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Philips Hue's Samsung TV app now offered as a subscription
Better SmartThings integration comes at a cost
Samsung's SmartThings is one of the leading smart home ecosystems, and is a close competitor with other familiar offerings such as Google Nest and Apple HomeKit. SmartThings is compatible with a diverse array of products both inside and outside the Samsung brand, including security devices, wearables, and even smart appliances, connecting all compatible devices for a more streamlined, harmonious smart home.
The Galaxy S24 comes with an app that replicates Apple's 'Find My' experience
Samsung Find shows your devices on a map without having to dig through menus
Samsung and Google get along relatively well, even if both companies compete with each other in the smartphone space. All Android smartphone makers, however, have to fight against Apple’s iPhones and iOS. Sometimes, it seems like the leaders in this space are behind the eight-ball on some features that iPhones have, such as the Find My app that makes it easy to always know where your iCloud-enabled Apple devices are. Samsung aims to totally change that line of thinking with its new preloaded app on the Galaxy S24 series of phones.
Samsung wants you controlling Matter gear with its SmartThings Station
And it doubles as a wireless charging pad, too
It's CES 2023 and at the same time as the players in the smart home field are all pushing out Matter-certified gear, said players are reinforcing their own ecosystems with new hubs and bridges for loyal single-brand customers. To this point, Samsung is out with a new SmartThings hub that doubles as a wireless charging pad.
Samsung SmartThings now lets you control Matter-compatible devices
A new update is rolling out to add Matter integration to the SmartThings Hub
Matter is the new smart home standard that promises to end the frustration of using multiple apps to control your smart devices and all the compatibility woes. With the backing of Google, Apple, Ikea, Samsung, and other tech giants, the standard envisions a smart home ecosystem where all devices are interoperable. After a delay of over a year, the official Matter 1.0 standard and certification program dropped in early October. Following its release, Samsung is now fulfilling its promise of adding Matter support to the SmartThings platform with the latest app update. This will allow you to control Matter-certified devices directly from SmartThings.
Samsung SmartThings could add support for thousands of additional smart home devices next year
The HCA initiative is starting to pay off
Samsung has some big plans for its SmartThings platform. Earlier this year, at CES 2022, the company announced its membership in the Home Connectivity Alliance (HCA) with the goal of improving compatibility with other brands in the space — and with a fresh report now showing the resultant progress, it looks like that deal is starting to pay off.
Major SmartThings update will allow Phillips Hue lights to sync with music
It will also make the app better suited for Samsung's upcoming foldables
Read update
Replacing any aging appliances with their smart counterparts in your home can make your life a lot easier, but all that hardware is barely any good if not paired with adequate software. Fortunately, if you're into Samsung's ecosystem, you get the best of both worlds — its devices are great, and you can control them all through the SmartThings app. That software may be set to get a major update soon, making it better suited for some upcoming devices.
Samsung's new SmartThings Home Life services offer a central place to control your smart home
The services will reach nearly 250 million registered users globally
For a company that builds everything from smartphones to major appliances, it's no surprise that Samsung's got its own smart home ecosystem, and SmartThings connects robot vacuums, motion sensors, thermostats, and more, all through the SmartThings app. Now Samsung is looking to expand its range of smart home services even further, with the global launch of SmartThings Home Life.
Samsung's SmartThings app is getting a new UI
The company also doubled down on its commitment to Matter
Building a smart home ecosystem can make the smallest elements of your life a whole lot easier, but even the best hardware around isn't any good without an excellent software experience backing it up. Today, Samsung is relaunching its SmartThings app with an all-new interface to help power every gadget in your home.
We're this close to smart home hardware actually just working right
Project CHIP is now Matter, and it's almost ready for primetime
In December of 2019, several of the biggest companies in tech — including Apple, Google, and Amazon — joined the Zigbee Alliance to establish a new standard for smart home technology. Project Connected Home over IP, or "CHIP," was aimed at improving interoperability and increasing security between gadgets from different brands. CHIP is finally nearing completion, and it's getting a new name and logo to help consumers identify secure IoT tech.
You can now find your misplaced Samsung products with your Windows PC
The SmartThings app makes it possible, available on the Microsoft Store
The Samsung SmartThings app is getting increasingly more powerful. It has allowed you to control your smart home from your phone for forever, but it has only recently gained the capability to find your misplaced Samsung products, too. Now the manufacturer is making it even easier to spot your lost Samsung phone. SmartThings has just launched in the Microsoft Store, allowing you to find and control your smart home devices right from your Windows machine.
The Samsung Galaxy SmartTags offer some slick home automation routines
SmartThings and a nearby Galaxy phone are a must, though
When Samsung launched the Galaxy SmartTags alongside the S21 series, the company teased that they could be used for home automation via the SmartThings app. Now that the S21 and the SmartTags are arriving at people's doorsteps, it becomes clear how exactly this automation works. Our own Max Weinbach went hands-on with the tags' smart home routine capabilities.
In December 2020, Samsung and Google announced that Nest products would gain support for Samsung SmartThings, and Samsung smart home products would support Google Assistant. Now, after a brief mention during Samsung Unpacked, Nest integration is starting to show up for users.
Samsung SmartThings starts rolling out Android Auto support (APK Download)
Control your home, away from home
Samsung revealed its new Galaxy S21 phones last week, but that wasn't all the company talked about. It was also announced that Samsung's SmartThings device controls would soon be accessible through Android Auto, and now the functionality is already going live.
Samsung rolling out SmartThings Find support to Watch Active2
Your watch can help you find your earbuds
Samsung officially revealed its SmartThings Find service in October of last year, which uses a combination of Bluetooth and ultra-wideband wireless signals to locate Samsung products. With yesterday's launch of the Galaxy SmartTag, Samsung is working to add Find support for more devices, and next in line is the Galaxy Watch Active2.
Google and Samsung team up to make smart home products more interoperable
Is this a sign that Bixby might be on the way out?
Google has been trying to convince Samsung to drop Bixby in favor of Google Assistant for some time now. While we don't know for certain how those conversations are going, Samsung did add support for Google Assistant to some of its smart TVs last month. And today, a joint partnership was announced that will see Samsung SmartThings gadgets add integration with Nest products — as well as the Google Assistant.
Samsung SmartThings update adds UWB device tracking, Zigbee QR scanner, and more
Only the Galaxy Note20 Ultra supports the UWB tech so far
SmartThings is the app you use to take control of all your Samsung IoT devices, as the company aims to consolidate its other apps into one. Following all the big announcements it made at the recent Galaxy Unpacked event, Samsung is now updating the SmartThings app with a bunch of features, including one that leverages the Note20 Ultra’s UWB (ultra-wideband) support.
The Samsung SmartThings Hub is the Swiss Army Knife of smart home devices. It can connect to just about every smart home device in existence over a variety of wireless protocols, combining everything in a single control panel for easy management and automation. Those of you in the UK can get it for just £55 right now, during a limited Boxing Day sale.
Modern "smart" home standards have more than a few dumb things about them, like the fact that certain hardware often locks you into a specific ecosystem of supported devices and software. If something works with Alexa, it doesn't always mean that it will work with the Assistant or Siri, and that's not even mentioning the whole obnoxiousness of "hubs." Thankfully, a new open standard is being developed by some of the biggest names in the smart home industry, with Amazon, Apple, and Google all backing a new open-source approach via the imaginatively titled "Project Connected Home over IP." It's a complicated-sounding name, but what really matters is the fact that future smart home products will be more inter-compatible and secure.
Samsung's SmartThings hub was once a staple of most smart home setups, as it supported all the varying wireless standards used by smart devices (Zigbee, Z-Wave, Bluetooth, etc.) and integrated them into one place. Now that most smart home devices use regular Wi-Fi, SmartThings isn't quite as essential as it used to be, but Samsung still has big plans for the platform, as revealed at the 2019 Samsung Developer Conference.
Samsung SmartThings is a versatile smart home platform with one crucial caveat: It only supports US and UK plugs at the moment, locking out many interested parties in countries with different wiring. This is about to change. In preparation for IFA in Berlin, Samsung announced on Wednesday that it's bringing SmartThings devices to Germany this September. With the country using EU wall plugs, this should allow people based in other countries with these sockets to import them, too, and use them without adaptors.