Samsung to Open Four IoT Experience Centers in India

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd, the South Korean electronics giant, plans to display its end-to-end Internet of Things (IoT) solutions in India as the company announced to roll out four more state-of-the-art experience centers to expedite growth in its India business. The centers will support in familiarizing consumers with its solutions for smarter homes and in turn, will boost the company's sales.

However, Samsung's first mobile experience center for the Indian market was opened in Bengaluru in September last year. And this time, these four centers are likely to come up in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, and Hyderabad. Expanded over 33,000-sq. ft, Bengaluru's store at the Opera House off Brigade Road – a standalone property used during the British era to stage plays – houses Samsung's largest mobile experience center globally. On the other hand, the new experience centers will be between 10,000-15,000 sq. ft.

The Opera House's experience zone showcases all its existing IoT-powered products, alongside smartphones and wearable devices. Also, consumers can experience Virtual Reality and Artificial Intelligence-enabled products. Consumers can even pre-book the home theatre zone at the Opera House to watch movies.

The latest expansion of IoT experience centers is in proportion to Samsung's overall strategy to expand an AI-driven ecosystem, including solutions for homes and workplaces. These experience centers will be later extended to the company-owned branded stores.

Investment on Samsung Bixby

In a statement, Senior Vice President, Consumer Electronics Business, Samsung India, Raju Pullan stated that "Samsung Bixby is the platform that we are investing in India. The investments on Bixby have not only been in mobiles or TV but also to make, for example, refrigerators smarter. Like the Family Hub (for) the fridge, the microwave and washing machine can also be connected to one ecosystem."

Bixby is a virtual assistant built by Samsung Electronics. It requires the Samsung Account and data network. Bixby voice commands work with a select, growing number of third-party apps. The platform is continually learning from the apps and services customers use, requests they make and the choices they select.

The Bixby-enabled Samsung's Family Hub smart refrigerators allow users to answer calls or access third-party apps from a Galaxy smartphone, or assist in finding out nearby restaurants, share notes, pictures, videos and music using the Family Board feature.

Currently, Samsung has more than 180,000 retail stores across the country, of which 2,000 are exclusive stores. Considering reports, the company has continued to stay on the second position in India with a share of 22 percent. In the second quarter of this year, the company shipped 7.3 million smartphones in the country.