Technology has always been seen as a venom to the holistic body of social interaction, but with the installment of 837 NYC, Samsung is trying (and possibly succeeding) to reverse that misconception.
Everything about Samsung’s newest flagship in New York’s meat packing district ebbs participants towards each other. The space is divided into 3 levels, which are all centered around a screen that stretched the height of the building. The screen’s immediate seating area is an intimate dive below the first floor, with a visible editing room off to the right side, and a bar catered by Smorgasbord to the left.
According to the VP of 837 Zach Overton, this space is planned to be used for concerts which are sure to be interesting as the dive has a vibe somewhere between a private studio session and live show.
Above that, the first floor houses a gallery curated by Kenzo Digital, where after inputting one’s Instagram tag they could step into a seamless tunnel of screens adorned with your posts actively mixing with those of your followers.
Afterwards we got to step in front of a Galaxy s7 that was prepped to take our selfie and transfer it to the center screen but not before turning it into a mosaic of images from your feed and those of previous users.
We got to stop by what they referred to as the “VR(Virtual Reality) tunnel” which was a short hallway, with comfortable chairs lining both sides, each equipped with a VR headset. The walls previewed the content that was being displayed through the headsets. The setup seems rather simple, and in a certain respect it is, however the VR users are bunched together intentionally, as the VP explained to us, Samsung aims to make VR less of a singular experience in the future. The tunnel is undoubtedly a small but confident step in the direction of turning virtual reality into a community driven activity.
The second floor is home to a cozy, personal customer care section, an area for children and families, a cafe catered by Stand Coffee, as well as a product area to test out the new Samsung phones, watches, and headsets. However, what caught my eye the most was what was referred to as the “living room and kitchen” area. It was quite true to it’s name, with Samsung really flexing their goal to be a technological presence in every room of your home. The kitchen features an impressive fridge with a built in tablet and a camera within the fridge, so you can see what you have when you’re out shopping.
Finally they took us to get hands on with the Samsung Galaxy s7 and s7 edge, both of which have been innovated technically, also in accordance with the energy of 837, improved in forms of social media contribution. The camera is top notch, with a focus faster than you can blink, and a larger aperture to help out on low light shots. It fits easier in the hand, has a stronger casing, and is water resistant in 5 feet for up to 30 minutes. It seems a lot of the larger steps forward with the Galaxy have been in quality of life adjustments and practicality.
The entire vibe of 837 is closer to a home or lounge rather than a store, which is supported for by the fact that the only thing sold in the space is the food. It’s a bit of a bold step for Samsung, pushing weight onto E-commerce and off of brick and mortar vendors. Overall, I can say the space has a strong start with a lot of kinetic energy to roll into a venue for music, parties, and all kinds of gatherings.
It’s also a motion in a direction most tech companies haven’t explored, bring people together in a productive, home environment through the strength of their technology and innovation.
837 is definitely worth a visit for techies, non-techies, families, musicians, artists…it really does cater to a wide variety of interests.
