Samsung's Galaxy master

Hi all, this is Yoolim writing from Paris. Samsung chose the heart of Paris as the venue to unveil its latest, greatest and probably most ex [View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( Hi all, this is Yoolim writing from Paris. Samsung chose the heart of Paris as the venue to unveil its latest, greatest and probably most expensive gadget lineup to date. But first... Three things you need to know today: - OpenAI is partnering with A-bomb lab to test AI’s [value for research]( - Alphabet is passing on one of the biggest would-be [takeovers of the year]( - Apple’s Vision Pro is limping toward some [unimpressive sales]( A long road ahead Before he became one of the youngest presidents at Samsung Electronics Co. at age 50, colleagues used to call TM Roh the “Galaxy master.” Now four years into the role as mobile chief, he’s building on the experience of working on every generation of Galaxy handsets since the first in 2010. On the eve of unveiling the company’s latest models this week, I sat down with him at a pretty French hotel next to Carrousel du Louvre. That busy, tourist-riddled underground complex of the Louvre Museum is where Samsung would later hold a gala event to showcase its new foldable and wearable devices with AI enhancements. My impression from talking to Roh is that Samsung’s in it for the long haul with this generative artificial intelligence wave. The company launched its first AI-branded phone at the start of the year with the Galaxy S24, and he signaled there’ll be plenty of iteration and improvement to come with future devices. "We just got started with AI features. You could say we just entered grade school and are starting to prepare for middle school," the executive said. I was impressed by the new foldables. When you hold the new Fold or Flip — the first is book-like, the other is a clamshell — you can tell they’re lighter and thinner than before. They’re also $100 more expensive. I guess those hardware refinements and AI extras add to the cost. The folding crease in the middle of the Flip’s screen is now almost imperceptible. That’s been an imperfection about foldables since day one, and it’s taken Samsung five years of product iterations to minimize it to where it’s a non-issue. It seems the company is thinking in similar long-range terms about AI. At times, Roh was philosophical. As one of the top tech companies in the world, Samsung has an important role in breaking down language barriers and helping people become more creative, productive and healthier, he said. And the combination of foldable devices (ideal for multitasking) and AI is a step in that direction, he said. I told him that the company’s Live Translate is far from perfect. His response was that Samsung is working on it and aims to have “humanlike AI” doing simultaneous translation eventually. Samsung is also extending its interpreter function to social media calls — because users said they’re much more likely to call someone on WhatsApp or WeChat than via a cellular call. Despite the looming debut of Apple Inc.’s AI-infused iPhone 16 generation in the fall, Roh sounded confident. One thing he has that Apple doesn’t yet offer: the Galaxy Ring, a $400 accessory that’s part jewelry and part health tracker. It comes in black, silver and gold colors and was surprisingly light. The ring can be worn as long as a week without having to recharge. It has a high upfront price, but it’s also distinct from gadgets like the Oura ring in not requiring a paid subscription to use. Samsung also showcased new health-tracking features for its latest watches, the Galaxy Watch 7 and the $650 Galaxy Watch Ultra. Visitors at the Paris event flocked to try them on. I wondered how many would end up buying them. I once asked Roh what keeps him up at night. He said it was the exponential pace of tech advancement and the way breakthroughs can come from anywhere in the age of AI. To clear his mind, Roh’s developed a habit of going for long walks. He clocks between 10,000 and 20,000 steps each day, which he knows because, of course, he tracks them via Samsung’s devices.—[Yoolim Lee](mailto:TK@bloomberg.net) The big story Elon Musk said Neuralink is about to have its [second human patient](. The brain-chip implant company, which Musk founded in 2016, sees a big year in store. It hopes for several more patients by the end of the year. Musk says he envisions the company as an AI kryptonite, a way “to give people superpowers” and mitigate the risks of AI advancement. Get fully charged Microsoft struck a deal with lobbyists to [skirt antitrust scrutiny.]( AMD is buying Europe’s biggest private AI lab in latest push [to catch Nvidia.]( French startup Bioptimus is releasing an open-source AI model [for disease diagnosis.]( Game maker Shift Up jumped after its [$320 million IPO in South Korea.]( More from Bloomberg Get Bloomberg Tech weeklies in your inbox: - [Cyber Bulletin]( for coverage of the shadow world of hackers and cyber-espionage - [Game On]( for reporting on the video game business - [Power On]( for Apple scoops, consumer tech news and more - [Screentime]( for a front-row seat to the collision of Hollywood and Silicon Valley - [Soundbite]( for reporting on podcasting, the music industry and audio trends - [Q&AI]( for answers to all your questions about AI Follow Us Like getting this newsletter? [Subscribe to Bloomberg.com]( for unlimited access to trusted, data-driven journalism and subscriber-only insights. 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