We glimpse the future of consumer electronics with Samsung

The Consumer Electronics Show is a big deal. It’s a show where a lot of really cool stuff gets showcased by all kinds of companies — big and small. But, not everything that gets showcased there will make it to our region.

That’s why Samsung‘s decided to host what I’d like to call a mini-CES here in the Southeast Asian region — only it’s all Samsung products, obviously. It’s called the Samsung Southeast Asia and Oceanic Forum and this year, they’ve got quite a few interesting things to showcase — most of which can be controlled by Samsung’s Smart Home app..

First, we’ve got the QLED TVs

Walking into the exhibition hall, it becomes apparent what the headlining product of this Forum is: It’s the South Korean electronics giant’s brand new QLED TVs. Now I hear you asking: What on earth is QLED? Well, here’s the less technical explanation.

Remember Samsung’s Quantum Dot technology? This builds on top of that. With QLED, the company has added more brightness, bumping up peak value to a whopping 2,000 nits on their 88-inch flagship model. Besides that, the QLED TVs can also display the DCI-P3 colour space accurately as well as reproduce 100% colour volume.

Samsung has done this by coating their Quantum Dots with an additional alloy layer so that they can better express an improved range of colours with much greater detail. Deep blacks and high contrast are also strong points for the QLED TVs — so strong, in fact, that Samsung says they’re even better than traditional OLEDs. While we can’t really confirm that without a proper test, one big benefit of not using organic LEDs is the fact that the display won’t degrade as rapidly as an OLED panel, nor will there by burn in issues.

Samsung has also said that every one of their TVs launched in 2017 will be a smart TV that comes preloaded with apps like Netflix for easy streaming. These new TVs will also work with the Samsung One Remote so consumers can control multiple devices and applications with just one remote.

For the Malaysian market, we will be getting the 65-inch and 75-inch Curved QLED TVs, which should arrive within the first half of 2017.

Then a washing machine with two washers

Yes, your eyes do not deceive you, this single washing machine has two washers…and drying capabilities. It’s called the FlexWash and it has two different washers. One is top-loading, being able to take loads up to 3.5kg, while the second is a front-loading washer capable of handling 21kg loads. The front-loader also doubles as a dryer that can handle 12kg loads.

As if having two washers in one machine wasn’t bonkers enough, the FlexWash also has an Air Wash feature where the machine uses hot air instead of water to clean your clothes.

And an air-conditioning unit that can cool without wind

Well, that depends on your definition of wind. The new wall-mounted Wind-Free AR9500 air-conditioning unit is designed to keep a room cool without the cold wind blowing directly at you. It does this by dispersing the cold air through 21,000 micro holes at speeds below 0.15m/s. This means, although you don’t have a strong current blowing directly at you, if you stand close enough to the air-conditioner, you can feel the cold air oozing out of it and it feels a lot like standing in front of your fridge with the door open.

However, that doesn’t mean the AR9500M can’t blow wind like your standard air-conditioning unit. When you first switch it on, the air-con’s door will flip open and work as usual. Once the air-con detects that the room has hit your preset temperature, the AR9500M will close its vent and enter Wind-Free mode.

Next, a new curved Quantum Dot monitor

Samsung’s new monitor is called the CH711 and it employs the company’s Quantum Dot display technology. It’s got a 1,800R curvature, 178-degree viewing angle, 125% colour sRGB coverage and a 2560×1440 QHD panel.

And an updated robot vacuum cleaner

Samsung revealed the latest member of their POWERbotvacuum cleaners — the VR7000. It’s got a new design with 20 watts of suction power, which it can intelligently use depending on the surface it’s vacuuming. Besides that, it;s also got an Edge Clean Master feature where the bot extends a brush and picks up dirt that’s stuck in wall corners. Its brush is also self-cleaning so you can cut down on regular maintenance. You can also use a remote to manually direct the bot.