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In case you haven’t noticed, device diversity is starting to become commonplace. And AI is part of it.
Yes, there is a wide range of different technology product formats over time. In recent years, but in reality, most of the most interesting options were generally perceived as niche choices that only tech enthusiasts would buy.
Today, the ever-expanding range of choices is helping to transform these specialty products into mainstream choices. At its recent Galaxy Unpacked event at the famed Louvre Museum in Paris, Samsung (OTCPK:SSNLF) highlighted this development, unveiling not only new additions to the increasingly popular foldable smartphone category, but also a new member of their smartwatch lineup and the official launch of their previous smart ring.
The Galaxy Z Fold6 ($1,899), Z Flip6 ($1,099), and Watch7 ($299) are the latest editions of product lines, but they come at a time when foldable phones and smartwatches have become more mainstream, even among typical consumers. The Galaxy Watch Ultra ($649) brings a new, larger, more durable screen option to the family and serves as a direct competitor to the (AAPL) The Watch Ultra line. Finally, the Galaxy Ring ($399) represents Samsung’s first entry into the smart ring category popularized by Oura.
Together, these products add to the growing range of smart devices that consumers can now choose from and provide even more common examples of how technology products are impacting our lives. In Samsung’s case, the company believes this impact can be felt particularly – but not exclusively – in digital health, an area the company has recently placed a great deal of emphasis on.
At the event, Samsung explained how a combination of new sensor technologies and AI-powered apps and services enable these latest Galaxy products to provide a surprisingly detailed set of stats and data on sleep, activity, fitness, and overall health. Both smartwatches feature 30% faster processors and a new BioActive sensor array that offers more high-resolution sensors than previous models, enabling more accurate health monitoring in the Samsung Health app. Of particular note, the Watch7 and Watch Ultra feature the first FDA-cleared DeNovo software tool for tracking sleep apnea.
In addition to a larger, more robust display, the Samsung Watch Ultra also features an Apple Watch Ultra-style activity button to quickly launch workout tracking or other personalized features. Designed for more extreme activities, it also has a multisport mode for those participating in activities like triathlons, offers more robust cycling metrics, and offers a siren option in case of an emergency.
With the Galaxy Ring, Samsung is offering a simpler, less intrusive way to collect health-related data, including heart rate, sleep, activity, and more. The lightweight, slightly concave titanium ring (available in gold, black, and silver on nine different finger sizes) offers up to 7 days of continuous use and health monitoring without needing to be recharged (compared to 2-4 days for newer smartwatches). When it’s time to recharge the Galaxy Ring, you can enjoy a surprisingly attractive and very well-designed transparent charging case—honestly, one of the nicest surprises of the whole event.
Feature-wise, the Galaxy Ring has a suite of sensors that work in conjunction with AI algorithms on a connected smartphone to deliver in-depth sleep analysis. You can also use double-pinch gestures made with the finger wearing the ring to trigger activities on your phone, like taking photos and turning off alarms. Additionally, by leveraging the ring’s sensor’s ability to track things like sleep heart rate and heart rate variability, Samsung has developed what they’re calling an Energy Score that uses AI to combine multiple different metrics into one overall measurement.
While some of the measurements taken by the Galaxy Ring are similar to those of the Galaxy Watches, Samsung has cleverly created several “better together” scenarios that people who own and use both can take advantage of. First, by coordinating data inputs from the ring and watch, the Samsung Health app can provide even more accurate tracking of key metrics. Better yet, the Galaxy Ring’s battery life can be extended by up to 30% by reducing redundant sensor measurements.
As nifty as some of the health-related AI capabilities are, they’re not the only ones Samsung showed off at the Paris event. Samsung also highlighted a range of new features they’re calling Galaxy AI, which can also bring automatic text generation, image editing, live translation, and more to their latest foldable phones. Both the Fold6 and Flip6 are based on a specialized version of Qualcomm’s (QCOM) the latest Snapdragon 8 Gen3 processor, so they are equipped with NPUs that allow many of these capabilities to be realized directly on the phone.
The latest iteration of Galaxy AI includes Notes Assist to summarize text documents and Sketch to Image to translate S-Pen sketches into more refined images. In collaboration with Google (GOOG, GOOGLE), Samsung is also integrating the Circle to Search feature first introduced with the S24 and has integrated a Gemini app into its latest foldables that can be called up with a simple swipe or by saying “Ok Google.” Taking advantage of the unique dual-screen format of foldables, Samsung is also introducing a new Interpreter feature that lets people in a multilingual conversation each see the translation live on the screen in front of them. The Z Flip6’s unique features are powered by AI for the 3.4-inch FlexWindow display, including smart replies for texts and automatic image switching based on the environment.
As with many other AI features introduced to phones recently, some of these capabilities are on-device only, but several are hybrid AIs that use a combination of cloud-based and on-device processing. Additionally, while some of these capabilities will prove useful immediately, we’re still in the early stages of on-device AI, so I expect to see many improvements and a significantly expanded range of features over time.
While not everyone may get excited about what many will see as iterations of existing products, as some of these form factors start to become mainstream, it’s often the small changes that can have a real impact. For example, the fact that the Z Fold6 has a slightly more “boxy” design, much like Google’s Pixel Fold, and that the Z Flip6 has the Fold6’s improved cameras (50MP wide and 12MP ultrawide) is going to be important to many buyers. The Galaxy Ring, on the other hand, represents the first push by a consumer manufacturer into this relatively new category, so I expect it to be widely seen as a significant step forward for smart rings.
Samsung’s growing focus on digital health monitoring represents a significant new focus for the company. While some may argue that its smartwatches are more derivative of Apple’s, the addition of the Galaxy Ring and the greatly expanded suite of health-focused apps puts the company in a leadership position in digital health, and frankly, in a position many thought Apple would occupy. Additionally, its focus and continued evolution of the foldable phone category reflects a desire to bring device diversity into the mainstream.
Disclaimer: Some of the author’s clients are suppliers to the technology sector.
Disclosure: None.
Original source: Author
Editor’s Note: The summary bullet points in this article were selected by Seeking Alpha editors.
