Samsung counts down to a smarter tomorrow

 By Shehana Dain in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics last week unveiled the company’s latest offering for yet another year of smart possibilities, in its annual Southwest Asia forum held in Kuala Lumpur (KL) Malaysia. 

Addressing the gathering Samsung Southwest Asia President and CEO HC Hong said that the company will continue its momentum with the warm response Samsung received from its highly popular flagships the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge and Note 5 device unveilings of the previous year. 

Hong was clearly exited for what’s in store for Samsung fans on 21 February in Barcelona. According to him the ‘countdown begins,’ hinting at the launch of its highly popular Galaxy S series. Samsung has almost made it a habit to use the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona to launch its flagship devices. At KL the focus was on some major products that will hit the Indian market shortly. 

Hong also emphasised that Samsung was able to increase its market share by 11% MoM in the smartphone category thanks to its innovative portfolio. Samsung launched 18 4G smart phones in 2015 giving the company leadership in the 4G category with over 60% market share. 

Breaking new ground the forum’s showstoppers were clearly the 2016s A5 and A7. Following last year›s success in the mid-range smart phones with the A series, Samsung has priced the new devices at a higher price point compared to last year.

The eye catching Samsung’s newest SUHD TV boasts of being the world’s first ‘bezel-less’ TV. The brand also showed off an innovative refrigerator with five convertible modes and the new Samsung AddWash front loading washing machine that allows you to toss in extra garments into a washing machine partway through a washing cycle.

Samsung’s focus for 2016

Samsung’s mantra ‘Local is the new global’ will remain the same this year around, to continue its technology leadership. Hong remarked that the ‘make for India’ initiative was a starting point for the company to shift its strategy opining that the Samsung would trickle down its elements to Sri Lanka as well.  “We have invested in India for the past 20 years in this format. We will take this initiative to Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bhutan.”

Elaborating India’s importance to Samsung he added: “At Samsung we are committed to walk with the community. We have expanded Samsung smart plus to 400 schools in India which have over 160,000 students. We will continue to do so across the region. We have also created 18 Samsung technical schools in India to create job opportunity.”

According to him by April the Southwest Asian region will experience the world›s fastest and most advanced 4G technology.

Further elaborating on Samsung’s successful lifestyle appliance list with a localised touch to suit the regions customers, Hong noted: “SUHD TVs with Nano Crystals strengthened our leadership position we are also number one in the frost free refrigerator segment. Consumer response to our localised innovation roti and naan microwave ovens was highly positive, making us number one again.”

Energy efficient smart products

Taking the stage next was Samsung Electronics India Vice President Consumer Electronics Rajeev Bhutani, who asserted that technology today is not just about affordability but must also meet consumer expectations for energy efficiency.

He then announced the launch of India’s first smart digital inverter series which would be a game changing moment in the Indian refrigerator series.

Smart Digital Inverter series is a blend of freshness, energy efficiency, cooling and durability. It consumes less power and provides uninterrupted cooling and freshness during power cuts by connecting with the home inverter.

According to Bhutani this inverter will be a turnaround product for Indian households which experience frequent power cuts.

“We are confident that the all new refrigerator range will help take our market status to all new heights. For many of us in the region, one of the main products we pursue is air-conditioners,” he opined.

 The revolutionary ‘Samsung Smart Convertible five-in-one Refrigerator’ is powered by Twin Cooling Plus™ technology – applied to premium side-by-side refrigerators – this enables consumers to be flexible with cooling storage depending on their needs. First in the refrigerator category, the fridge and freezer compartment has its own cooling system allowing the refrigerator to be flexible depending on the consumer’s needs offering five different modes: Normal, Extra Shopping, Vacation, Seasonal, and Home Alone Mode. The five conversion modes deliver required flexibility while saving energy depending on the consumer needs. 

“We expect the consumer electronics business to grow even faster in the years to come. Especially with Internet of things (IOT).  Samsung is a pioneer of IOT and we are the only company which such a diverse range of consumer and enterprise products. So we believe we are in the best place to usher IOT. We are constantly reimagining and reinventing thus we believe our customers will benefit from our inventions,” Bhutani said. 

The new Samsung Air Conditioner series is also engineered to consume less power and produce exceptional cooling comfort. For increased durability, the outdoor unit’s DuraFin™ is more corrosion resistant as compared to conventional condenser. An in-built stabiliser feature can handle voltage fluctuations from 146V to 290V without an external stabiliser. 

Equipped with advanced World’s first new 8-pole motor in its Digital Inverter Compressor, it ensures faster cooling performance of up to 43% while using up to 68% less energy as compared to conventional air conditioners.

The ever expanding galaxy

The forum kept the best to the last as the days’ last speaker Samsung Electronics Southwest Asia Director of IT & Mobile Communications (IM) Marketing Manu Sharma took the stage to launch the much awaited new smart phones.

According to Sharma, India is the second largest smart phone market in the world: India has 170 million smart phone users and over 550 million feature phone users, which makes the country a focal business point for the Korean tech company.  

“Today there are 354 million people in India who have access to the internet out of which 213 million actually use the mobile phone. In fact for many of the consumers there first internet experience will be through a smart phone. This region is at its peak in the smart phone revolution,” he quipped.

 The adaption of 4G devices was another point Sharma pondered on. “In the fourth quarter of 2015 over 60% of the devices shifted to the 4G network. Adaptation of 4G will continue at a steady pace as our operator partners will roll out this facility and Samsung is leading the 4G chain by offering comprehensive LTE platforms. We are building 4G networks in India and in Daka with latest technology,” he added.

He then unveiled the much anticipated newest flagships in the Galaxy A series of which the A5 is priced at Indian Rs 29,400 while the A7 is priced at Indian Rs. 33,400 and will be available on Snapdeal and offline from 15 February in India.

The A5 and the A7 are remarkably thin – just 7.33 mm, but it›s the ultra-slim 2.7 mm bezel that is the device’s key design highlight. Both devices are powered by the Samsung Exynos processor with 2GB of RAM for the A5 and 3GB of RAM for the A7 and come with 16GB memory on board. The devices come with a dual SIM option and a Micro SD slot.

The other big improvement is the battery  2900 mAh for the A5 and 3300 mAh for the A7; Samsung claims that users will find a 25% improvement in battery performance.

World’s first bezel-less TV

Pioneers of Curved TV technology, Samsung introduced the world’s first ever bezel-less curved design in the KS9000 SUHD TV at the event. With no bezel that normally functions as the border, the viewer’s attention will now be completely captivated by the screen. In keeping with this design ethos, Samsung has sought to eliminate all unnecessary elements, even removing screws from the rear of the TV, to create an elegant product that is beautiful from every angle. The 360 design will offer an unparalleled viewing experience to consumers.

 Samsung’s 2016 SUHD TVs offer its viewers an unparalleled viewing experience with the revolutionary Quantum dot display technology. It features the world’s only cadmium-free, 10-bit Quantum dot display, offering the most true-to-life picture quality, with stunning brightness, exceptional contrast and the most life-like colours ever, offered by Samsung. This year, all of Samsung’s SUHD TVs will feature the ability to provide a premium high dynamic range (HDR) experience, with 1,000 nit brightness for a higher level of contrast between light and dark images. New Ultra Black technology also significantly reduces light reflection, further enhancing picture quality with minimal glare. Inspired by nature, Ultra Black absorbs natural light the same way that a moth’s eye enables it to see better at night.

  The 2016 range of Smart TVs have been built on the Tizen operating system (OS) allowing consumers to access their favorite content and services, from movies to games to apps, all in one place. The Samsung Smart TV will automatically recognise the type of Home theatre system or game console connected to the TV. This allows users to control all of the external devices with the Smart Control remote eliminating the need to juggle multiple remote controls. Also, various streaming and downloadable games will be available on the 2016 Smart TVs from global as well as Indian content providers which will allow consumer to have a realistic gaming experience on the large screen.

 The hands-on laundry experience

Additionally with the launch of the new Samsung Add Wash front-load washer Samsung dedicates the product to everyday consumers keeping in mind the importance of the practical touch. Consumers can now add items or extra detergent and fabric softener during wash cycle leveraging the additional Add Door located on the upper part of the main washer door. 

In terms of top loaders, the 9KG & 11KG ActivWash+ with built-in sink and dedicated Water Jet for convenient pre-treatment of laundry, incorporates a magic dispenser that lets you wash with less worry about residual detergent. It is specially designed to create a powerful water vortex that dissolves both liquid and powder detergent and spreads it evenly before one starts washing.