The head of Samsung Electronics' new consumer division has announced an increased focus on sustainability at the company, in a keynote address at CES entitled 'Together for tomorrow'. He also presented plans to integrate the company's consumer products more through a home hub, based on its SmartThings software.
Jong-Hee Han leads the new Device eXperience division at Samsung, combining mobile, TV and other consumer electronics and appliances. He said the company plans to introduce "everyday sustainability" to more products. For example, Samsung’s Visual Display Business plans to use 30 times more recycled plastics than it did in 2021, and the company will expand its use of recycled materials to all mobile products and home appliances over the next three years.
Perhaps the biggest step to reduce its environmental footprint is the new SolarCell Remote, which eliminates battery waste with a built-in solar panel that can be charged both day and night. The device harvests electricity from radio frequencies in nearby devices such as Wi-Fi routers.
To be included in new Samsung TVs and home appliances, the device should stop more than 200 million batteries from going to landfills, the company expects. "Eco-conscious" products like the solar remote will be made open source, so more companies can make use of the technology, Samsung added.
In addition, by 2025, Samsung plans to make all of its TVs and phone chargers operate on near-zero standby power, so that the products will consume almost no energy when not being used.
Samsung Home Hub
To help customers get the most out of their Samsung products, the company presented the new Samsung Home Hub concept. The new device, expected to launch later this year first in Korea, brings together six SmartThings services in a single device that gives users complete control over their smart home. The SmartThings Hub support will be a built-in feature of its 2022 TVs, smart monitors and Family Hub refrigerators, allowing customers to control the devices also with the SmartThings app.
SmartThings is an extra way to manage smart home devices and also integrates with devices from third-party manufacturers. In addition, Samsung supports the smart home standard Matter, connections over Wi-Fi or Ethernet, and links to Zigbee devices through an optional USB accessory.
Specifically for home appliances, the company also is joining the new Home Connectivity Alliance, alongside American Standard Heating and Air Conditioning, Arcelik, the Electrolux Group, Haier, GE Appliances and Trane Residential. They plan to work together to enable connected device interoperability across brands and have invited other manufacturers to join the alliance.
