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New York
CNN
—
Samsung is looking into new wearable devices, potentially including earrings and necklaces, amid an industry-wide push to develop new types of AI-powered consumer electronics.
AI could enable a new wave of devices that allow users to communicate and get things done more quickly without having to take out a phone, Won-joon Choi, chief operating officer for Samsung’s mobile experience division, told CNN this week.
For Samsung, these types of new devices could be something you wear around your neck, dangle from your ears or slip on your finger.
“We believe it should be wearable, something that you shouldn’t carry, (that) you don’t need to carry,” he said. “So it could be something that you wear, glasses, earrings, watches, rings and sometimes (a) necklace.”
Choi’s comments underscore the opportunity tech giants see to develop new hardware products around AI, a technology that some say is expected to be as impactful as the internet itself.
AI services like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini have moved beyond basic text prompts and are getting better at handling complex tasks. That’s led tech giants to look into devices that require less manual input than smartphones, which largely require typing and swiping on screens.
That search is already in full swing, starting with smart glasses. Meta has touted its AI-powered Ray-Ban smart glasses, of which 2 million have been sold since 2023, as a success. The Facebook parent also recently acquired a minority stake in Ray-Ban parent company EssilorLuxottica, according to Bloomberg, further indicating the company’s interest in AI-powered wearable gadgets.
Samsung, Google and Snap are also developing smart glasses, while OpenAI and ex-Apple designer Jony Ive are collaborating on a mysterious new AI device for next year.
When CNN asked Choi whether Samsung is actively looking into developing earrings or other smart jewelry, like a pendant or bracelet, Choi said the company is “looking at all kinds of possibilities.”
“What do you wear? Glasses, earrings… necklaces, watches and rings, something like those,” he said.
However, that doesn’t mean those possibilities will become products. Samsung and other tech companies routinely develop prototypes and evaluate new technologies internally without bringing them to market.
Some tech startups have already unsuccessfully tried to develop new AI gadgets to replace smartphones at certain tasks.
The Humane AI Pin, created by a pair of Apple veterans, flopped because of its high price and buggy performance. The company shut down the product and sold parts of itself to computing giant HP in February. Another device called the Rabbit R1 also launched to a lackluster reception last year, although it’s undergone significant updates since then. And a startup called Friend created an AI necklace that’s meant to be a digital companion, although its launch has been delayed until the third quarter of this year.
Samsung’s approach, unlike some of these options, will involve a device that’s a companion to your phone rather than a standalone product, similar to the company’s smartwatches, according to Choi.
And the company’s upcoming smart glasses, which it hasn’t revealed many details about yet, could be just the start.
“We are actively working on glasses, but some people do not want to wear glasses because they change their look,” he said. “So we are also exploring other types of devices.”
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