Samsung founded HCA (Home Connectivity Alliance) earlier this year to simplify the smart home standards ecosystem. HCA comprises twelve other brands, including America Standard, Arcelik, Beko, Electrolux, GE Appliances, Grundig, Haier, Leader, LG, Resideo, Trane, and Vestel. Together, these brands are ensuring that all their smart devices and home appliances are safe, secure, and interoperable.
At IFA 2022, Samsung and other HCA member brands have planned a demonstration to showcase how a single app can be used to control and monitor smart devices from multiple brands. Those devices include Bespoke Cube Air Purifier, Bespoke Jet Bot AI+, Bespoke Refrigerator, and Neo QLED TVs from Samsung. They can be controlled using the SmartThings app, which uses the HCA standard.
The SmartThings app can control products across 15 categories from 13 brands and more than 40 functions on those products. Similarly, smart home apps from those 12 other HCA brands can control devices from different brands and their third-party partners. Those 15 product categories include air conditioners, air purifiers, eco heating systems, dishwashers, dryers, freezers, hoods, inductions, ovens, refrigerators, robot vacuum cleaners, TVs, and washing machines.
HCA is planning to bring device interoperability to global markets in the first half of 2023. Moreover, a single app can control Wi-Fi-enabled devices from HCA brands. Samsung Electronics' Yoon Ho Choi (Product Planning at IoT Business Group) is currently serving as the HCA President and Board Chair.
Chanwoo Park, Executive VP and Head of IoT Biz Group at the Digital Appliances Business of Samsung Electronics, said, “We are especially happy to see the speed of progress within the HCA. Within just nine months of launch, the HCA has been able to provide a live demo of the Cloud-to-Cloud interoperability of appliances, TVs and HVAC systems across member brands.“
