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, 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.

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.