'Sidebar' is a new series of blog posts that don't fit our usual tech categories. Today, Sidebar explores Samsung, and finds they manufacture cars, car audio systems, washing machines, and more.
Samsung
Samsung is best known for its prolific mobile phone portfolio, including the Galaxy S8, S8+, S9, S9+, Note 8, and the upcoming Note 9 and Note 9 Pro.
However, you'll find Samsung logos on a range of other tech and home appliance products including TVs, DVD players, camcorders, cameras, DSLRs, fridges, freezers, washing machines, dryers, audio players, laptops, tablets, keyboards, phone cases, and more.
In South Korea
Based in South Korea, with factories in South Korea and various Asian countries, Samsung's many businesses span computers, electronics, automotive manufacturing, automotive systems, ship-building, energy, home appliances, food, and much more.
You may be surprised to know that Samsung was originally a family-run business, and is still majority-owned and controlled by one family of businesspeople. Its many business units help separate and define its activities.
Samsung's many businesses
A overview of Samsung's many businesses can be found here.
More recently, Samsung acquired Harman, the parent company of Harman-Kardon audio, JBL audio, and AKG, Mark Levinson, and others.
While this goes some way to explaining why Samsung now bundles AKG headphones with Samsung smartphones, it may not paint a picture of why Samsung bought Harman.
Harman and its various brands produce audio systems used in homes and cars. Samsung also produces audio equipment used in home theatres and personal audio speakers. Samsung is of course a producer of Android phones, and Harman supplies car audio products that integrate Android Auto and Apple CarPlay with automotive electronics for a variety of car brands.
What you may not know, is that Samsung has a business unit that partners with Renault to manufacture complete cars.
Tie all of these related businesses together, and you can see the synergies that it creates for Samsung globally. Cars, car audio, Android Auto, Android phones and tablets, Windows PCs, WIndows Tablets, Chromebooks, car audio, home audio, dishwashers, fridges, microwaves, TVs, and more.
Consider Samsung integrating Harman, Harmon-Kardon, AKG, JBL, Mark Levinson audio
Now that Samsung owns Harman and the Harman portfolio of brands, this gives Samsung reach into the car audio systems of other car manufacturers, and the ability to note which ones use Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.
It also gives Samsung reach into home audio, with its speaker systems, and the ability to choose to include Bixby, Alexa, Google Assistant, Cortana, or (less likely) Siri, into its smart speakers for home customers, and increasingly integrate smart assistant features in car audio products.
Consider Samsung in the smart home
Smart speakers, smart assistants, and ability to tie together appliances in the smart home, all manufactured by Samsung, from the fridge freezer, to the kettle, toaster, microwave, dishwasher, clothes washer and dryer, air conditioner, heater, laptop, printers, and more.
Samsung has the reach to make voice interactions with Bixby, Alexa, or Google Assistant, control your home's many devices.
Samsung can do it all.
Until next time,
Xavier Zymantas
XYZtech
XYZ Media Group
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