LAS VEGAS – This has been a CES of firsts, some hopefully not to be repeated. Record rains the first day that shut down Google’s huge booth, followed the next day by a major blackout on the show floor, and even a major CE company whose biggest announcement was not about selling you something.
At this year’s CES Samsung brought the expected razzle-dazzle with The Wall – a 146-inch modular TV set that can actually be transformed into any size since it consists of many smaller micro LED panels. However, the game-changing news from Samsung was behind the wall, or rather the unseen Internet of Things (IoT) cloud platform it’s launching. The Hub, coming out this spring, promises to seamlessly connect and control IoT-enabled products and services from a unified touchpoint.
For consumers this means that the one app can control all their gadgets and reduce setup times from hours to minutes. For Samsung it signals the company is getting serious about competing with Amazon, Apple and Google in the smart home market.
Called the SmartThings Cloud, it promises to unite all IoT applications, including Samsung Connect, Smart Home, Smart View and more into the SmartThings app to connect and control any SmartThings-enabled device directly from their phone, TV, or car from a single application. Additionally, Samsung announced plans to connect Harman Ignite to the SmartThings Cloud. This will move the IoT experience beyond the smart home to the car where consumers will can manage their connected home from the car and vice versa.
This effort to streamline and connect its product system is much needed as market research firm Gartner predicted that 8.4 billion connected things were in use worldwide by the end of 2017, up 31% from 2016.
"At Samsung, we believe IoT should be as easy as flipping a switch. With the new products and services announced today, we're making IoT easy and seamless," said Hyunsuk (HS) Kim, president, head of Samsung's consumer electronics division and Samsung Research. "We're committed to accelerating IoT adoption for everyone and making all Samsung connected devices intelligent by 2020. These advancements will help consumers realize the benefits of a seamless and simple connected life."
Samsung says it’s working with partners such as the Open Connectivity Foundation (OCF) to set common industry standards. OCF is the largest IoT standardization body in the world and Samsung's ARTIK chip, air conditioner and Family Hub refrigerator have already been certified by the association for interoperability criteria needed for IoT.
“We're committed to accelerating IoT adoption for everyone and making all Samsung connected devices intelligent by 2020.” – HS Kim, Samsung
With increased connectivity also comes more cyber security threats and to combat it Samsung will be integrating its Knox technology into its connected devices, including Smart TVs and Smart Signage, additional mobile products and Smart appliances. Knox technology includes a hardware security system and firmware updates to help ensure devices are protected.
Samsung also announced its voice assistant Bixby that debuted on last year's Galaxy S8 will be added to all their new televisions and some home appliances this year. Bixby lets users search for TV shows and movies, ask for a weather report, turn on the lights, play a song from Spotify, show photos from the cloud and even play trivia.
On Samsung’s Family Hub range of fridges, for example, Bixby can recognize individual voices and provide personalized information based on preferences. Ask “Hi Bixby, what’s new today?” and it will provide a read out of the news, weather and calendar updates specifically tailored to the user.
On the show floor it was The Wall that drew the biggest crowds, however. Designed to compete with LG’s OLED TVs, it provides an outstanding image and can scale to any size since it consists of many smaller self-emitting micrometer (µm) scale LEDs. No pricing has been released but the set will be available later this year.
Samsung also showed off the world’s first 85-inch QLED TV that uses artificial intelligence technology to convert low resolution videos into 8K. Samsung told Cartt.ca its flagship TV line uses AI technology to upscale standard definition content to 8K resolution, using an algorithm that adjusts screen resolution based on picture quality characteristics of each scene. The set which will be launched internationally, starting with Korea and the US during the second half of 2018.
Also of note was Samsung’s new Samsung Flip digital flip chart. The Flip WM55H is an upgrade on both standard paper flip charts and analog boards says Samsung. Samsung Flip allows sharing, annotation, movement and even searching, as well as the ability for multiple users to create content at once. Additionally, the Flip's portable, wheel-based stand transforms any location into a huddle space, meaning added flexibility to businesses with limited conference space.
Up to four different participants can introduce content or annotate directly on screen at the same time using either their fingers or a dual-sided pen. In doing so, each user can customize their own writing style, size and colour, with each notation made clear and visible with the Flip’s UHD resolution.
Cartt.ca consumer electronics editor John Bugailiskis is in Las Vegas this week to cover the Consumer Electronics Show.
