Samsung is to incorporate SmartThings control into its entire 2016 TV range.
The promise of the smart home revolution hasn't quite come to fruition in 2015 as many people expected, but 2016 has a good shot at taking things further. One way in which this could happen is by placing smart home control front and centre in our living rooms.
LG recently announced that its webOS 3.0 smart TV operating system would have an Internet of Things (IoT) app for controlling smart home devices, and now Samsung has announced similar news. In fact, it's gone even further.
The entire Samsung Smart TV range for 2016 will be IoT ready, and will connect up to the SmartThings platform Samsung acquired back in 2014.
While the entire 2016 Samsung Smart TV range will enable you to control IoT devices, the SUHD TVs in particular will be able to act as hubs or controllers for the entire smart home. It'll be at the heart of hundreds of compatible lights, locks, thermostats, security cameras and more, and you won't need to purchase a separate SmartThings hub.
All of which marks a subtle shift away from the current situation whereby the smartphone acts as the hub of the modern smart home. Instead, the heart of the smart home can be the heart of the traditional home - the living room. Notifications for these various smart home devices will pop up right on your TV screen.
It will also have TV-friendly applications like being able to quickly select a 'Cinema Mood' option that will adjust the light and surround sound set-up to a more cinematic level.
Samsung will be showing off its new smart home-compatible TV range at CES in early January.
