At CES 2026 in Las Vegas, Samsung Electronics used its annual “The First Look” event to outline how it sees artificial intelligence fitting into everyday consumer technology. Framed as “your companion to AI living,” the presentation positioned AI less as a single feature and more as a connective layer across televisions, home appliances, mobile devices, and health services. Rather than focusing on one standout product, the company emphasized ecosystem integration and longer-term platform development.
Opening the event, TM Roh, head of Samsung’s device experience division, described AI as an operational baseline rather than a novelty. The underlying message was that AI is now embedded across Samsung’s product planning, from displays and appliances to services and software updates. This framing reflects a broader industry shift at CES 2026, where manufacturers are increasingly treating AI as infrastructure rather than an add-on.
Much of the presentation centered on visual displays and home entertainment. Samsung outlined updates to its 2026 television lineup, led by a 130-inch Micro RGB display that highlights advances in modular screen technology and independent RGB light control. While the scale and engineering are notable, the more practical takeaway is Samsung’s push to standardize AI-driven picture and sound adjustments across its TV ranges, including OLED, Neo QLED, and UHD models. Features such as adaptive sound mixing, content-aware picture tuning, and voice-based controls are positioned as defaults rather than premium extras.
The company also introduced what it calls a vision AI companion, a software layer designed to recommend content, adjust settings, and connect televisions with other devices in the home. In practice, this includes functions like identifying food shown on screen and suggesting related recipes, or passing those recommendations to connected kitchen appliances through SmartThings. These ideas build on concepts Samsung has demonstrated in prior years, with CES 2026 focusing more on refining cross-device handoffs than unveiling entirely new categories.
Gaming and audio received attention as well. Samsung previewed its 2026 Odyssey monitor lineup, including higher-resolution and higher-refresh-rate models aimed at both gamers and creators. New Wi-Fi speakers were also announced to complement existing soundbar offerings, reinforcing the company’s strategy of keeping users within a single audio-visual ecosystem.
Beyond entertainment, Samsung devoted significant time to home appliances. Executives highlighted growth in the SmartThings platform, which now supports hundreds of millions of users globally, and outlined updates to connected refrigerators, laundry systems, and robotic cleaners. AI-powered food recognition, automated laundry cycles, and improved navigation for robot vacuums were presented as ways to reduce routine decision-making rather than replace human involvement entirely. A new insurance-related partnership in the U.S. was also introduced, suggesting that connected appliances could eventually influence home insurance pricing by reducing risk.
The final segment focused on digital health and preventative care. Samsung described ongoing work to use data from phones, wearables, and appliances to provide early indicators for potential health issues, including sleep quality, activity levels, and long-term cognitive changes. While many of these initiatives remain research-driven, the company stressed data security as a prerequisite, pointing to continued development of its Knox security framework.
Overall, Samsung’s CES 2026 presentation avoided dramatic product launches in favor of reinforcing a long-term strategy. The emphasis was on consistency, software longevity, and tighter integration across categories. Whether consumers see meaningful benefits will depend less on individual features and more on how seamlessly these systems work together over time, an area where the company is clearly betting its future development efforts.
