Samsung has updated its SmartThings platform to enhance experiences for users caring for their families and themselves. The latest update strengthens the Family Care service, allowing better support for parents living apart. It also integrates key SmartThings features into Now Brief, the personalized briefing service on Galaxy devices, improving daily convenience. Samsung plans to gradually roll out these new Now Brief capabilities to TVs and Family Hub refrigerators.
“Samsung’s AI technology goes beyond everyday convenience to help users care for themselves and their families with greater peace of mind,” said Jaeyeon Jung, Executive Vice President and Head of the SmartThings Team, AI Platform Center, Samsung Electronics. “SmartThings will continue to strengthen its role as a platform that seamlessly connects customers’ daily lives with AI, and it will keep expanding differentiated services on an ongoing basis.”
Enhanced Family Care Makes It Easier To Check In on Loved Ones
Family Care connects SmartThings with home appliances and mobile devices to provide notifications for aging parents, medication reminders, and location alerts, promoting thoughtful care.
Samsung’s Care on Call feature enables caregivers to check the care recipient’s status before a call. A pop-up displays key information like first activity time, last activity time, and local weather, facilitating meaningful conversations.
SmartThings monitors devices like air conditioners and air purifiers for indoor conditions. Caregivers receive notifications for unusual usage patterns and can remotely control devices.
The Safety Patrol feature uses SmartThings to deploy a Bespoke AI Jet Bot Steam Ultra, notifying users if no activity is detected. Caregivers can view issues through the robot’s camera and communicate via its speaker.
Lastly, the enhanced Care Insight feature provides actionable, long-term data, tracking temperature, humidity, activity levels, and device usage changes compared to the previous week.
Expansion of Now Brief to TVs and Family Hub
Now Brief offers a helpful AI experience by connecting important SmartThings services that keep users informed about their daily lives, family members, and conditions inside and outside their homes.
With the new Galaxy S26 series, Now Brief will include features for Home Security, Family Care, and Pet Care, along with existing tools like Home Insight, Energy tracking, and the Sleep Environment Report. Users can easily access essential information to care for themselves, their families, and their homes.
Now Brief aims to provide a personalized experience throughout the home and will soon be available on TVs launched in 2024 or later, as well as Family Hub refrigerators from 2021 onward.
For convenience, users won’t have to manually start Now Brief. If set up in advance, it will automatically activate when they get near the TV, touch the Family Hub refrigerator screen, or open and close the refrigerator door.
Whether at home or on the go, the updated Now Brief helps users stay informed by providing updates on home device status, energy usage, sleep quality from the previous night, Home Security alerts from door locks and sensors, parents’ daily activities, and information about dog walking.