At “The First Look” event held at the Wynn Las Vegas ahead of CES 2026, Samsung presented its new strategic vision titled “Companion to AI Living.” TM Roh, CEO and Head of the Device eXperience (DX) Division, outlined the company’s shift toward using artificial intelligence not just as a feature set, but as a foundational philosophy connecting R&D, product development, and user experience.
The presentation highlighted three core pillars of this new ecosystem: Entertainment, Home, and Care, positioning Samsung devices as active companions in daily life rather than passive tools.
Entertainment Companion: The 130-inch Micro RGB and Vision AI
Leading the visual display announcements was the unveiling of the 130-inch Micro RGB. This display utilizes a micro-sized RGB light source where red, green, and blue diodes shine independently. Samsung claims this technology offers the widest and most detailed color spectrum in the company’s history. The hardware is supported by the Micro RGB AI Engine Pro, designed to precisely control color output for high-fidelity picture quality.
A central component of the 2026 lineup is the Vision AI Companion (VAC). This technology is designed to operate across the home ecosystem to offer context-aware recommendations for viewing content, meal planning, and ambient music. VAC also powers specific viewing modes:
- AI Soccer Mode Pro: Adjusts picture and sound tuning to mimic stadium-level quality.
- AI Sound Controller Pro: Allows users to verbally adjust specific audio tracks, such as raising commentary volume or lowering background noise.
The 2026 TV lineup, including Micro RGB, OLED, and Neo QLED models, will feature Eclipsa Audio, a new spatial sound system, and will be the first to launch HDR10+ ADVANCED for optimized brightness and tone mapping.
In the gaming sector, Samsung introduced five new Odyssey monitors. The flagship model is the Odyssey 6K 3D G9, which leads a lineup including the next-generation Odyssey G6 and three new G8 models.
Home Companion: AI-Driven Appliance Integration
Samsung’s Digital Appliances Division, led by Executive Vice President Cheolgi Kim, emphasized the transition of appliances from tools to “home companions.” Leveraging the SmartThings platform, which now reports over 430 million users, the company introduced updates to its kitchen and cleaning lineups.
The Family Hub refrigerator has been updated with AI Vision, built with Google Gemini. This upgrade addresses previous limitations in food recognition, allowing the fridge to track items placed inside or removed. Key features include:
- “What’s for Today?”: A gamified interface that suggests recipes based on current inventory to reduce meal-planning stress.
- Video to Recipe: Converts cooking videos into step-by-step guides displayed on the screen.
- FoodNote: A weekly report tracking food intake patterns and restocking needs.
For floor care, the Bespoke AI Jet Bot Steam Ultra was unveiled. Powered by a Qualcomm Dragonwing™ processor and an Active Stereo 3D Sensor, the vacuum can distinguish between different types of liquids (such as juice versus water). It also doubles as a home monitoring device, capable of alerting users to suspicious activity or checking on pets.
Additionally, Samsung announced a partnership with Hartford Steam Boiler (HSB). Following a pilot program, this collaboration aims to reduce home insurance premiums for users who utilize connected smart appliances for proactive home monitoring.
Care Companion: Proactive Health Monitoring
The final pillar of the presentation focused on Digital Health. Praveen Raja, VP of Samsung Research America, introduced a long-term vision to shift health management from reactive to proactive.
The ecosystem utilizes data from phones, wearables, and appliances to detect potential health issues before they escalate. Specific initiatives include:
- Dementia Detection: Through research partnerships, Samsung is using wearables to register subtle changes in mobility, speech, and engagement that may indicate long-term cognitive decline.
- Integrated Coaching: Providing sleep and exercise coaching while syncing with connected kitchen appliances to suggest recipes based on health goals.
- Medical Data Sharing: Allowing users to share health metrics directly with providers via the Xealth platform.
Underpinning these AI advancements is Samsung Knox, which has been updated to identify AI-specific risks and protect data used during AI model training.
Samsung CEO TM Roh said:
Samsung is building a more unified, more personal experience across mobile, visual display, home appliances and services. With our global connected ecosystem, and by embedding AI across categories, Samsung is leading the way to offer more meaningful everyday AI experiences.