Three Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. Products, Including the Odyssey Gaming Monitor, Named to TIME’s “Best Inventions”

[Financial News] Three Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. products—a smartphone, a refrigerator and a gaming monitor—have been named to U.S. newsmagazine TIME’s “Best Inventions of 2026” list. The selections are seen as recognition of their distinctive technologies, including AI-powered convenience, privacy protection and ultra-high-resolution displays.
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. said on the 16th that the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra, the Bespoke AI Refrigerator with AI Family Hub+ and the Samsung Odyssey G8 gaming monitor were selected for TIME’s “Best Inventions of 2026,” announced by the magazine on the 15th local time.
Each year, TIME selects products and ideas that have changed everyday life as its Best Inventions, assessing them on originality, effectiveness, ambition and impact, among other criteria, based in part on recommendations from editors and correspondents around the world.
The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra drew attention in the consumer electronics category as a smartphone with enhanced privacy protection. TIME cited Privacy Display, which effectively prevents people from viewing the screen from the side, as a key technology. The magazine emphasized that users can set when the feature activates or apply it selectively to specific content, such as pop-up notifications, making it more versatile than conventional privacy screen protectors.
Released last March, the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra supports Galaxy AI features such as Now Nudge, which identifies users’ situations and intentions and proactively suggests information they may need. It also offers improved low-light photography with a 200-megapixel wide-angle camera and a wider aperture than its predecessor.
In the home appliances category, the Bespoke AI Refrigerator with AI Family Hub+ was selected. TIME highly praised the innovation of its AI Vision technology, which uses an internal camera to automatically identify and manage food items.
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. has continuously upgraded the related features since first introducing AI Vision to Family Hub in 2024. Users can check a list of food items inside the refrigerator in the SmartThings app and use AI Food Manager for expiration-date tracking and personalized recipe recommendations. The 32-inch screen on the front of the product also offers a range of features, including calendar management, weather updates and music playback.
In the entertainment and gaming category, the 32-inch Odyssey G8 made the list. It was highly praised for delivering precise image quality and an immersive experience with 6K ultra-high resolution—the first gaming monitor to support it.
The Odyssey G8 supports Dual Mode, which lets users switch between 6K resolution at a 165 Hz refresh rate and 3K resolution at 330 Hz, depending on the game genre and usage environment. It also uses technology that analyzes game scenes and frames to optimize image quality.
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. has previously had products named to TIME’s Best Inventions, beginning with the Galaxy Z Flip3 in 2021, followed by the Galaxy S22 Ultra in 2022 and the Galaxy Z Flip5 in 2023. Last year, three products—the Micro RGB TV, The Frame Pro and The Premiere 5—made the list.
[email protected] Im Su-bin Reporter