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Samsung recorded over $100bn in gross profits worldwide in 2012 - their strongest year to date - and tripled sales in the Mena region.
"Relentless innovation and discovery are the key principles of our business," said Kyung-tae Bae, President of Samsung of Samsung Electronics, Mena. "Our strategies are set to bring these to life and so we can get there first."
The overarching theme across Samsung's product lines is smarter. Televisions, mobile phones - even refrigerators - are rapidly more intuitive to use and more intelligent in predicting the needs of the user.
"You will see home appliances that are smarter than ever, cameras that are more social and more truly 'human' user experiences. Most of all you will see what today's consumers truly want and want tomorrow's consumers truly need," said Mustafa Sadick, Regional Product Manager of Samsung Electronics, who was on stage to discuss Mena TV figures.
TV innovations unveiled in Dubai
In addition to the ultra-popular Galaxy line of smartphones, the soaring demand for 'smart TVs' are a boon to Samsung's success in the Gulf.
Bigger has been better in recent years. Now, within recent months, every self-respecting manufacturer has crossed the once ludicrous 80 inch landmark. However, television innovations are now increasingly centred on web services, apps and interconnectivity.
While the F8000 is (only) available up to 75 inches, Samsung also unveiled its first 85 inch Ultra High Definition TV (UHD TV), the 85S9, with a high compression video codec - the HEVC. The codec enables higher streaming video quality over lower bandwidth, suitable for areas with less ample broadband capacity.
Samsung achieved 18% growth in revenue from TV sales last year, with 19% growth in units sold. Today the F8000 LED TV was touted as a new flagship model and the first TV with a quad-core processor offered by the electronics giant.
They have led the global TV market for seven years in a row and have had the top spot in the Gulf since 2009, in terms of both growth and units shipped. The TV business accounts for about 30% of Samsung's profits in Mena - slightly higher than overall global figures.
"Design has always been a differentiator, but of course beyond that is the technology," said Vinod Nair, General Manager TV Business, Samsung Gulf Electronics. "We were the first ones to introduce LED TVs, smart TVs and smart interaction. What you'll see this year is a continuation of that with some extensions - a trend towards bigger screens, but more importantly convergence."
While mega-TVs now occupy malls across the Gulf, it is the 40 inch television sets that are seeing the greatest adoption, Nair told AMEinfo.
Web apps & social media drive TV appeal
Samsung TVs with converged features were launched last year, breaking down the walls between desktop computing, smart devices and traditional television, but with new products such as these, connectivity is increasingly seamless.
One of the event's most notable announcements included a new detachable TV brain, known as an 'Evolution Kit', which can be upgraded to ensure the TV's firmware and specs are up-to-date - essentially replacing the motherboard each time new technology is released.
"Over the past few years internet penetration has improved significantly in the UAE and the rest of the GCC.
Steven Bond, Reporter
