Enlarge ImageJK Shin, the Samsung co-CEO in charge of the company’s mobile business, shows off the Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 Edge+ during an event in New York.
Sarah Tew/CNET
NEW YORK — Consumers may not have to wait much longer for Samsung’s next virtual-reality device.
JK Shin, Samsung co-CEO and the head of the company’s mobile business, told CNET on Thursday that the next Gear VR will hit the market “soon” but said the precise launch date is “a surprise.” Samsung has tended to introduce new versions of its Gear VR headset when it launches new flagship phones, but it didn’t say anything about virtual reality during Thursday’s Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 Edge+ launch in New York.
Samsung, facing a slowing mobile market, has looked for ways to revitalize phone and tablet sales, as well as enter tangential markets. Gaming is one of those. Samsung in 2013 offered a Bluetooth controller, called the GamePad, that turned any Android phone into a portable gaming device. But it dived into virtual reality — the new hot sector in tech — with its first Gear VR headset a year ago.
That initial device, created through a partnership with Facebook’s Oculus, only worked with the Note 4, and the follow-up Gear VR — shown off in March — was tailored for the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge. Many expected the company on Thursday to show off a new version that works with the Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 Edge+, and market watchers have been hoping for a Gear VR that’s focused more on consumers and works with multiple Samsung devices, not just one or two models.
Instead of talking about VR on Thursday, Samsung spent its 45-minute keynote showing off its new jumbo smartphones, as well as teasing its next smartwatch, the round Gear S2. Samsung plans to introduce the smartwatch S2 on September 3 at the IFA electronics show in Berlin. It could also use the venue as the place to show off its next Gear VR, though Shin declined to comment.
With its hardware expertise, Samsung could have built a virtual-reality device on its own, but it instead chose to partner with Oculus, a pioneer in the virtual-reality world. Oculus introduced a prototype of its headset, called the “Rift,” in 2012, making a splash with the promise of high-quality virtual-reality gaming experiences. Industry veterans began singing its praises; a technology that had been the stuff of Hollywood storytelling since the early 1990s began marching toward store shelves.
Facebook bought Oculus a year ago for more than $2 billion and plans a consumer version of the product next year. Other companies jumping into the market include Sony ; Google with its simple Cardboard product ; and Microsoft with its HoloLens.
Virtual reality comes to the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge with new Gear VR (pictures)
Google’s device line could end up having a particularly important moment in 2023. The company usually announces new Pixel products throughout the year. Google is expected to release its first foldable phone this year, however, which would directly compete with Samsung’s proven line of Galaxy Z Fold devices. Google also introduced its own ChatGPT rival, …
Boo-keun Yoon, Samsung’s co-CEO, talks up his company at CES 2015.
Cho Mu-hyun/CNET
LAS VEGAS — Boo-keun Yoon, Samsung’s co-CEO and head of consumer electronics, says his company doesn’t need to look far to find its chief rival in the TV market.
“Our biggest competitor is ourselves, and my biggest worry is that we will become vain,” he told reporters on the sidelines of CES 2015 here.
Samsung used the trade show to unveil several updates to its TV line, which is faring far better than its wilting smartphone unit at the moment.
Samsung announced this week that all of its new smart TVs will run Tizen, an operating system that’s been under development for years. The software is expected to simplify the user interface compared with earlier Samsung smart TVs and let people more easily connect their TV to nearby Samsung smartphones, tablets and smartwatches.
The company also unveiled quantum dot TVs as its SUHD series . The “S” in SUHD will denote Samsung’s premium products, while budget models will be launched without the “S” and be called UHD TVs or Full HD TVs, noted Kim Hyun-suk, Samsung’s TV boss.
Yoon said he was unimpressed with rivals’ efforts at CES, such as Chinese electronic giant TCL’s 110-inch curved TV or Japanese titan Sony’s full lineup for 2015.
“We are No. 1 for the ninth straight year,” Yoon said of the TV business. “So instead of focusing on what others might come out with, we focus on what we make.”
During Yoon’s keynote speech at CES this week, he offered Samsung’s vision of the Internet of Things — the concept that Net connection will soon be coming to massive numbers of products beyond computers, tablets and phones.
Samsung wants Tizen TV to become the “hub” of smart, connected homes.
“What is important for Tizen is how the OS operates based on consumers’ wants…how the OS…can communicate with any other OS. Communication between devices is crucial. This is our final goal,” said Yoon.
Samsung is doubling down on the Internet of Things.
James Martin/CNET
LAS VEGAS — Samsung is making a big bet on the “Internet of Things,” or Web-connected products.
The Korean electronics giant said Monday that 90 percent of its products — which includes everything from smartphones to refrigerator– would be able to connect to the Web by 2017. In five years, every product in the company’s entire catalog would be Internet connected, said B.K. Yoon, the company’s co-CEO.
But for the Internet of Things to actually take off, disparate devices from different companies must be able to work together. So Yoon vowed that all of Samsung’s products would be built on platforms that are open and compatible with other products.
“We will make sure that others can easily connect to our devices,” Yoon said during a press conference at the Consumer Electronics Show here.
Samsung’s declaration is just the latest example of the world’s largest technology companies embracing the Web in devices beyond just laptops, smartphones and tablets. In August, Samsung bought SmartThings, a US smart home technology startup that developed an open platform for smart devices, which would become the basis for the Samsung’s Internet of Things push.
The company isn’t the only tech giant investing in the smart home. Google in February bought Nest, maker of a smart thermostat and smoke detector, for more than $3 billion. Nest has also made sure its products could work with other devices and services, introducing the Works with Nest software developer program in June.
SEOUL, South Korea — Samsung gets plenty of press for its phones, but TV is how it made its mark as a high-end consumer brand.
The company often points to its Bordeaux line of LCD TVs (the ones with curved bottom edges reminiscent of a wine glass) from 2006 as an example of its design chops. Since then, it has held the No. 1 spot in the TV market. In fact, Samsung sells more televisions in the United States than LG, Sharp, Panasonic, Sony, and Toshiba combined, according to NPD Group. And its US market share is nearly double that of No. 2-ranked Vizio.
Much of the credit goes to Boo-Keun Yoon, co-CEO of Samsung Electronics. He not only oversees TVs but also supervises home appliances, medical devices, and essentially everything else that’s not mobile or components. Yoon made a big bet on LEDs early on that has cemented Samsung’s lead in TVs. Now, he’s now betting that smart TVs and new display technology, such as 4K ultra-high definition and OLED, will revive a stagnating television market.
CNET traveled to Korea and had a chance to chat with Yoon — via interpreter — in Samsung’s Suwon headquarters, known as Digital City. Here are some edited excerpts from that discussion:
Smart TVs have been a big focus for Samsung, and you recently bought Boxee. What are your plans for that company?
Yoon: The smart TV that we put out, it’s named TV, but TV is only a part of its features. It has many things in there that it can do. … Right now the TV market is stagnating, it’s not growing. We want to offer new experiences for the consumers whether it’s in terms of songs, content, and games, so we can contribute to the process of reinventing the TV market. The reason why we bought Boxee is that it’s part of that strategy that we have for the smart TV. We needed something they’re contributing in the process.
What is that? Cloud DVR? Cloud gaming?
Yoon: What you just mentioned is being discussed on the industry level right now, but it’s not really news. Of course in order to realize what you just mentioned, we are thinking all of the industry players should coordinate and cooperate with each other. So Samsung, cable providers, content providers, and operators as well will need to cooperate so we can create an ecosystem in which it would be easy and convenient for the consumers to use the services as well as enjoy the good quality of the screen.
Is it difficult working with these companies that all have different goals? Are talks progressing?
Yoon: Discussions are progressing well since we have acquired Boxee.
What about content? Sony, among others, are working on over-the-top TV service, and deals with content creators. Is this something Samsung would ever try?
Yoon: We do need to talk with all of the players involved in the industry, such as broadcasters and operators, whether on the satellite side or the cable side, in order to set up the ecosystem in the smart TV.
But Samsung doesn’t see itself competing with a cable provider, offering Internet-based TV service where you control the whole process?
Our intention is to create a well-functioning ecosystem, and that requires cooperation and coordination, not strong competition between players. … We want to play the role of the delivery [vehicle].
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With the smart TV products that companies are working on, even reportedly Apple, what pressure do you feel to set up an ecosystem? What would your ecosystem look like?
Yoon: One of the efforts we can do to set up an ecosystem would be to develop a gateway. … Right now if you are connecting, for example, a cable line to the home, the cable would be connected to the home in a specific location in the home and from that location there would be a set-top box and cables would be connected to link that cable line from the outside to devices in the home. Every room has a set-top box and TV.
Right now what we’re trying to do is set up a gateway in which the cables will come all the way to the home area and from then on there would be a gateway setup. From there, there would be the signals of the cable sent to the different devices wirelessly from the gateway. So there would be no need for setting up the cables, so that means [one central box and] less cost for installation. This would be one of our roles that we could play here.
Going forward, will more innovation in consumer electronics come from hardware or software?
Yoon: Innovation will come from both sides, hardware and software, but the ratio or share itself will be different for different types of products. I do feel that for the home appliances side, there will be more innovation coming from the hardware side. [As for TVs], more software.
Could we see a TV with a flexible display?
Yoon: It can be.
Samsung has seemed a little hesitant toward the new types of TV displays, such as 4K, or ultra-high definition. Why is that?
Yoon: First, in regards to UHD or UDTV, currently the content for broadcasting content hardly exists. But we [had] been developing that technology internally but we [hadn’t] really launched it in the market because we felt it wasn’t ready. But we now have the largest size of TV on the UHD side, and we have smaller products as well. The reason we weren’t actually first in the market is not that we weren’t technology-wise capable but that we thought that the market wouldn’t be as big in the near term.
As for OLED, we have been preparing that technology for a long time. We recently launched that TV. … The reason why we weren’t really fast-moving on the OLED side was that we didn’t really want to introduce a product which was not really perfect. We already were No. 1 — we are No. 1 in the market — so in order to launch something in the market, we wanted something that’s perfect. That’s why we took really great care in preparing this product.
So which do you see as being more of a mainstream product first, OLED or 4K-UHD? And why?
Yoon: UHD. OLED requires further development in terms of size and resolution, and also the price of OLED products should come down so it can be more affordable for consumers for acceptance.
What takes up most of your time and focus right now?
Yoon: The biggest portion of my time is [spent] on home appliances. I want to provide innovation to the home appliance side because we want to be No. 1 on the home appliance side by 2015. So by that time, we want to make products that are very enjoyable and convenient for customers to use.
Boo-Keun Yoon, Samsung co-CEO and head of the company’s electronics business, talks at the opening of Samsung’s New York accelerator in September.
Shara Tibken/CNET
Samsung has been making smarter appliances, such as washing machines that connect to smartphones. Why?
Yoon: The reason why businesses want to … introduce the concept of smart appliances is because we want to transform the concept we have about housework from a nuisance or a chore into something you enjoy, so that it can become easy for you to use as well as convenient.
In order for the consumers to fully accept the new smart devices or smart appliances, they would have to enjoy using it, and it has to be very convenient to use. But for the time being, it only satisfies a portion of those needs. So we should do more work in terms of developing the next-generation technology, having consumers use it more and then communicate the experience, as well as making the product affordable for consumers. These are some of the challenges or bottlenecks that we need to overcome to fully introduce smart appliances.
If you were to link a smartphone with a washing machine, for example, in order for the user to turn on or use the washing machine, the user has to have the smartphone with him or her, so that would be an extra step or an extra burden for the time being. So we have to try to think of more ideas so that it would be very easy and simple and enjoyable for the user to use the smart devices with their appliances.
As you look to the future of Samsung, the TV market has stagnated. Mobile appears to be slowing. What’s the big area for Samsung that could spur a lot of growth?
Yoon: Just to give you a general outlook on the total business — of course the TV market is stagnated right now, but we do feel that it will continue to grow into the future. There will be new different types of displays … introduced into the market. There’s also smart TV.
As for mobile, it can continue to grow with other accessories, such as wearables, as well as the introduction of new content. That could be a new source of growth. As for the other areas, such as medical devices, printers, and home appliances, if you can get the market … up to the critical mass side, that business itself can stabilize and be a mass source of continuous business for the company. So we’re preparing for those areas, as well.
Samsung Electronics has broad ambitions for Tizen, an open operating system the company has taken a lead role in developing as it looks to wean itself off its dependence on Android and Google.
That’s according to Samsung Electronics co-CEO J.K. Shin, who runs the company’s IT and mobile communications division. In a joint interview with CNET Korea (Korean language) and CNET, Shin made it clear that Tizen is more than a pet project and “simple alternative for Android.” Indeed, he envisions Tizen running on more than just smartphones, and that it will eventually move to vehicles and other industries.
“There are many convergences not only among IT gadgets, including smartphones, tablets, PCs, and cameras, but also among different industries like cars, bio, or banks,” he said. “Cross-convergence is the one [area] Samsung can do best since we do have various parts and finished products.”
While Tizen is an open operating system, Samsung and Intel have spearheaded the development of the standards behind it. Tizen enjoyed a splashy introduction at Mobile World Congress in February, and has been slowly introducing new versions and rallying developer support.
Tizen is important because it represents Samsung’s best attempt to push an operating system that it has more control over. Samsung’s surge to dominance over the smartphone market has been driven by its Galaxy S line of smartphones, which all run on Google’s Android software. While Samsung continues to say all the right things about its partner, it’s clear the Korean conglomerate would prefer to rely less on Google and more on home-grown software.
Samsung co-CEO J.K. Shin.
Stephen Shankland/CNET
The operating system appeared to hit a snag recently, with Samsung delaying the introduction of the first Tizen phone until the fourth quarter. The delay led to some speculation that Samsung’s enthusiasm for the platform had waned.
Shin brushed aside rumors that Samsung would drop Tizen, and maintained that the company considers it a key operating system alongside Android and Microsoft’s Windows Phone platform.
Beyond smartphones, Tizen could find its way into vehicles. Shin mentioned cars as one area Samsung would like to be in, and partner Intel sounds similarly confident in the software’s ability to power in-car apps and systems. A person familiar with Intel’s work with Tizen said the operating system is well-suited to the auto industry’s need for differentiation. But the person said Tizen wouldn’t make its way to cars until 2015.
Samsung and Intel aren’t the only ones looking at cars. Apple in June said its iOS 7 software would work in cars, highlighting the integration of dashboard systems and its iPhone. General Motors, for instance, has done a lot of work to integrate voice-command service Siri into its system. BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins touted the BlackBerry platform’s ability to power cars — the QNX software that BlackBerry 10 is based off of already runs vehicles and other equipment.
Moving beyond smartphones is a key initiative for Samsung. Shin has designated the term “cross category” as a keyword in the company’s strategy, and is getting the groundwork set up for vehicles, among other industries.
Shin also teased new developments on the tablet front. Samsung has made a lot of progress cutting into Apple’s once-dominant share in the tablet business, thanks to a plethora of tablets in different sizes. The company sees tablets as a growth area, offsetting any potential slowdown in the key smartphone business. Shin, however, was stingy with the details.
“There will be good news on the tablet soon,” he said. “Please wait and see.”
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