By Brian Firth, Editor and Tech Reporter
Las Vegas is about as far from open water as an American tech capital gets. And walking the CES floor, you can tell. Marine technology is there, but it’s poorly represented: a few booths scattered among thousands, easy to miss between the automakers and the TV walls.
That’s where the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show comes in. CES gives the boating world a glimpse of where tech is headed. FLIBS is where that tech actually gets put on the water, sold, installed and serviced.
Still, a few of the biggest names in consumer tech have started treating the boat as the next connected device. The most surprising one was Samsung.
Samsung’s smart boat
At CES 2025, Samsung Electronics introduced SmartThings for Ships, built with its sister company Samsung Heavy Industries, one of the world’s largest shipbuilders. Samsung presented it at its Jan. 6, 2025 press conference. It takes SmartThings, the app Samsung uses to run smart homes, and points it at a vessel, using the Matter connectivity standard to link compatible onboard systems.
According to Samsung, the platform includes:
- Pre-Sailing Mode, which lets the captain and crew automate when the engine starts and set temperature and lights ahead of departure.
- Care Mode, a single view of the ship’s power, air conditioning and smoke alarms.
- Protection Mode, which watches for abnormal activity and alerts the captain and crew.
- Departure, Boarding and Notification modes, plus pre-departure device checks, rounding out the five scenario-based modes Samsung demonstrated at its booth.
Samsung’s booth had a dedicated SmartThings for Ships zone with a hands-on simulation where visitors could monitor vessel systems, set voyage routes and control onboard systems. It also highlighted SHIFT-Auto, Samsung Heavy Industries’ autonomous navigation research vessel. SHI launched that 12-passenger boat in Korea in November 2024 with SmartThings managing its data, along with automatic berthing and unberthing.
Samsung’s audio subsidiary HARMAN brought boat gear to the same show. On Jan. 6, 2025, its JBL brand announced the JAM6500N, a marine head unit built for open water, with an IPX7 water-resistant face, a UV-coated front lens and multi-zone audio. JBL says it’s the first marine head unit with a PC tuning tool, so you can adjust the sound from a laptop.
For South Florida boat owners, the pitch is familiar. It’s the smart home, afloat: one dashboard for lights, climate, alarms and power, on the phone in your pocket.
One caveat: we found no comparable marine showcase from Samsung at CES 2026, where its exhibits centered on AI in the home.
Why a tech company goes to sea
Boats are becoming software platforms. Monitoring, automation and assisted navigation are the marine version of driver-assist and over-the-air updates in the car halls a few aisles over. Samsung is betting the platform it built for houses can run a hull too.
But one demo zone in a giant booth doesn’t make a marine show. Boaters judge this gear at the dock, not under convention-center lights.
The South Florida connection
Fort Lauderdale’s economy runs on the water. The Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, the world’s largest in-water boat show, returns Oct. 28 to Nov. 1 across six waterfront locations. Many of the technologies previewed in Vegas will only matter once they’re sold, serviced and refit in Broward’s yards.
The boat show’s owner is leaning into the tech side too. On Oct. 1, the Marine Industries Association of South Florida announced RefitX, a two-day yacht refit conference and expo set to debut during FLIBS 2027 in the Broward County Convention Center’s new Atlantic Ballroom, currently slated for Oct. 27 and 28, 2027. Part of its pitch is that yachts are getting more technologically advanced and owners want to modernize onboard systems. Attendees at this year’s show will get a preview.
Autonomy is also arriving on Florida’s waterfront. On Oct. 1, Florida Atlantic University announced that Blue Ops, the maritime division of Red Cat Holdings, is bringing its uncrewed maritime systems operations to FAU’s Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute in Fort Pierce.
What to watch at CES 2027
CES 2027 runs Jan. 6 to 9 in Las Vegas, with Media Days on Jan. 4 and 5. Citywide.TV will be there. On the marine side, here’s what I’ll be watching:
- Whether Samsung takes SmartThings for Ships further, from demo zone to boats you can actually buy.
- Whether more marine brands show up at all, or whether CES stays a sideshow for boating.
- Autonomy and electric power at the scale of the boats South Floridians actually own.
Then, as always, we’ll bring it back to the docks in Fort Lauderdale, where boating tech gets its real test.
Sources
- Samsung Newsroom: Samsung Expands “AI for All” Vision at CES 2025
- Samsung Newsroom: [CES 2025] Beyond the Home
- Samsung Newsroom: CES 2025 press conference highlights
- HARMAN: JBL unveils new head units, including the JAM6500N
- Smart Maritime Network: SHIFT-Auto launch
- MIASF RefitX announcement (Oct. 1, 2026)
- FAU: Blue Ops to Bring Maritime Defense Operations to FAU Harbor Branch
- CES: Media at CES
- Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show