Samsung envisions future of accessibility with appliances

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Samsung envisions future of accessibility with appliances

Published: 23 Oct. 2025, 17:42

The Bespoke AI All-in-One Combo from Samsung Electronics [SAMSUNG NEWSROOM]

Park Da-hwe, left, and Shin Hyun-bin [SAMSUNG NEWSROOM]

To mark White Cane Safety Day on Oct. 15, Samsung Electronics released an AI-powered appliance manual titled “How to Use for All,” designed to assist people who are blind or have low vision.

Recognizing that people with limited or no vision often find it difficult to access essential information from conventional appliance manuals, Samsung collaborated with TUAT — a visual assistance app startup selected for the company’s C-Lab Outside program earlier this year — to develop the new manual.

“How to Use for All,” is available on Samsung’s website and the AI-powered visual assistance app Sullivan Plus. It features a screen reader function and provides audio explanations via the play button located at the bottom of the screen.

The manual provides detailed, step-by-step descriptions of the product’s appearance and control layout, allowing users to conceptualize the design. It also explains how to use voice controls and accessibility features and guides the placement of tactile stickers to enhance accessibility.

For instance, when the dust filter of the Bespoke AI COMBO washer-dryer needs to be cleaned, conventional appliance manuals only show the detailed location and operating instructions through illustrations. The “How to Use for All” manual, on the other hand, provides precise guidance on where each component is.

It also provides detailed descriptions for identification, such as comparing the size of the washer-dryer’s dust filter door to the palm of a user’s hand. The manual is equipped with a voice-recognition question-and-answer function and includes a table of contents and frequently asked questions, allowing users to quickly find the information they need.

Samsung Electronics conducted a comprehensive review of the new manual to ensure its suitability for users with limited or no vision, incorporating expert research from the Korea Accessibility Research Institute, guidance from the Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance Guide Dog School and advice from blind or low-vision employees.

The manuals will initially be provided for six models: the 2024 and 2025 Bespoke AI Combo Washer-Dryers, the Infinite AI Combo Washer-Dryer, the Bespoke AI One-Body Washer and Dryer and the Bespoke AI Washer and Bespoke AI Dryer.

Starting with a Korean version, the service will be gradually expanded to 20 languages, including English, Spanish and French.

Meanwhile, Samsung Electronics is enhancing usability through a variety of accessibility features.

Voice guidance has been implemented to help users easily operate the machines with screens, and other accessibility features such as high contrast, black-and-white mode, color inversion and screen magnification have been applied.

Yang Hye-soon, vice president of Samsung Electronics’ Digital Appliances Business, stated, “We will continue to improve accessibility to ensure that all users can use Samsung products without inconvenience.”

When using a washing machine for the first time, many users fumble for the tiny power button or struggle to figure out how to open and clean the filter. For older adults and those with limited or no vision, such inconveniences can quickly become real barriers. To address these obstacles, Samsung Electronics has embraced an accessibility-first philosophy, making its home appliances easy to operate.

“The latest appliance design has been moving toward simplification — doors that open with a touch instead of a handle and digital displays instead of physical buttons. These changes have made appliances harder to use for some,” said Park Da-hwe of Samsung’s Digital Appliances Division’s FX Design Group. “We wanted to break down these barriers and create products that everyone could operate conveniently.”

“We analyzed the entire user journey from installation and use to management and maintenance,” added Shin Hyun-bin of the division’s Design Innovation Group. “We standardized shapes to match their functions, simplifying and unifying them into more intuitive forms.”

This philosophy has earned recognition on the global stage. At the 2025 International Design Excellence Awards, Samsung received a Gold Award for its “Samsung Inclusive Essentials” concept in the Concepts & Speculative Design category. The award highlights not only innovations in design but also meaningful improvements in usability and social contributions.

Through “Samsung Inclusive Essentials,” the company aims to help all users understand and manage their appliances independently in line with the objective of International White Cane Safety Day on Oct. 15, established by the World Blind Union in 1980 to protect the rights of people with low vision or blindness and to raise public awareness.

By standardizing button shapes to clearly represent the needed actions ? such as push, pull, touch and rotate ? and unifying the icons used across products, “Samsung Inclusive Essentials” enhances clarity and makes controls more intuitive. [SAMSUNG NEWSROOM]

Noting that traditional accessibility design typically incorporated additional functions or devices, Park said that product tests showed a strong preference against relying on supplementary components like Braille stickers.

“Our solution improves the core design itself — without attachments — so that anyone can operate the product independently,” Park said.

The multimodal design of the appliances combines sensory elements such as shape, texture, color, lighting and sound, with Shin noting, “Consistent feedback signals are integrated across the product so that users can recognize and operate its features more easily. Instead of flat, printed icons, buttons are embossed and outlined so they can be identified by touch.”

Buttons with raised outlines make them easy to locate by touch alone. [SAMSUNG NEWSROOM]

Color-coding the caps of water and detergent containers makes it easy to recognize the contents at a glance ? without the need to read small icons. [SAMSUNG NEWSROOM]

The comprehensive approach to accessibility was born out of multiple consumer tests at a local welfare center for people with limited or no vision and the Samsung team was struck by how many of them live alone.

Shin shared a story from the tests that underscored the philosophy of Samsung’s approach: “One participant who lost his sight later in life shared how his independence had diminished and how difficult it felt to constantly rely on others. When he traced the embossed buttons with his fingers, he said, ‘Now I feel that I can use appliances on my own.’ That moment resonated deeply with our entire team.”

While the design was inspired by feedback from the welfare center tests, the end result offers user benefits for all.

“High-contrast colors help people with low vision, but they also allow other users to recognize controls more quickly,” Park said. “We used signals such as shape and color to make appliances easier for everyone to identify and operate in different situations.”

This is only the start of Samsung’s accessibility endeavor, Shin said, explaining, “While this project focused on people with limited or no vision, our aim is to listen more broadly to users who face different challenges in daily life. We want to design appliances that address diverse needs.”

“Samsung Inclusive Essentials’ is not just about improving features — it’s a user-centric mindset. Imagine turning on a washing machine by simply touching anywhere on the display without having to search for a small power button or opening a dishwasher without locating a specific sensor on the door. All of these illustrate the direction inclusive design should take — making everyday interactions simpler and more seamless,” Park added.

With this philosophy, Samsung appliances move beyond accessibility features to embody the design values that enhance usability — empowering everyone to understand, operate and use the products independently with confidence.

BY JANG HAYOON [[email protected]]

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