Baek Byung-yeul is a journalist at The Korea Times focused on cultural content, including films and cultural events in South Korea. You can contact him at baekby@koreatimes.co.kr to share your insights.
Samsung vows to popularize SmartThings smart home platform
Han Jong-hee, vice chairman and head of the Device eXperience (DX) Division of Samsung Electronics, speaks during a press conference held on the sidelines of the IFA tech fair in Berlin, Thursday. Courtesy of Samsung Electronics
By Baek Byung-yeul
Korean tech giant looks to join RE100 renewable energy initiative soon
By Baek Byung-yeul
BERLIN ― Samsung Electronics is looking to use the year 2022 to popularize its SmartThings platform, as the company will enable users to use not only Samsung devices but also third-party devices through the smart home platform, Han Jong-hee, vice chairman and head of the Device eXperience (DX) Division of the company, said Thursday.
At this time when the importance of making the world greener has been increasingly recognized, the vice chairman also shared the company's vision to make the world more sustainable by producing products with higher energy efficiency and using more eco-friendly materials for its products.
“We have been working hard in the first half of this year to create synergy and blur the boundaries between our businesses while integrating business divisions into the DX. Even in the worsened business environment, we showed better performance than companies in the same industry,” Han said during a press conference held on the sidelines of the IFA tech fair in Berlin. “As a result, I can say that we are now ready to discover new businesses for future growth and execute strategies for achieving sustainability.”
“In order for Samsung to grow with future generations, we must not only offer innovative technologies but also provide sustainable experiences. Based on SmartThings, we will implement 'calm technology' to provide customizable services and apply an eco-friendly initiative to the entire management,” he added.
Han declared this year as the “first year for popularizing SmartThings,” saying it will expand its concept to an integrated connection experience rather than just an internet of things (IoT) platform.
Samsung believes that the number of users of the SmartThings platform will double to 500 million within five years, from the current 230 million users.
As part of its effort to enable more users to use the platform, Han said the platform will be more open to third-party devices.
By the end of 2023, Samsung plans to install Wi-Fi features in almost every one of its home appliance devices and apply Home Connectivity Alliance (HCA) standards so that the products of 13 HCA member companies can be interconnected to each other.
“We will actively promote connection with third-party devices by installing the SmartThings hub function in our appliances. Through this effort, the number of SmartThings app users is expected to be more than 500 million in five years,” the vice chairman said.
Han also hinted that the company looks to join the RE100 campaign ― the global initiative aimed at converting 100 percent of the electricity used by companies into renewable energy by 2050 ― which has become more important than ever.
“We will soon summarize and announce the details that will be implemented with clear goals,” he said.