"Korea cool" isn't reason for Galaxy Z Fold 8's success, says Samsung boss

It's been quite the year for Samsung so far. Pre-orders of its latest folding phones are up by 70% compared to last year's equivalent product launch.

Following the summer Galaxy Unpacked event, the Z Fold 8 already looks to have changed the foldables game – putting the Korean brand one step ahead of Apple (with an anticipated September launch likely looming).

After Samsung's big event this summer, I was one of a handful of media invited to a roundtable interview with Samsung's CEO, TM Roh, who spilled the beans on his vision of the future, importance of AI, and why the company is having such success.

Korea in the spotlight

TM is asked: "Korea is having a moment. You can see it in food, film, TV, skincare. Is Samsung benefitting from the fashion for all things Korean – and is Samsung itself now ‘cool’?"

With no hesitation, yet with a nod and broad smile, he answers: "First of all, thank you for all the love for Korea across many areas as you currently mentioned.

"As you know, Samsung started as a Korea-based business. However, now we have a much larger global operating presence and we have a strong global market presence, including in Europe and North America, among others.

"So of course this popularity that Korea is gaining across the world is positive. However, it’s not a direct impact on our business.

"That’s because Samsung has continuously been committed to enhancing and developing our understanding of global customers, paying attention to their interests and needs.

"By providing experiences for those users using our technology, that’s defined the direction of Samsung – and that’s what continues to most impact our business success."

Where will AI take us next?

Given the early success of the Galaxy Z Fold 8 – which T3 awarded its 5-star Platinum Award badge – the conversation around foldables is unavoidable.

TM is asked: "[To meet] every user’s needs, different foldables [are required] for different lifestyles. When you look 5 years out, what form factor do you think AI will enable that we have not yet seen?"

His answer quickly expands beyond just foldables: "One of our biggest priorities is to always pay close attention to what the market and consumers want and expect.

"That’s the inspiration for our innovation and advancement – and that’s what shapes our philosophy at Samsung.

"We added the new Fold 8 form factor with the new aspect ratio on top of the existing foldable form factors [referring to Z Fold 8 Ultra and Z Flip 8].

"And that's because we know what consumers need for a large screen viewing experience and compact portability.

"We will continue to see more AI companion devices, and we will continue to innovate the experience for our AI users.

"I think there are some basic attributes required in a good AI companion device. First of all, it should be able to always sense and monitor the individual user, as well as the environment of this individual.

"Second, it should be able to support various multimodal interactions and experiences across the five senses. This applies to Intelligent Eyewear that we announced [at Unpacked, in collaboration with Google, Gentle Monster and Warby Parker] as it supports line-of-sight vision, voice input, output with speakers, among other factors.

"This intelligent eyewear is truly sensing what the user is doing, what they want, what is surrounding them in their environment. That will take AI experiences to the next level."

Who will win this 'AI race'?

While Samsung went all-out with its AI messaging back in 2024 and its reveal of the Galaxy S24 series, it's far from the only player in the artificial intelligence space.

With a rumoured OpenAI-made companion device coming in 2027, TM is quizzed about his thoughts on the competition.

"Whenever a new technology or a new user scenario emerges, it’s always followed by the entry and increase of participants in that space.

"I will not comment on other companies, but we believe that the entrance of these new players could add more value to users considering all of the new possibilities, new experiences, and new innovations we have so far driven by AI.

"With this healthy competition between many different players, we will see more contributions in respect to tech development and the benefits felt by consumers.

"We do not force Samsung’s own AI only on our users. We also have strong partnerships with third-party solutions, so we can best cater to different needs and user scenarios.

Blurring the line of reality?

With AI so prevalent in all our lives – in both positive and negative ways – TM is questioned about his relationship and feelings around its rapid growth:

"Do you ever consider the devices you’re developing; that AI wearables could create a bubble where people spend more time talking to synthetic voice instead of talking to real people? Does technological innovation become a source of innovation or is it a growing sense of responsibility?"

"When we define the directions of Galaxy AI, one of the major directions that we identified was that AI technology should not be unilaterally controlled by the manufacturer – our AI should be transparent, visible and respect its users.

"That is why we provide the option to opt out, or to safely use the features. We have shaped the direction of Galaxy AI from the beginning – and we will do our best to alleviate these concerns about a potential AI bubble.

"Your question about how technology innovation affects me? I would say that it continues to inspire me.

"Tech innovation is what inspires me to reach and exceed that stage where we can address the difficulties of our users and actually overcome what we used to take for granted – so we can take a leap forward and actually provide what customers actually want.

"That’s what drives us in advanced research and development (R&D), along with continuous innovations in hardware and services."

Success speaks for itself

Wherever we sit on the moral ground, there's no denying that Samsung is going from strength to strength right now.

Indeed, its share price is over 50% up in the past 6 months alone, showing investors are content – and while there have been some wobbles owed to AI (over)investment, it's not as disruptive as some other tech brands have seen.

With the Galaxy Z Fold 8 now out on the shelves for people to touch, try and ultimately buy for themselves, this seems to be the first step forward after many years in the game.

It's not just about foldables, though, with Samsung's broader Home, TV, Audio, Wearables and PC products also embodying this AI advancement at their core.