CES 2019 is right around the corner, and we're preparing to learn all about next year's major electronics releases. Of course that will include a slew of new TVs, and Variety reports that Samsung is planning a couple of upgrades focused on AI assistants and audio. While the company enhanced the 2018 QLED TVs with its own Bixby AI assistant, next year it could go a step further with support for third party technology, namely Google Assistant.

Other manufacturers already support assistants from companies like Google and Amazon, and opening up access will make linking to the rest of the smart home that much easier for people who don't go all-in on Samsung's brand. The other major upgrade mentioned applies to audio, with Variety pointing out trademarks recently filed around spatial and volume intelligence. From the names, it seems like Samsung might be planning technology similar to what we've seen in Google's Home Max and Apple's HomePod, where it can learn more about the room it is in and adjust sound accordingly. We'll find out the real information in just a few more days once the show starts in Las Vegas.