Samsung President Kim Hyun-seok: "We Will Connect AI-Equipped Appliances to Provide Unique Experiences"

Interview with Nihon Keizai Shimbun... Efforts to Strengthen Connectivity Between Devices

Hyun-suk Kim, President and Head of Consumer Electronics (CE) Division at Samsung Electronics

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] Kim Hyun-seok, President and CEO of Samsung Electronics' Consumer Electronics (CE) Division, stated that Samsung Electronics is developing a service that equips all its home appliances with artificial intelligence (AI) to connect them with each other. By linking smartphones and wearable devices, he said, "We can provide a unique experience in a completely different domain from that of Apple in the United States."

In an interview with Japan's Nihon Keizai Shimbun published on the 29th, Kim said, "About 25 to 30% of the world's population uses Samsung products daily. There is a great opportunity." As the head of AI development research, he expressed expectations about combining AI with home appliances, saying, "AI simultaneously performs personalized optimization and automation. It is no longer about finding the channel you want to watch on TV, but the TV selecting and showing the videos the consumer wants to see. This evolution will spread to other home appliances."

Nihon Keizai explained with an example that TV broadcasts exercise programs, sensors detect the user's movements, and then by linking with wearable electronic devices, AI captures the user's health status and suggests the optimal exercise program based on big data. It added that it is also possible to propose healthy recipes using ingredients in the refrigerator.

Nihon Keizai reported that Samsung Electronics established a "Multi-Device Council" earlier this year, where the heads of smartphones, TVs, and white goods divisions promote inter-product connectivity, and that they are accelerating the development of new services through close collaboration between divisions. Kim emphasized, "Hardware performance is already excellent among companies. We acknowledge that we cannot win by specs alone," but added, "Only Samsung can provide new experiences by connecting a wide range of products."

Kim also mentioned that compared to people in their 40s, the MZ generation in their 20s and 30s has lower brand loyalty and a strong desire for new experiences. Nihon Keizai reported that Kim said internally, "In the next 5 to 10 years, developing products and services targeting the MZ generation as key customers is essential."

Regarding the limited operation of the Vietnam factory due to COVID-19 and other factors, Kim asserted, "Vietnam is our mother factory (the central factory for product development and manufacturing). We continue to grow, and there is no reduction in production." On the global semiconductor shortage, he added, "We do not handle microcontrollers (MCUs) ourselves, so we have no choice but to cooperate with global suppliers."

Meanwhile, Samsung Electronics' executives have recently emphasized strengthening connectivity between devices using AI and other technologies. At the 'Samsung Developer Conference 2021' held online on the 26th (U.S. time), Samsung Electronics President Ko Dong-jin also stated in his keynote speech that they will enhance connectivity between devices through strengthening the AI platform Bixby and the Internet of Things (IoT) platform SmartThings services. He said, "The whole world is closely connected through numerous devices and networks," and added, "We will continue to innovate to make life more convenient and smarter."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.