Samsung is serious about competing in the connected home market. It has been investing heavily in the Internet of Things as it feels that this is an area of growth for the company. Samsung needs to find new avenues for growth as it can't keep relying on its components business to do all the heavy lifting.
“Samsung is very focused on the internet of things,” said David Eun at the Wall Street Journal's D.Live conference. He's the president of Samsung Next, the company's first $150 million dedicated investment fund for early-stage startups.
Samsung's Vision For A Connected Home
Samsung really jumped into the smart home arena with its acquisition of the SmartThings home automation platform back in 2014. It now serves as the default hub for all of Samsung's connected devices.
Samsung believes that a time will come when our homes are filled with connected devices. “We think this could be the third wave where you have programmable objects blanketing your home,” Eun said.
The Internet of Things hasn't really taken off as well as many had been predicting. For most average users, it's still confusing and difficult to set up. Others are wary of bringing these devices into their homes due to security concerns.
Eun feels that these challenges can be overcome, highlighting that Samsung is bullish on the Internet of Things. He also points out that Samsung has to get the software equation right as well. Software and hardware need to work in harmony to provide a great user experience.
In this wide-ranging discussion, Eun also said that it was rough at Samsung after the Galaxy Note 7 recall last year. However, seeing the response to the Galaxy Note 8 has been very gratifying for the company. “It's been a record year,” he said.
