Audio Eraser, introduced in the Galaxy S25 series, was designed to address such situations by reducing unwanted background noise and enhancing desired sounds to help users create more immersive videos.¹ Galaxy AI features like Audio Eraser — developed with a deep understanding of user needs — was made possible thanks to the proactive efforts of Samsung Research and the Mobile eXperience (MX) Business at Samsung Electronics.

Samsung Newsroom sat down with audio technology experts from the AI Solution Team at Samsung Research to learn more about the development of this innovative feature.

▲ (From left) Kyoungbo Min, Hejung Yang, Hosang Sung and Jiwon Kim from the AI Solution Team at Samsung Research

Source Detection: The Future of Next-Generation Audio Technology

Audio Eraser enables users to adjust sounds within a video by removing unwanted noise and enhancing the audio they want to highlight. The feature quickly scans a video to detect and separate sounds by type, and can be used not only on clips recorded by the user but also on videos that have been shared or received.

Just as Object Eraser improved image editing and usability with its debut in the Galaxy S21 series, Audio Eraser was developed to deliver a more advanced and seamless multimedia experience across both audio and video.

▲ Audio Eraser allows users to adjust sounds by type within a video.

Developing Sound Source Detection and Separation Models

Audio Eraser recognizes six types of sound — voices, music, wind, nature sounds, crowd noise and ambient noise. Using sound source detection technology, the feature quickly identifies what sounds are present and where they occur in a video. Then, through sound source separation technology, it isolates and classifies each sound into distinct categories.

To build AI models capable of detecting and isolating these audio types, the research team began by collecting a robust set of training data. They simulated a wide range of real-world video recording scenarios to generate diverse audio datasets — and even went into the field to capture everyday sounds firsthand.

“Wind was particularly challenging to work with,” said Hejung Yang from the AI Solution Team at Samsung Research. “Besides refining our wind simulation technology, we enhanced our dataset by recording actual wind sounds outdoors whenever strong winds occurred — even after work or on weekends.”

In addition, the team devoted extensive time to improving the performance of the sound source separation model by carefully reviewing countless video clips multiple times.

“Each developer compared and analyzed more than 1,000 audio samples every week under a variety of conditions,” said Jiwon Kim. “Through continuous experimentation, we worked to identify the most effective sound source separation model to ensure consistent, high-quality results.”

▲ Samsung researchers work on developing audio technology for Audio Eraser.

Delivering a New User-Centric Listening Experience

As Audio Eraser runs on-device, it offers an enhanced user experience with real-time editing and improved privacy protection. Samsung’s long-standing expertise in developing competitive on-device AI capabilities across various features played a key role in Audio Eraser’s success.

“We focused on developing AI models and algorithms capable of fast, on-device processing,” said Hosang Sung. “A great deal of effort went into creating an optimized AI solution that runs smoothly with low power consumption.”

Supported by a strong AI research infrastructure, Samsung Research continues to strengthen its capabilities in advanced audio technologies.

“We are committed to developing next-generation solutions that elevate the usability of mobile devices,” said Hoonyoung Cho, Vice President and Head of the AI Solution Team at Samsung Research. “Through sound control and audio enhancement technologies, we aim to deliver a truly selective and personalized listening experience.”

Integrated Collaboration With Product Development Teams

Turning advanced research into a consumer-ready solution brought a new set of challenges. For instance, when editing video and audio simultaneously, playback needed to remain smooth and uninterrupted. Additionally, processing videos longer than an hour required specialized technology capable of completing the task within the same timeframe.

To address these challenges, Samsung Research and the MX Business worked together — from proposing user-centric ideas to repeatedly testing software optimization techniques and evaluating audio quality. Together, they explored multiple approaches to determine the most effective solution.

The cross-functional collaboration had already proven successful in the development of the Galaxy Buds3 series (Buds3, Buds3 Pro). As the needs for listening in noisy environments grows — for everything from music and media experiences to listening to clearer phone calls — Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) has become an increasingly essential feature in wireless earbuds. Samsung raised the bar by developing its own Adaptive ANC technology. The Galaxy Buds3 series adapts to the fitting conditions of different users and changes in fit caused by prolonged wear to deliver optimized ANC performance.

Since earbuds are worn directly in the ear, close coordination between hardware and software teams was essential to finalize product specifications and fine-tune the ANC technology.

“We developed multiple algorithms in advance to accommodate different hardware conditions,” said Kyoungbo Min. “Through extensive simulations, we prepared a solution that could be quickly adapted to any chipset or device. The development process involved iterative revisions and improvements, but the close collaboration between advanced research and product teams helped accelerate commercialization.”

Sound source separation is a core area of next-generation audio technology, and Samsung continues to advance its foundational innovations in this field. With Audio Eraser making full use of sound source separation, the company is preparing to expand into a range of new applications. The ongoing evolution of Galaxy AI is expected to deliver even more practical and intuitive features for consumers.

¹ Results may vary per video depending on how sounds present in the video. Samsung Account login required. Certain types of sound can be detected such as voices, music, wind, nature, crowd and noise. The actual sound detection may vary depending on audio source and the condition of the video. Accuracy of results is not guaranteed.

▲ Juho Lee, a fellow at Samsung Research, won the Excellence in Supporting Standardization for Communications Award from IEEE ComSoc at the GLOBECOM 2023 conference on December 5.

Juho Lee, a fellow at Samsung Electronics’ advanced R&D hub Samsung Research (SR), received a Career Award for his outstanding leadership and technical contributions in standardization of wireless communication from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) — the world’s largest technical professional organization dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity.

In recognition of his leadership and pivotal role in the development and standardization of global mobile communication technologies, Lee won the inaugural Excellence in Supporting Standardization for Communications Award established this year by the IEEE Communications Society (ComSoc). Lee was the sole recipient of the award, honoring his outstanding contributions to the industry.

The winners of IEEE ComSoc Career Awards are selected through a rigorous judging process, with 14 judges deliberating over candidates for two months. Recipients were recognized at an award ceremony on December 5 at the 2023 IEEE Global Communications (GLOBECOM) conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Lee has been leading research and standardization of mobile communication technology since 2000 when the commercialization of 3G smartphones began. From February 2003 to August 2009, Lee served as vice-chair of the Radio Access Network Working Group 1 (RAN WG1) at the 3^rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) — a global mobile communications standardization organization — where he contributed to the standardization of 4G LTE technology. In 2018, Lee was elected as an IEEE Fellow, a distinction reserved for top IEEE members who have accomplished extraordinary achievements.

“It is an honor to be named the first winner of the IEEE ComSoc Excellence in Supporting Standardization for Communications Award,” he said. “Going forward, I will continue to research, develop and standardize advanced mobile communications technologies such as 5G and 6G technology.”

Lee joins the prestigious ranks of previous Samsung executives who have also been recipients of IEEE ComSoc Career Awards. Former Samsung Vice Chairman Ki-Tae Lee, who played an instrumental role in the development of Samsung’s Anycall mobile phone series, was awarded the IEEE ComSoc Distinguished Industry Leader Award in 2004. Former Samsung Vice Chairman Jong-Kyun Shin, who made the world’s first color phone, received the same award in 2016.

A leader in mobile communication technology standardization, Samsung Research holds a total of six officials in the 3GPP: two chairs and four vice-chairs. In July 2020, Samsung published “The Next Hyper-Connected Experience for All,” a 6G white paper outlining the company’s vision for the next era of communication. Samsung and Samsung Research’s experts are vigorously working to realize the commercialization of 6G around 2030.

▲ (From left to right) Kyeongin Jeong, Jaeyeon Song and Narendranath Durga Tangudu appointed vice-chairs in 3GPP.

Samsung Electronics announced that three Samsung researchers have been elected vice-chairs in the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), the world’s largest telecommunications standard development organization. Following the appointment, the company now holds a total of seven officials in 3GPP — two chairs and five vice-chairs.

Since its establishment in 1998, 3GPP has united telecommunication companies and organizations around the world, including Samsung, Qualcomm, Apple, Ericsson, Nokia, Huawei and more.

Newly-elected researcher Kyeongin Jeong from Samsung Research America, Samsung’s advanced research organization, has been appointed vice-chair for 3GPP’s Radio Access Network Working Group 2 (RAN WG2). This group is responsible for developing the radio communication protocol standard between 5G handsets and base stations.

Additionally, Jaeyeon Song from Samsung Research and Narendranath Durga Tangudu from Samsung R&D Institute India-Bangalore have been re-elected as vice-chairs following the successful completion of their two-year terms.

Jaeyeon Song will continue to serve as vice-chair of 3GPP’s Service and System Aspects Working Group 4 (SA WG4), a group focused on advancing technology to support immersive media services, including video streaming and extended reality based on 5G. Narendranath Durga Tangudu will remain vice-chair of 3GPP’s Core Network and Terminals Working Group 3 (CT WG3), a group focused on developing the open interface standards that expand 5G networks to third parties, including internet service providers.

In May 2023, Younsun Kim and Andrew Bennett of Samsung Research were appointed chairmen of 3GPP’s Radio Access Network Working Group 1 (RAN WG1) and Service and System Aspects Working Group 2 (SA WG2), respectively.

Through its established leadership in 3GPP, Samsung is set to be at the forefront of technological innovation across the entire telecommunications industry. Beyond the 5G-Advanced standard that is currently in development, Samsung has prepared a solid foundation for 6G, which will be created in cooperation with 3GPP member companies for commercialization around 2030.

Helping users say goodnight to washed-out, blurry night images was a group effort driven by Samsung’s experts. To learn more about this groundbreaking camera feature for the Galaxy S23 series, Samsung Newsroom spoke with the experts at Samsung Research’s¹ global R&D centers, who collaborated on the technology.

Read on to see what John Seok-Jun Lee, Head of Computational Camera Part at Samsung Research America (SRA), and Narasimha Gopalakrishna Pai, Head of AI Computational Imaging Part at Samsung R&D Institute India-Bangalore (SRI-B), had to say about their joint development of Nightography, the best way to take crisp photos and videos from dusk until dawn.

With increasing popularity in research studies about future AI technology, there is an even higher expectation that AI will bring more value to our daily lives. On November 8 and 9, Samsung Electronics hosted the Samsung AI Forum 2022 to share the progress of AI research and explore more ways for the industry to advance. World-renowned scholars and experts who attended this year’s forum focused on hyperscale AI, an AI model that can evolve to the human level of thinking by processing massive amounts of data.

Samsung Newsroom met with Vice President Joohyung Lee at Samsung Research’s¹ Global AI Center to hear more about the main topics discussed during the second day of the forum, which Samsung Research hosted. Learn more about upcoming technology trends and the future vision of AI research introduced by Samsung Research in the infographic below.

Like so many great innovations, the latest UDC was a group effort — driven by Samsung’s experts and consumers’ valuable feedback. To learn more about the enhanced UDC for Galaxy Z Fold4, Samsung Newsroom spoke with the experts at Samsung Research,¹ who collaborated on the technology.

Read on to see what John Seok-Jun Lee, Head of Computational Camera Part at Samsung Research America (SRA), and Alok Shukla, Head of AI Vision Solutions Part at Samsung R&D Institute India-Bangalore (SRI-B), had to say about their collaboration behind bringing enhanced UDC technology.

Q: What is an Under Display Camera (UDC)?

Seok-Jun: An Under Display Camera (UDC) is an innovative camera solution that enables an uninterrupted viewing experience on a mobile device by hiding the camera under the display and dedicating the whole screen to users while applications are running. It not only requires hardware innovation by placing a camera under a display panel but also requires algorithm innovation for restoring image quality — one of the most complex image restoration problems.

Q: How does the UDC work?

Alok: In UDC, a front-facing camera sits underneath the display. The screen pixel density is reduced in this area, allowing the screen to display imagery unhindered — but at the same time, not block light from reaching the camera when it’s in use. As the camera is placed underneath the display, UDC can suffer from poor image quality caused by diffraction artifacts, which results in flare, saturation, blur and haze. Therefore, while the UDC brings a better display experience, it also affects camera image quality and other downstream vision tasks. These complex and diverse distortions make restoring UDC images extremely challenging.

Q: Why is the UDC an important technology when it comes to Galaxy Z Fold4? What value does it provide to customers?

Seok-Jun: Samsung’s foldables are designed to be new and different, combining smartphone and immersive viewing experiences into one mobile device via breakthrough display technology. When folded, it provides smartphone-like use, and when unfolded, the display provides a more immersive and productive experience. Our consumer research showed that Galaxy Z Fold series users prefer the Cover Screen camera for capturing photos and selfies and the immersive Main Display for more productive tasks like watching videos, playing games and working on documents. Therefore, we thought UDC technology would be the perfect fit to meet their needs for an uninterrupted screen while still being capable of tasks like opening video calls. Samsung has launched the first-ever foldable UDC solution in Galaxy Z Fold3 and enhanced its quality further in the Galaxy Z Fold4.

Alok: Galaxy Z Fold4 truly unfolds a world of immersive display. UDC technology is at the core of the pursuit of a true full-screen display. By combining the leading innovation in display technology with advanced AI techniques for image restoration, Galaxy Z Fold4 provides the perfect balance between screen quality and camera image quality.

Q: How has the camera’s image quality improved since Galaxy Z Fold3?

Alok: Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 showcased the world’s first UDC on a foldable. After the market release of Galaxy Z Fold3, one of the key feedbacks from consumers was to make the UDC less visible. On the Galaxy Z Fold4, sub-pixel arrangement was optimized to further hide the UDC.

As mentioned previously, when the camera is placed underneath the display, this can result in poor image quality caused by diffraction artifacts, which cause flare, saturation, blur and haze.

That’s why, in Galaxy Z Fold4, we have leveraged the power of AI, backed with multi-frame processing, to develop a novel computational imaging pipeline for UDC image restoration.

SRI-B, along with Visual SW R&D Group at MX Business, focused on developing AI Image Restoration for photo capture and preview to compensate for optical diffraction in UDC. At the same time, SRA’s Mobile Processor Innovation (MPI) Lab improved the multi-frame computational photography algorithm. Galaxy Z Fold4’s UDC solves key technical challenges in image quality to bring a unique experience to end customers.

Q: Walk us through the journey of the SRA-SRI partnership project. Why did your two teams collaborate?

Seok-Jun: The SRA MPI Lab has been working with SRI-B throughout MPI’s entire history at Samsung, from 2014’s Galaxy Note4 camera commercialization all the way to 2022’s Galaxy Z Fold4 and Z Flip4. SRA MPI has been leading MX multi-frame processing (MFP) technology R&D for UDC, Night Mode, Expert RAW and other technology. SRI-B has contributed to all commercialized SRA MPI’s MFP by providing amazing camera software, image quality tuning and resources toward commercialization as well as AI camera R&D. Our 3-way collaboration with MX R&D group, SRA MPI and SRI-B has been a success — especially when the worldwide team used time zone differences effectively to complete milestones on time for such a complicated project. It’s always a pleasure to work with them and deliver Galaxy devices’ camera successes together to accomplish our mutual goal of being the world’s best smartphone camera experience.

Q: Please explain your job role and your team’s contributions to the UDC. How did you contribute to making the best possible user experience?

Alok: Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4 UDC was a complex R&D project, and SRI-B’s role was to think in terms of end-to-end for the best consumer experience. This required multi-domain expertise and deep collaboration among multiple teams. Experts from SRI-B, SRA-MPI Lab and MX Visual SW R&D Group worked seamlessly to realize an end-to-end UDC experience.

SRI-B also played a key role in utilizing a Neural Processing Unit (NPU) to execute the AI model, achieving real-time performance in previews and significantly faster capture processing time than in Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 UDC. Camera previews, video recordings and video calling scenarios need real-time performance without losing any frames. AI-based UDC restoration accelerated with NPU for preview processing was applied for the first time in Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4. Although real-time processing was not required, as camera capture requires higher image quality than a preview, achieving better image quality with less processing time was desired for user experience.

Q: What were some challenges you faced while developing this technology, and how did you overcome them?

Seok-Jun: Low light transmittance and light diffraction are the main challenges for UDC camera technology. Still, one more challenge, which is different from a punch hole camera image pipeline, is that UDC capture quality is affected by not only the camera module but also the display panel. SRA MPI’s AI-based 3D ISP algorithm was designed with the needed flexibility to tune the output image quality with the different display characteristics. Having such flexibility in 3D ISP helped to overcome such challenges.

Alok: SRI-B’s key focus was developing an AI image restoration module for Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4 UDC. These restorations are required for photo capture mode as well as video mode. Video recording and video calling scenarios have strict requirements for real-time processing within the constraints of current consumption.

AI-based UDC restoration was applied for the first time in Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4 UDC for video. To achieve a better video quality experience than Galaxy Z Fold3, we had to make the AI model lighter while still achieving good restoration quality. Multiple experiments were conducted in network design and training to achieve good quality in real-time. SRI-B extensively utilized NPU and advanced quantization techniques to prepare a lighter, highly optimized AI model that achieves real-time performance with low current consumption.

Q: What is your vision for future UDC iterations at Samsung?

Alok: Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4’s UDC has opened up a new dimension to the smartphone camera form factor. UDCs in the future will enable placing larger camera sensors and multiple cameras at flexible positions without compromising the viewing experience. Another big challenge is towards mass adoption of UDC technology in more products as the main front camera. For this to happen, there will need to be a significant improvement in camera image quality, processing time and display experience.

Seok-Jun: Since the Galaxy Z Fold4 UDC provides a much better experience in terms of hiding the camera under the display and improving image quality, the R&D direction for the upcoming flagship devices will work towards making the UDC completely invisible. This will provide the best uninterrupted immersive mobile display experience while achieving the same image quality as a punch-hole camera.

¹ Samsung Research, acting as Samsung Electronics’ advanced R&D hub, leads the development of future technologies for the company’s Device eXperience (DX) Division.

With opening remarks from Jong-Hee Han, Vice Chairman, CEO and Head of Device Experience (DX) Division at Samsung Electronics, the presentations revealed how Samsung is crafting systems that help make lives smarter, safer, more convenient and more connected than ever before.

▲ Attendees take their seats at SDC 2022 in anticipation of the day’s wide-ranging Keynote

Read on to see Samsung Newsroom’s recap of the innovation and inspiration revolutionizing how we live and work both now and in the future.

Opening: A Seamless, Frictionless Experience

Jong-Hee Han opened up the day’s talks by underscoring the importance of convenience in an age of brilliant yet complex technologies. “At Samsung, our goal has always been to make our lives easier through technology innovation,” said Han. “But innovation can also be burdensome for users if convenience is not at the forefront. Our teams are determined to deliver devices that are as smooth and accessible as they are advanced.”

▲ Jong-Hee Han, Vice Chairman, CEO and Head of DX Division at Samsung Electronics, welcomes attendees to SDC 2022

Covering everything from Calm Technology to Knox Matrix to holistic household platforms like Bixby Home Studio and SmartThings, Han outlined a device and systems ecosystem that puts the user experience at the center. “The goal of all this is to give you an easier, seamless and more frictionless experience,” Han emphasized. “So you can focus on what matters most.”

A Home That Learns and Adapts Through SmartThings

Following Jong-Hee Han, Jaeyeon Jung, Vice President and Head of SmartThings, Mobile eXperience Business, discussed how Covid-19 galvanized teams at Samsung to prioritize the important things in life, particularly in the home. “If you’re like me, the past few years have been a time to prioritize what matters, to find moments to pause and refresh,” said Jung.

▲ Jaeyeon Jung, Vice President and Head of SmartThings, Mobile eXperience Business, outlines how the platform is helping realize a truly seamless, intuitive household device ecosystem

Samsung’s SmartThings platform, Jung explained, is the perfect way to do this in your home. Thanks to a wide range of improvements to the household ecosystem platform, finding, setting up, onboarding and synchronizing new devices into your household will be easier and more efficient than ever. This includes Galaxy Quick Pair, Matter Hub connectivity, SmartThings Energy and SmartThings Music Sync, as well as boosted integration with partner systems and an expanded SmartThings website.

Matter: A Truly Harmonious Household Experience

At the end of her talk, Jung introduced Matthew McCullough from Google, who provided an overview of Matter, a system that lays the groundwork for true interoperability between devices in the home. Samsung is committed to Matter integration, and confident it will make the dream of a fully integrated household a reality.

▲ Google’s Matthew McCullough explains how the Matter interoperability system works, reinforcing Samsung and Google’s collaborative efforts to expand its integration

By working closely together, Samsung and Google aim to make life for both users and device makers simpler and smoother, with multi-admin features that cut down on manual management and make Google Home and Nest Hub more accessible. “This ease of use across Samsung and Google is just the start, and we’re looking forward to delivering a more seamless, delightful home experience,” said McCullough.

Industry Collaboration Making Device Ecosystems More Open

▲ Mark Benson, Head of SmartThings U.S. at Samsung, expands on the company’s enthusiasm for Matter adoption and introduces the SmartThings Matter Early Access Program

Continuing with the theme of interoperability, Mark Benson, U.S., emphasized Samsung’s commitment to supporting Matter. “To accelerate Matter adoption, we created the SmartThings Matter Early Access Program, where we work with major device manufacturers to ensure their Matter-enabled devices work seamlessly with SmartThings,” said Benson.

The SmartThings app, SmartThings Hub Core and SmartThings Cloud, Benson pointed out, are already prepared to support Matter. “It’s all about delivering interoperability right out of the box,” he said.

The Expanding Role of Bixby

Anil Yadav, Head of Bixby Lab at Samsung Research¹ America, took to the stage to discuss SmartThings’ bespoke speech platform and de facto voice in the home, including its exciting new feature: Bixby Home Studio. “With Bixby Home Studio, you can create experiences that span multiple devices and respond more intuitively to user commands,” said Yadav. “For example, if you ask Bixby to turn on your air conditioner, Bixby can check if you have any windows open and let you know to close them, saving energy.”

▲ Voice system expert and Head of Bixby Lab Anil Yadav lays out the platform’s evolving role in the home and celebrates the launch of Bixby Home Studio

Ready to do everything from queuing up your next action movie on your Samsung Smart TV to boosting your mobile security with On-Device AI, Bixby is smarter and more powerful than ever.

Premium Security and Privacy for an Integrated Household

▲ Shin Baik, Principal Engineer of Security Team, Mobile eXperience Business, underscores the significance of strong security and personalized privacy, as exemplified by systems like Samsung Knox and Knox Matrix

Samsung envisions more than just a convenient and integrated home experience. Its teams are also creating an experience that is as safe as it is smooth, as private as it is proactive. After Yadav’s Bixby talk, Shin Baik, Principal Engineer of Security Team, Mobile eXperience Business, discussed with the audience how top-notch innovations need top-notch security to go with them. Unwavering in its three security and privacy principles — transparency, choice and protection — Samsung has worked hard to develop platforms like Samsung Knox. This will keep everything from your phone to your refrigerator safe and secure, said Baik.

A new platform called Knox Matrix, in particular, is now on the frontline of multi-device protection. “Knox Matrix is your own private blockchain,” Baik explained. “Multiple devices share credentials, turning the ecosystem of devices into a shield that protects everyone.”

In step with these developments, of course, is Samsung’s insistence on a customizable privacy experience, which is provided by Samsung’s comprehensive Security and privacy dashboard. “We believe that you — and only you — should be making decisions about how your information is managed and stored,” said Baik.

A More Vibrant Content Ecosystem Than Ever

Sang Kim, Senior Vice President and Head of Product & Marketing at Samsung Electronics America, shared important insights on Samsung’s extensive media network, covering a range of recent successes.

▲ Sang Kim, Senior Vice President and Head of Product & Marketing at Samsung Electronics America, provides a roundup of Samsung’s diverse — and rapidly expanding — media network

Samsung Gaming Hub, launched in June, is an all-in-one gaming solution that, thanks to partnerships with industry leaders like Xbox, lets players connect their controllers to Samsung TVs and access all the games they love without even needing a console or PC.

Samsung TV Plus, the FAST streaming TV and video platform that relaunched this summer, now reaches 24 countries and 465 million devices globally. It is projected to clock in an impressive three billion hours streamed by users by the end of 2022.

Thanks to broad reach, smooth monetization integration and an advertising environment optimized for both clients and users, Samsung streaming also offers an ideal platform for premium advertising.

“Today, Fortune 500 companies from around the world have leveraged Samsung TV Plus and our other advanced TV advertising solutions to reach valuable consumers,” Kim said.

Tizen’s Global Conquest

▲ Yongjae Kim, Executive Vice President and Deputy Head of R&D Team, Visual Display Business discusses all things Tizen, from the operating system’s global reach to its growing spectrum of applications

Following Sang Kim, Yongjae Kim, Executive Vice President and Deputy Head of R&D Team, Visual Display Business, took to the stage to talk about Tizen, Samsung’s open source, Linux-backed operating system. Kim took the audience through a huge variety of developments in the Tizen journey, which is growing its capabilities to an ever-wider spectrum of uses and applications.

Leveraging partnerships with gaming leaders like Xbox, NVIDIA and Utomik, Tizen is helping bring a truly consolidated, uninterrupted gaming experience to users with Samsung Gaming Hub, with fantastic performance and image quality, Kim explained. It delivers stunning visual displays and blockchain wallet integration to Samsung TVs for better at-home art experiences, while also helping Smart Hub deliver the best in content searches and recommendations. Tizen Enterprise, meanwhile, is boosting B2B partners’ display and signage options, while Tizen Everywhere aims to expand licensing and bring the system to more countries.

“Since its launch ten years ago, Tizen now powers more than 330 million TVs, refrigerators and other smart devices,” said Kim. “At Samsung, we will continue to create Tizen experiences that transform and go beyond what many thought possible.”

One UI 5 and the “Your Galaxy, Your Way” Philosophy

Next up was Sally Hyesoon Jeong, Vice President of Framework R&D Group, Mobile eXperience Business, whose theme for the day was the company’s latest leap forward in the UI experience: One UI 5.

▲ Sally Hyesoon Jeong, Vice President of Framework R&D Group, Mobile eXperience Business, introduces One UI 5, the next stage of Samsung’s UI evolution and a distillation of the “Your Galaxy, Your Way” philosophy

“On this stage three years ago, I shared our vision for One UI, the essence of the Galaxy experience,” Jeong began. “One UI truly captures the ‘Your Galaxy, Your Way’ philosophy by bringing users an intuitive, connected experience that is uniquely yours.”

Splitting the new UI update’s advancements into three areas — Personalization, Productivity and Possibility — Jeong shared a host of new and improved features. Personalization included deep customization enhancements, like Dynamic Lockscreen for smartphones, Watch Face Studio for Galaxy Watches and custom-built Modes and Routines, while health and security functions are also more adaptable than ever. The Productivity section included Bixby Text Call, improved phone-to-PC connectivity and multitasking upgrades like Taskbar improvements. Possibilities covered One UI 5’s integration with innovative Samsung Foldable devices and related functions like Flex Mode.

A Look Over the Horizon: Robotics and Health in Tomorrow’s Homes

The final talk before the wrap-up was from Sebastian Seung, President and Head of Samsung Research. While many of the day’s talks focused on recent improvements, Seung has his eye on the innovations of tomorrow, aiming for no less than the merging of the physical and digital worlds.

“I’d like to invite you to look over the horizon, to a future dreamed of but not yet realized,” said Seung, who divided his presentation between the future of robotics in the home and Samsung’s ambitions to contribute to health & wellness research.

In the home robotics field, Seung discussed the company’s continued success with a household supported by advanced, AI-enhanced devices, including the object-detecting JetBot AI+ vacuum, the Bot Handy chore assistant prototype and even future plans for Samsung’s latest robot arm manipulation code, which will soon be available on GitHub.

▲ Sebastian Seung, President and Head of Samsung Research, discusses the company’s plans for a future where advanced robotics technologies support households and outlines Samsung’s ambitions in health & wellness research

Moving on to the subject of health, Seung introduced Samsung Health Stack, an open source project from Samsung that aims to actively advance health & wellness research. “This is a full stack SDK, a mobile app for patients, a portal for researchers and a backend database,” said Seung. “A complete package of open-source tools designed for the easy creation of digital systems for the research of health and wellness.”

Closing: Building a More Sustainable Future With Samsung

To round off the talks, Jong-Hee Han returned to the stage to offer a final word, summarizing the technologies showcased at SDC and the course of the company’s future of innovation.

▲ Jong-Hee Han returns to the stage to conclude the day’s talks, ending on a proactive vision of a future driven by sustainable, eco-conscious technologies

“I would like to talk about the future one more time,” he added. “The future of something very dear to my heart: our planet. I believe we have a responsibility to help create a sustainable future. We do that through Everyday Sustainability, a belief that every stage of the product lifecycle can be more sustainable.”

Han presented a range of Samsung sustainability commitments and environmental research directions, including responsible material sourcing, recycling, disposal, renewable energy and billions in investments toward meeting carbon emissions reductions.

“By 2027, we will run all DX operations on renewable energy,” Han said, ending the day on an optimistic note and a glimpse of a future for customers that is easier, more seamless, more frictionless and — crucially — more eco-conscious.

Watch the video below to see the complete recording of the SDC22 Keynote.

▲ Attendees explore the latest Samsung products at SDC22 booths

¹ Samsung Research, acting as Samsung Electronics’ advanced R&D hub, leads the development of future technologies for the company’s Device eXperience (DX) Division.

Samsung Electronics held its annual Samsung Developer Conference (SDC) today in San Francisco, bringing together developers, creators and designers to explore seamless, connected experiences powered by Samsung.

During the event, Samsung shared more about its commitment to creating simplified, game-changing customer experiences, including the company’s updated vision for SmartThings as it evolves from a connectivity platform to an enabler of smarter lifestyles. From deeper integration with Bixby to seamless connectivity with Matter-compatible devices, SmartThings is creating a richer, more open world that empowers all users to streamline their connections and their daily lives.

“At Samsung, we continuously innovate our devices, platforms and services to be simpler and more convenient. I am proud to share the next generation of our work, like SmartThings, to further our collaboration with partners and developers,” said Jong-Hee (JH) Han, Vice Chairman, CEO and Head of Device eXperience (DX) Division at Samsung Electronics. “As technologies become more complex, we will always search for ways to make life easier, more connected, and more flexible, so our consumers can focus on what matters most.”

Connecting Platforms and Devices With Calm Technology

Samsung’s vision of seamless connectivity is inspired by the philosophy of Calm Technology — where devices instantly work together, so consumers can save time on setup and get right into the experience. To realize this vision, Samsung reimagined SmartThings and its connected services and partnerships, including Samsung’s Hub Everywhere, extending its capabilities to the entire smart home with audio and visual data as well as SmartThings Energy, SmartThings Pet and SmartThings Cooking. Samsung also partnered with Philips Hue to integrate Philips Hue Sync right into Galaxy devices so smart home lighting can match with music.

The seamless experience will extend beyond Samsung’s ecosystem through SmartThings’ integration with Matter and Samsung’s membership in the Home Connectivity Alliance. Google and Samsung have worked together to enable users to find and link their devices across platforms by building multi-admin feature on Matter devices. The collaboration will bring more devices and users into the connected home in the future.

Bixby has been integrated more deeply with SmartThings, a tool for developers to build more intelligent voice user interface experiences. As Samsung’s representative voice assistant platform, Bixby has evolved to become the on-device AI solution able to control individual Galaxy devices, as well as the cross-device experience throughout the Samsung ecosystem. With the new Bixby Home Studio, developers can now build differentiated, customized experiences for the SmartThings platform. In addition, Bixby will be even more widely available to users with support for Latin American Spanish, starting in November.

As the smart home is becoming more advanced, Samsung is introducing a new security paradigm, enabling Samsung devices to protect each other. Samsung Knox Matrix¹ is a private blockchain based platform that turns eligible Samsung devices into a shield to protect users’ entire device ecosystem — from Galaxy devices to TVs and home appliances. Plus, users can customize personal privacy settings with the new Security and privacy dashboard, which scans for vulnerabilities, recommends security updates and gives users data management options to keep privacy and security top of mind.

Personalized Services for Better Experiences

In the past year, Samsung TV Plus — Samsung’s free, ad-supported streaming TV and video (FAST) platform available on Samsung Smart TVs² and mobile devices — reached 100% growth in viewership,³ and projects three billion hours streamed by the end of the year. To build on this momentum, Samsung TV Plus has expanded its offering by adding partnerships with Lionsgate and Vice Media, providing 8K video on demand. Samsung TV Plus has also gone through a redesign, to reflect its extraordinary variety of content with more than 1,600 channels across 24 countries. Samsung TV Plus is the premium choice for a seamless ad experience, where stream stitching makes ad playback simpler than ever.

After 10 years of service, Samsung’s Tizen operating system (OS) continues to offer best-in-class user experiences. The Samsung Gaming Hub brings better, faster and more convenient access to gaming on Samsung Smart TVs, provided by industry-leading partners, such as Xbox, NVIDIA GeForce NOW, Utomik and Amazon Luna. Samsung Gaming Hub bridges expertise in hardware and software to integrate features like AI Upscaling and multitask functions to make gaming on Samsung Smart TVs an immersive, optimized experience.

Tizen OS is also expanding to offer NFTs support with partners like Art Token, laCollection and Nifty Gateway. For B2B customers and developers, Samsung is providing B2B APIs specific to industries and use cases like Syncplay, which allows content to be synchronized and played in multiple signages. Tizen is also introducing SALT, a new content conversion solution to display the highest-quality HDR10+ content on supported TVs.

Your Galaxy, Your Way With One UI 5

By introducing the new One UI 5, Samsung has empowered users to easily customize their device’s look and feel, while enhancing productivity and providing amazing experiences across devices and platforms. One UI 5 brings more personalized experiences with custom-built Modes and Routines, and a Dynamic Lock screen that displays multiple visuals on your phone, your Galaxy Watch and other One UI 5 devices. With the new Bixby Text Call feature, Bixby Voice will answer calls on your behalf and share typed messages with the caller, speaking aloud as if you had answered. One UI 5 also introduces new daily health solutions to help track health and wellness in one place. This includes the Samsung Privileged Health SDK, which enables developers to build apps that leverage the BioActive Sensor on the Galaxy Watch.⁴

Future-Forward Investment and Research

Samsung Research is looking beyond today’s horizon to innovate for a better tomorrow, full of relentless innovation and open collaboration. Samsung Research is making its robot arm manipulation code available on GitHub, enabling academics, researchers and developers to examine new ideas in robotic manipulation.

The team at Samsung Research was also inspired by the new wellness features Samsung has introduced, particularly on the Galaxy Watch5. To find new use-cases leveraging these features, Samsung Research is working with universities and healthcare institutions that will explore areas like heart health, stress, blood pressure, lung health and neuroscience. As a result, Samsung is offering a full stack SDK — the Samsung Health Stack — which will jumpstart research into important health fields and spark new development.

Samsung invites developers, creators, partners and more to join in on its commitment to open collaboration and seamless experiences. For more information about the Samsung Developer Conference (SDC) 2022, please visit developer.samsung.com.

¹ Starting as early as late 2023, Samsung Knox Matrix will be initially available on selected Samsung devices. Support for other manufacturers’ products will follow later.

² Samsung TV Plus is available for selected Samsung Smart TVs only.

³  Viewership from September 2021 to August 2022 compared to viewership from September 2020 to August 2021

⁴ Available on Galaxy Watch4 series and Galaxy Watch5 series.

“We have started on our journey long ago to understand, develop and standardize the 6G communications technology,” said Sunghyun Choi, Executive Vice President and Head of the Advanced Communications Research Center at Samsung Research.² “We are committed to taking the lead and sharing our findings to spread our vision to bring the next hyper-connected experience to every corner of life.”

6G Spectrum: Expanding the Frontier

6G would require spectrum with ultra-wideband contiguous bandwidth ranging from hundreds of MHz to tens of GHz to enable new services such as high-fidelity mobile holograms and truly immersive extended reality (XR) that are characterized by ultra-high speed communications and large amount of data. There is also growing demand for greater coverage. In response to these requirements, Samsung proposes considering all available bands for 6G, from low-band under 1 GHz, to mid-band in the 1-24 GHz range and high-band in the 24-300 GHz range.

It also highlights the importance of securing new bands for commercial deployments of 6G, as 5G networks will still be operational when the 6G deployment starts. The mid-band within the 7-24 GHz range is a candidate that can support faster data speed and reasonable coverage. The sub-terahertz (sub-THz) band in the 92–300 GHz range is being considered for support of ultra-high speed data rate. The white paper also mentions the refarming of existing bands used for 3G, 4G and 5G networks to 6G operation as another way to obtain all the spectrum necessary for 6G. In addition, it notes that research on forward-looking regulations and technologies on spectrum utilization is essential to provide efficient and flexible support of 6G and other services with the limited spectrum.

Recent Findings on 6G Candidate Technologies

Along with the release of the 6G spectrum white paper, Samsung also highlights its research findings on some of 6G candidate technologies – specifically about sub-THz band communications, reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS), cross division duplex (XDD), full duplex, artificial intelligence (AI)-based nonlinearity compensation (AI-NC) and AI-based energy saving (AI-ES).

Sub-THz is considered a spectrum candidate for 6G communications, which is expected to support the data rate up to 1 Terabits per second (Tbps), 50 times faster than 20 Gbps of 5G networks. Samsung successfully demonstrated 6 Gbps data rate at a 15 meters distance indoors in June 2021, and 12 Gbps at a 30 meters distance indoors and 2.3 Gbps at a 120 meters distance outdoors the following year.

RIS can improve the beam sharpness and can steer or reflect the wireless signal to a desired direction with the use of a metamaterial surface. It can reduce the penetration loss and blockage of high frequency signal, e.g., mmWave. Samsung demonstrated that their RIS lens technology can enhance the signal strength by four times and the beam steering range by 1.5 times.

XDD can improve the propagation distance of uplink signal up to two times in the TDD system by enabling the continuous uplink transmission in a small portion of the system bandwidth. Hence, XDD is capable of dramatically enhancing the coverage of the TDD system often used in high-frequency bands. Samsung demonstrated its core technology, self-interference cancellation at the base station.

With full duplex, the data transmission and reception can take place simultaneously using the same frequency so that the data speed increases up to two times. Samsung carried out a successful trial of the full duplex in the mmWave band with a base station and a terminal 100 meters apart, demonstrating the self-interference cancellation of over 114 dB and 1.9 times improvement in the data rate.

AI-NC utilizes AI at the receiver to compensate the signal distortion caused by the nonlinearity of a transmitter’s power amplifier and hence, can significantly improve the coverage and quality of high-rate data signals. Samsung demonstrated 1.9 times improvement of the coverage for high-speed uplink data and 1.5 times improvement of the transmission speed for a given coverage.

AI-ES capitalizes on AI to minimize energy consumption at the base station by adjusting the parameters controlling the power on/off of selected cells depending on traffic load, without affecting network performance. In a real data-based replicated simulation of base stations, Samsung applied AI-ES to demonstrate an energy saving of more than 10%.

Samsung plans to share more details and the findings of its 6G research at the company’s first Samsung 6G Forum (samsung6gforum.com) scheduled on May 13, 2022.

For more information on ‘Samsung Tech Forum’, please visit Samsung Research website at research.samsung.com/events.

¹ Samsung’s 6G spectrum white paper is available for download at research.samsung.com.

² Samsung Electronics’ advanced R&D hub, which leads the development of future technologies for its Device eXperience division

Part one of this two-part series focused on Samsung’s latest home appliances and displays. Here, Junghoe Kim of Samsung Research’s Robot Center¹ and Hoseong Kang from Samsung’s Mobile eXperience Business offer exclusive insights on the company’s latest robots and the new Galaxy S21 FE.

Robotics: Reimagining Robots as Life Companions

▲ Junghoe Kim of Samsung Research’s Robot Center stands alongside the Samsung Bot i interactive robot.

Q: What is the theme for Samsung Research’s showcase at CES 2022?

The overall concept for Samsung Research at CES 2022 is “Digital, Meet Physical”. We’ve gone to great lengths to show how the personalized experiences that millennials and zoomers value can be seamlessly connected to the digital world.

To that end, the ‘house’ that we set up at CES was designed to resemble a digital world like a metaverse. Our AI ​​Avatar was created to identify users’ locations in the real world using UWB (Ultra Wide Band) location recognition technology, and interact with them through the nearest smart home product.

At this year’s CES, two types of companion robots will be introduced: the Samsung Bot i, an interactive robot, and the Samsung Bot Handy, a manipulation robot that can assist with household chores. They can help users by arranging a video conference for an urgent meeting, or by setting the table for a meal. Our CES 2022 booth demonstrates how AI and robots can come together to introduce innovative user experiences to the home of the future.

Q: What are some of the Samsung Bot i and Samsung Bot Handy’s most innovative features and technologies?

The Samsung Bot i is an interactive robot that utilizes balance control technology. It moves like a living being, making dynamic and life-like movements. When it’s next to the user, it moves alongside them and offers various forms of support. When it’s away from the user, it manages various tasks for them using its telepresence² function.

The Samsung Bot Handy is a robot that helps out with various household chores using manipulation³ technology. This enables the robot to recognize objects at home and skillfully pick them up. Whereas at last year’s CES, we showcased a technology that could pick up a single object based on learning, this year, we will introduce a scenario called “tableware handling”. This technology enables the robot to pick items up after recognizing multiple objects and analyzing the surrounding environment.

▲ (From left) The Samsung Bot Handy, an AI Avatar and the Samsung Bot i

Q: How would you summarize Samsung Research’s R&D philosophy when it comes to robots, and where is the company’s research heading?

Samsung Research’s Robot Center is conducting research in various areas under the vision, “Samsung Bot, Touching Your Daily Life.” We strive to make our robots companions that help users in their daily lives by closely interacting with them and making their lives happier and more convenient. To achieve this, we’re taking core robot technologies like mobility and manipulation a step further by creating platforms based on our extensive expertise in AI, and we’re developing various robots based on research in those areas.

The Galaxy S21 FE: A Smartphone for Fans, by Fans

▲ Mobile eXperience team member Hoseong Kang holds up the Galaxy S21 FE, the newest S series smartphone, designed with feedback from Galaxy fans

Q: Which features of the newly unveiled Galaxy S21 FE should people pay special attention to?

The goal of the Galaxy S21 FE (Fan Edition) is to offer the Galaxy S series experience to even more users. It was created by combining the most beloved features of the Galaxy S21. What makes the S21 FE so special is that it makes the S21 series’ flagship experience available to more people while offering the same iconic contour-cut design, outstanding AI-powered camera, Dynamic AMOLED 2X display and flagship performance.

The camera is a crucially important part of the smartphone. Millennials and zoomers (members of Gen Z) in particular make use of the front-facing camera in a range of different ways. That’s why we equipped the S21 FE with a high-resolution, 32MP front camera that lets you take high-quality photos anytime, anywhere.

Q: Galaxy FE devices are designed to allow more people to enjoy the core flagship features that Galaxy users love. How are users’ opinions gathered on functions, and what insights have you gained through that research?

When planning FE devices, we collect feedback on the Galaxy series from thousands of fans. Through that research, we’ve been able to identify which aspects of the Galaxy S series fans love the most.

We listen closely to their feedback and identify the common perceptions about Galaxy devices that transcend regional and cultural boundaries. One of the insights that has come up repeatedly in our research is that many fans associate Galaxy devices with the idea of constant innovation. This is something that Galaxy devices have earned by driving innovation in the mobile space for more than a decade. It’s also the core philosophy that the FE line, and other future products, must live up to.

▲ The Samsung Galaxy S21 FE empowers fans to express themselves with four unique new colors

Q: Why is Samsung continuously expanding the Galaxy S series lineup? What is the ultimate goal?

When it comes to innovating with the mobile experience, Samsung is at the forefront. We have always been one step ahead of market demand, and we’ve been able to use the Galaxy brand to bring users new and innovative mobile experiences. The Galaxy S21 FE is the latest product of our approach to innovation. With its unique colors and design, it offers users a broader range of choices, helping them express themselves.

¹ Samsung Electronics’ advanced R&D hub, which leads the development of future technologies for its Device eXperience division

² Refers to a virtual video conferencing system that makes participants feel as if they are in the same room.

³ Refers to the skillful manipulation of objects with hands. This includes picking objects up.