SmartThings, the smart home platform by Samsung, continues to evolve and expand its ecosystem. With Matter support, users can now choose from thousands of smart devices to add to their SmartThings set up. This includes devices from partners such as Philips Hue and Aqara, thanks to support for Matter Bridges. Samsung’s collaboration with the Home Connectivity Alliance also brings greater control for users through the Hub Everywhere feature, which allows Samsung consumer electronics devices, such as sound bars, to work as hubs. The platform also offers new SDK and enhanced API for partners to extract more value and incorporate SmartThings Home AI in their apps.
The SmartThings Find network, which helps users locate their devices, now comprises over 300 million Find Nodes, including Samsung devices like Galaxy phones and SmartThings Station. The biggest challenge in building out this network was to create a scalable platform without penalizing the battery life of Galaxy smartphones. Distributed system optimization and infrastructure efficiency were also major challenges. Although Samsung and Google collaborate closely on software, integrating SmartThings Find within core Android is not currently being considered due to the sensitive data generated and the tie to the Samsung ecosystem.
In response to customer feedback, SmartThings has introduced new features such as Map Full View, which makes it easier for users to set up and operate a smart home with a visually appealing interface. The new design for the Galaxy SmartTag2 was also based on customer feedback, aiming to make it smaller and more water resistant. The SmartTag has potential use cases in business environments and Samsung is working on a proof of concept with a logistics partner. SmartThings Station, which has been well received in the United States and South Korea, offers an integrated button that can trigger automations and wireless charging functionality. Going forward, SmartThings will prioritize supporting Matter based on Thread and Wi-Fi, and there are no current plans to support Z-Wave on their hardware.
