To help you catch up with these and other exciting updates from San Jose, here’s a handy list of the top themes on display at SDC19.

Held at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center in sunny California, this year’s Samsung Developer Conference is a showcase of the hottest topics in tech.

Expanding the Bixby and SmartThings Ecosystems

This year at SDC, Samsung is showcasing strides it’s made to integrate Bixby into a wide range of devices. The company is also introducing enhancements that will make it easier for developers to enrich Bixby and the SmartThings IoT platform with useful services, and in doing so, create more ways for users to infuse intelligence into everything they do.

Outlining Samsung’s efforts to offer developers more ways to work with Bixby, Eui-Suk Chung, EVP, Mobile Communications Business, Samsung Electronics, discusses the AI platform’s expansion. “In 2019, we made it even easier to use Bixby,” Chung explains. “We added new capabilities not only on our flagship devices, but also on most of our A-series devices, on more Galaxy tablets and watches, TVs and home appliances. Just to give you countless new ways to integrate intelligence into everything you do.”

Samsung demonstrates how enhancements to the Bixby Developer Studio, including new Bixby Templates and Bixby Views, will streamline the development of capsules that work across Bixby’s ever-growing ecosystem of devices.

In addition to unveiling a new Rules API that will spur the creation of more automated smart home experiences, Samsung introduced a SmartThings Device SDK beta program – set to launch early next year – that will help third-party manufacturers build SmartThings-supported devices.

New Devices and Experiences

Those visiting SDC19 are treated to first looks at some of the latest and greatest products of Samsung’s innovation. Spanning categories like mobile devices, UX design and more, the devices and experiences showcased at the conference hold the power to transform the way people live, work and connect.

The launch of Samsung’s Galaxy Fold established a brand-new product category – one that opens the door to a new era of mobile experiences. To help realize its vision of a foldable future, Samsung is demonstrating its commitment to developing a variety of foldable form factors at SDC19. Enriching the category with more options will help Samsung and developers explore new use cases and user experiences.

Also on display at SDC is the new, Bixby-enabled Galaxy Home Mini, which fosters continuous IoT experiences when managing connected devices, and offers powerful pound-for-pound audio quality.

Seeing is believing: An SDC attendee examines how Samsung’s AI ScaleNet technology makes it possible to stream high-quality 8K videos on networks with lower bandwidth capabilities.

Peeks at Cutting-edge Blockchain and Enterprise Solutions

SDC19 offers partners and developers a chance to learn more about one of the hottest trends in technology today: blockchain. Speakers and sessions discuss how enterprises and developers can utilize Samsung’s latest blockchain-powered services to capitalize on the technology’s incredible potential.

The conference also offers attendees an opportunity to see how Samsung is leveraging its years of experience leading innovation in a variety of industries – ranging from retail and manufacturing to transportation and healthcare – to provide enterprises with customized services tailored to their needs.

Seungyun Lee, Principal Engineer, Knox Platform for Enterprise, Samsung Electronics, discusses Samsung’s commitment to advancing blockchain technology – a commitment that’s seen the company produce one of the first smartphones with blockchain technology built-in, and streamline data and cryptocurrency management with the launches of the Samsung Blockchain Keystore and the new Samsung Blockchain Platform SDK. “Together,” Lee explains, “all of these innovations mark a new beginning for the blockchain ecosystem – with Samsung at the forefront.”

SDC attendees eagerly explore the various blockchain innovations being displayed at SDC19. Included among these is the new Samsung Blockchain Platform SDK, which opens up exciting opportunities for developers by 1) offering them more options for securely storing private keys, 2) supporting cryptocurrency transactions, and 3) enabling apps to be smoothly integrated into a mobile space.

Samsung’s SDC19 booth also includes exhibits that illustrate why enterprises in a variety of fields – including industries known to employ the strictest security standards – trust Samsung to help them customize solutions.

But Wait, There’s More!

At the end of the day, SDC is about inspiring people to pursue meaningful innovation. Which is why those visiting the conference are also exposed to projects and initiatives that are making a tangible difference in the world, like the Samsung Global Goals app.

Created to support the achievement of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, the educational and donation-based mobile app offers a simple way for the Galaxy community to support the causes they care about. To help maximize the app’s impact, Samsung has announced that it will match proceeds generated through the app and donate the same amount.¹

That’s all for now, but there’s plenty more to come as SDC19 enters its second day. For more information on the topics and innovations being discussed at the event, be sure to check out Samsung Newsroom’s ongoing coverage. And don’t forget to check back here for more updates on Samsung’s latest AI, IoT and developer innovations.

¹Samsung has pledged to match donations with ad proceeds generated through the Global Goals app; up to $5 million annually.

Bringing together government representatives, mobile service providers, industry analysts and manufacturers, Samsung aimed to enable conversation and partnership-building to more efficiently catalyze the deployment of 5G Fixed Wireless Access (FWA). This technology is expected to help revolutionize all facets of human life in an age when people, objects and data systems are becoming increasingly connected.

In addition to a keynote on 5G spectrum and government enablement led by Julius Knapp, Chief of the Federal Communications Commission Office of Engineering and Technology, the summit also addressed the current state, challenges and requirements in creating business opportunities for 5G technologies.

Industry experts such as academics and eco-partners defined the key technologies for creating an aligned 5G evolution path, helping shape the end-to-end ecosystem through testing, verifying and optimizing radio frequency performance using 5G frequencies above/sub 6GHz. Session speakers reiterated the need for the creation of a strong and sustainable ecosystem for successful 5G implementation.

The Silicon Valley 5G Summit, which successfully kick-started the conversation to explore ways to implement 5G FWA, is scheduled to become an annual event. Through efforts like these, Samsung will continue to remain dedicated to advancing the digital industry and accelerating the transformation of 5G from a vision to a reality.

The Silicon Valley 5G Summit was held at Samsung Research America in San Jose. Silicon Valley was chosen for the location of the event because the area itself represents an ecosystem for high tech innovation and development where key players are creating an innovative digital society.

“The rapid advancement of today’s mobile communications is astounding with ubiquitous access to information and immersive multimedia experiences,” stated Yongje Kim, EVP of Samsung Research America, in the event’s welcoming speech. “By enabling eco-partners across the industry to share their experiences and knowledge at today’s summit, we wish to see progress towards a complete scene of 5G.”

Julius Knapp, Chief of the Federal Communications Commission Office of Engineering and Technology, led the summit’s keynote speech. He noted that the role of policy makers should be made to enable 5G services in the aspect of frequency assignment.

Representing a wide cross-section of interests and expertise, the Silicon Valley 5G Summit featured session speakers that addressed 5G pioneer opportunities and the expanding 5G ecosystem.

Paul Kyungwhoon Cheun, Executive Vice President, Head of the Next Generation Communications Business Team at Samsung Electronics, noted in the summit’s closing comments, “The collective intelligence we have seen today is the result of interaction between various industry segments, and I am confident that this will act as a catalyst in transforming 5G from vision to reality.”

Samsung Electronics today hosted the first Silicon Valley 5G Summit, held at Samsung Research America in San Jose, U.S. The summit, expected to become an annual event, brought together global telecommunications industry leaders from across the value chain to lay the foundation for an open end-to-end ecosystem for fifth generation (5G) networks.

More than 100 industry leaders gathered to discuss the opportunities and challenges involved in the commercialization of 5G technologies. The participants consisted of chip makers and other component manufacturers, telecom operators, universities, industry analysts, system vendors, investors, policy makers and measurement equipment vendors, representing a wide cross-section of interests and expertise.

The summit addressed the current status, challenges and requirements for creating business opportunities for 5G technologies. Government officials discussed the role of policy makers to enable 5G services through allocation of spectrum, while attendees examined the market outlook for new 5G service opportunities – including Fixed Wireless Access and the future of mobile connectivity services. Industry experts, including academics and eco-partners, held discussions on key technologies for creating an aligned 5G evolution path, helping to shape the end-to-end ecosystem through testing, verifying and optimizing radio frequency (RF) performance of 5G candidate frequencies above and below 6GHz.

“The United States was the first country to make broader ultra-high frequency millimeter wave spectrum bands available for next generation mobile wireless services. This was made possible through the swift action on wireless policy taken by the Federal Communications Commission,” said Julius Knapp, Chief of the Federal Communications Commission Office of Engineering and Technology, who delivered the Summit’s keynote speech. “Today’s summit will also accelerate 5G deployment and contribute to future wireless innovations for 5G and beyond.”

The summit consisted of session programs and an exhibition that featured a diverse range of ecosystem partners showcasing products and services. This summit program was designed to show the beginnings of strong and viable ecosystem that could support rapid 5G commercialization.

“We believe it is time to come together and shape the new era of 5G and, to that goal, it is critical to build a sustainable ecosystem by inviting all industry stakeholders to share their perspectives on how 5G will develop over the next few years,” said Paul Kyungwhoon Cheun, Executive Vice President, Head of the Next Generation Communications Business Team at Samsung Electronics. “The collective intelligence we have seen today is the result of interaction between various industry segments, and I am confident that this will act as a catalyst in transforming 5G from vision to reality.”

“5G technologies will help bring about many new and enhanced services. Looking at the current pace of the market, 5G Fixed Wireless Access commercial services could be available in a few years’ time,” said Daryl Schoolar, Principal Analyst at Ovum. “For 5G Fixed Wireless Access to be successful, it will need a robust ecosystem in order to drive innovation, keep prices down, and ensure a strong multivendor environment. Today’s summit was an important first to kick-start discussions dedicated to 5G Fixed Wireless Access and other 5G opportunities.”

For more information on the Silicon Valley 5G Summit, please visit The Silicon Valley 5G Summit.

To learn more about 5G Fixed Wireless Access and the path to 5G mobility, please visit ‘5G Fixed Wireless Access, providing fiber speeds over the air while also helping pave the way for full 5G mobility‘ co-published by Samsung and Ovum.