When innovative technology meets great design, our lives can become more convenient. Samsung Newsroom spoke with inspiring people who use Samsung products and features to unlock new possibilities and enhance their lives.

Exploring the World Together

It is only natural for parents to want to share special moments together with their children, especially as they grow curious about the world and find joy in discovering new things. For parents with visual impairments, exploring the world with children requires a different approach.

“This is an apple, and this is a puppy.”

Children often point at objects they don’t know as they grow up and learn about their surroundings. With Bixby Vision for accessibility, parents with visual impairments can find out what their children are curious about as the device narrates for them. Even if parents aren’t able to see what’s in front of them, they can experience the world with their children through sound.

[Bixby Vision for Accessibility]

With an easy setup and simple interface, Bixby Vision vocally describes what it sees, helping people make sense of the world around them. Bixby Vision supports scene describer,¹ object identifier,² text reader and color detector.

* On smartphones and tablets: Settings → Accessibility → Spoken assistance → Bixby Vision for accessibility
** Service availability and content providers may vary by country, device, OS and One UI version.

Enjoying the World Together

Everyone is different — even members of the same family. For CODA³ families, hearing children converse with their parents who are deaf through sign language. As children grow up, parents want to learn more about what their children are experiencing and enjoying.

“Mom, look at that. Isn’t it funny?”

With Sign Language Zoom, it’s easier for CODA parents to better understand what their children are watching through a bigger sign language screen. Now, the entire family can enjoy their time in front of the TV and share even more laughter and joy together.

[Sign Language Zoom]

Sign Language Zoom automatically recognizes and enlarges the sign language area, enabling users who are deaf to see more detailed mouth and facial expressions. You can specify a sign language area and adjust the magnification by up to 200%. Users who are deaf or hard of hearing can also use this function to zoom in on a specific area of the screen, such as scores for sporting events or quiz programs.

* On TVs: Home → Menu → Settings → All settings → General & Privacy → Accessibility → Sign Language Zoom Settings
** Available on all Samsung Smart TVs released in 2021 or later.

Sharing With the World

Each and every one of us is different, with our physical abilities changing over time. Given the diverse range of experiences being lived by others around the world, it is important that everyone feels empowered to do what they want, meet who they want and live the life they want.

“I want to inspire people through social media.”

People with physical disabilities can seamlessly take, edit and share selfies on social media using the Assistant menu on Samsung smartphones or tablets. With the Assistant menu, everyone can use their personal devices to communicate and meet new friends.

[Assistant menu]

The Assistant menu lets you easily control your phone by simply tapping a shortcut icon to access hardware buttons, apps, features and other settings.

* On smartphones and tablets: Settings → Accessibility → Interaction and dexterity → Assistant menu

Staying in Tune With the World

For people who are deaf and hard of hearing, navigating the world can take a different shape. With this in mind, it’s important for them to receive everyday notifications in new ways.

“Light can become a language of its own.”

Light can help those who are deaf and hard of hearing receive the information they need in their day-to-day life. SmartThings uses lighting to notify users when someone’s at the door, when meals are ready or when the laundry is done. Light has become a way to communicate through SmartThings.

[SmartThings]

Sync your devices and appliances via the SmartThings app to control and get notifications about your air conditioner, washing machine, fridge and more.^* Then, connect partner products such as door sensors, lights and thermostats to automate and simplify your own day-to-day routine^** — like setting your smart light to dim or change colors once the laundry is done.

* To set notifications

• On smartphone and tablets: SmartThings app → Menu → Notifications → More (⋮) → Notification settings
• On TVs released in 2021 or later: SmartThings app → Settings → Notifications

TV notifications are limited to minimize any interruptions to the viewing experience.

** To set SmartThings routines

• SmartThings app → Automations → Add (+) Create routine
  

Possibilities Never Before Imagined

Samsung believes these stories can foster a world where all people benefit from the convenience enabled by technology.

Users with disabilities have utilized Samsung’s features in creative ways to enhance their lives — despite the fact that some functions were not originally designed as accessibility features. To this end, Samsung has provided new ways for users to interact with its products and services and has taken inspiration from real-life cases to develop stories with guidance from the Samsung Accessibility Committee⁴ and Samsung Family Supporters.⁵

Samsung hopes to continue creating accessible designs that unlock new possibilities so everyone will be empowered to lead meaningful, independent lives.

From the UX Team of the Corporate Design Center, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

* This article consists of stories based on interviews with people with disabilities and guidance from Samsung Family Supporters, an organization made up of Samsung employees and family members with disabilities.
** Illustrations by KIMUSTUDIO, an organization working with talented designers with developmental disabilities who create artistic pieces that challenge long-held stereotypes that have previously created prejudices in art.

¹ Scene describer mode currently supports English (US), French, German, Italian, Korean, Mandarin Chinese, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish (Spain).
² Object identifier mode supports 54 languages, which are the same languages supported in the translation feature.
³ CODA is an acronym for Children of Deaf Adults, referring to children raised by at least one guardian who is deaf.
⁴ The Samsung Accessibility Committee works closely together with designers and developers to continuously improve the accessibility experience for all Samsung users.
⁵ Together with Samsung Family Supporters, consisting of Samsung employees and family members with disabilities, Samsung assesses the needs of users across the spectrum to create ease of use for all.

By working with users and listening to their feedback, Samsung has developed accessibility features to empower individuals with visual impairments for Galaxy devices.^1,2 To mark this year’s Global Accessibility Awareness Day, the company is putting a spotlight on the three features which have enabled many Galaxy users to live more freely.

Transforming Lives with Innovations

The idea behind Bixby Vision is a simple one. It’s designed to give people the ability to gain more information about their surroundings by using a smartphone’s camera. The new accessibility features, namely Quick Reader, Scene Describer, and Color Detector, build on this capability to help users with visual impairments navigate the world and enjoy more enriching experiences.³

Understanding labels and signs is a daily challenge for users with visual impairments. By reading out written text in real-time, Quick Reader helps these users gain a better understanding of textual information in daily life.⁴

The feature can also recognize over 1,000 common objects and items. From identifying food and vegetables in the kitchen to locating cleaning products, it can help users carry out daily routines with ease.

Scene Describer provides descriptions of any images, including captured scenes and downloaded pictures. This could help users identify potential obstacles when they are navigating their surroundings.

While it’s possible for people with visual impairments to identify the materials and design of their clothes by touch, it’s difficult to do the same when it comes to distinguishing between different colors. The Color Detector provides a way to address this.⁵ With a simple camera scan, the feature can inform users of the color of the item in the frame.

“Before these features came to Bixby Vision, I had trouble picking my work clothes and identifying objects in the office alone,” says Kwangman Moon, a Galaxy user with visual impairment. “Now, I don’t need to give up on these simple tasks just because I can’t see.”

Collaborating with Users

Receiving users’ feedback is essential for the development of any mobile feature. For the latest Bixby Vision accessibility features, Samsung’s collaborative approach takes on even more significant importance.

“One of the problems we faced when testing the features with visually impaired users is that their way of experiencing the world is different from ours,” says Mikael Fodor, UX researcher at Samsung Research United Kingdom. “Being able to observe how the features work in the hands of our users and in real life situations allows us to understand problems and make improvements scientifically.”

For users who collaborate with Samsung engineers, being able to improve accessibility features and help others in similar situations overcome challenges is an empowering process.

“Many companies ask us to share our opinions regarding accessibility features. But for societal, technological, and institutional reasons, our feedback rarely gets reflected in their products,” says Sangjun Kim, a user who contributes to improving the accessibility of Galaxy smartphones. “By contrast, Samsung takes into account even the smallest feedback to improve app features. It’s been a special experience to see my feedback reflected in the real product.”

An Inclusive Mobile Future

While the latest accessibility features on Bixby Vision, as well as the high-contrast theme and Light Sensing on One UI 2, represent a key milestone in Samsung’s innovation history, the company understands that creating an inclusive environment on mobile devices is an ongoing process. Driven by the commitment to make mobile technology truly accessible to everyone, Samsung will continue to collaborate with users to develop boundary-pushing yet meaningful innovations.

¹ Since 2016, Samsung Electronics has been running the Samsung Supporters program, which works with users with disabilities to improve accessibility features.

² New accessibility features, including Quick Reader, Scene Describer, and Color Detector, are available on Galaxy devices with Bixby Vision 3.5 or above.

³ Availability of Scene Describer may vary by region.

⁴ Quick Reader supports 57 languages.

⁵ Color Detector can discern between 33 different colors.

Visualize Your New Room

Samsung’s AR service, Bixby Vision¹, acts as a visual guide, allowing you to see more with your smartphone camera. The home décor function of the Galaxy S10’s Bixby Vision can show you how your home might look with new home appliances and furniture, virtually positioning them wherever you wish to see them. To enable the function, simply open up Bixby Vision, select the home décor function from the apps menu and point your camera to the area where you want to place home appliances or furniture. After choosing an appliance or piece of furniture, the object will appear wherever you tap on the screen. You can choose sofas, rugs, tables, fridges, or any other home product that you want, and virtually place them wherever you like.

The discovery doesn’t end there: Bixby Vision offers even more services that allow you to visualize your new appliances and furniture from the comfort of your own home. The AR service can apply a 3D effect to key Samsung home appliances, allowing you to see how doors open, for example. Collaborating with U.S. online furniture company, Wayfair, Bixby Vision’s home décor function runs automatically whenever you encounter 3D content on the website within the Samsung Internet app, enabling you to see what the product would look like in your room without leaving your house.

“We are planning to increase the types of home appliances and furniture that support the home décor function,” said Martin Lee of Product Strategy team at Samsung Electronics.

Check for the Right Fit

With the Galaxy S10 5G, you can make speedy assessments of an object’s dimensions without frantically searching for the tape measure. Using the 3D Depth Camera on the Galaxy S10 5G, the Quick Measure app shows you the height, width and length of the object captured by your camera. This feature makes it easier for you to buy a mattress that fits your bed frame, or a set of chairs that are the right height for your kitchen table.

¹ Service availability and content provider may vary by country and device.

Samsung Electronics reveals the new Galaxy A80 – a smartphone created for the way people are engaging in the Era of Live. People are increasingly using their smartphones to share live interactions – capturing spontaneous photos, streaming live video and connecting over shared experiences that are happening right now. We are moving from the ‘era of the selfie’ to the ‘era of live’, where people are fostering more genuine and meaningful connections. Built to drive this evolution, the Galaxy A80 offers compelling innovations: a captivating, full-screen display, Samsung’s first revolutionary rotating camera and an intelligent battery.

“Consumers are at the center of everything we do and they search for devices personalized to their specific lifestyle. Armed with our expertise, global capabilities and rich consumer insights, Samsung is uniquely positioned to provide innovations for everyone,” said DJ Koh, President and CEO of IT & Mobile Communications Division at Samsung Electronics. “The Galaxy A Series provides a range of models so everyone can choose a device that fits their unique needs and enables them to pursue their passions. The Galaxy A80 offers premium features for digital natives who want to fully engage in the Era of Live.”

Capture the World as You See It

Created with Samsung’s first rotating camera, the Galaxy A80 lets people seamlessly capture the world around them. When users select the selfie mode in the camera app, the three cameras automatically pop-up from the back of the phone and rotate. The innovative camera mechanism delivers the same extraordinary triple camera experience with the same high-resolution lens, front and rear, so you never have to sacrifice on quality.

With the 48MP main camera, users can now shoot vivid images day and night. The Galaxy A80’s 3D Depth camera offers Live Focus videos by scanning objects for measurement and depth. Built with an Ultra Wide angle lens with the same viewing angle as the human eye, so your favorite views can be shared with less panning.

The Super Steady video mode helps you effortlessly capture content by reducing video shake to ensure smooth, pro-level action videos. And with other intelligent camera features such as Scene Optimizer that can recognize and enhance up to 30 scenes, and Flaw Detection that automatically identifies glitches before you click, you’ll never miss the perfect shot.

Enjoy Immersive Multimedia Experiences

Enabled by the rotating camera, people can experience an uninhibited view with Samsung’s first New Infinity Display. Featuring the 6.7-inch FHD+ Super AMOLED screen, Galaxy A80 brings you content in vivid detail, letting you get fully immersed in every game, video, photo and story.

Galaxy A80’s Dolby Atmos lets you lose yourself in the sound with a 360-degree audience experience when using earphones or Bluetooth speakers.

Stay Connected for Longer

The Galaxy A80’s 3,700mAh battery and its Super-Fast Charging at 25W capabilities keep you connected for longer and gives you more freedom by allowing you to charge your phone quickly – so you don’t miss a beat.

The Galaxy A80 also features an intelligent battery which learns your daily routine and app usage patterns to optimize your phone’s power consumption. The Adaptive Power Saving Mode enables users to be reassured knowing the smart battery is running most efficiently for the best performance needed.

Access What You Need, When You Need It – Safely and Securely

The Galaxy A80’s Intelligent Performance Enhancer provides AI-powered performance optimization software, which adjusts the battery, CPU and RAM of your device based on your unique usage, helping your phone work harder and launch apps faster when you need them.

Bixby Routines helps keep you on track by learning your app usage patterns and analyzing your habits so that it knows which features you need, when you need them. Bixby Routines automates your everyday tasks and apps based on your routine, such as driving or being at work.

Fortified by Samsung Knox, Samsung’s defense-grade security platform designed to protect from chipset to software, people can enjoy the freedom of connection safely on Galaxy A80. This allows people to use Samsung Pass to access apps and websites by using biometric authentication. To increase ease-of-use, a fingerprint scanner was embedded on-screen so people can intuitively unlock their phone.

To complement people’s active lifestyles, Galaxy A80 includes button-activated or hands-free Bixby so that users can get connected to the information needed more conveniently. Users can also easily access other features such as Bixby Vision, Bixby Home, and Reminder while on-the-go. The Galaxy A80 also features key Galaxy experiences including Samsung Health, Samsung Pay^* and more.

Express Your Style with an Elegant Design

The Galaxy A80 is available in three colors: Angel Gold, Ghost White and Phantom Black. The Angel Gold color includes elements of pink, while the Ghost White option combines some blue characteristics, so these colors look different depending on light direction and reflection.

The Galaxy A80’s sleek design and comfortable, ergonomic grip ensures it fits comfortably in your hand – so it’s easy to use when on-the-go.

For more information about the Galaxy A Series, visit news.samsung.com/galaxy, www.samsungmobilepress.com orwww.samsung.com/galaxy.

Samsung Galaxy A80 Product Specifications**

^*Availability may vary by market
^**All functionality, features, specifications and other product information provided in this document including, but not limited to, the benefits, design, pricing, components, performance, availability, and capabilities of the product are subject to change without notice.
^***Screen measured diagonally as a full rectangle without accounting for the rounded corners.
^****Typical value tested under third-party lab condition. Rated (minimum) capacity is less. For more information, please visit www.samsung.com.

Samsung Electronics today revealed the new Galaxy A Series, beginning with an initial roll-out of two new smartphones, designed to provide industry wide innovations starting from the mid-tier portfolio. The Galaxy A50 and A30 offer improvements to the essential device features that matter most, including offering an immersive viewing experience, longer lasting performance and a camera which captures the world as you see it.

The new Galaxy A Series is designed for the way that people are connecting today – sharing, capturing and consuming live. The new series offers diverse, powerful devices that can keep up with these spontaneous, collaborative interactions.

“We are committed to providing meaningful progress to everyone for a better mobile experience, and that innovation starts with the upgraded Galaxy A Series,” said DJ Koh, President and CEO of IT & Mobile Communications Division at Samsung Electronics. “People are changing the way they connect, and their smartphones need to keep up. Our new Galaxy A Series offers improvements to the essential features that will support these live interactions, with diverse options to meet their ever-changing needs.”

With the Galaxy A Series, consumers can seamlessly experience the Galaxy ecosystem using key services such as Samsung Health, Samsung Pay, Bixby, and more ¹.

The upgraded Galaxy A Series is being introduced with the announcement of two initial models.

Galaxy A50

Offering premium camera features, a long-lasting, fast-charging battery and Infinity-U display, the Galaxy A50 keeps you connected to your world.

The Galaxy A50 allows you to capture and share photos in a revolutionary way with its triple camera, designed to accurately replicate human eyesight.

• Capture the world without constraint with the Ultra Wide lens. Paired with the ‘intelligent switch’ function, your camera can now identify and recommend when to use the Wide Shot mode.
  

• The 25MP main camera shoots vivid images in bright daylight. While in darkness, the innovative lens enables clear shots by detecting more light and reducing noise. Combined with the Depth lens, the camera offers a Live Focus experience, enabling you to choose exactly where to accentuate.

• AI Camera helps you capture the best scene, with a Scene Optimizer feature to recognize and optimize 20 scenes, and Flaw Detection to make sure you never miss a perfect portrait shot. Bixby Vision uses the camera and AI to help you shop online, translate text and find the information you need.

• Enhance your portrait with the selfie camera using Selfie Focus to subtly blur background details.

Equipped with on-screen fingerprint unlocking, the A50 provides intuitive unlocking without changing grip. The A50 comes in a comfortable slim design and smooth curved shape, available in four new characterful color options: Black, White, Blue and Coral inspired by scattered light.

Galaxy A30

The Galaxy A30 is for those on-the-go all the time, equipped with a powerful 4,000mAh, fast charging battery.

The edge-to-edge 6.4” Super AMOLED Infinity-U display offers an immersive experience, ideal for gaming, watching videos, multi-tasking and browsing – truly letting you live your life on-the-go without missing a moment.

Created for a more seamless mobile experience, the A30 includes advanced camera features such as a dual camera, including an Ultra Wide-angle lens, along with simple, secure access with a Rear Fingerprint unlocking feature as well as intuitive Face Unlock.

¹ Features and services differ between regions and models.

Galaxy A Series – Specifications

¹ Availability of Fast Charging (Near-Field Communication) will vary depending on markets.

² Availability of Samsung Pay varies between markets.

³ Bixby Voice and Bixby Vision are not supported.

*All functionality, features, specifications and other product information provided in this document including, but not limited to, the benefits, design, pricing, components, performance, availability, and capabilities of the product are subject to change without notice.