The expanding list of SmartThings compatible sensors, outlets, thermometers, bulbs and more for your house is getting a new controller hub to keep everything connected. Come September, the next gen Samsung SmartThings hub will come available with a few special features in tow:
Much like the highly rated previous generation version, the new hub will connect with all your SmartThings devices from window and door sensors, to thermometers, and more. On top of that, it works with hundreds of third party smart home products on the market (ZigBee, Z-Wave) along with a series of IP-accessible devices. You can get a full break down of the user experience on the previous gen model in our review.
The heart of your smart home, the Samsung SmartThings Hub communicates information from your smartphone to all of your different connected products–regardless of their wireless protocol–so that you can easily monitor and control them from the free SmartThings app. Whether you have two connected devices or 200, all you need is one Hub to create a smart home.
Where things get interesting is its support for Amazon’s internet-connected, personal assistant speaker: Echo. Using the prompt “Alexa”, users can ask Amazon Echo to do all sorts of things like play music, and other internet related tasks. But now you’ll be able to use it to control your SmartThings compatible smart home devices with your voice. Here’s a great little demonstration of how it works:
[vimeo 136672350 w=1000 h=562]
With Samsung’s takeover of SmartThings, it was only a matter of time before the re-branded hub came to market. The company also said there will be a host of other Samsung-branded SmartThings products debuting in the coming weeks, along with a completely redesigned smartphone app.
The Samsung SmartThings hub is available to pre-order for $99.99 on Amazon, along with the official Samsung and SmartThings shops.
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