Samsung Fastcompany VP Jung Galaxy Smartthings is the world’s most popular IoT platform, with 66 million active users worldwide. VP Jung tells us about new features that are helping users track and find their devices, and keep their homes more connected.
A key feature that will help users find their lost Galaxy device is SmartThings Find, which helps locate devices when they are offline. The service uses a BLE signal to identify the device’s location, and Samsung encrypts this information so it’s not shared with anyone.
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SmartThings Find
SmartThings Find is an easy way to locate your Galaxy smartphone, Galaxy Watch or any of your other connected devices. It uses Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and ultra-wideband (UWB) technologies to help you find your devices, even when they’re offline.
After completing a quick registration process, you can easily find your Galaxy smartphone, Galaxy Watch, earbuds or other Galaxy devices that have a Galaxy SmartTag attached. The tag’s location is encrypted and protected, so it’s never revealed to anyone else except you.
The service is currently available on Galaxy smartphones running Android 8.0 or later and on the Galaxy Watch, and will be added to other Samsung wearables like the Galaxy Buds+ and Galaxy Buds Live at a future date. It will also work with a growing number of third-party products and apps, so long as they support BLE and UWB and are registered with a Samsung account.
When you lose a device, the app will display its location on a map and let you ring your phone or a nearby earbud to locate it quickly. In addition, SmartThings Find has an AR-based Search Nearby function that displays color graphics that increase in intensity as you get closer to your lost device.
Moreover, the SmartThings Find members feature lets you invite up to 19 people to become a member of your SmartThings account and view and locate all of your devices, upon their consent. This is a new way to share and find your smart home with friends and family, and it’s an addition that will expand the capabilities of SmartThings Find.
To use the SmartThings Find feature, you’ll need to have the latest version of the SmartThings app installed on a supported Galaxy smartphone or tablet. It’s also a requirement to have your Galaxy device connected to your home network.
The feature is launching globally and will work with Samsung Galaxy devices that support BLE and UWB, including the Galaxy Note20 Ultra, the Galaxy Z Fold 2, and the Galaxy S10. You can download the latest SmartThings app from the Google Play Store or the Samsung Galaxy Store to start using the feature.
SmartThings Station
Samsung Fastcompany VP Jung Galaxy Smartthings is a hub that connects multiple devices using various protocols to automate pre-set routines. It’s easy to set up by scanning a QR code with your Galaxy phone or plugging it into a wall outlet.
It works with all of the SmartThings hardware and apps, including Samsung’s own smart fridges and TVs. It also has a 15W wireless charging pad built in, which you can use to wirelessly charge your phones.
The button on top of the device is programmable to trigger up to three different home routines, such as a sleep routine that turns off the lights, closes the blinds and lowers the temperature at a certain time. This can be triggered by tapping the button or by activating a pre-set routine from within the SmartThings app whether you’re at home or not.
You can also use the button to trigger up to three different ‘do not disturb’ modes with a single press. This lets you automatically turn off your television, dim the lights, and lower the temperature while you’re away or sleeping, or even activate a security system if you leave the house with kids in tow.
This feature is a big improvement over the way many other smart hubs work, which requires users to create their own routines in advance and then sync those with the device itself. It’s a great idea, and makes the whole process easier for consumers to get their heads around.
Another great thing about the SmartThings Station is that it supports Matter, a unified protocol that’s been adopted by several major players in the smart home space (Google and Apple both support Matter). This means it’ll be possible to use a single button to turn off all of your lights at once, and then use the same button to control your TV.
It will also support SmartThings Find, which will help you locate lost devices around the home if they’re tagged with a SmartTag or a SmartTag+ attachment. This will be a huge plus for people who tend to lose things around the house, and it can even alert you when an item is returned.
SmartThings Cloud
Samsung Fastcompany VP Jung Galaxy Smartthings is a unified IoT platform that can connect all your devices including mobile devices, appliances, TVs and sensors. This means you can control your entire home with a single app instead of having to use different apps for each device.
Today, at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Samsung introduced the SmartThings Cloud as a way to simplify the company’s Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem. The new service brings together three existing platforms: Samsung SmartThings, ARTIK and Samsung Connect into one.
The new service will enable developers and device makers to connect their devices to the SmartThings cloud, giving them a single set of APIs across their products. As a result, Samsung claims the new SmartThings Cloud will speed up IoT development and innovation.
In addition, the Samsung SmartThings Cloud will also allow for secure, reliable interoperability, a critical requirement for business IoT solutions. As a result, the Samsung SmartThings Cloud is compatible with Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa and will work with third-party devices such as doorbells, lights and speakers.
This enables users to control their home with voice commands, like saying “OK Google, turn off the lights.” Bixby is still a big part of SmartThings, and it’s a feature that is expected to improve in the future. For instance, all connected Samsung appliances come with a feature called the HomeCare Wizard that monitors for problems with your appliance and makes recommendations through SmartThings to take care of it.
Moreover, the Cube air purifier is a new Samsung device that works through SmartThings and is now compatible with voice-enabled assistants such as Bixby. It will even notify you when it’s time to replace the filter, a big advantage in the fight against indoor air pollution.
In addition to the Cube air purifier, Samsung has also recently introduced a SmartThings hub with a new feature that will allow you to control your Zigbee and Z-Wave devices without an internet connection. This is a major change from Samsung’s previous approach to smart home, where the device drivers and automations were all stored in the cloud.
Bixby
Bixby is Samsung’s AI assistant and can be used on a variety of devices. It’s particularly useful on phones because you can control your device and select connected accessories with voice commands. It’s available on Samsung’s latest Galaxy S phones, as well as some of its fridges and TVs.
Bixby can be started using the wake word “Hi, Bixby” on any screen or by pressing a dedicated Bixby button. This button will then activate the voice assistant and start listening out for your vocal commands.
It’s easy to access and uses your phone’s camera for image recognition. In particular, it will identify objects and landmarks – as well as translate foreign text if you point the camera at it.
You can use Bixby to open apps, play music, turn off Bluetooth and more. It’s also contextually aware and able to mix voice and touch.
A new update has arrived for Bixby on the Galaxy Store, adding some interesting features that will make it much more useful. The updates include a new home page and improved privacy controls, as well as some new voice command additions.
The new version of Bixby also includes a new augmented reality app called Bixby Vision that uses image recognition to help you find and buy things. It can identify wine bottles, translate foreign text and even scan QR codes.
Another new feature is a more interactive, vertically scrolling home page where you can see all of the information that Bixby can interact with, including weather, fitness activity and buttons for controlling your smart devices. It will also display notifications and alerts from various apps and services.
There’s also a new option to allow Bixby to control SmartThings, allowing you to manage your smart home gadgets from your phone. This means that when you say “OK, Bixby,” it can control your lights, switches and appliances.
In the interview, Jeong explained that Samsung is focusing on building an ecosystem of devices that can connect with each other. For example, you can set up a SmartThings hub with your fridge, light bulbs and a TV, then when you want to change the settings for one of them, you can tell Bixby to do it for you.
