Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. today shared its vision for a calmer connected world through cutting-edge technologies that enhance the lives of users by providing smarter and more intuitive experiences. Speaking at a press conference at CES® 2023, Samsung and its key partners came together to outline details about how they plan to build a better-connected world while contributing to a more sustainable future.
Jong-Hee (JH) Han, Vice Chairman, CEO and Head of the Device eXperience (DX) Division at Samsung Electronics opened the company’s presence at CES by highlighting Samsung’s strategy to deliver on the promise of the connected experience across the key touchpoints in our lives – in our homes, cars, and at work – while also working to build a more sustainable future. The strategy outlined during the press conference focuses on the company’s aim of bringing calm to our connected world so that devices and innovation can genuinely enable better, more personal, and more intuitive experiences. To do this, Samsung is focusing on seamlessly connecting devices and designing products to make the everyday use of technology 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
To address our planet’s ongoing challenges, Samsung highlighted how it continues to prioritize the environment through a combination of sustainability targets, innovative product design, and strategic partnerships. As a result, by 2050, all of Samsung’s businesses will match their electricity needs with renewable energy and reach net zero carbon emissions. In the nearer term, the DX Division will transition to 100 percent renewable energy by 2027 and achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2030.
To further the company’s sustainability goals, Samsung outlined how Everyday Sustainability—building sustainability features into the company’s most popular products and services—will contribute to a healthier environment. This includes creating more sustainable products through innovative design in materials and energy efficiency.
“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.”
Samsung announced that many of its TVs and smartphones use recycled materials, including recycled plastic from discarded fishing nets, while the company’s home appliances, memory and 5G radio network chipsets are contributing to energy savings for customers. In addition, Samsung’s connected services, such as SmartThings Energy and AI Energy Mode, are also helping consumers save energy and cut costs while lowering their overall climate impact.
Samsung also shared the stage with Patagonia, a global leader in outdoor clothing, to discuss a partnership to combat the issue of microplastics – the tiny particles often found in clothes and released into oceans, lakes, and rivers through the laundry. Vincent Stanley, Director of Philosophy at Patagonia, spoke at the Samsung press conference about how the two companies have developed a new wash technology called the Less Microfiber Cycle(1), currently being incorporated into Samsung washing machines, which can reduce microplastic release by 54%(2) during a laundry cycle. Like the Less Microfiber Cycle, Samsung and Patagonia recently developed the new Less Microfiber Filter(3), which reduces microplastic discharge by preventing them from escaping into the ocean at the end of a wash cycle.
Meanwhile, James Kwon, Product Manager, ENERGY STAR for Consumer Electronics at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that Samsung’s connected home experience with SmartThings is the first mass-market Smart Home Energy Management System to earn the prestigious ENERGY STAR SHEMS Certification. Samsung also continues to collaborate with diverse stakeholders in its sustainability efforts. For example, Samsung joined with the Carbon Trust and other technology leaders to develop the industry’s first specification for measuring, accounting for, and decarbonizing the emissions associated with connected devices while being used by customers.
A Connected Home and Connected Life Built on Convenience
Samsung detailed plans to fulfill the connected experience today 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 bring convenience to the connected experience by monitoring and sharing alerts for anything out of the ordinary – for people and pets. Prompted by Samsung Smart TV, these services are some of the many ways Samsung and the connected platform SmartThings are creating an even smarter home.
A key part of this vision is increased interoperability, enabling consumers to connect more of their devices, whether they are Samsung’s or from a partner brand. As the industry looks to bring about a new level of compatibility through the Matter smart home standard, Samsung stated its commitment to this partnership philosophy. SmartThings was one of the first brands to adopt Matter, and Samsung is a founding member of the Home Connectivity Alliance (HCA).
Also, at the CES press conference, Samsung announced the latest smart home innovation, with the SmartThings Station – its first product to have Matter support built-in right from the beginning. It is a convenient, new way to kick-start SmartThings experiences at home and make it easier to interact with connected devices. SmartThings Station turns Samsung’s wireless charger into a smart home hub that can seamlessly transform the state of your home at the touch of a button(4).
The focus on connected experiences also extended to unveiling new partnerships, including announcing an expanded collaboration with Philips Hue. Jasper Vervoort, Senior Vice President and General Manager at Philips Hue discussed a new way to sync the content from Samsung TVs with Philips Hue lighting through the Philips Hue Sync TV app, which can be downloaded from the app store on Samsung TVs. This is the first solution to sync lighting and content from Samsung TVs without additional hardware.
With more devices connected than ever, Samsung also detailed how security and privacy innovations will be keys to building connected device ecosystems. The company is taking its device security experiences to the next level with its upcoming solution, Samsung Knox Matrix, which will conveniently and safely sync credentials across devices, while protecting sensitive information via multi-layered mutual monitoring enabled by private blockchain technology.
The connected experience is also extending to your commute. Marcus Futterlieb from Harman unveiled Samsung and Harman’s plans to inject a new level of intelligence, personalization, and convenience into the in-cabin experience (ICX). Central to this effort is Harman Ready Care, which uses a machine learning algorithm to gather and process data from the car’s sensors to measure driver drowsiness and distraction, providing tailored interventions to mitigate risks and help improve the well-being of the driver.
A Vision for the Future
The company also showcased next-generation innovations and technologies using the latest artificial intelligence (AI). Experiences enabled by Spatial AI – like in the JetBot AI+ – are laying the groundwork for better in-home experiences specific to the dimensions and environment of your space.
Samsung also gave a preview of Relumino Mode, which will come to select 2023 Samsung Neo QLED 8K and 4K TVs this year to make content viewing possible for people with vision impairment. Relumino Mode highlights outlines and improves contrast and color so that content is clearer and easier to enjoy(5). In addition, Samsung also displayed a new pair of Relumino glasses, which first debuted at CES 2018 as part of its startup acceleration program C-Lab project, as well as its mobile app to make the visual experience more enjoyable and personalized on every screen.
