This episode of the Pocketnow Weekly is sponsored by Samsung and Microsoft.

Hassan Anjum is Samsung’s Director of Product Marketing on the “New Computing” division. On this week’s episode of our Pocketnow Weekly Podcast, we had the pleasure of sitting down with Hassan Anjum in trying to find out about Samsung, its plans, the New Computing division, Hassan himself, and who he is when he’s not on the stage of Unpacked events, the current PC landscape, design, displays, the Windows ecosystem partnership, and much more.

Here’s the audio interview embedded for your listening pleasure, as well as a text version below.

We hope you enjoy it as much as we enjoyed spending time talking to Hassan!

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About New Computing

Hassan: I actually want to share a little background on the word ‘New Computing’. The reason we call it that, is because when we look at these two traditional separate categories – tablets and PCs. We look at them separately, but they actually overlap each other quite a bit. So, you know, from a category consideration set, operating system, price points function, they actually have a lot of similar elements. So, whether it is slates, all the way to desktops or future ways of computing, we’re calling it New Computing. So, the ability to compute your way. 

About Hassan Anjum: introduction

Pocketnow: All right, so Hassan is one of the multiple personalities that we’ve been used to seeing at every Galaxy Unpacked and other multiple events. So, I got to meet you at CES and it was fantastic. You know, the briefing that we did, but I just I’m really curious. I mean, I’ve been on stage, but not for the amount of people that you guys handle at these events. I mean, how does it feel? What’s it like? I mean, I think it’s amazing and it’s awesome. But it’s also daunting at least in my perspective. You tell me.

Hassan: Daunting. You know, I didn’t think about that one. But thanks for the pressure for the next one. It’s fun man. You know it also depends on the personality too, right? So, I’m one of those that feed off of the energy, you know, I get. And those moments, you know, the amount of energy that’s in there, it’s insanity, right? And it’s pure raw excitement in the air, if you will. But let me throw it back to you, Jaime. I know you’ve been to a couple, so what’s it like in the audience? You know, and well, let me say this, “For those folks who aren’t at Unpacked, are they missing out? 

Pocketnow: I think that Samsung is one of the companies that know how to throw a show, up to the point where I have constantly done, ever since I think it was Galaxy Note 9, I’ve been doing Unpacked videos. And people, I’m shocked that the response of people just wanting to watch the experience from walking up to the process of checking in to,  you know, the multiple highlights. And then you get all the lights thrown off, and you get the Galaxy Fold announced. And you get, you know, the song from Willy Wonka being played in the background. and so it’s that. You cannot describe the chills of being in that particular moment when all the lights are out and that is happening. And we were not expecting it, and we were not briefed on it.

You know, obviously we do love the process of being briefed. It just helps us get our content ready, but those extra ‘One More Thing’ moments, it’s just indescribable. I don’t know. I even wanted to ask you, like “Do you miss the process?” I mean, this is the new normal. Even want to ask you what do you feel, you know, new format, next Unpacked? What do you think is gonna happen. I don’t know. You know more than we do.

Hassan: Yeah yeah man. I totally miss it. And the big thing about unpacked is, you know, as always been, you know, it sounds whatever but it’s unpacking the story, right? So unpacking the story of what Samsung has been really working on, you know, the ‘why’ behind the product or the initiative. And we’re obsessed with our consumers. So, having an exciting moment to tell our consumers, you know, that story, is just what it’s all really about.

And because of that excitement, you know, practically to answer your question. Whatever format it ends up being, you know now or moving forward, it’s always going to be about, you know, that excitement. 

Pocketnow: Right now, times are weird and precautions need to be taken. And I actually want to praise companies like Samsung for taking a stand and partaking, because the best thing is to distance right now. I was asked by another company recently or like, “you know, do you want this to continue going like this?”, or and I’m like, “Okay, I understand the reasons and it’s fine. But I Can’t wait to see you guys again. And it’s just because I love the idea. The beauty of being at Unpacked is our mindset is all focused on the event. And I feel that it’s just an experience and it drives excitement for the product and for the experience that can only be felt that way. So, I’m really curious as to what you’re gonna do going forward, because I do feel that certain companies have done a good job at that, you know, portrayal and driving that excitement regardless of it not being live, and then some companies haven’t. So you know, it’s gonna be that play of ‘who does it better.

Hassan: Yeah, when we sit down, and you know,  there’s a whole team that plans this out. So a lot of credit to them and their goal is really, you know, at a big moment where you know, we again, as I said, take the story. But the theme of excitement, the buzz, the energy level. And it’s not necessarily, you know, for our products, but it’s actually for our story. And then, obviously,   consumers decide “Does it make sense for them or not.” But that big moment of excitement to tell you the story, that is the sort of the DNA of an Unpacked event. 

It’s always been in the DNA. So, as the teams continue to think about, you know, what that looks like moving forward, I’m willing to bet that DNA stays. 

Pocketnow: Yeah, I mean, I would imagine they’re well, because like yeah the excitement around the actual events that is to answer your question from earlier. I do think people are missing out if they’re not able to sit in that crowd because it’s such a unique experience. I have vlogged a lot of these Unpacked events over the years. I’ve been going to many of them since like 2015 or something like that, and it’s always the same response, which is “I wish I could go.” Those are always the comments in the YouTube videos and whatnot. But yeah, I mean, I can just remember just seeing the evolution of the product, of the production value, and literally standing on a stage that is an entire screen. That’s like the highlight of three different Unpacked events in my head. 

Hassan: And I love this conversation because you know. A quick interesting tidbit is, after I do the Unpacked, I usually actually walk the audience after. So, I’ll walk through with the audience and you know, in the back, we have the demo floors and all that.

It’s amazing to see how many people are interacting, and get feedback, and just they’re so pumped up about it and you know. The last one we did was in New York, and you know, I walked pretty far away after with some folks and we went for some ice cream. And literally someone in the ice cream shop was like, “hey weren’t you just on stage”?

It’s great, and he was telling me ‘I’m so pumped I was so excited about the Galaxy Book’ that we announced at that time. And it was just amazing to see you know, not only the reach but also the excitement that it gathers. It’s just fun. 

Pocketnow: Well we’ve been touching upon the topic a little bit, and you just mentioned a product, so obviously we do have a little bit of a focus on today’s show in regards to a specific product. But kind of more in a macro sense, you know, with this “new normal”, which is the term everyone’s throwing around, how have you been sort of adapting to this new work from home culture and whatnot. Being from like New Computing, I imagine, you have every tool imaginable needed to adapt to this New Normal we have. 

Hassan: Yeah, first of all first, I’m prepared. I’ve got a stand-up desk. I’m sitting down right now though, so, I feel like that’s cheating. It’s an amazing stand-up desk and I also got a treadmill that’s right across me, and you know, I’ve been mastering over the past two weeks on how to be on a treadmill, and you know, be in meetings as well. 

Current PCs landscape

Pocketnow: I’ve been working from home for 11 years. And so I remember when I left the job that I had before, I was working for UPS, my job was very outsy it. I was in charge of the airline division in my country. And it was, I remember being the first week from home, and I hated it. I just hated it. I could not. I remember I would need to go out and see people, like that would be like, the first effect. But you know, the funny part is that even with that, like it’s been 11 years, so far it took me a little to adapt, I would say about a month or so. And then I learned that there were so many benefits of working from home, like what you mentioned right now.

I could never work out back then, I could just never, I could never achieve it. But here’s the thing because I was even gonna ask you, and I’m really curious about the landscape particularly that in the PCs, because I’m wondering like what do you guys see because, I’ll tell you this much, within those 11 years, I’ve never bought a PC. I’ve always bought a laptop because I have a problem. I can’t just be in one place, like I need to work for my desk at some point, then it’s you know, the bedroom at some point. I want that liberty. I like that liberty, and I can’t feel restrained, but I’m really curious as to what consumers are doing. Like, do you see, you know, laptops being more predominant or PCs? You know desktops, what do you see? 

Hassan: It’s a good point that’s exactly it, you know people are working from home. You know, years ago we were saying things like, you may recall, 50% of the workforce will be working remotely. And obviously with the current dynamics, is a lot more than that. Actually it’s you know, believe it or not, it’s close to 70% of the workforce that is now actually working remotely. So being able to do whatever you want without limits, elevates in importance right. So having capable laptops, you know, that meet the degree of needs become super relevant.

And even more relevant these days, as you said, I mean. So I’d even argue the compromise that people are willing to give to their laptops or what’s available. So, no compromises. So, I want to be able to do whatever I want, wherever I am, especially now at home. 

But you know, I actually want to ask you, Jaime, how often do you change your personal laptops? Or maybe, that, and then the next step will be how this environment has changed? 

Pocketnow: I’d be the wrong person to ask. How often do I change my laptop? The other day, I don’t know how often I change my phone, and I was like, “Oh my god, you don’t want to know.” But I used to have this habit where, regardless, I always had a personal computer. And I love that you make the distinction – my personal computer – like how often do I change it? I would say that I’ve changed it once a year for the past 20 years. Literally. For the past 20 years, I’ve always had a personal separate computer that would be just, you know. That was a problem when I used to work in UPS and in the airline that I worked before, where you couldn’t have your personal information, or if you did, you pretty much gave it away to IT and it was just the mess. And so you know, so I always had that personal laptop, and form,e it was that it was once a year. But it was for two reasons, you know, you could say technology and the evolution of technology. My biggest problem is that the computers in the past didn’t age well. They did not. I would hate, I would hate, for example, and this is one of the beautiful things about computing today.

I love that the trackpad is glass. Like I love that the computer is aluminum now. And it’s just more of a common thing. I do know that some companies are experimenting with Alcantara, and you know, other materials. I feel that aluminum is probably like the best option for me, but it was because of that like I think their computers, particularly my laptop is more like an extension of me. Like, it’s me showing, you know, part of this is my stuff. Like you want to show your car off and you want it to be clean and you want it to look good. And that was another reason why I would always be switching. I don’t know about you, but that was me. 

Yeah, actually Jaime and I are on opposite spectrums when it comes to this. We were actually kind of talking about this as we were discussing the Galaxy Book Flex in particular. That he’s the type of person who has to go to different places, he can’t be in just one spot. Meanwhile, I’m on a PC right now, this is my domain. And when it comes to a laptop, I make sure to get a certain laptop that has specifications that will allow me to keep using it even beyond the one year at a time mark that Jaime was saying. Which is one of the reasons why I was so happy with the Galaxy Book Flex, but one of the reasons is because the one I loved was the addition of Thunderbolt ports. This was yet another like little thing that differentiated my usage from Jaimes’s usage is just because I am a self-proclaimed gamer, so I have an eGPU that, if I didn’t have this PC right now, I would have hooked up to that Galaxy Book Flex, and to the monitor and I would play my video games on Steam and all those other platforms. So, you know kind of jumping off of that, I loved the Thunderbolt ports. That’s something I always look for, it’s great when my EGPU gets some usage. But when you look at the different PC features like that, that people might be prioritizing especially nowadays, like what kinds of things have you noticed people are gravitating to and which of those features did you make sure you wanted to have in the Galaxy Book Flex? 

Hassan: Yeah, that’s a good question, you know, what really makes Samsung special, frankly being leaders in multiple categories. And by that, I mean having a deep understanding of the consumers in those multiple categories and again by multiple categories, I mean Galaxy phones, tablets, wearables, and of course, you know, TVs. So, taking all those learnings and providing or creating a solution from New Computing, obviously makes us in a very unique position right. And that’s where it really is, consistent, or I would say the constant Galaxy experience, right? So, having that experience of Galaxy wherever you are. And you know, the biggest thing we really started with was, when you think of Galaxy when we look at the consumers what they think of when we think of Samsung Galaxy, they think of innovative or immersive experiences and it really starts with the display. So that’s where the QLED starts coming in, and this is the first laptop ever to have a QLED display, you know. This one also is the only one with an S Pen that’s garaged inside the device. And obviously wireless power-sharing that’s built right into the trackpad itself. And frankly, those are some of the reasons why I think this is the best computing device we’ve ever built.

Pocketnow: Yeah it definitely does feel like that, and all those little tidbits, the wireless power share, the S Pen. Every time, it always felt like at least for the week that I first started using the device, there was always something new, I was totally into it. But you just named off a bunch of different features that obviously, many different types of people are able to benefit from, and the video that I did at least over on my own channel on YouTube was a segment called ‘who is this for’, where I kind of I try to personify certain users that might benefit most from it. Did you have that kind of philosophy going into it? Did you think you were targeting, with let’s say the two-in-one design, the S Pen, wireless power share, like what kinds of users did you have in mind particularly?

Hassan: Yeah I’ve said this before you know we’re really obsessed with the consumer, and I’ll probably say this over and over again, but I really mean it. When we look at the consumer market, you know, there’s as you said, there’s different people who have different needs, things that they want, things that they want to get done. When we make an ultimate product in a category, it’s for a specific user, and the user we call them ‘hyper user’, you know. And we call them ‘hyper user’ because they really demand the best, and what’s unique about them is they don’t really demand the best at a certain given moment, time of purchase, or type of work,  where I am. They demand the best, wherever they are. So, whatever I’m doing, wherever I am, you know, whatever task is at hand, I want the best tool to get my activity or work done. And that is what really deviates ‘hyper user’ from the other segment. So there may be other segments that say, hey, I want the best, but it’s usually for a certain given time. The ‘hyper user is always on, you know. I would say no compromises, just you know, JV you mentioned the capabilities too, but also then the design. So whenever we create something like this and when we want to be a game-changer in a category, think hyper user. And then you know, based on everything you guys are saying, I’m thinking, you know, you guys may be hyper users. But would you guys consider yourself hyper users?

Design

Pocketnow: Imagine a hyper user on a lot of coffee, plus a lot of working out this morning, I think that would be like the perfect description. But actually, you know what you mentioned right now the design is actually the perfect segue to what the other question that I had, and it’s mainly because I’m gonna mention a few names, like for example the Galaxy Book 2 which I reviewed, Galaxy Book S, which I actually still want to review. I think that thing is just sleek and gorgeous. But I really want to learn more about the design language. I don’t know if it’s a renaissance or a change in evolution that you guys are doing in design. You’re experimenting with new colors. I love this approach. I really do and I want to know what the inspiration is for, because I find it to be so sleek, and like we’ve got full power here. It’s not one of the crop-down processors or anything. It’s actually a full-blown powerful computer. If you could provide me more information on it.

Hassan: Yeah, by the way, we’re calling it the solidity design. So the design, that language that’s linear. But you know, on that note, we’ve gone through an evolution as well. I would even go further back than that right, so I’ll give you a little bit behind the scenes if you will. So at Samsung, what I love is we’re frankly not afraid to try different things. So some time ago, we launched, you may remember, we launched super-light laptops that were built out of magnesium. And you guys may already know that magnesium is extremely light. And we offered that to consumers, you know focusing more on, you know, more of a subtle design really light, you know, it was one of the lightest laptops, if not the lightest laptop that you could get in that certain size. And we did a lot of post-research right. So, we tried something new and then we looked at it. The US consumers specifically, is really interesting because, when we found that the US consumer associates subtle and light with fragility. So, there was a perception that this is a little bit of a fragile PC. This is super light, super compact, and super portable, but on many spectrums, it’s too much. Now, I’m not saying every consumer does that, but there was a certain, enough of a group, that started thinking that, where it started getting on our radar. 

So, then we started evolving, as you know. So, the design today is really that. So we took a lot of learning to be added, a little bit of a premium weight feel to it, and not necessarily heavy. But I’m saying, you know, it feels you know, it has a little bit of a way to it, and we shift it towards, you know, an aluminum component if you go. So, the design today is a combination of what we’ve been trying to accomplish and a lot of consumer feedback. So, what you’re seeing is really simple, bold, and actually that includes color as well. So, not only nature but the color.

Pocketnow: The feel of the Galaxy Book Flex feels like there’s not really much-wasted space whatsoever. You know, because everything is just so compact and it’s still a powerful laptop. You did mention color, and I wanted to preface my upcoming question with a little bit of a story.

So, colors do matter, like because, when you look at a phone or a laptop or any device, it’s sort of like an extension of yourself. So, if you wanted to evoke that kind of emotion from other people when people see it, like yeah, you know that happens. That’s the reason why I actually have a rare Galaxy Note 10.

I’ll never forget when that unpacked happened. The Galaxy Note 10 Plus, it was Aura Glow all the way, and still, amazing color beautiful one. But then, the one that I kept looking at was the smaller Galaxy Note 10 in this lovely red, which was not made available until much, much later. So, my impatience caused me to ask a friend to find it. This is literally a Korean unit from Hong Kong that I had, I paid him to get shipping and all. And, I was able to get my hands on it later on, because this is just so nice. So, the color design, or rather the color philosophy when it comes to all the devices, it seems like you put so much thought into it. And yet with the Galaxy Book Flex, it is a great royal blue color. But I’ve gotta ask, why only that, like were there any other colors that were considered. Hint, Hint!

Hassan: I love that man, and that’s exactly you know, we’re just really quick we’re seeing that exact, you know, behavior in the market. The PC or you know, or laptop, is becoming such a personalized device, that the expectation is to take elements from other categories. And we don’t mean just capability perspective, we mean also ‘proud to own’ perspective as well, right?

So, being able to take your device out at a coffee shop factor, right? So, I don’t want to date myself here, but you know, I grew up with the 386, and they were great machines. But if you look at them now, they look quite simple. Back then, metal, gray, black was the sort of a go-to for the longest time ever. And that’s changing, and that has been changing. And recently, it’s been, you know, like a hockey stick style changing growth, right. People treat these devices like more of a personal versus just a utility right? So, and as you know. And Jaime, as you mentioned, an extension of myself versus an extension of my work, right? So, that’s very important, right? And that’s what we want to do moving forward. And JV, I am going to ask you a question. So, we’re consistently taking learnings from other categories, so we considered every single color in other candidates. So, if I want to throw it back to you, if you were doing the next Galaxy Book Flex color, what color would it be?

Pocketnow: I’ve been a Galaxy Note user since version 2. I laughed at the first one, and it just became a force of nature by version 2. It literally defined the modern smartphone. I’ve always wanted a full-blown, no-compromise Galaxy Note laptop, and this is it. Tell me more about how you’ve decided to make the blend because I see a lot of Note software, I see Microsoft’s smartphone control software. Heck, the touchpad can even charge my Galaxy Note. It’s like the whole package.

Hassan: Yeah, you know, you’re right Jaime. We definitely had a lot of skeptics, you know, in Samsung, we led this trend of larger smartphones and a lot of others followed. And you know, interestingly enough, these larger-screen smartphones are eventually going to overtake these traditionally sized phones So, Samsung was definitely, to your point, on the right track and we’re going to keep going, you know. Speaking of, you know, it’s just not the Note software you mentioned, right? The S Pen. So it’s the same S Pen that’s garaged inside the Galaxy Book Flex. 

So, it’s got the six-axis sensor, the gyroscope, the accelerometer. And it really enables, you know, things like Air Action, which is also on our phone, so you can control presentations, control YouTube videos, go through the gallery without even touching your PC. Imagine, how many times you’ve had a meeting presentation and you don’t have a clicker or something along those lines, or something to walk through the presentation. Now, you just take out your S Pen and you’re good to go, right? And that’s really exciting for us. So to answer your question, as you see others innovate into different categories, I think it’s a safe assumption to believe that it’s not exclusive to that category. Does that make sense? And that’s what makes Samsung special, because we’re in so many categories, we can literally take innovations, learnings, consumers’ feedback from those. But yeah, you brought up wireless power share again. When I had the pleasure of announcing it at Samsung developer conference, that we’re putting the wireless power share right into the trackpad, it was an interesting reaction. You know, like, “What?”. But I do want to ask you, how often do you actually use it, the wireless power share?

Pocketnow: I would say every day, but mostly for my Galaxy Buds Plus, even though I charged them, I charge them out of compulsiveness just because I’m used to charging buds, but not really because they need it, because they last what like 10 hours. But like literally the only time that I do. I charge the watch because I’m always forgetting the puck. And so it’s been mostly for that, and it’s usually that little spare little time whenever I go to bed, it’s just one product that I leave charging and then I use the computer to charge everything else. So for me, it’s just convenient and at the same time, you’re not. I don’t know if people know this, but particularly right now since we’re mostly at home, like my power bill is horrible. And so one of the things that I noticed, you know, all these chargers that you leave just connected to the wall, those things are driving power, they’re all driving power at the same time. And even if they’re not connected to something, unless it’s a wireless power share. Unless it’s a wireless powered product where that you know, there needs to be a handshake first before the wireless power starts, and so, that’s the reason why I just connect the USB-C cable to USB-C to charge my phone. And then my buds on the trackpad, and then the computer’s already charging. So that’s me, that’s literally me.

I actually have an answer to that question as well. The times I use the wireless power share the most, was when I was just using the awesome screen like the QLED screen to watch stuff. Like if Netflix or YouTube was playing, I’m not using the computer, so I’m just sitting back and letting this thing charge while I’m watching something on YouTube. Because I think I had the Book Flex just in the pocket of time when we were still able to go places, so I did take it to a cafe. I did take it to a few places.

I was about to say, man, I wish I could use it for travel because that would be like the perfect scenario for me. Because, you know, the less wires I carry, the better. That’s just us, we’re always forgetting stuff. The thing is even with how nimble the laptop would be for travel, it is still the 2-in1. And even though we’ve been talking about Galaxy Note features wireless power-sharing whatnot. But the other thing to remember is the term Flex. It’s a 2-in-1. It can become a Windows tablet in a way literally like folded up to a ten motion, and whatnot. This is more of a philosophical question, but like, what came first? Did you think of this Galaxy Book Flex, how do we evoke that? Or was the 2-in-1 already a thing for you guys, and then you came up with the term Flex?

Hassan: Oh another behind the scenes question. But I did make a promise that I would try to answer, no matter how tough it is. So, you know the form function, technology capability comes quite early in the world map obviously. And the name comes, you know, the name itself, the actual name comes quite later. But you know, I guess the way to answer your question is we already have, you know when we build a roadmap out and we look at again what the consumer is. So, we’ve kind of mapped out the product, but we also have the essence of the product out there. So, you know, it may not be Flex, if you will, but it may be something along those lines right. So that’s you know capable, doing anything you want to be able to do, you know, moldable. It’s just being who you are right, so the essence is always always there. So, if you ask me, you know, is it the roadmap that comes in or the inspiration or essence, I would say actually they come together.

Display

Pocketnow: I reviewed your Q90R last year, we actually awarded it as our favorite TV, and that was my first experience with QLED and it took me a while to you know, do the whole, research quantum dot technology. That was probably one of the first, and now every single company is launching a variant pretty much, it’s just that good. It’s just that’s where the market is going. But I want to get a sense because again, we go back to how you’re actually integrating everything, and I feel that you’re doing it really well, where it’s not just my phone, but my phone doesn’t speak to my laptop, which used to be the case for many companies before. But now you’re also blending technologies, and I remember when I heard the spec sheet, it was another one of the things where I told Josh, “Alright Q LEDs. Send it over here.” And I showed my son the other day, and he was like “Whoa.” That is right, and the colors are just vibrant, and I feel that more computers need this, because it’s not just that. It’s just the profile of the screen is so thin. It is so thin. Tell me more about what inspired you to be able to bring this, you know, TV technology into a laptop, because this is the first one.

Hassan: It is absolutely the first one ever. But you know what really makes QLED special is it’s really the industry standard to put your point into the TV category right. For its ability to show true color volume right, when we look at traditional or conventional laptops out there, what you’re looking at really is about 50 to 70 percent of color volume. So, bringing a QLED standard color volume takes our laptops to that whole new point of immersion to the next level. That’s what we said, we got to bring the best-in-class standard not just from a laptop perspective, but from up all the categories perspective and that’s how the community thinking started.

Pocketnow: As we’re talking about the screens. I’m getting flashbacks because one of my favorite memories with the laptop when I reviewed it, was watching like I got into the whole Korean drama thing so I’m watching. I was watching so many of those shows.

I remember it being such a great viewing experience there. I literally was watching certain shows on there, but there’s no question just how dope QLED is and the fact that it’s on the laptop. I remember in my review I don’t even think I even said the term QLED that often, all I kept saying was it’s such an enjoyable viewing experience, like that was definitely the user in me just enjoying myself. But as far as QLED as a platform, in particular, do you see that sort of peak or not really peaking but spiking right now the demand, especially since we’re all at home.

Hassan: Yeah, absolutely. Obviously people are spending more time at home whether its QLED on a massive screen, like the TVs, or an immersive screen. First of all, you need to get on that QLED time right. People want, you know, that bigger screen quality experience and to get the TV and then you know, the immersive more in personal experience with the Galaxy Book Flex. So, no matter what room I am in, or where I am, I still have the QLED experience. And it’s all about in this day and age that getaway. It could definitely be Korean drama, so no judging.

Pocketnow: I was gonna ask you first of all, how can we get Josh to stop watching those things. The second thing is, Josh, like seriously dude, we don’t need any more drama right now. But you know, I probably one of the things that I like the most about it was the outdoor mode. I can’t be in one place. I’m on the balcony. I’m in another one across, and we actually did a conference call on Teams with Josh recently with another company, and everybody was like whoa, you’re outside. It looks very sunny, we can see the mountains outside. I was using the Flex and we were in that conference for about an hour. I think we were there for like an hour and a half, and the battery was fine. I want to know more about what the company did, because I companies either don’t get the brightness, right? It’s just too dim to be able to work outside, or they do have the brightness, but it obliterates your battery, and you just feel the computer heat up, which is a huge problem. And then just the fans go crazy, and I’ve had cases where computers will just turn off. They were not able to handle it. I had no problems whatsoever. Tell me more about that blend that you did there. 

Hassan: Yeah, I’ve been actually using outdoor mode myself personally in the backyard while working too, so you know. But conventional LCD monitors generally ranged from 200 to 400 nits roughly. In tablets, we have about 200 to 300 nits. So when the Galaxy Book Flex goes into like an outdoor mode, it goes to 600 nits, so that’s twice as bright as, you know, those conventional LCDs out there, and it’s this as simple to your point. Simple shortcut, function key, and F10, right?

Again we think about this, we go back to that hyper user right. So ‘hey you’re outside right now? Try outdoor mode.’ So that, in a nutshell, is the answer. So, why did we introduce, you know, outdoor mode, but to your point about how we consistently improve, you know, this isn’t the first time we offered it, right? So, with the Notebook 9 Pen, we actually offered it. But with it, we actually went to 500 nits. So obviously with the Galaxy Book Flex, we went higher. So taking those learnings and then optimizing the hardware and software was great. So, that’s how we consistently evolve.

 

Windows ecosystem partnership

Pocketnow: Talking about the Galaxy Note features and whatnot, but now kind of looking at how that became integrated with just Windows on this laptop. One thing that really stuck out to me when it comes to the Book Flex was how, literally none of the features that you guys put into this laptop or in my face like it wasn’t as if it was really trying to push everything at me, but it was all there. Like I was saying before, it was really fun to just discover something else every now and then. So as opposed to some other laptops, how did your collaboration with Microsoft sort of make that seamless transition happens, that seamless energy happen?

Hassan: Well, yeah the sticker stuff brought me back. But yeah,  we’ve been partners with Microsoft really for a long time, of course. So, what I want to emphasize is that last year at Unpacked and also the Samsung developer conference, we took the partnership to a whole another level with the announcement of the Galaxy Book family, and then to point to the announcement of the Your Phone features really integrating the services of connecting the PC into the phone itself.

So you’re not, you know doing more. Not adding barriers to entry to actually have that seamless experience. And the way I would say that is the capabilities of Windows 10 and adding the signals of you know, Your Phone now being connected to your Galaxy phone is really a testament to that strong partnership and roadmap, and without saying anything more, I’m gonna leave it at this is there’s more to come.

Pocketnow: I’ve got one last question. I’ve got the question that everybody wants me to ask and I’m just gonna I’m probably gonna cross the line. I know. I know that there’s you know, I’ve done these interviews a few times and it’s usually the thing where people can’t really say much but alright, let me just show you this. This is a Samsung product right here that you know, very well. You do know your Galaxy Z Flip. I tried your Galaxy Fold as well. If there is one form factor that should fold, It’s a laptop. I mean anything like.

Hassan: Um, okay well I had a feeling this question was gonna come up and you guys are really taking advantage of the fact that I’m gonna answer questions, so yeah. Well, you know, yeah on something. You know, obviously we did it on the phone side. And you know actually quick interesting fact, I was actually part of that announcement if you remember, so exciting because the reaction of actually, you know, dropping the words folder will display so the reaction was just amazing. And with the phones, we saw a lot of, you know, new behavior, we had a lot of new learnings and you know.

Pocketnow: But look at this hinge, it’s designed to do this, what does this remind you of?

Hassan: Yeah, I would answer the question saying, you know, I would say, you know for us to actually execute. When we look at the PC world right, there’s a lot of you know elements that users actually want to do, right from a phone what users actually expect from a PC, there’s a certain, you know, expectation, desired activities. So, it’s not only a combination of just doing it from a hardware perspective, but the software needs to make sense of the user experience. And you know, at Samsung we’re obsessed with our consumers and that user experience has to make sense. So when you get to that if you know, if the user experience makes sense, we’ll be ready.

Pocketnow: So can we just say the answer is yes, the answer is yes like it’s coming? Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think that there’s so much opportunity. I’ve noticed companies trying to experiment with a dual-display on a laptop. It was interesting. I have noticed companies try to experiment with touch bars, which, I know of no human being, that does not hate the damn touch bar. I know of no human being. I know that if certain companies would launch a product without it, they would love it. But I still do feel that there are so many real estate opportunities. And people just don’t get the multitasking opportunity right. And that’s probably one of the main reasons why I ask because I don’t think I’ve tried another computer where there is so much good collaboration between the way Windows works and the way the custom software works. And so if you’re able to nail that element, that multitasking element, and if you were to bring that into an extended real estate for a laptop, I think that that opens up so much more opportunity. For me, a lot of ideas are great ideas, but usually, the implementation is never great. And one of the things that I love about the Galaxy Fold was particularly that multitasking aspect. It’s not about having a larger screen, and we go back to the same premise of the Galaxy Note. It’s not just about having a larger screen. That’s great, that’s fantastic, but if I can do something extra with my screen where the canvas actually becomes a necessity, that to me is the opportunity. And yeah, I mean, if I think that about it, I why not?

Hassan: Yeah. Yeah, so is it you know, Jaime, good points. Very good points, and thanks for the second, you know follow-up to that, but I have a follow-up attempt to the question, but I guess. I would say that I’m good, you know, I totally agree. Samsung’s mantra has always been you know, one size does not fit all right. And the way we provide, you know, a broad spectrum of solutions, and you know, best in categories products, in addition to the best in categories, is you know, we don’t venture off into categories alone. So, we also rely on very strong partnerships, as Microsoft has been a very strong partner for us.

So, when we think about, future roadmap, we definitely are putting that in, and both of us, both of the partners, and Samsung’s leading the charge. Because Samsung knows the Samsung consumer, once we say okay this will solve that consumer pain point and the user experience makes sense, we’ll be ready to announce something.

Pocketnow: It literally shows just how well your collaboration is working. It’s a great example of how well that collaboration has worked. But I think that with that little teaser from Hassan has put in the new in New Computing. So, I really am looking forward to whatever that looks like. We just had a really wonderful conversation with you, Hassan, I do want to give you the floor real quick before we sign off on here. Is there anything that you want to let the people know, any plugs that you want to have, or anywhere that you want people to follow you perhaps.

Hassan: I’ll just say thank you for having me. I really appreciate it, you know, you guys brought some great points and I did take some notes and I look forward to chatting with you guys again in the near future.

Pocketnow: And I will say even just from the host perspective like standing invitation for you anytime, you want to be on the show just pop us an email. It’ll be great to have you back.

Hassan: Thank you so much!

The post Unpacking Samsung’s New Computing: Interview with Samsung’s Hassan Anjum appeared first on Pocketnow.