For decades, Samsung has worked around one idea: “Inspire the world and create the future.”
The Samsung story began in 1938, while Samsung Electronics was established in 1969. Since then, the company has grown into one of the world’s biggest technology brands, with products ranging from smartphones and televisions to refrigerators, washing machines, wearables, semiconductors and artificial intelligence.
For many Kenyans, Samsung is a familiar name. Its phones, TVs and home appliances have been part of everyday life for years.
But Samsung’s story is not simply about how long the company has been around. It is also about how often it has introduced new ideas that later became familiar parts of modern technology.
A smartphone with a brighter AMOLED display. A phone that works with a digital pen. A television with a curved screen. A refrigerator with separate cooling systems. A smartphone that folds. And, more recently, artificial intelligence built directly into a phone.
These are some of the ideas that have defined Samsung’s innovation journey.
Making the smartphone screen better
In 2010, Samsung launched the Galaxy S with a Super AMOLED display.
At the time, the technology stood out for its vivid colours, stronger contrast and thinner screen design. It also helped make the display a much bigger part of the smartphone experience.
Today, large, bright and immersive smartphone screens are something consumers expect. Samsung has continued developing its display technology over the years, moving from Super AMOLED to newer generations of AMOLED and Dynamic AMOLED displays across the Galaxy range.
Turning a phone into a notebook
A year later, Samsung introduced the Galaxy Note together with the S Pen.
The idea was straightforward: a smartphone could do more than make calls, send messages or browse the internet. It could also become a notebook.
Users could write, draw, sign documents and take notes directly on the screen.
The Galaxy Note helped establish the idea of a large-screen smartphone at a time when bigger phones were still unusual. The S Pen has since remained part of Samsung’s premium Galaxy experience, particularly for people who use their phones for work, creativity and productivity.
Protecting information on the phone
As smartphones became important for both personal and work use, security also became more important.
Samsung introduced Samsung Knox in 2013 as a security platform designed to protect devices and the information stored on them.
Among its early uses was allowing work information and personal data to be separated on the same device.
That is particularly relevant today as more people use their smartphones for mobile banking, work emails, business documents, photos and other sensitive information.
Knox has since grown into a wider security platform across Samsung devices.
Making phones easier to interact with
In 2017, Samsung introduced Bixby with the Galaxy S8.
Bixby gave users another way to interact with their phones using voice and intelligent features.
It was part of a wider shift towards making technology respond more naturally to people rather than requiring users to navigate every function manually.
Today, that thinking has moved much further with artificial intelligence and natural-language interactions becoming increasingly important across smartphones and other connected devices.
Rethinking the television
Samsung has also experimented with what a television can look like.
In 2013, the company introduced a Curved UHD TV, combining ultra-high-definition picture quality with a curved screen designed to create a more immersive viewing experience.
Then, in 2018, Samsung introduced The Wall, a 146-inch MicroLED display with a modular design.
The idea was that a television did not always have to come in one fixed size or shape. Screens could increasingly become part of the design of a room.
For Kenyan households that have watched TVs move from bulky boxes to flat screens, smart TVs and ultra-large displays, this change is easy to see.
Televisions are no longer just screens for watching scheduled programmes. They have increasingly become entertainment centres for streaming, gaming, music and internet-based content.
Improving everyday home appliances
Some Samsung innovations have focused on ordinary household problems.
In refrigeration, Samsung developed Twin Cooling, which uses separate cooling systems for the fridge and freezer compartments.
This allows the two sections to maintain different temperature and humidity conditions while helping reduce the movement of smells between the fridge and freezer.
It is the kind of technology that consumers may not immediately notice, but which affects something simple: how food is stored and kept fresh.
Samsung has since continued adding connectivity and intelligence to home appliances through technologies such as SmartThings and AI-powered appliances.
Washing clothes differently
Samsung also introduced Eco Bubble technology in its washing machines.
The technology mixes air, water and detergent to create bubbles that can penetrate clothes more quickly.
This allows clothes to be washed effectively at lower temperatures, which can reduce the amount of energy required to heat water.
For households paying attention to electricity consumption, efficiency has become an increasingly important part of choosing home appliances.
Samsung has continued developing this area through connected washing machines and AI-supported features designed to make washing more convenient and efficient.
Then the phone started folding
One of Samsung’s biggest smartphone bets came in 2019 with the first Galaxy Fold.
When opened, the device offered a 7.3-inch Infinity Flex Display. When folded, it became much more compact.
The bigger idea was simple but bold: a smartphone did not have to remain one fixed shape.
Samsung continued developing the concept through the Galaxy Z Fold and Galaxy Z Flip series.
Foldable phones remain a relatively premium category, but they have helped introduce consumers to a different way of thinking about smartphone design — combining portability with the option of a much larger screen.
Now comes artificial intelligence
Samsung’s latest major technology push is artificial intelligence.
In 2024, the company introduced the Galaxy S24 series together with Galaxy AI.
Features such as Circle to Search, Live Translate and Chat Assist brought AI into activities people already perform on their phones.
Instead of AI being something users had to access through a separate platform, Samsung began integrating it directly into the smartphone experience.
A user could search for something by circling it on the screen, translate conversations or get help when writing messages.
Samsung has since continued expanding AI across its Galaxy ecosystem and other product categories.
Innovation that fits into everyday life
Samsung’s innovation story covers very different technologies.
Super AMOLED changed smartphone displays. The S Pen changed how people could write and create on a phone. Knox strengthened mobile security. Foldable devices challenged the traditional shape of a smartphone. Twin Cooling and Eco Bubble brought new ideas into home appliances. Galaxy AI is now bringing artificial intelligence into everyday mobile use.
Yet the thinking behind them is similar.
Take something people already use and ask how it can work better.
A phone can also become a notebook.
A television can become part of a room’s design.
A refrigerator can manage its compartments differently.
A smartphone can fold.
And artificial intelligence can become part of the device people carry every day.
That is why Samsung’s innovation story is bigger than any single product.
For decades, the company has continued turning new ideas into technology that people can actually use.
And that is where its vision — “Inspire the world and create the future” — comes to life: not simply in creating something new, but in finding new ways to improve the technology people use every day.
