During the event, Samsung highlighted its consumer-centric approach to innovation. In particular, the company showcased how advancements in AI, IoT and security work alongside the breadth of Samsung’s portfolio to create experiences that fit into how people live, ultimately unlocking a new era of connectivity and collaboration.

“We are proud of the pioneering work we are able to do in partnership with the creative developer community,” said DJ Koh, President and CEO of IT & Mobile Communications Division, Samsung Electronics. “As society becomes more closely connected through new tools and devices, we want to make people’s lives easier and smarter – wherever they are.”

Platforms Designed for Connected Experiences

A strong platform of technologies across AI, IoT and security enhances the consumer experience and accelerates the ability of developers to build creative applications. Samsung detailed its plans to strengthen core platform technologies such as Bixby, SmartThings and Samsung Knox.

During the SDC21 keynote, Samsung announced improvements to Bixby, which has become a central part of the user experience for more than 300 million Samsung devices. Bixby now uses on-device AI and deep neural networks to process commands on devices themselves. Thanks to on-device AI, this development makes the service up to 35% faster than before.

For developers, Samsung also announced the Bixby Home Platform, which serves as an intelligent layer between Bixby’s natural language processing and SmartThings. With the platform, voice commands can now be executed more intelligently, taking into account the state and context of various devices.

Samsung made further announcements with regard to SmartThings, including how the platform will be fully integrated with Matter, the newest standard in smart home compatibility. Matter solves developer interoperability challenges and with an expansive list of partners, will be the catalyst that makes smart home connectivity nearly effortless. SmartThings Hub software will also be embedded into the Samsung product portfolio, which includes Samsung Smart TVs and Family Hub refrigerators.

Samsung believes that consumer data and personal privacy is just as important as the experiences they enable. Samsung is committed to providing a seamless consumer experience, and to ensuring that its devices and services are secure from beginning to end. Samsung Knox, the company’s defense-grade security platform, offers built-in protection for more than 100 million Samsung devices. To further secure consumer data, the Samsung Knox Vault comes in a combination of security-specific hardware (a new secure processor and isolated secure memory) and new integrated software that shields the most secure data from the Android OS and applications. During the SDC21 keynote, Samsung highlighted the importance of collaboration and its philosophy of open innovation to improve security and privacy, reiterating its work to continue releasing security analysis tools as open source projects.

Samsung also outlined its Privacy Principles at SDC21, highlighting the three commitments that guide all innovation at the company: Protection, Choice and Transparency. With these principles, consumers, developers and partners are given the information needed to make decisions about how data is managed. The company offers users the option to review and manage their permissions from the privacy setting on their Galaxy devices and Smart TVs and discloses Samsung’s privacy policies through the Privacy Portal. Going forward, Samsung will collaborate with global security experts while continuing to release open source security analysis tools to make its ecosystems more secure.

Tizen Takes Smart TV to New Heights

Based on its ‘Screens Everywhere, Screen for All’ vision, Samsung continues to build on its position as the world leader in TVs by developing new experiences that enhance connectivity, functionality and immersive entertainment. At SDC21, Samsung introduced various ways that Samsung TVs are enabling new experiences, including:

• Video communication based on partnership with Google to allow users to enjoy better video calling on TVs via AI-enabled focus and zoom features.
• Samsung Health on Smart TVs that connects with a webcam to analyze movements and provide real-time feedback during a workout.
• More realistic gaming thanks to HDR10+, with automated settings for low latency and HDR calibration.

For enterprises, Samsung will launch Tizen for Business. This service supports interactive e-boards in schools, kiosks in malls, and even displays in restaurants, airports and subways. With new management portals, businesses can conduct real-time monitoring and control screens remotely, easily applying settings to multiple devices with one simple touch.

With the Tizen TV Platform Licensing, manufacturers who want to introduce a premium TV platform like Tizen can do so quickly with minimal cost. This enables them to use the Tizen TV presence to promote their products in the Smart TV market, and ultimately, help more consumers enjoy Tizen.

Innovating Across the Galaxy Ecosystem

Samsung provides a user experience that meets the needs of all users and devices. And with an expanding range of device types and form factors, developers have a breadth of opportunities to innovate in new ways.

At SDC21, Samsung introduced the new One UI 4, the latest version of its user interface for mobile devices. One UI 4 will provide new levels of customization to enable users to create an experience and a device that is truly theirs. It combines Samsung’s leading privacy and security features with options for users to personalize permissions so that they are always in control of their data when using a Samsung device.

Samsung demonstrated the possibilities of One UI 4 to developers at the event, particularly for foldable devices such as the Galaxy Z Fold3 and Z Flip3. Thanks to One UI 4, users will be able to make use of features such as Flex mode and Multi-Active Window, which enable users to enjoy more intuitive and user-friendly experiences that are unique to the foldable form factor. SDC21 also included a Galaxy Watch session that showcased developer tools to help them build new apps in the new watch app ecosystem.

Samsung invites developers and partners on its journey to bring new and secure experiences to life. For more information about the Samsung Developer Conference 2021, please visit developer.samsung.com.

The Challenge is part of the broader Call for Code global program, which invites developers and problem solvers around the world to build and contribute to open source technology projects that address some of the most pressing global issues.

“Our everyday heroes have tirelessly served us throughout the pandemic and we want to make their lives, and the lives of others around the world, easier and productive with new levels of connectivity and insights from technology,” said KC Choi, EVP and Head of Global Mobile B2B Team, Samsung Electronics. “To achieve this, innovation must be open. That’s why we’ve been working closely with IBM as well as our valued developer communities using open source platforms. It’s also why I’m honored to serve as an ‘Eminent Judge’ for this year’s 2021 Call for Code Global Challenge, along with other worldwide leaders in sustainability, business and technology. I look forward to seeing the submissions for both Call for Code challenges come to life.”

Submissions for the Call for Code Honoring Everyday Heroes Challenge must be able to run on a Samsung tablet, smartphone and/or wearable device and make use of one or more IBM open hybrid cloud technologies such as IBM Cloud or IBM Watson. Participants will also have access to Samsung toolkits, as well as data from The Weather Company. The deadline for submissions is November 20^th, with the winner announced on December 9^th. In addition to Samsung technology and a cash prize from IBM, the winner will receive support from both companies to help bring their solution to life to make a real difference for everyday heroes.

“IBM and Samsung have a long history of proven success working together to improve business outcomes for clients and also for social good,” said Bob Lord, Senior Vice President, Worldwide Ecosystems at IBM. “Earlier this year, IBM, Samsung and others worked together to deploy the 2019 Call for Code Global Challenge winning solution, Prometeo. I look forward to seeing how developers can use our open technologies now to benefit some of the most deserving people in the world today, our everyday heroes.”

The partnership between Samsung and IBM extends over 30 years, starting with work on semiconductors and now mobility, AI, 5G, Industry 4.0 and networks. At SDC, Samsung and IBM Consulting are announcing a collaboration to modernize hybrid work environments with mobile experiences optimized for the Galaxy Z Fold3, co-designed with major financial services institutions.

Additionally, to accelerate the convergence of Industry 4.0 between cloud-native applications and mobility, IBM and Samsung are researching ways to bring containerized AI workloads to Samsung Android devices with IBM Edge Application Manager. This effort focuses on using containers on Samsung devices to enable workloads to be flexibly deployed, managed and processed across premises such as factories, retail stores, warehouses, hotels and distribution centers to help drive faster development of powerful new use cases for mobile and edge computing.

Samsung and IBM continue to work together to create services that enable businesses and enterprise developers to take full advantage of cutting-edge networks, mobility and analytics.

The Call for Code Honoring Everyday Heroes Challenge starts now. Information on eligibility and how to register is available here: ibm.biz/CallforCode-Samsung.

About IBM
IBM is the global leader in hybrid cloud and AI, serving clients in more than 170 countries. More than 3,200 clients use our hybrid cloud platform to accelerate their digital transformation journeys and, in total, more than 30,000 of them have turned to IBM to unlock value from their data — this client list includes nine out of ten of the world’s largest banks. With this foundation, we continue to leverage Red Hat OpenShift as the leading platform to address our clients’ business needs: A hybrid cloud platform that is open, flexible and secure. Guided by principles of trust, transparency and support for a more inclusive society, IBM also is committed to being a responsible steward of technology and a force for good in the world. For more information, visit: www.ibm.com.

Voice Recognition With Bixby: More Convenient Than Touch

Artificial intelligence (AI) enhances the performance of all kinds of devices essential to our daily lives, including smartphones, tablets, TVs and more. In particular, AI-powered voice recognition facilitates more seamless interactions between these devices. Principal Engineer Joohwan Kim from the AI ​​Client Development Group, Mobile Communications Business at Samsung Electronics, shares below how the Bixby voice assistant platform is set to enable more convenient experiences – using just your voice.

Q: What does the newly updated Bixby voice assistant platform look like?

Bixby aims to be the best voice interface able to control multiple Samsung devices using only a small amount of data. From this standpoint, we focused on providing a unique user experience that only Galaxy can provide when developing Samsung’s latest devices. For example, Galaxy Z Flip3 provides a Bixby function that allows users to utilize the Cover Screen, and Galaxy Watch4 series includes hands-free functionality.

Bixby has advanced in many ways as an AI platform, and, in terms of the engine, it supports Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) on-device. Because it processes users’ voices immediately from within the device itself, it is fast and secure in terms of privacy protection. Moreover, the development of Bixby Home Platform further expands the range of supported devices. What used to require multiple voice commands is now possible with only a single command that the device understands and performs accordingly.

Q: What are the areas of possible collaboration with developers around the world for the Bixby Platform?

There are several ways third-party developers can participate in Bixby. They can develop various voice services using Samsung’s AI engine in our smartphones, watches and Family Hub. This service, called a capsule, is provided by the Bixby Developer Center. We have also updated the developer tools to make debugging and natural language learning easier, and to allow convenient use of various UI components, all of which will be presented at SDC21.

The update being announced will make it possible to use for developers to harness multiple contexts when adding devices. Smarter device control has been made possible by Bixby Home Platform, an intelligent layer which sits between Bixby Voice – which provides natural language understanding and issues commands – and SmartThings’ Internet of Things (IoT) layer – which provides connection and operation between devices. Commands that previously had to be made individually for separate devices can now be more efficiently undertaken using the Bixby Home Platform. We are introducing this tool at SDC21 and currently working on providing it to third-party developers in the future.

Enjoy More of the Content You Love: Samsung Smart TV’s Tizen

In the past, TVs were evaluated only on their resolution and design, but given changing lifestyles and user demands, the kind of content a TV is able to provide has become paramount. Thanks to the Tizen platform, Samsung’s Smart TVs are able to provide users with a wide range of content able to suit any taste. Ju-hyun Choi, a Staff Engineer at the Software Development Group, Visual Display Business at Samsung Electronics, describes below how Tizen has evolved to provide partners with the optimal environment in which they can develop with wide compatibility and stability.

Q: What are the new functions of Tizen Web Platform for Samsung Smart TV?

Through a powerful web standard technology called WebAssembly, high-performance web apps can now be developed on Samsung Smart TVs. For SDC21, we have prepared an upgrade plan that allows for the installation of the very latest web features for previously-released Smart TVs.

Q: The competitive edge held by Tizen-based display products has been strengthened thanks to the cooperation of partners from various fields. What are your future collaboration plans?

We are currently working on web-based cloud games, with the goal of allowing users to play the latest games on their Samsung Smart TV equipped with the Tizen platform – all without the latest consoles or expensive graphic cards. In order to achieve this, we are working closely with our current service partners. The Tizen platform, an open source-based operating system (OS), is open to everyone and we are working to provide the best possible development environment to developers that features a wide range of compatibility and development tools.

A Must for Innovative User Experiences: On-Device Personalized Neural Networks

Recently, on-device AI technology has been garnering attention. In the past, a high-performance cloud server capable of performing complex calculations was required in order to run AI-based apps, but when the neural network used in AI apps runs within the device, many advantages for users emerge. Jihoon Lee, an Engineer at the On-Device Lab at Samsung Research, explains below the role of on-device AI and cooperation with developers.

Q: On-device AI is considered a must for powerful and innovative consumer experiences. What kind of benefits will users enjoy from using it?

The biggest advantage offered by on-device AI is that the privacy of the users is maintained since all processing occurs on-device. Developers, too, will be able to provide services that are that much closer to the users, while also free from privacy concerns. For example, a camera app that harnesses facial recognition will not share sensitive data with a server if the AI is run on-device.

Another advantage is that on-device AI models can be used without an Internet connection or any mobile data consumption. For example, if a certain on-device AI model is required to be on constant low-power standby, the necessity of an Internet connection or data consumption could be a big limitation. With on-device AI, user application experiences are improved since there is no need to send data to a server and wait for results – resulting in reduced response times.

Thirdly, one is able to create custom AI directly on their device. Previously, the concept of personalizing the already-deployed AI firsthand was unexplored, as there was no framework to help train a deep-learning model on-device. Moving forward, we expect that NNTrainer, which we are presenting at SDC21, will play a big role in better recognizing a user’s face, their accent and even their pets to automatically create photo albums based on their furry friends – and more.

Q: In the future, what kind of synergies can be expected in this field through cooperation with the developers present at SDC?

Ultimately, we hope to bring users closer to AI through on-device training and personalization. We look forward to developers who attend SDC21’s sessions recognizing and utilizing NNTrainer in order to provide AI that is closer to users. Following such collaboration, NNTrainer, currently in its initial stages will become an even more mature framework. Since it is being developed as an open source, anyone can search for it and contribute directly.

Developing Watch Apps for Wear OS Powered by Samsung

Won-Hee Seo, a Staff Engineer at the Strategic Partner R&D Group, Mobile Communications Business at Samsung Electronics, below introduces the new developer tools and benefits of creating watch apps for the Wear OS Powered by Samsung platform, running on the Galaxy Watch4 series.

Q: It’s now easier to develop a great watch app for the Wear OS ecosystem. What are some new helpful experiences that will be available to users?

With the Galaxy Watch4 series, the most loved and used watch apps and services have been optimized for the new Wear OS Powered by Samsung platform. In addition to Samsung and Google services and apps such as Google Maps and YouTube Music, users will also have access to their favorite watch apps available for download in the Google Play Store. In particular, health-related apps, including Sleep Cycle, are starting to launch and are growing in popularity.

Many developer partners have started to work with the new tools available for the Wear OS platform, which has led to the release of many useful apps.

Moreover, we have launched Watch Face Studio, a new developer tool that makes it easy to design watch faces. Thanks to this tool, designers and developers will be able to create more watch faces, which provides users with a greater variety of watch faces to choose from, helping them to further personalize their watch with their own tastes.

Q: Throughout this session, you discussed the development of new watch apps with other developers. What was at the center of the discussion?

A total of four watch-related sessions were arranged for SDC21: one Highlight Session and three Tech Talk Sessions. They provide all the necessary information for developers, such as the developer guide, in order to help them more easily create diverse watch apps and services. In order to help stimulate the watch face market, a session was also added to SDC21 to provide a detailed introduction to the Watch Face Studio tool that is set to allow designers and developers to easily design and create faces.

Unveiled earlier this year, Matter is an industry-changing connectivity standard created by more than 180 companies and is transforming the smart home industry. Matter aims to become the de-facto standard in every home, that offers consumers interoperability between devices, flexibility and more choices when purchasing connected home devices. As an initial founding member, SmartThings is one of the most flexible platforms able to work with multiple protocols including, Zigbee, Z-Wave, and now, Matter, enabling consumers with existing smart homes to seamlessly integrate new devices into their homes. In addition, Matter opens a brand new chapter of innovation for developers around the globe, allowing more time to focus on creativity while reducing time spent on replicating efforts across various ecosystems.

“We truly believe that Matter is the foundation and future of IoT, and we are thrilled that Samsung SmartThings will be embedding it into so many products accelerating smart home adoption and bringing users more convenient connected home experiences wherever they are,” said Michelle Mindala-Freeman, Head of Marketing for the Connectivity Standards Alliance.

“Samsung TVs, appliances and Galaxy devices are part of everyday life for millions of people around the world and integrating SmartThings hub functionality into these devices will make it easier for users to experience connected living without additional hardware purchase. On top of that, adding Matter support into the SmartThings platform will only broaden the choices of devices to connect as Matter-enabled devices flood into the market next year,” said Jaeyeon Jung, Corporate Vice President at Samsung Electronics and Head of SmartThings. “Matter will help drive a surge in smart home adoption, and with SmartThings, it will be easier for users to gain smart home experiences with seamless device onboarding, customized automation and a choice of voice assistants. We’re proud to have been leading this standardization initiative since its inception, alongside other industry leaders in an effort to bring the Matter protocol to life.”

Matter-enabled devices will join numerous products and brands already available within SmartThings’ vast ecosystem, including devices from Google, eve Systems, Honeywell Home by Resideo, Linksys, Nanoleaf, Philips Hue, Schlage, Wemo, Yale and more.

Historically, the connected home has been very fragmented and SmartThings has been the glue that connects devices together across brands and platforms. SmartThings’ open platform brings together devices, developers and services to offer one of the largest integrated ecosystems. With hundreds of certified brands and millions of users on the platform, SmartThings facilitates innovations in connected living across multiple use cases.

Samsung will bring Matter to multiple products in 2022 as the new standard becomes available and fully integrates into the SmartThings platform.

For more information about SmartThings, please visit www.smartthings.com.

¹ Matter support available on select models.

About SmartThings
SmartThings is the premier technology enabling connected living and driving the future of IoT. Its open platform already supports thousands of devices across hundreds of brands and offers endless possibilities to innovators and developers seeking seamless connectivity in a vast IoT ecosystem. The company is committed to bringing smart functionality and capabilities everywhere consumers want to be, while enhancing the user experience. There are currently millions of people in more than 200 countries accessing SmartThings technology daily to create automations and control facets of their smart homes via the SmartThings App and through a range of Samsung products such as phones, TVs, and digital appliances. SmartThings offers the most flexible amount of protocols, including the new IoT standard, Matter. Launched in 2012, SmartThings is headquartered in Mountain View, CA and is a founding board member of Connectivity Standards Alliance, an organization of hundreds of companies creating, maintaining, and delivering open, global standards for the IoT. For more information, please visit www.smartthings.com.

At SDC21, the company plans to share its latest updates in software, services and platforms with thousands of developers and creators to enable smarter, more seamless connectivity across devices. The attendees will be able to discover opportunities to create cutting-edge solutions for millions, leveraging Samsung’s expansive ecosystem.

DJ Koh, President and CEO of Samsung Electronics’ IT and Mobile Communications Business Division, will open SDC21 by addressing which direction Samsung’s strategy would head to bring innovation to consumer experience.

The following keynote speakers are lined up to discuss Samsung’s strategies for platforms and ecosystems with topics ranging from security, privacy to various platforms including Bixby, SmartThings and Tizen:

• Daniel Ahn, Senior Vice President, Mobile Platform Center
• Samantha Osborne, Vice President, SmartThings Inc.
• Jeongsook Lee, Vice President, Customer Experience Office
• Yongjae Kim, Senior Vice President, Visual Display Software R&D
• Bill Mandel, Vice President, Visual Solution Lab, Samsung Research America
• Janghyun Yoon, Executive Vice President, Mobile Software R&D

SDC21’s highlight sessions consist of three groups. The first one, Platforms Designed For Connected Experiences will explore Bixby and SmartThings’ cross-device experience and how Samsung plans to make the vision of the future Smart Home a reality.

The second session Innovating Mobile Experience Across Samsung Galaxy Ecosystem will take a look at the One UI 4’s innovations and foldable device design process to help developers optimize their own apps for a growing number of foldable devices.

The third session, The Evolution of Tizen and Innovative Screen Experiences will peer into Samsung’s new Smart TV services and how its ecosystem has enhanced with Tizen 6.5.

Furthermore, developers who want to keep abreast of industry insights and state-of-the-art technology will find Tech Talk sessions from Samsung’s top experts very helpful. For those interested in the latest Samsung technology, it is highly recommended to visit SDC21’s Digital Tech Hub, a digital exhibition of the Samsung technology with easily accessible resources.

Code Lab will offer an opportunity for developers to boost their skills with a hands-on coding experience with sample applications for testing simple scenarios. Developers can even try their codes on cutting-edge devices like Galaxy Z Fold3 and Galaxy Z Filp3 via remote access.

In recognition of content developers for excellence in design, innovation, quality and performance, the winners of the 2021 Best of Galaxy Store Awards will be announced in SDC21.

The developers and even end-customers will have the chance to win a Galaxy Z Flip3 by participating in digital badge collection on the SDC21 website. By watching sessions and participating in Code Lab and Hacker’s Playground as well as social media events like #mySDCstack and securing five or more digital badges, participants will earn the chance to win a Galaxy Z Flip3.

The SDC21 will be broadcast on Samsung Newsroom and the SDC website on October 26, at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time. For more information about the SDC21, please visit https://developer.samsung.com/sdc. Further information can also be found on Twitter (@samsung_dev) and Facebook (@samsungdev) with the hashtag #SDC21.

From the Bixby and the SmartThings SDK (Software Development Kit), One UI, Smart TV services and the Infinity Flex Display, SDC has become known for unveiling innovations that empower developers and creators to build the software and services of tomorrow.

Kicking off on October 26, this year’s SDC will be the first to be held entirely online. Check out the video below for a taste of what Samsung’s cooking up for SDC21. And don’t forget to keep an eye on Samsung Newsroom and the SDC website for more details about the exciting event.