On CE - For Dealers, Distributors and OEMs of Consumer Electronics throughout EMEA

Samsung uses the Academy Awards to tease its second foldable smartphone ahead of the upcoming Galaxy Unpacked event-- the Galaxy Z Flip, a clamshell foldable device with a rumoured "Ultra Thin Glass" display.

The advert seen during the Oscars broadcast shows the device sitting on a tablet at a 90-degree angle, allowing for easy video chatting. Interestingly, the device does not seem to fold completely flat, unlike the Motorola Razr, while small print states “You may notice a small crease in the centre of the main screen, which is a natural characteristic of the screen." The device also has a small outside display and comes in two colours, black and purple.

According to Gartner, by 2025 at least two of the top 10 global retailers will establish robot resource organisations to manage nonhuman workers, as new digital technologies and ever-changing customer expectations force the introduction of technologies such as AI, automation and robotics.

The analyst says 77% of retailers plan to deploy AI by 2021, with the top use case being the deployment of robotics for warehouse picking. Warehouse picking involves smart robots working independently or alongside humans. In the future, retailers will establish units within the organisation to procure, maintain, train, tax, decommission and dispose of robot resources, as well as create the governance required to ensure people and robots collaborate effectively.

Many retail workers want to use AI as an on-demand or predictive assistance, meaning robots will need to work alongside-- or "mesh"-- with the human team. In other words, both humans and robots will need to learn how to "collaborate" in order to operate effectively together. For example, an autonomous robotic kitchen worker must learn the specific recipes of the operator, and prepare them accordingly. In turn, the operators are adapting to changing consumer tastes.

Global smartphone shipments are down by -1.1% Y-o-Y (or up by 2.9% Q-o-Q) to 368.8 million units, IDC reports, as 2019 volumes drop to levels below annual shipment levels between 2015 and 2018.

"The full-year decline in 2019 represents the 3rd consecutive year of falling shipments despite the launch of 5G devices and new innovative handsets such as foldables,” the analyst remarks. "Although the overall market dropped once again in 2019, Q4 proved successful for some of the top players such as Apple, Xiaomi, and Oppo, largely due to new models but also shifting focus away from China. Both Xiaomi and Oppo performed well in India and are starting to gain traction in W. Europe in a similar fashion to Huawei a few years ago. Apple performed well domestically as its market share broke fifty percent in Q4 2019. Looking forward, 5G handsets-- and to be more precise, affordable 5G handsets-- will need to be the big catalyst in 2020 to avoid 3 consecutive years of decline."

LG announces a number of 2019 smart TVs in over 80 countries are getting an Apple TV app, allowing customers to easily access the Apple TV+ service and subscribe to Apple TV channels, though a click of the LG Magic Remote.

The 2019 LG TVs also support Apple AirPlay 2, meaning users can share or mirror content from iPhone, iPad or Mac directly on the TV. Customers can also play music on the TV and sync it with other AirPlay 2-compatible speakers anywhere in the home. Meanwhile HomeKit support lets users control the TV with the iDevice Home app or by voice using Siri, with controls including power on/off, volume changing and input switching.