Samsung's SmartThings Head Reveals Challenges and Platform Evolution in SDC23 Keynote

In an interview, Jaeyeon Jung, Executive Vice President at Samsung Electronics and Head of the SmartThings Team, discussed the evolution of the SmartThings platform. The platform now supports Matter, enabling compatibility with thousands of smart devices. Samsung's collaboration with the Home Connectivity Alliance brings greater control for users, and the company's sound bars will work as hubs, expanding coverage and reliability. The platform also offers a new SDK and enhanced API for partners to extract more value and incorporate SmartThings Home AI. Challenges in building the SmartThings Find network included optimizing battery life and managing a distributed system with over 300 million active nodes. The SmartThings Find feature is closely tied to the Samsung ecosystem and not currently planned for integration within core Android. The new Map Full View feature aims to make the smart home more accessible, and the design change for the Galaxy SmartTag2 was based on customer feedback. SmartThings Station has received positive responses, and future iterations will focus on supporting Matter, Thread, and Wi-Fi, with no immediate plans for Z-Wave support.