The 5 weirdest products Samsung unveiled at CES 2024

Samsung pulled the curtains back on a bunch of tech at CES 2024, including a new yellow AI robot companion, a smart vacuum, a transparent TV, and more.

Are they actually practical for real-world use or did Samsung unleash a bunch of gimmicks? We’ll let you decide.

1. Ballie: Your ‘true AI companion’

Credit: Kimberly Gedeon / Mashable

Ballie was first introduced at CES 2020, but now, Samsung has upgraded the rolling AI bot with advanced intelligence. It’s much larger now with a sleeker design. Here is, in part, what it can do.

• Be your robot AI companion

• Come to you if you beckon it

• Interact with other smart devices (e.g., it can turn switches on and off)

• Project pictures and videos on walls

• Help you check on your pets by sending pictures of them to you

This yellow bot is about the size of a bowling ball. The user can also control Ballie with voice commands — or even text messages, according to a demo Samsung showcased at its CES 2024 press event.

2. A picture frame that plays music

Samsung introduced a picture frame that plays music. No, I’m not kidding. And get this — it’s called “Music Frame.”

Credit: Kimberly Gedeon / Mashable

No, it doesn’t have a digital screen or anything. You have to place physical photos inside the frame manually. Music Frame is equipped with two tweeters, two woofers, and two mid-range drivers. Plus, it supports Dolby Atmos audio.

3. A new refrigerator — with AI, of course

Samsung unveiled the Bespoke 4-Door Flex Refrigerator. It comes with a 32-inch screen that uses something called “AI Vision,” a technology that can recognize 33 different food items inside using an internal camera.

It can also suggest recipes based on the ingredients inside the refrigerator.

4. A transparent TV

Move over, LG! Samsung also revealed a transparent TV, but interestingly, they didn’t reveal too much about it at the press conference.

However, you can check out this “First Look” from Samsung to get a glimpse at the microLED TV that Samsung claims is “futuristic” and “glass-like.”

5. An 8K projector

Samsung unveiled a Neo QLED 8K projector that is billed as delivering the world’s first wireless 8K transition.

Credit: Kimberly Gedeon / Mashable

The South Korea-based company boasted that it uses the NQ8 AI Gen 3 processor to upscale low-res pictures up to an image quality of 8K. Plus, according to the press release, it uses Active Voice Amplifier Pro to optimize your listening experience by analyzing background noise.