Founded in 1938, Samsung is the largest chaebol in South Korea. The myriad of companies under its brand are some of the biggest in their respective industries, but Samsung Electronics is the most notable. It makes some of the most popular phones in use today, and its flagship portfolio includes the Galaxy S-series and foldable Z-series devices. It also makes televisions, tablets, computers, headphones, and many of the displays, chips, and batteries found in devices from Apple, Sony, and others.
Samsung’s estimated Q4 earnings are way down on both Q3 and analyst estimates. Part of the problem? It can’t develop new AI memory chips for Nvidia fast enough, but Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has faith:
“They have to engineer a new design ... But they can do it. They are working very fast. They’re very committed to do it.”
The company’s been working on them since 2017, and they’re now beginning to impress — as you’ll see, I witnessed a miniature Las Vegas Sphere bulge from the panel, as well as a tiny virtual shark attack. But I’ll admit the company’s own video is even more impressive.
My video, however, also contains other awesome flexes!
The company already revealed that Ballie will arrive this year, but Samsung’s Alana Gomez Solis gave us a more specific timeline during its CES keynote.
Is Samsung’s round robot finally ready to roll out of CES demos and into actual homes?
Samsung Display is behind some of our favorite gadgets, monitors, and TVs sold by many companies, not just Samsung Electronics. So it’s always fun to see what they’re working on as a preview of what’s to come.
The company created a sensation by making TVs that look more like art and less like tech. With The Frame Pro, Samsung is trying to deliver the best of both worlds.
Smartprix believes a budget version of Samsung’s folding flip phone could arrive later this year, after showing up in an industry database in recent days. Display analyst Ross Young corroborated the report, adding that he expects the phone to use the same screen as the current Z Flip 6.
Despite loud proclamations, AI on smartphones is still mostly a sideshow.
In addition to the absurd 21.5- and 32-inch screens already available on its fridges, it’s now offering a smaller 9-inch option while slapping 7-inch displays on its washer, dryer, and wall oven. Smaller 4.3-inch displays will be available in some markets.
The screens provide local and central control of Samsung’s connected appliances as well as entertainment. And they’ll undoubtedly be great places to display ads. Hooray!
Both @evleaks and @sondesix are saying that’s the date for Samsung’s next Unpacked event, with the former sharing a leaked Italian marketing image as confirmation. In addition to the company’s much leaked Galaxy S25 series of phones we’re expecting to hear more about Samsung’s “Project Moohan“ XR headset we recently previewed.
The Six, which launched in June on Samsung Smart TVs, is launching today in the Samsung News app on Galaxy phones.
Here’s Samsung’s description of the game, if you’re interested:
The Six offers daily trivia challenges where players compete by answering six questions on topics ranging from entertainment to world history, with faster correct answers earning higher scores.
[Samsung U.S. Newsroom]
It’s called Project Moohan — and if you’re wondering what the heck is a moohan, it means infinity in Korean. Because there are “infinite possibilities” in XR.
Naming aside, I demoed the headset earlier this week and got a sneak peek at Android XR, Google’s new OS for mixed-reality devices. It’s for devs only right now, but a consumer launch is planned for 2025.
Music Sync in the SmartThings app can now start your YouTube Music playlist automatically when you hit the button to get your Philips Hue smart lights in sync with the tunes.
Press the Party button to get your Party playlist and party lighting, or opt for Relax, Workout, etc.
However, you’ll need YouTube Premium, a Galaxy device, and Hue smart lights for all this to work.
All the Matter-compatible devices you can buy, plus the latest on the smart home standard backed by Apple, Amazon, Google, and Samsung.
The company’s take on Android 15 looks like a major update, with a Dynamic Island-ish feature called the Now Bar and a redesigned camera app UI, along with refreshed widgets and app icons. It’s available starting today to Galaxy S24 owners via the Samsung Members app.
The upcoming redesign teased in a (seemingly premature) video found on Samsung’s Spanish website shows off smoother animations and a revamped Quick Panel, with quick settings now packed in bubbles — just like on iOS. The pill-shaped live activities feature also shares some similarities with Apple’s Dynamic Island.
6
Verge Score
The S24 FE feels less like a ‘Fan Edition’ and more like an exercise in retail positioning.
Following an earlier video leak, some new photos and screenshots have appeared that show the bottom half of the upcoming Samsung flagship (including its USB-C port, SIM slot, speaker, and S Pen), and what the One UI 7 update will look like on the device.
The company is rearranging the deck chairs on the C-level after falling behind SK Hynix and TSMC in its memory and foundry chip businesses. The move should also better position the chaebol in the event that its grand-nepo-baby leader Jay Y. Lee has to serve yet another prison term.
[SamsungNewsroom]
5
Verge Score
As an entry-level device, the FE doesn’t quite nail the right mix of price, features, and hardware.
