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The Digital Cockpit has become available through the fusion of cutting-edge technologies. A technological breakthrough is certainly the key to this achievement, but more importantly, a collaboration among team members still remains to be one of the significant factors. The Digital Cockpit lab consists of knowledgeable experts from various fields within Samsung Electronics – all of whom are fascinated by the unexplored field of connected vehicles. Let’s find out more about the team and how they work together in the front line of technology.

No Boundaries At Work: Cutting-Edge Technologies Enhance Productivity

The team’s keen interest and excitement in the unchartered realm of connected vehicles led them to gather and eventually build the Digital Cockpit. Not only that, the team streamlined the work process by sharing brilliant ideas flexibly and testing them immediately.

“In many cases, we promptly carried out ideas that came up during meetings. It is possible to make swift decisions since the members are committed to this new field of business,” said Wooseok Hwang, user experience designer. “With engineers not restricting themselves from sharing opinions vis a vis design, there are no boundaries in our project.”

A full spectrum of core Samsung Electronics technologies ranging from components to end-products and HARMAN’s know-how on automotive electronics, were fully mobilized in the Digital Cockpit 2019.

“Samsung Electronics and HARMAN have accumulated cross-field technologies and experiences that led to a variety of connected services,” said Wonhee Jo, hardware circuit designer.

For a car audio system, built in the Digital Cockpit 2019, Samsung and HARMAN worked closely together throughout the process from initial design to tuning. “Entertainment experiences can vary by the location of speakers. So, adding woofers under each seat and surround sound speakers in the back seat produces an immersive effect,” said JH Youn, digital circuit designer. “Engineers at HARMAN traveled back and forth between Korea and the United states and carefully conducted the tuning until the last moment to build the best sound quality.”

Optimization of a Car Platform: Enabling All Necessary Technologies to Drive on the Road

A driving experience involves a series of activities from starting the car and arriving to your destination. All of these procedures are operated under one platform: the car itself. The Digital Cockpit 2019 is carefully designed to enable a convenient in-vehicle experience with forefront technologies from various fields that have been optimized to match with a driving experience.

Observing passengers’ behavior is another key task of the Digital Cockpit Lab. People have different patterns on using their cars based on their lifestyles. Some people drive alone, or they drive with their family and children. Or some might need to read documents while they are on the road, to keep up with their work.

For example, the feature that allows drivers to adjust the temperature from the back seats was inspired by parents that look over to see their sleeping child from the driver’s seat. The feature that seamlessly presents documents from your smartphone on larger screens in the car via ‘Samsung DeX’ was an idea that came from another observation.

“My ideas came from paying close attention to other people when I was traveling with a friend or driving with other people,” said Wooseok Hwang, user experience designer.

“We Put People First for Enjoyable In-Vehicle Experience.”

“Awesome!”

Many visitors at CES 2019 that was held last January were captivated by the new automotive experience of the Digital Cockpit 2019. Several visitors approached the team who were at the site asking, “Where can I get this car?”

“The Digital Cockpit is not the concept of a finished car. It is more about technologies that enables the car,” said Wonhee Jo, hardware circuit designer. “The purpose of the Digital Cockpit is to unleash the potential to the world that Samsung has in the automotive electronics industry”.

The ultimate goal of the Digital Cockpit Lab is to reach out to people with future technologies. During the development process, the team took into consideration what drivers and passengers can experience when they are inside the car. “Our job is done when people have an enjoyable and pleasant automotive experience through the Digital Cockpit,” said the team.

“There is no set direction. As industries evolve, perspectives on cars tend to change as well. Our work is to take one step ahead of such trends and stay committed to integrate both Samsung and HARMAN’s infrastructure and technologies to keep the engine running to lead the ever-changing industry.”

Samsung Newsroom sat down with the Digital Cockpit Lab from Samsung’s Automotive Electronics Business Team to learn how they brought the car of the future into a reality.

The dynamic team behind Samsung’s Digital Cockpit 2019, from the left: Junhong Kim, Sang-geon Lee, Daesoo Choi, JH Youn, Jonghee Choi, Seungwon Oh, Wooseok Hwang, Wonhee Jo, Wonseok Kwon, and Seungwoo Shin of Samsung Electronics’ Automotive Electronics Business Team

The Digital Cockpit Connects Our Lives

The cockpit is the dashboard of the car in front of the driver and the passenger seat. A ‘Digital Cockpit’ is a platform that comes with the latest digital technology which takes the overall in-vehicle system to the next level. With Samsung’s latest Digital Cockpit 2019, the new platform provides full vehicle control for drivers and a variety of tailored content to the passengers as well.

In today’s world, the car is more than just a mode of transportation — it is a space that connects different parts of our lives together. Surprisingly, you will be able to use all of these features in the near future.

At home, you start the car and adjust the temperature in your car from your living room via Galaxy Home.

Once everyone gets in, your car starts to play tailored content for each passenger with face recognition technology.

The car also informs you of possible danger by scanning moving objects and tries to prevent dangerous situations from happening like when the driver dozes off while driving.

On the move, you can even check what’s inside your home refrigerator via the car system, in order to prepare for the evening’s dinner.

“If your destination is a soccer field, the car transforms itself into the soccer field by playing soccer game content while you are on the go,” said JH Yun, digital circuit designer from the Samsung Digital Cockpit Lab. “The volume of content that you can enjoy in your car will expand naturally. What we need to do is to create an optimal environment for you to enjoy that content in your car.”

Customers can start or turn the engine off simply on SmartThings app.

A feature called ‘Home to Car’ is an example of the leading-edge innovation featured in the Digital Cockpit. The function allows customers to control their cars at home through the SmartThings app. “One of the biggest advantages the connected vehicle offers is that there are no spatial constraints,” said Junhong Kim, software developer. “You can start the car, check the gas level and more, regardless of your distance from the vehicle. We are ready for the next generation of mobility.”

When your hands are on the wheel to control your driving safely, a voice command can be the best alternative when you are interacting with your car. Bixby, Samsung’s AI platform, has been integrated into the Digital Cockpit undergoing a transformation in order to fit into the vehicle environment.

“We conducted voice command tuning and adjusted it to the vehicle environment by enhancing the icon and font size so that a driver can see them well while they are driving,” said Jonghee Choi, user interface developer. “And an increased interoperability with third-party services offers a wide range of information like weather forecast and flight schedule from your seat.”

No Matter Where You Sit, the Car Provides You with the Best Experience

While the previous Digital Cockpit had three displays, the 2019 version has a total of six displays delivering tailored infotainment to all passengers. For instance, passengers in the back seat will also be able to enjoy tailored content from their own screens.

“All of the displays will enable you to enjoy high resolution videos in your car without hassle,” said Wonhee Jo, hardware circuit designer. “Not only that, the back-seat screens can be folded conveniently into the seats when they are not in use.”

The back seat screens can sync together to do various things such as painting pictures.

The screens can also recognize your face wherever you sit and suggest content based on the preferences of pre-registered passengers in which they can activate or deactivate the feature.

“It’s amazing because you can enjoy your in-vehicle experience seamlessly even if you sit in a different seat,” said Seungwoo Shin, user experience designer. “Each passenger can enjoy different content, or they can just sync all of the screens to enjoy the same content, as if they were watching it from the living room of their homes.”

“The experience of each passenger can be managed for each seat,” said Daesoo Choi, human interface developer. “The passengers can make detailed adjustments such as the height, angle and temperature of each seat or the screen’s brightness.”

When a vehicle is equipped with various sophisticated technologies, the challenges increase. One of the challenges had to do with the number of buttons. Not only were the least used buttons taking up space, they were also ineffective. So, the team solved the problem with a knob. “We got a hint from a knob on the Samsung Galaxy Watch when we were thinking about ways to fuse analog nostalgia with the digital world. And we solved the problem with a single knob that can serve as the functions of various buttons,” said JH Yun, digital circuit designer. “This year’s Digital Cockpit will also have knobs in the back seat that can be activated according to the user’s preference.”

Nine Cameras Cover Every Direction, Ensuring Safety on the Road

A car must assure the safety of its driver and passengers. In order to support safe driving, the Digital Cockpit 2019 is equipped with a total of nine cameras.

The Digital Cockpit features a ‘Mirror Replacement Vision System (MRVS)’ that replaces side-view mirrors in conventional cars. The system consists of two displays on both sides and it helps safer driving by detecting moving objects in the rear when the driver checks behind them. By utilizing the camera technology, Digital Cockpit 2019 ensures safer driving with a wider viewing angle.

The Digital Cockpit also monitors the driver’s condition through a system that tracks the driver’s pupils to detect drowsy eyes or careless driving. “The Driver Monitoring System is an essential technology for autonomous driving in the near future,” said Seungwon Oh, camera system developer.

Drivers can sometimes miss the system alert while they are looking ahead when they are on the road. To prevent this from happening, the Digital Cockpit 2019 provides additional alerts. “We’ve added a vibration alert by using the Samsung Galaxy Watch on your wrist,” said Oh.

In the next installment in this series, we will go behind-the-scene stories on the team’s close collaboration and its continuous efforts to connect our lives will be disclosed. Stay tuned.

Pioneering Automotive Solutions

Samsung’s automotive solution offering has been one of the highlights of this year’s CES, and at the Encore Hotel showcase, key components and technologies for in-vehicle infotainment, telematics and the advanced driving assistance system (ADAS) were on display to invited customers and partners.

Exynos Auto V9 is Samsung’s first dedicated automotive system-on chip for next-generation IVI (In-Vehicle Infotainment) systems. The Exynos Auto V9 can support up to six high resolution displays through powerful processing from eight core CPUs and a tri-cluster GPU, an advanced GPU arranged in three separated sets of GPU cores able to seamlessly support multiple systems simultaneously. The Exynos Auto V9 is also equipped with a neural processing unit (NPU) that processes visual and audio data to accurately recognize face, speech and gesture patterns for intelligent driving experiences. The showcase demo presented diverse concurrent driving assistant and entertainment experiences – for example, the running of navigation in the central information display (CID) at the same time as a movie plays in rear-seat displays.

Exynos Auto T is a telematics solution that empowers safe driving experiences through the integrated use of telecommunications and informatics technologies. The industry’s first cellular modem to support multi-mode from 2G to 5G NR, the Exynos Modem 5100, was also showcased.

ADAS is leading the way in in-drive visual perception capabilities. The demonstration showcased how the ADAS system can recognize and detecting all manner of objects such as cars, pedestrians and traffic signs. Furthermore, the DRVLINE, an open, modular and scalable platform for building ADAS with a faster time to market, was introduced at the showcase.

ISOCELL Auto image sensor is an advanced new solution capable of bringing about a wholly new driving experience thanks to its high performance in detecting objects in a variety of lighting conditions. The ISOCELL Auto image sensor technology provides unrivalled object recognition in a diverse range of driving environments, as the sensor’s high resolution and fast frame rate enables the accurate detection of any moving objects, while its high light sensitivity assists in object recognition even in dark lighting conditions. Furthermore, a wide dynamic range permits the sensor to respond quickly and effectively to sudden changes in brightness, as one might experience when driving in or out of dimly-lit tunnels.

Innovative Pixel Solution for Smart ADB(Adaptive Driving Beam) is the next-generation one-chip LED solution for headlamps that helps prevent glare affecting preceding and oncoming vehicles or pedestrians by automatically controlling the light distribution of a headlamp. Samsung presented this highly-specialized LED solution by demonstrating different driving situations including when a driver starts the engine, needs high or low beam, and faces preceding or oncoming vehicle.

Next-Generation Semiconductor Technologies

This year, five of Samsung’s latest semiconductor products have received recognition from the coveted CES 2019 Best of Innovation Awards – the Samsung 256GB 3DS DDR4 RDIMM, 512GB Universal Flash Storage, 3.84TB NVMe Z-SSD SZ1733, LM302S and the SSM-U Series.

Samsung 256GB 3DS DDR4 RDIMM is the industry’s fastest DDR4 and highest density memory module for next-generation enterprise server platforms, providing the finest high-density, high-performance consumer infrastructure solutions with extremely low-power consumption (15 watts at 1.2V).

Samsung 512GB Universal Flash Storage is the industry’s first 512-gigabyte embedded Universal Flash Storage (eUFS) for automotive A/V systems and next-gen flagship mobile devices, using Samsung’s new 64-layer 512-gigabit V-NAND chips. The 512GB eUFS package transfers a 5GB-equivalent full HD video clip to an SSD in about six seconds, over 8 times faster than a typical microSD card.

Samsung 3.84TB NVMe Z-SSD SZ1733 offers a new level of storage for supercomputing targeted for AI analysis, big data and IoT applications, using Samsung’s new Z-NAND chips which provide 10 times higher cell read performance than 3-bit V-NAND chips.

Samsung LM302S is the most user-oriented next-generation lighting platform to date, designed to improve work efficiency by helping users achieve a better circadian rhythm and healthier sleep. Its human-centric LED solution can improve a person’s concentration level for greater work efficiency by as much as 10% and improve sleep quality by repressing melatonin during the day.

Samsung SSM-U Series is a new type of smart module made up of tiny radar-based sensors with higher detecting sensitivity than conventional sensors. The SSM-U series features invisible and intelligent motion detection-based transmission for greater flexibility and reactivity in smart residential lighting.

Last year at CES, Samsung Electronics unveiled breakthrough technologies designed to make consumers’ IoT experiences more seamless and intuitive. This year, the company is showcasing how its latest innovations take connected living to the next level, simplifying users’ lives both inside and outside the home.

Samsung’s CES 2019 booth is chock full of interactive exhibits that offer attendees a chance to get hands-on with the company’s latest TVs, home appliances, mobile devices and more. The illuminating exhibits also offer up-close looks at Samsung innovations that are paving new ground in the fields of 5G, AI, IoT, automotive electronics and robotics, and transforming the way consumers live, work and connect.

Check out the video above to take a virtual tour of the booth and experience the excitement for yourself!

In 2016, Samsung announced its aim to launch a “revolutionary advancement that changes the refrigerator category in meaningful ways.” Since then, the subsequent versions of the Family Hub have continued to get better and better. At CES 2019, Samsung unveiled the new Family Hub, one of the company’s most anticipated products that has been packed with upgraded features.

The new Family Hub is all about giving over more time to the family, offering them a communal, emotional and cultural experience in the kitchen. Popular smart features – including built-in view cameras, voice recognition technology and music and radio streaming – are all there. But Samsung has taken it to the next level by enriching the core values of the Family Hub with enhanced AI and IoT capabilities. Let’s take a look at what the company has put in the new smart kitchen assistant.

Share Memories and Memos on the Family Board

One of the most exciting new features is the Family Board. Families around the world use their refrigerator doors as bulletin-boards to share various things with each other – whether it’s by posting each family member’s schedule and the weekly menu, attaching travel magnets of the countries that they have visited, or proudly displaying the kids’ artworks for everyone to see.

According to a survey conducted by Samsung, over 60% of Family Hub users in the US are families with children. That’s why Samsung paid close attention to updating this distinct feature. The Family Board allows family members to interact with one another and share countless memories, giving the refrigerator’s screen a familiar, analogue feel. Meanwhile the Home Screen offers a digital service experience with an overview of important information and apps. The new Whiteboard has been updated with smart calligraphy that can recognize handwriting and a drawing function that can identify the objects depicted.

There is also a dynamic screen saver feature that can be used to display precious family moments or blend into your home with ambient mode when Family Hub’s touch screen is not in use.

Experience Seamless Home AI with the New Bixby

Another feature that sets the 2019 Family Hub apart from previous iterations is support for the new Bixby.

The new Bixby offers more services, allowing users to seamlessly control and monitor home IoT devices and services from the kitchen with your voice alone. For example, when you run out of ideas on what to cook for dinner, you can ask the new Bixby to search for recipes that cater to your taste and new Bixby will respond with suggestions. You can also check the weather forecast ahead of time, so if new Bixby tells you that rain is on the forecast, you can set a reminder to tell the family to take an umbrella. With a 21.5-inch touchscreen, users can also check at a glance whatever weather charts or recommended restaurant lists and ratings that the new Bixby finds.

Enjoy More Home Entertainment Features

A lot of multitasking is required in the kitchen, so it can get quite hectic when you have to chop, prepare, and cook dishes at the same time. It gets even more tricky when your phone starts to ring. With an enhanced Smart View, multitasking is made easy, as you can mirror third-party apps on Family Hub’s screen seamlessly from your Galaxy phone, without the need to run the Smart View app on the fridge. Not only does the new Bixby allow you to answer a call hands-free, you can also browse through the millions of third-party apps available for the kitchen.

It’s now even easier for users to manage their apps on Family Hub, with efficient installation, updates and deletion from the Apps menu. On top of that, the Home Service can set the mood with music when you are preparing a small gathering or turn on your favorite playlist while you are cooking.

Get Smart about Food Management

Last but not least, the kitchen experience has become more intelligent and efficient with updated features for Food Management. With the new Family Hub 2019, you can search for healthy recipes or preset the oven directly from the Recipes app with easy-to-use voice features. You can also add items to your Shopping List or tag items for reminders and expiration dates.

The present and future collide at Samsung Electronics’ CES 2019 booth, where visitors are invited to test out the company’s newest innovations, and experience its cutting-edge technologies of tomorrow.

Combining Samsung’s AI platform, Bixby, with its latest advancements in hardware, software and user experience (UX) design, the company’s newly announced lineup of robots presents an exciting vision for the future of AI technology, and offers innovative solutions for issues related to health care and the environment.

From A to Z, Samsung Bot Care Looks After User’s Daily Lives

Samsung Bot Care specializes in helping user manage their daily health routine. It’s capable of measuring user’s blood pressure, heart rate, breathing and more, and can alert user’s when they need to take their medicine. It also notifies accredited family members when elderly user is experiencing an emergency, and support video calls for real-time communication.

Samsung Bot Care is additionally capable of tracking user’s sleep, and greet in the morning with an analysis of sleep patterns. It also informs the weather forecast and schedule for the day, and plays music that fits user’s mood.

Samsung Bot Air: a Self-Operating, Air-Purifying Robot

While demand for clean air is high, moving an air purifier from one room to another can be a real hassle.

That’s where Samsung’s new air-purifying robot, Samsung Bot Air, comes in. The robot utilizes sensors located in different areas of the user’s house – including one on an electronic appliance – to assess air quality. Once it identifies an area where the air quality is low, it automatically moves to where it’s needed and gets to work.

Samsung Bot Retail: a Personal Shopping Guide

The enterprise-focused Samsung Bot Retail allows stores to offer their customers a more personalized and convenient retail experience.

The Samsung Bot Retail helps customers find the items they need by registering their facial expressions and voices. Its awareness of surroundings allows it to navigate environment – even when it’s crowded – and guide customers to the area or items they’re looking for. The front-facing display can display menus or store details, and allows customers to purchase items comfortably and easily. Restaurants and stores can also use the robot to deliver food or items to their customers using the shelves on the robot’s back.

Samsung GEMS: Muscle Strengthening and Posture Training

Strong muscles are an essential part of a healthy life. Samsung GEMS (Gait Enhancing & Motivating System) can assist users who have trouble walking, running or standing up, such as the elderly, by preventing their muscles from being overworked.

General users can also use Samsung GEMS to correct their posture or enhance their exercise capabilities. According to their individual needs, users can select any of Samsung GEMS’ three available devices, designed for hips, knees, and ankles.

Considering CES 2019 as a starting point, Samsung plans to develop customized robots for users with a shared robotics platform based on its AI technology.

“Our plan is to gauge consumers’ demand for robots, consider ways to create solutions for societal challenges, and accelerate our development efforts,” said Seung Hwan Cho, Deputy Head of Samsung Research. “People can look forward to the future that Samsung Bots will help create.”

Samsung has designed a number of safety solutions for driving that can be incorporated into various kinds of vehicles in the near future. As seen in the video above, detecting cars, pedestrians and traffic signals in front of the school bus, the Front Facing Camera alerts the driver to any hazards on the road and prompts them to proceed with caution and care. The monitoring systems can identify students whenever they hop on and off the bus, showing the driver who is safely aboard.

*This video is for the purpose of describing the concept and use cases of C-V2X technology.
The simulated use cases may be different in operation of actual vehicle.

C-V2X technology offers the next level in automotive telecommunications. Harnessing Samsung’s unique technologies for smartphone and network areas, C-V2X works via the vehicle’s Telematics Control Unit (TCU). The TCU connects the car to its surroundings and provides real-time information about unexpected variables and potential hazards beyond the driver’s line of sight, thus offering up exciting possibilities for safety when driving.

Introduced at CES 2019, the new Samsung Space Monitor was designed to put an end to messy desks – and space-hogging screens – once and for all. Combining a clean and sleek design with powerful performance, the Space Monitor allows users to work more productively – and game, browse and stream more comfortably – by making it easier to focus on what’s on the screen, and not what’s surrounding it.

To get a better sense of how the monitor helps users reclaim their workspace, let’s take a closer look at some of its key design features.

A Wall-Hugging Design

The Space Monitor was designed, from top to bottom, to reduce clutter and maximize desk space. It does this, in part, by borrowing user-favorite design elements from Samsung’s award-winning QLED TV line, including discreet cable management (more on that in just a moment), and a wall-hugging design that creates more space to work.

Just how much room does the monitor’s ergonomic form free up? Compared to a conventional monitor of equivalent size,¹ the Space Monitor offers users up to 40 percent more usable surface area – and makes it that much easier to maintain a clean desk.

A Zero-Level Height-Adjustable Stand

The Space Monitor’s zero-level HAS (height-adjustable stand) allows users to quickly and easily raise or lower their screen to whichever position is most comfortable for them.

Whether you’re editing a document or catching up on the latest binge-worthy show, the stand’s best-in-class adjustment span makes it easy to find the best possible view, allowing you to adjust your screen from a height of 8.4 inches above your desk all the way down to surface level. The ability to lower the monitor so that it rests on your desk is especially handy when working with a laptop, as it enables users to comfortably view both screens on the same level, reducing eye fatigue. The versatile stand also tilts back and forth to provide an optimal viewing angle at any height.

And because the Space Monitor’s design is all about maximizing, well, space, once you’ve finished your task and you push the monitor against the wall, the stand neatly folds into the back of the screen.

Seamless Cable Storage

Cables are key contributors to workspace clutter. Not here, however. The Space Monitor’s ports are easily accessible, and cables are discreetly hidden from view via a groove in the stand.

Best of all, setting up the monitor couldn’t be simpler, thanks to an integrated clamp at the base of the stand that allows the device to be securely attached to desks and tables of various thicknesses.

A Look That Suits Any Setting

Featuring a slim panel that’s bezel-less on three sides, the Space Monitor’s frame-like form adds an elegant touch to any office – home or otherwise. The combination of stylish and space-saving design cues also makes the monitor an ideal solution for hotel business centers, reception desks, libraries, and anywhere where work space is at a premium.

Powerful Performance

The Space Monitor’s understated design is complemented by eye-catching specs.

Both the 27-inch model’s WQHD (2560 x 1440) resolution screen and the 32-inch model’s 4K UHD display offer lifelike, pin-sharp images, as well as ample space for viewing documents and webpages, with less scrolling and zooming. Gamers in particular will appreciate the 27-inch model’s fast, 144 Hz refresh rate, which ensures flawlessly smooth visuals for fast-action gaming.

Both Space Monitor models also feature high brightness and support for over one billion shades of color, presenting photos, videos and games in vibrant detail and stunning contrast.

The Space Monitor is available to preorder now through January 11 via this link.

¹  Measured in a side-by-side comparison with the Samsung SD850, on a 47.2 x 19.7-inch (120 cm x 50 cm) desk.

CES 2019 has officially begun, and Samsung’s booth is abuzz with people eager to get a closer look at the company’s latest groundbreaking innovations.

Located in the heart of the Las Vegas Convention Center, ‘Samsung City’ is a must-see site for attendees of the tech industry’s biggest event. With ‘districts’ showcasing the company’s newest TVs, monitors, appliances and more, this innovative hub allows visitors to experience, firsthand, Samsung technologies that are taking AI, IoT and connectivity to the next level – and changing the way people live, work and connect.

If you won’t be able to make it to CES to see the company’s innovations in person, don’t fret. Here’s a handy roundup of five key themes that sum up this year’s showcase.

#1 Appliances Get Better with Bixby

Many of the innovations on display in the booth demonstrate dynamic ways that the latest version of Samsung’s intelligent platform, Bixby, will change how people manage daily life.

Housework is a breeze with Bixby-enabled appliances, which allow users to easily automate common household tasks and take the guesswork out of others. For example, when users place their clothes into Samsung’s new Air Dresser, Bixby helps the device select the optimal setting to treat them. It can also help users find the perfect cycle to finish their laundry with the new WF6300R Front Load Washer. Once the laundry load is done, Bixby will automatically set the dryer to the appropriate setting.

In the kitchen, Family Hub’s Bixby integration allows users to streamline everything from meal prep to entertainment. Whether you want to preheat the oven or find a delicious new recipe, with Bixby’s voice support, all you have to do to is say the word.

And thanks to its deep integration with Samsung’s 2019 QLED TVs, you can also command Bixby to tell you more about a particular show or film you’re watching, manage playback controls, and help you find more content you’ll love.

#2 Samsung’s Steering the Future of Display Technology

Speaking of TVs, Samsung kicked off CES 2019 with the reveals of a number of innovative displays that demonstrate how the company is leading the future of this technology – setting new standards for immersion, and making the screen ‘the center of the AI era‘.

Perhaps the most eye-catching addition is the new, 219-inch, 6K version of Samsung’s modular Micro LED display, The Wall. The follow-up to last year’s debut model seamlessly blends into any space – whether it be as a 219-inch 6K screen, a 16:9, 146-inch 4K display, or a 21:9 aspect ratio wide screen. It also features a fresh new user interface, as well as Samsung’s Quantum Processor 8K chip – the industry’s first AI-powered picture-processing engine.

With the push of a button, visitors to the interactive exhibit can see for themselves how the revolutionary processor, which is featured throughout Samsung’s 2019 QLED 8K lineup, upscales any content – regardless of the native resolution – to near-pristine 8K quality.

The combination of pristine QLED picture quality and likewise beautiful aesthetics allow Samsung’s newest lifestyle TVs, The Frame and Serif TV, to offer a TV experience unlike any other. Both feature award-winning designs that elevate the décor of any living space, as well as enhanced smart features that offer users greater control over their content.

#3 Taking Gaming to the Next Level

Visitors to Samsung City will find plenty of fun and excitement, especially when they see what Samsung has in store for gamers.

When gaming, a monitor’s performance can mean the difference between experiencing the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. Samsung optimized its new, 49-inch CRG9 gaming monitor with gamers’ needs in mind, combining standout specs – including HDR10 support, a peak brightness of 1,000 nits, a 120 Hz refresh rate, and a 5120 x 1440 resolution – to offer users an edge over the competition.

The result of the company’s efforts is the world’s first Dual QHD super ultra-wide gaming monitor, and an official Honoree in the CES 2019 Innovation Awards’ Gaming and Computer Peripherals product categories, respectively. Visitors to the booth can see for themselves how the monitor’s premium performance, immersive design and comfort-enhancing features elevate the entire gaming experience.

Also featured in the showcase is the latest addition to Samsung’s powerhouse lineup of gaming laptops: the new Notebook Odyssey. This year’s model is packed with enhancements that foster next-level gaming experiences, including a flawlessly smooth 144 Hz G-Sync display, an innovative Jet Blade cooling system that ensures smooth performance during heavy gameplay, and other performance-minded enhancements.

#4 Shifting the Connected Car from Concept to Reality

Samsung’s CES 2019 lineup demonstrates exciting ways that the company is steering the future of connected technologies. And perhaps no single exhibit encapsulates Samsung’s role as a driver of innovation quite so effectively as the demo for the latest version of its Digital Cockpit platform.

This year, Samsung is inviting CES 2019 attendees to experience for themselves how the company’s latest advancements in 5G, AI and IoT technologies have allowed it to create a connected car experience that not only adds new layers of comfort to users’ daily routines, but is also seamless, intelligent, and above all, safe.

Hands-on demos illustrate how the platform’s Bixby and SmartThings support offers users seamlessly control over their home’s IoT devices when they’re in the car, in addition to enabling them to easily manage key vehicle functions from home. The platform also takes personalization to the next level – tailoring seat, temperature and entertainment settings to each passenger – and is compatible with a front-facing camera and driver-monitoring system that helps drivers focus on the road and drive safely.

The exhibit also includes an eye-catching diorama that allows guests to see exactly how Samsung’s connected driving and C-V2X (Cellular-Vehicle to Everything) technologies will transform cities just like theirs, helping people commute more safely and efficiently.

#5 Robotic Companions Are on Their Way

The robotic companions that Samsung is showcasing at this year’s event were created to enrich users’ lives, and help make a positive impact in the world by offering solutions for societal challenges affecting the ageing population, and even the environment.

Samsung City hosts a total of four different types of robots, which are being developed for use in fields ranging from elder care to retail. Enlightening demonstrations introduce the first exciting products of the company’s ‘Samsung Bot’ robotics platform, as well as the mobility-focused Samsung GEMS.

(From Left) Samsung Bot Retail, Samsung Bot Care, Samsung Bot Air. The three Samsung Bots were debuted at CES 2019.

Samsung Bot Care is the healthcare-specialized robot, which can measure user’s blood pressure, heart rate, respiration and sleeping state, and is even capable of reminding them when it’s time to take their medicine. The Samsung Bot lineup also includes Samsung Bot Retail, which streamlines ordering and payments and offers a personalized retail experience and Samsung Bot Air, which uses sensors to detect the precise source of pollution and purify the air.

Short for “Gait Enhancing and Motivating System,” Samsung GEMS assists users with walking, and can also help them strengthen their muscles and improve their mobility and balance.

And thus concludes our roundup of Samsung’s key themes for CES 2019. If you happen to be attending this year’s event, be sure to stop by the company’s booth to experience these and other dynamic innovations for yourself. And don’t forget to stay tuned to Samsung Newsroom for more updates on the company’s latest technologies.

That’s where Samsung’s new 49-inch CRG9, which won CES 2019 Best of Innovation Award in the Computer Peripherals Product Category and Honoree in the Gaming Product Category, comes in. As you can see in the infographic below, the world’s first high-resolution, super ultra-wide gaming monitor with a 32:9 aspect ratio packs in an array of cutting-edge technologies that foster more fun and immersive gaming experiences. Let’s take a closer look at those features here to examine how the CRG9 takes gaming to the next level.

A Super Ultra-Wide 32:9 Screen

The CRG9’s 32:9 aspect ratio creates a wider field of view that allows you to see more content in superfine detail.

An 1800R Curved Panel

Featuring an 1800R (1,800mm) screen curvature, the monitor’s panel wraps around your field of view, completely immersing you in your game.

A Dual QHD Display

The CRG9’s 5120 x 1440 Dual QHD display is equivalent in size to two 27-inch QHD monitors placed side by side and offers a more focused and flexible multitasking experience, without the distracting bezel that divides dual-monitor setups.

HDR10 Support

HDR10 support allows the CRG9 to offer deeper black levels, outstanding local dimming and advanced specular highlights with a peak brightness of 1,000 nits.

QLED Technology

The addition of Samsung’s QLED technology allows the CRG9 to offer exceptional color reproduction, expressing 95 percent¹ of the DCI-P3 color space. This means that colors are purer, brighter and more realistic.

AMD Radeon FreeSync 2 HDR Technology

The monitor’s new AMD Radeon FreeSync 2 HDR technology reduces stuttering, screen tearing and input latency, and features Low Framerate Compensation (LFC) for seamlessly smooth gameplay.

A 120Hz Refresh Rate

The CRG9’s rapid 120Hz (Hertz) refresh rate and 4ms (millisecond) response time minimize image lag and motion blur, enabling the monitor to effortlessly keep up with fast-paced games. In addition, the user-friendly 60Hz settings allow you to quickly and easily optimize performance via the onscreen display, without accessing the display settings menu.

Multiple Game Modes

Multiple game modes allow you to optimize settings like contrast ratio, definition and color based on the type of game you’re playing. Switch to Low Input Lag mode for even faster response times, and target your enemies more accurately with Virtual Aim Point onscreen crosshairs.

PBP Functionality

The CRG9’s PBP (Picture-by-Picture) functionality allows you to simultaneously view two video sources on the same screen, without compromising image quality. This means that, for example, a user could watch a visually engrossing film while playing a favorite game at the same time. The CRG9 features one HDMI port and two display ports, as well as USB 3.0 and headphone connections.

Eye-Saver Mode

The monitor’s Eye Saver mode and Flicker Free technology minimize blue light emissions and screen flickering, allowing you to play longer and more comfortably, and with less strain on your eyes.

A User-Friendly Design

The CRG9’s height-adjustable stand swivels and tilts with ease, allowing you to position the screen for maximum comfort, and has been designed to occupy less space on your desk. The panel’s VESA Standard mount also offers the option of mounting the monitor on VESA-compatible arms.

¹Certified by Verband Deutscher Elektrotechniker (VDE)

Today’s growing families and new homebuyers bring a new outlook towards technology and how it fits their day to day lives. Technology is no longer something that needs to be learned, but rather something that functions seamlessly in ways that enhance their lives, provides increased personalization and allows them to spend time doing what matters most to them. A Smart Home isn’t about the devices, the speeds or the specs, but rather the experiences that start with the most basic daily routines.

“Connecting people in new ways and helping them care for their homes and families is one of our biggest missions,” said John Herrington, Senior Vice President, General Manager of Home Appliances, Samsung Electronics America. “Samsung is taking connected living to the next level with innovations that are more intelligent and intuitive, allowing people to get things done while enjoying time with family and friends.”

Case in point is the expansion of connected living to include artificial intelligence. Long viewed as something in the distant future, AI is here now. The centerpiece of Samsung’s AI vision is Bixby, which in a short amount of time has leapfrogged from a simple voice assistant to a truly intelligent interface capable of more conversational interaction and simplified control of hundreds of devices.

The impact of Bixby built into home appliances can be seen in everything from the Family Hub’s more personalized screen experience and expanded universe of voice-activated apps; to an intuitive AI-powered laundry assistant in Samsung’s new front load washer which makes washing clothes the way you want infinitely more intuitive and easier.

In addition, over the past year, Samsung has consolidated all of its IoT apps into one, simplified and streamlined SmartThings app. At the same time, the number of SmartThings-compatible devices has doubled and now grown to include products from and partnerships with Amazon, Google, Plume, and Ring.

The result is a broader and even more open network for connecting and managing life at home, and the added convenience of getting daily tasks done as quickly and efficiently as possible. In other words, there’s less focus on what is connected and how it’s connected, and more on what the user can do by just saying what they want to do.

Samsung’s connected living innovations will be available this spring. For more information about Samsung Home Appliances, please visit www.samsung.com.

Source: US Newsroom

“Our consumers want beautiful, modern devices that let them do more of what they want, when and where they want,” said YoungGyoo Choi, Senior Vice President of the PC Business Team, Mobile Communication Business at Samsung Electronics. “By offering two different PCs that are modern and sleek, put a premium on design and deliver Samsung’s signature cutting-edge performance, we’re offering our consumers even more choices so they can pick the PC that is specific to their needs.”

Samsung Notebook 9 Pro

The Samsung Notebook 9 Pro is re-designed for consumers looking for a beautiful device that brings out their own unique style and keeps up with the pace of everyday life. Along with its cool metal exterior and fashionable diamond-cut edges, the Samsung Notebook 9 Pro is packed with performance that delivers ultra-fast processing, so you’ll never have to wait on your PC again.

The Samsung Notebook 9 Pro takes advantage of a breathtaking display, reduced bezels, and dual 1.5W stereo speakers with Thunder Amp to increase maximum volume output, while offering a fully immersive experience as you create, work, or enjoy. It also features a customized LED Indicator Bar, a comprehensively redesigned keyboard and 14 hours of battery life^*, so you can get things done faster and better, wherever you are.

The Samsung Notebook 9 Pro runs on a Windows 10 Home operating system, and is built for creative-minded professionals who are looking for products to bring their ideas to life. And the Active Pen – with more than 4000 levels of pressure sensitivity – that comes included in the box will inspire users to write, draw, and create both for work and fun.

The Samsung Notebook 9 Pro is perfect for creators looking for a top-of-the-line PC that doesn’t sacrifice style for performance.

Samsung Notebook Flash

Accessibility and speed are joined together with the Samsung Notebook Flash, a laptop with modern features available at an affordable price point. Equipped with cutting-edge Gigabit-Wifi technology, the Samsung Notebook Flash runs at blazing fast speeds whether you’re streaming or just surfing the web. It also lets users log-in instantly with a fingerprint scanner so you can get to your work immediately and securely and offers expandable storage (sold separately) with a Universal Flash Storage/MicroSD Memory slot so you can take all of your files and apps with you on the go.

Available in charcoal color in the US, the Samsung Notebook Flash combines style and durability, boasting Samsung’s sturdy build quality, with a unique textile-patterned chassis, all in a compact 13.3” package. With a fun retro design including a typewriter keyboard, multiple port options to suit a variety of needs, and 10-hour battery life^*, the Notebook Flash offers users a high-end personalized experience at an accessible rate.

The Samsung Notebook 9 Pro and Samsung Notebook Flash will be available in early 2019.

Product Specifications

	Samsung Notebook 9 Pro	Samsung Notebook Flash
Processor	8th Gen Intel® Core i7-8565U	Intel Celeron N4000 Intel Pentium Silver N5000
Memory	8G LPDDR3	4GB
OS	Windows 10 Home	Windows 10 Home
Storage	256G PCIe NVMe	64GB eMMC
Wireless	802.11ac 2×2 (Giga)	802.11ac 2×2 (Giga)
Graphics	Intel® UHD 620 graphics	Internal
Power	55Wh, Fast Charging	39Wh
Weight	2.84 lbs	3.02 lbs
Dimension	12.1” x 8.1” x .55”	12.69″ x 8.64″ x 0.67″
Ports	Thunderbolt 3 x2, USB-C x1,3.5mm, microSD	USB-C x2, USB 3.0 x1, USB 2.0 x1, HDMI x1, 3.5mm, UFS & MicroSD Combo
Material	Full Metal	Plastic
Display	13.3” FHD, 6.7mm  bezel, 350 nits	13.3″ FHD LED Display (1920 x 1080), Anti-Glare
Camera	HD Camera	Web Cam
Speaker	1.5W x2, Thunder Amp	1.5W x2
Stylus	Active Pen (included)	N/A
Security	Fingerprint	Fingerprint
Keyboard	Backlit	Typewriter

^*  Battery life may vary depending on usage and settings.

Samsung Electronics today announced how the company’s investment and leadership in AI, IoT, and 5G technologies will serve as the building blocks for its vision for Connected Living. The company also unveiled its future AI-powered robotics platforms, which can be used to manage activities of daily living, such as helping an aging population independently manage their health routine.

“2019 is Samsung Electronics 50^th anniversary, and for the last five decades, we’ve been committed to bringing meaningful innovations to consumers everywhere,” said HS Kim, President and CEO of Consumer Electronics Division, Samsung Electronics. “In 2019, we’re taking things to the next level, and leveraging our industry leadership to make our vision of Connected Living a reality.”

HS Kim, President and CEO of Consumer Electronics Division, Samsung Electronics gives his opening remarks, welcoming guests to Samsung Electronics’ CES 2019 Press Conference.

Accelerating the Intelligence of Things with IoT, 5G, and AI  

Driving Samsung’s Connected Living philosophy is the Intelligence of Things – IoT, 5G, and AI working together across devices, to create seamless experiences. At its CES press conference in Las Vegas today, the company explained how its work in these core technologies is enabling innovation throughout its product portfolio.

Since unifying the SmartThings app and introducing the SmartThings Cloud, the SmartThings ecosystem has grown significantly. The number of registered SmartThings users has grown 220 percent and app installs have increased 61 percent. The number of partners participating in this ecosystem has also grown by 44 percent. Today, consumers can enjoy SmartThings experiences with devices from top global brands like Amazon, Google, Bose, Sylvania, and Plume.

Samsung leveraged its telecommunications leadership to make major strides in bringing 5G connectivity to consumers. Samsung is the number one patent holder with ETSI¹, having registered more than 2,000 5G essential patents as of November 2018. And it is the world’s first company to receive FCC approval on its commercial 5G equipment. The company powered the commercialization of home and mobile 5G networks with major U.S. carriers and all three mobile carriers in Korea, with additional trials running in Europe and Asia. Samsung is also committed to putting the power of 5G in consumers’ hands, with a 5G smartphone coming in the first half of 2019.

Samsung believes that AI is most useful when it helps to simplify a complex world. To that end, the company established seven Global AI Centers, and is adopting unique technologies into its products and services. And to ensure that Samsung works with the best and the brightest in the field, Samsung NEXT and the Samsung Strategy and Innovation Center (SSIC) have invested in more than 20 AI-related startups over the last five years.

Bixby, Samsung’s Intelligence Platform, Expands

Bixby started as a smarter way to use your Galaxy phone. Today, it is evolving to become a scalable, open AI platform that will support more and more devices. The company announced that Bixby intelligence will be infused into its 2019 QLED and premium TVs, and smart appliances like refrigerators, washers, as well as air conditioners, mobile devices, AI speakers and more. What’s more, Bixby is expanding to a new Digital Cockpit and robotics platforms.

Uber, Ticketmaster and others are using Bixby to make their services more intelligent. Today, Samsung announced that iHeartRadio joined as a new partner. And, Bixby will continue to grow as more partners, such as Google, join the ecosystem.

Samsung also announced its core AI philosophy: Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency. As it works to advance AI technology, Samsung is committed to ensuring the algorithms it builds are inclusive, the protection of user information and privacy are top priorities, and it’s easy for consumers to understand what the company does with their data and how it is handled.

Next Level Experience of Samsung’s 2019 Portfolio

Samsung also introduced a lineup of new innovations, all of which streamline and simplify day-to-day tasks, and offer a more personalized and unique experience for each user, in a way that only Samsung can.

Entertainment:

Samsung unveiled its 98” QLED 8K – it’s largest yet – adding to its 2019 lineup that features 65”, 75”, 82”, and 85” models. Embedded with the Quantum Processor 8K chip, the 2019 8K line delivers the best in QLED picture quality, design, smart features in more sizes than ever in stunning 8K resolution. Whether a viewer is watching content through a streaming service, set-top box, HDMI, USB or even mobile screen mirroring, Samsung’s proprietary AI-based technology can recognize and upscale any content, regardless of the native resolution, to near pristine 8K quality. This is Samsung’s smartest and most powerful TV yet.

Dave Das, Senior Vice President of Samsung Electronics America, unveils the 98-inch QLED 8K.

In 2019, Samsung Smart TVs offer more ways to search for content and more compatibility with connected devices than ever before. With an improved AI algorithm that leverages a user’s subscription services, favorite content, and TV viewing habits, the Universal Guide makes it easier for users to find the perfect show for them to watch. Users also have more options than ever to quickly and easily find and control their favorite content with just their voice by using new Bixby and the AI Remote as well as even more ways to control their Samsung TVs through Amazon Echo and Google Home.

(From left) Dave Das, Senior Vice President of Samsung Electronics America and Yoon Lee, Senior Vice President of Samsung Electronics America, demonstrate the Universal Guide with new Bixby on a 2019 Samsung Smart TV.

In a move to deliver more entertainment options, value and open platform functionality to Samsung Smart TV users, Samsung announced it will offer iTunes Movies and TV Shows and Apple AirPlay 2 support on 2019 Samsung Smart TV models beginning this spring. Support on 2018 Samsung Smart TVs will be made available via a firmware update. In an industry first, a new iTunes Movies and TV Shows app will debut only on Samsung Smart TVs in more than 100 countries. AirPlay 2 support will be available on Samsung Smart TVs in 190 countries worldwide.

Home:

Family Hub 2019 is more intuitive and intelligent than ever before. The new Family Board offers a completely redesigned screen experience, letting family members communicate and share memories in a creative space on the front of the fridge. Honored with a CES 2019 Innovation Award, Family Hub 2019 with the new Bixby lets users interact in natural language to get answers to complicated questions, preset the oven, search for recipes, and even call an Uber. In addition, Bixby visually shows you information on the screen for a richer experience and displays an array of visual information. These new features will also be available via automatic update for most earlier Family Hub models.

(From left) John Herrington, Senior Vice President, General Manager of Home Appliances, Samsung Electronics America and Yoon Lee, Senior Vice President of Samsung Electronics America, demonstrate Family Hub’s enhanced AI and IoT capabilities during Samsung’s CES 2019 press conference.

The new front load washer, also a 2019 CES Innovation Award winner, can finish a full load in just 30 minutes² with the SuperSpeed feature. With Bixby, users can also control its smart features like getting recommendations for the best wash cycle, scheduling a cycle to be completed at a users’ preferred time, automatically connecting the dryer cycle when the washer is done, or monitoring usage to efficiently manage their laundry appliances.

Work:

Samsung revealed a line of new, innovative products that combine productivity and flexibility to help consumers get things done more conveniently. The redesigned Notebook 9 Pro is engineered for on-the-go modern professionals to help them reach their true creative potential, while the Notebook Odyssey gaming laptop, powered by the new high-end NVIDIA® GeForce RTX 20-series GPU, is ready for both work and play. Samsung Space Monitor leverages its sleek design and functionality to allow users to focus on what’s on the screen and not what’s around it. Its unique built-in space saving solution, a minimalist, fully-integrated clamp stand that grips to the desk, tilting back and forth to free up space for optimal user productivity. Beyond aesthetics, Samsung’s Space Monitor is a feature-rich, high-performance monitor. The 27-inch model offers QHD resolution for incredibly detailed, sharp images, while the 32-inch model presents content in 4K UHD.

Connected Driving:

Samsung also presented its latest development with HARMAN, showcasing its innovation in automotive technology. The Digital Cockpit 2019 offers an enhanced connected car experience focused on connectivity, personalization, and safety.

With the integration of Bixby’s connected car experience, drivers can remotely check how much gas they have before going on a long road trip or set the car temperature before heading out for the day. Using onboard cameras, the new Digital Cockpit recognizes specific drivers and passengers and sets up the car’s personal space accordingly – adjusting the display preferences, seat height, lighting, and queuing up favorite playlists. Passengers can even enjoy personalized screens on the rear seats and connect to In-vehicle Samsung DeX to get work done on-the-go. The Digital Cockpit 2019 also provides a safer driving experience with the mirror replacement vision system and camera-based safety solutions.

All of this is possible thanks to Cellular-V2X technology that incorporates Samsung’s expertise in mobile network solutions with automotive technologies. With Samsung’s C-V2X, cars will be able to receive and analyze information that will make the driving experience safer and more enjoyable.

Device Solutions:

In order to power tomorrow’s AI technologies, Samsung emphasized that today’s AI infrastructure must evolve to handle intelligence at the edge. For this reason, the company is working to launch a comprehensive portfolio of solutions that will shape the future of intelligent devices.

Samsung’s mobile memory and AI-enabled processors, including the recently-announced Exynos Auto line, will allow for faster and more efficient on-device processing. At the same time, its advanced memory solutions will meet the rigorous demands of tomorrow’s datacenters and enterprises as they look to complete more complex AI tasks.

Robotics Platforms for the Future of AI

Samsung offered a peek into the future of Connected Living by demonstrating its latest developments in robotics platforms including the Samsung Bot Care, Samsung Bot Air, Samsung Bot Retail, and Samsung GEMS. Among the robotics platforms, Samsung gave a first public demonstration of Samsung Bot Care, which helps consumers manage their daily health routines. With its advances in AI and robotics, the company is harnessing its best assets to make a positive impact on society and shape a better world.

Geunbae Lee, Head of the Samsung AI Center, joins Yoon Lee on stage to introduce the crowd to Samsung Bots, which combine the company’s latest advancements in robotics platforms, hardware, software and AI technology. The speakers demonstrated how Samsung Bot Care, pictured here, helps users manage their daily health routines.

For more information including photos and videos, please visit news.samsung.com. Samsung’s CES booth #15006 is on Level 1 of Central Hall in the Las Vegas Convention Center and will be open from January 8-11, 2019.

¹ European Telecommunication Standards Institute
² Based on using SuperSpeed on a Normal cycle with an 8lb load.

Samsung Electronics today unveiled the next generation of its award-winning Family Hub refrigerator, continuing to innovate and redefine the refrigerator category. Family Hub continues to set a new standard for connected living, bringing the family together in the kitchen while freeing users up to focus on what’s important to them.

As the new generation of homeowners look to technology to define both who they are and how they want to live their lives, there is no better place to do this than in a connected kitchen. And with the Family Hub, which offers the simplified connectivity they’ve grown accustomed to, families can spend more time focusing on the things that matter most to them.

In 2019, with the new Family Board, a communal screen that family members can interact with in a personalized way, Family Hub helps foster true family connection, food management, and a connected home experience in today’s fast-paced modern world.

“When we first launched Family Hub three years ago, it was an app-based experience anchored in food management, family connections and entertainment,” said John Herrington, Senior Vice President, General Manager of Home Appliances, Samsung Electronics America. “Today we are introducing the latest version of Family Hub featuring Bixby with AI capabilities. Bixby now provides a new level of connectivity and intelligence designed to make everyday tasks much easier. When combined with our new Family Board, the Family Hub is the perfect combination of convenience and connectivity.”

Intelligence

Bixby allows for a smarter, hands-free, more personalized way to use the Family Hub. Users can ask Bixby for their Morning Brief while getting breakfast ready for the kids so they know all of their daily essentials like the weather and top news. All of this appears on the Family Hub screen so they can see as well as hear it. And through Bixby’s voice ID technology, each family member’s voice is distinguished, so everyone can get tailored information for their individual needs. Bixby is even smarter and more conversational – allowing users to interact more naturally. Imagine, now users can search for a plane ticket through Expedia, call an Uber and pre-set the oven temperature just by talking to the Family Hub.

Taking intelligence a step further, with the Family Hub’s seamless integration of SmartThings, owners can now see and control hundreds of Samsung and third party smart home devices right from the refrigerator screen and by voice with Bixby.

Family Connections

The new Family Board screen acts as a digital bulletin board in which members can easily stick notes and photos and even doodle right on the screen. Users can now have a devoted screen to share photos, messages and memories on their fridge, and are able to customize their photos with different photo styles, add handwritten notes and stickers, and even change the background color to match their kitchen – all bringing the family closer to elevate the way they connect and share.

The Family Hub displays a dynamic screen saver that can be used to display precious family moments, important information such as the weather, or even artwork. It can also be set to blend with the décor in the kitchen.

Healthier Food Management 

From the beginning, food management with Family Hub has been a cornerstone feature elevating the way homeowners manage their food – whether using “View Inside” to see if they need eggs from their smartphone while at the store or adding items to their shopping list and tagging expiration dates. The Family Hub enables a user to create better and healthier meals with Meal Planner, which customizes recipes based on food preferences, dietary needs and the items in the fridge.

In 2019, Samsung will expand the Family Hub platform across more models to ensure that there is a Family Hub configuration that meets the needs of all consumers.

A 2019 CES Innovation award Honoree in the Software and Mobile Apps product category, the new Family Hub will be featured at the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) from January 8-11, 2019 at booth 15006 Central Hall at the LVCC. For more information about Samsung Home Appliances, please visit www.samsung.com.

Building on the standard set by last year’s Digital Cockpit, the 2019 version addresses the needs of drivers and passengers alike, providing a seamless link between devices, vehicle and home, with simple controls for ease of use.

An Experience Tailored for Every Passenger

For 2019, the Digital Cockpit has increased the number of displays from three to six, delivering tailored infotainment options to more of the car’s passenger. In addition to a new, independent Passenger Display, two Rear Seat Displays also have been added, allowing passengers in both the front and rear to enjoy personalized contents that will keep them entertained during their travels. The Driver Monitoring System (DMS) and Occupant Monitoring System (OMS) are able to recognize registered drivers and passengers, adjusting the environment – such as screen settings and seat position – to provide an experience personalized to their tastes.

Three screens in the front of the Digital Cockpit show the driver important information and settings. The Cluster Display, situated in front of the driver, is a screen that highlights crucial driving information, such as the speed and oil gauge, with a layout that changes according to the driver’s preference. Between the driver and the front passenger is the Center Information Display, which shows Bixby and SmartThings services for cars, as well as basic apps, like navigation and music. Below that is the Control Display, a screen that oversees a host of functions, including air conditioning and sound volume, and can also be used to set the functions on the knobs of the Digital Cockpit.

By connecting their smartphone to the appropriate display via In-vehicle Samsung DeX, passengers can enjoy a smartphone experience optimized for their display and give their full attention to documents and emails, even while on the move.

Equipped with two knobs positioned in the front of the car and two in the back, the Digital Cockpit offers intuitive setting controls. The knobs have a circular UX, similar to the Galaxy Watch’s hallmark display, and can be customized to configure settings most frequently used by the driver and passengers, such as temperature and speaker volume.

Connectivity throughout the Car

With new Bixby, the in-car experience is even more convenient. The intuitive, conversational AI platform allows drivers and passengers to control their third-party apps – as well as automotive-optimized functions – hands-free inside the car.

As our world becomes increasingly more connected, the Digital Cockpit is strengthening the bond between car and home. Last year’s features supported car-to-home interactions, allowing you to check what’s inside your fridge or start up the washing machine at home, all from the driver’s seat. In addition to adding more devices that can be controlled from the car, the Digital Cockpit now also facilitates home-to-car interactions. With the help of SmartThings and Galaxy Home, users can access vehicle status and controls from the comfort of their own home. This means that you can check fuel levels, start up the engine, and cool down or warm up the inside temperature by turning on the AC before jumping into your car.

Smarter Safety

New features have been implemented to further enhance car safety. Incorporating Samsung Electronics’ Exynos semiconductor, the Mirror Replacement Vision System, Front Facing Camera and Driver Monitoring System assist safe driving in a variety of potential scenarios.

Since last year, the Mirror Replacement Vision System has moved to the front left and right sides of the vehicle to reflect where users habitually look when changing lanes. The system can identify moving objects and gives the driver a wider field of view in the direction of the lane they wish to change into.

The Front Facing Camera detects the environment on the roads ahead. This is particularly useful if the driver wants to make a sudden left turn on an intersection or change lanes, for example. The camera identifies vehicles, pedestrians, lanes and traffic signs while driving and warns the driver of any hazards before they act. Data is shown on the Cluster Display, helping the driver make informed decisions on the road.

The Driver Monitoring System will also transmit a warning sound if it detects dangerous behavior, such as driving while drowsy or sending text messages behind the wheel.

As car design embraces new trends in mobility lifestyle, the Digital Cockpit 2019 represents the next stage in vehicle comfort, connectivity and safety. As the development of 5G technologies continues apace, Samsung’s IoT platform will drive the future of automotive innovation and broaden the horizons of connected living.

With CES just days away, Samsung unveiled its new 75-inch Micro LED display and a host of innovations in display technology, on January 6 at the Aria Hotel in Las Vegas.

In his opening remarks, JH Han, President of Visual Display Business at Samsung Electronics, outlined Samsung’s vision for the future of visual displays, placing “the screen at the center of your everyday life.”

Alongside Samsung’s 75-inch Micro LED display, the event also showcased a 219-inch The Wall. These next-generation modular Micro LED displays harness self-emitting technology to create elegant, efficient and powerful screens that are liberated from the limitations of existing technologies.

Han also reflected on the new possibilities that Micro LED technology represents for consumers’ everyday lives, as Samsung remains committed to “no boundaries and endless possibilities, with freedom in size, ratio, resolution and bezel.”

Catch up on all the highlights of the event in the photos below.

Guests congregate before the stage, eagerly awaiting the debut of the 75-inch Micro LED display.

“Our vision for Samsung Electronics is focused on making the screen the center of the AI era,” said Han, describing the future role of displays throughout our lives. The screen will be a customizable hub that can be placed anywhere in the home, enabling all devices to be connected and controlled intelligently with ease.

Unveiling the 75-inch Micro LED at the First Look event, Han introduced a new era of Micro LED technology: “This advancement in technology will soon enable all screens, from small devices to ultra-large devices, to be replaced by Micro LED.”

Speaking at the event, Andrew Sivori, Vice President at Samsung Electronics America, described the endless possibilities offered by the modular design of Micro LED technology: “Micro LED is the next frontier of displays.”

The modular technology behind the 75-inch Micro LED display won a CES 2019 Best of Innovation award for its revolutionary design, which frees the screen from the limitations of conventional displays.

By adding or removing modules, consumers can easily configure their display to any size. They can even rearrange modules to create different shapes.

The Wall on display in the exhibition zone. Samsung’s Micro LED displays create a stunning infinity pool effect that allows the TV to elegantly disappear into its surroundings.

Micro LED technology is able to optimize content regardless of its aspect ratio. From standard 16:9 content, to 21:9 widescreen films, to unconventional aspect ratios like 32:9, or even 1:1.

Airplay 2 will be available on Samsung Smart TVs this Spring, allowing users to effortlessly stream videos, music, audio and photos from iOS devices.

In the exhibition zone, guests gather to learn more about Samsung’s latest innovations in display technology.

The event also showcased a 219-inch The Wall Micro LED screen that delivers a truly boundless experience in 6K resolution.

“For decades, Samsung has lead the way in next-generation display innovation,” said Jonghee Han, President of Visual Display Business at Samsung Electronics. “Our Micro LED technology is at the forefront of the next screen revolution with intelligent, customizable displays that excel in every performance category. Samsung Micro LED has no boundaries, only endless possibilities.”

Micro LED featuring 75” Micro LED and 219” The Wall

Featuring leading-edge self-emissive technology and modular capabilities, Samsung’s Micro LED displays deliver unparalleled picture quality, versatility and design. These transformative TV displays are made up of individual modules of self-emissive Micro LEDs, featuring millions of inorganic red, green and blue microscopic LED chips that emit their own light to produce brilliant colors on screen – delivering unmatched picture quality that surpasses any display technology currently available on the market.

At last year’s CES, Samsung introduced Micro LED by unveiling The Wall, the critically acclaimed, award-winning 146” Micro LED display. Due to the technical advancements in the ultra-fine pitch semiconductor packaging process that narrow the gap between the microscopic LED chips, Samsung has been able to create a stunning 4K Micro LED display in a smaller, more home-friendly 75” form factor.

Thanks to the modular nature of Micro LED, this technology offers flexibility in screen size that allows users to customize it to fit any room or space. By adding Micro LED modules, users can expand their display to any size they desire. The modular functionality of Micro LED will allow users in the future to create the ultimate display even at irregular 9×3, 1×7 or 5×1 screen sizes that suits their spatial, aesthetic and functional needs.

Samsung’s Micro LED technology also optimizes the content no matter the size and shape of the screen. Even when adding more modules, Samsung Micro LED displays can scale to increase the resolution — all while keeping the pixel density constant. Additionally, Micro LED can support everything from the standard 16:9 content, to 21:9 widescreen films, to unconventional aspect ratios like 32:9, or even 1:1 – without having to make any compromises in its picture quality.

Finally, because Micro LED displays are bezel-free, there are no borders between modules – even when you add more. The result is a seamless, stunning infinity pool effect that allows the display to elegantly blend into any living environment. The possibilities for eye-catching designs are only enhanced by new Ambient Mode features.

For more detail on Samsung’s 2019 QLED 8K and Micro LED lines, please visit booth #15006 in the Central Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center during CES 2019 (January 8-11, 2019).

“Samsung’s latest monitor lineup is incredibly versatile, and demonstrates our commitment to continued innovation and leadership in the category,” said Seog-gi Kim, Executive Vice President of Visual Display Business at Samsung Electronics. “All of these monitors are part of our larger strategy this year, to keep giving you choices so you can get what you want— beautiful, hardworking devices that inspire you to do more.”

Space Monitor: Modern, Minimal and Flexible Design

Samsung Space Monitor leverages its sleek design and functionality to allow users to focus on what’s on the screen and not what’s around it. Its unique built-in space saving solution, a minimalist fully-integrated arm, clamps to the desk and frees up desk space for ultimate user productivity. Samsung Space Monitor is easy to set up and adjust when you aren’t using it, and simple to push back and store flat against the wall. Through easy ergonomic adjustment, port access and a discreet cable management system, Space Monitor improves the form and function of any workstation or home office.

Beyond aesthetics, Space Monitor is a feature-rich, high-performance monitor. The 27-inch model offers QHD resolution for incredibly detailed, pin-sharp images, while the 32-inch model presents content in 4K UHD.

Space Monitor gives users a unique arm stand, which can disappear into the back of the monitor’s slim-bezel. When using the stand, Space Monitor can be easily tilted or extended from the wall. It can also be lowered to the desk surface, and Samsung’s Zero Height Adjustable Stand feature provides the ultimate versatility for any type of viewing preference. The stand not only makes viewing more comfortable, but also eliminates the hassle of cable management by integrating power and HDMI cords through the arm for a clean, flexible look.

CRG9 49” Gaming Monitor: Super Ultra-Wide Screen with Dual QHD Resolution

The CRG9 is the world’s first high-resolution super ultra-wide gaming monitor with 32:9 aspect ratio. It offers a 120Hz refresh rate with a fast 4ms response time on a 49-inch display that minimizes image lag and motion blur to effortlessly keep up with fast-paced games. Built for a superior gaming experience, the monitor also features AMD Radeon FreeSync 2 HDR technology to reduce stutter, screen tearing and input latency to ensure the best possible frame rate and smoothest gaming experience.

Content truly comes alive on the CRG9, with dual QHD resolution (5120×1440) and HDR10 with a peak brightness of 1,000 nits, providing superfine detail in the brightest and the darkest parts of an image. HDR10 delivers outstanding local dimming, and high-contrast HDR offers advanced spectacular highlights not available in non-HDR monitors. The monitor also leverages Samsung’s revolutionary Quantum dot technology for an exceptionally wide range of accurate color reproduction, and a 1,800mm screen curvature and an ultra-wide field of view for complete visibility.

Equivalent to two 27-inch QHD 16:9 monitors placed side-by-side, the 32:9 super ultra-wide screen also provides ultimate multitasking flexibility assisted by PBP (Picture-by-Picture) functionality to allow two video sources to be viewed on the same screen. The CRG9 includes one HDMI port, two Display Ports, USB 3.0 and headphone connectivity options. Samsung also designed the CRG9 with a smaller stand size for convenience and flexibility in every gamer’s space.

UR59C 32” Monitor: World First 32-inch Curved 4K UHD Designed for Content Creators  

Ideal for content creators that seek both versatility and performance, the new UR59C 32-inch monitor features a UHD curved display with a 2,500:1 contrast ratio and a full 3840×2160 4K UHD resolution with support for up to one billion colors. The 1500R curvature delivers a truly immersive experience that shines while creating content and art, watching videos or gaming while reducing the eye strain typically associated with long periods of traditional monitor use.

Available in Dark Blue Gray, the UR59C has a super-slim design, with a depth of only 6.7mm with a fabric-textured rear casing. Its 3-sided bezel-less screen is attached to a slender yet sturdy V-slim metal stand with two-prong base that encases cables and reduces its footprint on work space.

Experience all three monitors at Samsung’s CES booth #15006 at the Las Vegas Convention Center from January 8-11, 2019.

For more information about Samsung’s new monitors, please visit http://displaysolutions.samsung.com/ces2019.

At CES 2019, Samsung Electronics will showcase innovative ways that its latest AI and IoT technologies simplify daily life. These include brand new applications for AI and IoT, new ways to make AI do more, as well as new devices that place AI and IoT at the center of users’ connected lives.

It all starts on Monday, January 7 at 14:00 (PST) with a press conference at Las Vegas’s Mandalay Bay South Convention Center. Held on Level 2, Ballrooms G and H, the press conference is open to all credentialed members of the media who possess a CES badge.

Those who won’t be able to make it to the event can still catch all the exciting announcements by tuning in to the official livestream, which will be available via the following channels:

• Samsung Newsroom (https://news.samsung.com)

• Samsung Electronics’ Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/samsung)

• Samsung Newsroom YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/samsungnewsroom)

Be sure to stay tuned to Samsung Newsroom for more updates on Samsung’s CES 2019 news.

The eight new C-Lab projects include: an in-video virtual ad service ‘Tisplay’, an ASMR sound recording solution ‘aiMo’, an instant video making service ‘MEDEO’, an AI news  analysis service ‘PRISMIT’, a custom perfume making service ‘Perfume Blender’, an auto-adjusting monitor ‘Girin Monitor Stand’, an AI desk light ‘alight’, and a hearing assistant  solution ‘SnailSound’.

At CES 2019, C-Lab will introduce the biggest number of projects it has ever unveiled in a single show since its CES debut in 2016. This will help to refine the projects and prepare the prototypes that will eventually become finished products to take to market.

“We will present promising C-Lab projects leveraging AI technologies in the field of video content creation, perfume making and more. These are deeply related to our daily lives and we hope to catch the eyes of attendees,” said Inkuk Hahn, Vice President and Head of the Creativity & Innovation Center at Samsung Electronics.

In addition to these projects, eight start-ups which have been spun off from Samsung C-Lab – MOPIC, LINKFLOW, lululab, WELT, Cooljamm company, MONIT, BLUEFEEL and analogue plus –will participate at CES 2019 to showcase their newly released commercial products and explore global business opportunities.

Three of these C-Lab spin-offs have been recognized as CES 2019 Innovation Awards winners. One notable example is the wearable camera FITT360 by LINKFLOW, which was given an award in the Digital Imaging category for two consecutive years. MOPIC and lululab also received awards in the Portable Media Players and Accessories, and Biotech categories. Since 2016, C-Lab spin-off companies have been named winners six times and have proven their marketability and technology.

Created in December 2012, C-Lab is an in-house idea incubation program that encourages a creative corporate culture and nurtures innovative ideas from Samsung employees. The program supports the development of ideas from all areas of the business. Introduced in 2015, the C-Lab spin-off policy helps Samsung employees who have successfully completed C-Lab projects to launch their own start-ups. Samsung supports the spin-off companies through seed money investment and business consulting to accelerate their growth, while guaranteeing their independent management.

For more information, please visit the booth #52102~#52118 in Sands, Hall G (Eureka Park Marketplace) on January 8 – 11, 2019.

Appendix 1. C-Lab Projects

 1. Tisplay

‘Tisplay’ is an in-video virtual ad service for creators to use while live streaming. Tisplay recognizes the surface of the creator’s clothing and places the ads as if they were actually printed on the clothing through computer vision and graphics technology. Creators are able to place not only ads but also various images related to the video content in a way to communicate with viewers in real-time. Furthermore, viewers can enjoy videos without pausing due to mid-video pop-up ads which often feel like spam.

2. aiMo

‘aiMo’ is an ASMR sound recording solution using a smartphone and cover case that simulates the human ear. When recording ASMR content with this solution, creators not only obtain spatially more enhanced sounds in terms of sound directivity, they also produce vivid, realistic ASMR sounds with AI sound rendering software without professional recording devices. Anyone can easily create high-quality ASMR sound content – even when outdoors.

 3. MEDEO

‘MEDEO’ provides an instant video making service which allows users to shoot  and edit simultaneously.
Analyzing the scene and context with AI technology, MEDEO automatically integrates visual effects and background music and blends videos with the recorded videos during live streaming. In addition to that, it provides fully automated 1-click video rendering at an expert level that extracts only the core scenes of the saved video.

4. PRISMIT

‘PRISMIT’ is an AI news analysis service which creates issue-driven timelines in order to help readers understand the issue at a glance. When the user searches an issue or event, PRISMIT automatically curates the top five articles that are most representative among of the numerous articles available using issue clustering technology. This helps readers understand the context and history of the issue while many services simply offer the most read or most recent articles.

5. Perfume Blender

‘Perfume Blender’ is a custom perfume making service that enables users to make a customized fragrance with a compatible device and share the recipe through the app. When the user takes a photo of their favorite perfumes with the app, it analyzes the common ingredients and recommends fragrance recipes that the user might like. The user can directly make the perfume with those recipes or create a perfume by adjusting the ratio of the recipes through the device which has eight ingredients.  Users are able to purchase additional scents.

 6. Girin Monitor Stand

‘Girin Monitor Stand’ is an auto-adjusting monitor stand to ensure users have proper posture while on their computers at work. The sensor embedded stand keeps tracking the user’s posture, especially neck and head, in real-time. When the user has a bad posture, it subtly moves the monitor which naturally trains users to assume better posture without noticing the change in monitor position. Users can correct their posture by repeating this pattern to avoid postural strain in the neck, back, and shoulders.

7. alight

‘alight’ is an AI desk light which provides an optimal environment to increase concentration and provides lighting which is beneficial for the health of users. It detects user actions through the embedded camera and automatically changes the light according to the situation such as study, relax and focus. It comes with a controller which alerts the user to focus on study when the user is using a smartphone or sleeping. It also provides study history and time lapse videos of studying through the app.

8. SnailSound

SnailSound is a hearing assistant solution for people who have trouble hearing sounds. It consists of an app and an earpiece. The app analyzes user-preferred sound from feedbacks by simple hearing tests, then calibrates the sound to be heard clearer. With a smart nonlinear amplification and AI-based adaptive noise suppression algorithms, SnailSound amplifies inaudible sound and suppresses background noise at the same time to give a better hearing experience to the hearing impaired without expensive hearing aids.

Appendix 2. C-Lab Spin-off
1. MOPIC (www.mopic3d.com)

: Glasses-free 3D solution for any display devices

2. LINKFLOW (www.linkflow.co.kr)

: Neckband-form wearable 360 camera

3. lululab (www.lulu-lab.com)

: Artificial intelligence (AI) skincare assistant

4. WELT (www.weltcorp.com)

: Smart healthcare belt

5. Cooljamm Company (www.soundsup.io)

: Automated musice producer

6. MONIT (www.goodmonit.com)

: Smart baby monitor

7. analogue plus (www.analogue-plus.com)

: Smart communication device for helmet users

8. BLUEFEEL (www.bluefeelcorp.com)

: Portable air purifier and mini head fan

Samsung Electronics announced today its HDR10+ ecosystem expansion to 45 industry partners and the construction of a new certification center in China. The new partnerships with companies, from online streaming and content services to semiconductor industry, will bring more true-to-life picture quality content to viewers and also expand the impact of HDR10+ technology across different market segments.

Last June, Samsung Electronics launched the HDR10+ certification and logo program in partnership with 20th Century Fox and Panasonic. HDR10+ is Samsung’s next-generation standard technology for picture processing, which optimizes brightness levels and contrast for each scene, making bright areas brighter and dark areas darker to deliver a lifelike viewing experience.

Thanks to Samsung’s new partnerships with content providers, consumers can soon access more content in vivid and reality-like colors. Rakuten TV, a European online streaming service, will begin offering HDR10+ content in the first half of next year. One of the largest among CIS and Eastern Europe OTT/VOD services, MEGOGO is currently finishing its HDR10+ licensing process, making its adoption of HDR10+ official, and planning to release HDR10+ contents on its platform, viewable on all Samsung Smart TV devices. ARSPRO, based in Moscow, is another production studio that has implemented HDR10+ technology, including the use of dynamic metadata. It has successfully carried out the remastering of the first several series of programming in HDR10+. On December 3^rd of this year, the largest Russian OTT/VOD service ivi also presented five European series in HDR10+ to Samsung Smart TV users for the first time in Russia and CIS region.

“We continually work on improving the video quality for our users. And we are proud to be the first Russian OTT/VOD service to maximize the opportunities available through Samsung QLED TVs and give a chance to our subscribers to view the contents in this new better-quality format. We plan to expand our HDR10+ collection because our focus is on providing the highest quality content to the viewers, using all the features of Samsung TVs,” said Irina Grandel, Business Development Director at ivi.

In 2017, Samsung also launched its premium video streaming service with Amazon, making Prime Video the first streaming service to deliver all 4K (UHD) videos in HDR10+. In 2018, Amazon integrated HDR10+ support into the Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K, which launched in October. Another HDR10+ partner Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has created over seventy HDR10+ compatible titles so far and plans to have over 100 titles available for digital distribution in HDR10+ by early next year.

Samsung is also building partnerships with major smartphone chip manufacturers. Qualcomm, a U.S. semiconductor and telecommunications equipment maker and a member of the HDR10+ alliance, recently announced that HDR10+ will be supported on its new chipset, Snapdragon 855. Arm, U.K.’s innovation-leading company in mobile technology that has successfully collaborated with Samsung System LSI, will also join the HDR10+ network, further growing HDR10+’s influence in the mobile category.

In addition, Samsung plans to build a new HDR10+ center in China with TIRT, a national testing and inspection center for the Chinese consumer electronics, in December. The center is designed to help Chinese TV manufacturers, including Hisense, TCL and Konka to access the certification procedure and in turn accelerate the expansion of the HDR10+ ecosystem. The China center follows the opening of certification centers built in Korea, Japan and the U.S. earlier this year.

“With HDR emerging as one of the most important technologies for ultra-high picture quality, Samsung’s HDR10+ format is gaining recognition,” said Hyogun Lee, Executive Vice President of the Visual Display Business at Samsung Electronics. “HDR10+ has already been well-received by major companies across a variety of industries. Samsung will continue to build on this, solidifying our HDR standard technology leadership and maintaining our presence in the global TV market.”

The company recently received the official HDR10+ logo certification for its 2018 Premium UHD and QLED TVs, including QLED 8K – a testament to the displays’ ability to produce lifelike images that depict content as creators intended. Samsung also continues to forge partnerships that are delivering premium viewing experiences to more consumers’ homes.

Samsung Newsroom recently sat down with Yeong-Taeg Kim, Vice President of Samsung Research America’s Digital Media Solutions Lab, to learn more about what the company is doing to expand this technology, and offer more people access to the best HDR content available.

What Is HDR10+?

 Introduced in 2017, HDR10+ reproduces colors with a level of accuracy that was previously impossible to achieve.

With most TVs, there’s an inevitable gap between the dynamic range of colors that the display is capable of producing, and the depicted content’s true colors. Traditionally, in order to approximate the appearance HDR, TVs with limited dynamic range have utilized a process known as ‘tone mapping’ to amplify images’ color. However, unlike previous HDR10 iterations, which utilized static tone mapping, in which color enhancement is uniform from scene to scene, HDR10+ employs dynamic tone mapping, which allows scenes to be optimized individually.

In a nutshell, the technology enables TVs to preserve creators’ intent in dark scenes and produce brighter highlights, adding a sense of depth to images that makes content seem more realistic and immersive. It works by embedding content with dynamic metadata, which creates an optimized tone-mapping curve based on a mathematical concept known as a Bézier curve. As Kim explained, “While the concept may be somewhat complex, the results are clear: the image optimization creates rich contrast that brings content’s color to life through the beauty of math.”

How It All Started

 It all started with a proprietary tone-mapping technology that was developed by the Digital Media Solutions Lab back in 2016.

The tone-mapping algorithm was unique as it was the first in the industry to automatically optimize colors in each scene on displays with limited dynamic range. While the team had originally planned to use the technology as a picture quality differentiator for future products, later that year, when the idea of dynamic tone mapping being the next big thing for HDR10 was the subject of intense debate within the Society of Motion Picture & Television Engineers (SMPTE), the team decided to utilize the technology to develop a new industry standard. A standard that would accommodate device manufacturers, studios and chipmakers, and offer each the freedom they need to innovate.

“We didn’t set out to build an industry standard from the beginning,” Kim explained. “It was the result of having the right technology in our hands at a time when it was most needed. We knew that by opening it up to the industry, we could accelerate the adoption of a ground-breaking innovation that would truly do justice to creators and their content.”

The Challenges

Despite the team’s optimism, creating a new standard was a challenge at first. Even with headquarters and managements’ support at the time, some within the company were skeptical as to whether Samsung would be able to create a viable industry standard that could be adopted by studios, chipmakers and device manufacturers.

“It was a tough call, but we all understood the significance of creating a new standard,” said Kim. “There was a lot of debate, but everyone came around when they realized that by creating a new standard, we’d also be keeping our promise to our consumers. If the industry relied on just one standard, it would be difficult to update previous HDR10 products.”

The biggest technological challenges laid in creating a mathematical curve that could be used as a base for tone mapping each scene, and figuring out a way to parameterize it into a set of data that could serve as a universal descriptor to represent the tone mapping behavior for a given scene. The mathematical curve not only needed to be optimized for every possible scene, it also needed to be flexible enough to do so. It was therefore important that the team find a curve that would cater to the way studios tend to map their tones: fragmented.

Creating a New Standard

After months of research and multiple simulations, the team, led by Dr. Li Tao, finally landed on a mathematical curve that was flexible enough to do the job.

The idea was to mimic the way that studios edit scenes. The Bézier curve turned out to be the perfect choice for replicating fragmentation, which meant that it would represent creators’ intentions more precisely. However, before they could utilize the curve as a base for creating dynamic metadata through mathematical optimization, the team would have to modify it first. It was at this point that they had the innovative idea to enhance its flexibility by transforming the two-dimensional curve to a one-dimensional data set.

With this increased flexibility came the ability to create optimized tone-mapping curves for each scene. By combining this with an algorithm that automatically transforms each curve into metadata, the team created a powerful tool that would allow Samsung’s TVs to offer consumers truly immersive viewing experiences.

Using the analogy of a master chef sharing a prized recipe, Kim explained the technology’s potential to change the way consumers experience content. “Imagine a chef’s culinary masterpiece, turned into a recipe for the ordinary household kitchen,” said Kim. “Imagine that the recipe is so precise that anyone can use it to create a near-perfect dish. Now, imagine a tool that writes this recipe automatically – instead of the chef – and for all types of cuisines. Finally, imagine that, once they buy the ingredients, the recipe becomes available to anyone.

“Samsung has not only created the standard for writing the ‘recipe,’ but the tool as well,” Kim continued. “But in order for this to happen, we need the ‘chefs’ (the studios), the ‘groceries’ (content providers) and the ‘cooks’ at home (device and chip manufacturers) to all work together.”

An Expanding Ecosystem

Since its official launch last year, HDR10+ has seen rapid expansion, spurred by Samsung and its partners’ decisions to (1) make the technology available to chip and TV manufacturers royalty-free, and (2) make the HDR10+ platform and metadata freely available to content companies, as well as UHD Blu-ray player and set-top box manufacturers.

As a result, we’re witnessing the establishment of a strong ecosystem of HDR10+ offerings, with the power to revolutionize home entertainment. In order to deliver immersive, lifelike visuals to more consumers’ living rooms, Samsung has been hard at work forging HDR10+ partnerships – spanning the worlds of cinema, software and device manufacturing – that are expediting the technology’s widespread adoption.

As Kim explained, the HDR10+ platform was designed to support seamless adoption without substantial economic or technological hurdles. “We have been collaborating with third-party software developers, including Colorfront and Blackmagic Design, among others, as well as encoding-system companies to embed HDR10+,” said Kim. “We’ve demonstrated the quality of HDR10+’s performance, and emphasized the economic aspects of implementation. Compared to HDR10 or other competitors, there are no additional costs associated with implementing HDR10+ for content creation, nor are there additional hardware costs for HDR10+ displays. The new platform’s contents are retroactively compatible with existing HDR10 devices.”

Samsung has established exciting partnerships with device, chip and projector manufacturers that will introduce more consumers to HDR10+’s true-to-life picture quality. Notable examples include V-Silicon (formerly Sigma Designs), and TP Vision. The company has also forged and expanded partnerships with leading film studios and content service providers including ivi, Russia’s largest online video service provider, Amazon Prime Video, and Warner Bros.

As noted by Kim, with more HDR10+ TVs, SoCs (System on Chip) and AVR and projector manufacturers set to join the fold soon, and more and more HDR10+ content coming down the pipeline, the official HDR10+ logo certification marks an important milestone, and represents the beginning of a new era for picture quality.

“The introduction of the HDR10+ certification logo represents the groundwork that we are setting for the ultra-high picture quality TV market,” said Kim. “Utilizing our leading technology and expertise, we will continue to extend our valuable partnerships while maintaining our commitment to providing consumers with the best HDR content possible.”

(From left to right) Back: Chenguang Liu, Dr. Yeong-Taeg Kim, Pradeep Nagesh, Seongnam Oh,  Front: Suzie Hyun, Li Tao

Samsung Electronics announced today its new 2019 lifestyle TVs, The Frame and The Serif TV, will be on display at CES 2019, the world’s largest consumer electronics show in Las Vegas. The 2019 Frame and Serif TV combines award-winning and innovative design that fits any home décor with superb QLED picture quality and Smart features to provide consumers with the best possible TV functionality.

The Frame and Serif TV, Samsung’s flagship lifestyle TV lines, go beyond the traditional concept of a TV to pieces of home décor that elevate the design of any living space. At CES 2019, this year’s Frame and SERIF TV will be on display in the large lifestyle TV exhibition zone of Samsung’s booth to showcase their innovative design, performance, and how they seamlessly blend into daily life.

“The traditional TV was only focused on technical features, such as picture quality and performance, but now TVs are also a lifestyle platform that blends in consumers’ daily life,” said Jongsuk Choo, Executive Vice President of Visual Display Business at Samsung Electronics. “This year’s models of The Frame and SERIF TV are enhanced lifestyle TVs that deliver a TV experience like nothing before.”

The 2019 Frame by Samsung

When it is not being used to enjoy TV or movie content, The Frame’s Art Mode displays digital pieces of artwork, including paintings and pictures, to turn an everyday living space into an art gallery. In addition, The Frame’s Luminance Sensor adjusts colors on-screen to fit the ambient brightness of the room, delivering the optimal settings to display artwork on screen.

This year’s model of The Frame also features the pristine picture quality of QLED, which offers deeper contrasts, deeper and darker blacks and 100% color volume. With these enhancements, users can both enjoy content in the most premium quality and appreciate artwork when the TV is turned off.

In addition, The Frame’s Art Store ¹ is building on its partnerships with the world’s most prestigious galleries and museums by providing access to over 1,000 pieces of art. In the Art Store, masterpieces from the Uffizi Galleries in Italy, the Van Gogh Museum in The Netherlands, Te Papa in New Zealand have recently been added. Samsung will continue to expand its partnership with museums in the future to strengthen the art distribution ecosystem.

The Frame also features Bixby, Samsung’s AI-powered voice control platform, transforming it into a truly Smart TV. Users can control the TV and access streaming platforms through simple voice commands giving users an enhanced content experience.

SERIF TV

The Serif TV was developed as an aesthetic-focused TV in collaboration with Paris-based design brothers Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec, two of the world’s most famous industrial designers that specialize in furniture. The Serif TV was granted the prestigious 2016 iF Design Award, the 2016 Wallpaper* Design Award in the UK and the 2016 Good Design Award in Japan – making it the first Samsung TV to win these prestigious accolades.

The 2019 Serif TV also comes with cutting-edge QLED technology to deliver improved picture quality. Ambient Mode, an award-winning feature in Samsung’s QLED lineup, provides information, such as news headlines and weather updates, the ability to display imagery, and blend into any living space when the TV is turned off, was also added to enhance The Serif’s functionality.

In the past, The Serif TV was sold almost exclusively in furniture shops and department stores given its focus on interior décor, but it will be available for purchase in consumer electronics retailers in 2019, as well, to reach a wider base of consumers.

¹ Samsung Art Store: $4.99 per month. New subscribers get 1 month free. Art can also be purchased a la carte.