Mario Bautista
Samsung will hold the Samsung Developer Conference (SDC) 2024 later today. During this developer-focused event, the South Korean firm will showcase all the new technologies that it has been working on and plans to release soon. So, what should you expect from SDC 2024? Let us find out.
Possible SDC 2024 announcements
During the SDC 2024 event, which starts at 10:00 AM PT on October 3, 2024, Samsung plans to showcase improvements that it brought to Bixby, Galaxy AI, One UI, Samsung Health, Samsung Wallet, SmartThings, and Tizen. It isn’t clear if Samsung will showcased Android 15-based One UI 7.0 at the event, but it is possible that it does, as Sally Hyesoon Jeong, the EVP and Head of Framework R&D Team at Samsung will be speaking at the keynote.
Samsung also seems to be getting ready to launch its own video codec called the Advanced Professional Video (APV) Codec and a Dolby Atmos-like audio format as a member of the Alliance for Open Media.
Bixby
Samsung will likely unveil a new version of Bixby (3.0) powered by large language models (LLMs). Thanks to LLMs, it can clearly understand voice commands in natural language and complex sentences. Moreover, this new version of Bixby will be available in digital appliances like ACs, refrigerators, washing machines, and TVs.
You can have natural conversations with Bixby to find content on your TV. For example, you can ask “Find me a movie about a mouse inside a cook’s hat,” and it will find the matching movie for you. You can say multiple commands in a single sentence, like “Turn the volume to 10 and find action movies,” and it will perform both tasks one by one.
Galaxy AI
Galaxy AI, which was unveiled earlier this year with the Galaxy S24 series, has been expanded to several other high-end phones and tablets. It is also available on some mid-range phones and smartwatches. At SDC 2024, Samsung will likely showcase upcoming AI features or how the company is powering Galaxy AI. Sally Hyesoon Jeong will be on stage to talk about Galaxy AI.
Galaxy AI will likely come to more Samsung devices and appliances in the future.
One UI
At the keynote event at SDC 2024, Sally Hyesoon Jeong will likely showcase One UI improvements. While the company hasn’t opened the One UI 7.0 Beta Program yet, Samsung may showcase some One UI 7.0 features and design changes at SDC 2024.
Samsung Health
Samsung Health will soon get integrated with SmartThings, which will open several new possibilities. The company could showcase its new Samsung Health features and bring more health partners on board.
Samsung Wallet
Samsung Wallet will get new card types and features. Samsung is also making it easier for partners to start offering Samsung Wallet integration. They can now directly send push notifications to users. Samsung Wallet could also get more partners for digital keys for homes and offices. It could also bring state-issued ID cards and verification cards to more regions.
SmartThings
SmartThings, which now has over 240 million users worldwide, will be expanded for businesses (B2B) and get AI-powered features. Moreover, devices with built-in SmartThings Hubs can work together as a team to control Matter, SmartThings, and Zigbee devices, eliminating dead zones and bringing backup hubs when needed.
It will bring the Mobile Remote feature for smartphones and tablets. A virtual remote controller pops up whenever you are near a digital appliance like a washing machine or a TV. You can customize the Mobile Remote with the buttons you want and share it with family members with QR codes. Since it works over Bluetooth LE, it can work without the internet.
For partners, Samsung will make it easier to get the SmartThings certification through the Certification By Similarity. If a new product is a derivative of an existing SmartThings-certified product with similar features, brands can get it certified faster for free. Kohler seems to be joining the SmartThings ecosystem with its connected products.
SmartThings will also get light syncing through SmartThings Music Sync. Smart lights can change colors and brightness based on the movie you are watching or the music you are listening to. This feature will work with lights from Lifx, Philips Hue, Wiz, and Yeelight, and it will also work with YouTube Music.
SmartThings AI is a new feature that offers suggestions based on your smart home usage. For example, it can suggest you check a device that is turned on even when there is no one home.
With Samsung Wallet integration, SmartThings can be used to offer different experiences based on who unlocks a smart door lock. A digital key can be shared with multiple family members.
Tizen
Looking at the SDC website, we can see that Samsung could announce and showcase Tizen 9.0. Earlier this year, Samsung launched its first monitors and TVs running Tizen 7.0, which means it could skip Tizen 8.0 and jump straight to Tizen 9.0. It will likely get Generative AI-powered backgrounds and wallpapers, AI-powered picture quality improvements, and an expanded Sign Language Guide.
The company also appears to be working on Android on Tizen, an emulator of sorts that brings Android apps to Tizen. This could mean that Tizen TVs could potentially run Android TV apps in the future. But we need more information on it before we can comment more.
Tizen could also get third-party content, such as widgets and events, through Samsung Daily+ and Daily Board SDK. Tizen apps can display promotional banners and in-app content directly on the home screen of Tizen-powered TVs.
