Samsung Gaming Hub · First Time Use Onboarding · Shipped to Production

The onboarding that got millions of gamers to hit play

The onboarding that got millions of gamers to hit play

Most users dropped off before they ever started a game. I redesigned the first-time experience from the ground up, so setup finally felt like the beginning of something, not a barrier to it.


ROLE

Lead Product Designer

PLATFORM

Samsung Smart TV

TIMELINE

2022–2025

Heejin Suh

About

About

About

Resume

LinkedIn

00 · Overview

What is Samsung Gaming Hub?

Samsung Gaming Hub is a cloud gaming platform built into Samsung Smart TVs. No console, no downloads. Just a TV, a controller, and access to hundreds of games through Xbox, NVIDIA GeForce NOW, and Amazon Luna. It launched in 2022. I led the first-time use experience from day one.

Led FTU end-to-end across 3 years: interaction, visual design, specs

Drove cross-functional alignment across PM, engineering, and research

Grew into a strategy role: setting direction, defining interaction/visual patterns, mentoring designers

My Contribution


Click-to-play Rate

Click-to-play Rate

+50%

controller attach rate

controller attach rate

1.8x

player conversion

player conversion

+40%

Project Impact


01 · Challenge

One tap to pick a game. Ten steps to actually play it.

A year after launch, user surveys and platform data told a clear story. Awareness wasn't the issue. Getting users to actually try it was.

75%

20%

actually tried it

aware of Gaming Hub

only 1 in 4 aware users ever launched a game

We dug into research to find out what was blocking them. The gap between knowing and doing pointed to one thing: the first-time experience.


We dug into research to find out what was blocking them. The gap between knowing and doing pointed to one thing: the first-time experience.

Controller rolls over from console, no pairing needed




Seamless gameplay without friction

What users expected


Enter GamingHub

Pick a Game

Play instantly

An unfamiliar concept: cloud gaming w/o a console





Controller needs re-pairing on a new device (TV)

A generic tutorial nobody read


Knowledge of Cloud Gaming

Enter GamingHub

Pick a Game

Pair a gaming controller to TV

Gameplay

What they actually faced



Sign up/Log into a 3rd party cloud gaming service

Our frustrated user from the survey

“ This feels too complex,
I don’t even know where to start”

The second layer



On top of that, there was an internal challenge. Gaming Hub had never had its own onboarding. Samsung's OS already handled device setup, and HQ had never done product-specific FTU before. They pushed back initially. But our hypothesis was that the real barrier wasn't the UI. People weren't just unfamiliar with Gaming Hub, they didn't know what cloud gaming was. We made the case to at least test it.

There was also an organizational challenge. Gaming Hub had never had its own onboarding — Samsung's OS already handled device setup, and HQ saw no precedent for a product-specific FTU. But we believed the real barrier wasn't the UI. Users weren't just unfamiliar with Gaming Hub — they were unfamiliar with cloud gaming entirely. We made the case to test it.

02 · Who we designed for

If even they were dropping off, we had a real problem.

We focused on All-Around Enthusiasts. Daily console gamers who know their Xbox titles and expect things to just work. They're not the type to read setup guides. So when they couldn't get through FTU, it wasn't a them problem.

02 · Who we designed for

If even they were dropping off, we had a real problem.

We focused on All-Around Enthusiasts. Daily console gamers who know their Xbox titles and expect things to just work. They're not the type to read setup guides. So when they couldn't get through FTU, it wasn't a them problem.

The All-Around Enthusiast




Seasoned Console gamer
Plays almost daily

Knows Xbox titles well
Expects turn-on-and-play simplicity

Doesn't read tutorials





a group of men sitting on a couch and holding game controllers

As a console gamer,
I want clear, brand-specific controller guidance so I can complete setup without guessing what to do next.


As a new user not ready to commit,
I want to understand what partner services offer so I can decide without feeling pressured mid-setup.


As a first-time cloud gaming user,
I want to understand what cloud gaming actually is so I can set realistic expectations before I start.

03 · Flow exploration

Testing our assumptions before building anything.

PM initially pushed for a "free game first" approach: let users try a game before any setup, so they'd see the value right away. It made sense on paper. But instead of just going with it, we designed two flow options and put both in front of users.

03 · Flow exploration

Testing our assumptions before building anything.

PM initially pushed for a "free game first" approach: let users try a game before any setup, so they'd see the value right away. It made sense on paper. But instead of just going with it, we designed two flow options and put both in front of users.

PM's Initial hypothesis

If users experience a free game first, they'll feel Gaming Hub's value instantly and making controller setup feel purposeful rather than tedious.

PM's Initial hypothesis

If users experience a free game first, they'll feel Gaming Hub's value instantly and making controller setup feel purposeful rather than tedious.

PM's Initial hypothesis

If users experience a free game first, they'll feel Gaming Hub's value instantly and making controller setup feel purposeful rather than tedious.

Initial FTU Flow: Free Games during FTU (Tested)



Test Findings

4 out of 6 users wanted to see partner deals/offers over free games in the FTU process

Finding

  • Free game during FTU added confusion.

  • Users didn't know if they needed a subscription, a controller, or both before they could play


  • Dropped the free games page entirely.

  • Moved controller pairing forward as the primary onboarding step.



Pivot

04 · MVP scope

Cut what doesn't matter. Build what does.

Testing made the scope pretty obvious. We cut what was adding noise, locked in what we actually needed to build, then used that list to tighten the design goals.

04 · MVP scope

Cut what doesn't matter. Build what does.

Testing made the scope pretty obvious. We cut what was adding noise, locked in what we actually needed to build, then used that list to tighten the design goals.

FTU Scope

Free trial game inside FTU


Free trial period for all games at sign-up



Welcome screen: Value props + cloud gaming explanation



Controller pairing: brand-specific guidance




Partner sign-up page: Partner subscription/free trial info





Exit-from-console deeplink into Gaming Hub


Free trial game inside FTU


Free trial period for all games at sign-up



Welcome screen: Value props + cloud gaming explanation

Controller pairing: brand-specific guidance

Partner sign-up page: Partner subscription/free trial info

Exit-from-console deeplink into Gaming Hub

Free trial game inside FTU


Free trial period for all games at sign-up



Welcome screen: Value props + cloud gaming explanation



Controller pairing: brand-specific guidance




Partner sign-up page: Partner subscription/free trial info





Exit-from-console deeplink into Gaming Hub


With the scope finalized, we refined our design goals around what we were actually building.





With the scope finalized, we refined our design goals around what we were actually building.

GOAL 01


Build confidence in cloud gaming

Establish a clear mental model for users unfamiliar with the concept



Build confidence in cloud gaming

Establish a clear mental model for users unfamiliar with the concept

GOAL 02


Guide users through controller pairing

Contextual, step-by-step guidance users can act on immediately


Guide users through controller pairing

Contextual, step-by-step guidance users can act on immediately

GOAL 03


Drive first-session engagement

Ensure users can pick a game and play right after FTU



Drive first-session engagement

Ensure users can pick a game and play right after FTU

Adjusted Flow (MVP)

05 · Controller connect

Three tries to get one screen right.

77% of all-around enthusiasts said controller pairing was the biggest reason they didn't finish setup. It was the last thing blocking a new user from their first game, so we kept iterating until it worked.

05 · Controller connect

Three tries to get one screen right.

77% of all-around enthusiasts said controller pairing was the biggest reason they didn't finish setup. It was the last thing blocking a new user from their first game, so we kept iterating until it worked.

V1: Mobile Companion Guide (User Tested)

· Brand-specific instructions via QR → mobile





· Brand-specific step-by-step guidance users could follow in real time






Improvements

User Problem

· Users juggled phone + TV + remote + controller simultaneously

Learnings

Solved the timing problem; pairing instructions were now present when users needed them. But now they were juggling a phone, TV, remote, and controller at the same time. Prototyped and tested, but never shipped.

Auto Connect During FTU (User Tested)

· Everything on TV, no device juggling

· Seamless auto controller connect: no extra steps on the user side

· Highest success rate in user testing — "it just magically worked"

· Auto BT scanning in the background once controller enters pairing mode

Improvements

· Inconsistent Bluetooth signal across all controller brands

· Engineering built a POC to dig deeper — but couldn't make it work before our update deadline

· Pivoted to an alternate version to ship on time

· Auto-connect couldn't be guaranteed at scale

Engineer Flagged Tech Limitation

Tutorial Embedded in TV (During FTU)

Everything on TV: brand-specific, step-by-step guidance

Manual "Start Setup" button for reliable pairing across all controller brands

BT scanning triggered on user action: consistent across devices

Shipped

V0 OG Design: Passive Tutorial (Video/slideshow)

User Problems

· Passive tutorial users had to actively opt into




· Not available at the moment users actually needed to pair

· One video ran nearly 3 minutes






· Slideshow with 11 static steps — way too much to take in at once

Learnings

If the tutorial is opt-in, most people won't see it. And by the time they actually needed help pairing, it was long gone.

Learnings

If the tutorial is opt-in, most people won't see it. And by the time they actually needed help pairing, it was long gone.

V0: OG Design

V1: Mobile Tutorial via QR

V2: Auto-connect

V3: Final Design

Passive Tutorial (Video/slideshow)

User Problems

· Passive tutorial users had to actively opt into




· Not available at the moment users actually needed to pair





· One video ran nearly 3 minutes






· Slideshow with 11 static steps — way too much to take in at once







Learnings
If the tutorial is opt-in, most people won't see it. And by the time they actually needed help pairing, it was long gone.

06 · Other touchpoints

FTU is a system, not a screen.

Controller pairing was the main problem to solve, but two other screens were part of the same experience. Both needed work.

06 · Other touchpoints

FTU is a system, not a screen.

Controller pairing was the main problem to solve, but two other screens were part of the same experience. Both needed work.

Welcome screen


Established a mental model for cloud gaming and GamingHub before users encountered any setup steps.






Established a mental model for cloud gaming and GamingHub before users encountered any setup steps.

Before

Before

After

After

In testing, most people skipped the 3-slide carousel without reading it. So we cut it down to one screen: a single headline and 3 icons. Lower cognitive load, just enough to set expectations before setup.

Partner sign-up



Redesigned to let users compare services and decide without feeling pressured mid-setup.







Redesigned to let users compare services and decide without feeling pressured mid-setup.

Before

Before

After

After

Users wanted to compare services before committing but a live pricing table wasn't something we could maintain within our resources. We worked with each partner to source game art for their catalog, giving users enough context to choose without needing a spec sheet.

07 · Impact

Shipped. Measured. It moved the numbers.

What started as an idea HQ had never greenlit, a product-specific onboarding inside the Samsung OS, ended up shipping to millions of TVs globally. User testing made the case where words couldn't. The data convinced HQ, and the redesign launched. The quarter after launch, we pulled the platform data. This wasn't a UX polish. It shifted user behavior and drove real business impact.

07 · Impact

Shipped. Measured. It moved the numbers.

What started as an idea HQ had never greenlit, a product-specific onboarding inside the Samsung OS, ended up shipping to millions of TVs globally. User testing made the case where words couldn't. The data convinced HQ, and the redesign launched. The quarter after launch, we pulled the platform data. This wasn't a UX polish. It shifted user behavior and drove real business impact.

2x higher
Click-to-play rate


2x higher
Click-to-play rate


22%

2023 Average

2024 FTU Completed

50%

14%

2023 Average

2024 FTU Completed

40%

3x higher

player conversion


3x higher

player conversion


1.8x higher
Controller attach rate


1.8x higher
Controller attach rate


4%

7%

2023 Average

2024 FTU Completed

From static subscription to a living marketplace for digital art

From static subscription to a living marketplace for digital art

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