Samsung to expand range of smart appliances

Seoul

SAMSUNG is to launch a range of smart refrigerators, air conditioners and washing machines as its seeks to expand its business in Internet-connected homes, a top executive said on Tuesday.

The South Korean tech giant is seeking to plough more resources into the so-called Internet of Things (IoT) as the market for smartphones - one of its core product categories - becomes increasingly saturated.

The new appliances will work on Samsung's Tizen operating system, which the company has touted as a platform not just for phones but for a range of connected home appliances that can communicate with one another. "We are preparing launches of Tizen-powered TVs, refrigerators, air conditioners and other premium-priced home appliances this year," BK Yoon, head of Samsung's consumer electronics unit, told reporters.

The firm - the world's top mobile phone maker - plans to eventually make all its new products Internet-connected by 2020, he added. "I think we have to make preparations for the IoT for future growth, as we previously grew in size by switching from . . . feature phones to smartphones," Mr Yoon said. Mr Yoon unveiled the company's first-ever Tizen smart TVs at a consumer electronics fair in Las Vegas last month. As part of its efforts to expand beyond the increasingly saturated smartphone market and meet demand for online-connected homes, Samsung bought SmartThings, a US home automation startup last year. AFP