Samsung teams up with Ashley to expand SmartThings IoT service

SILICON VALLEY – South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. is partnering with Ashley Home Stores Ltd., the US’ largest furniture store chain, to expand its SmartThings Internet of Things (IoT) platform across various furniture products.

Samsung said on Wednesday it will open a flagship store "Samsung SmartThings Home at Ashley" on Oct. 19 in Brentwood, near Nashville, Tennessee.

The store will offer a smart home experience integrating furniture with Samsung's smart appliances and devices. Customers will be able to purchase both furniture and Samsung products at the store.

Opened in 1997, the US chain sells Ashley Furniture products at over 2,000 locations worldwide. The chain has both corporate and independently licensed and operated furniture stores.

Samsung plans to open two more Samsung SmartThings Home at Ashley stores by the end of this year.

SAMSUNG-ASHLEY COLLABORATION SHOWCASE

At a press conference in Nashville, Samsung and Ashley demonstrated how SmartThings works in various spaces like kitchens, home offices and bedrooms.

For example, people can enjoy art on Samsung's lifestyle TV, The Frame.

If users subscribe to Samsung's Art Store, they can watch masterpieces from world-renowned museums and galleries, such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Van Gogh Museum, along with 2,500 works from artists like Salvador Dalí and Jean-Michel Basquiat, all in 4K resolution at home, according to Samsung.

Samsung plans to unveil new TVs equipped with SmartThings Hubs, which support Matter, the global smart home connectivity standard.

Samsung said its SmartThings app is compatible with over 3,800 devices from 340 brands, including smart plugs, door locks and smart bulbs.

“We’re looking at possibilities to expand our SmartThings services to other home appliances,” said Jonathan Gabrio, head of the Connected Experience Center at Samsung Electronics America.

The Samsung-Ashley collaboration began at CES 2024 held earlier this year in Las Vegas.

“Samsung products at CES opened our eyes to a new world," said an Ashley executive. “We want to see where this collaboration would lead.”

SMARTTHINGS, ‘A GAME CHANGER’

Meanwhile, Samsung on Thursday unveiled Home Insight, a new SmartThings service, at the Samsung Developer Conference (SDC) 2024 at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center.

Samsung said Home Insight allows users to monitor and control their home at a glance through the SmartThings app.

The company said the app’s AI analyzes the user's appliance and furniture usage patterns and gives an alert.

For example, if electricity consumption is higher than usual despite moderate weather, Home Insight tells the user that "Electricity usage is higher than usual even though air conditioner usage has decreased."

“Samsung will continue advancing AI technology to a level where AI automatically recognizes each user individually – from their voice to their location – to provide a more personalized experience,” said Han Jong-hee, vice chairman and head of Samsung’s Device eXperience (DX) division, during his keynote speech at SDC 2024.

Through the global IoT standard Matter, Samsung said it has integrated products from its partners such as Kohler, IKEA and Ashley into the SmartThings ecosystem, enabling users to control their products via SmartThings.

"Through our partnership with Samsung and its SmartThings, people can reduce water usage when they shower without having to change their shower habits,” said Laura Kohler, chief sustainable living officer at Kohler.

At this year’s SDC event, Samsung said it will integrate the software experience of its major product lines – from mobile devices to TVs and home appliances – under the name One UI next year.

Samsung previewed a sneak peek of One UI 7 at SDC24, showcasing more ways to integrate Galaxy AI features into daily activities. One UI 7 beta will be available to developers before the end of this year, it said.

Samsung said it also plans to enhance profitability through its business-to-business (B2B) service, SmartThings Pro, which targets hotels, stores and offices.

SDC 2024, which marks the event’s 10th anniversary, brought together some 3,000 developers and partners around the world as well as Samsung executives to showcase their innovative platforms and services.

Write to Shin-Young Park and Young Chan Song at nyusos@hankyung.com
In-Soo Nam edited this article.