Samsung SmartThings announcements on a TV

Samsung

Samsung has announced its latest SmartThings update and, amongst lots of AI talk and some slightly fluffy lifestyle framing, there are a few meaningful changes buried in there.

The headline is an expanded Family Care feature set, which ramps up monitoring and supporting elderly relatives who live separately. It is not entirely new territory for smart home platforms, nor SmartThings, but Samsung is clearly trying to push things further along.

The updated Family Care system can track daily activity patterns through connected devices, flag unusual behavior, and send alerts if something seems off.

That includes things like changes in appliance usage or inactivity for a set period. It also pulls in environmental data from devices such as air conditioners and air purifiers, so temperature, humidity and air quality can all feed into those alerts.

There is also a new Care on Call feature - when you phone someone you are monitoring, you get a quick snapshot before the call connects.

That includes things like when they were last active and basic contextual info such as the weather. It is a small touch, but it shifts the experience from reactive to proactive.

Samsung is also tapping into its robot vacuum line to play a part in the care features. The latest Bespoke Jet Bot can be triggered as a kind of remote patrol device if no activity is detected. You can check in via its onboard camera and even use two-way audio to talk to your loved ones.

Alongside that, SmartThings is getting more long term insight tracking. The platform now compares behavior week to week, looking for meaningful changes rather than just one-off anomalies. That is a smarter approach and one that starts to feel closer to actual assisted living tech rather than basic smart home automation.

The other big push is around Now Brief; Samsung’s AI summary feature that already exists on Galaxy phones. It is now being positioned as the central dashboard for everything from home security to pet care and energy usage.

With the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S26, Now Brief will bundle together SmartThings data into a single view. Think daily summaries that include device status, sleep tracking, security alerts and even things like dog walking activity.

Now Brief is coming to newer TVs and Family Hub fridges, turning them into ambient info displays, so you could walk up to your TV or open the fridge and you get a snapshot of what is going on at home without needing to open an app.

The second announcement is much more straightforward: Samsung is finally going all-in on turning your phone into a front door key.

Using Samsung Wallet and SmartThings, Galaxy devices can now store digital keys for Aliro-certified smart locks, including from brands like Aqara, Nuki and Schlage.

Users will just have to tap their phones on the lock to get in or unlock remotely. Once inside, SmartThings automations can kick off…. think lights coming on, heating adjusting, cameras changing modes and so on.

Aliro, the new smart lock access standard developed by the Connectivity Standards Alliance, was officially launched last month.

It’s the same Alliance that’s behind the Matter smart home standard and the big players of tech - not only Samsung but Apple and Google too - are all on board.

There is also support for sharing digital keys via Samsung Wallet, which is essential for families. Temporary access, PIN codes and remote control are all part of the package.

These announcements further demonstrate that Samsung is less interested in standalone smart home gadgets and more focused on building a joined-up system that sits quietly in the background.

Back in January 2025, Samsung unveiled its “AI for All” vision, which showed how the SmartThings platform will evolve to make the smart home more intelligent, more personalized and more invisible.

For years, the idea of an “ambient” smart home has been the dream: a living space that anticipates your needs without requiring endless app-tapping or voice commands.

Samsung’s answer to this is Home AI; a system that uses its connected appliances as motion and sound sensors to understand your habits and automate your home accordingly.

These latest announcements take that thinking outside of individual homes and into those we care for as well.