Samsung touts open 'Internet of things' push, says all products to be connected in 5 years
During Samsung's keynote presentation at the Consumer Electronics Show on Monday, co-CEO B.K. Yoon advocated for an open, industry-wide "Internet of things" push, revealing plans to build in connected device capabilities across its entire product line within five years.
Samsung appears to betting big on the so-called "Internet of things," a broad industry-wide initiative that looks to create a virtual web between electronic devices, allowing for user control and monitoring of everything from washing machines and refrigerators to home security systems.
"Samsung is prepared to play a leading role here," Yoon said.
Instead of a closed platform limited to one operating system or brand, Samsung wants an open development environment that plays no favorites, reports The Wall Street Journal. In his presentation, Yoon advocated against a "walled garden" model, a reference often used to describe Apple's iOS and Mac ecosystem, saying, "We need an open ecosystem so that IoT devices work together, and we need to collaborate across industries."
After purchasing smart home startup SmartThings last August for $200 million, Samsung has moved aggressively toward fulfilling its IoT ambitions. The strategy makes sense for a company with fingers not only in mobile computing technology, but home appliances like laundry machines and air conditioners.
"On behalf of Samsung, I'm making a promise: our IoT components and devices will be open," Yoon said, adding that without open development, "there won't be an Internet of things, because the 'things' will not fit together."
Earlier in the day, Samsung trotted out a fleet of new HDTVs powered by its own Tizen operating system, an OS designed in part to connect the company's broad range of devices. Also debuted at CES were new refrigerator, dish washer, laundry machine and vacuuming products, though the appliances lacked IoT capabilities.
Yoon estimates that 90 percent of his company's products will be connected by 2017 and that "five years from now, every single piece of Samsung hardware will be an IoT device, whether it is an air purifier or an oven."
Apple is also working on a connected device ecosystem in iOS 8's HomeKit framework. A recent initiative for the iPhone maker, HomeKit is only now seeing support from smart home hardware manufacturers, with companies like Elgato and iDevices exhibiting their wares at CES.
Samsung appears to betting big on the so-called "Internet of things," a broad industry-wide initiative that looks to create a virtual web between electronic devices, allowing for user control and monitoring of everything from washing machines and refrigerators to home security systems.
"Samsung is prepared to play a leading role here," Yoon said.
Instead of a closed platform limited to one operating system or brand, Samsung wants an open development environment that plays no favorites, reports The Wall Street Journal. In his presentation, Yoon advocated against a "walled garden" model, a reference often used to describe Apple's iOS and Mac ecosystem, saying, "We need an open ecosystem so that IoT devices work together, and we need to collaborate across industries."
After purchasing smart home startup SmartThings last August for $200 million, Samsung has moved aggressively toward fulfilling its IoT ambitions. The strategy makes sense for a company with fingers not only in mobile computing technology, but home appliances like laundry machines and air conditioners.
"On behalf of Samsung, I'm making a promise: our IoT components and devices will be open," Yoon said, adding that without open development, "there won't be an Internet of things, because the 'things' will not fit together."
Earlier in the day, Samsung trotted out a fleet of new HDTVs powered by its own Tizen operating system, an OS designed in part to connect the company's broad range of devices. Also debuted at CES were new refrigerator, dish washer, laundry machine and vacuuming products, though the appliances lacked IoT capabilities.
Yoon estimates that 90 percent of his company's products will be connected by 2017 and that "five years from now, every single piece of Samsung hardware will be an IoT device, whether it is an air purifier or an oven."
Apple is also working on a connected device ecosystem in iOS 8's HomeKit framework. A recent initiative for the iPhone maker, HomeKit is only now seeing support from smart home hardware manufacturers, with companies like Elgato and iDevices exhibiting their wares at CES.
Comments
Yeah, we need an 'open standard' called Tizen, right?
Samsung can eat turf. No one with any sense would trust them.
After all these Apple bashing commercials no money is coming to them from my pocket.
I'm assuming Samsung was attempting a dig at Apple. I'm curious though is HomeKit not open? What exactly defines open?
Yep, a 64-bit vacuum, that's the ticket¡
HomeKit is "open" enough for Elgato, iDevices and other companies to use... so it's far from being a "closed" standard.
But maybe the proper term in Apple's case is "licenced" standard. I'm sure Apple will maintain some sort of certification like they do with MFI.
At least people are calling them out for their new TV interface being a total ripoff of LG's WebOS TV interface.
Hopefully you can get Toast for it. 8-)
Open is anything that isn't developed by Apple. Android is "open" (it's not by any means, but the kiddies like to throw that word around).
First Google, then Samsung.
If you look at the companies that are in denial, by thinking they can actually compete, they simply wither away: Dell, Blackberry, Microsoft.
We'll see how this plays out for Samsung....
Open is anything that isn't developed by Apple. Android is "open" (it's not by any means, but the kiddies like to throw that word around).
ctOS
The thing that makes people read FCUK as FUÇK... it makes me read B.K.Yoon as 'Booyah' every time.
I am in the market for a new refrigerator. It is a pity that Apple doesn't make any!
Indeed! Samsung cannot hit targets they announce a year away, but then go on record to aim for one five years out.... as if....
Listening to the o-CEO talk you get a mental pictured of him arriving at CES in a clown car in full costume.
Last I checked, Legos are patented and they have no problem fitting together...
Pretty much. "We're too fucking incompetent and don't have what it takes to create a standard that will be successful and widely adopted, as Apple routinely does, so, uh... OPEN!!
Samsung can't even fucking decide what OS to use in their products. Their event was as cringe worthy as all their previous ones. You'd think with all the money they have, they could hire some people to advise them about things like "taste" and "class", or how not to make a laughable keynote.
So you're telling me that Samsung is already five years behind Apple then? My IPhone, iPad, Mac, TV and lights all are connected just fine. I don't need my dishwasher, toaster oven and washing machine connected. That's just dumb, not smart.
Fine. Be a leader, Samsung. At the very least make and publish a standard, and then implement it on all your products, a way for them to all communicate their status and be appropriately remotely controlled, only without any data being sent to your servers. My data on your servers gives me no value add, so it must all work without needing your servers to work.
Maybe if they could get my washing to automatically beam over to my dryer there might be some value but otherwise it just sounds like [tinfoil hat time] a means of gathering more personal information.
Aside from the fact that I have decided that I will not buy any Samsung branded goods (components I can do nothing about), I am more likely to avoid electrical goods that offer this, as it seems to simply be adding complexity/cost where it's not needed.
Rant over!