Smaller and leaner compared to the previous SmartThings versions, it can now connect to your Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and truly represents Internet of Things. It is called SmartThings Hub 3.0 and costs around $60/- to $130 based on what configuration you go for and where you buy it.
Samsung SmartThings is one of the original home automation hubs the technology enthusiasts have been using for some years now. Although these days the market is flooded with various home control devices, the original one, Samsung SmartThings, remains the most versatile and the most compatible home automation solution available. But of course, it has its own drawbacks that we shall throw a glance at very soon.
Samsung SmartThings was simply SmartThings before Samsung bought it in August 2014 for $200 million.
Interestingly, it was a Kickstarter project that was launched in 2012 and the founders were able to raise $1.2 million. Kickstarter is a crowdfunding platform that start-ups and individual inventors use to raise funds for their businesses. People purchase the innovative products in advance and once the products have been developed, they are shipped to the initial investors.
The latest hub version 3 comes with the glossy white finish (the same as the previous version) but compared to the previous model, it’s a bit smaller at 5”x5”1.2”. The corners too are a bit rounder compared to the previous model.
Remember that a hub is just a communication and automation platform that has to work in the background. You are probably going to put it somewhere nobody is going to notice. Hence, design wise, it doesn’t need to make an impression. It just needs to function well.
What does Samsung SmartThings do?
As most of the Internet of Things and home automation hubs are supposed to do, Samsung SmartThings connects various appliances, gadgets and facilities inside your home and allows you to automate many tasks, and even remotely control those appliances, gadgets and facilities.
Suppose, you want the light bulbs to switch on when you enter a room, automatically, and then switch off, when you leave the room. Or, the brightness of the bulb should increase or decrease according to the presence of natural light in the room. This can be achieved with Samsung SmartThings. Other things that you can do with this home automation hub include
- Detect motion, body heat and the presence of moisture and then make gadgets and appliances behave accordingly.
- Automatically lock and unlock your doors as you leave and arrive.
- Open or close your garage door depending on whether you are approaching the garage or moving away from it while driving your car.
- Controlling the speakers of your home theater.
- Controlling your thermostat according to your body heat or the level of temperature inside home.
These are but just a small glimpse of what can be achieved or automated using Samsung SmartThings.
You need to keep in mind that the devices that you plan to control with Samsung SmartThings should already have some sort of technology enabled that allows them to send and receive signals from other devices and behave accordingly. For example, if your thermostat system can be controlled with a mobile app then it is ready for Samsung SmartThings. Similarly, if your lighting system is automated and it can be controlled with a mobile app, then it is a good candidate for the home automation ecosystem.
The point is, conventional appliances and fittings that have no way of interacting with other gadgets are not going to respond to Samsung SmartThings signals and commands. What this hub does is that it gives you a centralized command system that not only allows you to control all the connected devices from a single app, but also respond to various “situations”.
Samsung SmartThings allows you to control all your smart devices and appliances through a single mobile app
If you have got lots of smart devices installed inside your home a good thing about setting up Samsung SmartThings is that it allows you to control all these devices, appliances and fittings within a single app.
You can also create multiple profiles. You can have a different profile for the basement, another for the sitting room, one for your bedroom and other bedrooms, one for the kitchen, one for the bathroom, and so on.
Once you have installed the Samsung SmartThings mobile app, on the home screen it gives you 3 tabs where you can organize various aspects of your smart devices.
There is a “Things” tab that displays all the devices, appliances and fittings that Samsung SmartThings can recognize and allow you to control.
There is a “Rooms” tab that, as explained above, allows you to define different profiles for different sections of your home.
And then there is a “Family” tab that allows you to create universal settings for family members and the entire household.
Of course, the biggest strength of a home automation hub like Samsung SmartThings is that it allows you to set up various pre-defined automation routines.
For example, when you wake up in the morning, you want to open the curtains to let in natural light or you want to turn up the heat if you were preserving energy when sleeping or you want to turn on the water heater 15 minutes before your alarm bell goes off. You can name this profile as “Morning”.
Another batch can be defined as “Evening” when your lights should turn on, some music should play and heating should be adjusted according to the temperature inside your home.
Another useful feature is, if your locking system can be controlled with a mobile device, you can instruct Samsung SmartThings to unlock the door only if the members of your family or people you trust or have authorized through their mobile apps approach the main door.
Of course, the automation capabilities must already exist in these appliances and fittings before they can be controlled or automated using Samsung SmartThings.
How does Samsung SmartThings communicate and connect with other devices?
For connection and communication Samsung SmartThings uses all contemporary connection and communication protocols.
You can connect it to your main Wi-Fi router so that it can send and receive messages from all Wi-Fi connected devices. It also allows Ethernet connection. For those appliances and fittings that are not Wi-Fi enabled, it can use ZigBee and Z-Wave communication protocols, provided those appliances and fittings also respond to these protocols. This makes for an extremely flexible but easy to install home automation system.
SmartThings also has a USB port but for that, the device will have to be nearby. Bluetooth radio capabilities have also been incorporated in the latest device.
The hub can also be used with the “If This Then That” – IFTTT – channel and as you may know, there is a vast community constantly developing new and innovative scripts for the platform that you can utilize to automate your tasks further.
To allow you to control all your devices, you will need to install the Samsung SmartThings mobile app on your mobile phone. Android, iOS and Windows versions are available. You can also control it using the Google Home and Amazon Echo voice-activated assistants.
The level of automation that you can create using Samsung SmartThings depends a lot on the sort of and number of sensors that you get with SmartThings. You can go for the following sensors, for example:
- Motion sensor
- Water leak sensor
- Smart outlet sensor
- Multipurpose sensor
- Arrival sensor
- Iris contact sensor
- Door and window sensors
- Button sensor
There are many more sensors that you can buy as optional add-ons.
Concluding remarks on Samsung SmartThings
In its league, even when multiple Hubs have flooded the market, it remains at the top due to the sheer number of devices it can automate and interact with. On top of that, it comes with multiple communication protocols that can interact with more than 200 devices, appliances and fittings.
While Samsungs 3rd generation hub is phenomenal and considered to be a top contender in the market, it also has some drawbacks. For example, reduced battery backup compared to version 2.
256 MB of memory that is again, less than version 2 that had 512 MB of memory.
The module called Video Core is also missing in the current version that allowed the previous version to connect with cameras locally, although cloud-connected cameras still work.
Another problem that you may face while upgrading from version 2 to version 3 is that there is no seamless migration. You will have to delete all your profiles and then recreate them for version 3.
All in all, if you want to go for the best home automation hub while not drilling a hole in your pocket, you may want to give the Samsung SmartThings a try.
