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Samsung's CES fitness pitch: AR glasses and a GEMS exoskeleton
Last year, Samsung unveiled an exoskeleton called Gait Enhancing & Motivating System (GEMS) that could help correct your posture and assist with everyday walking. It was an ambitious concept device that the company has now developed into a personal fitness coach. During its CES 2020 keynote, Samsung unveiled a pair of augmented reality glasses -- a new piece of hardware for the company -- that appeared to be tethered to a nearby Galaxy smartphone. The wearer could then pick a virtual-workout location and motivational trainer to guide them through some exercises.
Samsung made a rolling robot called Ballie that runs your smart home
Samsung's CES keynote got off to an intriguing start when HS Kim was joined onstage by a robot designed to help you around the home. The company says it made Ballie to understand and support your needs: Essentially, it can run your smart home for you.
Tune in to Samsung's CES keynote at 9:30PM ET
Samsung had an extremely busy CES before the show even officially started, having revealed several TVs (including 8K displays), a 4K Chromebook and lite versions of the Galaxy S10 and Note 10. But it's not quite done yet, as it's set to hold a press conference Monday evening.
We're live at Samsung's CES 2020 keynote!
Samsung's press conferences have always been all about spectacle, and few places are more spectacular than Las Vegas this time of year. We're expecting a few more surprises this time than usual, though. Yes, you'd be right to expect a slew of TV announcements, not to mention some updated laptops and a few smart appliances, too. What's less conventional is the fact that Samsung already announced mid-range versions of their flagship phones, invited us to yet another smartphone launch event, and has basically confirmed its plans to start making life-like virtual people. It's not supposed to be anything like the oft-maligned Bixby, but apart from that, your guess is as good as ours.
Samsung made an utterly gorgeous Chromebook with a 4K AMOLED screen
I come across a lot of laptops in my line of work, but few have struck me quite like the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook. Not only is it one of the most stunning notebooks I've seen, but Google's own senior director of product management Kan Liu called it the best Chromebook yet. (He certainly had plenty of brands and models he could have chosen from.) I could go on and on about how much I love the Galaxy Chromebook's eye-catching red finish and sleek lines, or how great it felt to hold during my hands-on demo at CES 2020, but there are other reasons this new laptop stands out.
Harman Kardon's return to headphones includes true wireless earbuds
Harman Kardon is coming back to headphones after a six-year absence, and it's making up for lost time by seizing on all the latest trends. It's introducing a new Fly wireless audio lineup headlined by the Fly TWS (above), a set of true wireless earbuds that promises a few advantages over others at its price. The battery life is so-so at five hours for the buds themselves and a combined 15 hours with the charging case, but you'll get sweat and rain resistance, fast charging, touch control (including voice assistant support) and in-ear detection for $150.
Samsung announces a Privacy app for its smart TVs
At a preview for its 2020 TV lineup here at CES, Samsung revealed a new app for its TVs: Privacy Choices. The advent of smart TVs has increased their ability to profile and track your activities while watching them, and according to Samsung's exec, this app will give owners an easy-to-reach place where they can see what data is being collected, and opt-out as they see fit. The app wasn't available on the demonstration TVs we were looking at, but now that the TV is keeping track of your workouts, some extra visibility about privacy settings seems appropriate.
Samsung will sell its rotating Sero TV outside of Korea
Back in April, Samsung announced a rotating TV called 'The Sero.' Like Microsoft's Surface Hub 2, the screen can swivel between a conventional landscape setup and portrait orientation that's optimized for smartphone-centric content like Snapchat, Instagram Stories and TikToks. Samsung launched the 4K display in Korea for 1.89 million won (roughly $1,630) last May. But what about the West? Well, the company announced today that the same attention-grabbing design is coming to "several global markets" this year.
Samsung unveils an extra-large 8K TV for 2020
Samsung revealed its new QLED 8K TV last night in Korea, and now the US unveiling is under way. We already heard about interesting features like its "digital butler" that will control other devices, including older stuff that can't connect to networks using an IR blaster, multitasking with picture-in-picture and the AI ScaleNet tech that streams "8K quality" video by downconverting it to 4K with the TV upscaling it again on the receiving end. To start with, it's working with Amazon Prime to upscale standard-def video to 4K. Naturally, support for AI assistants like Samsung's Bixby is built-in, and starting this year you can choose to use Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa too. An Adaptive Picture feature recognizes the changing lighting in your room and automatically adjusts the display's settings to match. The Tizen OS also supports multitasking, with some 14 different ways to split up the screen, using side-by-side or various picture-in-picture layouts.
Samsung's giant 'Wall' TV now comes in four more sizes
Samsung's luxurious The Wall TV now has more options -- at least, for those with the vast amounts of money and space to get one. The company is taking advantage of production improvements to introduce 88-inch, 93-, 110- and 150-inch fixed screen sizes in addition to the 75-, 146-, 219- and 292-inch options that were available before. That's almost too fine-grained (does Samsung really need both 146- and 150-inch sets?), but it should suit those who want the largest possible screen for a given wall.
Samsung's artsy The Frame TV gets larger and smarter for 2020
Samsung's latest generation of The Frame might just make a better case for using your TV as an artistic centerpiece. The company's 2020 models (not yet pictured) are now available in a larger 75-inch size as well as a relatively tiny 32-inch model, making it a better fit as either the conversation starter for an expansive living room or an out-of-the-way screen for the bedroom. You can also get variants with beige and burgundy bezels, and accessories like a gapless wall mount and an 'invisible' connection can reinforce that painting-like look.
Samsung Galaxy S10 Lite and Note 10 Lite hands-on: We have questions
We're at that weird point in the week where CES simultaneously has and hasn't started, and it's already becoming clear Samsung isn't sticking to business as usual in 2020. That's partially due to the hype surrounding its curious Neon project, but also because Samsung just revealed two modest versions of its most popular smartphones. The Galaxy S10 Lite and Note 10 Lite are exactly what their names suggest, and while I'm always in favor of phone makers crafting high-powered devices that don't cost a ton, Samsung is being surprisingly tight-lipped about them. That said, we did learn a few things after a bit of Vegas hands-on time.
Samsung Galaxy Book Flex Alpha hands-on: Cheaper, with few sacrifices
Samsung has really impressed me with its laptop game lately, delivering super thin and premium machines like the Galaxy Book Flex and Ion, as well as the Snapdragon-powered Book S. But those devices cost upwards of $999, which cuts the budget-conscious user out of Samsung's reach. For those who would like something just a little cheaper, though, the company announced a new Galaxy Book last week called the Flex Alpha. That rings in at $830, compared to the roughly $1,100 that the Flex and Ion are expected to cost.
Samsung sheds light on its 'artificial human' project
Samsung has been drumming up hype for its Neon 'artificial human' project, and now it's clearer as to what that initiative entails. Project lead Pranav Mistry has posted a teaser effectively confirming that Neon is nothing less than an effort to create lifelike avatars. The digital beings are based on "captured data," but can generate their own expressions, movements and sayings in multiple languages. While the static image doesn't reveal much more than that, some recent discoveries help fill in the gaps.
Samsung's latest 8K TVs will include 4K over-the-air tuners
Samsung's next wave of 8K TVs are likely to have numerous features to catch your eye, but one of the more important additions may be one of the simplest: an improvement to free broadcasts. The tech giant has revealed that its 2020 QLED 8K catalog will include ATSC 3.0 tuners with NEXTGEN TV to deliver over-the-air 4K programming, multi-channel object-based audio and "enhanced" content to US viewers. Your TV still won't be used to its fullest potential, but this beats having to pay for cable or streaming services to get a live TV picture beyond 1080p.
Samsung will unveil its latest Galaxy phones on February 11th
In case you've been losing sleep over whether that leaked Samsung invite video was real, fret no more. Samsung itself confirmed this evening that it plans to show off "new, innovative devices that will shape the next decade of mobile experiences" at a Galaxy Unpacked event in San Francisco on February 11th.
Samsung's zero-bezel 8K TV is real
Samsung Korea has announced the premium 8K TV it's bringing to CES 2020, confirming that the recently-leaked image is real. The Q950 is not only a super-high resolution TV, it also "sets a new standard" for TV screens with its Infinity Design -- according to the company at least. Other than a small edge along the bottom, there's really no frame to speak of, and Samsung says it measures only 15mm thick. Inside, its AI "quantum processor" powers a revamped UI that's good for upscaling any source to 8K as well as accessing TV over an antenna, or streaming services, with a universal guide that can combine recommendations from several apps at once.
Samsung might launch its next Galaxy flagship phones on February 11th
Samsung's next Unpacked event, where it usually unveils its flagship devices, may be just over a month away. An unreleased promo video unearthed by Twitter user @water8192, This is Tech Today and Max Weinbach of XDA Developers teases the launch of a new Galaxy device -- or devices, if the two quadrilateral shapes in the teaser are a hint of what's to come -- on February 11th, 2020. Like the previous Unpacked shows before it, the event will have a live broadcast you can stream through Samsung's website.
High rollers: Tell us all about your Galaxy Fold!
Samsung experienced a few missteps in the release of its first folding smartphone: The original release date was pushed back due to durability issues with the plastic screen (including users peeling off a protective layer) and, even after its redesign, there are still concerns about durability. Users have debated whether the high-profile handset is a clunky, but necessary, step on the path to a true folding phone or an expensive niche gadget that only an early adopter could love.
The Galaxy S10 and Note 10 Lite are cheaper takes on Samsung's flagships
As expected, ahead of CES Samsung has announced the Galaxy S10 Lite and Note 10 Lite, two phones the company claims will be more affordable takes on its 2019 flagships. Both devices feature 6.7-inch bezel-less AMOLED display with a cutout for a 32-megapixel selfie camera. As a result, the S10 Lite features a bigger display than either the S10 or S10+, which had 6.1-inch and 6.4-inch displays respectively. Additionally, unlike the S10 series, the front-camera notch is at the top center of the screen, instead of to the right-hand side.