Samsung Adds Third-Party Support, Voice Control to Smart Home System
The tech titan makes a smart play for smart home dominance.
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IFA's official start may still be a few days away, but that hasn't stopped Samsung from showing off its aggressive smart home plans.
Today, the company announced new products and services that it will show off at the trade show, but perhaps more importantly it announced plans to release a new software development kit for third-party hardware makers later this year.
The company's new Smart Home SDK will allow competing appliance and hardware makers to integrate with Samsung's offerings. Thus far, Samsung has maintained a closed smart home ecosystem, but alongside its recent acquisition of SmartThings, this new announcement highlights a sea change in strategy for the Korean giant.
The Samsung Smart Home service has also expanded into two key areas: home security and energy management. The home security service will allow users to monitor door locks and security cameras, while the energy management service will help homeowners reduce energy usage, even allowing them to set energy limits on specific devices like air conditioners and smart light bulbs.
The company has also integrated the smart home service with its S Voice personal assistant app, allowing users to control Samsung smart home tech from either a Galaxy smartphone or Gear smartwatch. In addition to voice commands, the smart home service is now location-aware. For example, it could turn up your AC or turn on your lights when it senses that you're on your way home.
Samsung has also confirmed that it will be opening its smart home products to SmartThings' ecosystem, but we'll have to wait until the company's Developer Conference in November to learn more about the fruits of the partnership.
Stick with Reviewed.com for the latest updates on IFA 2014 and Samsung's Smart Home service.
Source: Samsung Electronics
Check out all of Samsung's IFA 2014 Announcements:
- Samsung Unpacks New Note Phones, Co-Branded Oculus VR Headset
- Samsung's New TVs Are All About the Curves
- Samsung Demos Upscale Appliances, Elena Arzak Joins Club des Chefs
- Slim, Ruggedized Samsung Tab Active Debuts at IFA Berlin
- Samsung's New Robot Vacuum Is Your Most Humble Servant
- Samsung Flexes at IFA With a 105-inch Bendable UHD TV
- Samsung Outs a Curved Sound Bar to Match Its Curved TVs
- Samsung UHD TVs Will Soon Stream Amazon's 4K Content
- Samsung Announces Its First 3G Smartwatch: The Gear S
- Samsung Adds Swarovski Band to Otherwise Tasteful Gear S