Imagine that you’ve sat down to watch the game, and are waiting on your friends — or the food you ordered — to show up. Instead of having to pull out your phone to check their ETA, you’ll now be able to get live updates directly on your TV, thanks to a deal between Samsung and the location-sharing service Glympse to bring the app to select Samsung Smart TVs.
Glympse lets users send a link to their contacts via short message service (SMS) technology that enables real-time tracking of their location, and will even offer suggestions for the best possible routes for driving or public transportation. Glympse is also used by companies like Comcast to send customers updates to better gauge arrival times for technicians.
To begin getting Glympse notifications on their Samsung Smart TV, users can simply download the app to their TV and link their phone number. The TV will then display Glympse alerts received from their contacts — no more having to whip out your phone to double check if the Pizza Hut delivery is on its way. While the app is required in order to send SMS messages containing Glympse links, the links themselves can be opened without having to have the app installed.
Glympse users can also group their various devices, including their Samsung Smart TV, into Glympse family groups, which allow users to check in with their current location, sending a notification to all other devices included in the group. This can be set up directly on the TV by sending invitations using contacts’ phone numbers.
While Glympse is now available on numerous Samsung devices, including the Galaxy S7, Gear S2 and S3, and Family Hub devices, this marks the first time the service will be available on smart TVs. These devices join a growing number of other devices and services that now offer support for Glympse’s service, including Google, Verizon, T-Mobile, and Garmin, and even car manufacturers like Mercedes, Land Rover, and more.
Glympse is available now from the Samsung TV app store.
