Tizen OS Continues To Grow As Reliable Smart TV Platform

Following the launch of Samsung Tizen OS 8.0, the licensing program now includes prominent original design manufacturers (ODMs). This marks an important milestone in the evolution of the Tizen ecosystem and demonstrates strong global demand for Samsung’s acclaimed smart TV platform. In its licensing program, Samsung continues to build strategic partnerships with companies that prioritize high-quality products and reliable support throughout the entire value chain.

Additionally, Samsung Tizen OS will be embedded in new TVs from well-known brands in key markets, enhancing its presence across Europe, North and Latin America, and Australia. Notable new additions include EKO and QBELL (Ayonz) in Australia and Europe, RCA (Kayve Groupo) in Mexico, RCA (Treasure Creek) in the United States and Canada, and Axdia in Germany. Many more brands are expected to join in the second half of 2025 as Samsung continues to expand its strategic partnerships into new markets.

“We are proud to expand our RCA TV portfolio across Mexico and Latin America through our partnership with Samsung’s Tizen OS,” said Jonathan Vera, Head of Marketing & Communications, Grupo Kayve. “The Tizen team provides comprehensive technical and marketing support, enabling an agile go-to-market process.”

“Partnering with Samsung on Tizen OS allows us to deliver high-quality and competitive smart TV solutions to our global brand customers,” said Gerard Louis, Chief Operating Officer (COO) at Axdia,

Premium Content and Connectivity at Core of Tizen OS-Powered Smart TVs

Samsung is also dedicated to continuous platform innovation, introducing smart features such as advanced content discovery, integration with Samsung TV Plus for FAST channel services, cloud gaming capabilities via Samsung Gaming Hub, and seamless multi-device connectivity through SmartThings. These enhancements ensure that licensees benefit not only from proven technology but also from a forward-looking platform that adapts to evolving consumer expectations.

To further differentiate Tizen-powered TVs at retail, Samsung offers tailored marketing kits and digital content toolkits for each region, enabling partners to highlight key attributes such as premium content access, fast performance, and smart connectivity—all backed by Samsung’s robust global brand credibility.

As the Tizen OS Licensing Program evolves to meet the needs of global partners, Samsung is broadening regional coverage, introducing more affordable hardware solutions, and enhancing app availability worldwide. Moreover, partners can gain access to Samsung’s specialized R&D support to confidently bring Tizen-powered smart TVs to market.

“Tizen OS is recognized for its performance, reliability, and innovation,” said Jooyoung Kim, Vice President at Samsung Electronics. “This year, we are focused on expanding our licensing program and creating diverse collaboration strategies for our key partners. We are serious about growing our global partner network and enhancing the ecosystem. By offering expanded regional support, an enriched app ecosystem, and tailored marketing resources, we aim to deliver even greater value to consumers worldwide.”

With Tizen OS extending beyond Samsung’s own TV offerings, the company remains steadfast in its commitment to delivering an open, robust, and premium smart TV experience for consumers around the world.

“This new collaboration with Loewe ensures that its latest luxury TV, stellar, will exceed expectations with the high-end experiences it brings to consumers,” said YS Kim, EVP, Head of the Service Business Team, Visual Display Business at Samsung Electronics. “It’s also more momentum for Tizen OS, which has established itself as the software platform of choice for premium TVs. Moving forward, we will continue to push the boundaries of how users interact with their TVs.”

Loewe, renowned for its luxury and high-end TVs, has chosen Tizen OS to enhance the viewing experience of its consumers. In particular, the brand is celebrated for its impeccable design and use of premium and unique materials — including stone and concrete back panels. Building on that foundation, this partnership with Samsung underscores the mutual commitment of both companies to deliver superior user experiences.

Tizen OS, based on the newest 2024 Tizen licensing platform, offers a wealth of content and service options, making it the ideal choice for Loewe’s discerning customer base. With Tizen OS, users have access to a wide variety of features, ensuring an unparalleled entertainment experience. Key features include:

• Samsung TV Plus: A vast array of free channels and on-demand content, providing a diverse selection of entertainment options.
• Gaming Hub: Access to top gaming platforms and services, offering an integrated gaming experience of 1,000+ titles without the need of a console.
• SmartThings: Seamless connection to smart devices in your home.

Outside of licensing partnerships, Tizen OS powers 270 million Samsung Smart TVs and offers an intuitive interface that minimizes the steps required for navigation and customization. Tizen OS users can stream their favorite content and play thousands of games — all on one screen — and every aspect of the TV experience is personalized and secured by Samsung Knox.

Viewers around the world have come to expect more from their TVs. Today, people don’t just flip through channels but also use TVs to access streaming services, workout routines and social media. They even connect their home appliances to their TVs, expanding what used to be a viewing device into the centerpiece of a smart home ecosystem.

These new experiences require open collaboration with service providers and greater compatibility with a plethora of devices. So 10 years ago, Samsung’s Visual Display Business made the bold decision to forgo its tried-and-true closed operating system (OS) and create an open one. That open OS is Tizen.

▲ Since its launch in 2015, Tizen has become a dominant OS for smart TVs.

Hundreds of millions of TVs now feature Tizen, which is poised to bring more artificial intelligence (AI) features into the fold.

Five developers from Samsung Electronics’ Visual Display Business recently shared behind-the-scenes stories with Samsung Newsroom about how they revolutionized the TV experience. Kwangsub Byun, Jeongsik Cheon and Youngsoo Kang helped the transition to Tizen a decade ago. Sunyong Jung and Seoyoung Hwang currently fine-tune Tizen for Samsung’s TVs.

▲ (From left to right) Youngsoo Kang, Jeongsik Cheon, Kwangsub Byun, Sunyong Jung and Seoyoung Hwang

New Wine, New Wineskin

First deployed in 2011, Orsay was the stable, proven OS that Samsung used for its TVs. As a closed platform, Orsay followed the traditional TV model — focusing on effectively handling signals from each physical input with additional services largely depending on features planned, designed and programmed prior to shipment.

A closed operating system is completely owned and controlled by its primary developer testing, maintenance and quality management easier. But this very exclusivity makes it hard for external players to make contributions.

▲ The evolution of Samsung’s TV operating systems

In contrast, the source code in an open operating system is available to the public and can be more freely modified and distributed. This makes it easier to attract third-party developers as well as create and share development tools.

Tizen is an open platform, running on open-source software. This openness was the main reason Samsung decided to make the switch, explained Byun.

“The concept behind Tizen was to bring in various outside developers and expand the ecosystem,” he said. Rather than imagine and create each and every new TV experience, Samsung would commit to its philosophy of open collaboration.

▲ Youngsoo Kang explains the differences between Orsay and Tizen.

Another difference between the two operating systems is the mode of processing, Kang explained. Tizen is capable of carrying out multiple operations simultaneously, whereas Orsay only handled one task at a time.

Kang used a transportation analogy to explain the difference. Orsay is like a bus that many people share, even though each passenger has a different destination.

“Each person boards the bus with their luggage,” he said. “When one rider encounters a challenge, everyone on the bus is affected.”

Tizen, on the other hand, is more like a road that people travel on in their own vehicles.

“Everyone has their own ride,” Kang continued. “If one driver has a problem, it doesn’t affect the other drivers on the road. Each driver can solve their own problems.”

For a smart TV — which must be flexible enough to meet customers’ varied needs — he said Tizen’s multiprocessing capabilities make it a more efficient choice.

“I wondered why we had to take such a tough path when our TV business was doing well with Orsay. But looking back, Tizen was the right way.”
– Youngsoo Kang, Visual Display Business, Samsung Electronics

A Leap of Faith

Buy-in was one thing, but execution was another. A fundamental change such as an OS switch is no small endeavor. Tizen’s multiprocessing design presented several technical complications, and having to comply with open standards added to the challenge. The team was under significant pressure.

“We knew there would be no turning back,” said Byun. “And we were all in. We were going to apply Tizen to all our models, not just some of them.”

Compared to the development of Orsay, not only were processes such as coding, testing and quality checking totally altered, but the sheer number of people involved in the project increased as well. Many of them worked in different time zones.

Yet, there were also advantages to changing to an open-source platform. For one, the work proceeded faster with each step.

“When developing Orsay, developers had to generate lines of code one by one and wait for hours to run simulations,” he added. “Working overnight was a daily routine. We told each other that it was like working with a stone ax.”

With open-source modules and development tools to work with, building Tizen for Samsung TVs became a faster process.

▲ (From left) Orsay developers Youngsoo Kang, Jeongsik Cheon and Kwangsub Byun

To maximize the advantage of an open-source platform, the Tizen team focused on creating a streamlined environment for the developers, publishing the application programming interface (API) and using open standards.

The developers also made efforts to distribute software development kits (SDKs) while opening resources to make the architecture and licensing more accessible. As a result, Samsung Smart TV users now enjoy a wealth of external apps — such as Netflix, Spotify and Apple TV — in addition to Samsung’s own services.

“The transition to Tizen was like breaking out of our shells,” said Kang, one of the more senior developers. “Sometimes I wondered why we had to take such a tough path when our TV business was doing well with Orsay. But looking back, Tizen was the right way. Now, I’m ready for the next step.”

New Smart Experiences Through Tizen

With Tizen, Samsung expanded its sphere of expertise in TVs beyond hardware to software and greatly impacted the TV ecosystem. Tizen is considered the ideal operating system to advance the smart home concept, since it not only connects devices to each other but also gives users access to a broad range of interconnected services and content.

As of the end of 2023, Tizen powered 270 million Samsung Smart TVs — making it one of the most widely deployed operating systems in the TV industry. Given the positive feedback from the market, Jung couldn’t be more proud.

“Samsung TVs are structured very intuitively,” said Jung. “When you look at the menu, you immediately understand the whole interface. There are only a few buttons to press or movements to make to arrange the settings as you want. We’ve drastically reduced the number of steps required to make Tizen superior to other operating systems.”

▲ (From left) Tizen developers Sunyong Jung and Seoyoung Hwang

“Even though it’s an open-source platform, many advantages come from the fact that we developed it ourselves,” Jung continued. “We can freely try out new services and, when they’re ready, provide them right away. Samsung TV Plus is a great example of how we introduced a new streaming and video-on-demand service that’s streamlined with prior TV experiences that users are familiar with. We’re also receiving great feedback about the new Samsung Gaming Hub.”

Tizen has also made smart TV services an important revenue stream. Samsung TV Plus and Samsung Gaming Hub complement TV sales by generating profit after sales, Jung explained.

“We’re constantly making efforts to improve the platform and expand our lineup of licensed products to increase our market appeal,” he said.

“Tizen is a homegrown platform that continues to evolve,” agreed Cheon, who took part in the transition from Orsay to Tizen.

“I want to leave behind something meaningful to those who come after me.”
– Seoyoung Hwang, Visual Display Business, Samsung Electronics

Tizen as an AI Champion

▲ Seoyoung Hwang explains how Tizen will allow AI technology to shine.

AI is becoming the focus of increasing attention in the tech industry. Hwang points out that Tizen played a key role in equipping TVs with AI functions.

“Like upscaling, Samsung TVs have been using AI technology to improve picture and sound quality for many years,” she said. “The processing power and flexibility that Tizen provides is a big part of how that’s possible.”

Thanks to Tizen and some dramatic hardware upgrades, Samsung TVs now offer more AI features that holistically improve the user experience.

“2024 Samsung QLED 8K can recognize game genres and automatically set the best screen mode for a particular game,” she said. “The TV can also personalize content recommendations based on the user’s preferences.”

AI functions on the Tizen platform will soon become more advanced and further heighten the user experience, she added.

Since its launch, Tizen was a flexible operating system that supported various other form factors. For Samsung’s Visual Display Business, smart TVs and monitors, beam projectors and business-to-business signage products like The Wall add to the list of Tizen-powered devices. Jung says that newer devices, such as the AI companion Ballie, will also be equipped with Tizen.

“We can use the high-performance computing resources embedded in Ballie as an edge device to complement various in-home uses,” Hwang said. “This is an exemplary case of using AI technology through hyperconnectivity. To provide various AI services, we need platform technologies such as cloud, on-device and edge. I think the Tizen platform will play a pivotal role in this regard.”

Eyes Ahead to the Future of TV

Tizen was born from a bold decision Samsung made to provide the best experiences to its users. This paved the way for smart TVs. Now, Samsung continues to help foster the use of AI across various form factors.

▲ (From left to right) Youngsoo Kang, Sunyong Jung, Byun Kwangsub, Jeongsik Cheon and Seoyoung Hwang

When asked what Tizen meant to her, Hwang expressed respect for the developers at Samsung who took that initial leap of faith.

“Embedded in Tizen is the wisdom of my senior colleagues who paved the way,” she said. “I want to leave behind something meaningful to those who come after me as well.”

“I think of Tizen as a ladder to the future,” Jung added. “The possibilities are infinite.”

Samsung Newsroom sat down with five prominent SDC23 speakers to delve deep into some of the company’s updates and how they add convenience to and revamp the user experience.

SmartThings and Matter: Offering an Even Better Connected Experience

Charles Kim of the SmartThings Team highlighted the updates to Samsung’s SmartThings home ecosystem, including expanded support for Matter devices, and discussed how SmartThings is leading the new era of smart homes through its advanced multi-device network.

Q. SmartThings has been working hard to create a hyper-connected experience for customers based on seamless interoperability with third-party devices. Could you discuss a few of the most notable announcements unveiled during this year’s SDC?

Matter stands as the universal IP-based communications protocol for smart home IoT devices, and is supported by major corporations all over the world. When it comes to expansive smart home experiences, Samsung has been at the forefront of widening its device network, which was furthered by its added support for Matter devices beginning last year. To expand on this, we are now offering an enhanced Matter-compatible ecosystem that will allow developers to create new apps, hubs and clouds.

One of our first steps is to expand the application of Matter to a broader range of devices and introduce new features to these devices to enhance its capabilities. These features include adding control functionalities for Matter-compatible devices, which support Matter Bridge¹ devices as well as over-the-air (OTA)² and Multi-Hub Network.³ One of Matter’s key advantages is its compatibility with various platforms from different companies. As such, it facilitates easier usage of the Multi-Admin⁴ feature, allowing administrators to efficiently control multiple devices simultaneously from a single platform.

To take innovation further, we plan to introduce an Application Programming Interface (API) for controlling Matter devices via the SmartThings Hub — making it easier for developers to utilize Samsung’s platform. In addition, the Software Development Kit (SDK) will allow the seamless integration of Matter devices within the SmartThings platform.

We hope that this will empower more developers to deliver new, advanced services to users that utilize Matter devices within the SmartThings platform.

Q. How will SmartThings contribute to the evolution of smart homes in the future?

Our vision for SmartThings encompasses various dimensions of home automation. Currently, users can control Samsung and third-party IoT devices in their homes through SmartThings, which gives them the ability to optimize and automate certain functions among connected devices. Looking forward to the future, smart homes are poised to elevate personalized home experiences by harnessing the power of device-connected AI and machine learning, which will deliver users ultra-personalized home services that meet their unique needs and preferences.

One of these future-forward settings is Ambient Sensing, which recognizes the space the user is in and automatically adjusts to the user’s preferred settings. Additionally, we intend to advance Edge Computing technology to ensure a stable and secure connection experience for users, enabling SmartThings to serve as a main hub for such services. Our aim is to help users enjoy a higher quality of life, and we will continue enhancing SmartThings in order to achieve this goal.

HDR10+ GAMING: Delivering a Perfectly Immersive Gaming Experience

Alongside the rapid expansion of the gaming market came an increased demand for an enhanced gaming environment. In line with these trends, Samsung has been working with leading game content companies to develop advanced visual technologies, setting a standard for the industry. Suzie Hyun of Samsung Research America spoke about HDR10+ GAMING.

Q. As game image quality technology continues to advance, what are the advantages of using HDR10+ GAMING while playing games?

In comparison to the conventional Standard Dynamic Range (SDR) format, High Dynamic Range (HDR) displays images at a higher brightness, greater contrast and with a wider color range — accentuating all on-screen details and making gameplay even more immersive.

From the standpoint of a developer, an ideal HDR gaming experience provides jaw-dropping realism, fully immersing users in the heart of the action. Equipped with HDR10+ GAMING technology, game creators are able to provide next-level immersion, drawing users deeper into the game world.

On the user side, HDR10+ GAMING technology automatically sets the game and display to optimal HDR settings, ensuring a consistent, stunning and engaging gaming session from start to end.

Q. How is HDR10+ different when watching videos and gaming?

HDR10+ GAMING technology delivers cutting-edge gaming experiences by combining ultra-responsiveness, an important factor for ideal gameplay, with leading image quality optimization technology. Equipped with these advanced technologies, HDR10+ GAMING provides immersive gaming experiences and allows users to experience the content as the game creator intended.

The Software Platform Innovation for Home Appliances: Tizen

The Tizen operating system will be extended and is set to be integrated into a broader range of home appliances. SeongIl Hahm of the S/W Development Team explained Tizen and its distinguished services that upgrade user experiences.

Q. What role does Tizen play in home appliances?

The landscape of home appliances has undergone a remarkable transformation, expanding beyond customers’ imagination. With the integration of the latest AI technologies, these appliances can perform a variety of unique functions. For example, appliances can detect food, the user’s voice and presence using high-tech cameras, microphones and Neural Processing Units (NPUs).

In driving these innovations forward, Tizen — Samsung’s open and flexible operating system (OS) ­— will help evolve home appliances and expand their capabilities. Samsung plans to expand Tizen to home appliances equipped with even larger screens than before, which will allow users to intuitively check the status of their devices and control them, as well as monitor other devices connected to SmartThings.

Tizen not only supports network, multimedia, web and security capabilities, but it also offers flexible software performance based on different hardware modules across product lines. It provides a web and development environment that is most commonly used by developers so helps them to adopt services easier.

Q. During SDC23, new technologies such as on-device AI and AI Home Edge Hub were introduced. How will these advancements elevate the capabilities of home appliances?

On-device AI-support signifies the integrated AI engine within home appliances, supporting round-the-clock deep learning inference. Home appliances generate a wealth of information, far beyond what users may realize. Learning from this information can significantly improve the user experience. Examples of AI functionalities include how refrigerators and air conditioners can save energy by predicting the temperature, how vacuum cleaners adjust the cleaning mode according to the floor type, and how washers and dryers can optimize laundering according to the clothing material.

Another important consideration that AI performance levels vary among different home appliances led us to work on developing AI Home Edge Hub. By device-to-device sharing of AI capabilities, it significantly enhance the performance of each device.

To illustrate this, let’s imagine that an AI inference task was delivered to the Family Hub, which is the most smart appliance nearby. Upon receiving this information, the Family Hub transmits it to the robot vacuum cleaner, which then notifies the user when the cleaning process is complete.

Many of these futuristic scenarios will become realizable through cutting-edge software innovation.

Samsung Privileged Health SDK: Helping the Development of Advanced Digital Health Services and Solutions

Incorporating essential features such as sleep, fitness, mental health services and health indicator monitoring, Samsung Health has firmly established itself as a comprehensive health solution. Sungchull Lee of the Health S/W R&D Group presented Samsung Privileged Health SDK, which offers users an unparalleled digital health experience.

Q. Could you introduce some of the main developers and partners that are using Samsung Privileged Health SDK?

With the Samsung Privileged Health SDK, Samsung aims to support developers and service providers in developing more sophisticated and advanced digital health services and solutions.

Developers and service partners around the world have expressed their interest in utilizing Samsung Privileged Health SDK and many are using it to develop apps. Interested parties can apply to the Partner Program via the official Samsung Developer website and can begin developing and utilizing the platform’s suite of tools once approved.

According to data measured on the Galaxy Watch’s BioActive sensor, our SDK partners span across a variety of digital healthcare fields — including heart health monitoring, remote patient monitoring, mental health services, worker healthcare and digital therapeutics. Moving forward, our primary goal is to strengthen Samsung Privileged Health SDK’s role as a health platform and expand its ecosystem to support the sustained growth of our partners.

Q. What are the strengths of the Samsung Privileged Health SDK, and how can digital health services harness its capabilities?

Samsung Privileged Health SDK offers a convenient and consistent development environment, as developers can measure biometric information through the Galaxy Watch’s BioActive sensor.

Within the Samsung Privileged Health SDK, there is a range of data types available for service research and development, including the Galaxy Watch’s specialized functions — body composition and skin temperature measurement. Additionally, the platform incorporates an advanced batching method, which aggregates data for a certain period of time to ensure both efficient data measurement and minimal battery consumption.

The skin temperature measurement function, for example, can be used to improve sleep habits, predict the menstrual cycle, estimate exercise intensity and so on, whereas the inter-beat interval can calculate stress index, detect sleep stages and monitor irregular heart rate.

Samsung’s commitment to enhancing SDK’s capabilities persists, and it will continue to provide a consistent and simple API with samples to make it easier for developers to utilize.

Samsung Health Stack: Contributing to Broadening the Digital Health Ecosystem

Amidst increasing adoption of digital tools and software for medical research within the healthcare industry, Eric Song of Samsung Research’s Data Services Lab introduced Samsung Health Stack — a groundbreaking open-source tool designed to simplify the management and analysis of health research.

Q. Samsung Health Stack was first unveiled at SDC last year, and subsequently released version 1.0 this year. What objectives does Samsung aim to accomplish with Samsung Health Stack?

Looking at recent trends in the IT industry, a variety of wearable devices are rapidly evolving. In the same regard, sensor technology that can be deployed is advancing at a swift pace.

Alongside these technological advancements, the concept of “digital therapeutics” has gained traction within the healthcare industry. Many organizations are actively seeking to treat diseases in novel ways, including the use of software to further these aims. The goal of Samsung Health Stack is to make it easier for medical researchers, who may be unfamiliar with IT systems, to safely access and utilize digital health information.

Additionally, as an open-source project, Samsung Health Stack seeks to dismantle the barrier between medical researchers and the field of digital technology field, laying the groundwork for the development of the digital health industry.

As it supports developers and researchers in the field, Samsung Health Stack will contribute to the establishment of a digital health ecosystem for both Samsung and the broader healthcare industry.

¹ Technology that enables devices with multiple connection protocols, such as Zigbee and Z-Wave, to connect to Matter and allows Matter and non-Matter devices to communicate.
² A function that supports firmware updates of Matter devices.
³ A function that connects Samsung’s various hubs on a single platform.
⁴ A function that controls Matter devices and multiple connected platforms simultaneously and shares the device’s status with users.

Read on to learn about some of the main innovations covered at SDC23 that are enhancing users’ lives.

Enriching Customer Experiences: Innovating Platforms and Enhancing Ecosystems

Jong-Hee (JH) Han, Vice Chairman, CEO and Head of Device eXperience (DX) Division at Samsung Electronics, kicked off the event by highlighting how the growing number of Samsung devices around the world drives innovation within the company.

“Over 500 million Samsung products are sold every year, and the number of people using Samsung accounts exceeds 600 million. To us, this is both a huge asset and a profound responsibility,” he stated. “Samsung’s innovations connect countless people, products and services. I believe that if you join this journey of innovation, we can create greater opportunities and a brighter future together.”

Touching on the main advancements to Samsung’s suite of devices and applications — including the SmartThings ecosystem, Bixby virtual assistant, Samsung Knox security platform and more — Han expressed how collaboration has helped bring many of the company’s products to life.

“The possibilities we can realize together are endless because as developers, we share the engines of innovation and collaboration,” he said.

Building Meaningful Home Experiences Through Enhanced Partnerships

Jaeyeon Jung, Executive Vice President and Head of SmartThings, Device Platform Center at Samsung Electronics, discussed Samsung’s ongoing commitment to increasing interoperability between devices and expanding the SmartThings home ecosystem — focusing on the company’s support for open home standards such as Matter and the Home Connectivity Alliance.

“We are building experiences that promote the whole family’s well-being by keeping us all connected during the busyness of everyday life,” she said.

Through Multi Hub Network and SmartThings Home API, Jung showcased the newest additions to the SmartThings platform that provide access to a growing list of devices, apps and services. By utilizing its wide network of partnerships and tapping other industry leaders, Samsung aims to enable users to live more digitally integrated lives – both inside and outside their homes.

Bixby: Setting a New Standard for the Samsung Ecosystem

Enhancing at-home experiences means using the most advanced technologies to tailor them to each user’s needs and tastes. Anil Yadav, Head of Bixby Lab at Samsung Research¹ America, underlined Samsung’s future vision for Bixby and how the company is working to create more intelligent and comfortable spaces for the future.

Thanks to deeper home integration, Bixby will intuitively respond to users’ commands based on their unique preferences — making smart homes that much smarter for individuals and their families. Additionally, Bixby will seamlessly route user commands to the appropriate device, creating a harmonious multi-device home ecosystem.

“This combination of personalization and adaptation ensures that every interaction with Bixby will be optimized, easy and convenient,” he said.

Providing a Safe, Secure and Convenient Cross-Device Environment

Since multi-device networks can be prone to hacks and breaches, forward-thinking security solutions are more necessary than ever. With this in mind, Samsung has been reinforcing its security solutions to anticipate evolving digital threats.

Shin Baik, Engineer of Security Team, Mobile eXperience (MX) Business at Samsung Electronics, emphasized the need for comprehensive security solutions in an expansive and highly connected device network.

“It’s time to look beyond today’s solutions and start building a better-protected future,” he said.

Baik spotlighted the company’s proprietary security innovations containing the latest features. These include:

Samsung Knox Matrix — which comes with updates to Credential Sync — enabling end-to-end encryption to backup or restore data on the Samsung Cloud. If a server is compromised or account details are stolen, user data is protected as data can only be encrypted or decrypted through the user’s device.

Mobile devices with One UI 6 will have access to passkeys — a digital credential technology that uses biometric recognition as authentication on websites and applications — marking a significant step towards a password-less future.

Beyond flagship mobile devices, Samsung Knox Vault is being expanded to Samsung Neo QLED 8K TVs in 2023, and Galaxy A series smartphones that launch with One UI 6 or later² in 2024 — protecting more customers and their devices.

Tizen Reboot: Paving the Path for the Decade Ahead

Hobum Kwon, Vice President of Platform Team at Samsung Research, unveiled advancements to Tizen, Samsung’s Linux-based open-source operating system, and how the company is rebooting it for a new generation of devices.

“We’re always thinking of how to expand the Tizen Ecosystem — and as a result, the platform has a reliable and adaptable architecture built on our commitment to open innovation,” he said.

Recently, Samsung expanded Tizen to operate on new home appliances with larger displays, such as washing machines and ovens, to enrich the user experience by providing graphic information, convenient UI and useful video content. Alongside the expansion of applicable product lines, Samsung will boost developer support through a unified Tizen Software Development Kit (SDK) that includes a 2D and 3D combined graphics engine and a new Samsung Experience Services feature.

Tizen Screen: Your Window to a World of Possibilities

Bongjun Ko, Executive Vice President of Application Software R&D Group, Visual Display (VD) Business, revealed how Samsung is elevating the Tizen TV experience for users in their day-to-day lives.

“Whether it’s through a TV or smartphone while you wait for your train, these screens are part of our daily lives,” he said. “This is why we, at Samsung, are always innovating to deliver best-in-class experiences with Tizen, starting with the biggest screens in your home.”

Ko shared that Samsung Gaming Hub is now available on a variety of Tizen-supported screens such as The Freestyle 2^nd Gen and Odyssey Neo G9 as well as 2022 and 2023 Samsung Smart TVs. Taking social interaction to new heights, Chat Together connects users with friends in chat rooms while they are watching their favorite shows, movies and sports. What’s more, the platform is adding Relumino Mode to Samsung TVs to create a more accessible and immersive viewing experience for those with low vision.

Tizen is opening its doors to a broader ecosystem of partners and developers, offering robust support and a dynamic environment to revolutionize how people connect, play and interact via screens.

Expanding the Galaxy Experience With One UI 6

One of the main highlights was the reveal of One UI 6, a transformative user experience designed for Galaxy devices. Sally Hyesoon Jeong, Vice President of Framework R&D Group, Mobile eXperience (MX) Business, introduced this innovative upgrade, focusing on enhanced usability and intelligent photo and video editing. One UI 6 includes a fresh, intuitive look and feel with a revamped Quick panel, redesigned app interfaces and a stylish, exclusive typeface: One UI Sans.

Additionally, One UI 6 will analyze photos in the Gallery using AI features — such as Photo Remaster and Object Eraser — to suggest the most relevant editing options, helping users enhance their photos quickly and more precisely. Likewise, with Samsung Studio and its multi-layer video editing features, users have greater control when editing their content to freely add effects such as text, stickers and music with the video editing timeline.

Jeong also announced the highly anticipated Galaxy SmartTag2. With a compact design, improved battery life and IP67 rating for dust and water resistance, the SmartTag2 is set to redefine how users keep track of their belongings — giving more people greater peace of mind.

Building a Digital Health Ecosystem Through Connected Care at Home

Hon Pak, Vice President of Digital Health Team, Mobile eXperience (MX) Business, highlighted the importance of fostering strong connections among devices, data, consumers and services for more optimized digital health experiences.

“Our vision for Samsung Health is to build a healthier future for everyone,” he said. “It starts from the same place where many of you started your day today — at home.”

Samsung’s vision is recognized through strategic partnerships aimed at strengthening the digital health ecosystem. Samsung Privileged Health SDK provides access to the Samsung BioActive Sensor, giving partners increased flexibility to develop powerful, health-sensing capabilities in their applications. Samsung Research launched Samsung Health Stack 1.0 to support researchers with critical tools to advance their studies. The App SDK included in Samsung Health Stack 1.0 provides developers with the building blocks to streamline participant data collection, and Web portal provides researchers with a dashboard to monitor and manage research progress in an organized and easily readable way.

Additionally, Samsung partnered with the MIT Media Lab to focus on cutting-edge research in sleep and mental health monitoring. Together, they will develop novel, scientifically validated and accessible solutions that help people sleep better and improve their health, well-being and daytime performance. The collaboration highlights Samsung’s commitment to bolstering the wellness industry and enhancing the lives of users.

Savoring the Future of Cooking With Food AI

Nick Holzherr, CEO of Whisk, Head of Samsung Food Platform, expressed how new AI-enabled customer experiences will help people not only eat better but also make “Food Your Way.”

Samsung Food makes it easier for users to share their favorite dishes with the community and follow their favorite food content creators. With the app, users can explore new levels of customization and convenience in the kitchen, from grocery shopping and personalized recipe recommendations to automated cooking settings.

“Over the coming year, we’ll continue to grow our device connectivity across Samsung’s appliances, watches and phones,” he said. “I’m super excited about how we can bring software and hardware together to create value for our Samsung customers!”

Smarter Living, Every Day

To close out the presentation, JH Han returned to the stage to offer a final word on the company’s vision for the future of hyper-connected living. Leveraging its industry partnerships, Samsung is committed to redefining how individuals interact with technology — striving to make daily life more connected and convenient for users everywhere.

“Samsung’s new products and technologies need to be anchored by a solid ecosystem,” he said. “We are committed to fostering mutual growth with all the developers and partners here.”

Watch the video below to see the complete recording of the SDC23 keynote.

¹ Serving as Samsung Electronics’ advanced R&D hub, Samsung Research leads the development of future technologies for the company’s Device eXperience (DX) Division.
² Samsung Knox Vault availability may vary by model.

Samsung Electronics today announced the global launch of the KMC-W, an updated Windows version of the Samsung Kiosk, winner of an ISE Best of Show award from AV Technology at Integrated Systems Europe 2023. The new version of the Kiosk features an interactive 24-inch display that brings expanded software compatibility to advanced self-service display technology for the food and beverage, retail, travel and healthcare industries.

The convenience of contactless technology has become critical for businesses to meet consumer demand across various industries and applications, including bill payments, drive-thru, self-ordering, smart cafés and unmanned fitting rooms. At the same time, touchscreen sanitation is one of the biggest concerns for consumers and a top priority for businesses. This has led to an increased application of antibacterial coatings and films on screens. The shatterproof film and UL-certified Antimicrobial Coating¹ that Samsung applies to its Kiosk displays protect their screens and customers.

“The retail landscape is changing based on consumer behaviors and rising demand for contactless and non-cash payment methods,” said Hoon Chung, Executive Vice President of Visual Display Business at Samsung Electronics. “As this trend accelerates not just in retail but also in the food and beverage, healthcare, travel and other sectors, the Samsung Kiosk is the future-ready solution industries need to respond to global demand.” 

Powerful Performance, Versatile Applications

Built on the Windows 10 IoT Enterprise operating system (OS), the KMC-W expands the Samsung Kiosk’s OS compatibility to meet the needs of customers in various business environments. Powered by the 11th Gen Intel Core Processor,² it offers high performance computing power and full compatibility with major ordering, point-of-sale and property management system software. Accordingly, the display comes equipped with various CPU options — including a choice of Intel Celeron 6305E, Core i3 or Core i5 processors — as well as fast 8GB DRAM memory and a 256GB SSD for greater storage capacity.

“It’s great to see the launch of the new KMC-W, which leverages the 11th Gen Intel Core Processor Enterprise Edition and the powerful Windows 10 IoT Enterprise OS to expand customer choices,” said Analisa Roberts, General Manager, Global Device Partners at Microsoft. “With 8GB of DRAM and a 256GB SSD, it provides ultra-fast processing and ample storage space to meet evolving industry demands.” 

Offering more interfaces for third-party peripherals, the KMC-W supports a wide range of use cases across industries. Its extensive integration capabilities enable it to meet the needs of a wide range of businesses, from hotels and airports to convenience stores, restaurants, and pharmacies. Businesses can tailor their Kiosks for various scenarios, including using them as ID/passport scanners, external cameras, payment terminals, and vending machines.

The KMC-W’s compact design and flexible features make it suitable for virtually any business environment. Its flexible installation options, which enable it to be affixed to a countertop, wall mount³ or a stand that can be positioned anywhere to seamlessly blend in with its surroundings, allow businesses to save time, cost and space without the need for additional construction.

Enabling More Personalized Customer Experiences Around the World

The Samsung Kiosk Tizen version, launched in 2021, allows businesses and retailers around the world to optimize the customer journey. With the new Samsung Kiosk Windows version, retails can enjoy the business advantages of the Kiosk display whether they use Tizen or Windows OS.

In the Philippines, fast food chain KFC currently uses Samsung Kiosks on Windows OS at 63 locations. The Kiosks create an in-store digital experience for KFC customers, enabling them to self-serve and enjoy a more personalized and convenient visit. To continue enhancing its customer experience, the company will install Kiosks at more than 100 additional stores by the end of the year.

French company LAPEYRE, which manufactures and sells equipment for home kitchens, bathrooms, doors, and windows, has installed Samsung Kiosks operating on Windows OS throughout its stores. As a growing franchise with 126 locations in France and 25 new stores set to open across the country by 2025, the company has partnered with Samsung to digitalize services to boost business and attract new customers. The rollout includes 100 Kiosks to display queue status, 70 Kiosks to support fast self-ordering, and 300 Kiosks for consumers to browse the company’s product catalog and customize their product using configurators on the kiosks, generating more sales and enhancing the customer experience.

In addition, made-to-order restaurant company Duck Donuts Powered by GRUBBRR is currently utilizing Samsung Kiosks based on the Tizen OS. The company’s rollout enhanced the purchase experience at 30 of its stores across the U.S., improving customer satisfaction and operational efficiency. With personalized ordering and easy-to-read menus, Duck Donuts was able to strengthen its customer relationships and drive revenue.

The KMC-W Samsung Kiosk model is currently available for purchase in more than 35 countries across Europe, North America, South America, Southeast Asia, Southwest Asia and the Middle East.

For more information, please visit displaysolutions.samsung.com/kiosk.

¹ This product has been treated with the biocidal substance Zinc Pyrithione. Antibacterial property does not completely protect users against bacteria and provides no protection against viruses including Covid-19. Coating applies only to the surface of the screen and its effect may vary depending on conditions of use. Available in select markets.
² All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Intel, the Intel logo and other Intel marks are trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries.
³ Wall mount and stand must be purchased separately.

With opening remarks from Jong-Hee Han, Vice Chairman, CEO and Head of Device Experience (DX) Division at Samsung Electronics, the presentations revealed how Samsung is crafting systems that help make lives smarter, safer, more convenient and more connected than ever before.

▲ Attendees take their seats at SDC 2022 in anticipation of the day’s wide-ranging Keynote

Read on to see Samsung Newsroom’s recap of the innovation and inspiration revolutionizing how we live and work both now and in the future.

Opening: A Seamless, Frictionless Experience

Jong-Hee Han opened up the day’s talks by underscoring the importance of convenience in an age of brilliant yet complex technologies. “At Samsung, our goal has always been to make our lives easier through technology innovation,” said Han. “But innovation can also be burdensome for users if convenience is not at the forefront. Our teams are determined to deliver devices that are as smooth and accessible as they are advanced.”

▲ Jong-Hee Han, Vice Chairman, CEO and Head of DX Division at Samsung Electronics, welcomes attendees to SDC 2022.

Covering everything from Calm Technology to Knox Matrix to holistic household platforms like Bixby Home Studio and SmartThings, Han outlined a device and systems ecosystem that puts the user experience at the center. “The goal of all this is to give you an easier, seamless and more frictionless experience,” Han emphasized. “So you can focus on what matters most.”

A Home That Learns and Adapts Through SmartThings

Following Jong-Hee Han, Jaeyeon Jung, Vice President and Head of SmartThings, Mobile eXperience Business, discussed how Covid-19 galvanized teams at Samsung to prioritize the important things in life, particularly in the home. “If you’re like me, the past few years have been a time to prioritize what matters, to find moments to pause and refresh,” said Jung.

▲ Jaeyeon Jung, Vice President and Head of SmartThings, Mobile eXperience Business, outlines how the platform is helping realize a truly seamless, intuitive household device ecosystem.

Samsung’s SmartThings platform, Jung explained, is the perfect way to do this in your home. Thanks to a wide range of improvements to the household ecosystem platform, finding, setting up, onboarding and synchronizing new devices into your household will be easier and more efficient than ever. This includes Galaxy Quick Pair, Matter Hub connectivity, SmartThings Energy and SmartThings Music Sync, as well as boosted integration with partner systems and an expanded SmartThings website.

Matter: A Truly Harmonious Household Experience

At the end of her talk, Jung introduced Matthew McCullough from Google, who provided an overview of Matter, a system that lays the groundwork for true interoperability between devices in the home. Samsung is committed to Matter integration, and confident it will make the dream of a fully integrated household a reality.

▲ Google’s Matthew McCullough explains how the Matter interoperability system works, reinforcing Samsung and Google’s collaborative efforts to expand its integration.

By working closely together, Samsung and Google aim to make life for both users and device makers simpler and smoother, with multi-admin features that cut down on manual management and make Google Home and Nest Hub more accessible. “This ease of use across Samsung and Google is just the start, and we’re looking forward to delivering a more seamless, delightful home experience,” said McCullough.

Industry Collaboration Making Device Ecosystems More Open

▲ Mark Benson, Head of SmartThings U.S. at Samsung, expands on the company’s enthusiasm for Matter adoption and introduces the SmartThings Matter Early Access Program.

Continuing with the theme of interoperability, Mark Benson, Head of SmartThings U.S., emphasized Samsung’s commitment to supporting Matter. “To accelerate Matter adoption, we created the SmartThings Matter Early Access Program, where we work with major device manufacturers to ensure their Matter-enabled devices work seamlessly with SmartThings,” said Benson.

The SmartThings app, SmartThings Hub Core and SmartThings Cloud, Benson pointed out, are already prepared to support Matter. “It’s all about delivering interoperability right out of the box,” he said.

The Expanding Role of Bixby

Anil Yadav, Head of Bixby Lab at Samsung Research¹ America, took to the stage to discuss SmartThings’ bespoke speech platform and de facto voice in the home, including its exciting new feature: Bixby Home Studio. “With Bixby Home Studio, you can create experiences that span multiple devices and respond more intuitively to user commands,” said Yadav. “For example, if you ask Bixby to turn on your air conditioner, Bixby can check if you have any windows open and let you know to close them, saving energy.”

▲ Voice system expert and Head of Bixby Lab Anil Yadav lays out the platform’s evolving role in the home and celebrates the launch of Bixby Home Studio.

Ready to do everything from queuing up your next action movie on your Samsung Smart TV to boosting your mobile security with On-Device AI, Bixby is smarter and more powerful than ever.

Premium Security and Privacy for an Integrated Household

▲ Shin Baik, Principal Engineer of Security Team, Mobile eXperience Business, underscores the significance of strong security and personalized privacy, as exemplified by systems like Samsung Knox and Knox Matrix.

Samsung envisions more than just a convenient and integrated home experience. Its teams are also creating an experience that is as safe as it is smooth, as private as it is proactive. After Yadav’s Bixby talk, Shin Baik, Principal Engineer of Security Team, Mobile eXperience Business, discussed with the audience how top-notch innovations need top-notch security to go with them. Unwavering in its three security and privacy principles — transparency, choice and protection — Samsung has worked hard to develop platforms like Samsung Knox. This will keep everything from your phone to your refrigerator safe and secure, said Baik.

A new platform called Knox Matrix, in particular, is now on the frontline of multi-device protection. “Knox Matrix is your own private blockchain,” Baik explained. “Multiple devices share credentials, turning the ecosystem of devices into a shield that protects everyone.”

In step with these developments, of course, is Samsung’s insistence on a customizable privacy experience, which is provided by Samsung’s comprehensive Security and privacy dashboard. “We believe that you — and only you — should be making decisions about how your information is managed and stored,” said Baik.

A More Vibrant Content Ecosystem Than Ever

Sang Kim, Senior Vice President and Head of Product & Marketing at Samsung Electronics America, shared important insights on Samsung’s extensive media network, covering a range of recent successes.

▲ Sang Kim, Senior Vice President and Head of Product & Marketing at Samsung Electronics America, provides a roundup of Samsung’s diverse — and rapidly expanding — media network.

Samsung Gaming Hub, launched in June, is an all-in-one gaming solution that, thanks to partnerships with industry leaders like Xbox, lets players connect their controllers to Samsung TVs and access all the games they love without even needing a console or PC.

Samsung TV Plus, the FAST streaming TV and video platform that relaunched this summer, now reaches 24 countries and 465 million devices globally. It is projected to clock in an impressive three billion hours streamed by users by the end of 2022.

Thanks to broad reach, smooth monetization integration and an advertising environment optimized for both clients and users, Samsung streaming also offers an ideal platform for premium advertising.

“Today, Fortune 500 companies from around the world have leveraged Samsung TV Plus and our other advanced TV advertising solutions to reach valuable consumers,” Kim said.

Tizen’s Global Conquest

▲ Yongjae Kim, Executive Vice President and Deputy Head of R&D Team, Visual Display Business discusses all things Tizen, from the operating system’s global reach to its growing spectrum of applications.

Following Sang Kim, Yongjae Kim, Executive Vice President and Deputy Head of R&D Team, Visual Display Business, took to the stage to talk about Tizen, Samsung’s open source, Linux-backed operating system. Kim took the audience through a huge variety of developments in the Tizen journey, which is growing its capabilities to an ever-wider spectrum of uses and applications.

Leveraging partnerships with gaming leaders like Xbox, NVIDIA and Utomik, Tizen is helping bring a truly consolidated, uninterrupted gaming experience to users with Samsung Gaming Hub, with fantastic performance and image quality, Kim explained. It delivers stunning visual displays and blockchain wallet integration to Samsung TVs for better at-home art experiences, while also helping Smart Hub deliver the best in content searches and recommendations. Tizen Enterprise, meanwhile, is boosting B2B partners’ display and signage options, while Tizen Everywhere aims to expand licensing and bring the system to more countries.

“Since its launch ten years ago, Tizen now powers more than 330 million TVs, refrigerators and other smart devices,” said Kim. “At Samsung, we will continue to create Tizen experiences that transform and go beyond what many thought possible.”

One UI 5 and the “Your Galaxy, Your Way” Philosophy

Next up was Sally Hyesoon Jeong, Vice President of Framework R&D Group, Mobile eXperience Business, whose theme for the day was the company’s latest leap forward in the UI experience: One UI 5.

▲ Sally Hyesoon Jeong, Vice President of Framework R&D Group, Mobile eXperience Business, introduces One UI 5, the next stage of Samsung’s UI evolution and a distillation of the “Your Galaxy, Your Way” philosophy.

“On this stage three years ago, I shared our vision for One UI, the essence of the Galaxy experience,” Jeong began. “One UI truly captures the ‘Your Galaxy, Your Way’ philosophy by bringing users an intuitive, connected experience that is uniquely yours.”

Splitting the new UI update’s advancements into three areas — Personalization, Productivity and Possibility — Jeong shared a host of new and improved features. Personalization included deep customization enhancements, like Dynamic Lockscreen for smartphones, Watch Face Studio for Galaxy Watches and custom-built Modes and Routines, while health and security functions are also more adaptable than ever. The Productivity section included Bixby Text Call, improved phone-to-PC connectivity and multitasking upgrades like Taskbar improvements. Possibilities covered One UI 5’s integration with innovative Samsung Foldable devices and related functions like Flex Mode.

A Look Over the Horizon: Robotics and Health in Tomorrow’s Homes

The final talk before the wrap-up was from Sebastian Seung, President and Head of Samsung Research. While many of the day’s talks focused on recent improvements, Seung has his eye on the innovations of tomorrow, aiming for no less than the merging of the physical and digital worlds.

“I’d like to invite you to look over the horizon, to a future dreamed of but not yet realized,” said Seung, who divided his presentation between the future of robotics in the home and Samsung’s ambitions to contribute to health & wellness research.

In the home robotics field, Seung discussed the company’s continued success with a household supported by advanced, AI-enhanced devices, including the object-detecting JetBot AI+ vacuum, the Bot Handy chore assistant prototype and even future plans for Samsung’s latest robot arm manipulation code, which will soon be available on GitHub.

▲ Sebastian Seung, President and Head of Samsung Research, discusses the company’s plans for a future where advanced robotics technologies support households and outlines Samsung’s ambitions in health & wellness research.

Moving on to the subject of health, Seung introduced Samsung Health Stack, an open source project from Samsung that aims to actively advance health & wellness research. “This is a full stack SDK, a mobile app for patients, a portal for researchers and a backend database,” said Seung. “A complete package of open-source tools designed for the easy creation of digital systems for the research of health and wellness.”

Closing: Building a More Sustainable Future With Samsung

To round off the talks, Jong-Hee Han returned to the stage to offer a final word, summarizing the technologies showcased at SDC and the course of the company’s future of innovation.

▲ Jong-Hee Han returns to the stage to conclude the day’s talks, ending on a proactive vision of a future driven by sustainable, eco-conscious technologies.

“I would like to talk about the future one more time,” he added. “The future of something very dear to my heart: our planet. I believe we have a responsibility to help create a sustainable future. We do that through Everyday Sustainability, a belief that every stage of the product lifecycle can be more sustainable.”

Han presented a range of Samsung sustainability commitments and environmental research directions, including responsible material sourcing, recycling, disposal, renewable energy and billions in investments toward meeting carbon emissions reductions.

“By 2027, we will run all DX operations on renewable energy,” Han said, ending the day on an optimistic note and a glimpse of a future for customers that is easier, more seamless, more frictionless and — crucially — more eco-conscious.

Watch the video below to see the complete recording of the SDC22 Keynote.

▲ Attendees explore the latest Samsung products at SDC22 booths.

¹ Samsung Research, acting as Samsung Electronics’ advanced R&D hub, leads the development of future technologies for the company’s Device eXperience (DX) Division.

As people become increasingly more health-focused, tech industry realized the value in pursuing projects that help individuals monitor their health and fitness. Principal Engineer Jinwoo Song from Samsung Research’s Data Research Team explained how Samsung Health Stack project helps developers and engineers optimize app development and more.

Q1. What does Samsung Health Stack do and what benefits does it ultimately provide?

Samsung Health Stack is an open source project that provides help in conducting research related to digital health using wearable devices, developing applications needed and creating tools for backend server and analysis in Android and Wear OS environment. By utilizing Samsung Health Stack, IT developers and engineers can save time and cost needed for developing the right environment, and researchers can focus more on conducting research studies that utilize new digital data. I believe that such convenience for development will be a great foundation for various forms of digital health care research and new data-based technologies.

Q2. What was the focus of the open source when designing Samsung Health Stack?

We designed it by analyzing the user experience of everyone involved in healthcare research so that the solution can accommodate the entire process of recruiting participants, collecting data and analyzing data. When there were some difficulties during the course of the development, we found solutions through health care-related cooperation with many research institutions.

In addition, we made effort to provide the structure that can continue to be scaled up to handle new forms of data and devices that become the interest of digital health researchers. In particular, we’ve designed the structure so that only certain necessary parts can be selected and expanded for use in order to enable application in various cases that go beyond clinical research, such as the area of care, etc.

Q3. What do you think the direction of development will be going forward for data-based health-care technologies?

Due to the technological advancement including AI, and the transition to aging society, the digital technology that centers on consumers and data is becoming more important in the field of health care. In order to respond to such changes, it is important to have the capability to safely manage and precisely analyze various data on users.

We believe that a world in which everyone will be able to receive customized, optimal health care solutions with data on users’ everyday life will come in the future. We’ll continue to make effort to develop technologies and products to make this possible, and we look forward to seeing many developers participate in this effort.

In order to create the best product experience, Samsung’s One UI platform offers a simple and intuitive interface across all of its devices, putting the user at the center of its unified device experience. Content Strategist Josh Ross from Samsung’s Core UX Group of MX Business shared the inspiration behind One UI and how it was created with users in mind.

Q1. What is One UI and what experiences does it provide to users?

One UI is the unified platform for Samsung Galaxy products, from phones and tablets to watches and Galaxy Books. It creates a single, seamless experience that empowers users to get the most from their Samsung products.

Q2. To create an intuitive and easy-to-use interface for users, One UI adheres to four key principles: simplicity, effortlessness, consistency and authenticity. Can you explain why these principles are important for development of One UI and how you think this enhances the mobile experience for users?

You need principles so you can be sure your design is heading in the right direction. We’ve chosen these four principles because they put the focus on the user, which is what we always want to do. Simplicity helps users focus on what matters. Effortlessness means that you don’t have to struggle to get things done. Consistency means that things work the way you expect them to, which helps to make things effortless. And authenticity is about creating experiences that feel natural, like a part of your own self-expression. When these principles come together, the result can be very powerful but also subtle. You don’t always notice all the work that goes into the design, and that’s actually good. The best design is almost invisible.

Q3. Why are partnerships an essential part of One UI? What are the benefits of partnerships for One UI development?

Partnerships are a huge part of the One UI experience. As good as Samsung is, we need the insight and expertise of others to deliver the best experience to users. Partnerships make apps like SmartThings and Samsung Wallet possible, so that you can do amazing things like control your car or your lights, make payments, board an airplane and so much more, right from inside One UI. Partnerships enrich our Samsung Health content with fitness expertise about everything from sleep coaching to body composition to mindfulness. Partnerships add flavor to your chats with GIFs from Giphy and Tenor, stickers, fun camera features on Snapchat and much more. Partnerships like the Global Goals app, a collaboration between Samsung and the UN, help bring awareness to important causes.

We want to empower our users to do things the way they want, with the apps and services they love. Partnerships are a huge part of that.

Q4. Going forward, what are some things users can expect from Samsung’s One UI?

We have a lot of things we’re announcing at SDC this year, so I don’t want to give everything away, but you can always expect further refinement and improvement. We look at everything from icons and animations to how you organize and find things and so much more. We’re learning more and more from our users about how the foldable experience changes things, so keep looking for exciting developments in the area of unique features for the Galaxy Flip and Galaxy Fold.

Samsung has also partnered with HealthTap to provide telemedicine services through its Smart TVs. Samsung’s Tizen, an open-source operating system, helped developers optimize the service for use on Smart TVs. Sean Park, Senior Product Manager from the Experience Planning Group of Visual Display Business, explained more about accessing telemedicine through Samsung’s Smart TVs.

Q1. How did Tizen help with the development of this service?

Samsung Electronics’ smart operating system (OS) Tizen provided the grounds for easy navigation on the large screen display. Tizen is very quick to deploy as evidenced by what we were able to achieve in three months’ time.

Q2. What are the benefits of accessing telemedicine services through Samsung Smart TVs?

Everything nowadays has gone remote. We want to provide Samsung users with a more convenient way to access medical care, which is telemedicine.

Samsung’s collaboration with HealthTap allows you to see a doctor through a large screen from the comfort of your home, creating a more immersive telehealth experience. If you want to access services including mental health counseling, you can do that with Samsung Smart TVs. For those who are a bit older and whose vision makes it difficult to use a small mobile screen, or for those who need to hold small children while consulting a doctor, they can easily access telehealth services through Samsung Smart TVs. We want everyone to be able to easily see a doctor from home, which we believe is not only convenient but necessary.

Ultra-wideband technology (UWB) has been recently gaining more and more attention in the smart device industry. Principal Engineer Haeyoung Jun from Samsung Research’s Standards Research Team talked about the importance of standardization of UWB and how it could shape the future of the industry.

Q1. What is the role of the FiRa Consortium that Samsung Electronics established in 2019 with key industry players, and what specific activities does it do?

The FiRa Consortium develops the interoperability standard and certification program to enable consumers to use services powered by Ultra-wideband (UWB) technology in smart devices across devices made by different manufacturers.

After the FiRa Consortium was initially established by only a few companies, including Samsung Electronics, there are now more than 115 member companies participating in defining the interoperability standard together. Furthermore, FiRa is exploring various applications that utilize UWB, and is cooperating with multiple standard organizations across various industry verticals for the standardization of these applications.

Q2. We’d like to know why UWB technology is gaining attraction again recently and how it is moving forward.

As many service providers and manufacturers investigate use scenarios utilizing relative location information obtained by direct communication among devices without heavy infrastructures, the barrier to implementing UWB technology and applications have been lowered. Along with Samsung Electronics, global companies are also implementing UWB into their devices. As the number of UWB enabled products increases in the market, there will be motivation to install UWB infrastructures as well. We anticipate that, if just one or two game-changing UWB applications emerge in the market, the UWB ecosystem will expand rapidly.

Q3. We’d like to know what the new era of wireless communications envisioned through UWB technology standardization would look like in detail.

UWB technology allows your own devices to detect the location, including distance and direction, of other UWB devices in proximity. It also enables the secure data transactions among devices as well as secure internal interfaces, therefore UWB can provide different type of location-based services that GPS is unable to. For instances, UWB brings the same effect as tagging NFC to a reader even with the smartphone placed in a pocket or bag. With the standardized UWB technology, consumers will be able to access new convenient services across multiple verticals.

Samsung Electronics held its annual Samsung Developer Conference (SDC) today in San Francisco, bringing together developers, creators and designers to explore seamless, connected experiences powered by Samsung.

During the event, Samsung shared more about its commitment to creating simplified, game-changing customer experiences, including the company’s updated vision for SmartThings as it evolves from a connectivity platform to an enabler of smarter lifestyles. From deeper integration with Bixby to seamless connectivity with Matter-compatible devices, SmartThings is creating a richer, more open world that empowers all users to streamline their connections and their daily lives.

“At Samsung, we continuously innovate our devices, platforms and services to be simpler and more convenient. I am proud to share the next generation of our work, like SmartThings, to further our collaboration with partners and developers,” said Jong-Hee (JH) Han, Vice Chairman, CEO and Head of Device eXperience (DX) Division at Samsung Electronics. “As technologies become more complex, we will always search for ways to make life easier, more connected, and more flexible, so our consumers can focus on what matters most.”

Connecting Platforms and Devices With Calm Technology

Samsung’s vision of seamless connectivity is inspired by the philosophy of Calm Technology — where devices instantly work together, so consumers can save time on setup and get right into the experience. To realize this vision, Samsung reimagined SmartThings and its connected services and partnerships, including Samsung’s Hub Everywhere, extending its capabilities to the entire smart home with audio and visual data as well as SmartThings Energy, SmartThings Pet and SmartThings Cooking. Samsung also partnered with Philips Hue to integrate Philips Hue Sync right into Galaxy devices so smart home lighting can match with music.

The seamless experience will extend beyond Samsung’s ecosystem through SmartThings’ integration with Matter and Samsung’s membership in the Home Connectivity Alliance. Google and Samsung have worked together to enable users to find and link their devices across platforms by building multi-admin feature on Matter devices. The collaboration will bring more devices and users into the connected home in the future.

Bixby has been integrated more deeply with SmartThings, a tool for developers to build more intelligent voice user interface experiences. As Samsung’s representative voice assistant platform, Bixby has evolved to become the on-device AI solution able to control individual Galaxy devices, as well as the cross-device experience throughout the Samsung ecosystem. With the new Bixby Home Studio, developers can now build differentiated, customized experiences for the SmartThings platform. In addition, Bixby will be even more widely available to users with support for Latin American Spanish, starting in November.

As the smart home is becoming more advanced, Samsung is introducing a new security paradigm, enabling Samsung devices to protect each other. Samsung Knox Matrix¹ is a private blockchain based platform that turns eligible Samsung devices into a shield to protect users’ entire device ecosystem — from Galaxy devices to TVs and home appliances. Plus, users can customize personal privacy settings with the new Security and privacy dashboard, which scans for vulnerabilities, recommends security updates and gives users data management options to keep privacy and security top of mind.

Personalized Services for Better Experiences

In the past year, Samsung TV Plus — Samsung’s free, ad-supported streaming TV and video (FAST) platform available on Samsung Smart TVs² and mobile devices — reached 100% growth in viewership,³ and projects three billion hours streamed by the end of the year. To build on this momentum, Samsung TV Plus has expanded its offering by adding partnerships with Lionsgate and Vice Media, providing 8K video on demand. Samsung TV Plus has also gone through a redesign, to reflect its extraordinary variety of content with more than 1,600 channels across 24 countries. Samsung TV Plus is the premium choice for a seamless ad experience, where stream stitching makes ad playback simpler than ever.

After 10 years of service, Samsung’s Tizen operating system (OS) continues to offer best-in-class user experiences. The Samsung Gaming Hub brings better, faster and more convenient access to gaming on Samsung Smart TVs, provided by industry-leading partners, such as Xbox, NVIDIA GeForce NOW, Utomik and Amazon Luna. Samsung Gaming Hub bridges expertise in hardware and software to integrate features like AI Upscaling and multitask functions to make gaming on Samsung Smart TVs an immersive, optimized experience.

Tizen OS is also expanding to offer NFTs support with partners like Art Token, laCollection and Nifty Gateway. For B2B customers and developers, Samsung is providing B2B APIs specific to industries and use cases like Syncplay, which allows content to be synchronized and played in multiple signages. Tizen is also introducing SALT, a new content conversion solution to display the highest-quality HDR10+ content on supported TVs.

Your Galaxy, Your Way With One UI 5

By introducing the new One UI 5, Samsung has empowered users to easily customize their device’s look and feel, while enhancing productivity and providing amazing experiences across devices and platforms. One UI 5 brings more personalized experiences with custom-built Modes and Routines, and a Dynamic Lock screen that displays multiple visuals on your phone, your Galaxy Watch and other One UI 5 devices. With the new Bixby Text Call feature, Bixby Voice will answer calls on your behalf and share typed messages with the caller, speaking aloud as if you had answered. One UI 5 also introduces new daily health solutions to help track health and wellness in one place. This includes the Samsung Privileged Health SDK, which enables developers to build apps that leverage the BioActive Sensor on the Galaxy Watch.⁴

Future-Forward Investment and Research

Samsung Research is looking beyond today’s horizon to innovate for a better tomorrow, full of relentless innovation and open collaboration. Samsung Research is making its robot arm manipulation code available on GitHub, enabling academics, researchers and developers to examine new ideas in robotic manipulation.

The team at Samsung Research was also inspired by the new wellness features Samsung has introduced, particularly on the Galaxy Watch5. To find new use-cases leveraging these features, Samsung Research is working with universities and healthcare institutions that will explore areas like heart health, stress, blood pressure, lung health and neuroscience. As a result, Samsung is offering a full stack SDK — the Samsung Health Stack — which will jumpstart research into important health fields and spark new development.

Samsung invites developers, creators, partners and more to join in on its commitment to open collaboration and seamless experiences. For more information about the Samsung Developer Conference (SDC) 2022, please visit developer.samsung.com.

¹ Starting as early as late 2023, Samsung Knox Matrix will be initially available on selected Samsung devices. Support for other manufacturers’ products will follow later.

² Samsung TV Plus is available for selected Samsung Smart TVs only.

³  Viewership from September 2021 to August 2022 compared to viewership from September 2020 to August 2021

⁴ Available on Galaxy Watch4 series and Galaxy Watch5 series.

The new smart TVs powered by Tizen follow the announcement of Samsung’s Tizen TV Platform Licensing program at the Samsung Developer Conference (SDC) in 2021. The licensing program allows other TV brands to take advantage of Tizen OS, which provides industry-leading smart features, content discoverability tools, apps and modern user interface for the ultimate smart TV experience.

To support the seamless adoption of Tizen OS, Samsung collaborates with a selection of partners on content licensing and hardware optimizations. These partnerships give many TV brands access to a whole world of entertainment that Samsung Smart TVs exclusively provide, while also allowing Tizen to leverage its ever-expanding ecosystem to strengthen its offerings. Key features that the users of the licensed TV brands will gain access to include:³

• Samsung TV Plus, Samsung’s free streaming TV and video platform that will allow users to enjoy hundreds of live channels, entertainment, news, shows and sports — for free.
• Universal Guide, allowing easy browsing and discovery of all content across different streaming apps, along with personalized recommendations so users can spend more time watching and less time searching.
• Bixby, a voice assistant platform that will provide users with more convenient way to explore smart TVs. Users can tell Bixby to search, watch, or perform various features.

Since Samsung teamed up with the Linux Foundation to unveil the first version in 2012, Tizen OS has made an exponential growth over the past decade. To date, around 200 million people from 197 countries are using Samsung Smart TVs powered by Tizen, and, the number is expected to expand with the latest addition of Tizen-powered smart TVs.

“2022 has been a memorable year for Tizen OS as we celebrate its 10^th anniversary and the very first Tizen-powered smart TVs available from other brands,” said Yongjae Kim, Executive Vice President of Visual Display Business at Samsung Electronics. “Starting with these new Tizen-powered smart TVs, we will continue to expand the licensing program and introduce Tizen OS and its ecosystem to more products and brands around the world.”

For more details, please visit www.samsung.com.

¹ Tizen TV brands include Akai, Bauhn, Linsar (distributed by Tempo), RCA, Vispera (distributed by HKC) Sunny and Axen (distributed by Atmaca).

² Akai, Bauhn, Linsar Tizen TVs are available as of September 2022 in Australia. Other brands will be available later in Q4 2022.

³ Available smart features may vary depending on country.

Samsung recognized the importance of OS early on and subsequently began research and development. In April of 2012, Samsung unveiled the first version of Tizen, a Linux-based open-source platform. 10 years later, at this year’s SDC, Samsung will unveil its new vision for Tizen 7.0.

▲ The team behind the research and development of Tizen OS at Samsung Research: VP Jinmin Chung, Head of the Platform Team (center), and researchers Seonah Moon of the MDE Lab (left) and Jin Yoon of the Tizen Platform Lab (right)

Since the first version of Tizen was released, much time has passed and Tizen has evolved in a variety of ways. To learn the details behind the development of Tizen, Samsung Newsroom met with Samsung Research’s Vice President Jinmin Chung and researchers Jin Yoon and Seonah Moon, who have been working on Tizen since the beginning.

The First Step in Providing a Universally Connected Experience

Tizen is a Linux-based open-source platform led by Samsung and it also supports all types of smart devices. With the aim of being utilized in various types of Samsung products to support smooth product operation, Tizen has been equipped in about 330 million smart devices as of the end of 2021.

“We needed Tizen to differentiate Samsung’s devices from others and to provide a different service and user experience,” VP Chung said. “It’s already been 10 years since Tizen was first developed. We experienced challenges in the initial development stage, but we felt supported by the people who believed in the possibility and usability of Tizen and rooted for us. We focused on the research proudly knowing that we were leading Samsung’s own independent OS development project,” he added.

In 2014, for the first time, Tizen was equipped in Samsung’s Gear 2, a wearable device, proving its viability through its commercialization. Furthermore, a year later, Tizen was used in the 2015 Samsung Smart TV product line up that set a new bar of smart TVs.

Why Tizen?

Tizen has many advantages that enable it to offer the highest performance across Samsung’s devices. First, Tizen’s flexibility allows it to be easily applied to a variety of smart devices. In order to make this possible, Tizen went through multiple platform improvement processes. Several profiles were established based on the different types of products. Then, Tizen Common, which is the common module for all products, and the Specialized Module, which is needed for certain products only, were created. The structure is designed in a way that allows the platform to be quickly modified and applied to new products as well. This enables Tizen to be utilized in a wide range of products, including smart TVs, refrigerators and air conditioners.

Additionally, Samsung utilized its advanced know-how and experience in commercializing embedded system software when developing Tizen. The Tizen platform is optimized to perform well while using minimal memory and low power. It’s an open-source platform that can be used by anyone, and it supports optimized performance for immediate commercialization.

Tizen is also convenient for new product development because it is Samsung’s own independent OS. The platform can be modified as desired to add new features and services to products in a timely manner.

“Across the world, only a handful of companies own their own independent OS,” Chung said. “The fact that Samsung has its own OS called Tizen means that Samsung has become a company proficient in developing not only hardware but software as well,” he emphasized.

The People Behind Tizen: 10 Years of History

Many developers put much effort into the development and evolution of Tizen.

Researcher Jin Yoon has been participating in the Tizen project since its early stages, meaning he has witnessed the growth of Tizen firsthand. “Starting with Smart TVs, the applications for Tizen are gradually increasing, and the system is evolving and advancing further,” Yoon said. “In addition, the implementation of a new development language, framework and infrastructure makes development more convenient and increases the productivity of developers. Now, we’re working hard to secure usability that is appropriate for each product group that uses Tizen,” he continued.

“The code sources of Tizen are very stable because they’ve gone through actual commercialization. On top of that, they come with performance-specific details and security as well. This means third party developers can trust and find these sources,” Yoon said.

Expanding the application of Tizen to more devices and creating an ecosystem for Tizen is important for improving the usability of a product, but active participation in open-source communities is also crucial. This is because open-source communities enable community members to share problems and come up with solutions together, directly contributing to the improvement of software. In order to manage this, Seonah Moon from the MDE Lab, who’s been developing Tizen for eight years, is responsible for tasks involving open-source maintenance. Countless open sources were also used for Tizen’s development. Moon monitors each open source, analyzes its errors and shares her opinion on them to help outside developers access Tizen more easily.

A Bridge That Connects All of Samsung’s Products Together

Tizen is more than just an OS for Samsung’s developers and researchers.

Since the platform’s development requires constant maintenance, this means developers must continue to hone their skills. Tizen motivated each member of the development team to continue learning and improving their software skills. The developers of Tizen have grown into experts specializing in different areas. Since the team’s initial start, they have grown to accumulate many platform codes over the last 10 years. They also constantly learned by voluntarily participating in study group meetings.

“Tizen is like a bridge that connects all of Samsung’s products together,” Moon said. “Cooperation among business divisions is a must for utilizing the OS in different products. Through this cooperation, we can share our development knowledge with one another and also create a new service based on our OS,” Moon continued.

An Interconnected Device Experience With Tizen

Tizen has continued to evolve to allow all devices around us, including wearables, TVs, refrigerators and even robot vacuum cleaners, to provide new user experiences. When asked about what the future of Tizen will look like, the developers explained their ambitions to continue connecting devices using Tizen.

“We’re now living in an era where everything is connected to one another through the Internet of Things (IoT),” said Yoon. “By increasing the productivity of Tizen app development, I’d like to provide an innovative user experience where all Samsung products are connected to one another, creating an interconnected product ecosystem,” he explained.

“I’d like to lead the efforts in expanding Tizen’s use in a variety of ways by discovering new scenarios and utilizing even more advanced technologies,” said Moon when explaining her ambitions. “By growing together with Tizen, I’d like to become the ‘maintainer’ or the key contributor to the open-source project,” she continued.

“I dream of a future in which Tizen is equipped in all the devices that people use in their daily lives, enabling various devices to operate organically as if they’re one and providing intelligent services, like the metaverse,” Chung said. To enable this, Samsung Research is developing various technologies with many teams in order to manifest a future in which various Tizen devices are all connected through the OS, providing a Multi-Device Experience (MDE), modular AI and more.

The infinite possibilities of Tizen will be showcased at SDC 2022 this year. At the conference, Samsung Research will share how easy it is to make new devices based on the flexibility of Tizen 7.0, and how the new version of Tizen can strengthen intelligent services. As it continues to evolve in line with the era of hyper-connectivity and intelligence, the future of Tizen is bright and its applications are limitless.

Samsung Electronics today announced it will host the Samsung Developer Conference 2022 (SDC22) at the Moscone North in San Francisco on October 12. The annual conference, which will be held both in-person and virtually, will highlight Samsung’s plans to evolve the SmartThings platform and collaborate with developers and creators to build next generation connected experiences for millions around the world.

At SDC22, Samsung is expected to share updates for its software, services and platforms, including SmartThings, to enable a better, more connected world for all. The company will showcase its vision for Calm Technology, where devices connect seamlessly for a more intelligent consumer experience that takes place instantly.

Jong-Hee (JH) Han, Vice Chairman, CEO and Head of Device eXperience (DX) Division at Samsung Electronics, will open SDC22’s keynote address by sharing more about the company’s vision. He will be joined by other Samsung executives, who will share the company’s strategies in areas like future technologies. Other speakers include:

• Sebastian Seung, President & Head of Samsung Research
• Yongjae Kim, EVP, Deputy Head of R&D Team, Visual Display Business
• Sang Kim, SVP & Head of Product & Marketing, Samsung Electronics America
• Jaeyeon Jung, VP & Head of SmartThings, Mobile eXperience Business
• Hyesoon Jung, VP & Head of Framework R&D Group, Mobile eXperience Business
• Mark Benson, Head of SmartThings
• Anil Yadav, Head of Bixby Lab, Samsung Research America

Beyond the keynote address, SDC22 will feature breakout sessions open to both in-person and virtual participants. These breakout sessions provide opportunities to collaborate and learn more about Samsung’s latest developer-focused platforms and tools, including Bixby, One UI 5, SmartThings and Matter, Samsung Wallet, Tizen and more, along with opportunities to explore partner ecosystems.

The onsite event will feature hands-on experiences in Samsung’s Tech Square, including opportunities to explore new SmartThings scenarios and Samsung’s latest innovations. The event will also feature networking opportunities and various onsite activities.

SDC22 will host additional activations for those joining online, including the Code Lab, where developers can collaborate and sharpen their coding skills.

For more information about the Samsung Developer Conference 2022, please visit http://developer.samsung.com/sdc. Further information can also be found on Twitter (@samsung_dev) and Facebook (@samsungdev) with the hashtag #SDC22.

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

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

Platforms Designed for Connected Experiences

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tizen Takes Smart TV to New Heights

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

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

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

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

Innovating Across the Galaxy Ecosystem

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

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

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

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

Voice Recognition With Bixby: More Convenient Than Touch

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Developing Watch Apps for Wear OS Powered by Samsung

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Powered by the Tizen OS, Samsung Electronics’ TV lineup provides users with a central hub for seamless streaming experiences. Along with Samsung’s cutting-edge picture quality, state-of-the-art sound and user-friendly OS, the company’s partnerships with leading content providers such as HBO are bringing users’ at-home streaming experiences to the next level.

In order to learn more, Samsung Newsroom sat down with Jennifer Mirgorod, Head of Partner Management and Marketing for WarnerMedia, to hear about the state of streaming, the future of the industry and how HBO’s partnership with Samsung is bringing users a truly premium experience.

Q: Please introduce yourself and your role at WarnerMedia.

A: As head of partnership management and partner marketing, I’m responsible for the distribution and marketing of WarnerMedia’s streaming services including HBO Max, its transactional video business and the linear television networks. I lead the team managing our multichannel video programming distributor partners in North America as well as our global platform partnerships, including with Samsung.

Q: Streaming services have seen massive growth over the last year. What are some notable trends the industry has seen over the past year?

A: Since my career in media began more than 25 years ago, I’ve witnessed the entirety of the streaming industry’s lifespan. We’ve seen massive increase in its popularity over the years and the global over-the-top services market size is projected to reach $86.8 billion by 2026.¹

As more streaming platforms emerge, content is so critically important to any platform. This trend, then, has been of rising importance for ensuring that the most iconic titles – from Warner Bros. and across our entire portfolio – live on HBO Max. The relative scarcity of premium content in our industry has made owning franchises like Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, and the DC Universe, among others, has been an incredibly powerful differentiator for WarnerMedia.

Q: With more consumers “cord cutting” and moving to OTT services, how do you see the market for premium content playing out over the next decade?

A: The past few years have been described as the era of “peak TV”, with hundreds of new television series being released each year, and one thing has remained clear: consumers crave premium content. It’s premium stories that make their way into the zeitgeist and resonate with large audiences, regardless of the platform on which they premiere. HBO has long been the home for exactly that type of content and, with HBO Max, we fully expect to build on that.

Q: What changes has HBO made to its platform to promote growth and provide subscribers new experiences?

A: There are quite a few things we’ve done both to the product itself as well as our approach to provide the best possible experience to our customers.

Throughout HBO Max’s first year, our product team has focused on evolving the app by adding new features to ensure that the platform provides a premium experience that is fitting for the premium content it houses. That means adding new personalization features including “For You” trays, age-targeted kid profiles, improved design, improved content details pages, accessibility features and others. We also took a bold step late last year and decided to release our 2021 Warner Bros. theatrical slate in theaters and on HBO Max on the same day, giving customers the ultimate choice on how they wanted to consume content, which proved to be a solid strategy.

Our tech team is also working hard to deliver the best viewing experiences which includes support for HDR10 and 4K streaming. As we regularly update and release new content via HBO Max, you’ll see more and more content available in these formats.

Q: What have been some of the biggest benefits of HBO Max being available on Samsung Smart TVs?

A: There have been plenty of benefits we’ve found in partnering with Samsung and leaning into Tizen’s distinct operating system. Thanks to Tizen OS, Samsung’s TV and projectors allow us to take HBO Max into many different large-format surfaces and enable high-quality as well as varied interactions with users.

It also offers an integrated, streamlined experience for users for more enjoyable viewing. The HBO Max app will be featured on the launch bar for 2021 and 2022 televisions for convenient access, and we’re leveraging the strength of Tizen’s Universal Guide feature in those regions where it’s available. We have also deepened our integration of HBO Max content into Tizen’s search functionality to provide a more seamless experience for customers from start to finish.

Q: Is there anything you can share on the HBO Max roadmap that, along with Samsung’s Smart TVs, will help provide consumers with more valuable experiences?

A: Samsung is a valued partner of ours and we’re looking forward to building on a solid foundation we’ve built together since the launch of HBO Max. Samsung customers can expect key updates to the app experience in the coming weeks including the addition of 4K, Dolby Atmos and 5.1 audio. Also on the roadmap are enhanced functionality with Bixby, as well as the addition of ‘Continue Watching’ and ‘Personalized Preview’ features that will help to create an even more seamless and customized viewing experience.

Q: Lastly, are there any exciting movies and shows that HBO Max subscribers can look forward to later this year?

A: Absolutely. We are excited about a number of new series and movies set for release throughout the second half of this year and plans for expansion into new markets.

Our team is excited about the recently launched Gossip Girl series reboot, as well as the original film No Sudden Move, plus new Max originals The Sex Lives of College Girls from Mindy Kaling and the next chapter of Sex and the City called And Just Like That. There’s also the return of HBO-favorites including Succession, Insecure and Curb Your Enthusiasm. On the movie front, new Warner Bros. theatrical releases have been and will be released on the platform on the same days as theaters with titles including Space Jam: A New Legacy, The Suicide Squad, The Many Saints of Newark and Dune, among others.

¹ Over the Top (OTT) Services Market Latest Industry Trends, Size, Share, Statistics, Applications and Competition Strategies by 2028, Fortune Business Insights

The hidden secret behind the multifaceted offering of the Samsung Smart TV is Samsung Electronics’ smart operating system (OS) Tizen. Tizen is a Linux-based, open-sourced web OS that is open to everyone, and supports a range of devices including TVs, mobile devices, home appliances and even signage.

As of now, over 190 million people in 197 countries around the world are enjoying Tizen OS through their Samsung Smart TVs – though given the TV’s communal role in the family space, the number of actual users is expected to be much more. Tizen is a platform that truly encompasses Samsung’s user-driven values of “Screens Everywhere” and “Screens for All”, and the company is set to further expand the Tizen experience through collaboration across various fields including those of video, art and gaming.

Take a look six advantages of Tizen OS on the Samsung Smart TV in the infographic below to learn more.

* Service availability may vary by region, service provider, language.

Samsung has ranked number one in the global TV market for 14 consecutive years due to the ultra-high definition picture quality, immersive sound and rich user experiences provided by its televisions. And at the heart of it all has been Tizen OS, an open-source operating system that makes it easy for users to enjoy an expansive range of services quickly and conveniently.

Samsung Newsroom looked into the key features offered by Tizen that are driving premium TV usability and elevating the experiences of both users and partners.

User Experience – Access Vast Amounts of Content Easily

When you use a smart TV powered by Tizen, most forms of content are just a few clicks away. Smart TVs equipped with the Tizen OS support major OTT (Over the Top) services applications by default. When hooked up, the TVs also provide access to Samsung TV Plus, which lets you view a range of content including variety shows, TV series and movies free of charge. This experience is further enhanced by the ‘Universal Guide’ feature, which harnesses the power of AI to make intelligent, personalized recommendations that are tailored to your preferences.

* Universal Guide screen displayed above is available for European users only.

With Tizen, quickly selecting the videos you want to watch from among the flood of content becomes a breeze. The operating system spares users from frustration by minimizing input lag, which is the time required for the TV to reflect commands. Tizen-empowered smart TVs also feature Auto Game Mode, which allows the TV to detect and automatically change settings for an optimal gameplay experience when the user is using a gaming console.

Content Developer Experience – Streamlined Content Supply Across Devices

To best enrich the smart TV experience, collaboration with a host of partners and developers is crucial.

At Samsung Developer Conference 2019, Samsung Electronics unveiled a range of development tools that streamline the app building experience for the Tizen OS. ‘EasyST’ enables users to quickly test online video content on TVs, while ‘Wits’ helps with monitoring apps in development in real-time on a television. These and a range of other tools are available for anyone to access.

What’s more, through use of ‘Samsung Checkout on TV’ users can easily subscribe to an app or purchase content using just their Samsung Smart TV, regardless of which kind of IPTV connection they have. This removes the need for the establishment of an independent payment system by developers.

This platform also enables partners of Samsung Electronics to conveniently provide content to more than 140 million users in 197 different countries around the world. Since Tizen OS supports a broad host of TV models that range from FHD to QLED 8K, the operating system has made reaching a wider user base easier and more efficient. Tizen OS also offers support for a number of virtual assistants, including Bixby, Alexa and Google Assistant, which further facilitate easy access to a diverse array of content.

* Service availability may vary by region, service provider, language.

Across a vast range of locations and user types, Tizen connects users with development partners in order to expand the depth and scope of TV experiences. Going forward, the multi-faceted operating system will strike partnerships in areas such as arts, fitness and games in order to continue expanding the role that our televisions play in our lives.

Starting with the release of The Serif in 2016, Samsung Electronics has been delivering televisions that closely reflect the lifestyles of its users. In May of 2020, Samsung’s first outdoor TV, The Terrace, was launched in the North American market (alongside The Terrace Soundbar) as part of the company’s expanding lifestyle TV portfolio.

According to market research publisher QY Research, the global numbers for outdoor TV sales – which stood at around 170,000 units in 2018 – are expected to hit 440,000 units by 2024.

But exactly how different is an outdoor TV from a regular television? Read on for Newsroom’s deep dive into the features and benefits of Samsung’s new The Terrace and The Terrace Soundbar offerings.

Clean, Sharp Picture Quality in a Range of Conditions

Walking the streets, it is not uncommon to see people shading their phones from the sunlight and struggling to make out what is on their screens. This happens when the brightness of the phone’s display is not high enough to counter the glare caused by the external light source, and is also an issue that affects outdoor TVs.

However, with The Terrace delivering an average brightness level of 2,000 nits (and a peak brightness level of 4,000 nits), users can comfortably view content even in broad daylight. With its QLED display, anti-reflection technology that eases glare and Adaptive Picture feature that automatically optimizes the display’s brightness according to the surrounding lighting conditions, both visibility and top-tier picture quality are ensured.

The Terrace is powered by Tizen, an open-source platform that allows content from Netflix, YouTube, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+ to be streamed with vivid picture quality, regardless of which operating system is being used. This service additionally supports the Apple TV app¹ and AirPlay 2.² With built-in Wi-Fi and LAN, The Terrace can be used simply and conveniently without the need for additional purchases or connections.

There are a host of ways for users to enjoy mobile content on a large screen with The Terrace as well. For instance, Tap View feature allows what is displayed on the user’s Galaxy smartphone to be mirrored on their TV screen with a single tap. What’s more, Multi View feature allows the TV screen to play media from multiple sources, allowing users to watch TV on part of the screen while mirroring their phone screen on another part.

When it comes to a TV that is intended for use outdoors, resistance to rain, wind and dust is of high importance. The Terrace carries an IP55 certification from the International Electrotechnical Commission, meaning that it delivers reliable water and dust resistance, and ensures peace of mind for users whose televisions are subjected to adverse conditions. The IP Code rates the level of protection a product carries against the ingress of dust, water or contaminants, with IP55 meaning that the product is highly protected against dust and will work without fault in the rain.

Experience Deep, Rich Sound With The Terrace Soundbar

A TV designed for use outdoors must, by necessity, deliver sound differently from those that are used indoors. The Terrace Soundbar was built to accompany The Terrace television and provide rich sound to complete the premium viewing experience. Distortion Cancelling was applied to The Terrace Soundbar to enable it to deliver deep, powerful low-register output without the need for an accompanying subwoofer. A total of four woofers in The Terrace Soundbar create 210 watts of sound to enhance the sense of immersion for the viewer.

To add convenience to the viewing experience, both The Terrace and The Terrace Soundbar can be controlled by a single remote, which also features support for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth^®. What’s more, the Tap Sound feature allows users to enjoy music or sounds from their Galaxy smartphone on The Terrace soundbar with a single tap too. The Terrace Soundbar likewise carries IP55 dust and water protection to allow users to enjoy premium television audio in a broad range of conditions, worry-free.

According to its vision of ‘Screens Everywhere’, Samsung Electronics has been expanding into areas such as ultra-high definition, new form factors and new viewing spaces, and in the process charting new waters as far as the television viewing experience. We expect to see The Terrace make a mark as it stretches the home entertainment experience into the outdoor environment.

¹ Apple’s new video content streaming service, launched in the first half of 2019, which provides access to a range of content including movies and TV series

² A feature that allows music, videos, and images stored on an Apple device to be streamed or viewed on external devices

DJ Koh, President and CEO of IT & Mobile Communications Division, Samsung Electronics

Samsung Electronics today announced, at the Samsung Developer Conference 2019 (SDC19), new ways its platforms will enable developers to introduce simpler, more powerful experiences to consumers around the world. Samsung shared its vision for the next era of mobile and connected living, offering inspiration to developers, enterprise leaders, and consumers through innovative experiences with the devices they rely on every day.

“We are fortunate to work with the world’s best developers and designers. Together, we have built an extensive and secure ecosystem of devices and services,” said DJ Koh, President and CEO of IT & Mobile Communications Division, Samsung Electronics. “We continue to make progress toward our vision to be the innovator of new mobile experiences that flow seamlessly and continuously wherever we go.”

Creating Opportunities for Developers through Open, Scalable AI and IoT Platforms

ES Chung, EVP and Head of Software and AI, Mobile Communications Business, Samsung Electronics, outlines plans to enrich Bixby to offer users “countless new ways to integrate intelligence into everything you do.”

To help consumers discover new ways Bixby can work with them to get things done more quickly and easily, Samsung launched Bixby Marketplace earlier this year, creating a way for developers to introduce their Bixby capsules to millions of Bixby users. In the past six months, the size of the Bixby developer community has doubled. And starting in 2020, the Bixby Marketplace will expand gradually, enabling developers to offer their services across more Samsung devices.

To make it easier for developers to create new experiences on its AI platform and ensure consumers have more intuitive experience, Samsung announced enhanced capabilities in the Bixby Developer Studio at SDC19.

• New Bixby Templates makes it easy for developers to create capsules using pre-existing forms so that they don’t have to start from scratch.
• Enhanced Bixby Views enable developers to build capsules with a consistent design even beyond smartphones—to televisions, tablets, smart watches and refrigerators.
• Developers can now register their capsules under Natural Language Categories. When users ask Bixby for help related to a category—such as radio, news, or navigation—Bixby suggests a capsule that can help them get what they need more quickly and easily, even without having to call out exact name of the capsule.

Larry Heck, CEO of Viv Labs, Samsung Electronics, introduces new Natural Language Categories, which simplify how users engage with and discover Bixby capsules.

More consumers than ever are seeing how seamlessly connected devices and services can make everyday life easier. Developers can scale their device and service offerings through Samsung’s IoT platform, SmartThings. Already, developers and partners have brought connected experiences to more than 45 million monthly active users and thousands of compatible devices, and the platform is expected to grow further with the Work as a SmartThings Hub (WASH) program, which allows partners like network operators to embed SmartThings Hub software into their devices.

To help developers build on and integrate existing devices with the SmartThings platform, Samsung announced new capabilities for developers:

• The new Rules API brings to life more automated smart home experiences to reflect individual daily routines across a broad range of SmartThings devices.
• Samsung is launching the SmartThings Device SDK Beta program in early 2020 to enable more third-party manufacturers to create SmartThings-compatible devices.

Samsung continues to invite developers to actively participate in its ecosystem and supports the developer community with several incentive programs—including the Best of Galaxy Store Award, the Samsung Mobile Design Competition, Bixby DevJam and the Samsung Mobile Security Reward program.

Inspiring Developers with New Experiences Across Devices

Samsung continued to refine the mobile experience to allow users to focus on what matters most to them. One UI 2 includes new features that declutter the user interface—making it easier for people to interact naturally, while also making it easier on their eyes. And now, to make both the developer and the user experiences consistent across devices, Samsung is expanding the use of One UI 2 beyond smartphones to tablets, wearables, and new form factors, including foldables.

Sally Hyesoon Jeong, VP and Head of Framework R&D Group, Mobile Communications Business, Samsung Electronics, introduces an all-new, compact form factor for foldable devices.

With the launch of Galaxy Fold, Samsung designed a first-of-its kind mobile experience that is much more than a foldable device. Samsung, alongside hundreds of developers and partners, created an entire foldable ecosystem that continues grow and opens up new possibilities to the mobile experience. As promised at SDC last year, Samsung will continue to explore a range of new form factors in the foldable category. And at SDC19, Samsung invited developers and users alike to join the exploration of exciting new use cases and user experiences.

To deliver the best possible TV viewing experience, Samsung is also investing in 8K technologies. With AI ScaleNet, Samsung has made it possible to stream high-quality 8K videos on networks with lower bandwidth capabilities. Samsung has also announced new tools that make it easier for developers to bring new experiences across the nearly 100 million Smart TVs that are powered by Tizen.

• Wits automatically uploads a code edit to the TV, so developers can see their update almost immediately, significantly trimming development time.
• EasyST makes testing content playback much easier because developers don’t need to build their own test app to make sure their content is streaming as intended.
• TIFA (Tizen Identifier for Advertising) gives consumers the option to limit ad tracking or opt-out of targeted advertising
• Samsung is making Tizen TV OS available to third-party TV makers for the first time.

End-to-End Security Built in Every Solution and Experience

Terry Halvorsen, CIO and EVP, IT of Mobile Communications B2G Business, Samsung Electronics, discusses the importance of stout security solutions like Samsung Knox – particularly in today’s hyperconnected world.

Emerging technologies, such as IoT, AI and 5G, are bringing new capabilities and opportunities to the developer landscape. For Samsung, it means providing the community with the tools and programs necessary to deliver secure and reliable solutions.

Secure Development Lifecycle delivers systematic reviews at every phase of the development, supply chain, and manufacturing process. To give both developers and users peace of mind, Samsung offers the Knox SDK, allowing partners and app developers to integrate advanced security solutions to their apps and services. In addition, Samsung has been working with German government agencies, especially BSI, and industry partners on developing a mobile-enabled eID for digital services to support customers and governments by developing a solid foundation for trusted identity services.

Seungyun Lee, Principal Engineer, Knox Platform for Enterprise, Samsung Electronics, discusses features that make Samsung Knox attractive to developers. “Knox is software that is built around hardware root of trust, not just implemented after the device is built” Lee explains, “giving it a foundation like no other security system in the market.”

Samsung invites developers and partners on its journey to bring new and secure experiences to life. For more information about working with Samsung and the Samsung Developer Conference 2019, please visit sdc.developer.samsung.com. Further information can also be found on Twitter (@samsung_dev) and using the hashtag #SDC19.

SDC19’s keynote event was packed with people eager to learn more about Samsung’s latest innovations

About Samsung Developer Conference
SDC brings together thousands of developers and creators to explore today’s tech and visualize what’s possible in the future. The two-day conference will feature exciting keynote announcements, technical sessions and valuable networking time. Plus, Samsung product teams and technology partners will showcase the latest tech advances and tools.

* All services and programs mentioned above may vary by region.

Featuring over 5,000 attendees, roughly 60 technical sessions, and a total of 35 booths, the fifth edition of Samsung’s showcase of technologies designed to empower developers and creators to build the software and services of tomorrow transformed San Francisco’s Moscone West convention center into a crossroads ‘Where Now Meets Next’.

The exciting AI, IoT and mobile advancements unveiled during the two-day event—encompassing, Bixby, SmartThings, UX/UI design and more—will enable partners and developers to create seamlessly connected, intelligent experiences across software, services and devices. The resulting innovations will have the power to change the lives of consumers around the world—ultimately making connected living a reality for more people.

In case you missed it, here’s a rundown of five factors that made SDC18 unforgettable.

#1 Announcements of Exciting Developer Tools

Day one of SDC18 began with a flurry of exciting announcements revealing advancements that will enable partners and developers to unlock the power of AI in their products and services, and demonstrate the true value of connected living to their customers.

Keynote speakers including DJ Koh, President and CEO and Head of Samsung Electronics’ IT and Mobile Communications Division, explained how new additions such as the Bixby Developer Studio and the new and improved SmartThings Developer Workspace will strengthen the world’s most powerful technology ecosystem, and help the company foster an ecosystem of open innovation that spans every aspect of people’s lives.

The speakers also offered a first look at Samsung’s new One UI, as well as the company’s highly anticipated Infinity Flex Display. The former features an intuitive interface that makes interactions with your device more natural, and makes it easier to focus on tasks at hand. The latter features a revolutionary foldable design that lays the foundation for an entirely new kind of mobile experience.

After introducing the exciting new developer tools and resources, the speakers encouraged attendees to experience them for themselves in the exhibition zone.

#2 Expert Insights

Day two of SDC18 kicked off with a bang as Samsung employees and leading lights of the worlds of gaming, film and mobile technology discussed technologies that could dictate the future of their respective fields.

(From left) Sarah Bond, Head of Xbox/Microsoft; Thomas Ko, VP at Samsung Electronics; Tim Sweeney, CEO of Epic Games; John Hanke, CEO of Niantic.

The conference’s Spotlight Session was led by a presentation on Samsung’s latest gaming and AR innovations and partnerships, followed by a panel discussion on the future of gaming that featured Sarah Bond, Head of Xbox/Microsoft, as well as John Hanke, CEO of Niantic, and Tim Sweeney, CEO of Epic Games.

(Clockwise from top left) Marc Mathieu, Chief Marketing Officer of Samsung Electronics America; Dag Kittlaus, CEO of Viv Labs; Sally Jeong, VP at Samsung Electronics; Nobutaka “Nobu” Ide, CEO of Wacom.

Other keynote speakers headlining day two included Nobutaka “Nobu” Ide, CEO of Wacom, and Spike Jonze, director of the AI-inspired film “Her”. Mr. Ide led a captivating presentation that examined how Samsung’s S Pen is reshaping the ways in which consumers interact with their device to get things done. Mr. Jonze sat down for a fireside chat on the intersection of AI and humanity, and described why he, as an artist, believes that developers should prioritize maintaining the human element when developing AI technology.

#3 A Firsthand Look at Samsung’s Latest Innovations

Samsung packed the conference center with a wide range of exhibits that offered attendees all they needed to know about innovations including SmartThings and Bixby, as well as Samsung’s mobile services, Smart TVs, Tizen, and more.

The interactive exhibits allowed attendees to experience the company’s latest mobile, display and home technologies, and spotlighted innovative ways that partners have utilized them to build dynamic solutions. Featured technologies in the mobile section included devices such as Samsung DeX and the Galaxy Watch, as well as apps and services such as Samsung Pay and Samsung Health.

Other sections of the booth showcased Samsung’s Smart TV services and digital appliances, and highlighted exciting ways to develop IoT, Smart TV and wearable services using the Tizen OS. Visitors to the Tizen section were offered in-depth introductions to TizenRT and the Tizen TV and Tizen .NET SDKs, including rundowns of available APIs, SDK tools and resources.

#4 Fun and Interactive Activities

Each SDC features a full slate of engaging sessions that demonstrate innovative ways for developers to build apps and services utilizing Samsung’s latest technologies. This year’s sessions slate placed Bixby, SmartThings and Samsung’s new foldable UX center stage. Samsung and industry experts answered participants’ every question through fun and informative lectures, panels and discussions.

But the interactive fun didn’t stop there, as SDC18 also included exciting competitions, giveaways and challenges that made the entire experience that much more memorable.

The Bixby Developer Showcase was one such example. In the lead up to SDC18, Samsung challenged developers to come up with first-class Bixby experiences, for the most dynamic submissions. On the second day of SDC18, the competition’s finalists presented their Bixby Capsules, which demonstrate the AI technology’s incredible potential. Competitions like this demonstrate exciting ways that Samsung and developers are making Bixby better.

Each SDC also features a wide array of workshops and activities that allow attendees to get up close and personal with Samsung’s latest innovations.

This year, the interactive workshops were held within the confines of the Code Lab, located at the center of the conference hall. Covering the ins and outs of developing for Bixby, SmartThings, Samsung DeX and more, these in-depth workshops offered attendees the opportunity to hone their coding skills with the aid of Samsung’s experienced instructors. Notable examples included workshops demonstrating how to create a Bixby Capsule for a service, as well as how to build SmartThings apps with TizenRT.

#5 A Peek at Life-changing Projects

Some of the most inspiring exhibits included at this year’s event spotlighted Samsung initiatives that are affecting change in communities that many attendees call home.

The exhibits demonstrated interesting ways that Samsung technologies are being used to create life-changing solutions. One of the most attention-grabbing examples was the booth for Rehago, an innovative training system (created through Samsung Germany’s “Life’s a Pitch” startup competition) that helps hemiplegic stroke patients during recovery.

Other standouts included the exhibits for Samsung’s Solve for Tomorrow program, which encourages students to use STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) to develop solutions to issues affecting their communities; Project Pontis, which enables Samsung Smart TV users with physical limitations to control their TV via brain waves; and uSound, an app that helps detect the risk of hearing loss and improves quality of life through communication and education for those affected by it.

And thus concludes another successful Samsung Developer Conference. For more information on the topics and innovations that were discussed at the event, be sure to check out Samsung Newsroom’s recap of SDC18’s keynote speeches. And don’t forget to check back here for more updates on Samsung’s latest AI, IoT and developer innovations.

Equipped with a number of new features, Tizen 4.0 was developed by Samsung and other industry leaders with two goals in mind: to reinforce the application ecosystem through an easier development experience and to build a device ecosystem to help any device manufacturer create their own IoT product.

A New Development Experience for a Strengthened Application Ecosystem

While many existing OS platforms are limiting due to their framework, policies or business models, Tizen 4.0 aims to promote innovation and the expansion of the application ecosystem by giving developers more freedom and flexibility.

One way the platform accomplishes this is through the introduction of .NET. With .NET, Tizen developers can enjoy C#, the familiar, industry-leading programming language and one of the richest standard libraries.

Additionally, Samsung worked closely with Microsoft to develop Visual Studio Tools for Tizen, which are integrated into Visual Studio, a popular IDE (Integrated Development Environment), and Xamarin.Forms, a cross-platform UI toolkit. Because Xamarin.Forms supports cross platforms, developers can build native UIs for Android, iOS and Windows from a single, shared C# codebase, and easily port these apps to Tizen.

Since announcing its collaboration with Microsoft on .NET open-source projects last November, Samsung has steadily released preview versions of the Tizen.NET SDK to help developers build more powerful apps and to encourage their participation in the ongoing development of the Tizen application ecosystem.

Creating a mobile app in C# using Xamarin.Forms through Visual Studio.

Tizen .NET currently supports Microsoft’s .NET Standard 2.0, and will provide a stable Tizen C# development environment with the release of the Visual Studio Tools for Tizen v1.0 this fall.

Samsung’s preview versions of Tizen.NET have garnered the attention of developers across the world, including those who attended the Microsoft Build 2017 held in Seattle, Microsoft Build Tour in Seoul and Tizen App Development Seminar at Konkuk University in South Korea earlier this month.

Tizen 4.0’s Voice Touch APIs also provide developers with the opportunity to implement voice-controlled application behaviors and web operations. This means that when using Tizen-based devices, users can navigate between webpages or control music playback with voice commands.

The platform’s Sensor Framework has also been enhanced so that developers can easily define and utilize any physical sensor in an application, such as intrusion detection or air pollution measurement, by simply installing an application and device driver without having to upgrade firmware.

Building an IoT Device Ecosystem

To help build the Tizen device ecosystem, Samsung worked closely with partners to improve the configurability, updatability and IoT-readiness of Tizen 4.0.

As a result, Tizen has been significantly restructured. With the previous version of the platform, only specific types of “defined” devices – namely TVs and smartphones – were supported. But Tizen 4.0 has been configured to support various devices without the need for new build projects and infrastructure for each device type.

In other words, vendors can now configure and prototype an OS for their devices with Tizen without the need for setting up their own build infrastructure or creating yet another profile, or diverging their source codes or binaries.

Furthermore, the build environment of Tizen 4.0 M1 has been unified and the structure of and the relation between Tizen packages has been refactored significantly.

When Tizen 4.0 is completed at the end of 2017, the Platform Development Kit (PDK) will be distributed to assist device makers in creating their own IoT devices, while the Tizen Update Service will help them update their IoT services.

Enhanced Security for the IoT Era

As the number of IoT devices continues to grow, and more and more things become connected to the Internet, security is of the utmost importance. To ensure that Tizen 4.0 is secure as possible, Samsung is systematically strengthening the development process of the platform.

For example, the company is using static code analysis tools, tightening code review and continuously monitoring the security vulnerabilities of Tizen and related open source software and patching them regularly. Some of these patches will be tightly coupled with the Tizen code review system, with an aim to prevent vulnerable code from being merged into the Tizen code base from the first stages of development.

Building upon the platform’s first milestone, M1, additional features of Tizen 4.0 will be reinforced and stabilized during the second half of this year. The final version of Tizen 4.0 (M2) will be available later this year.

The interactive event offers attendees up-close looks at convenient Tizen-based products made possible through collaboration with innovative partners from around the globe. Among the showcased innovations are solutions that allow more businesses and users to streamline connections in their work and daily life, and make it easier for developers to innovate within the Tizen ecosystem.

Check out some of the seamless products and solutions for yourself in the photos below.

Attendees view a demonstration of location sharing platform Glympse’s Family Map service, which allows users to seamlessly share their location using a variety of devices within the Tizen ecosystem, including Samsung’s Gear S3 and Family Hub refrigerator.

A display demonstrates how the workflow of the You.i Engine app platform makes it easy to port comprehensive C++ based apps onto Tizen TV apps using NaCl (Native Client).

Attendees view a video that’s been optimized for Smart TVs with NexStreaming‘s NexPlayer for Tizen, a video player SDK for Tizen-based apps that offers video service providers advanced playback and customization tools.

New Cloud Technologies’ comprehensive, Tizen-based MyOffice/Collabio productivity suite features apps that allow users to access and share documents, edit text and spreadsheets, view presentations and manage emails.

NIISOKB‘s SafePhone is a mobile device management solution that allows administrators to lock and unlock devices remotely, send secure messages, and manage applications, including browsers and cameras.

The exhibit for Tekoia’s OCF (Open Connectivity Foundation) certified ‘SURE Universal Remote’ app demonstrates its ability to seamlessly manage OCF-compliant devices through an Android mobile phone.

Accedo’s exhibit showcases its framework for deploying apps on top of the Tizen SDK and focuses on the ‘10-foot UX’, which considers the user’s experience viewing a smart TV from a 10-foot distance.

Fuse’s exhibit features a live demo of the Fuse UX engine, designed to address current app development challenges. Utilizing Fuse’s UX, intuitive Markup and JavaScript allows developers to produce a sophisticated, beautifully animated UI/UX that runs natively on multiple platforms – all without writing enormous amounts of code.

The Institute for System Programming of the Russian Academy of Sciences (ISP RAS), a research organization that specializes in system programming, showcases how the Svace static analysis tool may be used to check Tizen codes for defects and potential vulnerabilities.

Kyrio Security Services, a cyber security provider trusted by some of the largest device networks in the world, outlines its efforts to make device manufacturers’ IoT security implementations simple, strong and effective.

Optimized for Tizen-based smartphones, Android to Tizen’s (A2T) Wish mobile app makes it easy to browse a worldwide selection of trending fashion, electronics and more, and facilitates simple and secure purchases.

TecAce’s exhibit features demonstrations of B2C and B2B apps designed for Tizen wearables. Showcased apps include Gear For Nest, a connected-home application that allows users to conveniently control their Nest Learning Thermostat and Nest Cam security camera via their Gear S3, as well as Retail Checkout, a smart mobile checkout solution that utilizes a Gear device and a handheld barcode scanner.

Today, we sit down with Hyogun Lee, Executive Vice President of Samsung Electronics and Chair of the Tizen Technical Steering Group, who will address at TDC what developers can expect to see in Tizen 4.0, as well as share his thoughts on Samsung’s ongoing vision for the platform.

Q. What was Samsung’s vision in developing Tizen 4.0? What do you see as its major progress over preceding versions?

Hyogun Lee: Even though the landscape of the IT industry keeps changing, we believe that OS platform technology is still essential to the innovation of products and services. In the age of IoT where everything is connected to the internet, there is a growing need to create something new, something smarter. And we don’t want to have limitations in doing that due to the framework, policy or business model of existing OS platforms. Our aim is to give more freedom and flexibility to developers.

In terms of Tizen 4.0, our key accomplishments have been to reinforce the Application Ecosystem through an easier development experience. And second, to create a Device Ecosystem to help any device maker create their own IoT device. In sum, the flexibility to configure and customize according to a variety of hardware requirements, and freedom to add new ideas into a well-established OS will allow device makers to develop whatever they have in mind, encouraging innovation. Because Tizen is an open source project, it will also benefit manufacturers other than Samsung.

Q. How has the industry and community of developers reacted to Samsung’s decision to open sources for Tizen?

Hyogun Lee: In general, they have welcomed the open sources decision. Because Tizen has been commercialized and has a record of sales growth, it has proven itself as the most successful Linux-based embedded OS in the world. Therefore, Tizen can be reused for other industries and communities as an open source platform. In addition, and towards the aim of doing business well, we have also been focusing on supporting companies who are working to commercialize Tizen products based on our own experiences.

Q. You make a key point that Tizen 4.0 extends the ecosystem of applications. Can you further elaborate on this?

Hyogun Lee: In Tizen 4.0, we are making several big investments such as introducing .NET as a new framework and offering design tool options such as Adobe XD. With .NET, Tizen developers can enjoy C#, the industry leading programming language and one of the richest standard libraries, and Visual Studio, the most loved IDE (Integrated Development Environment) currently available.

As a very tangible application, we will begin deploying .NET to Samsung TVs later this year. With .NET, Tizen developers will be able to build beautiful .NET apps fully leveraging Samsung TV’s various capabilities.

Q. Can you further describe what you mean when you say Tizen 4.0 is helping move towards a Device Ecosystem?

Hyogun Lee: In Tizen 4.0, we have begun working closely with partners to build the Tizen Device Ecosystem. In specific, we view configurability, updatability and IoT-readiness as the key features of the ecosystem. First, we are going to help any device maker create their own IoT devices using the PDK (Platform Development Kit) based on Configurable Tizen. Second, we are going to help device makers update their own IoT devices based on the Tizen Update Service. Finally, we are going to help device makers connect their own devices to OCF-Ready IoT Cloud like Samsung Connect.

Q. Can you give an update then on which Samsung devices are, and will be using Tizen?

Hyogun Lee: Including our smart TVs, the Z-Series smartphone, wearables and the Family Hub refrigerators, a wide range of Samsung devices are currently using Tizen. In the near future, more home appliances such as our Robot Cleaner, washing machines, air conditioners, and network speakers will be using Tizen.

Q. What efforts has Samsung been making to reinforce the safety of Tizen?

Hyogun Lee: We have been putting our best efforts into making the Tizen open source code more secure. For example, we are using static code analysis tools, tightening code review, and continuously monitoring the security vulnerabilities of Tizen and related open source software and patching them regularly. Some of these patches will be tightly coupled with the Tizen code review system, with our aim to prevent vulnerable code from being merged into the Tizen code base at the first step of development.

On a final note, it’s important to understand the Tizen open source itself is not the exact same code that goes into a product such as a TV. The product teams take the code from Tizen.org and adapt, optimize and secure it again based upon the specific needs of the product. This includes removing unused code paths, and manual penetration testing and hardening against specific known attack vectors. We believe this two-stage process helps us build a platform which is resilient against attacks that are relevant to the particular product.

Samsung Electronics together with 30 partners, kicked off this year’s Tizen Developer Conference (TDC) 2017 at the Hilton Union Square Hotel in San Francisco, running from May 16-17. In addition to software developers, more than 1,000 service/content partners, device manufacturers and others engaged in the Tizen ecosystem will be participating at the conference.

Centered on the theme “Ready To Connect, Get Involved!”, TDC 2017 will present a vision for the IoT era via expanded opportunities for the attendees to experience the key features of the Tizen 4.0 platform, various technologies and products, and the evolving development environment required for UX and product/application development.

TDC, as an annual technical conference for global developers, is a showcase of Tizen’s new technologies and products. It was held in San Francisco in 2012 for the first time when Tizen 1.0 was launched as an open source project. Since then, and over the past five years, the Tizen OS has evolved into Tizen 4.0 supporting a wide variety of Tizen devices.

“Since launching, Tizen has become the OS for nearly all of Samsung’s products, and with its record of sales growth, proven itself as the most successful Linux-based embedded OS in the world. Among open collaborations, and as we enter the IoT era, we expect Tizen will open new opportunities for the future of IoT,” said Hyogun Lee, Executive Vice President of the Visual Display Business at Samsung Electronics and Chair of the Tizen Technical Steering Group.

Extending Tizen Device Ecosystem with Tizen 4.0

The key changes in Tizen 4.0 are optimizations made on the platform for IoT developers to enable rapid creation and commercialization of various applications. While the existing Tizen platform was limited in distribution to devices such as TVs and smartphones, Tizen 4.0 will provide a development environment that can be refined according to the characteristics of various devices by subdividing functional modules. In addition, the Tizen 4.0 platform has been extended to Tizen RT (Real-Time) to involve high-end products such as TVs and mobile devices as well as low-end products such as thermostats, scales, bulbs, and more.

With Tizen Project’s collaboration with Microsoft, developers are now able to more easily develop Tizen applications with popular programming languages. Specifically, the Microsoft .NET and Xamarin UI framework have been introduced to Tizen so that C# language-based applications can be developed in the Visual Studio environment for increased productivity.

In order to expand the ecosystem of Tizen-based IoT devices, Samsung is planning to strengthen cooperation with chip makers such as Samsung ARTIK and Broadlink in China; smart home device manufacturer Commax in Korea; and the location based service provider Glympse in the U.S.

New Tizen Services and Products: ARTIK053 Module and Samsung Z4

At TDC 2017, Samsung will unveil the new ARTIK053 module, a lightweight IoT chipset with integrated real-time processing utilizing the Tizen RT for the first time. The ARTIK 053 module is an affordable IoT solution with high-performance and hardened security for next-generation products like connected home appliances, building products, health care devices, and industrial automation. It also dramatically reduces development time via a 320MHz ARM® Cortex® R4 core with 1.4MB RAM and 8MB Flash, and a pre-certified Wi-Fi radio.

Around the introduction of the ARTIK053 module, an IoT Hands-On Lab session will also be held to develop software for the IoT on the new module utilizing Tizen Studio for RT, which is a lightweight real-time operating system (RTOS) based application development environment.

The Samsung Z4 smartphone will also be showcased at the conference. The Z4 is equipped with a front and rear camera optimized for social media and a wide range of features focused on convenience and productivity, including quick and easy access to the most frequently used functions.

In addition, for Tizen ecosystem enhancement, the Tizen Mobile Incentive Program has been introduced for global application developers to offer a one million dollar prize every month when the app is sold and placed in the Top 100 on the Tizen Store from February to October 2017.

Smart TV Ecosystem and Smart Home Appliances for IoT

Samsung will also showcase a variety of its recent products at the TDC 2017 Exhibition Zone. In particular, attendees will be able to experience display products including QLED TV, and the Frame introduced at CES 2017, as well as Samsung’s diverse and expanding smart TV ecosystem. Additionally, attendees will be able to see various smart home scenarios where products such as Family Hub 2.0 are integrated with IoT standard technology.

Also, a Game Zone within the Exhibition Zone will offer even more fun, allowing attendees to take part in a Gear Maze escape game using a Gear S3.

In addition, a 1:1 Tutorial Zone that enables developers to instantly develop smart TV applications and run them on the TV with the help of experts is also available for developers to experience the benefits of using the Tizen .NET development environment.

For more information, please visit the official conference website: www.tizenconference.com.

Samsung Electronics introduced an expanded Tizen platform for Smart TVs at the fifth annual Tizen Developer Conference (TDC) today in San Francisco at the Hilton Union Square. Samsung executives will discuss the new business opportunities that have been created as a result of its Smart TV platform and share case studies of businesses that have helped develop the Tizen ecosystem at the two-day event.

The event, which boasts the theme “Ready to Connect! Get Involved!” is set to feature keynote presentations from industry leaders, technical discussions and tech showcases for app developers, platform designers, hardware manufacturers as well as hardware and software vendors.

“Leveraging the conference, we remain focused on working with our partners and developers to encourage expansion on the Tizen platform,” said Hyogun Lee, Executive Vice President at Samsung Electronics. “By developing a system that delivers value and new experiences to Smart TV users, we will continue to build a more solid Tizen ecosystem.”

As part of its efforts to encourage increased participation in the development of the Tizen platform, Samsung will discuss the policies that have been made in collaboration with partners and developers for Voice Touch, Samsung Checkout, Sports/Music services and the security solutions for its 2017 Smart TV lineup.

The benefit of using the latest Tizen 3.0 Platform is the software, which provides new functionality thanks to an updated graphics engine and Wayland computer protocol. These deliver enhanced graphics, improved stability and an improved user interface, creating a more desirable Smart TV user experience.

Voice Touch, one of the new Smart TV ‘touch’ capabilities, provides owners a more intuitive way to use the voice recognition function. When users speak just into the remote only the title on the TV Apps screen, the icon is activated without navigation or any other process. Samsung Checkout is a pre-installed payment system on Samsung Smart TVs that allows users to conveniently make payments for digital content.

Samsung Smart TVs also provide consumers with access to sports and music services, ensuring they don’t miss their favorite live broadcasts. Through the music service feature, consumers can easily access details about the music played on their favorite TV shows, so that they can enjoy it whenever they want. Under partnership with Glympse, the location sharing service for families will be also available on Tizen-running devices such as Gear S3. A range of sync scenarios for Tizen platforms will be also presented at the event.

Samsung Smart TVs provide a three stages of security solution from the platform and application to the hardware that protect the TV’s system against external attacks, while also offering a security API to Tizen developers, making it safe to develop a range of services, from content to payment and workplace, which are all subject to strict security requirements.

By the end of 2017, Samsung plans to make Tizen.NET (http://developer.tizen.org) a public network for Tizen developers who can now try a preview version of Tizen Smart TV SDK on the site. Since announcing its collaboration with Microsoft on .NET open-source projects such as .NET Core and Xamarin.Forms last November, Samsung has steadily released preview versions of the Tizen.NET SDK to help developers build more powerful apps. This allows them to practice on it and encourage them to participate in its ongoing development.

For more information on Samsung’s Tizen Smart TV platform, please visit http://developer.samsung.com/tv.

Samsung Electronics today announced new and advanced SAMSUNG ARTIK Smart IoT platform products that will help companies get to market faster with more secure offerings and services, improve return on investment, and bring IoT another step closer to Samsung’s vision of intelligent things.

The advanced SAMSUNG ARTIK platform includes new end-to-end enterprise-grade security enhancements, and now enables easy-to-use, secure services for device onboarding, device and user management, edge node management, and secure OTA updates. Samsung is also introducing the new SAMSUNG ARTIK 053 module that will equip a new class of connected products with cutting-edge capabilities, and SAMSUNG ARTIK QuickStart, a design and development support program that will help customers and partners jumpstart their IoT businesses by making it easier and faster for companies to deliver secure IoT solutions that impact the lives of people across the globe.

The SAMSUNG ARTIK Smart IoT platform makes it easier for businesses to securely activate, monitor, track, and add new functionality to products after deployment.  Together, with advanced SAMSUNG ARTIK Cloud connectors and device orchestration and management tools, these new services will greatly increase the capabilities of connected products, promote secure interoperability, and elevate the value of customer solutions that depend on the interoperability of things.

“We believe security and interoperability are critical to enabling next-generation IoT products that can connect to, and work with, many different devices and services,” said James Stansberry, Senior Vice President and U.S. Head of ARTIK at Samsung Electronics. “A smart, powerful IoT platform is key to fostering an interoperable, and most importantly, secure ecosystem. That is why we developed the SAMSUNG ARTIK Smart IoT platform from the ground up with end-to-end security, and why we continue to integrate new security enhancements across hardware, software, cloud and communications.”

“Leveraging SAMSUNG ARTIK is a value add for our customers,” said Youngsoo Do, Senior Vice President of Digital Control Group at Samsung Electronics. “SAMSUNG ARTIK is instrumental to Samsung in building secure IoT products, and getting to market faster. The ability to connect to other smart devices also enables new use cases, and is helping us realize our vision of making all Samsung products IoT-enabled.”

New capabilities and partners added to the SAMSUNG ARTIK platform include:

ARTIK 053 Module

The production-ready SAMSUNG ARTIK 053 module is an affordable IoT solution with high-performance and hardened security for next-generation edge products like connected home appliances, building products, health care devices, and industrial automation. The new SAMSUNG ARTIK 053 module can dramatically reduce development time with integrated real-time processing via a 320MHz ARM® Cortex® R4 core, 1.4MB RAM and 8MB Flash, software and a pre-certified Wi-Fi radio. The currently available SAMSUNG ARTIK family of IoT modules include pre-loaded access to the SAMSUNG ARTIK Cloud platform secure services, and include software for faster and simpler development of new connected enterprise, industrial and consumer applications.

New Services and Platform Enhancements

The SAMSUNG ARTIK platform provides new, fully integrated end-to-end security enhancements across hardware, software and communications to make it easier for companies to deliver more secure connected IoT products and solutions.

New offerings in the SAMSUNG ARTIK Cloud platform include fast device onboarding, edge node management, secure over the air (OTA) updates, integration with Amazon AWS Kinesis Stream, new cloud connectors including Google Assistant on Google Home and Amazon Alexa Smart Home Skill.

SAMSUNG ARTIK QuickStart Program

The new SAMSUNG ARTIK QuickStart program offers a wide-range of services that can cover the entire product design and development spectrum, including UX, UI, software, firmware, cloud, mobile app, end-to-end integration, and development, and elevate the user experience to support commercialization and IoT opportunities. It is accomplished through custom integration of the SAMSUNG ARTIK platform, on-site workshops, and training to suit the needs of customers and partners. It allows customers to start building solutions quickly and cost-effectively by significantly reducing the engineering time, effort and expertise needed to build IoT products.

Samsung Expands IoT Partnerships

Samsung and VMware today announced that VMware has joined the Samsung ARTIK Partner Program. The companies will work together to accelerate the development, deployment, and management of IoT solutions for enterprises.  Integration between the Little IoT Agent (Liota), a vendor-neutral open source software development kit (SDK) developed by VMware, and the Samsung ARTIK 530 module is being demonstrated in the Samsung booth at IoT World 2017. Also being demonstrated is the newly announced VMware Pulse IoT Center, a unified control panel that provides accurate and real-time visibility into the health of devices and can act on anomalies.  Samsung’s growing list of global technology and distribution partners will enable accelerated development and help deliver compelling new IoT solutions to their customers.

Additionally, to reach a wider audience and help speed up IoT development and time to market, Samsung reached a global distribution agreement with Mouser Electronics to distribute the SAMSUNG ARTIK family of modules, development kits and accessories.

The new SAMSUNG ARTIK 053 module is available for order today through worldwide distribution partners, including Arrow Electronics, Inc., Digi-Key, Mouser Electronics, Inc., and Mujin. You can find more information about the SAMSUNG ARTIK platform and development tools at http://artik.io and http://artik.cloud

Both Samsung and its partners’ solutions will be on exhibit at booth #210 at Internet of Things World 2017 at the Santa Clara Convention Center from May 16 – 18.

Also, the new SAMSUNG ARTIK 053 module will be showcased at TDC 2017 at the Hilton Union Square Hotel in San Francisco from May 16 – 17.

Samsung Electronics today expanded the Tizen ecosystem with the introduction of the Samsung Z4, a 4G smartphone that combines performance and essential features with a simplified user experience.

The Samsung Z4 is equipped with a front and rear camera optimized for social media and a wide range of features focused on convenience and productivity, including quick and easy access to the most frequently used functions. Additionally, with 4G LTE, VoLTE, and VoWiFi*,  the Samsung Z4 offers faster network connectivity.

“We’re dedicated to providing our customers with devices that offer smarter mobile interactions,” said DJ Koh, President of Mobile Communications Business, Samsung Electronics. “The Samsung Z4 brings a simplified mobile experience to first time smartphone users and represents our ongoing commitment to expanding the Tizen ecosystem.”

Productivity and Convenience

Perfect for first-time smartphone users, the Samsung Z4 provides enhanced usability with a wide range of quick features, which offer fast and easy access to frequently used functions. Using different combinations of physical buttons or swiping the screen, users can create shortcuts to launch convenient features including Quick Talk, Quick Torch, Quick Launch of camera or Quick Switch without returning to the home screen. For example, Quick Talk will launch a set of shortcuts localized by region, such as Alarm, Call, or Music, simply through voice activated commands.

The Samsung Z4 offers efficient battery management features for extended use, including Battery Notifications and Power Planner. Battery Notifications allows users to set customized notifications so they can be alerted when the remaining battery power falls below a pre-set level. With Power Planner, users can pick from three different levels to manage their long-term battery use. Depending on the level, Power Planner will adjust the device’s configurations to maximize battery life to last for the selected time frame.

Easy Ways to Capture the Perfect Shot

The Samsung Z4 camera lets users capture high-quality photos. Perfect for taking bright, clear selfies, the 5-megapixel front camera includes an F2.2 lens, LED flash and a variety of camera modes. The Samsung Z4 also has a rear 5-megapixel camera with dual LED flash so users can take crisp photos even when the subject is far away.

With the Samsung Z4, users can easily snap photos and videos with palm, auto and voice control. For faster selfies, users can take a photo by showing their palm and saying “cheese” or by waiting for Auto Selfie, which uses facial recognition to take sharp and accurate pictures. Users can also record continuous videos with the Video Flip function, which allows for simple switching between the rear and front cameras to capture multiple views in one single video.

Refined Design

For the first time on the Z Series, the Samsung Z4 features 2.5D curved glass for a comfortable one-handed grip so users can take selfies or multitask on-the-go. The bright 4.5-inch display provides a superior viewing experience against the all black bezel for a polished look and feel. The Samsung Z4 is truly a perfect mix of modern design and function.

Beginning in May, the Samsung Z4 will launch in select countries, starting in India and will be available in black, gold and silver depending on the market. The Samsung Z4 will also be showcased at the Tizen Developer Conference in San Francisco, California May 16-17, 2017.

For more product information, please visit http://www.samsungmobilepress.com

Samsung Z4 Product Specifications

* The availability of services may vary by country or service provider.

**All functionality, features, specifications and other product information provided in this document including, but not limited to, the benefits, design, pricing, components, performance, availability, and capabilities of the product are subject to change without notice or obligation.

From May 16–17, San Francisco’s Hilton Union Square Hotel will welcome developers from around the world for the Tizen Developer Conference (TDC) 2017.

Attendees of the event can look forward to illuminating presentations delivered by tech industry leaders, as well as a wide range of hands-on sessions that emphasize Tizen’s ability to advance the development of IoT devices.

The conference’s keynote will include discussions on Tizen’s ecosystem and latest update, as well as IoT partnerships and a newly developed module for the SAMSUNG ARTIK platform.

Keynote speakers include:

• Hyogun Lee, Executive Vice President of Samsung Electronics and Chair of the Tizen Technical Steering Group, who will address what developers can expect to see in Tizen 4.0.
• Adam Tom, Senior Vice President and Chief Technical Officer, Samsung Electronics, who will discuss how Samsung’s Smart TVs leverage the Tizen ecosystem.
• Chris Park, Vice President, Partner Platform, Glympse, who will discuss the location-sharing platform’s experience utilizing Tizen to integrate new mobile, wearable and living room experiences across Samsung devices.
• Hongseok Kim, Vice President of Software R&D Center, Samsung Electronics, who will outline Samsung’s efforts to provide Tizen developers with an ideal app development experience.
• Immo Landwerth, Program Manager, .NET team, Microsoft, who will discuss Microsoft’s experience developing with Tizen.
• Curtis Sasaki, Vice President of Samsung Strategy and Innovation Center (SSIC) who will share IoT trends, as well as the SAMSUNG ARTIK integrated IoT platform.

The two-day event will also feature a total of 40 specialized sessions that will explore the keynote’s topics in further detail and inspire attendees to innovate.

The exhibition hall will showcase Samsung’s latest Tizen devices and partnerships. The tutorial zone will offer attendees the opportunity to hone their skills with Visual Studio Tools for Tizen.

There’s still time to register for TDC 2017 via the conference’s official website, where developers, media and anyone interested in Tizen can also find additional information.

Samsung, a member of the Tizen Project and sponsor of the Tizen Developer Conference (TDC) 2017, has announced that registration for TDC 2017 is now open. The event will be held from May 16 to May 17 at Hilton Union Square Hotel in San Francisco.

Now in its fifth year, the Tizen Developer Conference brings together Tizen developers, app developers, open source enthusiasts, platform designers, IoT device manufacturers, hardware and software vendors, ISVs, operators, OEMs, and anyone engaged in the Tizen ecosystem.

Centered around the theme “Ready to Connect! Get Involved!”, TDC 2017 offers an excellent opportunity to explore the new and exciting possibilities Tizen is creating in the Internet of Things era. 

This year’s conference will focus on Tizen platform and device and application development through a series of technical presentations. In addition, it will also emphasize how Tizen can enhance IoT devices through a hands-on lab and various showcases.

Registration is now open via the official TDC 2017 website, where developers, media and anyone interested in Tizen can also find more information. Please follow the link to take advantage of the savings of Early Bird registration, which runs through April 14^th PST.

Since announcing its collaboration with Microsoft on .NET open-source projects such as .NET Core and Xamarin.Forms last November, Samsung has steadily released preview versions of Tizen .NET to help developers build better apps.

The second preview brought support for TV application development, to go along with the mobile support introduced in the first, and improved Visual Studio Tools for Tizen with several new features, including a Project Wizard, Manifest Editor, Emulator Manager, Emulator Control Panel and Certificate Manager.

The third preview allows you to create self-contained applications that will run on Tizen devices without pre-installed .NET runtime. Visual Studio Tools for Tizen also features two new tools: Log Viewer and Device Manager. The former helps developers debug their application by capturing all the events logged by the platform and the application; the latter provides information about connected Tizen devices and emulators for application debugging, and improves tools that were introduced in previous previews.

From left to right: Log Viewer, Device Manager

The third preview enables a large number of Tizen’s multimedia features such as Camera, Wave Player, Tone Player, Media Streaming and Screen Mirroring. Developers also have access to other Tizen platform-specific features such as Messages, Bluetooth, Voice Control, Input Method and FIDO (Fast IDentity Online).

In addition, Tizen.Xamarin.Forms.Extension allows developers to enhance their applications with rich UI components such as buttons, popups, grids and calendar views.

The next preview release of Tizen .NET will coincide with Tizen Public Milestone 1 in May. Samsung will begin shipping Tizen devices with .NET capabilities later in 2017.

Learn more about Visual Studio Tools for Tizen here:
http://developer.tizen.org/development/preview

Learn more about the Tizen open source project here:
https://source.tizen.org

Learn more about the .NET Core open source project here:
https://github.com/dotnet/core

Learn more about the Xamarin.Forms open source project here:
https://github.com/xamarin/Xamarin.Forms

Learn more about the previous preview of Tizen .NET here:

https://news.samsung.com/global/samsung-joins-the-microsoft-net-community-enabling-c-developers-to-build-applications-for-samsung-tizen-devices

https://news.samsung.com/global/samsungs-second-tizen-net-developer-preview-introduces-new-design-tools-and-support-for-tv-apps

Samsung Electronics today released the second preview of Tizen .NET, an application framework for Tizen app developers.

Last November, Samsung announced a collaboration with Microsoft on .NET open-source projects such as .NET Core and Xamarin.Forms, and released the first preview of Tizen .NET. An official version will be released in the second half of 2017.

The second preview supports TV application development in addition to the mobile support introduced in the first preview. Visual Studio Tools for Tizen has also been improved with several new features, including project creation wizards, manifest editors, emulator managers, an emulator control panel and a certificate manager. Tizen .NET developers can now apply their skills with C#, standard APIs, Xamarin.Forms and Visual Studio to build both mobile and TV applications.

“Samsung is excited to release the second preview of Tizen .NET, and will release newer versions of previews every two months until the official version is shipped later this year,” said Hong-Seok Kim, the Vice President of Samsung Electronics’ Software R&D Center. “We are fully committed to delighting Tizen developers with .NET.”

Tizen is an open-source operating system based on Linux that is hosted by the Linux Foundation and open to all developers. The operating system powers 50 million Samsung devices, including Smart TVs, mobile phones, wearables and other IoT devices.

Learn more about Visual Studio Tools for Tizen here: http://developer.tizen.org/development/preview

Learn more about the Tizen open source project here: https://source.tizen.org

Learn more about the .NET Core open source project here: https://github.com/dotnet/core

Learn more about the Xamarin.Forms open source project here: https://github.com/xamarin/Xamarin.Forms

Learn more about the first preview of Tizen .NET here: https://news.samsung.com/global/samsung-joins-the-microsoft-net-community-enabling-c-developers-to-build-applications-for-samsung-tizen-devices

Samsung Electronics today announced a collaboration with Microsoft on open source projects, such as .NET Core and Xamarin.Forms, to enable .NET support for Tizen. Tizen is an open source operating system based on Linux, hosted by the Linux Foundation, and open to all developers. The operating system powers 50 million Samsung devices.

Today, Samsung is releasing the first preview of Visual Studio Tools for Tizen, which will enable .NET developers to easily build Tizen applications for Smart TVs, wearables such as the Gear S3, smartphones, and IoT devices. Source code will also be contributed to Tizen and .NET open source projects.

The first preview supports mobile application development with device emulators and an extension to Visual Studio with full IntelliSense and debugging capabilities. Support for Smart TVs, wearables, and other IoT devices will be added in future releases. Tizen’s .NET support will be officially released and shipping on Samsung devices, including Smart TVs, in 2017.

“Samsung is excited to be a part of the .NET community. .NET has an extensive developer base and great potential,” said Samsung’s Executive Vice President and Deputy Head of Software R&D Center Seung-hwan Cho. “Through thoughtful and progressive collaboration with Microsoft, Samsung is expecting to create unique development experiences for both Tizen and C# developers, enriching the Tizen ecosystem.”

Since joining the .NET Foundation Technical Steering Group in June, Samsung has been contributing ARM support to .NET Core. Samsung is also contributing to Xamarin.Forms, enabling it on a variety of Tizen devices as the common UI and controls.

Learn more about Visual Studio Tools for Tizen here:

http://developer.tizen.org/development/preview

Learn more about the Tizen open source project here:

https://source.tizen.org

Learn more about the .NET Core open source project here:

https://github.com/dotnet/core

Learn more about the Xamarin.Forms open source project here:

https://github.com/xamarin/Xamarin.Forms

“As a committed leader of the Tizen platform, we strive to further benefit, expand upon and evolve the Tizen ecosystem,” said Woncheol Chai, VP of Global Product Management, Mobile Communications Business, Samsung Electronics. “We’re excited to launch this new incentive program to help develop and bring the best of mobile apps to the Tizen community as well as provide customers with a better mobile experience.”

The new program will run from February through October 2017, and developers who create mobile apps for Tizen, such as gaming, social and lifestyle apps, are eligible to apply. Every month, each of the top 100 apps downloaded from the Tizen store and pre-registered to participate in the Tizen Mobile App Incentive Program will win $10,000.*

Apps already available in the Tizen store, as well as new apps, can be entered to win. All developers must do is ensure they register their apps for participation by visiting incentive.tizenstore.com. Individuals can begin applying to participate in January 2017. The winners will be notified on the 10^th of each month starting on March 10, 2017 and ending on November 10, 2017.

The announcement was shared today at the NASSCOM Game Developers Conference, India’s largest confluence of game developers. For more information on the new incentive program, please visit incentive.tizenstore.com.

Tizen developers can also monetize their apps through mobile advertisements with the InMobi Ad Software Development Kit (SDK). Developers can learn more and download the SDK at developer.tizen.org.

* In the event that two apps reach the exact same number of downloads, the earlier registered app will receive the $10,000 prize.

Samsung Electronics today announced the global launch of its P-Series standalone SMART signage, the world’s first Tizen-powered premium displays. Utilizing the versatile strengths of Tizen as an open source platform as well as in performance and usability, the P-Series displays, including the PHF (700nit brightness) and PMF (500nit brightness; except 32-inch display) models, will also be the first to feature the upgraded fourth generation Samsung SMART Signage Platform (SSSP 4.0).

“The launch of Samsung’s new P-Series signage represents a landmark moment for our business, as we’ve made our already industry-leading visual displays even more capable with the addition of the Tizen platform to our SSSP,” said Seog-gi Kim, Senior Vice President of the Visual Display Business at Samsung Electronics. “By equipping our displays with faster and more versatile content management tools, our customers will be better prepared to solve their most prominent customer engagement challenges.”

Advantages as Open Source Platform

With SSSP partners typically preferring an open source platform for standard web APIs rather than closed platform, the new P-Series displays, powered by Tizen, feature the advantages of a cross-architecture, open source platform based on a comprehensive standards-based HTML5 implementation. The new displays also will enable easier web app development with an upgraded Tizen Emulator and new Remote Debugging Tool.

Powerful and Durable Performance

The slim-designed PHF (43-, 49- and 55-inch) and PMF (32-, 43-, 49- and 55-inch) series standalone displays are the first in Samsung’s line-up to showcase content using the SSSP 4.0’s reinforced graphics engine. As result, the P-Series displays enjoy animation performance three times better than that of previous SSSP iterations, including enhanced response times and seamless playback. P-Series users relying on real-time audience engagement gain expanded options to deliver clear content. The displays support smooth transitions between a variety of formats, without black screens or interruptions.

The Tizen-powered P-Series displays are designed for uninterrupted, 24/7 operation in any location, reducing maintenance burdens and improving peace of mind for users. Both the PHF and PMF models are IP5X certified, validating their ability to perform at optimal quality when exposed to a range of environmental factors and making them ideal for locations subject to dust and dirt, including subway stations and bus terminals.

Simple Usability

As an all-in-one signage alternative, Samsung’s P-Series displays condense complex display operations into a single, easy-to-navigate hub that does not require external PCs or devices to function. With the new MagicInfo Server 4.0, users can manage their entire signage portfolio through a central remote server in real time and make adjustments across individual displays or display groups from any location. A complementary toolset, including the Web Simulator and Tizen Emulator programs, further extends content development opportunities by enabling users to build and launch web-based management applications directly within the SSSP 4.0 platform.

Samsung’s P-Series displays also contain an integrated centralized infrared receiver (IR) to drive more convenient operation. Although hidden from view, the centralized IR is compatible with remote control devices and drives faster and easier navigation than most standard displays, which place the IR component in harder-to-operate corner locations, allow.

Slim-Design for Any Setting

A slim-depth (29.9 mm.) and narrow bezel (6.9 mm.) design makes Samsung’s P-Series displays among the thinnest on the market. This compact design expands implementation possibilities, and enables space-constrained businesses to connect with audiences in previously untapped locations. Additionally, the narrow bezel composition ensures viewers remain focused on featured content rather than the display itself.

As the Tizen-backed P-Series displays enter the marketplace, several prominent companies already have recognized their ability to foster improved operations and business growth. Signagelive, a global cloud-based digital signage technology platform provider, recently migrated its media player software to SSSP 4.0. The implementation makes Signagelive’s platform fully compatible with Samsung’s SMART Signage line-up, and accelerates customer deployment.

Among the featured solutions at its Smart Retail booth, Samsung’s Motion Sensor Touch Solution stands out with its unique benefits.

By merging Tizen embedded SMART signage and an integrated sensor, the B2B display solution can determine which item a customer is interested in and exhibit related information accordingly. It not only enables for a shopping experience tailored to the needs of each individual customer, but also provides invaluable data of consumer behavior, such as the number of times and how long a customer interacts with a certain product or object.

In addition to being an ideal solution for enterprises in the hospitality and travel industries, the Motion Sensor Display Solution is particularly advantageous for retail businesses, as showcased at the Smart Retail booth.

Check out the photos below to learn more about how the Motion Sensor Touch Solution works.

The Motion Sensor Touch Solution, when mounted above a SMART Signage, can detect when a customer touches a specific product. Information about the product is then exhibited on the display screen.

Customers can interact with the sensor-integrated touch screen display to learn more information about the selected product.

The Motion Sensor Touch Solution can accurately track and record the number of times a customer interacts with the product.

Enterprise owners can then access the recorded data analytics, and fine-tune their business strategy based on the behavior of their customers.

Tizen’s SDK will be making a new start as Tizen Studio 1.0 on September 1, 2016.

Installing the new Tizen Studio allows developers to select necessary platforms and profiles. It will also allow developers to experience a fast and stable development environment, as well as a new UX and UI.

Applications for the recently released Gear S3 can be developed using Tizen Studio 1.0.

The existing Tizen SDK was released in accordance with the Tizen platform. Since there was an SDK program for each platform, this meant developers had to install several SDK programs if they wished to develop for several platforms. Therefore, it was often difficult for some to maintain, and managing related updates was also time-consuming.

Accordingly, following the release of the Tizen 2.4 SDK, attempts were made to integrate the whole process. Starting with Tizen Studio 1.0, users can select and install necessary platforms and profiles with a one-time installation. In addition, Tizen Studio has been made stable and lightweight through a platform version-up, and its usability has been improved through the overall improvement of both its UX and its UI.

From now on, version control will be used separately for the Tizen platform and Tizen SDK, and Tizen Studio can be downloaded from the Tizen Developer site (developer.tizen.org).

Improved Development Environment in Tizen Studio 1.0

1. Launching tools: Installer, Uninstaller, and Package Manager

While the old Tizen SDK involved a lot of unnecessary information and difficult error handling, the new Tizen Studio environment only conveys information necessary for easy development.

The information structure that made it difficult (beginning with the installation process) has been simplified, and heavy graphics have been scaled down.

2. Developing tools: IDE perspective theme, Project Wizard, Certificate Manager, and Menu and tool icons

Before the improvement, application development and testing were possible only after a seven-step certification process. After this, developers also needed to go through an additional Samsung certification process. With the new Tizen Studio, however, applications can be developed and tested without additional certification. A Samsung Certificate menu has also been integrated in the Certificate Manager section.

3. UI tools: UI Builder, Component Designer, and EDC Editor

 Before the new improvements, usability was low since each UI tool had a different UX. With the new Tizen Studio, however, consistent UX and GUI have now been applied. Features have also been rearranged in order of common usage, allowing UI applications be developed easily, based on WYSIWYG.

4. Testing tools: Emulator

 Before Tizen Studio, complex menu names and screen layouts in the previous SDK incarnation made it difficult for users to understand the emulator environment. In the new Tizen Studio, a consistent UX has been applied, a device template feature has been added and the filter feature for each profile has been improved.

5. Testing tools: Dynamic Analyzer

The layout of each feature has been improved and the graphic elements have been redefined. In addition, the layout scalability has been secured for new features (such as memory profiling and CLI).

Other improvements in Tizen application development environment

With the release of Tizen Studio 1.0, Tizen has reinforced its developer site content, improved its search engine, added 50 new improved-quality sample applications and enhanced its existing sample applications.

Tizen continues to strive to provide an application development environment that satisfies the needs of developers as the platform continues to evolve.

Samsung Electronics has announced that the Tizen App Challenge for Unity developers commenced on August 18th, 2016—prior to the launch of the Samsung Z2, a new smartphone running on the Tizen operating system. If you are a developer who has made a Unity-based game that has reached more than 10,000 installs, you’re eligible to enter the challenge.

The contest will run from August 18 to November 21, with a total amount of US$185,000 in prizes up for grabs. The first 50 apps can get US$3,000 each when the apps are started to be for sale in Tizen Store. Additionally, top prizes will be awarded to three participants whose games reach the highest number of downloads during the contest period, in the amount of US$20,000, $10,000 and $5,000, respectively.

The challenge consists of two steps. Contestants must complete both in order to register their app and secure a chance to win the prizes.

• Step 1: You’ll need to show that your game has been made with Unity and has reached at least 10,000 downloads in the Google Play or Apple App Store.
• Once you complete Step 1, you’ll receive a confirmation email from Samsung. Then you’ll be able to port your app to Tizen and register it in the Tizen Store.
• To complete Step 2, you must submit the unique Content ID you’ll receive once you’ve registered your app in the Tizen Store.

For more information on the Tizen App Challenge, visit http://unity3d.com/partners/samsung/tizen-challenge.

Samsung India today launched its first 4G enabled Tizen-powered smartphone, Samsung Z2. Built on the Tizen platform, Samsung Z2 caters to the requirements of new smartphone users transitioning from a feature phone. Driven by the success of Z1 and Z3, and taking forward the smart, fun and simple attributes of Tizen platform, Samsung Z2 has been customised to offer unique value to the Indian consumers. The device comes with powerful specifications, pre-loaded essential apps and Samsung’s popular ‘Make for India’ features such as the Ultra Data Saving mode, S bike mode and the new My Money Transfer, to drive smartphone adoption.

Samsung Z2 comes with a complimentary invitation to the Jio Preview Offer to avail free voice and data services in the trial period. Z2 users will also get complimentary access to premium Jio applications – My Jio, Jio on Demand, Jio Beats – with unlimited options of latest movies, TV shows and songs across multiple languages during the Jio Preview offer.

Mr. Manu Sharma, Vice President, Mobile Business, Samsung India Electronics, said “Samsung Z2 makes 4G accessible and relevant to the unique needs of feature phone users and first time smartphone buyers. It brings consumers a fast and affordable mobile internet experience that will democratize 4G usage in the country.”

SMART

Fast & Easy to Use

The user interface on Samsung Z2 is simple and easy to use, offering faster and smoother device performance when combined with the Tizen platform. Powered by a 1.5GHz Quad-core processor, 1GB RAM and 8GB internal memory expandable up to 128GB with a microSD card, the device features dual SIM support and delivers a seamless and user-friendly smartphone experience.  The device is fueled by a 1500mAh long-lasting battery, which is further boosted by the unique ‘Ultra Power Saving mode’, which keeps the phone operational, even at minimal battery levels.

FUN

Unlimited Entertainment with Jio Apps

As part of the partnership with Jio, Samsung sets a new standard in the mobile entertainment space by offering users with a wide range of free entertainment content to cater to the increasing consumer demand for streaming and on-the-go entertainment. For music lovers, Samsung Z2 consumers will have access to Jio Beats, which offers millions of HD songs in over 20 languages. The video streaming app, Jio On Demand, gives access to latest movies, TV shows and other video content across genres and languages.

Better Viewing & Camera Experience

Samsung Z2 is equipped with a superior 4” WVGA screen which allows consumers to enjoy games, videos and other multimedia content to the fullest with superior resolution. The smartphone is equipped with a 5 megapixel rear camera with LED flash and a VGA front camera.

SIMPLE

Easy UI, Essential Apps & Features

Samsung Z2 gives an effortless mobile experience with Tizen OS and clutter free, intuitive interface making it easy to understand and use. It comes preloaded with essential apps for the ease of new smartphone users. It also features the ‘Make for India’ features developed specifically for Indian consumers. The Ultra Data Saving mode saves up to 40% mobile data by blocking unnecessary background applications from data consumption and by data compression technology, hence ensuring the most simple and cost-efficient 4G experience. Samsung Z2 comes with a dedicated S bike mode, which is designed considering the safety concerns of two-wheeler users in India. It lets consumers ride tension free while encouraging responsible riding.

My Money Transfer

Samsung Z2 is equipped with a built-in app that enables users to easily manage transactions and generate mini bank statements. A first of its kind initiative, users can enjoy convenient internet free banking by simply using the unique MMID which can be linked to the registered smartphone through M Pin set by the user. Money transfer to/from popular private and public banks is supported using standard IMPS.

Price and Availability

Samsung Z2 has been priced at INR 4,590 and will be available in India from August 29, 2016, in three attractive colours – Gold, Black and Wine Red – across mobile phone retail stores. For online consumers, the device is also available through our online partner Paytm exclusively.

Mr. Amit Bagaria, Vice President, Paytm, said, “We are delighted to roll out Samsung’s much-awaited launch in one of the world’s fastest-growing smartphone market. The new Samsung Z2 will add significant value to the multiple exciting smartphone offerings available to Paytm users. With the reach that the Paytm platform enjoys, with a base of 130 million customers, the partnership allows consumers across the country to effortlessly shop for their favorite Samsung smartphone in a few easy clicks.”

Samsung also sponsored ‘Tizen App Challenge’, a Tizen application contest for Unity developers, which runs from August 18 to November 21, 2016. Any developer providing a Unity-based game application service can enter the contest at https://unity3d.com/partners/samsung/tizen-challenge.

To know more about Z2 please visit: http://www.samsung.com/in/microsite/z2.

Samsung Electronics publically released its Smart TV Software Development Kit (SDK) Preview UI guide on June 30, 2016, securing developer content exposure and expanding the consumer’s single access experience. Previously, the Smart TV SDK Preview UI was only available to a limited number of applications from a select group of partners.

The Smart TV SDK is used by developers to write applications for Samsung Smart TV’s Tizen TV OS platform, and the Preview UI guide serves as an important function for the single access content experience.

“Continuing Samsung’s commitment to our consumers and developers, we’ve decided to open the Smart TV SDK preview guide,” said WonJin Lee, Executive Vice President, Visual Display Business at Samsung Electronics. “We will continue to provide more access and additional content as we strive to expand our smart TV application ecosystem.”

Moving forward, anyone can develop an application with the Smart TV SDK Preview UI, giving the consumer a better single access content experience through a wider range of applications. Additionally, with preview functions, developers are given the opportunity to get more exposure and promote their services through Samsung’s Smart TV’s Smart Hub home screen.

Samsung’s Smart TV SDK preview development guide is available on the Samsung Developers Forum website, www.samsungdforum.com/TizenGuide.

Game developer conference Unite Europe took place on May 31 in Amsterdam, with about 3,000 attendees gathering to discuss the game industry’s latest trends and future prospects. The conference will be held until June 2.

Unite is hosted by the famous 3D game engine company ‘Unity’, and is the world’s largest series of mobile gaming events. Unite conferences are held at various cities all over the globe. Previous Unite Conferences have taken place this year in Tokyo, Seoul, Shanghai and further events are slated to take place in Brazil, Southeast Asia, United States and Australia.

This year, Samsung, one of Unity’s strategic partners, participated in Unite Europe to showcase Tizen platform and to encourage developers build Tizen apps using unity game engine tools.

From the event, Samsung presented a special session ‘Bring Your Games to Tizen’ introducing how to port Unity game apps to Tizen platform using Unity game engine tool and its SDK. Attendees visiting Samsung’s booth were given the chance to try their hands at Tizen Unity games including Lonely One, Angry Bot and Sub Explorer on Z1 and Z3 smartphones, Samsung Smart TVs and even Gear S2 smartwatches.

Samsung last year launched the first Tizen smartphone, the Z1, for the Indian market. Its release was followed by that of the Z3, which has proved popular with Indian smartphone consumers.

Samsung also held a Tizen Developer Summit in Bengaluru last year with the aim of establishing a shared Tizen ecosystem for Indian developers and partners.

Injong Rhee, EVP & Head of R&D, Software and Services of Samsung Electronics’ Mobile Communications Business, emphasized Samsung Mobile’s strategy to become a provider of meaningful software and services to make the company’s hardware more valuable to consumers during the opening keynote speech of the Samsung Developer Conference (SDC) 2016.

In his speech, Rhee also called for greater collaboration between developers and partners from various industries as the world becomes increasingly connected, and gave attendees a glimpse into the rich possibilities offered by the company’s ecosystem.

Samsung Knox

Samsung Knox is a software platform and an ecosystem for security, which Samsung created by building on its unique device technology. It is the foundation of most of the company’s services including Samsung Pay, Samsung Health and Samsung Connect Auto, which need strong security and data privacy.

Its commitment to interoperability will now be extended beyond Android to include Tizen—an operating system that is expected to play a central role in numerous Internet of Things devices in the near future. Only Samsung, using Tizen and Knox, can offer this combination of an open ecosystem with strong, hardware-based security and global connectivity.

Samsung Pay

In addition to ensuring simplicity and security, Samsung wanted to enable Samsung Pay to be used virtually anywhere. To do this, magnetic secure transmission (MST) was built into the back of the phone, allowing the device to function in the same way that traditional credit cards do.

This is a perfect example of Samsung’s software strategy—where a unique hardware feature is leveraged to enable a new service, one that provides a compelling user experience and delivers real value to consumers.

Samsung is adding to this value through continuous global expansion, as well as by including additional features such as support for membership cards, gift and private label cards, transit cards and online payments.

Samsung Connect Auto

Samsung is seizing opportunities for new applications and services that take advantage of an always-on connection in the car, the biggest platform in the world after mobile.

Working with leading mobile operators, automakers, insurance companies and rental car agencies, Samsung is creating a set of products and services that make driving safer, as well as more eco-friendly, productive and fun. Included among these is Connect Auto, a simple device that plugs into the car’s dashboard.

Samsung is also building an API and SDK on their open platform so developers will be able to build their own applications, and is planning to start a limited beta program this quarter and a public beta program next quarter.

Samsung Health

When Samsung launched S Health in 2012, the company aimed to empower people to live healthier lives by focusing on the pillars of healthy living—diet, activity and sleep. Today, the app is used by 150 million users in more than 130 countries.

Going forward, Samsung is prioritizing three key areas in its health services: empowerment, connectivity and security. The company is also building new services with partners across the healthcare system to solve key industry pain points.

For example, Samsung is working with HealthTap to bring medical expertise to users anytime, anywhere, and is developing remote monitoring technologies with hospitals and partners like Vivify to improve care while reducing costs. Moreover, Samsung is developing chronic disease management solutions that use its phone and wearable data to generate actionable insights and a comprehensive view of the user.

Soundcamp

Soundcamp is Samsung’s music creation app that enables users to record and perform their own songs with no sound lag.

It is not just for musicians. Audio app developers can also use it by integrating it into their own music applications. With Samsung’s Professional Audio SDK, third-party apps can utilize low-latency audio and inter-application audio routing.

Additionally, Samsung is working side by side Google’s Android audio team to make Samsung’s SDK compatible with many other Android devices.

Samsung Gaming

Mobile has become the platform for playing games and the Galaxy S7 was designed with a slew of features to improve the gaming experience for both gamers and developers. It is the first smartphone on the market to support Vulkan and boasts Game Tools and Game Launcher—tools that make gaming more fun and convenient.

Along the same vein, Samsung announced the Galaxy Game Dev Program, which will give developers a direct channel to the company and its partners’ support to allow them to make the best games possible on Samsung devices.

Samsung VR

Samsung believes that 2016 is shaping up to be the year of VR and is working to enable users to create, watch and discover VR content more easily with the Gear 360 camera, the Gear VR headset and the Samsung Milk VR service.

With the introduction of the Gear 360 camera, Samsung also enhanced the way to view Milk VR content by releasing the Milk VR app for the Gear VR. This new companion Android app allows you to enjoy content from Milk VR on your smartphone without GearVR. They also created the samsungmilkvr.com website.

New features have been added to Milk VR to better support developers. The Milk VR upload SDK, for example, allows makers of 360 cameras and 360 video editing tools to directly upload to Milk VR, regardless of the manufacturers. Also, with new tools on samsungmilkvr.com, developers can add interactive hotspots, hyperlinks between two 360 videos, to VR videos.

Samsung is also providing features that let users stream content from hard drives or media servers on local networks. The company plans to release a live streaming SDK in the coming months to allow for the creation of live streaming end points, real time transcoding and distribution to Gear VR users.

SDC 2016 will feature presentations from tech leaders and will offer a number of sessions in which developers can exchange ideas, partake in new experiences and explore potential innovations. Through the conference, Samsung aims to transform the future by combining its hardware, software and services with developers’ ideas.

During the 2016 Samsung Smart TV session, the Samsung Smart View SDK will be introduced to developers as a new feature which enables seamless connection and communication between mobile devices and Samsung TVs. And, in an effort to enable Samsung partners to increase accessibility to their content, the new Smart TV SDK will feature a Preview title, which can be set to appear directly on the first screen of the Smart Hub.

Samsung is also making a new Smart TV-optimized payment solution, Samsung Checkout on TV, available to all developers. Previously, Samsung Checkout on TV has been offered to select key partners only. But following the announcement, all game and app developers will be able to create services that can accept payments from consumers and monetize efficiently and effectively on Samsung Smart TVs, the largest installed base of TVs in the world over the last decade.

A new open source project called TOAST was another developer resource introduced during the conference. This allows developers to target a broader range of devices such as 2012-2014 Smart TVs and prevents them from having to rewrite TV apps for different operating systems. TOAST will be extended to other operating systems including WebOS TV and Android TV.

“We are constantly aiming to advance the Smart TV viewing experience by streamlining how users access their favorite applications and smart content,” said Sang Kim, Vice President of Visual Display at Samsung Electronics. “Our new enhancements will not only improve the viewing experience for the user, but also for developers who are creating new content on a regular basis.”

This year, Samsung Electronics—in cooperation with Unity—is presenting an important development, bringing the popular and powerful Unity 3D game engine to Tizen. Visitors to the exhibition were able to try out the Tizen Unity demo for the Z1 and Z3 smartphones, as well as for Samsung Smart TV.

Through this powerful new tool, developers will be better able to create engaging, innovative games for the latest Tizen-powered devices.

Check out these photos of the Unity 3D game engine for Tizen in use at GDC 2016.

Samsung staff demonstrates the benefits of the Unity engine for app development on the Tizen platform at GDC 2016.

The Samsung TV Games and Samsung Mobile Z display booth at GDC 2016.

Images of a Unity-based car racing demo app being played on the Tizen platform.

Tizen OS, Samsung’s highly secure open source architecture, enables Russian developers to create a wide range of trusted execution environments, develop innovative solutions for corporate mobility and find applications in high-tech devices within the Internet of Things ecosystem.

“Development of the Tizen ecosystem in Russia is one of our top priorities. Russian business clients have already given positive feedback on strategic advantages of Tizen OS. Recognition by the CNews AWARDS 2015 further reinforces our support for a truly efficient tool that meets the needs of the Russian corporate market”, said Andrei Tikhonov, Corporate Sales Director at Samsung Electronics Russia.

Some of the most important features of Tizen OS are its integrated data security tools, encryption mechanisms, and app and data containerization tools, significantly reduced sources requirements, efficiency and reduced power consumption. These features equip Russian companies with a richer selection of development tools for complex digital corporate systems, ensuring a high level of information security and efficient interconnection of devices within the Internet of Things ecosystem. The platform is also fully compatible with the latest web standards (W3C\HTML5\CSS3).

In addition, Tizen OS received a state security certification from the Federal Service for Technical and Export Control of Russia, which confirms its high information security, preventing any confidentiality breaches or third-party access.

The unique properties of Tizen OS allowed Samsung to launch Samsung Z3, a new smartphone in Russia designed to meet the needs of corporate customers and satisfy the Russian security requirements, in October, 2015.

Bringing together businesses, IT vendors and governments, CNews Forum aims to provide an independent platform for discussing the key issues and challenges of the ICT market, innovative technologies, approaches to implementing IT projects. The forum is organized by CNews, the biggest Russian telecommunications, IT and software newspaper. In its eighth year, the forum brought together more 1,500 participants.

Samsung Electronics announced the Samsung Z3, an advanced Tizen-based smartphone that offers powerful performance and easy customization via exclusinive, localized features including “My Galaxy” for easy access to nearby rewards and benefits.

Built with a crisp 5-inch HD resolution display, the Samsung Z3 delivers the ultimate viewing experience with its Super AMOLED technology for clearer and deeper images, along with an advanced 8 megapixel Bright Lens camera to capture more detailed and higher quality images. In addition, the Samsung Z3 features an ‘Ultra Data Saving Mode’ that minimizes mobile data usage as well as ‘Ultra Power Saving Mode’ for continuous performance with low battery life.

“As a pioneer of Tizen platform, we have continuously introduced Tizen-based mobile devices, including Samsung Z1 and Samsung Gear S2, in our commitment to develop the Tizen ecosystem”, said JK Shin, CEO and Head of IT & Mobile Business at Samsung Electronics. “We developed the Samsung Z3 to provide the features that will help consumers capitalize on the growing Tizen ecosystem and make the most out of their personal mobile experience.”

Advanced Viewing and Camera Capabilities

The Samsung Z3 features a superior 5-inch HD screen, made with Samsung’s advanced Super AMOLED technology that delivers clear images and excellent contrast ratio for true-to-life colors. The device is also equipped with an 8 megapixel Bright Lens F2.2 rear-facing camera that captures more light for visibly clearer and more detailed images, as well as a 5 megapixel front-facing camera for advanced selfie capabilities. The Samsung Z3 camera offers ‘Automatic Selfie’ for seamless selfies with facial recognition, ‘Beauty Face Mode’ that automatically retouches images for flawless skin and ‘Wide Selfie’ to capture up to 120 degrees of the users’ surroundings for the perfect group selfie shot.

Long Battery Life and Optimized Data Usage for Indian Consumers

The Samsung Z3 supports a long-lasting 2,600mAh battery complemented by ‘Ultra Power Saving Mode,’ which allows users to operate on standby for up to 33 hours with less than 10 percent of battery life. The device also features ‘Ultra Data Saving Mode,’ providing data compression and management capabilities for up to 40 percent less mobile data usage.

Designed specifically for the Indian market, Samsung Z3 comes preloaded with ‘My Galaxy’ app that offer consumers various exclusive services, local deals, entertainment content, continuous value on extensively used categories like recharge, travel, movies, fashion etc and post purchase assistance. The Samsung Z3 additionally features the ‘Mix Radio’ app, available exclusively for Samsung consumers. Mix Radio is the world’s most personalized free music streaming service with over 35 million songs to choose from, including extensive local catalogue of over 10 genres of Indian music.

The Samsung Z3 is priced at INR 8490 and will be available in India from October in Gold, Black and Silver.

Samsung Z3 Product Specifications

*All functionality, features, specifications and other product information provided in this document including, but not limited to, the benefits, design, pricing, components, performance, availability, and capabilities of the product are subject to change without notice or obligation..

Tizen Developer Summit (TDS) is being held in Bengaluru, India between July 30-31, 2015.

TDS is an annual global event sponsored by Samsung Electronics and Tizen Association to assist local app and platform developers interested in contributing to the growth of the Tizen ecosystem. TDS has also attracted companies and organizations such as InMobi, Unity, Airtel and Nasscom.

TDS offers an excellent opportunity to learn from core Tizen developers and understand the technology behind the Tizen platform, app development, porting, and monetization through the Tizen Store. The two-day event consists of keynote speeches, technical sessions and workshops for app developers, platform designers, and Independent Software Vendors (ISV) to understand the technology in the Tizen platform. Multiple discussions and knowledge sharing sessions are being held to educate, engage and excite existing and potential developers.

“TDS 2015 Bengaluru is significant as nearly half of the apps in the Tizen Store are created by developers from India. This reflects the enormous opportunity in India where a large base of platform and app developers continues to show significant interest to develop Tizen OS and high-quality apps,” said Dr. Aloknath De, Chief Technology Officer and VP-Samsung R&D Institute India Bangalore.

“This is also the first Summit which is being organized in the backdrop of commercially available products, for example, the Samsung Z1 smart phone, which sold over one million units since its launch and Tizen Operating System powered SUHD TV which was recently launched in India.” Dr. Aloknath De added.

The keynote speeches was delivered by Dr. Aloknath De on Tizen platform upgrade features, the need for open platforms, current Tizen devices and the new opportunities in the Internet of Things (IoT) space. Ajay Kumar, Joint Secretary of the Department of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India, addressed the audience on the ‘Digital India’ initiative and how open source is playing a crucial role in e-governance, entrepreneurship and transforming India into a knowledge economy.

Other keynote speakers included Naveen Tewari, CEO of InMobi, who spoke on the evolution of mobile monetization from banners to native advertising to more advanced feature advertising and its impact on Tizen developers. Sanjeev Kashyap, CTO and Head of Satellite Network Group at Airtel, spoked about the growth and change in Indian DTV viewership patterns, the unique application demands of Samsung Smart TV and plans for upcoming applications on the Tizen platform.

New Software Development Kits released:

New Software Development Kits, Tizen 2.3.1 and Tizen 2.4 beta were announced at TDS. The new SDK, Tizen 2.3.1 can be integrated with Wearables allowing developers to build new kinds of Wearable apps ready for commercial distribution. It also supports native app development making all applications lightweight. Tizen 2.4 beta includes Dynamic Animation Library (DALi) for full 3D applications be built. It promises high performance, low power, and memory consumption. Cloudbox enables users to get more content from several Cloud systems. While Contextual Triggers help to customize Tizen functions based on users behavior.

The Tizen OS offers application capability across mobile devices, wearables, TVs, and other home appliances, and this potentially paves the way for incredible convergence opportunities across device categories. TDS offers unique and innovative solutions for a wide range of content creators and it is the best way to interact with local developers and companies working within the Tizen ecosystem.

It was also announced that the next Tizen Developer Conference (TDC) will be held September 17-18, 2015 in Shenzhen, China. TDC is an annual event for open source and app developers who are interested in contributing to the growth of the Tizen ecosystem worldwide.

Tizen is open source and provides an excellent experience for both native and HTML5 application developers. For additional details about the conference and sessions, please visit http://tizendevsummit.com/index.html

Yet, despite the roll it has played in shaping communities and society, viewing habits have become more solitary in recent years. Nevertheless, the device that was once the primary method in which we consumed news and entertainment remains just as important today and, in the face of extinction, is evolving to meet the changing demands of those who watch it.

A New Member of the Family

In the mid-20^th century, just as World War II came to an end, the television became a part of the American household. In 1946, approximately 6,000 black and white TV sets were in use. The number rose to 12 million in just five years and by 1955, half of all U.S. homes had one.

During an era of single-income households, television was the centerpiece of the living room and the glue that brought the family—and the neighborhood—together. It wasn’t uncommon for neighbors to converge in the homes that boasted one of these coveted new inventions to watch American Bandstand or see what trouble Lucy and Ethel were up to.

With wholesome programs, television brought family and friends together, creating endless opportunities for the creation of shared experiences. Memorable musical performances, touching stories and provocative news coverage would leave emotional marks on viewers and would create memories that many would never forget. Television would also come to be the primary medium for influencing public opinion, and would affect historical events such as the civil rights movement and the Vietnam War.

As the popularity of TV increased and spread throughout the world, the effects it had on people were tenfold. Not only did it bring villages and communities together, it created a unity among entire nations. The coverage of sports events, for example, allowed viewers to develop and sustain their cultural identity and sense of connectedness with their compatriots. There’s no better example of this than international sporting events such as the Olympics. These events have the ability, even if only for a few weeks, to turn complete strangers in a bar into long lost brothers.

A Digital Shift

Yet, things began to change in the late 1990s when it became possible to watch video and television broadcasts on the internet. The advent of laptops and later smartphones gave viewers, particularly millennials, the unique opportunity to watch TV anytime, anywhere. Other TV trends, such as a shift from satellite and cable to digital streaming and convenient on-demand services, which allow a viewer to “binge watch” a number of shows alone in a single sitting, became the new norm.

Despite these recent trends, viewers are beginning to want more from their TV watching experience, especially now that a number of today’s biggest shows are being filmed in 4K for large, cinema-like screens that offer viewing experiences incomparable to what smartphones can create. Additionally, nano-crystal technology, like that used in Samsung’s SUHD TVs, offers better colors, depth and detail for a truly cinematic display, while the new trend of curved screens, which create an immersive experience, proves just how much viewers are missing out on when they watch their favorite programs on portable devices.

While some viewers are sticking to their handheld electronic devices to watch their favorite programs, other television-less TV fanatics are beginning to flock to public venues for community screening parties to catch up on their favorite shows — but not just for the bigger screens and improved technology. That influential shared experience — be it laughs or tears or even fear — that originally brought neighborhoods together is allowing the television to once again thrive as a source of entertainment.

The New Definition of Watching Television

Families, too, are heading back into the living room, watching an average of four hours of TV per day, though the device is no longer simply a means of live feed entertainment. They are using television programs as a means of communication and a springboard for discussions about topics that might otherwise be difficult to bring up. Additionally, smart TVs powered by systems like Tizen give these families the chance to do more together, such as play games or surf the web via customized interactive screens.

Likewise, televisions have been reincarnated not only as a source of entertainment, but as a control hub of the Internet of Things, too. Through this technology, viewers can enjoy the convenience of shopping and paying bills right from the comfort of their couch with T-Commerce payment systems. Additionally, smart devices and appliances are easily controlled with the click of button on the TV screen. Smart TVs and their connectivity capabilities are continuously breaking the norms and enabling users to take advantage of a far more advanced and accelerated TV experience.

While the televisions of today are bigger, better and more sophisticated, allowing viewers to engage with, consume and tailor to their personal preferences even more diverse media and content than in the past, the true prowess of TV lies in its ability to connect people. It is certain that despite the current advancements in technology, there’s nothing more powerful than a shared laugh or cry with those that you love, and the television is the perfect way to create such an experience.

TDS 2015 Bengaluru keynote speeches will be made by Aloknath De, CTO & VP, Samsung R&D Institute India – Bangalore, who will speak about the Tizen platform upgrade features and current Tizen devices with new opportunities in the internet of Things(IoT) space and the need for open platforms. Ram Sewak Sharma, Secretary, Department of Electronics and Information Technology, Ministry of Communications & IT, Government of India, will also give a keynote speech about the ‘Digital India’ initiative and how open source is playing a crucial role in e-governance, entrepreneurship and transforming India into a knowledge economy.

Other keynote speakers include Naveen Tewari, the founder of InMobi, will discuss how mobile monetization has evolved from banners to native advertising to more advanced feature advertising, and how it will impact Tizen developers going forward. Sanjeev Kashyap, CTO and Head of Satellite Network Group at Bharti Telemedia, will address the growth and change in Indian DTV viewership patterns, the unique application demands of the Samsung Smart TV and plans for upcoming applications on the Tizen platform.

In addition to the keynote speeches, tech sessions are divided into four tracks: “Mobile & Platform”, “TV, IoT, Wearable”, “Biz & Panel” and “Workshop.”

Trailblazing with Tizen: An Overview & Roadmap

In this session, we will share our vision and goals for Tizen. We will discuss advantages, versatility and the technical architecture of Tizen. In addition, we will also introduce Tizen features and concepts of device profiles including smartphones, smart TVs, wearables, in-vehicle infotainment (IVI), and IoT in the near future.

A Tizen Wearable Overview

Tizen has proven to be a solid platform for development on the wearable platform – the Samsung Gear devices are a testament to this. In this session, we will provide an overview on  the major features and capabilities that are available on Tizen devices. We will go over how you can easily develop on a Gear App with a basic background in web technology.. API and Web UI Framework “TAU(Tizen Advanced UI) ” code samples will be included.

“IoTivity” – Connecting  Things in IoT

In this session, we will go over the APIs introduced by IoTivity’s base framework and the common services for group management of things & soft sensor management. Developers will learn how to write plugins to connect devices built on OIC(Open Interconnect Consortium) standards to communicate with legacy devices using Protocol Manager Service.

For further details about the Tizen Developer Summit (TDS) 2015 Bengaluru, please click here.

Read more: Invitation to Developers: Tizen Developer Summit 2015 Bengaluru