Samsung Gifts 3,800 Athletes Custom Galaxy Z Flip7 at Olympics

But Samsung's real play here is the Victory Selfie, which debuted at Paris 2024 and is now making its Winter Olympics entrance. The feature lets medal winners capture their podium moments from their own perspective, and for Milano Cortina 2026 it's expanding beyond individual and pair events to include team sports. It's a shift that acknowledges how winter sports like hockey and curling operate, letting entire squads document their wins together. Athletes can use Dual Recording to simultaneously capture what they see and their own reactions, with up to 10x zoom on the rear camera view.

The devices come preloaded with a suite of apps tailored for Olympic Village life. Galaxy Athlete Card lets competitors exchange digital profiles and collect cards from other athletes, building connections across delegations. Athletes get 100GB of 5G data via eSIM, plus digital passes in Samsung Wallet that include perks like Coca-Cola's Free Beverage Key for vending machines. The Athlete365 app integrates with Now Brief to surface Olympic news and provide mental health support.

Samsung is also rolling out Victory Profile, a separate initiative using the Galaxy S25 Ultra to capture curated portraits of about 490 athletes from nine countries including France, Germany, Italy, Korea, Norway, the Netherlands, Sweden, the UK and the US. It's positioned as athlete storytelling that goes beyond competition moments, though the program isn't an official IOC collaboration.

The Olympic Edition distribution starts January 30th across Olympic Villages in six cities, with Samsung Open Stations providing on-site tech support for device activation and data transfers. Athletes can't buy these devices - they're strictly for Games participants.

Samsung's Olympic involvement extends through Los Angeles 2028 as a Worldwide Partner in wireless communications and computing equipment. The company's betting that AI, VR, AR and 5G tech will reshape how global audiences experience the Games. With Milano Cortina 2026, that strategy centers on putting AI-powered tools directly in athletes' hands, turning them into content creators who can share their Olympic journey on their own terms.

The move reflects how sports sponsorships are evolving. Rather than just slapping logos on venues, tech companies like Samsung are embedding themselves into the athlete experience itself, providing hardware and software that shapes how moments get captured and shared. The Victory Selfie in particular has viral potential - authentic podium reactions shot by the athletes themselves tend to resonate more than official photography.

For Samsung, the Olympic partnership serves as both brand marketing and a testing ground for mobile AI features in demanding real-world scenarios. If on-device translation works seamlessly in remote Alpine venues, it validates the technology for consumers everywhere. And if athletes actually use Now Brief to manage their packed schedules, it demonstrates practical AI applications beyond chatbot parlor tricks.

Distribution across six cities starting this week will show whether Samsung's nearly 30-year Olympic bet continues paying off through its fourth decade of partnership.

Samsung's Olympic Edition strategy shows how tech sponsorships are shifting from passive branding to active product integration. By putting AI-powered devices directly in athletes' hands and expanding features like Victory Selfie to team sports, the company is positioning itself not just as a sponsor but as essential infrastructure for how Olympic moments get created and shared. With the partnership locked through LA 2028, Samsung has a clear runway to test AI, 5G and AR features in high-stakes environments while building goodwill with the next generation of global sports stars. The real test comes January 30th when distribution begins and athletes decide whether these tools actually enhance their Olympic experience or just add another device to manage.