SK Broadband's AI set-top box sweeps major global design awards

SK Broadband's AI 5 set-top box has won all four major global design awards, including Japan's Good Design Award, Germany's iF Design Award, Germany's Red Dot Design Award, and the U.S. International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA), a feat the company called a 'grand slam.' The device, used with SK Broadband's B tv pay-television service, features a circular, matte-black design with hidden buttons and logo, shifting functions to AI voice controls and the on-screen interface to blend into living spaces.

SK Broadband said Tuesday that its "AI 5" set-top box has won all four of the world's major product design awards, a feat the Korean telecom and media company called a "grand slam." The device, used with SK Broadband's B tv pay-television service, won Japan's Good Design Award last year, followed this year by Germany's iF Design Award in March, Germany's Red Dot Design Award in April and a main prize at the International Design Excellence Awards, a U.S. competition known as IDEA, in August. SK Broadband, led by CEO Kim Sung-soo, said the set-top box features a circular, matte-black design meant to minimize visible technology and blend into everyday living spaces as a "home object" rather than looking like typical telecom equipment. The company said it deliberately hid buttons and a logo that are usually visible on top of set-top boxes, shifting most functions to artificial intelligence voice controls and the on-screen interface, and applied a matte surface finish after testing different textures to give the device an object-like feel distinct from typical electronics. The rear panel, whe