In Samsung's future, everything is connected. The good news for Samsung is that future has arrived at CES 2014.
The company has announced Samsung Smart Home, a new platform that lets Smart TVs, home appliances and smartphones connect and be managed through a single app.
This means customers can literally control all their gadget goods - including washing machines, TV sets, digital cameras, smartphones and even the Galaxy Gear - via an solo, integrated platform and server.
If it all sounds a little Jetson-esque, there are three main aspects to the Smart Home experience worth breaking down further.
Home control
Samsung calls the three main Smart Home features Device Control, Home View and Smart Customer Service.
Device Control lets users personalize settings on their mobile devices or Smart TV to keep an eye out and manipulate connected whatnots at home. A dedicated Smart Home app lets users jump into management-mode, turning on or off air conditioning and the like at their will.
Users can also connect with voice command - spouting "Going out" into a Galaxy Gear will shut off home lighting and certain appliances, for example. Similar vocal cues can be given to Smart TV remotes and smartphones.
Smartphones are where Home View comes in. Samsung said users can get real-time looks at their abodes thanks to chatter between to their phones and the built-in cameras found in their appliances.
Lastly, Smart Customer Service gives users a heads up when their appliances need servicing or consumables need replenishing. It, as one would suspect, also helps with after-sales servicing.
What's in store
Owners of Sammy devices and appliances can look for Smart Home to knock on their virtual doors in the first half of the year. Not only are Samsung customers receiving the option of ultimate home connectivity, but the South Korean firm also said it's working with its third-party partners to extend Smart Home to their products and services as well.
For now though, Samsung Smart Home is going to focus on the company's range of Smart TVs, home appliances and phones. More Samsung products and those from other manufacturers will be encircled during a gradual expansion.
What's more, the firm has plans to grow Smart Home into home energy, secure home access, health care and eco home applications. It plans to do this by teaming up with third-party partners that work in these niches.
Samsung seems quite committed to making Smart Home stick; it's established a software protocol for the platform as well as a Smart Home Steering Committee to bring the company's various product groups behind it.
