Samsung is adding SmartThing hubs to its 2016 HD TVs to control connected devices
Context & Ripple Effects
Earlier in 2015, Samsung was turning its TVs into content machines, adding Slingbox-style tuning features to its new smart TVs. This move points the same screen at a different job: instead of pulling video in, the 2016 HD sets push commands out to SmartThings-connected devices.
That makes the TV Samsung's smart-home control surface years before the company shipped a dedicated product for it — the Home Hub controller with a docked tablet arrived only in 2022, by which point the TV-as-hub idea had been running through Samsung's lineup since this announcement.
First-order effects
- Buyers of Samsung's 2016 HD TVs get hub functionality built into the set, eliminating a separate SmartThings hub purchase for anyone already in or entering the platform.
Second-order effects
- Standalone smart-home hub makers lose the shelf slot next to the TV, since Samsung now bundles the control layer with the biggest screen in the room; accessory and sensor makers on SmartThings gain a much larger installed base of homes with a built-in controller.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds, the TV becomes the default operating layer for the connected home — a trajectory Samsung's own later moves confirm, from the dedicated Home Hub hardware to the AI features added to its TVs in 2026.
The trend: The living-room screen is becoming the control layer for the connected home, with Samsung folding hub duty into every TV class it sells rather than selling a separate box.