New-Tech Europe Magazine | Q2 2023

The Power of Simplicity: Meet the Innovators Who Brought SmartThings Station to Life

SAMSUNG

What Does Smart Living Look Like? Imagine coming home after a long day to find your home already working for you. As you enter, the curtains close and the bathroom lights turn on so you can go wash your hands. Your favorite tunes play softly in the background. The air purifier kicks in as you prepare dinner. When you open the windows for ventilation, the air conditioner automatically powers down. Is It Possible for a Home To Take Care of Your Entire Daily Routine? This kind of dream home is no longer a fantasy. With SmartThings Station, you can tailor your smart home to your family’s routines. This smart hub not only connects Samsung products: it unifies multiple devices using the latest Matter IoT standards, regardless of manufacturer. “When developing SmartThings Station, we focused on enabling more users to

As we approach the cusp of a smart living revolution, a few challenges prevent our leap toward a truly harmonious and fluid experience. Smart home appliances continue to surge in popularity, escalating the demand for a digital home hub — a gateway bridging diverse IoT (Internet of Things) devices with seamless integration. At CES 2023 in January of this year, Samsung Electronics unveiled SmartThings Station which revolutionized new smart home hubs supporting Matter, the home IoT compatibility standard. This platform promotes expansive connectivity, empowering users to sync smart products irrespective of their manufacturer. SmartThings Station gained media spotlight for dismantling the entry barriers to IoT. Since 100 days passed since the product’s release, Samsung Newsroom sat down with SmartThings Station developer Eugene Park and product planner Kiyoung Kwon to learn more about the smart home hub’s development.

effortlessly connect various devices, so they can enjoy a smart home experience without entry barriers,” said product planner Kiyoung Kwon. “Our goal with SmartThings Station was to create a product that would take center stage in your home,” explained Kwon. Most hub products are typically set up in a corner and quickly forgotten about. “Our challenge was to design a product that served not only as a hub but also as a device people want to use,” he added. This goal remained a significant focus for his team throughout the product planning phase. By adding the well-loved wireless charging feature as well as the Find My Mobile feature, Kwon increased product usability and encouraged users to incorporate the hub as a natural part of their day-to-day routine. “A lot of thought went into eliminating IoT entry barriers. That’s how the Smart Button came to be,” said developer Eugene Park. “Touch the Smart Button,

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