DooHee Lee, president of Samsung Gulf Electronics, at the launch of the company's new AI-powered TV line-up in Dubai on Wednesday. Photo: Samsung
DooHee Lee, president of Samsung Gulf Electronics, at the launch of the company's new AI-powered TV line-up in Dubai on Wednesday. Photo: Samsung
DooHee Lee, president of Samsung Gulf Electronics, at the launch of the company's new AI-powered TV line-up in Dubai on Wednesday. Photo: Samsung
DooHee Lee, president of Samsung Gulf Electronics, at the launch of the company's new AI-powered TV line-up in Dubai on Wednesday. Photo: Samsung

Samsung takes AI fight to TVs, aiming for double-digit growth in GCC


Alvin R Cabral
  • English
  • Arabic

Samsung Gulf Electronics is targeting a double-digit rise in its television market share in the GCC with a new line-up of artificial intelligence-powered TVs coming with “world-first” features.

The company's new flagship TV comes with its self-developed NQ8 AI Gen3 processor, capable of performing neural tasks two times faster than its predecessor, it said at a product unveiling in Dubai on Wednesday.

The chip's neural networks have increased eight-fold to 512, allowing it to process tasks, from picture and sound adjustments to adapting to 4K and 8K displays, with greater speed, it said.

A neural network is an AI technique that teaches computers to process data similarly to the human brain.

“We're targeting double-digit growth compared to last year,” Nikola Aksentijevic, director of Samsung Gulf's visual display division, told The National.

The 512 neural networks “is the first [in the world] now to actively and proactively” process images and sounds on Samsung's new TVs, he added.

“Market share is always important and at the forefront but not the key element. AI is supposed to help give the ultimate experience … this will allow us to really cater to consumer needs.”

TVs remain a key consumer electronic product despite the rise of mobile devices which have become alternatives for watching content from streaming services.

Samsung, however, has consistently kept pace with market demands and is locked in a battle in the smart TV sector with the likes of fellow South Korean tech major LG Electronics and Japan's Sony.

Seoul-based Samsung maintained its leadership in the global TV market for the 18th consecutive year with a more than 30 per cent market share last year, according to a February report from industry data tracker Omdia.

Samsung and LG are also expected to drive shipments of OLED displays, the panels used in advanced TVs, this year. The market is projected so post a 123 per cent annual growth after a 415 per cent surge last year, London-based Omdia said in a report on Thursday.

Samsung's enhanced TVs are in line with its efforts to be a major player in the highly-competitive AI race.

The company in January introduced Galaxy AI on its S24 smartphones, which assists users in key tasks, from live translations and transcriptions in chats and calls, to editing images and searching with images.

It is powered by Samsung's Gauss machine learning platform, which it launched in November – indicating its official entry into the generative AI race.

Samsung is also planning to extend its AI services into more product categories, Mr Aksentijevic said.

“The whole objective for us is inter-connectivity with pure emphasis on smart things, with the TV at the centre, allowing all connected devices to be controlled from one location,” he said.

“The idea is to make life easier – not to intrude or be invasive but to be complementary to lives and alleviating certain challenges.”

Earlier this week, Samsung announced that Galaxy AI began supporting Arabic to boost the localisation of content on its platform.

The latest language pack, which included Indonesian and Russian, takes the total number of language support to 19, and is available on Galaxy AI's translation, chat and transcript features.

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The biog

Name: Dhabia Khalifa AlQubaisi

Age: 23

How she spends spare time: Playing with cats at the clinic and feeding them

Inspiration: My father. He’s a hard working man who has been through a lot to provide us with everything we need

Favourite book: Attitude, emotions and the psychology of cats by Dr Nicholes Dodman

Favourit film: 101 Dalmatians - it remind me of my childhood and began my love of dogs 

Word of advice: By being patient, good things will come and by staying positive you’ll have the will to continue to love what you're doing

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
INDIA V SOUTH AFRICA

First Test: October 2-6, at Visakhapatnam

Second Test: October 10-14, at Maharashtra

Third Test: October 19-23, at Ranchi

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The Beach Bum

Director: Harmony Korine

Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Isla Fisher, Snoop Dogg

Two stars

The Matrix Resurrections

Director: Lana Wachowski

Stars:  Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Jessica Henwick 

Rating:****

The specs
 
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Skoda Superb Specs

Engine: 2-litre TSI petrol

Power: 190hp

Torque: 320Nm

Price: From Dh147,000

Available: Now

Why it pays to compare

A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.

Route 1: bank transfer

The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.

Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount

Total received: €4,670.30 

Route 2: online platform

The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.

Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction

Total received: €4,756

The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.

Electoral College Victory

Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate. 

 

Popular Vote Tally

The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.

The Meg
Director: Jon Turteltaub
Starring:   
Two stars

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Updated: May 09, 2024, 10:21 AM