Mobile technology was designed to be taken everywhere, keeping us connected no matter where we go. Today, that technology extends to home appliances, TVs, cars and more, enabling us to do what we couldn’t before. The challenge has been developing a network, or ecosystem, that brings all these next-generation products together to create a seamless connected experience.

Guided by a philosophy of developing meaningful innovation and a long-term vision of connected living, Samsung has worked hard to develop an IoT ecosystem that inspires and allows people to simply do more. At SDC 2017 we announced a consolidated SmartThings Cloud, bringing all of Samsung’s IoT devices and services in a centralized ecosystem and giving users complete control from a single app. Since then, the ecosystem has grown rapidly and global partnerships have helped millions around the world simplify their everyday life.

Samsung is taking seamless connectivity to the next level. At SDC18, developers will hear about new tools and programs that will help them reimagine how connected technologies can simplify our lives through an open and intelligent SmartThings platform. Check out the infographic below to learn more.

Samsung and Mercedes-Benz introduced a new digital car key solution at IFA 2016 that transforms Galaxy smartphones* into smart keys for their owners’ autos*. The partnership is another example of Samsung’s growing connected-car ecosystem, and represents another step toward the future of the smartphone.

The digital car key solution is convenient, easy to use and reliable. It’s also highly secure with a tamper proof eSE (embedded Secure Element). After a simple one-time setup via a companion app provided by Mercedes-Benz, users will be able to lock, unlock and start their car using only their Galaxy smartphone via NFC technology. This solution will even allow users to access their car when their smartphone is off with NFC-eSE technology.

Check out how the digital car key solution can transform your driving experience in the video below.

*Compatible with selected models. Availability varies by market.

Mok Oh, Vice President of New Services, Samsung Electronics’ Enterprise Business, welcomes visitors to Samsung’s “Car, Connected” event at MWC 2016.

Safety First

Equipped with internet connectivity and software that enable drivers to stream music, look up traffic and weather conditions, prevent their teenagers from texting and even power driving-assistance services such as self-parking, the connected car is providing entirely new value to drivers.

Furthermore, utilizing driving data lowers costs to insurance and third-party service providers, disrupting the automobile market. Growing at a compound annual growth rate of 30 percent, this next generation vehicle is creating massive new business opportunities and making consumers rethink the way they drive.

Samsung’s Connect Auto service features an app that allows users to monitor their driving habits and helps them improve their driving behavior.

Samsung, too, is hoping to transform transportation with its new connected car solution, Samsung Connect Auto. Slated to launch in the second quarter of this year, starting in the US, Samsung Connect Auto uses real-time alerts to help consumers improve their driving behavior, including increased fuel efficiency, while offering a Wi-Fi hotspot and other features to create a multimedia center for the car. And what’s better is it plugs directly into the on-board diagnostics connector making it compatible with most automobiles on the road today.

Hyesung Ha, Senior Vice President of Samsung’s Enterprise Business, discusses the importance of privacy and security in the connected car industry.

Despite these benefits, some consumers are hesitant to utilize connected car technologies. Delivering the keynote speech at Samsung’s connected car event, Hyesung Ha, Senior Vice President of Samsung’s Enterprise Business, noted a McKinsey report that found two main reasons for consumers’ hesitations are privacy and safety.

“We understand our success depends on consumers’ trust in us and the products and services that we provide,” Ha explained. “The data and information of users is our top priority, and we work hard to safeguard the valuable information of our consumers.”

Samsung has taken steps to reassure hesitant consumers by securing Samsung Connect Auto with eSE (embeded Secure Element) based on Samsung KNOX, the most robust mobile security platform in the world. This essentially creates a firewall protecting hackers from accessing Samsung Connect Auto, preventing user data from falling in to the wrong hands.

Representatives of Samsung’s partner companies share their insights as automotive industry leaders on trends, challenges, benefits and the future of the connected car.

A Connected Ecosystem for a Truly Connected Car

Yet, even when armed with the technology and security needed to power a connected vehicle, the industry cannot fully thrive without a connected ecosystem. As such, Samsung is taking the reins to build a linked network of carriers, insurance companies, roadside assistance operators and maintenance networks that responds to the changing demands of current and potential automobile owners.

Representatives from Samsung’s major partner companies, including FCA Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Willis Towers Watson, AT&T, SEAT, Cisco and Tantalum Corporation were part of a panel discussion at the event and explored how always-on automobiles have already begun to improve road safety and change driving behaviors for the better. The panel also touched on the existing challenges and potential benefits for all parties involved. Insurers, for example, can not only provide potential discounts to their current customers, but also new services to customers who are willing to opt-in and share their driving behavior data from their connected car.

By bridging the gaps between consumer electronics, IoT, and the automotive industries, Samsung is transforming the always-on automobile to be safe, secure, eco-friendly and productive.

In its establishment of valuable partner relationships, Samsung is helping to bridge the gap between the automotive, consumer electronics and IoT industries by making its products and partner services seamlessly integrated for a driving experience that is safe, secure, eco-friendly and, of course, fun.

And while this is only the beginning of the connected car era, the future of the industry is bright. With experts predicting that all cars will be connected in the not-too-distant future, there are huge opportunities for new applications and services that take advantage of this always-on connection. Samsung Connect Auto, as well as the technology leader’s efforts to build a diverse, connected ecosystem, is a step in the right direction. Through these endeavors, the company will bring the car into the already connected world of smartphones, smart homes and wearables, ultimately allowing the automobile to be the next part of the IoT revolution.

For Samsung Electronics, IFA 2015 in Berlin was all about the Internet of Things (IoT). And because the IoT is designed to encompass all aspects of our life, there’s an awful lot of great innovations and stylish devices that Samsung presented. Let’s take a look at 10 of the most notable and coolest things from this year’s IFA.

1. IoT Zone

To better explain the IoT, people don’t want to hear technology and numbers as much as they want to understand how the IoT will improve their lives, so Samsung put a creative IoT Zone at the heart of its IFA exhibit. With a series of 24 glass displays, created by architect and designer Ferruccio Laviani to resemble the pages of a popup book, the IoT Zone was a friendly and intuitive way to show people the infinite possibilities of the Internet of Things.

Read more:

Samsung’s Internet of Thing Enters Our Lives

Samsung Electronics Talks the Future of TV

2. SleepSense

One new product that really woke up visitors was SleepSense, a sensor and sleep analysis system that tracks your sleep patterns and suggests changes to improve your sleep. Just a small, thin pad, SleepSense slips under your mattress, where it can track your breathing, pulse and other traits more accurately than anything else on the market. SleepSense can also work together with consumer electronics in your home to adjust your lights and alarm, to wake you up gradually, when your body is at the best point in its sleep cycle.

3. Gear S2

Anticipation was high for Samsung’s latest wearable device, the Gear S2, but according to the people who attended the high-energy launch showcase on September 3, the Gear S2 surpassed all expectations. The round design was stylish and fashionable, and the rotating bezel was an intuitive innovation just right for maximizing the usefulness of a wearable. Available in two versions—the Gear S2 and Gear S2 classic—the device is incredibly customizable, with various watch faces and a wide range of colorful straps that can be easily swapped. And with the Gear S2 being Android-compatible, its promises to be the most versatile and functional wearable yet.

Read more:

[Infographic] Circular Design and Intuitive UX of Gear S2

The Future Gets a Twist at the Gear S2 Showcase

First Look: The Gear S2

Samsung Gear S2 Showcase: Better with Every Turn

4. SmartThings

At home, the SmartThings Hub can turn any home into a smart home, connecting all sorts of devices on an open platform. Now people can turn on the lights or change the temperature even when away from home, as well as get notifications about movement or potential problems (like smoke or leaks).

But the power of SmartThings goes beyond the home, too. In conjunction with cross-industry collaborators, SmartThings is connecting devices and people across industries, from retail to enterprise, and healthcare to transportation, thus growing an open IoT ecosystem across the world. For instance, BMW cars can now directly integrate you with your home while you are driving, giving you alerts right to your dashboard.

And thanks to the open platform SmartThings was built on, expect plenty more partnerships in the future. As Alex Hawkinson, the chief executive of SmartThings, said during the opening press conference on September 3, SmartThings is all about “peace of mind,” “flexibility” and “control.”

Read more:

SmartThings: Bringing Your Home to Life

5. Connected Car

The IoT goes beyond our homes, and one of the most important part of our lives is the car. Now Samsung is bringing the IoT there, too. With the Car Mode for Galaxy app, you can use your smartphone or other wearable device to take calls, listen to music, get directions and even have your text messages read to you, all without taking your eyes off the road or your hands from the wheel. It makes the driving experience much safer and more convenient.

And with Car-Net e-Remote with Volkswagen, you can use your new Gear S2 wearable to integrate with your car. Using your Gear S2, you can see where your car is parked, turn on the air conditioning on a hot day, even stop and start the battery charger for electric vehicles.

6. Virtual Reality Experiences

With Samsung’s virtual reality headset, the Gear VR, people can dive into content like never before. And this year, for the first time, Samsung took advantage of the Gear VR to create a new type of exhibition experience. At four locations around Berlin, anyone could take part in Experience Zones to see for themselves what Samsung’s IFA exhibit was like. And at Club des Chefs, the partnership with four world-renounced chefs, visitors were able to truly immerse themselves in the food and cooking experience.

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Read more:

Checking Out Samsung’s IFA Exhibit from Basecamp

[Video] Samsung Cine des Chefs Show at IFA 2015

Gastronomy Goes Virtual with the Samsung Club des Chefs

7. Curved – SUHD, UHD TVs

With 28 types of TVs, ranging from 32 inches to 105 inches, Samsung now has the right TV for every home, from the smallest apartment to the biggest home. The curved screens of the latest UHD and SUHD TVs are fashionable, too, fitting in with everyone’s home.

With UHD and SUHD TVs offering four times the resolution of traditional HD TVs, people are going to need content at that resolution, too, which is why Samsung is working with the UHD Alliance to create standards for the industry—and they say final certification is nearly ready. In the meantime, Samsung announced Gamefly, a streaming service that offers the latest and hottest games in UHD, as well as agreements with many partners to offer movies, TV shows and other content in the stunning, UHD format.

8. Customization

Behind all of Samsung’s innovations and creations is the dedication to making technology work for people and to fill their needs. With that in mind, this year’s IFA saw many collaborations with the fashion industry to customize people’s phones and wearable devices. In partnership with Montblanc, there was an artist tattooing leather cases by hand for Galaxy S6 edge+ phones. And Swarovski is offering glittering, crystal-covered cases for Samsung smartphones, too.

9. Smart Suit

Not only are Samsung’s devices growing more stylish and fashion-forward, but now fashion is increasingly growing more tech savvy. Samsung C&T brought four wearable outfits to IFA, including a suit that has an NFC tag in the wrist, allowing users to change their phone’s mode easily and discreetly, without ever taking it out of their pocket.

10. The Year of the Circle

The circle is nature’s perfect shape, without a beginning or an end. And at this year’s IFA, the circle turned up again and again in the designs and ideas of Samsung’s devices. The IoT Zone, at the heart of Samsung’s exhibit, was circular, with 24 displays arranged like the spokes of a wheel. The Wireless Audio 360 speakers are circular in shape, and their sound is likewise omnidirectional, coming from ring radiator technology.

But the biggest circle at this year’s IFA was undoubtedly the Gear S2 wearable. Not only is this Samsung’s first wearable in a stylish circular shape, but the round bezel actually rotates, serving as the key tool of the device’s interface.

Read more:

[Video] Dive into Samsung Exhibition at IFA 2015 with a Virtual Reality Tour

[Video] Samsung Gear S2 Showcase Highlights

[Infographic] Wireless Audio 360: 360 Sound. All Around You 

[Video] 5 Reasons to Pick Samsung’s New Wireless Audio 360 Speakers