizen-based display products has been strengthened thanks to the cooperation of partners from various fields. What are your future collaboration plans?

We are currently working on web-based cloud games, with the goal of allowing users to play the latest games on their Samsung Smart TV equipped with the Tizen platform – all without the latest consoles or expensive graphic cards. In order to achieve this, we are working closely with our current service partners. The Tizen platform, an open source-based operating system (OS), is open to everyone and we are working to provide the best possible development environment to developers that features a wide range of compatibility and development tools.

A Must for Innovative User Experiences: On-Device Personalized Neural Networks

Recently, on-device AI technology has been garnering attention. In the past, a high-performance cloud server capable of performing complex calculations was required in order to run AI-based apps, but when the neural network used in AI apps runs within the device, many advantages for users emerge. Jihoon Lee, an Engineer at the On-Device Lab at Samsung Research, explains below the role of on-device AI and cooperation with developers.

Q: On-device AI is considered a must for powerful and innovative consumer experiences. What kind of benefits will users enjoy from using it?

The biggest advantage offered by on-device AI is that the privacy of the users is maintained since all processing occurs on-device. Developers, too, will be able to provide services that are that much closer to the users, while also free from privacy concerns. For example, a camera app that harnesses facial recognition will not share sensitive data with a server if the AI is run on-device.

Another advantage is that on-device AI models can be used without an Internet connection or any mobile data consumption. For example, if a certain on-device AI model is required to be on constant low-power standby, the necessity of an Internet connection or data consumption could be a big limitation. With on-device AI, user application experiences are improved since there is no need to send data to a server and wait for results – resulting in reduced response times.

Thirdly, one is able to create custom AI directly on their device. Previously, the concept of personalizing the already-deployed AI firsthand was unexplored, as there was no framework to help train a deep-learning model on-device. Moving forward, we expect that NNTrainer, which we are presenting at SDC21, will play a big role in better recognizing a user’s face, their accent and even their pets to automatically create photo albums based on their furry friends – and more.

Q: In the future, what kind of synergies can be expected in this field through cooperation with the developers present at SDC?

Ultimately, we hope to bring users closer to AI through on-device training and personalization. We look forward to developers who attend SDC21’s sessions recognizing and utilizing NNTrainer in order to provide AI that is closer to users. Following such collaboration, NNTrainer, currently in its initial stages will become an even more mature framework. Since it is being developed as an open source, anyone can search for it and contribute directly.

Developing Watch Apps for Wear OS Powered by Samsung

Won-Hee Seo, a Staff Engineer at the Strategic Partner R&D Group, Mobile Communications Business at Samsung Electronics, below introduces the new developer tools and benefits of creating watch apps for the Wear OS Powered by Samsung platform, running on the Galaxy Watch4 series.

Q: It’s now easier to develop a great watch app for the Wear OS ecosystem. What are some new helpful experiences that will be available to users?

With the Galaxy Watch4 series, the most loved and used watch apps and services have been optimized for the new Wear OS Powered by Samsung platform. In addition to Samsung and Google services and apps such as Google Maps and YouTube Music, users will also have access to their favorite watch apps available for download in the Google Play Store. In particular, health-related apps, including Sleep Cycle, are starting to launch and are growing in popularity.

Many developer partners have started to work with the new tools available for the Wear OS platform, which has led to the release of many useful apps.

Moreover, we have launched Watch Face Studio, a new developer tool that makes it easy to design watch faces. Thanks to this tool, designers and developers will be able to create more watch faces, which provides users with a greater variety of watch faces to choose from, helping them to further personalize their watch with their own tastes.

Q: Throughout this session, you discussed the development of new watch apps with other developers. What was at the center of the discussion?

A total of four watch-related sessions were arranged for SDC21: one Highlight Session and three Tech Talk Sessions. They provide all the necessary information for developers, such as the developer guide, in order to help them more easily create diverse watch apps and services. In order to help stimulate the watch face market, a session was also added to SDC21 to provide a detailed introduction to the Watch Face Studio tool that is set to allow designers and developers to easily design and create faces.

Both the Bixby Home screen and Bixby Voice have undergone transformations that have improved usability and helped users get more done with their devices including Samsung smart home appliances, Galaxy smartphones, wearables and tablets. With support for more languages and a suite of new accessibility features, Samsung has enhanced the Bixby experience for millions of consumers across the globe.

Now Samsung is taking one step further with Bixby to improve the user experience and make its features more accessible. Thanks to AI’s continuous evolution and Samsung’s commitment to offering better user experiences for consumers, Bixby has achieved much tighter integration with Samsung Galaxy smartphones, wearables, and tablets as well as Samsung home appliances as a tool to better execute voice commands across all devices. With the latest Bixby update, users can enjoy touch-less control of their Galaxy devices more easily than ever.

Here’s a look at the changes coming to the new Bixby.

A Simplified User Experience

Samsung updated the design language of the new Bixby, bringing it more in line with the user experience found in Samsung One UI. Moving beyond the original blue background, the Bixby Voice app now changes depending on your phone’s display mode. Easy horizontal and vertical scrolling also put a variety of new commands within reach, while performance improvements help to execute users’ commands faster. Improved readability along with the addition of light and dark themes, which bring a more consistent design experience to the Bixby Voice app, are already proving to be crowd-pleasing changes.

Users that participated in the latest Bixby app usage pre-release survey said they found the new version to be brighter, livelier, and more user-friendly than previous versions.

More Content at a Glance

With Bixby’s newest updates, Samsung has unified the app structure to make it easier to find what you are looking for. The latest update combines recommended commands, trending commands, and the Marketplace all in one convenient menu, so you can search for new Bixby capsules and use the voice commands from one place. The simplified structure removes the need to swipe through different menus or cards, allowing you to see the most important information you need with just a glance.

Fewer Interruptions

Whether you are browsing the web or watching a video, you can now use Bixby without interrupting your flow. Rather than taking up the entire screen, Bixby Voice now only takes up the lower third of your screen, so you can issue commands without leaving your current app. That means fewer interruptions on your screen when you’re gaming or using a map to find your destination.

The conversation indicator has also been changed from the Bixby icon to a bar, which grows as you speak to indicate voice recognition for a more dynamic and modern look.

Find the Right Command

Using Bixby feels more personal in the latest update, as the service now offers customized voice command suggestions based on your usage patterns and other devices you have registered with Bixby. With recommendations for a variety of apps and services, the new tailored experience helps you discover more ways to use Bixby and improve your Galaxy experience.

Discovering new ways to use Bixby is also possible by checking the popular voice commands that are trending among other Galaxy users and with hint commands in Bixby Capsules. Tapping Bixby’s main screen will also refresh it, offering a new list of recommended commands to sample from.

Bixby Arrives on Samsung DeX

Productivity has never been easier with Bixby now available on Samsung DeX. Whether you’re working on a presentation or streaming video on a larger screen, Bixby on Samsung DeX makes it easy to open applications or search for content on your computer or a larger monitor.

Make Control and Discovery Effortless

Thanks to a wider range of voice assistant options, Samsung Smart TV users now have faster access to their favorite entertainment, real-time answers on screen, and the ability to seamlessly control their smart home devices with a voice assistant of their choosing. By activating voice commands, users can easily browse channels, adjust the volume, control playback, open apps and much more.

“The use of voice assistants on our Smart TVs has grown exponentially since Bixby’s launch in 2018,” said Seline Han, Vice President of Visual Display Business at Samsung Electronics. “With Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa now supported, we are inviting our consumers to ask even more of their Smart TVs.”

Entertainment lovers can now use their preferred voice assistant to discover new content instantly with an effortless search by genre, director or actor. In addition to finding new TV programs and films to watch, viewers can ask Alexa, Bixby or Google Assistant to provide the weather forecast, find out the latest game scores or play their favorite tunes. With Google Assistant, viewers will also have access to the Google services they know and love to help streamline their days, including Google Search, Photos, Maps, Calendar and more.

“By bringing Google Assistant to Samsung Smart TVs, we want to connect your living room with the rest of the smart home and help you better manage your day, across your favorite Google services,” said Jack Krawczyk Director, Product Management for Google Assistant. “With our collaboration with Samsung, we are able to offer help from Google assistant to more people around the world right from the big screen.”

Users can add another hub to any room in the house with Samsung Smart TVs which can now be used to control the lights, set the thermostat, set an alarm or perform any other tasks under the command of a household’s existing voice assistant.

“Amazon Alexa on Samsung Smart TVs is designed to delight customers with an enhanced entertainment experience. Beyond navigating video and music content with ease, customers can also connect their Alexa built-in TVs with over 100,000 smart home devices, to make everyday tasks more convenient,” said Aaron Rubenson, Vice President of Alexa Voice Service and Alexa Skills. “Our collaboration with Samsung continues to bring customers the convenience of voice control on Smart TVs while giving customers access to their voice service of choice.”

Samsung Smart TVs Speak Your Language

Since the integration of Amazon Alexa across Samsung’s Smart TVs earlier this year, voice assistant support has been made available to Samsung Smart TV users in 14 countries globally.

Google Assistant is now available in the UK, France, Germany, Italy and will be rolling out to 12 countries by the end of this year.¹

For more information, please visit www.samsung.com.

¹ Available in the UK, France, Germany, Italy by late October and in Spain, Brazil, India and South Korea by late November.

As part of its ongoing commitment to ensuring that its technologies are accessible to all users, on October 29 at SDC19, Samsung Electronics unveiled One UI 2. The latest version of Samsung’s signature UI includes an array of advanced audiovisual functions that make it easy for any user to get the most out of their Galaxy device.

Improving Visibility for Everyone

When it comes to core accessibility functions like high-contrast features, user demand is resoundingly clear.

Samsung’s high-contrast theme, which helps people with low vision see their smartphone more clearly, has so far recorded more than 15 million downloads. To make users’ displays more accommodating to their eyes, Samsung has introduced, among other features, options to 1) adjust the screen’s color settings, which enhances visibility for users who have difficulty seeing certain hues, and 2) utilize a high-contrast keyboard featuring colors that make keys really stand out.

Another way that One UI 2 offers users with low vision a helping hand is by visualizing Bixby’s dictation function. This convenient feature allows users to, for instance, easily send messages to friends by simply telling Bixby what they’d like to type. Users can also use their voice to make notes and save ideas in the Samsung Notes app.

Having visual impairment can also make it difficult to sense when lights have been turned on around you. Galaxy devices’ unique Light Sensing feature addresses this difficulty by detecting the status of nearby lights and informing the user through vibration. Users may then decide whether they’d like to turn the lights on or leave them off.

Enhancements to Help All Users Communicate Better

Samsung believes that a smartphone cannot truly be called a smartphone if it doesn’t allow users to make the most of its call function. In One UI 2, users will now be able to enjoy an improved experience when engaging in phone conversations, even in places with lots of background noise.

One UI 2 also comes with the Live Transcribe feature. This feature will automatically put spoken words into a text form on the screen that live updates so users can follow along with a conversation straight from the palm of their hand.

Furthermore, users of Galaxy Note devices can harness the convenience of Screen Off memo and other S Pen features to quickly and easily write down what they wish to communicate in situations where the need arises.

Where Accessibility Meets AI

Since the launch of its artificial intelligence (AI) platform Bixby, Samsung has been working to provide wider accessibility to its products and services for all users. As these AI technologies develop, so too will the range of accessibility capabilities offered across all Samsung devices and services.

When it was first introduced, Bixby was envisaged as an assistant for general smartphone users to enhance their experiences. As the service developed, it became of use particularly to the elderly, and to children who did not have a strong understanding of how Samsung’s products and services operated.

Samsung is committed to bringing more AI features to its technologies and devices in the future. Thanks to users’ continuous usage of these accessibility features, Samsung has developed a better understanding of how they should be enhanced. This means that more advanced customization options will soon become available.

“When developing One UI 2, we considered accessibility to be the most important element in the development process,” noted Eui-Suk Chung, Executive Vice President and Head of Software and Artificial Intelligence at Samsung’s Mobile Communications Business. “This is our philosophy regarding accessibility here at Samsung.”

Chung is determined of the value accessible products and services will have in the future. “If we take care to implement accessibility into our products thoroughly, many more people will be able to use our products and services comfortably,” Chung explained. “Better accessibility will improve the user experience not only for those with impairments, but also for the youngest and eldest members of our society. It can also benefit users in general when they are driving, cooking, or simply want more comfort.”

“I hope that the enhancements we have made to our accessibility features in One UI 2 are valuable to those whom they can help,” Chung continued. “It may not seem like a lot to people would require assistance in this way, but we know these functions can be essential for those who need them. Accessibility should no longer be considered as something extra – it should be at the core of all development, technological and otherwise.”

For more information about the Samsung Mobile Accessibility, please visit here.

Since that announcement, Bixby has expanded to a variety of products, including smartphones, wearables, tablets, smart TVs, Family Hub refrigerators and more, as well as SmartThings-connected devices. Over the last year, Samsung has opened the door for developers to create their own Bixby capsules with the introduction of the Bixby Developer Studio, and made it easy for users to download those services with the launch of the Bixby Marketplace in June.

The tools and enhancements introduced at SDC19 will make developing capsules easier, and offer developers opportunities to reach an expansive user base across Samsung’s device portfolio. For example, with the Bixby Developer Studio’s new Bixby Templates, rather than building a capsule’s code and model manually from scratch, developers can simply choose from a variety of templates designed to handle many situations – including offering a fact of the day or quiz, telling jokes, or playing a podcast.

Not only are capsules easier to create, they’re also quick and easy to find thanks to new Natural Language Categories. This means that now, when developers register their capsules under specific categories, if a user makes a request, Bixby will be able to search and suggest related capsules that fall under that category. It also means that users can call up capsules using natural language, rather than invoking the capsule’s specific name. This not only offers users a more convenient experience, it also makes it easier for developers’ capsules to be discovered and used.

To kickstart the creation of more capsules, the Bixby Developer Studio includes a new Bixby Views function, which enables developers to create capsules that feature consistent user interface designs across Bixby-enabled smartphones, TVs, tablets, smartwatches, refrigerators and more. Samsung has also announced that beginning in 2020, the Bixby Marketplace will expand to devices beyond smartphones. Interested developers can get a head start on developing for upcoming Bixby-enabled devices by using Bixby Views to start building seamless multi-device experiences.

In addition to hosting SDC, throughout the year, Samsung organizes workshops and sessions at locations around the world that offer developers valuable opportunities to hone their skills, gain exposure, and win prizes. Included among these are the Bixby DevJam competition and the Bixby Premier Developer Program. The former offers developers prizes for exceptionally innovative capsule creations, while the latter offers them first-class technical support, devices for testing and iterating capsules, and Bixby Marketplace exposure.

Check out the infographic below to trace Bixby’s incredible journey, and discover how the platform is helping developers add useful and personalized intelligence to more services and devices.

The Bixby Marketplace is a one-stop shop for users to browse and add a wide range of services (known as capsules) to enhance their Bixby experience.

This new platform is now open to users in U.S. and Korea. The Bixby Marketplace’s official launch lays the foundation for an open ecosystem of useful services that developers will continuously enrich, and users will be able to make their mobile experience more personal and intuitive.

The key to Bixby’s convenience is simple: customization. Samsung’s intelligence platform is designed to learn what you like to do, and then work with your favorite apps and services to help you get more done—faster.

The Bixby Marketplace takes these customized experiences to the next level by offering easy access to a wide range of capsules that make Bixby more powerful, making it easier for users to tailor Bixby to suit their needs. The Marketplace includes a variety of convenience-enhancing capsules such as Google Maps, Spotify, iHeartRadio, NPR, Yelp and more.

How It Works

Users access the Bixby Marketplace from the Bixby main page. Once the user launches the Bixby main page by pressing the Bixby key, they swipe left to get to the Bixby Marketplace. Capsules are organized by categories such as Productivity, Business and Finance, Sports, Shopping, etc.

Searching by capsule name, developer or keyword makes it easy to find the capsules you need, while curated staff picks and user reviews highlight capsules that users will find particularly useful. Capsules can be added with a single tap of a button, and users can also rate and review capsules to ensure the highest quality Bixby capsules are the most visible to users in the Bixby Marketplace.

To add even more customization, users can set a capsule as the “preferred capsule” for certain types of requests. For example, if a user says “Get me a ride to San Francisco airport”, Bixby will prompt the user to pick one of the supported Rideshare capsules. Users will have the option to set their favorite provider as their preferred Rideshare capsule. Once that is set, any Rideshare request would automatically go to the user’s preferred provider, even if the user does not mention the capsule name. The ability for users to customize their own personal Bixby experience allows them to easily incorporate a wide range of capsules into their everyday lives.

What’s Next?

Samsung will continue to improve the Bixby platform and evolve the Bixby Marketplace to support developer needs and enhance the experience for all our users. Developers will continue to add more capsules to the Bixby Marketplace over the next few months. Samsung plans to share more exciting updates at Samsung Developer Conference 2019 (SDC19) which will be held on October 29–30 in San Jose, California. Stay tuned!

Bixby’s introduction in 2017 laid the groundwork for the creation of a connected, open ecosystem of devices and services that allows you to get more done, more comfortably. Now, the platform’s latest update has introduced even more ways for users to simplify their day, including the all-new ability to customize your Galaxy device’s Bixby key in a way that works for you.

The Bixby key allows you to access Bixby anytime, anywhere, with a simple press of a button. When the Bixby was first introduced, a single press would pull up Bixby Home, while a press and hold would allow you to speak to Bixby directly. The new Bixby takes the Bixby key’s convenience to the next level by allowing you to use it to instantly activate an app or one of your Quick commands of your choosing.

To facilitate this handy function, Samsung incorporated the ability to launch Bixby main page with either a single or double press, and customize the remaining option to activate a favorite feature. As Samsung’s Executive Vice President and Head of Software and Artificial Intelligence, Eui-Suk Chung, explained, adding this capability allows users to access frequently used Quick commands or apps faster and more flexibly.

“Our top priority is to offer our consumers the best possible experiences,” said Chung. “So we’re constantly listening to and learning from them. Because they’ve expressed that they’d like more tools to get things done quickly and easily, we decided to offer them the freedom to customize the Bixby key.”

Another useful function of the Bixby key lies in Bixby’s enhanced Dictation feature. Sometimes, it can be very inconvenient to have to manually type out a long text, email or memo on a small keyboard. Bixby’s Dictation function simplifies these situations by allowing you to use the Bixby key to quickly and easily dictate your message directly into your phone. With the keyboard open, simply press and hold the Bixby key to begin your message, and release it once you’ve said what you want to say. It’s as simple as that.

Since first introducing it in 2017, Samsung has consistently improved Bixby based on users’ feedback. One of the ways that the company enhanced the Bixby key specifically was by minimizing instances of accidental Bixby activations. When the Bixby key is pressed while your phone is in your pocket, or when your screen is locked, because it’s unlikely that you intended to do so, the Bixby key has been calibrated not to launch Bixby in these situations.

The next part of the Bixby key’s enhancement process involved enabling the key to launch Bixby with a double press. When using your phone to watch a video or take a picture, for instance, accidentally pressing the Bixby key could interrupt your enjoyment. Adding this capability minimizes this inconvenience, as users are not likely to press the Bixby key twice by mistake.

As Chung explained, going forward, Samsung will continue to enrich the Bixby key with new capabilities that add convenience to users’ lives. “Our guiding rule at Samsung is to evolve our products and technologies in ways that are meaningful to consumers,” said Chung. “Just as Bixby’s evolution is ongoing, so too is the Bixby key’s.”

Samsung Electronics’ AI platform, Bixby, is expanding its services to European users by supporting four new languages, including British English, German, Italian and Spanish. In order to celebrate this, Samsung is running a bespoke Bixby Studio in Barcelona’s iconic Plaza Catalunya.

Open from February 23 through to March 3, Bixby Studio offers visitors the chance to experience Bixby’s capabilities across a range of Samsung mobile devices, appliances and smart applications, showcasing how Samsung’s intelligent platform, Bixby, can be utilized for everyday tasks and activities. Each dedicated Zone of the Studio – Welcome, Home, Vision, Kitchen and Gaming – provides a comprehensive look at Bixby’s AI-powered capabilities for each range and also allows visitors the opportunity to trial Bixby for themselves at special Experience Points.

Experience Points in the Welcome zone allow visitors to meet Bixby and learn more about the platform, and in the Home and Kitchen zones, attendees can see how smart home appliances have become even smarter with Bixby’s intelligent voice assistance abilities. Furthermore, in the Vision Zone, visitors can experience Barcelona in a new way through Bixby’s smart location plotting as well as a 360° Look Up platform, and in the Gaming Zone, visitors can take on Bixby in a range of entertaining gaming classics such as Tic-Tac-Toe on dedicated Experience screens.

The Bixby platform features a wide range of Bixby Capsules to help simplify users’ daily lives even further. The Capsules users can add to their Bixby platform cover categories such as travel, weather, music, navigation, and even restaurant recommendations. Visitors to the Plaza Catalunya Bixby Studio are able to trial a localized range of “Spain Exclusive” capsules that provide information on topics like soccer, food and hotels.

These compelling, up-close Bixby experiences are available to visitors of the Bixby Studio Barcelona – and within the first 24 hours of the Studio being open, around 600 people stopped by to learn more. Visitors were impressed with the ‘wow’ effect Bixby’s voice-activated connectivity to smart home applications has, and enjoyed the fun of the Gaming Zone, with many noting its success at entertaining children thanks to the touchscreen interactivity and special child-oriented games. In the Kitchen and Home zones, Bixby’s partnerships with local companies like Idealista and LaLiga to for hands-free property hunting and soccer statistics respectively struck visitors as particularly useful.

Now, with the introduction of the Galaxy S10 line, Samsung has taken Bixby to the next level – introducing new capabilities to Bixby Voice and Bixby Vision, as well as more ways to make users’ lives easier with personalized Bixby Routines.

Let’s take a closer look at how Bixby’s newest tools will help you streamline your day.

Simplify Your Routine

We all have our routines that help us manage our day, and time is, of course, precious. That’s why Samsung developed Bixby Routines – a clever feature that allows Bixby to learn your unique routines and recommend ways to save more time.

Bixby Routines utilizes machine learning to analyze your personal patterns and preferences based on how you use your phone. It uses that insight to suggest easily configurable routines – incorporating specific native apps, settings or features – that can instantly automate multiple tasks to make your life easier.

In addition to offering nine convenient preset options, Bixby Routines presents you with up to six personalized routines – based on how you use your phone at certain times and places – that minimize the steps required to get things done. For example, when you go to bed, your Galaxy S10 may run your personal “Before Bed” routine, which may include automatically turning on Night Mode, lowering the brightness, and muting sound. It’s as simple – and convenient – as that.

Instant Insight with Bixby Vision

Featuring a built-in AI that provides better image recognition and is capable of recognizing a wide range of objects, the camera’s enhanced Bixby Vision function places all-new AR capabilities at users’ fingertips.

Bixby Vision’s expanded Lens Mode features a variety of image-recognition options, including a new Wish List option. When you see a product you’re interested in buying, Wish List makes it easy to save it for later reference.¹

The new Apps Mode offers users more convenient ways to utilize AR in their everyday lives. Use it to, for instance, virtually try on a new pair of sunglasses or some new makeup, or see how your hair would look dyed, or how your living space would look if you added an appliance or piece of furniture that you’re interested in buying.²

Apps Mode also makes it easy to learn more about movies you’re interested in through its new Picture Play³ feature. When you see a poster for an upcoming release, simply show it to Bixby and it’ll instantly play the trailer.

Hands-Free Convenience

Galaxy device users are used to asking Bixby to help them search the web, make a reservation, or launch an app when their hands are full. Now, Bixby’s new Voice Unlock⁴ feature allows you to activate and interact with Bixby when your phone is locked for an even more comfortable user experience.

Bixby Voice Unlock creates a convenient way to utilize Bixby when your phone is out of reach. Say you’re in the middle of making dinner and you need to double check exactly how much of a particular ingredient the recipe calls for. With Bixby Voice Unlock, rather than smudging up your screen with sauce and bits of food, you can simply say “Hi Bixby” to unlock your phone, and then ask Bixby to pull up the recipe for you.

Make Bixby Your Own

To offer users more freedom to utilize Bixby’s handy button, the Galaxy S10 introduces Bixby Key Customization.⁵ Now, you can customize the button to launch Bixby with either a single or double press, and map the other option to launch your favorite app or Quick command. It’s just another convenient way to make Bixby your own.

Speaking of Quick commands, Bixby’s update also makes it easy to share customized Quick commands with your friends.

Quick commands make using Bixby even more convenient by allowing you to replace one or more commands with a simple word or phrase. The opportunities for personalization are endless, and your Quick commands can also be saved as shortcut icons on your phone’s home screen for easy access.⁶ This is especially useful in situations when you’d rather not speak out loud. So for example, when you’re heading into a theater, if you tap the icon for your “Movie Time” Quick command, Bixby will instantly switch your phone to silent mode, turn on “Do not disturb,” reduce brightness completely, and turn off the screen so you can sit back, relax, and enjoy the film without interruptions.

And now, with the Galaxy S10, if you’ve crafted the perfect Quick command and you want to send it to someone else, you can simply tap “share” to instantly send it as a link via text message or messaging app.⁷

1 Availability will vary by country.

2 Availability will vary by country.

3 Availability will vary by country.

4 Bixby Voice Unlock is compatible with the Galaxy S10, and will be available via a software update on previously released Bixby-enabled flagship smartphones running Android Pie OS.

5 Bixby Key Customization is compatible with the Galaxy S10, and will be available via a software update on previously released Bixby-enabled flagship smartphones running Android Pie OS.

6 Quick command’s “Add to Home screen” function is available on the Galaxy S10, and will be available via a software update on previously released Bixby-enabled flagship smartphones running Android Pie OS.

7 Quick command’s “Sharing” function is available on the Galaxy S10, and will be available via a software update on previously released Bixby-enabled flagship smartphones running Android Pie OS.

Bixby is Samsung’s scalable AI platform, built to support multiple devices in your life in a more conversational, more personal, and more useful way. The introduction of these new languages furthers Samsung’s global commitment to artificial intelligence, as it continues to expand its capabilities across more languages, devices and services.

“We are strongly committed to our AI business, and continuously expanding Bixby’s intelligence capabilities to provide more users with the best possible AI experience. Over the years, we have built and developed Bixby to become more scalable and intelligent, enriching experiences across services, devices and languages. With the support of our partners and developers, Bixby will usher in the next generation of AI technology, and infuse more devices and services with intelligence,” said Eui-Suk Chung, Executive Vice President and Head of Software and AI, Mobile Communications Business, Samsung Electronics.

Along with the new language availability, users in select European markets can access select new third-party services to get the best possible Bixby experience in their area. Users in Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK will all have new opportunities to simplify their lives by using Bixby in their native language to search for flights, shop online, check soccer scores, or get TV program information¹.

Full support for Bixby in the four new languages will be available on Samsung flagship devices including Galaxy S10, S10e, S10+ and S10 5G, as well as select previous flagship devices².

¹ Services will vary by market. Flight search provided by Skyscanner (UK). Online fashion retail provided by Yoox (Italy).Soccer scores and scheduling information provided by LaLiga (Spain). TV program information and guide provided by TV Digital (Germany).

² Availability will vary by market. Supported devices include all Galaxy Note9 devices, as well as Galaxy S9, S9+, Note8, S8 and S8+ devices running Android Pie OS.

Pavel Ostyakov, one of the researchers from SAIC-Moscow, won first place among 110 teams in the “Inclusive Images Challenge,” a Kaggle¹ competition hosted by Neural Information Processing Systems (NeurIPS) 2018, which took place in Montreal, Canada from December 3^rd to the 8^th. NeurIPS, formerly known as NIPS, is the world’s largest conference in the field of AI and machine learning. In 2017, over 8,000 researchers and scientists attended the event. In addition to those in machine learning and neuroscience research, experts from many related fields such as cognitive science, computer vision, statistical linguistics, and information theory actively participate in the conference. Winning the challenge at this prestigious event was a significant achievement for both Pavel and Samsung. Pavel was also named a Kaggle Grandmaster, which is the highest tier possible for contributors, and is currently ranked as one of the world’s top five scientists on Kaggle.

In the “Inclusive Images Challenge,” participants developed image recognition and classifier models that can successfully perform image classification tasks even when the test images are geographically and culturally different from the previously shown images in the provided dataset.

(Left image, from left) Pavel Ostyakov, a Researcher at Samsung AI Center-Moscow (SAIC-Moscow), and Jin Wook Lee, the Head of Samsung R&D Institute Russia. (Right image) A snapshot of SAIC-Moscow’s opening ceremony, which took place in May of this year

For example, an image classifier may fail to properly apply “wedding” related labels, such as “bride,” “groom,” and “celebration,” to an image, if a couple is not wearing traditional western European wedding attires or colors. This challenge attempts to address the biases in previously existing algorithms and classifier models. Through the challenge, researchers can identify ways to teach image classifiers to generalize the accumulated data and apply them in new geographic and cultural contexts. The expectation is that the scientific community will make even more progress in inclusive machine learning that benefits everyone, everywhere.

Such competitions reflect the movement towards realization of ethical and non-discriminatory AI, which also aligns with Samsung’s goal and vision. To this end, Samsung has recently joined the Partnership on AI (PAI) to take part in the development of inclusive, fair, and responsible AI technology.

Last September, the SAIC-Moscow team also participated in “The 2nd YouTube-8M Video Understanding Challenge,” hosted by the European Conference on Computer Vision (ECCV) 2018. ECCV is one of the world’s top research conferences in the area of computer vision, held biennially. In this Kaggle competition, researchers were provided with public YouTube-8M training and validation datasets that consist of millions of videos with labels, and then asked to develop classification algorithms to accurately predict the labels for 700,000 previously unseen YouTube videos. The SAIC-Moscow team utilized a unique approach in its complex model and data analysis, taking second place by a very narrow margin.

An exterior view of the White Square Business Center, where SAIC-Moscow is located

“We love these competitions because they provide us with opportunities to measure ourselves against the best in the AI industry,” said Pavel Ostyakov at SAIC-Moscow. “Researchers at Samsung are obsessed with making AI a part of everyday lives. So, it is exciting to take part in the challenges where we can contribute our skills to develop the technology.”

The global AI centers reflect Samsung’s commitment to next-generation AI development. Besides Russia, there are six others located across the globe – Korea, Silicon Valley and New York in the U.S., Toronto and Montreal in Canada, and Cambridge, the U.K. Each location is conducting research, focused on a different area of unique strengths. These AI centers are playing a pivotal role in realizing Samsung’s vision for human-centric AI technologies and products.

¹An online community allowing users to find and publish datasets, explore and build models in a web-based data-science environment, work with others, and enter competitions to solve data science challenges.

During the sessions, Samsung signified the democratization of Bixby, introducing the Bixby Developer Studio: a collection of intuitive tools that allow partners and developers to infuse intelligence into more products and services. To scale services powered by Bixby, developers can now build Bixby Capsules (features or services created for Bixby) and connect them to their existing APIs. The Bixby experience will be further enriched once the Bixby Marketplace officially opens, allowing users to browse through a variety of capsules that developers create and activate them on their devices as they wish.

To learn more about how the company is enriching Bixby by empowering developers to build their own Bixby experiences, Samsung Newsroom spoke to Danny Whang, a Principal Engineer in Samsung Electronics’ AI Strategy Group.

Q. Samsung revealed the “Bixby Developer Studio” at SDC18. How did developers react? What actions is Samsung taking, going forward?

We garnered a lot of attention on the Bixby Developer Studio, as seen by the 4,000+ developers who attended SDC18. Ever since, we’ve established a number of ‘Developer Relations’ departments that serve as touchpoints for developers to connect with our specialized Bixby experts and get answers to any questions that they may have. They’re currently up and running in the U.S., China and Korea, and we’re working on expanding to locations around the world. We’re also organizing more events that will allow us to meet and collaborate with talented developers.

Q. What were some of the steps that Samsung took to transform Bixby into a full-fledged AI platform?

We’ve always thought of Bixby as a platform through which people can use various Bixby services across multiple compatible devices. The first iteration of Bixby was revealed as an intelligent interface that interacts with our mobile devices because we wanted to unveil each function at the appropriate moment.

We also thought long and hard about ways to improve the consumer experience, and make it easier for developers to create dynamic Bixby services. Our goals in releasing these new tools are to help third-party developers build services more comfortably and efficiently, and eventually get more developers to participate in the Bixby ecosystem. This will help develop the Bixby Marketplace, to offer consumers a place where they can easily pick and choose the services they want.

Q. What is Samsung doing to encourage more developers to participate?

We are offering developers access to the same tools that we use to build those services, and this comes in the form of the Bixby Developer Studio. We’ve created this so that developers can create Bixby Capsules more efficiently. With it, developers and AI can work together to make programs – when the developer gives Bixby the building blocks, Bixby uses the developers’ models to learn about users, making it a collaborative process with the AI.

In addition to providing developers with the tools they need to take Bixby’s convenience to the next level, we’re continuously enhancing the platform with more devices, more services, and support for more languages.

Other than that, we are investing more in technologies such as Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR), Natural Language Understanding (NLU) and other technologies in the Audio Intelligence category so that Bixby can understand the natural language better.

Q. You mentioned the Bixby Marketplace. How many Bixby Capsules will need to be ready before the Marketplace opens, and what types of capsules can users expect to find there?

When it comes to the Bixby Marketplace, what really matters isn’t the sheer number of capsules, but the actual quality of the Bixby Capsule selection. The Marketplace will feature a wide range of capsules spanning categories like transportation, music, lifestyle and more, and we’ll need to have enough high-quality capsules ready to fill out those categories.

The more third-party developers jump on board and contribute innovative capsules, the faster the Marketplace will be up and running. When it officially opens, developers will also be able to upload more capsules to the Marketplace. These capsules will utilize Bixby’s natural language understanding to simplify users’ daily lives. Users will be able to easily access every single one of them through the Marketplace.

Q. Is the new Bixby compatible with Samsung’s TVs and appliances as well? Will developers’ Bixby Capsules need to be customized to work on these devices?

Devices that already support Bixby, including our Family Hub and Smart TVs, will also be made compatible with the New Bixby in the near future.

As far as Bixby Capsules are concerned, just because Bixby functions across a variety of devices doesn’t necessarily mean that developers will have to rebuild their capsules to make them compatible with each. Various departments in Samsung are working closely together to make this aspect of the development process as simple as possible.

Each device’s features might be different – the device may or may not have screens or speakers, for example. But for each device, all the developer will have to do is reorganize the layout of the data. These capsules for various devices will be easy to develop, as the tools Samsung provides will include various UI components and simulators that help developers in their processes.

Q. Compared to other intelligent assistants, what are some key benefits that Bixby offers developers and consumers?

Seamlessness, for one. With Bixby, you’re dealing with a single assistant across all kinds of devices—one that’s constantly being optimized to enhance its convenience.

Samsung sells more than 500 million devices a year, creating millions of opportunities for consumers to engage with dynamic Bixby services. We’re committed to expanding the platform to encompass all Samsung devices in the near future, starting with five more languages in the coming months. And with our industry-leading expertise in mobile, display and home innovations, we understand exactly how to create simple and unified multi-device experiences.

Because the platform invites third-party developers to contribute their own services, and encourages users to utilize the services that work for them, each person’s experience is ultimately unique. That inherent aspect of personalization is part of Bixby’s beauty.

Q. Do you have any final words for developers out there who are interested in growing their services with Bixby? What do you see as the future for Bixby?

Because Bixby is an open platform—a platform that will constantly evolve as more and more developers create and contribute innovative capsules—we can’t even imagine what the future will hold. But we’re excited to find out.

With Bixby, you’re looking at a platform that allows your services to truly shine, and offers a means to deliver them to millions of users around the world. We still have areas where we need to improve, and I encourage interested developers to join us on this journey, provide us with constructive feedback, and help us build a more seamless and connected future.

Earlier this year, Samsung introduced the new Bixby – a more conversational, more personal and more useful intelligent assistant. Bixby keeps the dialogue moving forward to get things done. It gets to know you and learns from you, to personalize how it helps you. Bixby serves as your personal assistant, making it quick and easy to complete a variety of tasks from start to finish through a growing number of third-party partners. If you say, “Hi, Bixby, give me a restaurant recommendation,” Bixby remembers that you like a certain cuisine, like Italian, and brings those recommendations to the top of the list. Ask Bixby to buy tickets to a concert, and it will ask you follow up questions to find the best seats for you, making the process quicker and easier.*

Now Samsung is bringing that experience to even more devices and services. To evolve Bixby into Samsung’s intelligence platform, we are laying the groundwork to build a scalable AI platform, making it simpler and easier for developers to create user experiences powered by Bixby.

At Samsung Developer Conference 2018, we’re announcing that we’re opening Bixby Developer Studio, an Integrated Development Environment (IDE), to developers. It offers access to the same development tools Samsung’s internal developers use to create Bixby Capsules, which is what developers build to add features to Bixby. It’s all part of Samsung’s unique approach to AI, with the goal of building a scalable, open AI platform where developers and service providers can access tools to bring Bixby to more people and devices around the world.

“Our goal is to offer developers a robust, scalable and open AI platform that makes it easy for them to launch and evolve the amazing experiences they create for our users,” said Kyunghak Hyun, Product Manager of the AI Product Management Group at Samsung. “As Samsung’s ecosystem of devices continues to grow, it creates more points of contact not just for Bixby, but for a growing number of third-party services as well. Developers have more ways to reach users, and users get more opportunities to make the most of them.”

Check out the infographic below for all the latest updates to Bixby from Samsung Developer Conference 2018.

*Bixby service availability varies by region.

Have you ever wondered what all these icons mean?

Built to learn all about you, Bixby is designed to make your smart devices even smarter. Bixby Vision* utilizes the camera of your Galaxy S9 and S9+ and AR technology to provide you detailed information about the world around you. The intelligent assistant is also harnessed with deep learning technology to understand your surroundings and execute your commands quickly.

Find out how you can enrich your experiences and add greater convenience to your life with our easy guide below.

When travelling abroad, language can be the greatest barrier to discovery as you try to find your way around. With the Live Translation function, Bixby Vision can capture the text it finds in an image and then provide an accurate translation of that text, deciphering words so you can be confident that you know where you are going. You don’t even have to take a photo. Select from 54 input languages and 104 output languages**, and the intelligent assistant will translate the text in real time on the screen.

Have you ever walked through a public space and seen a monument or landmark that you wanted to know more about? Bixby Vision’s Place Mode gives you more information about the places and spaces around you, from local attractions and landmarks to restaurants and facilities. Details about your surrounding area shift as you point the camera in different directions, syncing with your map app so that you can navigate easily to your chosen destination.

If you point the camera at the sky, Place Mode will generate weather information and a forecast tailored to your location.

Watching your weight, or just want to keep an eye on what you’re eating? Use Bixby Vision’s Food Mode to receive detailed information about calories and nutrition. You can log these details directly to your Food Tracker in Samsung Health, helping you to maintain a balanced diet. You can also check out recipes and videos of the dish, so that you can recreate a version of it at home.

A lot of time and effort is devoted to becoming a wine connoisseur but, if you’re looking for a shortcut, Wine Mode in Bixby Vision will furnish you with details about the bottle’s rating, as well as the vineyard it came from and suggested food pairings.

When it comes to makeup, nothing could be more fun than experimenting to find something that matches your personality and your complexion. Bixby’s Makeup Mode adds to the enjoyment by allowing you to try on makeup virtually. The mode intuitively understands the shape of your features and applies the makeup to the appropriate places. You can choose to see whole makeup “looks”, or mix and match individual lipsticks, eyeshadows, eyeliner and more to find a combination that’s right for you. Bixby Makeup Mode has also partnered with regional retailers to provide you with the latest colors and products, so when you find something you like, you can select the product and make a purchase in moments in their online store.

You’re out and about, when suddenly you see someone wearing the exact style of shoes you’ve been looking for. Bixby Vision’s Shopping Mode will search for the same or similar items for sale online, and direct you to the retailer’s website. You can also access the function through your Gallery app, so you can save an image and shop for it later.

With further functions such as QR code, Image Mode and Book Mode, Bixby Vision shows that there’s more around you than more than meets the eye. As you go about your daily life, the intelligent assistant expands the scope of your smartphone’s camera, allowing you to see to the wider world.

*Availability of each function or mode may differ by device and region. Samsung Account login and data network (Wi-Fi or internet connection) required.

**For the full list of languages please visit http://www.samsung.com/global/galaxy/apps/bixby/vision/. Devices released in China provide 10 input languages and 27 output languages.

Yes, uniting Samsung’s industry-leading ecosystem of Internet of Things (IoT) offerings – which spans the company’s latest Family Hub refrigerators, TVs, and even its new Digital Cockpit vehicle-display interface – is SmartThings, Samsung’s open and powerful IoT platform designed to connect smart devices and simplify daily life.

And offering users a simple, personalized platform to help them fully utilize this expansive IoT device network is Bixby, making it easy to manage these devices in ways that work for you.

Bixby: A Key Piece of Intelligent IoT

Bixby was introduced, in part, to address an issue that has limited IoT technologies’ widespread adoption: the perception that their interfaces are too complicated for users to comfortably take advantage of them.

Bixby adds intelligence to Samsung devices connected to the SmartThings platform. Adding Bixby’s voice support to a wide range of household products will not only make them easier to use, but will also allow users to speak to Bixby on one device and command it to access and control multiple others.

At this year’s CES, Samsung has pledged to integrate Bixby into all of its connected devices by 2020, with select 2018 Samsung Smart TVs and Family Hub refrigerators in 2018. This will ultimately allow more consumers to enjoy harmonized IoT experiences at home.

Bixby Makes Smart TVs Smarter

Samsung has announced that beginning this year, select Samsung Smart TVs will be Bixby-enabled. Bixby’s command-driven interface creates a smarter and simpler approach to controlling your TV and other connected devices, and allows you to streamline how you access the information you need and enjoy your favorite content.

For example, the interface lets you seamlessly transition viewing sessions between your Bixby-enabled smartphone and displays, so you can pick up right where you left off when you finish your commute or move to another room.

And when a new episode of your favorite TV show is about to start, Bixby’s intelligence will allow it to automatically send a notification to your phone that, if tapped, will instantly command your Samsung Smart TV to tune in to the right channel. You can even ask Bixby to dim the lights and pull up one of your favorite films for movie night.

In addition to streamlining entertainment, the TVs’ Bixby support allows users to reduce the number of steps required to carry out everyday tasks like preparing dinner – by commanding their TV to peek inside their Family Hub, for instance.

It’s Making Seamless Connection Routine

Bixby integration has made Samsung’s powerful Family Hub refrigerators even more so.

Unveiled at CES 2018, Samsung’s latest Family Hub refrigerators feature a variety of intelligent ways for users to manage their food, entertainment and IoT devices. Having Bixby in the mix allows for even more ways for families to keep their household connected and organized.

For a start, the new Family Hub’s Bixby support and multiple voice recognition technology allow the refrigerators to provide individual family members with customized information based on their preferences. So, for instance, if a user asked Bixby “What’s new today?”, it would pull up a personalized morning brief that included their schedule for the day as well as news and weather from their preferred sources, and tell them how long it will take to get to the office.

For those times when you can’t quite decide what to cook, Bixby will allow Family Hub to recommend a recipe for a delectable dish based on what you have in your fridge and in accordance with your dietary needs. You’ll also be able to command Family Hub to check on the status of compatible connected devices like your Samsung QuickDrive washing machine, and Bixby will let you know exactly how much time is left in your wash cycle.

Looking Forward

Samsung’s advancements in artificial intelligence and smart technologies are helping the company usher in an era of more open and connected IoT experiences.

Integrating Bixby into more devices, and exploring ways to make more objects intelligent, will eventually allow more households to experience the benefits of a seamlessly connected IoT ecosystem.

IoT interactions will be natural, and our smart devices will be so seamlessly woven into the fabric of our lives that we’ll spend less time managing them and more time enjoying our day.