• PatentlyApple, Monday, October 3, 2016 9:05 AM

Patently Mobile posted a report back in March titled "Samsung Advances Home Automation by Stepping into the Kitchen with a Smart Refrigerator Called 'Family Hub.'" That was the beginning of Samsung's home automation hub and earlier this month the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Samsung that reveals a broader vision for their current Smart TV which is already quite extensive. Some of the advances that are on the way include controlling more devices and home appliances (fridge, laundry, stereo, microwave etc) remotely while broadening the types of apps and/or services that users will have access to. In the bigger picture, the focus of this particular invention is, without a doubt, on the introduction of an all-new universal remote that takes on a spherical form factor with new kinds of controls based on touch and motion. It abandons all traditional TV remote designs and by doing so, changes the ball game.

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