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Samsung Developer Conference 2019: Day 1 Recap

Samsung Developer Program

Developers, designers, and partners all gathered in the San Jose Convention Center for Day 1 of SDC19. The day unfolded with big announcements, inspiring messages, and new updates on tools and SDKs that allow developers to scale their services across billions of devices through an extensive, secure and connected ecosystem.

Check out the highlights below!

1. Keynote

Samsung is advancing experience innovation, in collaboration with developers and partners. In the keynote, DJ Koh and other Samsung leaders laid out the roadmap for the company’s future and highlighted some important product announcements. From new mobile computing experiences with One UI 2 to the SmartThings Rules API. Highlighting AI expansion with Bixby templates, DevJam, Bixby Views, and Natural Language Categories, there was plenty to help developers reach more customers on more devices than ever before.

SDC19 also showcased how Samsung is forging new partnerships with brands such as IBM, Microsoft, Intel, and more.

If you couldn’t attend the Keynote, watch the livestream video here or check out these key announcements on What’s Next for Samsung:

Redefining the Mobile Experience

Samsung is dedicated to expanding and improving the mobile experience. One UI 2 was announced at SDC19’s Keynote and is designed for everyday simplicity. It includes new features that declutter the user interface making interactions more natural. Now, the developer and user should have consistent experiences across all devices, not just smartphones.

One UI 2.0 also show how Samsung inspires developers with new experiences across devices and new form factors in the foldable category.

Devs, get excited!

https://twitter.com/samsung_dev/status/1189248674263715840

8K Strides for Smart TV

We know that picture quality is important to developers, and rightfully so. With AI ScaleNet, we’ve made it possible to stream high-quality 8K videos on networks with lower bandwidth capabilities. Plus, check out these tools to help you bring new experiences across the nearly 100 million Tizen-powered Smart TVs.

  • Wits: automatically uploads a code edit to the TV, so developers can see their update almost immediately, significantly trimming development time
  • EasyST: makes testing content playback easier because you don’t need to build a test app to make sure your content is streaming correctly
  • TIFA (Tizen Identifier for Advertising): gives consumers the option to limit ad tracking or opt-out of targeted advertising
  • Third-party Availability: Samsung is making Tizen TV OS available to third-party TV makers

Samsung’s Open Ecosystem

Every dev knows about Bixby Marketplace, and in the past six months the size of the Bixby developer community has doubled! To make it easier for developers to keep creating new experiences and to ensure consumers have more intuitive experiences, Samsung announced enhanced capabilities in the Bixby Developer Studio. Get excited!

  • Bixby Templates: create capsules using pre-existing forms – Adam Cheyer built one in seconds at SDC19’s Keynote!
  • Enhanced Bixby Views: build capsules with a consistent design beyond just smartphones — the list includes tvs, tablets, smart watches, and refrigerators
  • Natural Language: when users ask Bixby for help related to a category — such as radio, news, or navigatio – Bixby suggests a capsule to help them get what they need more quickly and easily, without having to call out the exact capsule name

https://twitter.com/samsung_dev/status/1189235374641635328

And the AI/IoT highlights weren’t just about Bixby! Samsung announced new capabilities for devs to build on and integrate existing devices with the SmartThings platform.

  • New Rules API: a more automated smart home experiences that reflects individual daily routines across a broad range of SmartThings devices
  • SmartThings Device SDK Beta program: goes live in early 2020 to enable more third-party manufacturers to create SmartThings-compatible devices

https://twitter.com/samsung_dev/status/1189239141323755526

2. Best of Galaxy Store Awards

Samsung celebrated app devs and designers at SDC19 today by announcing its Best of Galaxy Store Awards 2019 selections — an annual list of what we consider to be the best content available in the Galaxy Store. Here’s the full list of winners!

  • Best Theme Designer (big brand) Cogul Planet
  • Best Theme Design Echo Visuals Whimsical Woods (Premium Animated AOD)
  • Best Indie Theme Designer X9 Studio
  • Best Theme Brand Collaboration Cogul Planet MLB Themes
  • Best Watch Designer (big brand) Matteo Dini
  • Best Watchface Design Summer Vacation
  • Best Indie Watch Designer Vienna Studios
  • Best Watch App iGear Radio
  • Best App to Relax With Headspace
  • Best Productivity App Degoo
  • Best Made for Samsung App Rosetta Stone 1:1 English Tutoring for Samsung
  • Best Social App TikTok
  • Best Streaming App Mixer
  • Best Creative App Concepts
  • Best Indie App HomeAdvisor
  • Best Travel App App in the Air for Samsung
  • Best Use of Galaxy Store Badge Skillz
  • Best Indie Game Two Dots
  • Best Multiplayer Badland Brawls
  • Best AR Game Harry Potter Wizards Unite
  • Best Choose Your Own Adventure Hollywood Story
  • Best Casual Game Candy Crush Friends Saga
  • Best Adventure Game Sonic Forces
  • Best Role Playing Game Game of Sultans
  • Best Racing Game Asphalt 9: Legends

3. Key Tech Sessions from Day 1

We took note of the most-attended tech sessions from Day 1! Check out what fellow devs were most excited to learn about.

  • New Era of Data Insights with Samsung Health: 166 people came to hear Jack Ahn share how to extract value from data and verifiable insights to close the loop in the end-to-end user health journey. Attendees discovered how to build insightful services for their users with a data insight platform that encompasses blockchain and ML models on-device.
  • IoT 2.0: The Next Phase of SmartThings: 150 people joined Aloknath De, Yan Rodriguez, and Yeshodhan Kulkarni to learn more about the SmartThings platform service, integrated devices, and future plans for the SmartThings IoT business. This session specifically related back to the Keynote and explored improvements made to the SmartThings platform to enable stronger business growth for partners and developers, and highlighted ways new partners can join the SmartThings ecosystem.
  • Progressive Web Apps and the Evolution of the Web: 129 people wanted to learn more about building and distributing apps using web technologies with Luis Gonzalez-Zuniga, Dongwoo Im, Laura Morinigo, and Jeff Burtoft. Progressive Web Apps (PWA) leverages new capabilities that allow for better integration of your app into the OS. The in-depth session dove into new features and tools and how PWAs can take advantage of WebAPK, OneUI CSS, and more.

4. Devs + Drinks

After an exciting first day, attendees connected with fellow devs and industry pros at our spook-tacular evening event with cocktails, Halloween-themed bites, and music. The "Day of the Dev" themed night was complete with music, psychic readings, spooky art activities, and more.

So, in the spirit of Devs + Drinks, cheers to Day 2! Check in tomorrow for our Day 2 update and the Spotlight Session livestream, but in the meantime, follow along with #SDC19 on social media for all the latest updates.

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