The foldable form factor will undoubtedly dominate the smartphone conversation this year. Adding to the excitement will be Samsung, which is set to unveil its next flagship foldable phone later this month, and Apple is expected to announce its first foldable iPhone in September. Just days before the next Galaxy foldable goes official, Samsung Electronics President and CEO TM Roh has outlined the company’s vision for foldable phones, including their take on artificial intelligence (AI).
Roh talks about integrating agentic AI, leveraging Samsung’s ecosystem play that includes tablets, smartwatches as well as TVs, and trusted experiences. “AI no longer just gives answers. It is entering an agent era, with the person making the final decisions, taking actions on our behalf. But for someone to act, it first has to know them,” he says, adding that although AI is getting faster, it is still grappling with the question “where, how and into whose hands does this intelligence get?”
Samsung, Roh insists, understands that AI must first learn about the user before it can become truly relevant. As he says, the best AI experiences will come from devices that know their users. Samsung is trying to leverage its ecosystem of devices to develop this understanding, since many homes have more than one. Phones, tablets, smartwatches that carry our health and wellness metrics, TVs and connected home devices provide context to how users live.
“These entry points together are powerful. Signals from all devices become timely aids: sleep tracked by your watch shapes tomorrow’s schedule, with information always available. At its best, AI works quietly in the background, bringing these moments into a cohesive experience. That’s why we’ve spent years building an ecosystem to not only reach, but connect more moments,” says Roh.
Samsung’s bespoke AI home appliance ecosystem is built along three key pillars, as HT previously reported. Bixby is an AI assistant that uses large language models (LLM), there is a SmartThings app that is important for monitoring and managing devices, and there is the Tizen operating system that integrates the Knox Matrix and Knox Vault security layer. Localization is the next big focus area.
Samsung’s foldable phone launch, called Galaxy Unpacked, has been teased so far with “a new shape revealed”. Could this signal a larger design and form factor change compared to last year’s Galaxy Z Fold7 as well as the incredible slimming down displayed by the Galaxy Z Flip7 foldable form factor, or does the scope go far beyond just design?
Roh is very clear on the issue of trust, and makes it clear that openness is not the goal, but personal intelligence that is trustworthy is the mission.
He says, “The world’s best intelligence should reach people through their everyday devices. But what makes it personal is understanding the user and securing that understanding. It’s our responsibility. As AI becomes more personal and agentic, trust becomes the foundation. People need to know what AI is doing for them and be in control.”
While Roh doesn’t give any details or hint at the development of the design or form factor for Samsung’s upcoming foldable phone, he does emphasize that the form factor matters for the device to be personalized with capable AI. “That’s what makes foldables special: they fold into your hand or unfold into a larger platform. In this journey, Samsung has continued to make foldables thinner, lighter, stronger, and more immersive,” Roh said.