Whether termed connected devices, the internet of things, or smart devices, our homes brim with “intelligent” gadgets and appliances, setting our domiciles apart from the rest. As we revel in the ability to control thermostats, lights, or doors through a smartphone, a new era is unfolding, centering on the fusion of our voice and artificial intelligence (AI).
Amazon showcased that consumers readily embrace such technology through its Alexa-enabled devices. Additionally, Google expanded our options. Over the past couple of years, the two tech giants engaged in a competitive battle, boasting about the multitude of skills and integrations in their respective devices.
However, Samsung has now ceased playing the seemingly underestimated dark horse and is emphatically asserting its presence. Although the Internet of Things isn’t a recent venture for Samsung (having acquired SmartThings in 2014 for $200 million), the company is unveiling the strategic culmination of its past endeavors, presenting a system called “Connected Thinking.”
From headphones to mobile devices, laptops, refrigerators, and televisions, there’s a strong possibility that a Samsung device will grace your home. This constitutes a significant aspect of the company’s reliance, but it acknowledges that consumers are not inclined toward an all-Samsung home. Hence, at its developer conference, executives aimed to demonstrate that it is a platform worth betting on, capable of providing more growth, scale, and capabilities compared to others in the space.
Advantage Bixby
Incorporating AI into IoT isn’t new — just look at Amazon and Google. Blimtut what appears to separate Samsung from the pack is its wide array of products that are being transformed into smart devices. At the forefront of this effort is not only the company’s SmartThings offering, but also Bixby, the competitor to Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant that was first made available on the Samsung Galaxy S8 smartphones and now has more than 10 million users across 200 countries — it’s unknown how many queries have been processed and how many users are active, though. But after a few months, Samsung is seeing good enough traction that it’s casting Bixby into the limelight.
Some may think that Samsung’s approach won’t stand up against Amazon or Google, but there’s a good chance of it succeeding and becoming a dominant platform for the next generation of smart devices. What Amazon and Google have are a growing number of skills and integrations, along with a penchant for retailers like Walmart or Target. As Amazon’s influence is growing, Google is allying with businesses that seek to curb Amazon’s growth.
But even though Amazon is out front in terms of development, it’s struggling to get skills that would entice users to return, so the company recently launched a program to help developers monetize their work. It’s quite possible that Samsung could run into this problem also, but it made a good case for developers this week during its Samsung Developer Conference keynote. Not only did it present numerous opportunities for how Bixby can empower IoT devices — like TVs, refrigerators, lights, etc. — but Samsung teased that soon a dedicated marketplace will be available for skills with a varying degree of compensation based on devices.
“The idea is to create a corporate-wide AI voice system that’s applied to all products we offer,” Won-Jin Lee, Samsung’s executive vice president for its video display business, once told me following the company’s keynote at CES. Ten months later Samsung is marching forward to realize its vision. When the company introduced Bixby to reporters in March, while the first use cases were around the smartphone, Samsung didn’t shy away by suggesting the potential for the assistant to help manage its entire ecosystem of products, including those connected through SmartThings.
Developing Bixby for Services or Devices?
When it was Amazon and Google, the options for developers seemed pretty easy — both companies offered good support and had the potential for longevity and integrations. After all, what startup or service wouldn’t want to strike a deal with Amazon or Google? Soon you saw skills like being able to summon an Uber or Lyft ride on Amazon Alexa and actions like playing Blackjack or getting cooking recipes from Food Network on Google Home.
And while there are third-party devices that are integrated, like August’s smart locks, Amazon and Google still have work to do to get into the bigger gadgets and appliances we have in the home. Every company is practically looking or working on smart devices, but are they willing to integrate with Alexa or Google Home? Also, do those two have a chance at real mass adoption? Samsung poses a real challenge here because of the established ecosystem that it has.
One need only look at Samsung’s product line to see the potential: refrigerators, televisions, laptops, phones, ovens, stoves, washers and dryers, microwaves, printers, and more. It has a good footprint in two of the most heavily trafficked areas of a home: the kitchen and living room. And quietly it has been beefing up its SmartThings offering, amassing some integrations for the right time to launch a full offensive on the IoT market.
Now that Samsung is all-in on IoT, what’s possible is that traditional furniture and appliance makers will see the opportunity and flock to develop on the platform. They’ll see this for at least three reasons:
- Samsung’s massive footprint and dominance in the Android smartphone category with its popular Galaxy S8/S8+ and Note8 phones.
- As newer Samsung devices roll out, they’ll be infused with Bixby and SmartThings technology so consumers don’t have to buy an extra hub — they’ll likely just use what they’re already comfortable using.
- Samsung’s track record in home hardware may reassure developers, from startups to traditional companies, that it can present multiple creative opportunities to help consumers get stuff done and be more productive.
Remember that Bixby marketplace I mentioned earlier? While developers are building actions and skills for a single device, the Amazon Echo and Google Home, Samsung presents an interesting option. The company pitched the possibility of offering multiple monetization streams by device. This means that you can build Bixby integrations for a TV, fridge, stove, phone, etc., and could likely see additional revenue from them. You might have a different use case by device — maybe your fridge is empty so you’d like to summon an Uber to take you to the nearest grocery store or make a food delivery. Samsung’s appeal to developers is to be creative in the possibilities.
Uniting the Internet of Things
Dag Kittlaus is a storied figure in the world of AI. He’s one of the co-founders of Siri and then went on to start Viv Labs. His last company was acquired by Samsung for $215 million just over a year ago and many wondered what impact his technology would have on Samsung’s pursuits. While on stage at the company’s annual developer conference, Kittlaus spoke about how virtual assistants are useful but they’re playing a limited role in our lives. He questioned what it would take for it to be a “true paradigm”.
Samsung believes three principles behind Bixby’s next phase will separate it from competitors:
- Bixby has to be ubiquitous, meaning that it’s available on any device, something that Samsung will achieve thanks to its new software development kit (SDK) and also a new dongle device codenamed Project Ambience.
- It has to be personable — it has to know you and understand the context of your conversation.
- The technology also has to be open.
This wasn’t the first time I’ve heard these principles. Back at CES, Lee alluded to them during our interview: “You have to think about how to make the voice technology easy to use and user-friendly so everyone embraces the technology,” he shared.
During Samsung’s keynote this week, one saying really caught my attention. One of the speakers said that while we love our smartphones when out and about when we’re at home, we want to be mobile-free but still connected. Many of us don’t have the money, time, or resources to create Jarvis from Iron Man, so the closest we’ll probably come is by having an integrated and seamless AI assistant, something that Bixby may be up for the task.
Granted, I’ve had some reservations about the service — it’s been buggy and slow for me — but Samsung appears to be making improvements, so much so that it’s betting big time on the technology with this expansion. While Bixby-enabled TVs and refrigerators will make their debut next year, you won’t have to wait for Samsung to make Bixby-powered tools. You’ll hopefully be able to do it soon, not only with the upcoming SDK release but with a dongle device the company has called Project Ambience.
A circular-looking device, Project Ambience is being pitched as a way to transform a “dumb” object like a speaker into one that can respond to voice commands. On stage, Injong Rhee, the chief technology officer for Samsung’s mobile business, demonstrated not only the potential of this prototype but also how it could connect with other devices and make an entire room “intelligent”. Could this be the Bixby speaker that the company alluded to months ago?
We have enough clutter in our homes so having to buy an Amazon Echo or Google Home only adds to the mess. But where Samsung could also have an advantage is by showing that you don’t need to buy a new device unnecessarily. You might be able to turn what you already have into a smart, Bixby-enabled device with little fuss.
As appliances and televisions begin to turnover, as is typical, more consumers could opt for smarter versions and as a benefit not only get Bixby, but also a hub that their thermostats, lights, curtains, security cameras, speakers, and vacuum can integrate with.
To help Bixby unite the Internet of Things, Samsung has also streamlined its SmartThings offerings to hopefully make developing simpler. Now it’s cloud-based you’re able to get all the benefits of the resource in a single suite, including security, integrations, testing, and more.
The battle over the IoT space is getting more interesting now that one of the top manufacturers has announced a major investment in the market.
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