SAN FRANCISCO — When Samsung’s Chief Strategy Officer Young Sohn took the stage at the MobileBeat conference this morning, he asked the crowd how many people had a piece of wearable technology on them. A smattering of hands went up.
“I think that in my view, if you do the same survey in three or four years, that number will be much greater,” he said in response.
According to Sohn, wearables hold a lot of potential for Samsung, especially in a sector where they haven’t been previously involved.
“Going forward, we think the health area is a really key area of innovation,” he said.
The exec said that he thinks the increase in healthcare cost year over year showed a massive opportunity for innovation. At the conference, he showcased the company’s view of the future with a concept video complete with visions of skin sensors and flat phones.
How are we going to get there? According to Sohn, wearable companies are going to need to have their own cloud backing. “I think (hardware manufacturers building their own cloud is) inevitable, and it’s a must for device companies to be able to provide a better consumer experience,” he said.
While he didn’t say anything definite, his remarks certainly would seem to imply that Samsung is looking to expand into being a private cloud provider, much like Apple, their existing rival in the mobile space.
When asked about when we’ll be able to have a crack at the future as envisioned by Samsung, Sohn was less definite. “I think that innovation doesn’t have a fixed timeline,” he said.
Previously on GeekWire: New data: Samsung gaining ground on Apple in smartphone market share
