Samsung highlighted its vision for a more peaceful, connected world through cutting-edge technologies that improve consumers’ lives by enabling smarter, more intuitive experiences. During a press conference at CES® 2023, Samsung and its key partners shared details about how they want to develop a more connected world while also contributing to a more sustainable future.
Jong-Hee (JH) Han, Vice Chairman, CEO, and Head of the DX (Device eXperience) Division at Samsung Electronics, kicked off the company’s presence at CES by emphasising the company’s strategy to deliver on the promise of the connected experience across key touchpoints in our lives – in our homes, cars, and at work – while also working to build a more sustainable future. The press conference approach focuses on the company’s goal of bringing calm to our connected world so that technology and innovation may truly allow better, more personal, and more intuitive experiences. Samsung is concentrating on seamlessly linking devices and inventing products that make ordinary technology usage more sustainable.
“We recognize our vision is a big one,” said CEO JH Han. “It’s about solving real challenges today and understanding consumers’ future needs and aspirations. It will take time, innovation, and cooperation with partners worldwide. But we are committed to achieving it, and already getting started.”
Samsung Incorporates Sustainability at Every Level
Samsung emphasised how it continues to prioritise the environment through a combination of sustainability objectives, creative product design, and strategic collaborations to solve our planet’s ongoing issues. As a consequence, by 2050, all of Samsung’s enterprises will be using renewable energy to meet their electrical demands, resulting in net zero carbon emissions. In the foreseeable future, the DX Division plans to switch to 100 percent renewable energy by 2027 and net zero carbon emissions by 2030.
Samsung described how Everyday Sustainability—building sustainability elements into the company’s most popular goods and services—contributes to a healthier environment to promote the company’s sustainability goals. This involves developing more sustainable goods through new material and energy-efficiency design.
“By building sustainability into the product experience, we, and the many people around the world who use our products, can contribute to a healthier planet,” said Inhee Chung, Vice President of Corporate Sustainability Center at Samsung. “As a result, some of our most popular products are now some of our most sustainable.”
Many of Samsung’s TVs and smartphones employ recycled materials, including recycled plastic from abandoned finishing nets, and the company’s home appliances, memory, and 5G radio network chipsets help users save energy. Furthermore, Samsung’s connected services, such as SmartThings Energy and AI Energy Mode, help users save energy and money while reducing their total environmental impact.
Samsung also shared the platform with Patagonia, a global leader in outdoor apparel, to promote a collaboration to address the issue of microplastics, which are microscopic particles commonly found in clothing and discharged into seas, lakes, and rivers via laundry. Patagonia’s Director of Philosophy, Vincent Stanley, spoke at the Samsung press conference about how the two companies developed a new wash technology called the Less Microfiber Cycle, which is now being incorporated into Samsung washing machines and can reduce microplastic release by 54% during a laundry cycle. Samsung and Patagonia have created the new Less Microfiber Filter, which decreases microplastic discharge by keeping it from leaking into the ocean at the conclusion of a wash cycle, similar to the Less Microfiber Cycle.
Meanwhile, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPAJames )’s Kwon, Product Manager, ENERGY STAR for Consumer Electronics, announced that Samsung’s connected home experience with SmartThings is the first mass-market Smart Home Energy Management System to receive the prestigious ENERGY STAR SHEMS Certification. In addition, Samsung’s sustainability initiatives continue to be collaborative with a wide range of partners. For example, Samsung collaborated with the Carbon Trust and other technology pioneers to create the industry’s first specification for monitoring, accounting for, and decarbonizing emissions from connected devices as they are used by consumers.
A Connected Home and Life Based on Convenience
Samsung outlined its goals for delivering the connected experience now and in the future. During the company’s press conference, Jaeyeon Jung, Executive Vice President and Head of SmartThings, highlighted how features like SmartThings Home Monitor and SmartThings Pet Care add convenience to the connected experience by monitoring and sharing alerts for anything out of the ordinary – for people and pets. These services, inspired by Samsung Smart TV, are just a few of the numerous ways Samsung and the linked platform SmartThings are making the house even smarter.
Increased interoperability is a critical component of this goal, allowing users to connect more of their products, whether from Samsung or a partner brand. Samsung emphasised its commitment to this cooperation attitude as the industry tries to bring about a new level of interoperability through the Matter smart home standard. Samsung is a founding member of the Home Connectivity Alliance, and SmartThings was one of the first manufacturers to use Matter (HCA).
At the CES press conference, Samsung also introduced the next smart home innovation, the SmartThings Station, its first device with Matter compatibility built in from the start. It’s a fresh and quick way to get started with SmartThings at home and interact with linked devices. SmartThings Station transforms Samsung’s wireless charger into a smart home hub that can modify the condition of your house with the press of a button.
The emphasis on linked experiences extends to the announcement of new collaborations, including an expanded cooperation with Philips Hue. Jasper Vervoort, Senior Vice President and General Manager at Philips Hue, spoke about a new way to sync content from Samsung TVs with Philips Hue lighting via the Philips Hue Sync TV app, which can be downloaded via the Samsung TV app store. This is the first option for synchronising illumination and content from Samsung TVs without the use of any additional hardware.
Samsung Knox Matrix, which will enable multi-layered mutual monitoring enabled by private blockchain technology to effortlessly and safely sync credentials across devices while securing critical information.
The linked experience extends to your commute as well. Harman’s Marcus Futterlieb presented Samsung and Harman’s intentions to bring intelligence, personalisation, and convenience to the in-cabin experience (ICX). Harman Ready Care, which employs a machine learning algorithm to receive and interpret data from the car’s sensors to evaluate driver tiredness and attention, is crucial to this endeavour, giving personalised interventions to limit dangers and aid enhance the driver’s well-being.
A Vision for the Future
The corporation also displayed artificial intelligence-based advancements and technology (AI). Spatial AI-enabled experiences, such as the JetBot AI+, are laying the framework for superior in-home experiences tailored to the dimensions and surroundings of your space.
Samsung also provided a glimpse of Relumino Mode, which will be available this year on selected 2023 Samsung Neo QLED 8K and 4K TVs to allow those with visual impairment to see content. Relumino Mode brightens outlines and increases contrast and colour to make information more visible and enjoyable. Furthermore, Samsung exhibited a new set of Relumino glasses, which debuted at CES 2018 as part of its startup acceleration programme C-Lab project, as well as its mobile app to make the visual experience more engaging and individualised on every screen.