Samsung's 'Companion to AI Living' Vision Debuts at CES 2026

Industry Insights from Next Move Strategy Consulting

Samsung Electronics today unveiled its forward-looking "Companion to AI Living" vision at The First Look, its exclusive exhibition during CES® 2026. This presentation advances Samsung's strategy beyond offering standalone devices to building a unified, hyper-personalized ecosystem powered by artificial intelligence. Centered on AI as its core philosophy, Samsung is redefining how technology integrates into daily life, moving beyond basic functionality to create more meaningful and proactive user experiences.

A Foundation of Connected Intelligence

Samsung's vision leverages its vast, AI-enabled, and connected ecosystem. TM Roh, CEO and Head of Samsung’s Device eXperience (DX) Division, emphasized that this approach transforms Samsung's products from mere tools into true companions that anticipate and adapt to user needs.

"Samsung is building a more unified, more personal experience across mobile, visual display, home appliances and services," said TM Roh. "With our global connected ecosystem, and by embedding AI across categories, Samsung is leading the way to offer more meaningful everyday AI experiences."

This ecosystem is empowered by significant scale, with the SmartThings platform now serving more than 430 million users, providing deep insights that fuel personalized AI interactions.

The Entertainment Companion: Intelligence Redefining Home Viewing

Samsung's Visual Display business showcased how hardware excellence combines with visual intelligence to create an entertainment companion. The centerpiece is the new 130-inch Micro RGB display, representing a leap in scale and picture quality through micro-sized RGB diodes and a dedicated AI engine.

The experience is elevated by the Vision AI Companion (VAC), an AI technology designed to enhance viewing, dining, and mood anywhere in the home. This companion can provide watch recommendations, suggest meals based on what is seen on screen, and recommend music. For personalized control, features like AI Soccer Mode Pro and AI Sound Controller Pro allow users to tailor picture, sound, and even crowd volume for a stadium-like experience through simple voice commands.

Samsung also expanded its audio ecosystem with new WiFi speakers and unveiled products like the ultra-thin OLED S95H and the portable, VAC-powered Freestyle+ projector. The 2026 display lineup will be the first to feature HDR10+ ADVANCED and includes the most advanced Odyssey gaming monitors yet, all supported by the most powerful Tizen OS to date, which promises seven years of upgrades.

The Home Companion: Appliances That Guide and Simplify Daily Life

Samsung's Digital Appliances division outlined an evolution from providing home appliances to offering true home companions that reduce daily stress. The AI-enabled Family Hub refrigerator, upgraded with AI Vision powered by Google Gemini, is the centerpiece of the home, now capable of recognizing food items to simplify meal planning and management.

Innovative features transform daily routines:

• "What's for Today?" provides gamified recipe recommendations based on refrigerator contents.

• Video to Recipe converts cooking videos into easy-to-follow steps.

• FoodNote generates weekly reports on food intake patterns and restocking needs.

• Now Brief with Voice ID personalizes information on the Family Hub screen for individual family members.

This intelligence extends throughout the home with new appliances like the Bespoke AI Laundry Combo, which washes and dries in a single unit, and the Bespoke AI Jet Bot Steam Ultra robot vacuum. The vacuum uses an Active Stereo 3D Sensor to recognize liquids and can also serve as a home monitoring device. A first-of-its-kind partnership with Hartford Steam Boiler (HSB) was also announced, a partnership designed to help users reduce home insurance premiums through SmartThings-connected appliances.

The Care Companion: A Proactive Shift in Personal Wellness

Samsung introduced a long-term vision for intelligent care, aiming to shift health management from a reactive need to a proactive opportunity. By leveraging its integrated device ecosystem, Samsung aims to use AI to help prevent potential health concerns before they occur.

This includes offering personalized health coaching for exercise and sleep, suggesting recipes based on available ingredients to support wellness goals, and alerting users to abnormal health patterns. Through partnerships, Samsung is also expanding research into early dementia detection by using wearable devices to monitor subtle changes in mobility and speech. The entire hyper-personalized ecosystem is built on the foundation of Samsung Knox and Knox Matrix security platforms, which are continuously advanced to safeguard user data throughout AI processes.

Industry Response and Strategic Outlook

Samsung's comprehensive ecosystem announcement positions its vision as a foundational platform for modern living, focusing on moving beyond isolated device functions to interconnected, anticipatory experiences.

According to Next Move Strategy Consulting, Samsung's "Companion to AI Living" vision is a definitive step toward the maturation of the consumer AI market. This move signals a strategic pivot from competing on singular device specifications to competing on ecosystem intelligence, personalized service integration, and cross-category usability. It is expected to accelerate industry-wide investment in interoperability and contextual AI, setting a new benchmark where the value of a device is intrinsically linked to its role within a secure, adaptive, and proactive connected environment.

Redefining the AI-Integrated Home

As the demand for intuitive and helpful technology grows, Samsung's vision signals a new era for consumer electronics — one where intelligence, personalization, and seamless integration are essential. By unveiling this ecosystem at CES 2026, Samsung reinforces its commitment to embedding AI across its product categories, aiming to provide users with a cohesive companion that enhances every aspect of daily living.

The Samsung Exhibition Zone at CES is available to the public through January 7.

Source: Samsung Newsroom

Prepared by: Next Move Strategy Consulting