[CES 2023] Samsung pins high hopes on heightened connectivity among devices

LAS VEGAS -- Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Han Jong-hee shared a detailed vision to create "calmer" connected world to heighten connectivity among devices, and reiterated the company's pursuit of net-zero emissions at the world's largest home appliance convention, Wednesday.

In a press conference held on the sidelines of the CES in Las Vegas, Han, who is also the chief executive officer and the head of the Device eXperience overseeing home appliances and mobile devices at Samsung, explained the company's collaboration with other companies, such as Philips Hue and Patagonia, to promote the values of connectivity and sustainability.

“We recognize our vision is a big one,” Han said in his keynote speech. “It’s about solving real challenges today and understanding consumers’ future needs and aspirations. It will take time, innovation, and cooperation with partners worldwide. But we are committed to achieving it, and already getting started.”

As a way to realize the "calm tech" goal the company first introduced in the 2022 CES, Samsung is focusing on the technologies to enable smooth connection of devices and raising interoperability, Han said. "Calm tech" refers to heightened connectivity among home appliances and devices that happens seamlessly.

Jung Jae-yeon, executive vice president and head of SmartThings at Samsung Electronics, highlighted of the SmartThings smart home platform that connects not just Samsung's own home appliances, but also those of other brands.

Jung also explained how features like SmartThings Home Monitor and SmartThings Pet Care bring convenience to the connected experience by monitoring and sharing alerts for anything out of the ordinary -- for people and pets.

Currently, a total of 13 brands are joining the Samsung-led alliance with 2.3 billion users around the world. Samsung aims to more than double the user number to 5 billion in the next five years.

In an effort to boost the connected experience, Samsung unveiled new partnerships, including an expanded one with Philips Hue.

Jasper Vervoort, senior vice president and general manager at Philips Hue presented a new way to sync the content from Samsung TVs with Philips Hue lighting, using the Philips Hue Sync TV app, available on Samsung TVs. This is the first solution to sync lighting and content from Samsung TVs without additional hardware, according to Samsung.

In part of its effort to reduce environmental harm, Samsung has forged a partnership with Patagonia. The two firms have recently developed the new Less Microfiber Filter, which reduces microplastic discharge by blocking its release at the end of a laundry cycle. This will be available in the first half of this year in Europe, Samsung said.

The Samsung head also detailed on how security and privacy will be the keys to back the connected device experience. On this, Samsung is developing a next-level security solution, Samsung Knox Matrix, that would safely sync credentials across devices while protecting sensitive information via multi-layered mutual monitoring, that is enabled by private blockchain technology, the company said.