As our world becomes increasingly more digital, and technology plays a bigger role in our lives, Samsung Electronics is working to develop various features that enable its products to be accessed and used to the greatest extent possible by all people. Let’s take a closer look at the company’s approach to do so in part three of our “Strides in Stewardship” series.

Reflecting Feedback to Improve Accessibility

“Over the past decade, as mobile trends have shifted from conventional cell phones to smartphones, many of us with visual impairments have found it difficult to use the new devices,” said Gwangman Moon, a South Korean man who lost his sight in 1999. “Today’s smartphones don’t have mechanical keyboards. So, because we rely on our sense of touch to receive a lot information, we need to carry a separate keyboard to use them.”

Moon, who first got involved with Samsung through a company-sponsored computer education program for the visually impaired, now participates as a member of Samsung Supporters, a volunteer group that tests out smartphone features for usability and offers feedback to improve device accessibility. Most recently, he has helped to advance the Voice Assistant on the Galaxy S8 by determining which features cannot be activated using only voice commands.

In addition to listening to external feedback from people like Moon who use Samsung products in their daily lives, the company has also established Smart Angels, a team of employees that voluntarily educates people with various disabilities on how to use their devices. The volunteers also listen to the opinions of the users to better understand how the company can further enhance accessibility.

Eliminating Obstacles Through Universal Design

To reflect feedback received through these interactions, Samsung has developed and applied a variety of auxiliary technical solutions across the entire Galaxy lineup so that just about everyone can take advantage of its innovative products and features.

For example, users with visual impairments can make use of high contrast fonts, keyboards and downloadable themes as well as a High Contrast Mode for the Samsung Internet app  that all enable easier reading and higher visibility. Voice Assistant, meanwhile, provides spoken feedback about information on the screen, and Rapid Key Input reads out the keyboard character being touched, thus eliminating the need for additional accessories.

Similarly, those with hearing impairments are able to utilize the Sound Detectors tool, which provides visual cues and vibration when the sound of a baby crying or a doorbell ringing is detected, and Flash Notification, which alerts the user of alarms and notifications with a flash of the camera light or screen.

Easy Screen Turn On and Universal Switch features make the device easier to control through the use of gestures and/or movements, enhancing usability for those with mobility and dexterity impairments.

These are just a few of the growing number of features Samsung has employed to make the daily task of using a smartphone easier and more enjoyable for all.

Making Life Easier, One Service at a Time

In addition to UX and app enhancements, Samsung’s mobile services are also adding an element of convenience to everyday activities.

Bixby Voice eliminates the need to go through multiple steps to accomplish a mobile task, allowing users, for instance, to dictate and send a text to a friend or check their daily schedule with a simple voice command. Likewise, Bixby Voice makes it possible to quickly engage with friends, family and other communities on social media and in text messaging applications.

“Bixby is revolutionary,” explained Moon of his own personal experiences. “Because a message or comment can be transcribed by simply speaking it out, we can save a lot of time by not having to type it. In this way, Bixby instills in me a sense of confidence when communicating with others.”

Bixby Vision also makes life easier by using the phone’s camera app to relay information about one’s surroundings. To illustrate, it can vocalize which food items are in front of a user so they can know that they’re opening the specific potato chips or soft drink they want to consume.

Another example is Samsung DeX. While the service enhances the mobile experience by allowing users to use their smartphone like a desktop by providing a seamless, secure mobile to PC transition, it also enables those who experience difficulties typing or using gestures on a smartphone to more easily navigate content via a larger display.

“Now I can use a keyboard and mouse to control my smartphone more conveniently,” noted Donghee Lee, a smartphone user who controls his device with his toes. “It’s very well designed in terms of accessibility for people with disabilities.”

A More Accessible Future

Samsung’s efforts to enhance accessibility have recently been praised by various organizations including ONCE, the National Organization of the Blind in Spain, who recognized the Galaxy S8 and S8+  as devices that comply with the universal accessibility requirements and are properly equipped for visually impaired users. Additionally, the National Human Rights Commission of Korea will present Inho Baek, Samsung’s Mobile Accessibility UX Designer, with the Human Rights Award of Korea on December 8.

Baek is honored to have been nominated for such an accolade, but admits that he is more excited to learn of the many ways Samsung’s products have and will continue to influence users’ lives.

“Since implementing the new accessibility features on Samsung’s Galaxy products, many people, particularly those with disabilities, have told us that their quality of life has greatly improved,” he said. “But we have a vision that will drive the company to improve even further. In fact, it’s our responsibility. It’s my hope that through universal design, everyone will one day be able to enjoy new and beneficial experiences, regardless of their level of ability.”

In part two of our “Strides in Stewardship” series, we explore some of the ways Samsung is providing new value for customers and the environment through its green practices and eco-friendly mobile innovations.

Using Sustainable Materials and Technologies to Create a Sustainable World

How can a smartphone be eco-friendly? Samsung works tirelessly to develop materials with improved eco-properties through collaborative projects between various departments including R&D and quality management.

As a result of this effort, the company has released products containing bio-material using industrial corn, mineral-based plastic and a novel application of polyketone, a polymer produced with carbon monoxide captured during the formulary process, used in TVs for the first time in the industry.

Samsung also uses recycled plastics for select products after classifying, cleaning and remanufacturing plastics from collected waste products in collaboration with recycling companies. The Galaxy S8, for example, uses recycled plastic in its inner packaging tray (30 percent) and charging adapter (20 percent). Half of the phone’s box is made up of recycled paper while its packaging and manual are printed with soy ink.

Energy efficiency is another consideration for sustainability. For example, the Galaxy S8’s Fast Charging Charger (5V/2A, 9V/1.67A) is optimized with low no-load power consumption (0.02w) and enhanced charging efficiency (86 percent).

Such efforts are the reasons why Samsung’s devices have continuously been recognized for their sustainable design and technology, achieving eco-labels in many markets around the world. The Galaxy S8, for example, has been granted a number of eco-labels including EPEAT and ECOLOGO Gold Certification by UL (USA), Carbon Trust (U.K.), Vitality Leaf (Russia) and Selo Colibri (Brazil).

Green and Clean: Responsible Chemical Management

With the expansion of worldwide RoHS and REACH-like regulations, Samsung increasingly conducts rigorous inspections and management procedures for raw materials and parts it uses to ensure it provides safe, responsible products for customers.

Among the company’s management efforts include the maintenance of an Environmental Analysis Lab for analyzing hazardous substances and volatile organic compounds, and an in-house monitoring process on restricted substances. Furthermore, Samsung has trained more than 650 internal auditors to execute environmental quality control to ensure that restricted substances are not intentionally present in its products.

The company also operates the Eco-Partner Certification Program, a comprehensive environmental initiative, to assess the environmental impact of product components, raw materials and the manufacturing processes of its suppliers. To ensure the efficiency of the program, Samsung has developed the Environmental-Chemicals Integrated Management System (e-CIMS) to monitor hazardous substances used by its Eco-Partners, and works only with companies that have acquired all necessary eco-related certification. Currently, Samsung manages 1,058 partners – a number that has quadrupled since 2010.

Additionally, the company has been voluntarily working to completely phase out the use of potentially dangerous chemicals such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC), brominated flame retardants (BFRs) and phthalates, and is continuously reducing usage of hazardous substances in its products.

Environmentally Conscious Product Assessment and Development

Over the past few years, Samsung has conducted a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) for its leading smartphones. This methodology assesses 12 potential environmental impacts such as global warming, ocean acidification and ozone layer depletion contained at each stage of a product’s life cycle, from design and manufacturing, to purchase and usage, to end-of-life processing and disposal.

This technique was first implemented in 2015 with the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy Note5, and was followed through to the Galaxy Note8, Samsung’s most recent flagship smartphone. The devices that underwent the 12 processes showed their largest environmental impact in the areas of pre-manufacturing and distribution. Based on LCA results, these areas are where Samsung is putting its focus on improving energy efficiency and reducing supply chain emissions of the devices, thus reducing the environmental impact of the products.

In line with its commitment to constantly improve energy efficiency and recyclability, and reduce hazardous substances in products, Samsung has also established its own Eco-rating System which evaluates the sustainability performance of every product development project. The rating system consists of three grades – Premium Eco-Product, Good Eco-Product and Eco-Product – which are designated based on a product’s energy efficiency, resource efficiency and compliance with global environmental standards.

Through continuous revision and evaluation of standards, Samsung reflects new eco features and the latest environmental innovation in its products. Product ratings have been increasingly improving, and the company is striving to have 90 percent of new development projects receive the Good Eco-Product stamp of approval or higher by 2020.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: Contributing to a Circular Economy

To do its part to support the circular economy, Samsung is partaking in a variety of activities that improve resource efficiency and reuse resources. These initiatives include extending the periods of product use by offering services such as repairing products, upgrading firmware for performance improvement and extending warranty coverage periods.

Additionally, rather than just discarding returned mobile products, Samsung changes their parts, reinstalls software and repackages them as refurbished devices, selling them at reduced prices. Provided in the U.S. and U.K., this service improves resource efficiency by facilitating the reuse of goods.

For instance, Samsung earlier this year announced plans for reusing and recycling select components of Galaxy Note7 devices. Parts such as OLED display modules, memory chips, camera modules and raw materials have since been used for service purposes, sold as components or incorporated into the Galaxy Note FE, working with companies that specialize in the collection of recycling materials.

Another ongoing project by Samsung is C-lab’s Galaxy Upcycling, which provides an environmentally-responsible way for old Galaxy mobile devices to be recycled. Seventy percent of used devices is left untouched after three years of their launch, and the number of such products is estimated to be 0.2 billion units every year. Those devices that might otherwise be forgotten in desk drawers or discarded are utilized to build new IoT open platforms, CCTV systems, game consoles and more.

Samsung is also making multiple efforts to reuse resources by conducting activities such as the establishment of waste product collection systems, an expanded use of recycled materials and global take-back and recycling programs in approximately 60 countries.

Creating a more sustainable economy will change the world in many ways, and Samsung will continue to do all it can to implement environmental and resource-related solutions while providing consumers with an increasing number and quality of responsibly-designed products.

By establishing internal Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) standards, enhancing antenna design and maintaining close collaboration between teams during product development stages, the company has been able to produce a number of mobile devices with some of the lowest SAR levels on the market.

In the first installment of the “Strides in Stewardship” series, we will take a closer look at some of the initiatives taken by Samsung to achieve this accomplishment.

So What Exactly Is SAR?

When electromagnetic waves are received and transmitted by a wireless device such as a smartphone, some of the RF energy is lost to the surrounding environment and can be absorbed by the person handling the product. SAR is the rate at which human biological tissues – such as those in the body and head – absorb these stray RF signals from the source being measured.

SAR provides a straightforward method for measuring the RF exposure characteristics of mobile devices to ensure that they are within the safety guidelines based on standards that have been developed by independent scientific organizations through exhaustive evaluation of scientific studies.

In the US, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) requires that all phones sold have an SAR level at or below 1.6 watts per kilogram (W/kg) averaged over 1 gram of actual tissue – a guideline based upon the standards developed by IEEE, NCRP and input from other federal agencies. Similarly, Japan, China and most European nations follow the guidelines specified by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP), which sets the SAR limit at 2 W/kg averaged over 10 grams of actual tissue.

* The SAR levels indicated in this chart are based on US devices. SAR levels may vary by model and region. For more information, visit: https://www.samsung.com/sar/

Samsung is so committed to ensuring the safety of its users that its internal maximum SAR level is half of those fixed by the previously mentioned international standards. This is emphasized in the chart above, which lists the company’s smartphones launched in 2017 and their respective SAR levels. These levels, particularly the Head SAR levels, are some of the lowest on the market today.

To achieve the lowest SAR levels possible, Samsung has dedicated many of its resources to research and development, particularly in the area of antenna design. That’s because RF waves from mobile phones are emitted from the antenna, and the closer the antenna is to body tissue, the greater a person’s exposure to RF energy is expected to be.

Taking the Lead in Antenna Innovation

In 2006, Samsung adopted an innovative antenna system to enhance device safety by maintaining significantly lower SAR levels compared to other products while simultaneously improving overall RF performance. One way the company has been successful in achieving this goal is by making antenna location a priority in its smartphone design.

“Antenna placement is incredibly important. A one-millimeter difference in location can reduce the SAR level by a large margin,” noted Yoonjae Lee, Antenna Group, Mobile R&D Office, Samsung Electronics. “The location of the antenna has to be decided during the product planning stage, as it’s difficult to change its placement later on.”

Over the past few years, Samsung has focused its efforts on embedding the TX antennas – the antennas that are most closely associated with higher SAR rates – at the bottom of the phone body. In doing so, cell phone radiation is directed away from the head of the user, where the phone is typically held during phone calls and the part of the body where RF energy poses the biggest health concerns.

But recently, design trends have shifted to favor metal phone bodies with bigger displays, making antenna positioning more challenging.

With today’s devices, the external metal frames of the phone body become the antenna itself. Therefore, antenna placement and general phone design have to be considered simultaneously, which requires the close cooperation of multiple teams. To facilitate this process, Samsung conducts a number of simulations using proprietary software and tools to determine the best location for the antenna based on the phone’s design, without having to use a physical prototype of the device.

In addition to the placement of the antenna, certain device materials and even chemicals in the product’s color coating can affect SAR levels as well as the performance of the antenna, further complicating the product development process. As a result, Samsung’s Antenna Group works closely with different design teams, including the Color, Material and Finish (CMF) team.

“When the CMF team proposes the use of a new material – which was the case with the Galaxy Note8 – the design team commissions a detailed substance analysis of the material,” said Lee. “The Antenna Group then conducts various tests to determine all the possible ways the material might influence the behavior of the antenna.”

As product development advances, Samsung tests SAR levels at every stage, considering the highest output when the body of the device and the head of the user are in close contact. Should the anticipated SAR levels of a product come out higher than the company’s standards during any stage of product development, the process is halted and modifications are made until the SAR levels are satisfactory.

To test the SAR level of a mobile device, Samsung conducts 2D and 3D scans using a special liquid-form material that has similar permittivity and conductivity levels as those of human body tissue. Measurements are made at different frequencies representing the frequency bands at which the device can transmit.

Samsung has also applied its antenna know-how to its wearable devices, which boast SAR levels that are significantly lower than those of the products of the company’s competitors.

“Many other wearable manufacturers are struggling with SAR levels. Even if they try to utilize the appropriate materials and placement for the antenna, they lack relevant technology patents,” said Inyoung Lee, Antenna Group, Mobile R&D Office, Samsung Electronics. “But Samsung’s antenna design is completely different from those of other brands. As a result, we are able to sustain low SAR levels while ensuring optimal antenna performance.”

An Ongoing Effort

In an effort to maintain its momentum in antenna innovation going forward, Samsung earlier this year established the Antenna Design Studio, an initiative that the company hopes will help systemize the antenna design stage by integrating its many different parts – including software simulations and hardware testing – to minimize repetitive stages and determine the most efficient performance.

The company has also established an internal task force to determine which fields of expertise are needed to enhance antenna design (and thus continue to lower SAR levels), and are working consistently to grow its workforce to include highly trained antenna technicians and material experts.

In doing so, the company strives to continue to lead the smartphone industry through antenna development, all the while producing mobile devices with the lowest SAR levels possible.