Samsung has announced that the company will host “The First Look” on January 4 at 7:00 PM PST in the Latour Ballroom at the Wynn Las Vegas, two days before CES officially opens. The preview promises to unveil the company’s 2026 vision for its DX (Device eXperience) Division with a heavy focus on new AI-driven customer experiences across phones, TVs, appliances and more.

TM Roh, Samsung’s CEO and head of the DX division, will deliver the keynote. He will be joined on stage by SW Yong, President of Visual Display, and Cheolgi Kim, Executive Vice President overseeing Digital Appliances. The lineup signals the event may cover a wide span of Samsung’s hardware ecosystem. The First Look will stream live on Samsung Newsroom, Samsung’s YouTube channel and Samsung TV Plus.

Samsung’s timing stands out. By hosting the event two days before CES 2026, the company aims to grab attention before the usual wave of trade-show announcements. Major tech brands sometimes hold pre-CES showcases to shape expectations early, and Samsung appears ready to claim that oxygen before the show floor opens.

The company isn’t just showcasing another lineup of refreshed hardware. Its stated focus is artificial intelligence and how it can reshape everyday devices. The phrase “AI-driven customer experiences” suggests features that push beyond voice assistants or automated routines and instead point toward deeper, cross-device intelligence. Given Samsung’s wide ecosystem, this could mean phones that predict your needs, TVs that learn what you like over time and appliances that automate tasks more seamlessly.

This emphasis also signals Samsung’s attempt to accelerate its position in the competitive AI race. Other major players have made heavy AI investments, and Samsung’s decision to make AI the centerpiece of its CES 2026 pitch shows the company is positioning itself to meet rising consumer expectations. If Samsung delivers meaningfully on this vision, 2026 could be the year AI shifts from marketing language to an everyday reality embedded across the company’s hardware.

Still, heightened expectations bring pressure. Samsung will need to balance bold AI promises with features that feel genuinely helpful and not gimmicky. A showcase spanning phones, TVs and home appliances may excite consumers, but it also raises skepticism if some announcements feel incremental. The company will need to demonstrate clear, practical advances that tie its ecosystem together with real intelligence rather than relying on buzzwords.