Korean manufacturer Samsung Electronics (NASDAQ:SSNLF) confirmed on Tuesday that all its SmartTVs coming in 2016 will be compatible with SmartThings, the company’s home automation platform. Notably, the announcement comes soon after rival LG also unveiled its SmartTV plans for next year.
“The 2016 line-up of Smart TVs will offer consumers new possibilities and cement Samsung’s market leading position, as the first company to launch IoT-ready TVs,” said Hyun Suk Kim, president of Visual Display Business at Samsung Electronics (NASDAQ:SSNLF) in a press release.
Samsung also announced that all of its SUHD TVs will be equipped with IoT Hub technology enabling the TV to control other smart appliances. The upcoming range of SUHD TVs will be able to control Samsung devices and SmartThings, along with over 200 other compatible IoT devices such as connected lights, cameras, heaters, etc.
The Korean manufacturer will be unveiling its 2016 range of SmartTVs at CES 2016, though as of now has not revealed the exact models slated for the CES show in early January.
Samsung acquired home automation company SmartThings back in 2014. It essentially allows users to control all of their smart devices directly via their smartphone or SmartTV, instead of using separate devices for the app. For accessing and controlling smart devices, users will need to pair the SUHD TV with SmartThings, which allows them to use connected devices directly from the SmartThings app found on the SUHD TV as well as on mobiles.
While to connect your SmartTV with the full range of SmartThings compatible devices, users will need to plug-in a free USB stick called SmartThings Extend into the TV. This will allow users to access, control and manage ZigBee and Z-Wave devices into the TV. The Korean manufacturer in its press release says SmartThings Extend will allow users to control and manage over 200 compatible devices.
“With Samsung Smart TVs working with the SmartThings technology, we have an opportunity to reach millions of households,” said Alex Hawkinson, CEO and co-founder of SmartThings.
