Family Care is similar to Amazon’s paid Alexa Together offering, which the company quietly shut down earlier this year. Samsung’s service takes the smart devices in a person’s home and applies artificial intelligence to determine their daily patterns and send alerts to a caregiver if there are any anomalies. For example, a notification can be sent if there was an activity in the morning – such as using a Galaxy phone – or if there wasn’t.

According to a press release from Samsung, the Family Care service also helps caregivers set and receive reminders for things like blood pressure checks and medication intake, and allows them to set up and manage smart home routines in their family members’ homes. Samsung says the service will also allow a user to schedule doctor’s appointments through their Galaxy smartphone or Samsung TVs (2024 and newer models). Additionally, caregivers can receive a notification when their family member leaves or arrives at a location via location alerts – helpful in making sure they keep those appointments.

There are other features too. Samsung says a caregiver can use Family Care to set up SmartThings automations to do things like activate an air purifier when the air quality outside drops, turn off an induction stove if it’s left on, or look in the fridge to know what groceries their loved one might need — assuming they have Samsung devices connected. It’s not clear if the service will work with devices from other manufacturers connected to the SmartThings platform.

Smart home technology has a lot of potential to help older people live independently in their own homes for longer, especially because it allows a caregiver to stay in touch digitally. However, there are problems with current technology: setting up connected devices can be complicated, remote maintenance is difficult, and performance is not always reliable enough. Best Buy and Amazon have tried to solve these problems with paid services in this area: Best Buy launched Assured Living in 2017 and Amazon launched Alexa Together in 2021. Both have since been discontinued.

While Samsung’s Family Care service is free, it requires a Galaxy smartphone and relies on Samsung devices and presumably a SmartThings hub. (We’ve asked Samsung for clarification.) All of this may present a barrier to entry for many. The company’s use of AI technology to improve the service could help with the reliability and usability of some smart home devices, but it’s not clear how exactly AI will be integrated into the service.

Family Care will be available for download from the Life tab of the SmartThings app starting August 16.