Samsung Canada is inviting Canadians to test their knowledge at the all-new Samsung SmartThings Connected Home Experience. The experience is launching today at the Samsung Experience Store (SES) located at CF Toronto Eaton Centre in downtown Toronto and brings the magic of Samsung connected experiences to life.

SmartThings technology maximizes productivity, expands creativity and performs daily tasks with simplicity – all personalized to the individual’s preferences – helping make Canadians lead easier, simpler and more connected lives.

As part of this new immersive experience, Samsung Canada has transformed the upper floor of the store into a connected home, complete with a living room, home office, home gym and kitchen, showcasing the possibilities of a Samsung connected world.

To launch the experience, Samsung is partnering with nine notable Canadians and influencers, including Roy Woods, Tiana Shern and Taylor Mei and sports anchor Faizal Khamisa as host for a unique head-to-head trivia competition to demonstrate the possibilities of Samsung SmartThings technology and test their knowledge about Canada.

“We’re incredibly excited to launch SmartThings Connected Home Experience and invite Canadians to discover the power of connected possibilities with Samsung technology,” said Jihoon Lee, President and CEO, Samsung Canada. “At Samsung Canada, our commitment to continuous innovation enables us to provide efficient, reliable and convenient technology that makes Canadians’ lives easier, while simultaneously connecting them to their passions.”

From now until August 13, consumers can explore each thoughtfully designed room and take part in unique trivia challenges. Canadians who complete the walkthrough of all four rooms within the SmartThings Connected Home Experience will be eligible to enter into Samsung Experience Store SmartThings Home  Contest for a chance to win a Connectivity Prize Pack consisting of Samsung connected technology products valued at $13,129.93 (approximate retail value)*.

To learn more about SmartThings and Samsung Connectivity, visit https://www.samsung.com/ca/smartthings/do-the-smartthings/

*Terms and Conditions apply. No purchase necessary. The Samsung Experience Store SmartThings Home Contest (“Contest”) Period starts 10AM EST on Monday, June 5^th, 2023 and closes at 9:00AM EST on Sunday, August 13^th, 2023 (the “Contest Period”). Open to legal residents of Canada (excluding Quebec) who are over the age of majority in the province or territory in which they reside. Contest entrants will be required to A) Visit the Samsung Experience Store Toronto Eaton Centre location at CF Toronto Eaton Centre (220 Yonge Street, Toronto, ON M5B 2H1) during the Contest Period; B) Complete the SmartThings Home tour by entering at least one of four rooms on the second floor; C) interact with the devices on-site using the Samsung SmartThings App; and D) Visit an authorized Samsung rep to enter into the Contest through an on-site tablet provided. Limit of one entry per person per email address. There will be one (1) random draw for the Prize conducted by the Contest Sponsor at 2050 Derry Road West, L5N 0B9, Ontario on Sunday, August 13, 2023 at 12:00PM (EST) from all eligible entries received during the Contest Period. The total approximate value of the Prize is CAD $13,129.93 and consists of Samsung technology products. Must correctly answer a mathematical skill-testing question to win. Odds of winning depend upon the total number of eligible Entries received during the Contest Period. Visit www.samsung.com/ca/offer/ses-connectivity-contest for full Contest Rules and Regulations.

Samsung’s SmartThings platform allows Canadians to enjoy a simple and reliable connected experience across all facets of their daily life. Through the SmartThings platform, Samsung devices seamlessly connect to not only each other, but with over 80,000 other connection points, helping you to experience a connected world from the palm of your hand.

From smart appliances, to smart security, to smart lighting, all which seamlessly connect to devices such as the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra or Samsung Galaxy Book3, SmartThings helps Canadians to maximize productivity, expand creativity, and perform daily tasks with simplicity and ease.

With SmartThings, you can easily take a phone call and adjust the temperature and lighting all from your Samsung TV; set your laundry to start and start the vacuum with SmartThings for Android Auto; and, find your devices, family, friends, or even pets with SmartThings Find and Galaxy SmartTags. With SmartThings, the possibilities feel truly endless.

With a connected world at your fingertips, it’s important that users understand how to maximize the potential of a Samsung connected experience, and feel as though you have the right support along the way. If you’re not sure where to start, Samsung Service has a dedicated series of SmartThings Support options available to help you.

Online Self-Serve Support available 24/7

Find resources, support, and more with robust SmartThings FAQs on Samsung.com, available 24/7. Did you know your SmartThings app has in-built app feedback and submits error reports? Use the in-app self-serving tool to help get diagnosis at your convenience. You can find in the main menu of the app, under “Contact Us.”

Dedicated SmartThings Chat & Email Support

Exclusive chat support for SmartThings is available online. Chat immediately with an expert who can help you make the most out of SmartThings with your Samsung devices. Alternatively, you can email support@smartthings.ca with your query and an expert will get back to you as soon as possible.

Visual and Remote Support

Samsung’s Visual Support service helps Samsung customers experience a remote, visual diagnosis of their product at their convenience. With Visual Support, if a user isn’t sure what the problem is, or is having trouble describing the issue, a Samsung expert will help guide a customer through a repair through the customer’s camera.

Learn more about the Samsung SmartThings Support options available to help you here. To learn more about SmartThings, visit Samsung.com.

Today, Samsung launched their final spot in their “Connected Experiences” campaign, which showcases the power of technology in fostering meaningful connections. The campaign features five notable Canadians who are connected to their passions in a memorable way via Samsung technology.

The final campaign spot features national sports anchor Faizal Khamisa, who leverages the power of connected technology to “Do The SmartThings!” and conduct an interview in his home with a mystery guest. Faizal prepares questions on his Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4, not knowing who to expect on the other end – only to learn that it’s his best friend Jamil online who is using a Samsung Galaxy Tab8 Ultra in the room upstairs. You can watch the spot here.

To mark the final spot’s launch, we sat down with Faizal to talk about his experience, and how he incorporates connected experiences in his day-to-day life – from conducting interviews with some of the best athletes out there, to relaxing with friends and family.

What is your favourite piece of Samsung technology that you use daily?

There’s nothing more versatile to me than the M8 Smart Monitor. As someone who frequently changes between watching TV/videos to gaming to producing content, the monitor functionality makes it easy to do all of it seamlessly.

In your vignette, you had the opportunity to work and connect with a close friend. Can you tell us about that experience?

This truly was one of the coolest and more meaningful experiences of my life. I can’t tell you how stunned I was, and how emotional I was at the same time. Having interviewed professional athletes for a decade, I was ready for anything, but seeing my friend on the other side of the call truly threw me off temporarily.

Provide an example of a meaningful connection that technology has enabled for you.

Having gone through what we all have over the last couple of years, it has made it more difficult to connect with people physically. The technology available to us made it as close as possible to do so. Case in point Jamil – during the early parts of the pandemic, we’d spend our evenings video chatting on our Samsung Galaxy devices while playing monopoly deal over Xbox. It was a great way to not be alone, and simulate the real life hangouts we had both prior to, and now after, the worst of the pandemic.

How does technology help you in your professional life to stay on top of breaking sports news?

I can’t tell you how many times in my day I’m opening social media on my Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4 to see what the latest news is. It’s only possible because of the vast leaps tech has made in my lifetime, having everything I need in my pocket. It’s completely transformed the media game, and more specifically the sports media game, in that it’s 24/7. To continue to keep my credibility and reputation, I have to be on it, no matter where I am and what else I’m doing. The technology we have today makes it easy.

What’s next for you? What cool and exciting projects are on the horizon?

When you work in media, particularly sports media, everyday feels like a new, cool project. Being able to navigate through the world of live sports through instant reaction and analysis makes doing what I do exciting every single time the camera turns on.

Samsung has long been innovating across its mobile, home entertainment, home office and digital appliance products to help Canadians curate intuitive, integrated experiences. To learn more about Samsung’s meaningful connections campaign, click here.

The newest brand campaign from Samsung continues with three new video spots showcasing the real, meaningful connections Canadians can make using Samsung technology. In the latest campaign spots, basketball star athlete Fred VanVleet, creative producer Mr. KOA, and content creator Isabelle Cheng, are leaning into their personal passions and crafts to illustrate how Canadians can “Do The SmartThings!” with connected devices that seamlessly work together.

Whether interacting with a fan, tackling a photo shoot, or creating delicious-looking food content, Fred, Isabelle, and Mr. KOA are all utilizing the power of Samsung products and SmartThings to make these experiences more efficient and enriching. We recently caught up with the stars of the videos to learn more about the meaningful connections they experienced with others through Samsung technology.

In the latest spot, up and coming basketball star and Team Canada athlete, Deniya Prawl, plays video games on her Neo QLED TV online with another gamer – not knowing that on the other end of the line is the star athlete Fred VanVleet, who surprises her with a call on her Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4. You can watch the latest video here.

We sat down with Deniya, Isabelle and Mr. KOA to learn more about their experiences with Samsung’s meaningful connections campaign, and how they themselves continue to leverage connectivity in their everyday lives.

What role does Samsung technology play in helping you perfect your craft?

Mr. KOA: The Samsung Galaxy lineup’s ease of use and customization features not only help me get all my work done efficiently, they make things look the way I want to, and make my experiences enjoyable.

Isabelle Cheng: My phone is central to my job as a food-focused content creator! I love my Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra.

Deniya Prawl: My Samsung TV helps me watch all of my favourite basketball games, learning from other amazing players.

How does technology help you balance your day-to-day life?

Mr. KOA: I live a very fast-paced and extremely unpredictable lifestyle. I absolutely rely on technology to keep me organized, to help edit and design work, as well as visual capabilities to present to clients.

Isabelle Cheng: To be honest, I would be completely lost without technology. I use my Samsung Galaxy Watch Active to track my sleep, workouts, and even make sure I get enough water – especially helpful when I’m busy. For work, I always tell people I live and die by my calendar. Being able to have all my appointments and other info at my fingertips on my phone is critical.

Deniya Prawl: Because I’m a basketball player, it’s so important for me to study the game. Watching games or footage from practice using technology helps improve my IQ and learn different moves.

Can you tell us about your experience building connections in your vignette?

Mr. KOA: Being surprised by my cousin on my Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4 was definitely an unexpected but welcome surprise – especially when we met in person! I recently made the decision to pick up my entire life and move from Toronto to LA at the start of this year. The transition has been quite challenging, and I hadn’t seen friends or family for almost a year. Being able to connect so easily and quickly was incredible.

Isabelle Cheng: I was able to connect with a good friend of mine that moved to Vancouver. When someone who is important to you moves across the country it can be difficult. I was so shocked when she surprised me on video chat as I was expecting someone else. It was easy to connect the Galaxy Z Flip4 to Samsung The Frame TV so I could chat comfortably on such a large screen. Even better was when she ended up surprising me in person!

Deniya Prawl: It was a great experience to connect with Fred live using my Galaxy Z Flip4! I’ve watched him play for so many years and I’m a huge fan – I was so surprised and grateful for the experience.

Provide an example of a meaningful connection that technology has enabled for you.

Mr. KOA: I recently launched a dating card game called THE FIRST DATE GAME. Thanks to technology, the game has been able to reach thousands of people – all from something I created at home.

Isabelle Cheng: Over the past two years, technology was essential to help me stay connected to my friends and loved ones who I wasn’t able to see. Having technology makes those times feel a lot less lonely until you’re able to hug in-person again.

Deniya Prawl: A lot of my family lives in Jamaica, and they all use Samsung devices, which helps us communicate with each other despite the distance.

Samsung has long been innovating across its mobile, home entertainment, home office and digital appliance products, to help Canadians curate intuitive, integrated experiences. To learn more about Samsung’s meaningful connections campaign, click here.

With back-to-school in full swing, Samsung Canada launched a new ambassador program for high school and post-secondary students of Samsung Canada employees^[1]. The Samsung Student Technology Ambassador program gifts students who are children of Samsung Canada employees, and who have been selected as ambassadors under the program, with Samsung Connectivity Prize Packs consisting of the full ecosystem of Mobile eXperience (MX) and Consumer Electronics (CE) products, personalized product training, and the opportunity to showcase how they’re using the technology to support their learning objectives.

As Samsung Ambassadors, these students will document all the ways they’re using Samsung technology from their prize packs, which includes a Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4, Galaxy Book2 Pro, Galaxy Buds2 Pro, Galaxy Watch5, The Freestyle and Smart Monitor M8, during a typical school day. Whether it’s taking notes during class on their laptop, connecting their smartphone to their earbuds to listen to a presentation over lunch, or receiving reminders on their watch for assignment due dates, students will be able to harness the full power of their connected MX and CE products.

When applying to the Samsung Student Technology Ambassador program, students were asked to share how they think Samsung technology will help advance their academic pursuits this school year.

Here are a few excerpts from this year’s submissions.

• “I am confident Samsung technology will help me balance my time well, whether it’s using the Galaxy Watch to take care of my fitness, instantly receive calls, and notifications or using the laptop to respond to emails and organize assignments.”– Areebah Igbal, Engineering Student, University of Waterloo
• “I feel that products like the Galaxy Book2 and The Freestyle would help me with my educational learning, whether it’s typing out notes faster or presenting to the class.” – Hailye Jones, Psychology Major, University of Alberta
• “This [program] represents a unique opportunity for me to use Samsung technology to express my passion for music production.” – Timothy Han, Richmond Hill High School

The Samsung Student Technology Ambassador program is part of Samsung’s broader commitment to invest in young people’s education and help shape the next generation of leaders.

Stay tuned to Samsung Canada’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages to see how this year’s ambassadors are excelling in their studies with Samsung technology.

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^[1] The Samsung Student Technology Ambassadors are Canadian high school and post-secondary students who are children of Samsung Canada employees, who have submitted their application and have been selected as ambassadors under the program.

As a champion of an open ecosystem, Samsung has long been innovating across its mobile, home entertainment, home office and digital appliance products, helping Canadians to Do The SmartThings! with connected device experiences that enrich their daily lives. Samsung products are designed to work seamlessly together which, together with customized design and features, helps Canadians curate intuitive, integrated experiences.

To help showcase the real ways that connected devices show up in Canadians’ lives, Samsung is helping five Canadians create meaningful connections with others through its innovative technology. The new campaign includes famous athlete Fred VanVleet as well as sports media personality Faizal Khamisa.

To kick off the series, we sat down with champion kickboxer Farinaz Lari, whose video showed an emotional reunion with a childhood best friend. Farinaz trained her best friend, Sogol, through Google Meet on her Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4, which seamlessly connected to her NEO QLED 8K TV. As a world champion kickboxer, entrepreneur, public speaker and model, connectivity is a key element of Farinaz’s day-to-day activities – especially when it comes to training her clients.

In your opinion, what was the best part about using Samsung devices in this video?

I’ve been loving the health and wellness features on the Samsung Galaxy Watch5 and have been eyeing a new NEO QLED 8K TV as well – the picture quality was superb!

How does technology help you balance your day-to-day life, i.e., personal wellness and professional responsibilities?

It’s everything – from training my clients online, to monitoring my own detailed results for years to help me improve! I encourage my clients to monitor their calorie burn and heart rate variables as well so I can compare their data.

How did it feel being reunited with your best friend Sogol after three years?

It was the most magical experience! I had never been that surprised in my entire life. I cried, I laughed – it was truly a dream.

In your vignette, you had the opportunity to train with Sogol. Can you tell us about that experience?

The amazing quality of the top-speed Samsung products made me feel connected to her like she was there! Plus, they were so easy to use. I’m still talking about this experience to all my friends.

Provide an example of a meaningful connection that technology has made possible for you.

To me, it means seeing my friends and family and being able to talk and connect with them. My immediate family live in Iran, so seeing them on such a large screen, with such clear quality and sound, is the most meaningful connection to me.

Why did you decide to get involved with this campaign?

I train the majority of my clients online; I’ve been doing it for the past three years now! I’m really passionate about having premium equipment to ensure my clients have the best experience, especially when it comes to having access to and measuring data. Being able to bring this to life for Canadians as well was a dream come true.

Why did you choose to partner with Samsung?

It’s such a well-known, prestigious brand in Canada. I was excited to get involved!

Over the coming weeks, we’ll be checking in with the other stars on how they’ve created meaningful connections in their lives. To learn more about Samsung’s new campaign, click here.

With a commitment to delivering communications and technological innovations that foster social-purpose, economic growth and job creation goals in Canada, TELUS embarked on a journey to deploy its next-generation 5G network. TELUS is building new infrastructure and providing innovative services that, among other benefits, can increase access to healthcare for Canadians and improve healthcare providers’ efficiencies. At the same time, the company is expanding its agriculture technology services to help solve the challenges of feeding the world’s population. 

TELUS is a dynamic, world-leading communications and information technology company that is creating new services that improve businesses of all sizes – from global enterprises to smart cities to home-based service providers. The company is building its 5G network to empower Canada, using innovative solutions that will connect people and businesses with their passions.

TELUS selected Samsung to support the development of its 5G network, which will help it continue offering its customers the fastest average download speeds in the world[1]. While speed is important, TELUS and Samsung expect the new 5G network to be the foundation that supports and powers next-generation solutions that allow TELUS to intensify its focus on social purpose, the center of TELUS’ mission.

Improving Access to Healthcare for Canadians with 5G

The year 2020 brought the importance of ubiquitous high-speed connectivity to the forefront, with a focus on people’s health and wellness. TELUS — already a key player in many aspects of digital health — are well-positioned to leverage the increase in reliable bandwidth and speed provided by its 5G network, to the benefit of Canadians.

“TELUS expects these new networks will provide better, faster, more reliable connectivity that will optimize medical office workflow systems,” says Eros Spadotto, Executive Vice-president of Technology Strategy and Business Transformation. 

5G’s reliable, low-latency connectivity helps ensure that applications like electronic medical records (EMR) and robust digital healthcare solutions raise the productivity of physicians, hospitals, pharmacists, and other healthcare professionals that improve the patient outcomes.  The 5G network also powers the connectivity that enables safe remote telehealth visits that require high-quality voice and video communications between patients and medical providers. Samsung’s 5G equipment will help TELUS continue bridging the digital divide to connect top-quality healthcare services across Canada.

Deploying 5G Networks will Help Harvest Better Food Outcomes

In addition to improving healthcare, feeding the world is one of the largest challenges of our generation and it has become core to TELUS’ social purpose mission. The company has set its sights on increasing the volume of crops picked and improving the entire agriculture supply chain to drive better food production utilization. With 5G-powered connectivity, IoT sensors can span the agriculture ecosystem – from seed producers on the front end to grocers delivering the produce to those who are hungry. IoT data allows advanced systems to examine this information along with the millions of “acres” of additional data to identify actionable trends that can derive better results.

With Samsung’s 5G technology and partner solutions, TELUS expects to improve coverage for farmers and bridge the digital divide. 

“While it is important to build network connectivity that allows farmers to improve business operations, it’s also essential to analyze their production results to identify trends that can help the industry optimize the supply chain and prevent waste. We are entering into an ‘insights economy’, and 5G and AI are enabling it,” Spadotto said.

Creating Smart Cities with 5G

Support for IoT in 5G, which can support up to 1 million devices per square kilometer, also offers new opportunities to efficiently expand IoT solutions, like those used in smart cities. Coupling the high volume of reliably connected devices to edge-based applications enabled by 5G helps TELUS extend the efficiency of smart city solutions. Moreover, incorporating 5G capabilities like network slicing and multi-access edge computing can establish private wireless networks to support the low-latency connectivity needed for real-time services like video-based security and surveillance.

Samsung innovation that intrigued TELUS went beyond 5G devices, RAN, and Core. AI-powered metrics and unique push-to-talk applications further differentiated the Samsung end-to-end solution to support smart city services. 

Mr. Spadotto stated, “We are excited with Samsung, as we see them partnering with us to create new applications that can extend our smart city construct, like Mission Critical PTX.”

Samsung is Right for TELUS

To ensure it will have the network that supports these high expectations, TELUS went through an in-depth evaluation of its 5G options. With its goal to be the best provider, TELUS knows that the network must be reliable and provide top performance. The company’s evaluation process showed that Samsung met necessary requirements to serve as its vendor of choice. 

“TELUS saw Samsung demonstrate the same important attributes that we deliver to our customers: honesty, commitment to excellence, and innovation,” offered Mr. Spadotto. 

The full range of Samsung 5G products plays a crucial role in TELUS’s 5G services, including a wide range of user devices, 5G network equipment, and an AI platform to analyze operations data. AI is a critical component of 5G for TELUS, and Zhilabs, a Samsung company, provides TELUS with a compelling AI platform that will help them derive clear understandings of network performance. Using AI-derived operational insights, TELUS has the power and flexibility to optimize its network while innovating new solutions. Samsung is proud to collaborate with TELUS to provide 5G capabilities that will support its focus on improving lives worldwide, and the partnership is set to fuel innovations that will be sought worldwide.

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[1] https://www.opensignal.com/reports/2020/09/global-state-of-the-mobile-network-experience-awards