Will Samsung's smart TV be the hub of the IoT home?

As the Internet of Things (IoT) grows in popularity, watchers have been on the lookout for the in-home hub that will tie the technology together. Samsung is the latest competitor to try to make its name synonymous with IoT. The company is trying to position its smart TV as the must-have control center of the wired home. ZDNet reported that Samsung has announced all of its smart TVs rolled out in 2016 will be IoT ready and able to interact with Samsung's SmartThings IoT management platform. Samsung intends to demonstrate how the smart TV will work in conjunction with IoT devices at the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show (CES), according to the article. The new smart TVs will implement a form of security known as GAIA, according to the Verge, that will secure both stored IoT device data and data in transit. Even with security in place to prevent hacks, consumers may still have concerns about the type of information being captured, stored and transmitted by their IoT devices. Samsung was already the subject of security-related scrutiny when it was revealed that their smart TVs had the capacity to collect and even store conversation audio from those nearby. Samsung is not the only big-name tech player taking steps to become an essential part of the IoT infrastructure. Amazon, for instance, publicly launched its AWS IoT web services in December of 2015, geared specifically towards the creation of tools that use IoT data. Questions have also arisen about Amazon possibly moving its Echo device in the direction of functioning as an IoT control center. But Samsung is definitely doubling down on IoT. The company plans to roll out numerous other smart home-centric tools at CES. According to VentureBeat, the company has announced a remote control that it hints is intended to be truly universal, with the ability to control in-home devices as well as the television. And The Verge published official images of Samsung's new refrigerator, which features a large touch screen on the front. There is no word yet on how close the device comes to being the "smart fridge" IoT enthusiasts have theorized.

• Samsung smart TVs will all be IoT compatible from 2016 - ZDNet
• Will consumers submit to in-home spying in return for personalization? - RetailWire
• Samsung is securing its smart TVs before they control your house - The Verge
• Amazon launches AWS IoT service out of beta - VentureBeat
• Here are official photos of Samsung's crazy fridge with a giant touchscreen - The Verge
• Samsung's Smart TVs will have a universal remote for controlling all your connected devices - VentureBeat