Smart TV is evolving quickly. Emerging for the first time in 2008 in a form of hybrid internet TV, Smart TV is now at the center of consumers' lives. It is expected that smart TV will take up 60% of the global TV sales. According to the market research firm, IHS, Samsung will be number one manufacturer in terms of Smart TV market share, accounting for 37.9% of the market share, followed by LG (12.5%), Sony (8.4%), Vizio (5.9%), and Philips (3.4%).

The sales percentage of Samsung Smart TV has increased by more than two-fold from 32% in 2012 to 65% in 2016. This is expected to increase even further in 2017 to 72%. This means, by simple calculation, that two among three TV sets that consumers purchase will be smart TVs. Samsung was able to achieve results in the smart TV market with its innovation in user experience (UX). Samsung focused on creating a user-oriented UX and simple control rather than concentrating on the hardware to design 'a smart TV that anyone can use to enjoy their favorite content'.

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<2018 Samsung Smart TV is upgraded with 'Bixby' and 'SmartThings' features. Samsung unveiled its Smart TV at the CES. Source: Samsung Electronics>

◇2018 Samsung Smart TV provides integrated user experience with Bixby and SmartThings

Samsung made a huge effort to resolve the inconveniences of users in the course of its smart TV innovation. It provides a new user experience through the user environment integration strategy and won the hearts of the consumers with differentiated features. 'Samsung One Remote' and 'Smart Hub' are some of those results.

Samsung integrated the user environment with the 'Smart Hub', which is the home screen of Samsung Smart TVs. All services including TV, OTTs, and games can be selected for use by simply moving the cursor on the Smart Hub. It also provides a custom service for users, which allows users to customize the Smart Hub to their taste. When users connect peripheral devices including game consoles and set-top box to the TV, the TV automatically recognizes the devices and display them on the screen. Users do not have to go through a complicated installing process. In addition, Samsung proposed a new paradigm, introducing the One Remote that combines the TV remote and the remotes for the external devices. In turn, users can control all the peripheral devices with just the ‘One Remote’ and easily check out a variety of content from OTT services and their set-top box.

In particular, Samsung succeeded in yet another evolution of TV with its 2018 Samsung Smart TV, the 8K AI QLED TV, which has the AI technology that is applied to a TV for the first time in the world. Samsung added more expandability to its TV by applying the AI platform, Bixby, and the IoT platform, SmartThings, so that users can have access to and control many consumer electronics with their TV.

To provide an ‘integrated IoT experience’ by connecting all of its products to the users, Samsung combined dozens of its IoT applications including ‘Smart View’, ‘ARTIC’, and ‘Samsung Connect’ into one app called the ‘SmartThings App’. Now all of Samsung’s IoT devices can be connected to the ‘SmartThings Cloud’, and users can link and control all their Samsung IoT devices with the SmartThings App.

Bixby, which was only available on smartphones, is now applied to premium TVs including QLED TVs. All the complicated functions can now be activated with voice control, reducing the inconveniences of the users.

At the ‘CES 2018’, which was held in January at Las Vegas, Samsung revealed its goal of creating a smart environment where users can control and run everything with voice control by expanding Bixby to all of its product range including TV, consumer electronics, and automobile components by 2020. Bixby will continuously be upgraded based on deep-learning even after its launch.

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<The AI platform, Bixby, will alleviate the inconveniences of life as all its complicated functions can be easily operated through voice control.>

◇ The change that Smart TV will bring to our smart home

The 2018 Samsung Smart TV is at the center of the IoT scene with its SmartThings App, SmartThings Cloud, and Bixby. It has broken the mold of conventional TVs and is bringing a new change to our lifestyle in general. Using voice control to search for content has been changed with the 2018 Samsung Smart TV. With voice control, you can not only switch channels but also search a movie by its leading actor and adjust the lightings to match the viewing environment.

You can easily monitor and control the consumer electronics at your home through the screen of the Samsung Smart TV with the SmartThings App. When you make a command by saying “show me what I have in my fridge”, the TV shows you all the food you have in the FamilyHub refrigerator that is connected to SmartThings Cloud. It can also let you check the mode of your washing machine.

Previously, it was a hassle to watch the videos on your smartphone through your TV screen. With the SmartThings App, you can easily enjoy the videos, images, music, and even some content in your smartphone on your TV.

For example, at the CES 2018 press conference, Samsung demonstrated a service which you can send your music service account on your smartphone to the smart TV with just one click without having to log in. Samsung turned on the music streaming app ‘Spotify’ on a smartphone, and the smart TV on the stage played ‘MIC Drop’ by the K-pop group, BTS instantly.

With the 2018 Samsung Smart TV, viewers do not have to miss their favorite programs anymore. The TV sends you an alarm at the airtime of the program on your smartphone and other connected devices such as your refrigerator. When you touch the alarm, the TV will be turned on automatically, switching the channel where the program is on.

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<The ‘One Remote’ combines the TV remote and the remotes of the peripheral devices to let the users easily check contents from a variety of services.>

◇ Samsung Smart TV is now at the center of the entertainment industry

The value of Samsung Smart TV as an entertainment device has become greater. It is mounted with ‘Shazam’, which lets you check the information of the music that is being played on your TV, and ‘Steam Link’, that streams the game you are playing on your PC to the TV. It also has ‘Africa TV’ for the first time in the industry. By supporting the smart service of all entertainment sectors, it is putting huge efforts to build a dramatically improved entertainment environment.

After demonstrating a premium streaming service with HDR 10+, a technology which will be the future standard of videos, with Amazon for the first time in the industry on December, Samsung partnered with the Hollywood film company, Warner Brothers, to expand HDR 10+ content.

Now Samsung Smart TV users can watch 100 Amazon original contents with HDR 10+ through ‘Amazon Prime Video’ app. 75 Warner Brothers movies including soon-to-be-released movies will be available as well within this year.

Besides the improvement in content, Samsung also reinforced accessibility features for the people with visual and hearing impairments. In partnership with the major handicap associations throughout the world, Samsung continued to invest in TV accessibility and carried on research to help the people with low vision, color blindness, hearing impairment, and color vision defectives.

For the 2018 Samsung TV, features including ‘Menu Color Conversion’, which enhances readability of the TV menu for people with low vision, ‘Black-and-White’, which allows color blind viewers to see images more clearly, ‘Closed Captioning’ for people with difficulty in hearing, and the ‘SeeColors’ app that allows people with color vision deficiency to enjoy richer colors on TV will be added.

“In March, we are planning to have a global TV launching event in New York, USA. We are going to show the viewers the 2018 Samsung Smart TV packed with benefits like the more convenient usability with Bixby, a new user experience for smart home, a huge amount of contents, and stronger accessibility features. We plan to introduce a new standard of smart TV that has taken a major step forward.

jmlee@etnews.com