SmartThings: Connected Living
Designing an IoT experience that disappears into daily life for Samsung's 250M connected-device platform
Year2024
RolePrincipal UX Designer
CollaboratorsSmartThings Product, Samsung Research America, Bixby AI Team
TypeUX, Product
IndustryConsumer Tech, SaaS
CompanySamsung
ToolsFigma, ProtoPie, FigJam
SmartThings connects 250 million Samsung devices (TVs, fridges, washing machines, lights, locks) but the app felt like a control panel for an aircraft carrier. Users who weren't tech-savvy gave up. Power users felt limited. The middle ground was abandoned.
+55%Setup completionNew users completing first automation
3.1×Active automationsAverage per household
−38%Support ticketsConnectivity and onboarding issues
+28NPS upliftSamsung Home app NPS
The Brief
Samsung's 2024 goal was to make SmartThings the default smart-home layer for Galaxy devices, not just a companion app for enthusiasts. That meant designing for the 80% of users who had never created an automation rule, while not frustrating the 20% who had.
