Samsung’s innovative security program Knox secures smart TVs from various threats, ultimately offering consumers a safe and convenient smart home experience. GNUSMAS, the cute blue alien, introduces Samsung Knox as the final piece to complete your ecosystem of connected devices below.

At-Home Life Made Easy With Smart Home Appliances

Household chores can be annoying for anyone — even for a football star like Son. With this in mind, Samsung has optimized its home appliances to make cleaning a breeze, allowing consumers to spend less time tidying and more time relaxing.

Before going on a grocery run or preparing a meal, Samsung’s View Inside¹ feature allows users to plan ahead by checking what’s inside their fridge via the Family Hub screen or remotely through the SmartThings app.² On laundry day, Bespoke AI Washers offer AI Wash Cycle — a smart feature that actively detects load weight, soil level, fabric softness and other factors for perfectly clean clothes every time.³

Additionally, Son demonstrates how easy it is to vacuum with the Bespoke Jet AI, equipped with AI Cleaning Mode that provides powerful, optimized cleaning based on cleaning environments,⁴ floor type, for example.

Smart Energy Savings With AI Energy Mode

As more people prioritize an eco-conscious lifestyle, consumers are seeking new ways to be conscious of their environmental impact and reduce their carbon footprint. Through SmartThings, users like Son can easily reduce their energy consumption and monitor their homes’ energy usage in real time.

AI Energy Mode⁵ in SmartThings Energy is a power-saving feature that maximizes energy efficiency when used with select products and cycles such as the Bespoke AI Washer and Dryer, Bespoke refrigerator and WindFree air conditioner — with up to 70%,⁶ 20%,⁷ 15%⁸ and 20%⁹ energy savings in Europe, respectively.¹⁰

Routines To Match Everyday Life

Users can control their home environments using SmartThings Routines before heading out. With the SmartThings Routines feature, they can preset appliances to be automatically turned on or off during specific times of the day or when certain conditions are met. Son shows how SmartThings switches off the lights and appliances and automatically turns on the Bespoke Jet Bot AI+ robot vacuum cleaner when he leaves to go out.

Check out the video below to view how Samsung’s home appliances and SmartThings help Son enjoy his home.

¹ Only available on certain Family Hub models.
² Available on Android and iOS devices. A Wi-Fi connection and a Samsung account are required.
³ Based on an AI-created algorithm. Actual results may vary depending on individual use.
⁴ The ability to identify different cleaning environments can be affected by environmental conditions.
⁵ Available through the SmartThings app on Android and iOS devices. A Wi-Fi connection and a Samsung account are required.
⁶ Based on internal testing on the WW11BB944AGB model in normal usage conditions. Results: Power consumption without AI Energy Mode = 0.539 KWh. Power consumption with AI Energy Mode = 0.145 KWh. Results may vary depending on the actual usage conditions. Tested with 5kg load on Cotton cycle.
⁷ Based on internal testing using the SuperSpeed course on DV90BB9445GH to dry a 5kg load. Results: Power consumption without AI Energy Mode = 0.9520kWh. Power consumption with AI Energy Mode = 0.7195kWh. Results may vary depending on actual usage conditions.
⁸ Available on specific models from May 2023 through a Wi-Fi update. The test results are based on a comparison of the factory setting temperature when using AI Energy mode and without using AI Energy mode. Results may vary depending on the usage conditions and patterns.
⁹ Requires the use of the SmartThings app and a Samsung account. Actual savings may vary by usage patterns and environment. Savings realized in comparison to AI Auto mode, by adjusting the compressor speed and the target cooling/heating setpoint up to +2°/-2°C. Setpoint adjustment by user will exit the AI Energy mode.
¹⁰ Actual savings may vary depending on the usage patterns and environment.

Q. What motivated you to participate in the Samsung SmartThings campaign?

When the Galaxy Z Flip was first released, I remember being impressed by its design — which led me to buy a Galaxy smartphone right away and switch both my tablet and watch to Galaxy devices. As a Galaxy fan, I love how my Galaxy products are all connected, allowing me to do things like check workout progress or calories burned on my phone or tablet while I’m exercising. Naturally, I was excited when Samsung approached me to participate in this campaign.

Q. What is the best thing about using SmartThings?

SmartThings has become a feature I really need. Once set up, the platform manages everything and gives me time and energy to focus on other stuff. The ability to find compatible products nearby and automatically pair them is so easy to do. It allows me to be much more efficient and productive.

Q. Have you been using SmartThings since the shoot?

Absolutely! I actually recently switched my TV and vacuum cleaner to Samsung’s latest appliances. Since my family is quite serious when it comes to cleaning, I can easily keep track of the areas I last cleaned with SmartThings — helping me keep my place tidy on my days off.

Q. What was your favorite scene in this shoot?

If I had to choose just one feature, my favorite would be the gaming scene since I love playing video games. In the video, once I place my phone on the wireless charger and SmartThings automatically creates the perfect gaming environment. And there’s even lighting synced to the gaming screen via Hue Sync, so I really like to play games.

That’s when you will discover SmartThings takes gaming to another level. If you like playing video games, I strongly recommend using Gaming Mode on SmartThings for an all-new gaming experience.

Q. What are some specific SmartThings features you would like to highlight?

SmartThings helps me reduce energy consumption and control energy usage across all my products in real time. I’m able to view energy usage and maximize energy efficiency with AI Energy Mode to be more conscious about energy saving.

In addition, I like how SmartThings allows me to expand the ways I use my TV. Before the shoot, I only played video games and watched football on my TV. Now, after learning about SmartThings and its functions, I use my TV to control home appliances, chat with friends while watching football and keep track of my workout progress while exercising. I hope more people are able to make use of these innovative features.

Q. Is there anything you want to share about your experience on this campaign?

Through this campaign, I was able to experience how SmartThings can program my home appliances based on my daily routine. SmartThings goes beyond convenience — it delivers a whole new experience.

For those who haven’t experienced SmartThings yet, I encourage you to try it out! I look forward to getting involved with other Samsung campaigns and seeing the future of SmartThings!

Find out more about Son’s smart life by watching the full video below.

A Galaxy brand ambassador since the Unpacked event in July 2023, Son has partnered with Samsung on the new SmartThings campaign. With a focus on Son’s perspective, the campaign focuses particularly on entertainment, health and saving energy, all of which are areas of high interest among customers globally. The video, which showcases Son living an upgraded daily lifestyle in a series of interviews throughout, will be released through Samsung’s global social channels. All the devices in the video are seamlessly connected within the SmartThings ecosystem. The devices included are not only conventional home appliances such as TVs, air conditioners and refrigerators, but also an array of other devices like speakers and lights.

An Energy-Saving Routine, Thanks to SmartThings Energy and SmartThings Routines

Energy conservation is front and center in the video, as it is showcased through the use of key features of the SmartThings app, such as the SmartThings Energy and SmartThings Routines.

SmartThings Energy allows real-time monitoring of energy consumption from various devices like air conditioners, refrigerators, washing machines and TVs. It activates AI Energy Mode¹ before usage reaches higher pricing tiers, which effectively reduces electricity expenses.

With the SmartThings Routines feature, users automatically control household appliances based on specified times and conditions. Son demonstrates this in the campaign video with the “Going Out Routine,” which automatically turns appliances off when he leaves his house. Thanks to this function, Son can pay more attention to other things to do before going out while also reducing unnecessary energy consumption, which leads to a more efficient daily routine.

Harmonize Leisure Time With Music Sync and Hue Sync

Apart from functions that save energy, SmartThings boasts features that enhance leisure time at home. Music Sync² creates a dynamic home atmosphere by synchronizing lighting connected to SmartThings with music played on a Galaxy device. Hue Sync³ performs a similar function but with Samsung smart TVs, offering users an immersive viewing experience as they enjoy their favorite movies, live events or video games, etc.

In the video, Son makes use of these features through adaptive lighting, which sets a relaxed mood for him at home. Also featured is Gaming Mode, which Son uses to immerse himself in his favorite video games by syncing the color and movement of his home lighting with on-screen action.

Monitoring Health With the Galaxy Watch

The Galaxy Watch can provide users with real-time workout data, such as heart rate, calories burned and exercise duration. With SmartThings, Son is able to get the best use out of this feature by simultaneously doing core exercises and watching a football match on TV. While watching the match, he can see the data from his workout on his TV screen.⁴ This innovative integration enables individuals to exercise effectively while watching TV.

Commenting on his participation in the campaign, Son said, “The system operates automatically, which makes the experience very simple. Through SmartThings, I’ve found myself enjoying my time at home more while saving energy. It’s easy!”

“Everyday SmartThings with Son” can be found at Samsung’s official YouTube and Instagram channels.

¹ Available only for models that support AI Energy Mode. Prior to use, SmartThings Energy Service in the SmartThings app needs to be installed.
² Compatible lighting must be purchased separately and connected to the SmartThings app.
³ Compatible lighting must be purchased separately; paid subscription of the Hue Sync app is required through Samsung TV app.
⁴ Available from 2024; availability and the timing of support may vary by country and region.

At CES 2023 in January of this year, Samsung Electronics unveiled SmartThings Station which revolutionized new smart home hubs supporting Matter, the home IoT compatibility standard. This platform promotes expansive connectivity, empowering users to sync smart products irrespective of their manufacturer. SmartThings Station gained media spotlight for dismantling the entry barriers to IoT.

Since 100 days passed since the product’s release, Samsung Newsroom sat down with SmartThings Station developer Eugene Park and product planner Kiyoung Kwon to learn more about the smart home hub’s development.

▲ (From left) SmartThings Station developer Eugene Park and product planner Kiyoung Kwon

What Does Smart Living Look Like?

Imagine coming home after a long day to find your home already working for you. As you enter, the curtains close and the bathroom lights turn on so you can go wash your hands. Your favorite tunes play softly in the background. The air purifier kicks in as you prepare dinner. When you open the windows for ventilation, the air conditioner automatically powers down.

Is It Possible for a Home To Take Care of Your Entire Daily Routine?

This kind of dream home is no longer a fantasy. With SmartThings Station, you can tailor your smart home to your family’s routines. This smart hub not only connects Samsung products: it unifies multiple devices using the latest Matter IoT standards, regardless of manufacturer.

“When developing SmartThings Station, we focused on enabling more users to effortlessly connect various devices, so they can enjoy a smart home experience without entry barriers,” said product planner Kiyoung Kwon.

▲ Users can easily locate their smartphones, even when they’re hiding under a bed, with SmartThings Station.

“Our goal with SmartThings Station was to create a product that would take center stage in your home,” explained Kwon. Most hub products are typically set up in a corner and quickly forgotten about. “Our challenge was to design a product that served not only as a hub but also as a device people want to use,” he added. This goal remained a significant focus for his team throughout the product planning phase.

By adding the well-loved wireless charging feature as well as the Find My Mobile feature, Kwon increased product usability and encouraged users to incorporate the hub as a natural part of their day-to-day routine.

▲ The Smart Button is on the top side of SmartThings Station.

“A lot of thought went into eliminating IoT entry barriers. That’s how the Smart Button came to be,” said developer Eugene Park. “Touch the Smart Button, and it activates the automated routines that are already set up.”

The SmartThings Station development team overcame this hurdle with a “Calm Onboarding” strategy. “We’ve minimized any inconveniences users may encounter by simplifying the onboarding process. In less than three steps, users can register the product on the cloud and control it with a mobile device,” said Kwon. “We’ve also enabled users to activate routines through three different touch methods — tap shortly, tap twice and hold — so that they don’t have to open an app. Since users can activate various hub features while wirelessly charging, they can use the product for multiple purposes.”

What Are the Security Features of SmartThings Station?

According to Park, SmartThings Station demonstrates enhanced security in two aspects: the product key feature equipped in the product itself and the encryption feature for cloud communication data security. “SmartThings Station comes with a unique product key. So, when users connect the product to the cloud, they must go through identity verification to access it,” said Park. “This leads to the crucial part: the cloud communication data security. All data transferred between the cloud and Station is encrypted through the embedded Secure Element (eSE). This secures the data during communication.”

Nearly all home IoT products — big or small, from Samsung or another brand — can be connected to SmartThings Station, thanks to the home IoT compatibility standard called Matter. Samsung is a member of the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA), an organization unifying the different communication languages IoT manufacturers use. After three years of thorough discussions with more than 280 member companies, the protocol standard Matter v1.0 was released.

Matter development began with a focus on letting users install IoT devices irrespective of their manufacturer. Against this backdrop, SmartThings Station became the catalyst for expanding the smart home ecosystem.

“Current IoT users are very happy with the news that SmartThings Station supports Matter,” said Kwon. “To meet consumer needs and improve product usability, we’re considering selling hub products and IoT devices that support Matter as a package.”

How Has the Market Responded to the Release of SmartThings Station?

After more than 100 days since its release, feedback in the market has been extremely positive. “Compared to the quantity of all hub units previously sold by Samsung, we’ve sold four times more SmartThings Station units,” said Kwon.

Recently, Kwon had the opportunity to introduce the product to tech influencers. “The influencers are particularly interested in IoT devices. They expressed high interest in SmartThings Station and gave positive feedback,” he said. “Their reviews had a strong influence on consumers as well.”

SmartThings Station: Simplifying the World of Home IoT for All

The expansion of the smart home ecosystem is just getting started. The SmartThings Station development team considers the 100th day milestone as a new starting point. “SmartThings Station will create more ways to provide convenience at home,” said Park and Kwon.

“We plan on providing continuous software updates for SmartThings Station, and we’ll deliver satisfying improvements each time,” said the SmartThings Station team.

“I really appreciate the positive feedback our users shared with us,” said Kwon. “The launch of SmartThings Station is just the starting point in making smart home ecosystems mainstream. Our next goal is to develop and present various IoT products that meet the Matter standard so that users can fully utilize their smart home hub.”

Samsung, among other global companies, envisions a world where more users can enjoy the convenience of an unfettered home IoT experience. Stay tuned to Samsung Newsroom to see what’s next for SmartThings Station and the development team.

Samsung Electronics’ SmartThings uses Internet of Things (IoT) technology to connect your mobile devices and home appliances all in one convenient place. With SmartThings, you can transform your home into a connected space, allowing you to track the status and manage your devices with ease.

Building on Samsung’s vision for “Calm Technology,” SmartThings reflects the innovations that seamlessly link your smart devices together and enhance your daily life at home. Check out the infographic below to explore how SmartThings can enrich every aspect of our daily lives.

As the smart home market continues to grow, users need simple, interoperable and dependable ways to connect a more significant number of devices. SmartThings Station offers quick setup and compatibility with a range of smart home products, including Matter devices, with the simplicity that users expect from Samsung. With SmartThings Station, users can automate different aspects of their home environment, setting routines that add convenience to their day and help to reduce energy waste such as switching off lights and appliances easily.

“Having a smarter home shouldn’t be complicated or expensive. So we wanted to create SmartThings Station as a simple, reliable and expandable smart home hub,” said Jaeyeon Jung, Executive Vice President and Head of SmartThings, Device Platform Center at Samsung Electronics. “The number of devices in a connected home continues to grow, especially in light of the recent Matter standard launch. We’re proud to play a role in making it easier to embrace this exciting technology.”

A Smarter Home With Minimal Effort

Samsung’s SmartThings Station is easy to set up. When a user powers the device on for the first time, pop-up messages will appear on a user’s Samsung Galaxy smartphone to help guide users through the connection process smoothly.² Users may also choose the option to efficiently onboard devices with a simple scan of a QR code³ with a smartphone camera.

Intuitively Adapts to Users’ Daily Routines

A smart home hub helps multiple devices, including thermostats, lighting and power outlets, seamlessly interconnect with other devices connected to the smart home server so they all work together to create a harmonized environment. SmartThings Station makes it easy to automate pre-set routines created via the SmartThings mobile app without requiring users to control individual devices manually.

With a press of the Smart Button on the SmartThings Station, users can activate a routine created on their SmartThings app. For example, when it’s time for bed, a quick tap could trigger a routine for sleep — which could turn off the lights, close the blinds and lower the temperature. Or, if a movie night is on the cards, a movie routine could turn on the TV and dim the lights. When leaving home, the SmartThings Station can turn off power outlets and unused appliances to save energy and activate a security system. Users might also want a gaming routine, which could activate specific TV and lighting settings and turn on “Do not Disturb” mode.

Consumers can trigger up to three different routines just by pressing the Smart Button, with short press, long press or double press activations. Routines can also be activated via the SmartThings app whether people are at home or away.

Find and Manage Your Devices Around Home More Accurately

SmartThings Station is also integrated with Samsung’s SmartThings Find, a rapidly growing asset tracking service. It helps users to find misplaced devices — double pressing the Smart Button can ring your nearby phone, making it easier to find.⁴

Serving as an always-at-home device scanner, SmartThings Station helps Samsung Galaxy users to keep track of the locations of their registered devices — from smartphones, tablets, watches and earbuds to personal belongings such as keys or a wallet that have a Galaxy SmartTag or SmartTag+⁵ device attached. By routinely scanning for devices, SmartThings Station will tell users the location of connected smart devices or tags around the home and share an alert on the user’s smartphone when a tag or device leaves or returns home.⁶

A Fast Charging Pad That Fits Perfectly in a Smart Home

SmartThings Station is also a powerful charging pad supporting up to 15W wireless charging.⁷ Fast charging is an ingenious addition to a smart home hub because it works so well with the rhythms of life. Users can choose to receive an alert when charging is completed so they can pick up play where they have left off or switch to charge another device.

Availability

SmartThings Station will launch in the U.S. and Korea. The device will be available in black or white from early February 2023 in the U.S. market.

¹ Up to 15W wireless charging is available for devices that support 15W. Actual charging speeds may vary by device and depending on usage charging conditions and other factors.

² Available on Samsung Galaxy Smartphones with SmartThings app installed.

³ Only for Matter devices with a QR code.

⁴ Requires turning on the feature on the SmartThings app. Users also can turn off the feature or replace it with other routines or trigger both simultaneously.

⁵ Galaxy SmartTag/SmartTag+ sold separately.

⁶ Requires set-up on the SmartThings app.

⁷ Wireless charger requires power connection.

SmartThings Station makes it easy for users to automate their smart home environment¹ offering compatibility with a wide range of smart home products.² You can also keep track of your devices with SmartThings Station. Misplaced your smartphone? Just double press the Smart Button to trigger a pre-set activation to have your phone ring nearby. SmartThings Station also acts as a powerful fast charging pad with up to 15W wireless charging.

To learn more about SmartThings Station and how it can help you make the most of your smart home ecosystem, take a look at the infographic below.

¹ Pre-setting is required for features in advance via the SmartThings app.
² Compatible devices only such as certified Zigbee or Matter devices.

“When Samsung launched Bixby nearly five years ago, we committed to continue improving this intelligent platform with new technologies and key partners that enable more experiences,” said Young Jip Kim, EVP and Head of the Artificial Intelligence Team at the Mobile eXperience Business, Samsung Electronics. “We are proud to bring Bixby to the millions of people who speak Latin American Spanish, joining the more than 200 million¹ people already using Bixby from nearly 400 million² devices worldwide.”

Benefits of Bixby, Now Available in Latin American Spanish

Bixby is a powerful, intelligent voice assistant that helps Samsung Galaxy users navigate their devices and organize their lives, just like a real-world personal assistant. It can help launch apps and settings, remember appointments and tasks and generally reduce everyday hassles. Bixby can even communicate with others by answering calls, composing messages and more.

Intelligence depends on the ability to understand and engage with commands, regardless of phrasing. Until now, South and Latin American users had to use European Spanish with Bixby. The new support for Latin American Spanish will let them use local dialects, accents and nuances for more natural interactions with their device.

Latin American Spanish support means even more Samsung Galaxy users can now rely on Bixby’s intelligence and convenience, particularly in the United States, the second largest Spanish-speaking country and the region with the most Bixby users.

What Is Next for Bixby

Bixby has grown immensely in the past few years, as registered users more than doubled, surpassing 200 million in 2022.

At the recent Samsung Developer Conference 2022 in San Francisco, Samsung outlined other recent developments, including new Smart Home features. As users expand their connected ecosystems, Bixby’s voice control and seamless integration with devices will play an important role in monitoring and managing every room of the home.

Latin American Spanish for Bixby is available today for select Samsung Galaxy models including the Galaxy S22, Galaxy S21, Galaxy Z Flip4 and Galaxy Z Fold4 after going through a software update. Support for additional devices will roll out soon, including Galaxy S20 and Z Flip3 in December, with further expansion planned for early 2023.

¹ Based on our number of Bixby-enabled users during October 2022.
² Based on our number of Bixby-enabled Samsung devices across mobile, TV and home appliances.

In this second article, we’re exploring how SmartThings has been enhanced to become a built-in feature of your Samsung Smart TV and Smart Monitor,¹ so read on to learn more about how the 2022 lineup lets you take total control of your devices and your smart home — right from your sofa.

SmartThings, Opening Up an Era of the Smart Home Previously Only Dreamed of

As the devices we use at home have become more diverse, so, too, have the methods necessary to connect them. From Cloud to Cloud (C2C) connectivity, wireless (WiFi) connections and the Zigbee method, a variety of different systems available for us to control our homes with have emerged — a diversity that resulted in it taking a while for Internet-of-Things (IoT) to be cohesively applied within the home.

Previously, you would need a separate device, or hub, to act as a connecting bridge for these devices, ultimately impacting accessibility. Therefore, in order to help mitigate this inconvenience, Samsung, for the very first time in 2022, has integrated a built-in SmartThings Hub directly into the 2022 screen lineup, providing reduced latency and total control for more immediate smart home control experiences.

The Samsung Home IoT Hub — your SmartThings hub — is now built directly into your TV or Smart monitor, making it possible to easily connect, monitor and control all the connected devices in your house, all without a separate hub device.² This advancement is the first step towards Samsung’s fully-realized home IoT ecosystem.³

This innovative SmartThings Hub is not only compatible with hundreds of millions of devices, but has also been further expanded thanks to the introduction of an all-new interoperability standard. As the premier technology enabling connected living and driving the future of IoT, SmartThings recently announced the addition of a new smart home interoperability standard named Matter,⁴ which has been developed by Apple, Google, Amazon and others and allows for users to control Matter-enabled devices using their Samsung products.

With these innovative advancements in your SmartThings home control system, you are set to enjoy the utmost convenience with your 2022 screen — like never before.

Anywhere, Anytime and as You Wish With the 2022 SmartThings Hub

Thanks to the fully-integrated SmartThings Hub, your 2022 screen is a central hub from which you can conveniently control the smart devices you have around your home.

To make the smart home experience more enhanced than ever before, Samsung made sure to develop SmartThings Hub to be the most streamlined platform it could be for ultimate user convenience. Along with the greater screen real estate available on your 2022 screen for monitoring, making the process easier on the eyes, SmartThings Hub features an intuitive Map View interface that not only shows all your devices and their current status, but also where they are located in your home.

1. Map View: Locate IoT Devices in Your Home at a Glance

When you launch your TV or smart monitor for the first time, ‘rooms’ can be created automatically for you based on the location of your connected devices through SmartThings, and this will be displayed on-screen for you in Map View. If you want to further customize the layout of your devices, you can use your remote control to change the location of the device within the interface to match your actual room layout, and if you have the SmartThings mobile app, you can easily add rooms or change its location using Touch & Drag. You can even change room shapes to be polygons, if desired.

Say you’re settling down to relax in the living room with a good film after a long day, but suddenly realize you’re not sure if the lights are on or off in the garage, simply pull up SmartThings Hub’s Map View on your smart TV or monitor. Now, you can check and manage the status of your smart devices and then click back into your film for a truly hassle-free end to your night.

2. Voice Control: Manage All Your Devices With a Single Word

As well as streamlining the smart home management experiences that SmartThings brings to users, you can also enjoy smart experiences that may have previously seemed impossible with SmartThings on your 2022 Samsung screen.

For example, the always-on Voice Control capability provides you with next-level connectivity and control over your devices, no matter what you are doing and whether your screen is on or off. Thanks to Bixby, Samsung’s AI voice assistant, you can verbally switch your lights on or off or control a connected device, even while in the middle of a movie, just by saying ‘Hi Bixby’ to your screen.

3. Smart Doorbell: Check Out the Front Doorstep While Watching TV

Furthermore, the Smart Doorbell feature lets your smart home control radius expand as far as your front doorstep. Even if content is playing on your 2022 Samsung screen, a notification will appear on-screen when someone rings your doorbell, allowing you to see right through to who is waiting at the front door and even talk to them directly from your screen.⁵

With such convenience-first capabilities, the future of the truly connected smart home, something that Samsung has been working diligently towards, is getting closer and closer each day.

The Hub of Smart Home Life: Your 2022 Smart Screen

Although smart homes have been around for quite some time, the process of building a smart home ecosystem that allows all kinds of IoT devices to interoperate is still underway. Samsung intends to develop a smart home that is optimized for your in-home activities and that lets anyone easily build their own connected home, making it easy to harness the power of IoT for device control anywhere in the house — using just your screen.

The first step of this next-generation smart home ecosystem has been taken with the 2022 Samsung screen lineup. With your Neo QLED 8K or Smart Monitor M8, you can now enjoy easy and convenient control of all your smart home devices directly on-screen thanks to the all-new SmartThings Hub. Take a look at the video below to learn more.

Be sure to stay tuned for the final article in this series where we will be diving into even more smart features offered by the 2022 screen lineup, including those capabilities that let you manage your aesthetic and even your workouts more intelligently — directly from your screen.

¹ Models that support the SmartThings Hub include: QN900B/QN800B/QN700B/QN95B/S95B/QN90B/QN85B/Q80B/Q70B/Q60B/BU8/The Serif/The Frame/The Sero/Smart Monitor(M50B and above), released in 2022.

² Make sure to log in to the same Samsung account on your TV or monitor and your mobile SmartThings app.

³ To use products with Zigbee protocol, you must purchase a SmartThings Dongle (VG-STDB10A) separately.

⁴ Samsung also joined over 200 global companies in support of MATTER, a new standard for simplifying smart homes.

⁵ Ring Doorbell is currently the only solution supporting the 2-way talk function. It is set to be available on more solutions soon.

Our homes are where our daily lives take place. In a home, we prepare meals, relax and unwind, take care of our pets and family and create memories. Now, thanks to innovations in technology, consumers can transform a house into a connected space that adapts to and enhances their unique lifestyles. At a time when turning a house into a home is more valued than ever, Samsung Electronics’ SmartThings Home Life provides an all-in-one service to help users live easier and more comfortable everyday lives.

A Connected Home System

SmartThings Home Life delivers smarter and more seamless experiences across various home appliances, such as TVs, refrigerators, washing machines and air conditioners, by connecting them in a single platform. Simply by talking to Bixby, users can operate all of their home appliances in a way that’s easier than ever before. For instance, automating your everyday tasks is quick and convenient in the SmartThings app. By setting these tasks as Routines in the app, you can eliminate the hassle of repeating these daily tasks yourself, such as manually adjusting the settings for loads of laundry or turning on the air purifier every time you open a window. Now, you can experience a better, smarter way to live each day with the SmartThings Home Life’s customized home service, tailored just for you. Read on to learn more about how SmartThings Home Life elevates any situation in your daily life to be smarter, safer and more convenient.

Indulge in a Delicious Dinner for One

After a long week at the office, I decided to pick up some beef tenderloin for myself on my way home. When I return home, I’m unsure of what I want to cook, so I say, “Hi Bixby, find me some recipes with beef tenderloin.” After hearing a few options, I choose the recipe that sounds the most appetizing and begin cooking right away. According to Bixby, the key to this dish is properly roasting the meat. I use the Sensor Cook to sear the tenderloin to medium. The kitchen hood turns on automatically as soon as I start using the induction, so I continue to cook without worrying about any lingering odors in the house. I know I’m not the most talented chef, but I feel great about cooking a perfectly seared steak.

Before I start eating, I open the window to feel the spring breeze. As I plate my meal, SmartThings Cooking recommends me a wine that complements the steak, and the air purifier turns on after analyzing the air coming through the window. After taking pictures of my first successfully cooked meal, I take a sip of wine. It feels as if the fatigue from an exhausting week just melts away.

□ SmartThings Cooking

SmartThings Cooking is a service that helps any user easily prepare meals like a professional chef. Thanks to an interactive cooking guide that reads out recipes and sends instructions to kitchen appliances, users can solely focus on cooking without the need to dig through recipe books while handling food. Going even further for convenience, users can enjoy high-quality cuisine by simply scanning the bar code on a meal kit. SmartThings Cooking will help users prepare their meals through connected kitchen appliances. In addition, by scanning the labels on meat packages, SmartThings Cooking can recommend different recipes and tips on storage methods. Users can also scan wine labels to save them to a wine list, keep track of their inventory and get recipe recommendations that pair well with each wine.

□ SmartThings Air Care

SmartThings Air Care is a service that provides a complete air care solution using your home appliances, such as air conditioners and air purifiers. You can breathe easy with the Air Quality Keeper, which monitors and controls the air quality in your home automatically. The app also recommends air purification methods to maintain healthy indoor air quality based on current conditions. Whether you’re relaxing in the living room on a dusty day or preparing a feast in the kitchen, users can always have fresh, breathable air without ever opening a window or pressing a button.

Take Care of Your Pet From a Distance

These days, due to an important project at work, I haven’t always been able to make it home on time. I’m worried about my pet, Max, who has been spending more time alone at home. Thankfully, whenever I miss him, I open the SmartThings app to check on him. In the past, the app alerted me that Max frequently barked while alone, but these alerts have decreased after he went through training sessions with the vet. I’m proud of him for doing so well by himself at home. I turn on the lights and TV with the app in the evening so Max doesn’t feel lonely. It looks like I’ll be working overtime again today, so I fill up Max’s dinner in his bowl through a feeder in advance.

Suddenly, a SmartThings Home Care notification pops up from my parents’ house. I turn on my parent’s Jet Bot AI camera to look around, discovering that my mom tripped on the kitchen floor. I immediately call her, and she says that she cried out for help when she fell and couldn’t get up afterward. Thankfully, she says that she wasn’t hurt. This weekend, I will definitely take some time to visit her with Max.

□ SmartThings Pet Care

SmartThings Pet Care creates a customized environment for any pet using your connected home devices. For instance, your air conditioner can be set to an optimal temperature depending on your pet’s breed, and your air purifier can effectively clean your pet’s fur from the air. Users can also turn on the TV or some music to keep your pets company while they are alone at home, creating a stable and safe environment for the pet no matter where the owner is. In addition, users can receive notifications when their pets bark or review the notification history to identify any possible signs of separation anxiety.

□ SmartThings Home Care

SmartThings Home Care’s Family Care service provides a sense of security for any home. For instance, when the Jet Bot AI detects a family member shouting, “Hi Bixby, please help,” it immediately sends an alert to the other family members. Users can then search all over the house using the camera on the robot vacuum cleaner or contact another family member to help handle the situation. With safety at its core, SmartThings Home Care’s Family Care service can help alleviate concerns about leaving any family members alone in the house.

Keep Your Golf Clothes Lasting Longer

I like to spend all of my Sundays playing golf with my friends. After playing a round, I always come home and store my brand-new golf shoes in the ShoeDresser to keep them nice and clean. The shoes are comfortable, so I want to keep them in good condition and wear them the next time I play 18 holes. After putting away my shoes, I go to the dressing room and put my golf wear in the AirDresser. SmartThings Clothing Care recommends a wash cycle perfect for the fabric of my golf shirts and pants. I save this cycle as ‘My Golf Care’. From there, I use the time I saved to organize the rest of my gear. I always feel recharged after spending the weekend playing golf, and it gives me full energy to start another week.

□ SmartThings Clothing Care

SmartThings Clothing Care is a service that makes properly caring for clothes fun and easy. The service learns your specific habits based on the time, day and weather. From there, SmartThings Clothing Care suggests appropriate clothing care tips for the washer, dryer, AirDresser and ShoeDresser suitable for your clothes and shoes. This service provides holistic, integrated care for your wardrobe, depending on each piece’s use or purpose. Often, properly caring for clothes is a difficult task. By saving and naming these clothing recommendations as an automated course in the SmartThings app, you can ensure your clothing lasts without remembering all the fine details. Going beyond quality care, you can also manage your clothes like a pro using the recommendations provided to maximize the synergy of your clothing care appliances.

Celebrate Spring With a Deep Clean

As the weather gets warmer, I always bring in the new season with some spring cleaning. I start by planting some flowers and washing my winter blankets. A couple of days ago, the SmartThings app notified me to replace my air purifier filters. The filters arrived just in time, so I replace them right away. I feel very productive, as I’ve knocked out an important task on my spring cleaning checklist. Then, I vacuum away the dust in every corner of my house. I celebrate a job well done by lying on my sofa with a glass of cool water, feeling fully refreshed. I look forward to the upcoming spring season.

□ SmartThings Home Care

SmartThings Home Care is a service that not only keeps tabs on all of your Samsung home appliances, but also responds to and helps prevent problems by predicting them in advance. For instance, the app sends you an early freeze risk alert when the weather becomes rapidly cold. It also offers a defrost guide and recommends you to use your air conditioner’s diagnostic functions as the weather warms up. Additionally, the service checks the status of any replaceable components in real time, sending you a notification when a replacement is required and streamlining your process to purchase a replacement. With SmartThings Home Care’s friendly chatbot service and its step-by-step response guide, users can troubleshoot home appliance issues independently without relying on a repairman for simple tasks.

Save Energy Today for a Better Tomorrow

I’m very passionate about saving the environment — I carry a tumbler instead of a disposable cup, I use an eco-bag to avoid plastic bags and I eat a vegan diet. Recently, I’ve been exploring other ways to reduce my carbon footprint, so I have been looking into managing the energy consumption of my home appliances. With SmartThings Energy, I can check how much energy each device uses, control its energy consumption and receive tips on reducing energy usage for my most used devices. The best part is the AI Saving Mode, which automatically switches my devices to Energy Saving Mode before they reach a preset usage target. I hope my efforts, whether big or small, can help build a sustainable future.

□ SmartThings Energy

SmartThings Energy allows users to take control of their energy consumption by providing real-time, detailed and accurate information on where and how energy is used within their home. The service measures energy levels in kilowatt-hours and cost over time, so any user can easily understand how much energy a device uses. The app also offers specific tips on reducing energy usage and encourages users to integrate eco-conscious activities into their day-to-day lives. Additionally, turning on AI Saving Mode helps reduce your energy usage by automatically switching your devices to Energy Saving Mode once they reach a certain energy use.

* The images shown are for illustration purposes only and may differ from the actual product. Product specifications may vary by country, region and model.

Consumers are more willing than ever to embrace connected experiences within their homes, resulting in explosive growth and mass industry adoption. According to the “2021 Connectivity and Mobile Trends Survey”¹ issued by Deloitte, U.S. households own an average of 25 connected devices, and consumers are increasingly prioritizing ease-of-use, interoperability and cost savings when making a purchase decision.

“Historically, consumers relied on dedicated hubs to connect each of their devices,” said Mark Benson, Head of Product and Engineering at Samsung SmartThings. “By integrating SmartThings Hub technology into select Samsung products, we are eliminating a barrier to entry and streamlining the entire process to enable consumers to create the connected home of their dreams.”

With billions of devices already compatible with SmartThings’ rich ecosystem of partnerships, along with future support for the groundbreaking smart home interoperability standard, Matter, SmartThings is at the center of creating a unified connected home experience.

The integration of the SmartThings Hub empowers users to get the most out of their Samsung devices by leveraging various smart home communication protocols. In addition to Matter, the built-in software will support connection over Wi-Fi or Ethernet, which will enable communication among a wide range of smart devices. Additional connectivity to Zigbee devices will also be possible through an optional USB accessory.

“SmartThings’ mission has always been to create experiences that can make people’s lives better. To bring this mission to life, we have doubled down on enhancing SmartThings technology and this is the next step in Samsung’s vision to make all homes connected,” said Jaeyeon Jung, Vice President at Samsung Electronics and Head of SmartThings. “With the breadth of the Samsung portfolio and the open, versatile and flexible platform offered by SmartThings, we are uniquely positioned to deliver on the increasing demand for connected home devices that has been building since the start of the pandemic.”

SmartThings Hub capabilities will be available in select Samsung products throughout 2022. For more information about SmartThings, please visit www.smartthings.com.

For more information, including images and videos of the products Samsung is announcing at CES 2022, please visit news.samsung.com/global/ces-2022.

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.

¹ https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/industry/telecommunications/connectivity-mobile-trends-survey.html

Make Any Home a Smart Home

The Galaxy Upcycling at Home program provides enhanced sound and light-control features, by repurposing built-in sensors. Users can transform their old devices through SmartThings Labs, a feature within the SmartThings app.

• Using an improved artificial intelligence (AI) solution, Galaxy devices can more accurately distinguish sounds in everyday surroundings, and users can choose to save certain sound recordings. For example, if the device detects sounds such as a baby crying, dog barking, cat meowing, or a knock, it will send an alert directly to the user’s smartphone and the user can listen to the recorded sound.
• Devices can also be used as a light sensor to measure the brightness level of the room. Users can easily set the device to automatically turn on the lights or the TV through SmartThings if the room becomes darker than the preset standard of light.

For a device to continuously detect sound and light, it needs to be actively operating for long periods of time. For this reason, Samsung equipped the Galaxy Upcycling at Home upgrade with battery optimization solutions to minimize battery usage. Devices will also be able to connect effortlessly to SmartThings, allowing them to interact with countless other IoT devices in the SmartThings ecosystem.

“Smart home devices are a fast-growing trend for consumer electronics, and we believe that Galaxy devices currently not in use can play an important role in turning every home into a smart home,” said Jaeyeon Jung, VP & Head of the SmartThings team, Mobile Communications Business at Samsung Electronics. “The program transforms Galaxy devices into SmartThings devices and demonstrates the power of our intelligent IoT platform to broaden the possibilities of what users can do with their old phones. Through Galaxy Upcycling at Home, users will have access to the complete SmartThings ecosystem, enabling them to explore broader updates and features without having to purchase a new device.”

Shaping a Sustainable Future With Repurposed Technology

“We created Galaxy Upcycling at Home to enable more people to repurpose their old devices into useful tools, allowing both Samsung and our users to be mindful of the impact we have on the environment,” said Sung-Koo Kim, VP of the Sustainability Management Office, Mobile Communications Business at Samsung Electronics. “We are rethinking how we use existing resources, and we believe the key to upcycling is to enable solutions that transform old technology into something new by adding value. We are committed to integrating sustainable practices into our day-to-day lives, and through Galaxy Upcycling at Home, users can join our journey toward a more sustainable future.”

This innovative solution is part of Samsung’s continued commitment to support the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, a global blueprint for the world to achieve a more sustainable and prosperous future for all by 2030 through 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Galaxy Upcycling at Home specifically focuses on Goal 12 – Responsible Consumption and Production – by reducing waste and promoting more sustainable production practices and consumer behaviors.

Today, Galaxy Upcycling at Home provides a wide array of new solutions that help make everyday life a little easier while promoting more sustainable habits that benefit the planet. By offering consumers a way to upcycle their products with new features and alternative purposes, Samsung is helping to extend the lifecycle of its products while diverting its users from contributing to global e-waste.

Samsung is building environmental sustainability into everything we do. This includes taking dedicated action across every stage of the product lifecycle to help the world transition to a circular economy that makes greater use of sustainable materials, extends product longevity and reuses resources. Through programs like Galaxy Upcycling, Samsung intends to deliver innovative technologies that reshape consumer experiences while empowering them to play a part in sustainable practices.

¹ Availability may vary by carrier.

² Galaxy Upcycling at Home feature is available on all S, Note, and Z series released from 2018 (S9, Note9 or later) running Android 9 and above. More devices will be supported in the future.

To help you catch up with these and other exciting updates from San Jose, here’s a handy list of the top themes on display at SDC19.

Held at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center in sunny California, this year’s Samsung Developer Conference is a showcase of the hottest topics in tech.

Expanding the Bixby and SmartThings Ecosystems

This year at SDC, Samsung is showcasing strides it’s made to integrate Bixby into a wide range of devices. The company is also introducing enhancements that will make it easier for developers to enrich Bixby and the SmartThings IoT platform with useful services, and in doing so, create more ways for users to infuse intelligence into everything they do.

Outlining Samsung’s efforts to offer developers more ways to work with Bixby, Eui-Suk Chung, EVP, Mobile Communications Business, Samsung Electronics, discusses the AI platform’s expansion. “In 2019, we made it even easier to use Bixby,” Chung explains. “We added new capabilities not only on our flagship devices, but also on most of our A-series devices, on more Galaxy tablets and watches, TVs and home appliances. Just to give you countless new ways to integrate intelligence into everything you do.”

Samsung demonstrates how enhancements to the Bixby Developer Studio, including new Bixby Templates and Bixby Views, will streamline the development of capsules that work across Bixby’s ever-growing ecosystem of devices.

In addition to unveiling a new Rules API that will spur the creation of more automated smart home experiences, Samsung introduced a SmartThings Device SDK beta program – set to launch early next year – that will help third-party manufacturers build SmartThings-supported devices.

New Devices and Experiences

Those visiting SDC19 are treated to first looks at some of the latest and greatest products of Samsung’s innovation. Spanning categories like mobile devices, UX design and more, the devices and experiences showcased at the conference hold the power to transform the way people live, work and connect.

The launch of Samsung’s Galaxy Fold established a brand-new product category – one that opens the door to a new era of mobile experiences. To help realize its vision of a foldable future, Samsung is demonstrating its commitment to developing a variety of foldable form factors at SDC19. Enriching the category with more options will help Samsung and developers explore new use cases and user experiences.

Also on display at SDC is the new, Bixby-enabled Galaxy Home Mini, which fosters continuous IoT experiences when managing connected devices, and offers powerful pound-for-pound audio quality.

Seeing is believing: An SDC attendee examines how Samsung’s AI ScaleNet technology makes it possible to stream high-quality 8K videos on networks with lower bandwidth capabilities.

Peeks at Cutting-edge Blockchain and Enterprise Solutions

SDC19 offers partners and developers a chance to learn more about one of the hottest trends in technology today: blockchain. Speakers and sessions discuss how enterprises and developers can utilize Samsung’s latest blockchain-powered services to capitalize on the technology’s incredible potential.

The conference also offers attendees an opportunity to see how Samsung is leveraging its years of experience leading innovation in a variety of industries – ranging from retail and manufacturing to transportation and healthcare – to provide enterprises with customized services tailored to their needs.

Seungyun Lee, Principal Engineer, Knox Platform for Enterprise, Samsung Electronics, discusses Samsung’s commitment to advancing blockchain technology – a commitment that’s seen the company produce one of the first smartphones with blockchain technology built-in, and streamline data and cryptocurrency management with the launches of the Samsung Blockchain Keystore and the new Samsung Blockchain Platform SDK. “Together,” Lee explains, “all of these innovations mark a new beginning for the blockchain ecosystem – with Samsung at the forefront.”

SDC attendees eagerly explore the various blockchain innovations being displayed at SDC19. Included among these is the new Samsung Blockchain Platform SDK, which opens up exciting opportunities for developers by 1) offering them more options for securely storing private keys, 2) supporting cryptocurrency transactions, and 3) enabling apps to be smoothly integrated into a mobile space.

Samsung’s SDC19 booth also includes exhibits that illustrate why enterprises in a variety of fields – including industries known to employ the strictest security standards – trust Samsung to help them customize solutions.

But Wait, There’s More!

At the end of the day, SDC is about inspiring people to pursue meaningful innovation. Which is why those visiting the conference are also exposed to projects and initiatives that are making a tangible difference in the world, like the Samsung Global Goals app.

Created to support the achievement of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, the educational and donation-based mobile app offers a simple way for the Galaxy community to support the causes they care about. To help maximize the app’s impact, Samsung has announced that it will match proceeds generated through the app and donate the same amount.¹

That’s all for now, but there’s plenty more to come as SDC19 enters its second day. For more information on the topics and innovations being discussed at the event, be sure to check out Samsung Newsroom’s ongoing coverage. And don’t forget to check back here for more updates on Samsung’s latest AI, IoT and developer innovations.

¹Samsung has pledged to match donations with ad proceeds generated through the Global Goals app; up to $5 million annually.

Samsung Electronics, today unveils plans to leverage its industry-leading air conditioning solutions at Mostra Convego Expocomfort 2018 (MCE) in Milan, Italy from March 13 to 16 to strengthen its position in the European HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) market.

The biennially-held MCE is the largest HVAC exhibition in the world, drawing over 2,000 exhibitors and 160,000 visitors from around the world to showcase the latest industry technologies. At the expo, Samsung plans on continuing to promote its revolutionary and unique Wind-Free technology in Europe and will exhibit the full lineup of Wind-Free air conditioner units for both residential and commercial use, including the 1-Way and 4-Way units.

“Samsung is firmly positioning itself as an industry-leader in the global B2B market with our innovative products and exceptional technology,” said Charles H. Park, Vice President of Digital Appliance Business at Samsung Electronics. “We expect to leverage our expertise with HVAC technologies further in the European market with our acclaimed Wind-Free technology and IoT capabilities.”

The Wind-Free technology is one of the most outstanding innovations featured. After reaching the desired temperature with Fast Cooling mode, it then maintains the ideal temperature without any direct wind by gently dispersing cool and still air through micro air holes for a natural cooling effect through Wind-Free technology.

Samsung is also introducing both residential and commercial air conditioners that contain R32, an environmentally-friendly refrigerant alternative, to keep in line with the strengthened environmental regulations in Europe. When compared with the standard R410A refrigerant, R32 has only one-third of its global warming potential (GWP) and is characterized by its high-efficiency even in lower quantities.

Samsung is also displaying customized air conditioning solutions for specific environments at the exhibit by dividing the booth into specific zones: Residence, Office Building, Hotel, and Retail. Various B2B customers will have the chance to see the b.IoT server, Samsung’s unique integrated building management solution, as well as a SmartThings-based smart home that demonstrate Samsung’s vision of connected living.

Samsung also showcased a variety of air conditioning products such as the energy-efficient 360 Cassette, the circular air conditioner that provides even cooling with minimized direct wind. In addition, the small-capacity DVM S Eco HR, which can simultaneously operate cooling and heating in homes or small commercial spaces, will also be on display.

At the Samsung booth, visitors will be able to test the Wind-Free technology firsthand in the Wind-Free experience zone.

Pushing Limits

For those who have wondered what it feels like to compete in the Olympic Winter Games, the combination of the acrobatic simulator and Galaxy Note8 paired with Gear VR will immerse them in the most thrilling winter sports experience – without ever having to go outside.

The giant Winter Ride, which is only one of the six VR experiences visitors can try, features dozens of rotating chairs that simulate the motions of charging down an alpine slope.

Visitors can also climb onto a specially-designed VR bobsled to navigate the twists and turns of a skeleton course at breakneck speed through the Galaxy Note8 paired with Gear VR headset and 4D motion chairs.

For those who would like to try defying the laws of physics, the snowboard VR ride might just do the trick.

Just like competing in the Olympic Winter Games, the winter sports simulators give sports fans a rush of adrenaline. But that’s only the beginning – the VR rides at the showcase can take visitors out of this world when experienced through the Galaxy Note8 paired with Gear VR.

After exploring the final frontier, why not try going back in time to see the prehistoric world from the point of view of a dinosaur at Flying Dino?

Put on a spacesuit and get ready to head out into the universe. Mission to Space gives visitors the opportunity to feel what it’s like to float on the moon.

And for the grand finale of the showcase’s VR experiences, hop onto the Gyro VR and speed off into another dimension.

A Vision for the Future

Olympians inspire people from all over the world to aim higher, and in that spirit of optimism, Samsung hopes to inspire a better future by developing meaningful technology that helps make life easier.

The Showcase gives visitors a glimpse of what that future could look like. The Smart Home exhibition shows precisely how smartphone technology can enrich our lives and help us achieve more. Packed with demonstrations by experts in different areas, the exhibition shows that having an AI assistant at home is no longer the stuff of science fiction.

Whether it’s cooking, cleaning or relaxing, Samsung envisions a future in which all this can be done with the help of smartphones and other smart devices.

Play Like Nobody’s Watching

Creativity is a critical part of the Olympic Games atmosphere. Whether it’s an athlete’s signature move or the special signs made by fans to cheer on their favorite team, creative expression is everywhere at the Olympic Games.

To generate excitement fit for this global event, Samsung’s showcase offers fans at PyeongChang 2018 the opportunity to rediscover their inner child and unleash their imaginations through the latest technology.

One of the Showcase’s highlights is Infinity Moment – a room that transforms artwork created by visitors with a Galaxy Note8 and S Pen into a mind-bending experience. Just remember to have a camera ready: It’s a selfie moment no one should miss.

Samsung’s Olympic Showcase is perfect for people of all ages. Young Olympic Games fans can head over to the Kids’ Lounge where they can learn how to program robots and draw without constraints on Galaxy devices.

The Samsung Olympic Showcase @ Gangneung is open until the end of the Olympic Winter Games  PyeongChang 2018 and for the duration of the Paralympic Winter Games from March 9-18.

Throughout the Olympic Winter Games, a total of nine Samsung Olympic Showcases, featuring a mix of cultural, technological and immersive fan experiences, will be in PyeongChang and Gangneung, including Olympic Parks and the Olympic Villages, the Main Press Center, and four at the Incheon International Airport. Samsung Olympic Showcases @ PyeongChang Olympic Plaza and @ Gangneung Olympic Park opening on February 9^th will provide visitors with engaging experiences incorporating Samsung’s legacy of breakthrough innovation and interactive activities powered by Samsung technology.

Athletes and fans will first experience the Samsung brand history and heritage in engineering, design, and craftsmanship, and then the partnership history with the Olympic Games. Then through interactive experiences, visitors will be able to feel the exhilaration and escape into real-world thrills in winter sports through VR including snowboarding and skeleton, as well as participate in alpine and cross-country skiing contests that will challenge fans’ fitness capacity. For the first time, visitors will be able to experience the ‘Mission to Space VR: A Moon for All Mankind’ created by Samsung. Visitors will experience a full space mission including mission briefing, trying on the training suits and helmets, and the truly immersive experience in the Moon rig where they will feel lunar gravity with every step.

“For two decades as a Worldwide Olympic Partner, Samsung has connected fans, visitors and athletes from around the world with our latest technological innovations, which have now evolved to also include immersive experiences,” said Younghee Lee, CMO and Executive Vice President, Samsung Electronics. “We’re delighted to share Samsung’s latest mobile technologies and products so fans and athletes can enjoy new, unique experiences while at the Olympic Winter Games.”

“Over the course of our longstanding partnership, Samsung has brought new experiences and technology advancements to each Olympic Games,” said IOC President Thomas Bach. “Samsung helps to make each and every one an exciting and meaningful experience for all.”

Visitors will experience and engage with Samsung’s products and Galaxy brand through a variety of activities through a comfortable, interactive environment, including:

• Immersive VR Experiences: Unique VR experiences powered by the Galaxy Note8 will allow fans to escape into exhilarating moments on the fresh mountain slopes in snowboarding and skeleton as well as escape to space in Mission to Space VR: A Moon for All Mankind’ – available to consumers to experience for the first time. Other experiences include simulated skiing adventures.

• Playful Experiences: Promoting the playful side of technology, Portrait Pool allows visitors to turn their “selfies” into painted characters for social sharing, S Pen Gallery to create own portraits with Galaxy Note8 and S pen as a paint brush, Infinity Moment to create user generated content with the Galaxy Note8.

• Kids Lounge: A dedicated kids lounge in a hands-on zone, where kids can play, learn and explore Samsung products and expand their creativity through hands-on experience.

• Smart Home (IoT): Multi Device and futuristic demos powered by mobile technology that showcase the IoT, helping visitors to imagine the future lifestyle.

• Unbox Samsung: The journey of ‘Unbox Samsung’ where visitors can experience the Living History of Samsung since 1988 when the first mobile phone was launched.

• Purchase and Customer Service: Visitors will also be able receive customer service and make purchases of the mobile products and its accessories.

• Interact & Relax: Within lounges and in the Cultural Community where various lifestyle programs will take place as well as in the Café where food and beverages will be available for purchase using Buddy Points acquired during the interactive experiences.

• Special Events: A series of events will take place at the Samsung Olympic Showcase to enhance the Olympic Winter Games experience including athlete visits and celebrating holiday moments.

The potential of artificial intelligence (AI) is exciting and vast, with researchers just starting to understand all the potential applications. However, one solution which users can tap into now, to experience how AI can make their lives more convenient and easier, is Samsung Electronics’ HomeCare Wizard. The unique AI-based service solution, available on Samsung’s 2018 smart home appliances, essentially enables devices to diagnose themselves for not only system errors, but to enhance efficiency and to help users use their appliances better.

To provide an example of how HomeCare Wizard works, just imagine if a refrigerator starts to provide less cooling than usual. HomeCare Wizard will immediately detect and provide an alert that something is off, as well as diagnose the cause of the problem without requiring the visit of a technician. Through analysis of usage patterns, HomeCare Wizard will also help users better maintain and utilize their appliances, like reminding them when it’s time to clean the washing machine tub or providing tips to ensure the best energy efficiency.

Let’s take a closer look at HomeCare Wizard and the intelligent benefits it is set to provide.

What is it?

HomeCare Wizard made its debut with the recent launch of Samsung’s QuickDrive washing machines, and utilizes AI learning to offer users benefits that go above and beyond the scope of similar diagnostic services. Whereas similar services’ diagnoses are typically limited to cut-and-dry system errors, HomeCare Wizard’s advanced algorithm also alerts users of less obvious factors that may be affecting their device’s efficiency, in particular non-system related errors. For instance, if the air conditioner’s breeze isn’t quite cool enough due to something like a contaminated filter, which a user can easily clean on his or her own, HomeCare Wizard can quickly diagnose such issues.

Therein lies another of the solution’s key benefits. If HomeCare Wizard determines that a particular issue does not require a service professional to be dispatched to a user’s home, it will provide simple instructions to help users solve the problem by themselves. This reduces the need for users to schedule such visits, and helps them find the solutions they need faster.

Identifying and explaining an issue’s exact source can also be difficult at times and in such cases a user will need to call a Samsung service center to get to the bottom of the problem. As HomeCare Wizard sends the device’s diagnostic data directly to the service center, the service center will be fully aware of the nature of the problem before the call is even made.

Why is it So Compelling?

More often than not, when appliances don’t behave the way users are supposed to and it is difficult to figure out why, the result is hours spent scouring the web or contacting a service center for answers. In other instances, users are forced to wait for a technician to visit their home. The promise of HomeCare Wizard, through AI, is the potential to change this paradigm as smart devices and appliances essentially diagnose, and even give solutions, themselves.

HomeCare Wizard’s technology also has the added benefit of making it easy for users to monitor energy use and usage patterns, and utilize their devices more efficiently. Users have the option to receive regular usage reports through the mobile app, which in addition to offering 24-hour troubleshooting and diagnostics, will provide customized tips based on users’ usage patterns to help them get more out of a particular appliance. This means that, for example, a washing machine with HomeCare Wizard can determine which laundry cycles are used most frequently, notify users of how often they’re doing laundry, and present them with the option to save their top three most frequently used cycles as ‘favorites’.

How Does it Work?

To provide such deep-level analysis, HomeCare Wizard compares a device’s previous operation alongside its current status in order to diagnose recurring problems.  Through the constant study and improvement of algorithms by Samsung’s Digital Appliance development team, HomeCare Wizard has been developed to analyze and study changes in sensor data at the industry’s most comprehensive levels, while the appliances are running. The more often users use their devices, the more precisely HomeCare Wizard can suggest solutions.

Where Can I Experience it?

HomeCare Wizard will be available on a wide range of products in Samsung’s 2018 smart appliance lineup, including the company’s latest washing machines, Family Hub refrigerators, air conditioners, cooking appliances, and robot vacuum cleaners.

“This year, UHD became the most decisive factor for television purchases for the very first time, according to gfu¹. And yet for Samsung, better television is not just about brilliant picture quality, but a better TV experience in every respect.

“With QLED, we have introduced a TV category that convinces thanks to Quantum dot technology, UHD, HDR, and a peak brightness of up to 2,000 nits. And where ease of use is concerned, Samsung sets standards with the Smart Hub and Premium Smart remote. Viewers can access any content they want in just three clicks – even from external players. QLED TVs are literally more beautiful televisions, with their clever wall mounts, cable solutions and stands.

“With The Frame, we are transforming the television into a canvas for digital art. The designer TV combines interior design with current smart TV technology, and evokes the aesthetic reserve of a picture frame.”

Kai Hillebrandt, Vice President of Consumer Electronics, Samsung Electronics GmbH

Clear User Menus – The Comprehensive Samsung Interface

“Technology is meant to make life easier. But while the capabilities of smartphones, PCs, refrigerators and washing machines continue to increase in the Internet of Things era, their operation is also becoming ever more complex.

“With Samsung, the technology adapts to the person, and not the other way around. To simplify the daily lives of consumers and enterprises, we carry out trend studies on consumer behaviors and apply the findings when developing the next smartphones, televisions and home appliances.

“We are thus continuously improving how users interact with our products – be it via gesture, touch, gaze or voice. The result is an all-embracing design language for Samsung’s Smart TVs, the Smart View app, smartphones, tablets, our Family Hub 2.0 refrigerators, and many other appliances.”

Kai Hillebrandt, Vice President of Consumer Electronics, Samsung Electronics GmbH

Perfect Sound to Match the Picture – Samsung Soundbars Bring Cinema Sound to the Living Room

“Connectivity and immersive listening are the big audio trends of 2017. This because a successful home cinema experience not only calls for a brilliant picture, but also luscious sound.

“Samsung’s QLED TVs revolutionize picture quality with UHD and HDR. MPEG-H stands for a new sound experience. The new technology permits every audio track to be individually modified and purposefully adjusted in live broadcasts.

“Easy and fast access to music from anywhere in the house is also becoming ever more important for consumers. Two thirds of German consumers, for example, desire clean TV setups² – a clear rejection of complex 7.1 systems and loudspeaker cables.

“With the HW-MS750 Flat Soundbar Sound+, Samsung has already combined a soundbar and subwoofer in a single slim soundbar casing – without any additional speakers or external cables. The Samsung HW-MS950 soundbar, powered by Dolby Atmos, makes sound even more flexible while placing the viewer at the center of the sound experience. The sound can be precisely moved and placed in three-dimensional space, also above the viewer’s head. Dolby Atmos makes home cinema entertainment come alive, and turns it into an intense and emotional experience with a clear and profoundly detailed soundscape.”

Kai Hillebrandt, Vice President of Consumer Electronics, Samsung Electronics GmbH

Untethered Music – The Galaxy S8 with UHQ Audio

“Music is also enjoyed on the go these days. Be it in the fitness studio, on the train, in the kitchen or garden – users always have their soundtrack with them, on their smartphone or streamed from the web. “With its Ultra High Quality (UHQ) audio technology, Samsung takes music enjoyment to a new level. It also enables high-quality sound on the road and supports digital recording at up to 32 bit/384 kHz. The audio files are not compressed, and can even be extrapolated.

“This way, music lovers can enjoy the entire sound spectrum of music sources in CD quality – or even higher, for example, with FLAC files or high-quality streaming. The technology is deployed in Bluetooth speakers, high-quality AKG headphones, ultra-light headsets, and even smartphones – the Galaxy S8 and S8+.”

Martin Börner, Deputy President, Samsung Electronics GmbH

UHD and HDR – QLED TV Creates a Visual Experience That’s Ready for the Big Screen

“UHD is conquering the mass market, as more and more consumers have become captivated by the ultra-realistic visual experiences enabled by UHD and HDR. High resolution is the most decisive factor for television buyers today³.

“A still larger leap is provided by HDR technology, helping today’s televisions achieve pictures that are extremely rich in contrast. The expanded color space becomes even more apparent in a direct comparison. Thanks to its unique suitability for HDR10 content, Samsung’s QLED technology represents the TV experience of the future.

“What’s especially impressive is the brightness of the Quantum dot displays. QLED TVs are extremely bright, with peak values of up to 2,000 nits, and offer the user intensively radiant, lifelike colors even in bright daylight. In doing so, QLED TVs follow the standards for digital cinema, and are able to cover 100 percent of the DCI-P3 cinema color space. That is a decisive point for consumers, as HDR will change the TV experience forever. It is thus not without reason that we are talking about a new product category when referring to QLED TV.”

Kai Hillebrandt, Vice President of Consumer Electronics, Samsung Electronics GmbH

Virtual Reality – Gear VR Makes the New Media Age Accessible for All

“Virtual reality and 360-degree video have introduced a completely new media experience to the mass market, and Samsung is a pioneer in these areas. Take social VR, for example. The technology is tangibly affecting our behavior on social networks. Today, we take our followers along in 360 degrees when we go to a concert or climb a mountain. They can then share in the adventure live with their VR headset or on a Samsung smart TV.

“Samsung is one of the first companies to have made these fascinating new experiences broadly available to the public, with its Gear VR headsets and Gear 360 cameras, and is a pioneer for this new media age.

“We have sold over 1.1 million VR devices in Europe since 2015, and already more than 5 million worldwide. This clearly shows that the interest in this technology is huge. It will fundamentally change the way we tell and experience visual stories.”

Martin Börner, Deputy President, Samsung Electronics GmbH

Benefitting Your Health – A Fitter Lifestyle with Samsung Gear

“Fitness wearables have become the norm in the shortest space of time, providing a perfect example of how quickly technologies can transform our lives. This is exactly what our motto for this year’s IFA expresses: “the new normal”. We have long since stopped talking about the measurement of the self instead of a new relationship with our body.

“Wearables change our awareness for a healthy life through their ability to monitor the wearer’s fitness activities, and optimize their efforts with the help of apps.

Samsung has been actively working to shape this trend for five years now with new innovations such as our Samsung Gear smartwatches. We will be experiencing this kind of rapid societal development brought on by technologies more often in the future, as trends spread with ever greater speed these days, not least of all thanks to social media.”

Alexander Zeeh, Director Home Appliances, Samsung Electronics GmbH

Networking in the Household – The Family Hub 2.0 Refrigerator as a Family Manager

“The market for household appliances is growing, and we see ourselves in a very good position to benefit from this growth. Samsung is banking on brilliant, dependable innovations that let us make household chores easier for our customers, and often help them reclaim some time. The industry-wide trend towards connected home appliances has an important part to play in this. We always take a close look at what people need in their day-to-day life, and develop products that meet their needs.

“With Family Hub, a smart refrigerator with an integrated LCD display, we have pooled our know-how in screen technologies, networking, and ease of use in the area of cooling to turn the kitchen into a modern communication center with the fridge as family manager. This is where food is organized, messages are exchanged, and schedules are compared.

“The fridge’s next generation, Family Hub 2.0, caters to the needs of every family member even more individually. Using personal user profiles, the entire family can now also exchange to-do lists or send messages to the refrigerator display on the go.

“The Smart Home App can also be used to control other compatible household appliances, such as a washing machine for example, by way of the user’s smartphone or the refrigerator screen.”

Martin Börner, Deputy President, Samsung Electronics GmbH

¹ gfu, Motive, Einstellungen und Kaufkriterien. Konsumtrends der Consumer und Home Electronics, May 2017.

² Data collected at the behest of Samsung by Kantar TNS in an online multi-subject survey based on the iBus method. This involved surveying 1,017 Germans aged 16 to 64 from June 1 to 4, 2017.

³ gfu, Motive, Einstellungen und Kaufkriterien. Konsumtrends der Consumer und Home Electronics, May 2017.

This year, the company is introducing an array of innovative products including Family Hub refrigerators with more advanced voice capabilities, and a Samsung Connect app that’s capable of seamlessly products integration across the cloud.

Before we dig into those innovations in detail, check out this video to gain a glimpse of how Samsung is bringing IoT connectivity to more home appliances.

New Smart Home Innovations

Samsung has introduced advanced voice capabilities to Family Hub that allow users to talk to the smart refrigerators to use it, and will expand the voice functionality to European markets this year. This convenient enhancement will make it possible to carry out a wide range of tasks, from looking inside the fridge to playing music, by simply speaking to the fridge.

Samsung is also actively working to evolve Family Hub into an IoT control center, to the point where users will be able to control all of their home’s connected appliances through voice recognition. Just imagine being able to summon your robotic vacuum to clean up the kitchen or monitor your laundry cycle while you cook. The possibilities are endless.

Samsung is also helping to deliver a smart home with the Samsung Connect app, which is compatible with all devices and operating systems, and allows users to control Samsung products through the cloud. With Bixby in Samsung smartphones, it is possible to control the Samsung Connect app by voice recognition.

Samsung’s remote diagnosis service will be upgraded by linking with the Samsung Connect app. Customers will also be able to receive guidance through their smartphones to identify and solve problems with Samsung’s smart home appliances in real-time.

An Expanding External Ecosystem Based in the Cloud

Samsung is the first in the industry to receive the OCF certification for its smart TVs, Family Hub refrigerators and air conditioners, and intends to expand the certification to all of its home appliances throughout the year. The OCF certification is a standard that enables compatibility between the products of member companies, strengthening connectivity so that different kinds of devices may communicate effectively with one another. In addition to Samsung, more than 390 companies have joined the OCF.

Samsung is also working with various third parties to integrate voice support for functions including Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant into smart home appliances including its refrigerators, washing machines, air conditioners and robot vacuums, and Google Home support in its robotic vacuums as well. As the first in the industry to apply open APIs to home appliances, Samsung plans to focus on expanding services through collaboration with various smart home companies.

Samsung will continue to contribute to creating meaningful changes in consumers’ lives and strengthening the industry’s IoT ecosystem. Stay tuned for more exciting developments ahead.

The organization’s theme for this year is ‘All Things Connected’. And as OCF brings together many of the industry’s major players, including Samsung, it showcases how devices from different manufacturers can work well together on a connected platform. The exhibition is being held in Las Vegas Sand Hall from 5^th January to 8^th January 2017.

Although a rapidly growing industry, IoT currently suffers from fragmentation. A wide range of standards stymie cross-sector collaboration, which in turn hinders the industry from establishing a unified legacy.

In theory, the billions of connected phones, computers, sensors, and other devices should be able to communicate with each other regardless of manufacturer, operating system and chipset. OCF was created to make that vision a reality. The organization is creating a specification and sponsoring an open source project called IoTivity to make IoT an all-compassing ‘internet of everything’. OCF already has over 300 members, many of which include household names such as Samsung Electronics. Cooperation on this scale will unlock a huge opportunity in the IoT market, and will help developers and companies create solutions that map to a single open specification and codes.

Putting the Platform into Action

At CES 2017, OCF’s exhibition demonstrates working examples of how a unified IoT platform can provide benefits to users as well as developers and manufacturers. Here, Samsung displays its own products as part of the OCF Kiosk Zone and Demo Zone. Samsung has its own kiosk and is showing products including its robot vacuum cleaner and Gear S3. Meanwhile, in the Demo Zone, Samsung products are being featured alongside other OCF member products in connected platform use cases.

Some might say that a robot vacuum cleaner is in itself a ground-breaking innovation, and indeed it is. But what if it could be controlled remotely from a smartwatch? At the Samsung Kiosk in the OCF exhibition booth, how Samsung Gear S3 can be used to turn the autonomous vacuum cleaner on or off and to change modes on the device is demonstrated. The vacuum is also able to send notifications to the smartwatch to communicate any issues it detects, such as its wheels being stuck.

Grand Vision

A mock living room is set up in the OCF Demo Zone. At the living room, three different scenarios are demonstrated in which various devices can work in tandem as part of a smart home. The first two of these are Leaving Home Mode and Coming Home Mode. Here, a Gear or Windows 10 tablet is used to turn the TV on or off, change the volume and contents on TV as customized by the user, turn the robot vacuum and air conditioning on or off, and control the lights and temperature in accordance with practical experience in smart home. In Movie Mode, the same elements can be controlled to different parameters to create the perfect viewing experience – lights are dimmed, picture and sound setting of TV changes to Movie Mode, and air conditioning becomes wind-free.

But the smart home extends beyond the living room. In the garage that is recreated in the Demo Zone, a Gear S3 changes the settings of a car parked up inside – including its temperature. Also from inside the vehicle, mode of Family Hub 2.0 can be switched to Power Cool, Power Freeze and Ice-making Mode, realizing true convergence of smart home and connected car.

The smart home is just one of the ways that OCF will help bring about a more open IoT platform that benefits all. It will also be used in industrial, enterprise, healthcare and automotive settings. But the basic premise is the same throughout. A collaborative approach to IoT makes sense for all involved. Samsung’s work with OCF and partnership at CES 2017 is an important part of showing what a connected future could look like.

The goal of the Open Connectivity Foundation is to accelerate industry innovation in IoT by showcasing how devices from different manufacturers can work together on a connected platform.

The OCF’s theme for this year is ‘All Things Connected’.

The OCF brings together many of the industry’s major players, including Samsung.

The Samsung products presented at the OCF’s CES 2017 booth illustrated how a variety of devices can work together to create a convenient and connected ‘smart’ home.

The exhibit included ‘connected’ living room and garage setups, and provided specific examples of how a unified IoT platform can benefit users as they go about their day.

Both setups illustrated how connected devices could be set to conveniently automate everyday tasks. Here, Samsung’s Gear S3 is used to seamlessly adjust a thermostat and unlock and put the top down on a user’s convertible.

The Gear S3 was also used to control key functions on Samsung’s Family Hub refrigerator, allowing the user to adjust the refrigeration mode and alerting them when its door was ajar.

In the exhibit’s mock living room, a variety of electronics can be activated and powered off depending on whether the user was leaving, coming home or preparing to watch a movie.

What are some extremely hot items people are buying for Christmas gifts this year? One-in-three consumers say they plan on buying emerging tech, such as smart home devices, smartwatches and drones. That’s a huge change in shopping habits considering just a few years ago it was too small a category to track, according to the 22nd Annual CE Holiday Purchase Patterns Study, a survey of more than 1,000 U.S. adults conducted by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA).

Smart Homes and Smart Wearables Lead the Way

Leading those emerging technology gift ideas are smart home devices that give users 24/7 access to their homes with 15 percent of shoppers saying they intend to buy that type of device. This projection reflects the growing popularity of smart home services that have recently evolved from button-press security systems to ones that allow users to control and observe their homes from anywhere in the world. One such example is Samsung SmartThings line-up—an intelligent system in which sensors and smart devices connected via a SmartThings Hub can be monitored and controlled through a single streamlined app.

The next quite popular purchases are wearable fitness activity trackers and smartwatches, each with 12 percent. Those numbers have doubled since 2013, indicating the possibility that such products could be following a similar path to mainstream popularity as core technologies like tablets and smartphones did in the past.

The CTA study also found that consumers are primarily purchasing wearables to set personal fitness and health goals and to track their progress toward them. As such, wearables that feature health and fitness monitoring sensors, like those embedded in Samsung’s Gear S2, have been ranked by consumers as the much desirable. The Gear S2 also comes preloaded with the popular S Health app. Together, S Health and the Gear S2 are capable of fitness, diet and health monitoring by allowing the user to log fitness activities, track their heart rate and water consumption, and measure their overall activity over the course of the day.

Action cameras, too, are emerging as a popular gift, with 12 percent of shoppers saying they plan on buying them. And drones, at 7 percent—more than double than last year’s figure—are no longer just for commercial use. CTA forecasts that 400,000 consumer drones will be sold this holiday season.

Top Tech to Put Under the Tree

The CTA survey indicated that a whopping 160 million U.S. holiday shoppers intend to purchase consumer technology this year, spending a total of $34 billion—and that translates into a lot of happy children and loved ones over this holiday season. The most popular tech gifts being given in 2015 are headphones and earbuds (28 percent and 27 percent, respectively), tablets (26 percent), portable Bluetooth speakers (25 percent), notebook/laptop computers (25 percent) and smartphones (24 percent).

Correspondingly, the survey also found that the tech products that U.S. consumers most want to receive this holiday season are TVs. After TV, the top products people are hoping for are tablets, smartphones, notebook/laptop computers and videogame consoles.

Whatever gifts you give and receive, spending time together with your family and loved ones is what truly makes the holiday season. But picking the hottest gifts can help make the holidays a little more festive. The new interest in emerging tech shows how tastes are once again changing, just like with the rise of smartphones and tablets a few years ago. Whether you get a smart home device, a wearable activity tracker or a smartwatch, it’s good to know that these gifts will put you ahead of the tech curve this holiday season.

While the possibilities of an Internet of Things (IoT) platform to control the home seem infinite, some may assume the set-up process to be a difficult one. Fortunately, SmartThings proves intelligent living doesn’t have to be complicated. In fact, setting up the system is incredibly easy—so easy, it can be done in five steps.

1. Purchase the SmartThings Hub

The best way to get started with SmartThings is by purchasing the SmartThings Hub, a small box that connects all your smart devices and enables the IoT platform to operate. Once you purchase the Hub, you’re instantly on your way to smarter living. There are no contracts, set-up costs or monthly fees to use the SmartThings platform.

The newest version of the SmartThings Hub is now available in stores in the United States and the United Kingdom, as well as online at Samsung.com, the Smart Things Shop and Amazon.com. Additionally, the Smart Home Starter Kit, which includes a Hub and three devices that allow you to receive important notifications on your smartphone, is also available for purchase.

2. Connect the SmartThings Hub to an Internet router

Set-up is easy, as there is no tricky installation process or hard wiring necessary. All one needs to do is simply connect the Hub to an Internet router with the included Ethernet cable, and a secure connection links it wirelessly to all your smart devices, allowing you to monitor, control and guard your home from anywhere in the world.

3. Add smart devices

Once your SmartThings Hub is up and running, you can now add as many smart devices as you’d like to customize your smart home based on your personal preferences. In addition to the company’s own line of sensors, there are over 200 devices that are compatible with the SmartThings open platform, from smart bulbs to locks to cameras.

As your needs change, you can easily modify SmartThings to work in different ways, or add additional devices to create a smart home that automatically reacts to your unique tastes and patterns.

4. Connect with SmartThings app

Now that all your “things” are connected and communicating with one another, you can use the free SmartThings app to orchestrate them with a tap of a finger, from another room or another city. Via the app, you are also able to receive alerts and notifications so you can keep an eye on your home from just about anywhere.

The app allows you to configure SmartThings to control all your devices based on your routines (waking up or coming home from work, for example), by room or by specific device. Furthermore, you can customize SmartThings as often as your needs change via the easy-to-use control panel within the app. The app is available for download for Android and iOS.

5. Let your home do the work for you

And that’s it! Whether preparing the morning coffee, notifying you that the mail has arrived or creating a comfortable environment for a good night’s sleep, SmartThings is now enabled and ready to make your house smarter, safer and more connected. Sit back and watch your smart home come to life.