Samsung to unveil smart TV platform at CES
By Lee Min-hyung
A Samsung Electronics model promotes the company’s new smart television equipped with the “Smart Hub” platform. The company said Monday that its new smart TVs, to be unveiled at CES 2016 in Las Vegas, will come with the platform, which allows users to control not just their televisions, but other appliances at the same time with a single remote controller. / Courtesy of Samsung Electronics
LAS VEGAS ― Samsung Electronics has shifted its focus toward platforms rather than fancy hardware features at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES).
The world’s largest TV producer plans to offset the effects of weak demand by emphasizing its management systems for platforms.
Samsung, the global TV leader since 2004, is eager to find “something new,” to help its TV business get on a normal track after troubles in the past few years. The company said it will use this year’s CES as a podium to highlight its plans for convergence with other Internet of Things (IoT) devices.
It will showcase its new smart TVs at CES 2016, which are equipped with the company’s “Smart Hub” platform, allowing users to control not just a television, but other appliances such as a set-top box or a blue ray player all at once with a remote controller, the company said.
Such moves correspond with the company’s strategy shift toward businesses for “smart home” applications amid healthy demand for a single, converged TV platform.
Samsung believes more users are seeking to control and manage ever-increasing numbers of devices and content in an easier, more convenient way.
“The Smart Hub reduces the burden of using many remote controllers to manage various devices connected to users’ smart TVs,” Samsung spokesman Kim Choon-gon said, adding that the CES is no longer a battlefield for leading TV manufacturers to show off their latest product updates.
The platform automatically recognizes IoT devices, offering users easier, more convenient smart TV experiences, according to the company.
Expectations are that the new services will simplify users’ entertainment experience, ranging from enjoying traditional broadcasting programs to games.
Lee Won-jin, vice president at the company’s visual display division, said, “The amount of content expands infinitely, and customers call for more convenient, easy-to-use smart TV platforms.” He said the smarter TV will provide users with more intuitive experiences when they enjoy various contents from their TVs.
To provide ideal experiences for its users, the company has been running a “Consumer Experience Lab” in Silicon Valley in the U.S., reshaping user interfaces for their smart TVs, the company said.
LG Electronics, for its part, is also planning to showcase its latest television operating system (OS) at the upcoming fair, competing with its bitter rival’s Smart Hub platform.