Samsung SmartThings, Harman To Collaborate On IoT Acceleration

US auto-component giant Harman and Samsung SmartThings will collaborate to accelerate the growth of the latter's Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem, the companies have announced.

Under the engineering partnership, Harman Connected Services, a division of Harman working on connected devices, will assist in rolling out the SmartThings app, integrate third-party sensors into the SmartThings ecosystem, and work on feature development for SmartThings Cloud.

The two companies will also work to create future roadmap features for hub core and embedded components.

SmartThings platform is in over 1 million homes and its cloud is connected to over 10 million devices, the companies said, adding that they want to accelerate the adoption and solution development across industries.

Samsung completed the acquisition of Harman for $8 billion last year and has been adopting the US firm's solutions into its own portfolio. The firm is using Harman's audio as a companion piece for its Cinema LED solution.

The South Korean tech giant bought SmartThings back in 2014.

Samsung is also working to integrate SmartThings and Harman in the home, with its smart TV as the central piece.

Consumers can use 2018-model TVs to control their connected devices through the SmartThings app.

Samsung is also planning to launch an AI speaker to integrate into its IoT ecosystem, which will likely leverage Harman's audio prowess.

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