Samsung Gear S3 owners will be able to control their smart home appliances from their wrist, thanks to a new software update.
The South Korean technology company announced the new functionality during its CES keynote.
Following the software update, Samsung Gear S3 and Gear Sport owners will be able to control all of Samsung’s connected home appliances.
Gear S3 and Gear Sport users will also be able to check their thermostat, control music playback around their home, and tweak lighting from their wrist.
Vice President and General Manager Mobile Computing and Wearables, Alanna Cotton said: “We’ve been leading the wearables journey for four years.
“In 2018 we’re taking it to the next level, bringing the SmartThings app to the Gear S3 and Gear Sport.
Whether it’s dimming the lights to set the perfect mood for dinner, or setting the house to the ideal 71 degrees before I get home, I’ll be able to control my environment in new ways, right from my wrist.”
The update will see Samsung Gear S3 owners benefit from a slew of new functionality.
It also means the Gear S3 has caught-up with the Apple Watch, which can control any smart home device that’s compliant with Apple’s HomeKit scheme.
Unfortunately, despite Samsung’s assurance that it has been “leading the wearables journey” there was no mention of an update to the Gear S3 smartwatch.
The Samsung Gear S4 was tipped to make an appearance at the IFA technology tradeshow in Berlin in September 2017, however, the announcement never materialised.
Instead, Samsung unveiled updated versions of its fitness trackers during its media event, including the all-new Gear Sport fitness watch.
According to the latest rumours, Samsung still plans to launch a successor to the Gear S3 Classic and Gear S3 Frontier smartwatches.
However, with the CES 2018 announcements now out of the way, it’s unclear whether these new smartwatches will make it to market.
Earlier today, Samsung confirmed it will hold a keynote during the Mobile World Congress (MWC) tradeshow to announce its feverishly-anticipated Galaxy S9 smartphone.
It’s possible the South Korean company could unveil a Gear S4 at the same time.
Details are a little thin on the ground about the new Samsung smartwatch.
However, it seems very likely the new wearable will look to incorporate Samsung’s smart assistant Bixby into the experience.
Bixby, which first launched with the Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+, is the company’s answer to Siri and Google Now.
Unlike its rivals, Bixby can perform a number of on-device tasks with a simple voice command – like select a number of photographs and group them into an album, or change system settings.
Elsewhere, Gear S4 (or whatever Samsung decides to brand it) will likely ship with a faster processor and better battery life.
Expect a better display to make an appearance as well. Gear S4 will most likely run TizenOS – a dedicated operating system built by Samsung.