A Wild, New Ad From Samsung Leaked Which Teases a Ton of Unreleased Tech

A wild new promotional video from the technology giant Samsung that appears destined for viewers in Vietnam was leaked this week, featuring a ton of yet-to-be released tech. The most imminent release the video teased? Its much-hyped foldable smartphone that could be launching as early as later this month. The rest of the described tech in the ad is pretty far out, almost like the famous “You Will” ads AT&T released in the 1990s that foresaw innovations like the smart home.

The video was first posted by leak aggregation site SlashLeaks on Friday, and it’s peppered with futuristic concepts like an augmented reality mirror with gesture controls. But amongst all of the fanfare, viewers also catch a glimpse of what could be a future iteration of Samsung’s anticipated Galaxy F foldable phone.

The Korean tech giant could launch its first-ever flexible handset alongside its S10 flagships this month. Unfortunately, the device that’s seen in the ad most likely isn’t the phone that’s going to ship in 2019. But it offers insights into what improvements to expect from the devices in years to come.

Here’s a breakdown of all of the concepts presented in the leaked video and where they stand in terms of becoming a reality.

A Stunning Foldable Phone Concept

Samsung is, without a shadow of a doubt, going to launch the Galaxy F this year. That said, it probably won’t be as sleek as the one seen in the commercial. The company teased a prototype model of the phone during its developer conference last year. The design was essentially the same, but its bezels were bulkier and its front screen was much smaller.

The rendered phone in the advert is supremely thin, almost thickness of a small notebook, with a cover screen that’s at least the size of an iPhone XS. While the one seen at the Samsung event bared a striking resemblance to the second-generation Gameboy DS with a tiny cover screen that’s said to be around 4.6-inches diagonally.

Baring any massive hardware changes, the first Galaxy F won’t live up to how it’s portrayed in the video.

Augmented Reality Walls and Mirrors

Early in the video, a child is seen tricycling past a full-glass wall that transforms into a scene from a cartoon. That’s followed by a fashion designer who is depicted making a 3D rendering of a jacket using gesture controls with an augmented reality mirror. While both of these seem ideas farfetched, they aren’t out of the realm of possibility.

A November AT&T ad that attempted to predict innovations that will take place over the next 25 years, mentioned that walls could one day be swapped out with floor-to-ceiling glass panels that constantly change in appearance. Windowless rooms would cease to exist and with a tap, you could take your bedroom to a tranquil beach. They’re still in the early stages, but smart mirror concepts have also begun rolling out at industry events like CES.

Touch screens also appear to be on the way out, and gesture control technology that could one day have us operating laptops, smartphones, holograms, and other interfaces like Tom Cruise in Minority Report are on their way in. Google was recently granted approval by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission to further test its Project Soli venture that uses radar technology to detect hand motions to control electronics. LG announced that it would be debuting a device titled “LG Premiere” that runs on a gesture-based interface.

There’s still work left to be done, but the ingredients to make these concepts a reality are here.

Multiplayer Outdoor AR Gaming

If the rise of Pokemon GO has taught us anything, it’s that there’s huge demand for gaming experiences that blend elements of the digital and the real world together into one experience. Samsung’s leaked add shows a crowd of people gathering in a city square to combat a video game boss on their smartphones. A game like this is within reach.

Apple demonstrated a multiplayer AR game during the 2018 iPhone launch, which was developed using its ARKit 2.0 software. This technology is basically here, all it would take is a game developer to make a game like the one depicted in the Samsung commercial.

Ultrasound Smartphone Attachement

In another memorable segment of the ad, two women view an ultrasound using only a smartphone attachment. The tech needed to implement this idea is also here, it’s just incredibly expensive. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the Mobisante’s smartphone ultrasound attachment in 2011, buy The device costs between $7,000 to $8,000.

Long Distance Tattooing

By far the most punk of the concepts that Samsung used in the video: Remote tattoo parlors. Indeed, Samsung envisions a future where you can get a tattoo from your favorite artist that lives on the other side of the world using a robot arm that he controls with a tablet. This concept is probably the most out-of-reach of any in the video, but high-speed 5G connectivity could change that.

Remote surgery conducted by robots is already here, though most of these procedures still require the surgeon to be in the same room because of internet latency. Latency, or the delay of data to get from Point A to Point B that causes lag in video games, is a minor nuisance for gamers but can obviously lead to serious harm in a high-stakes situation like surgery.

5G will exponentially decrease latency, a development that is expected to revolutionize telemedicine in particular as well as, apparently, the tattoo industry.