What is SmartThings and how does it work?

(Pocket-lint) - SmartThings started beingness arsenic a Kickstarter launching successful 2012, earlier the marque was bought by Samsung successful 2014. At the clip it was a large acquisition and seen arsenic Samsung's large determination into astute home.

Since becoming portion of the Samsung family, SmartThings has recovered itself integrated into Samsung devices, launching a scope of hardware devices, portion moving arsenic a level to power your astute location too.

This is everything you request to cognize astir SmartThings and however to marque it enactment for you.

A speedy introduction

Many radical volition beryllium acquainted with the SmartThings sanction due to the fact that of the integration into Samsung devices, peculiarly its smartphones.

SmartThings, and the associated logo (which looks similar six connected circles), appears connected Samsung phones erstwhile dealing with connected devices; the app is portion of the Samsung apps installed connected phones and you'll find it features connected things similar Samsung's appliances.

The SmartThings app is universal, moving connected Android and iPhone to power SmartThings hardware and compatible devices, though the functionality betwixt Samsung and non-Samsung devices is somewhat different.

SmartThings is some a scope of branded astute location products and the level that controls them. The bundle level supports different services, similar Philips Hue, portion it besides integrates features similar SmartThings Find, a work constricted to Samsung devices.

To usage SmartThings, you'll request to login with a Samsung account.

What devices does SmartThings offer?

As a astute location company, the SmartThings hardware revolves astir a postulation of plugs, hubs and sensors. To usage the plugs oregon sensors you volition request a SmartThings Hub to link these devices up.

There person been respective versions of the SmartThings Hub, the V3 (2018) being the latest and this volition let you to power your SmartThings strategy of hardware.

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However, the SmartThings Hub besides supports Zigbee and Z-Wave, truthful you tin usage it to power astute location hardware utilizing these protocols, though successful galore cases, similar for Philips Hue bulbs, it's recommended that you usage a Hue Hub and nexus the services connected the bundle broadside (which we'll get to successful a bit) for the champion results.

Once setup, SmartThings volition fto you tally a scope of sensors, including leak detectors, question sensors, astute buttons, astute plugs, and astute bulbs, wrong the SmartThings system.

The offering is antithetic internationally, truthful you mightiness find determination are much products disposable successful immoderate countries than immoderate others.

SmartThings: The app

The app is apt the biggest portion of the SmartThings strategy that you'll encounter. While you'll usage the app to setup and power your SmartThings hardware via your SmartThings hub, there's really nary request to person immoderate SmartThings-branded hardware astatine each to usage the SmartThings platform.

That's due to the fact that Samsung has moved this to beryllium a cosmopolitan offering. The app is disposable connected some Google Play for Android and the App Store for iPhone truthful you tin physique your strategy from either device.

SmartThings connected Samsung devices besides supports SmartThings Find (more connected this below) and the Galaxy SmartTag, which aren't supported connected non-Samsung devices.

Voice control

Beyond the app, SmartThings is besides compatible with large dependable assistants - Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa - meaning that you tin usage your Nest Hub oregon Amazon Echo to power SmartThings, erstwhile you've linked them. Here's a guide to linking to Google Assistant, and Alexa is simply a akin process.

Bixby besides supports SmartThings and via these routes you'd beryllium capable to usage dependable control.

However - it's besides worthy considering that galore of the devices and services that SmartThings volition control, similar Arlo, tin besides beryllium controlled straight via Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa oregon Apple HomeKit, truthful if you're a idiosyncratic of immoderate of those platforms, you mightiness not request to usage SmartThings astatine all.

Supported devices

As we've conscionable said, the SmartThings app tin enactment with a wide scope of compatible devices from large astute location manufacturers including, but not limited, to:

• Arlo
• Belkin
• Bose
• Honeywell
• Ikea
• Lifx
• Lutron
• Nest
• Netatmo
• Osram
• Philips Hue
• Ring
• Sonos
• TP-Link
• Yale

That volition let you to adhd those devices - and galore much - to the SmartThings app to marque them portion of your astute home.

You tin besides adhd galore Samsung devices to the list, including things similar Blu-ray players, televisions and home appliances.

The SmartThings app volition fto you scan for devices, oregon adhd them by marque oregon category, truthful adding devices is simple, usually inviting you to motion into the work you privation to nexus and assistance support to enactment with SmartThings.

The app lets you disagreement connected devices into rooms, allowing for coordinated room-based controls, delegate backgrounds and images to personalise the experience.

Automations

You tin setup automations wrong the SmartThings app, truthful that you tin person IF and THEN controls.

The process lets you prime from time, a instrumentality trigger (like a question sensor oregon camera), location, determination mode (home, away, night), weather. This volition beryllium the IF broadside of the equation.

You tin past determine what happens from the THEN options - power devices (turn connected a camera, alarm, light, unfastened the garage), nonstop a connection oregon notification to someone, alteration the determination mode, oregon tally a scene.

For example: IF question sensor is triggered THEN camera records AND notification is sent.

The automation process makes it truly casual to crook connected the lights astatine a peculiar time, limb the information strategy erstwhile you permission the house, unfastened the store erstwhile you get astatine location and a full batch more.

Scenes

Scenes, arsenic the sanction suggests, volition fto you make a acceptable of actions from a scope of devices, for illustration you tin person a movie country that dims the lights and closes the blinds, portion switching to your Blu-ray player.

As we said, Scenes tin besides beryllium integrated into automations.

SmartThings Find

SmartThings Find launched successful October 2020 arsenic an summation to SmartThings that's exclusive to Samsung users. Only those connected a Samsung instrumentality volition get entree to SmartThings Find, which is wherever the Samsung relationship truly comes into play.

SmartThings Find allows you to find Samsung devices. You'll person to beryllium signed into a Samsung relationship connected those devices, which volition past let it to usage the Find My Mobile services. This allows the past registered determination to beryllium logged, truthful devices tin beryllium located connected the map. Users tin besides invitation up to 19 different radical to beryllium portion of SmartThings Find Members, allowing others to find mislaid devices.

While Google offers a akin work via the Google account, it's a bully mode to spot wherever each your Samsung phones are.

But much usefully, SmartThings Find has expanded to connection enactment for different Samsung devices similar headphones, and successful the lawsuit of the Galaxy Buds Pro, for example, Samsung Find tin find each earbud, truthful if you suffer one, you person the accidental of uncovering it again.

It's a flimsy duplication of the work offered wrong the Galaxy Wearable app, which besides lets you way down your headphones if you suffer them.

The Galaxy SmartTag is besides portion of the SmartThings Find strategy and lone works with Samsung phones. Again, each of the Galaxy SmartTag controls are handled by SmartThings. The Galaxy SmartTag lone works with Galaxy phones, but successful return, it tin besides beryllium located utilizing the Galaxy Find Network. This is the anonymous and encrypted broadside of the web that volition find Galaxy devices, feeding backmost the determination to powerfulness the SmartThings Find system. 

Samsung confirmed successful September 2021 that immoderate 100 cardinal Find nodes are live, portion 230,000 devices are located done the work each day.

Summing up

Many volition brushwood SmartThings due to the fact that of its wide usage crossed Samsung devices and predominant mentions wrong Samsung's One UI connected its phones, for example.

When it comes to moving a astute home, SmartThings volition beryllium the default prime for those who person opted to setup a strategy including SmartThings hardware. For those who are conscionable looking for a unifying platform, Google Home oregon Amazon Alexa volition connection overmuch the aforesaid experience, but with the payment of those hardware devices similar the Echo oregon Nest speakers providing easy accessible dependable control.

SmartThings Find offers thing to Samsung users that's neatly kept successful 1 place, but overlaps with Samsung's Find My Phone/Mobile and Wearable uncovering options, arsenic good arsenic those provided by Google itself for Android.

The downside is that SmartThings Find is lone disposable to Samsung devices, whereas the different systems person much cosmopolitan support.

Ultimately, SmartThings connected the bundle side, arsenic a level to physique a astute home, integrating functions crossed Samsung devices, and to support way of Samsung devices has seen immoderate growth, but Samsung hasn't invested arsenic heavy successful the SmartThings-branded hardware acquisition lately. That mightiness suggest that the level is seen by Samsung arsenic the amended service, relying connected different hardware brands for the carnal astute location tasks.

Writing by Chris Hall. Originally published connected 26 January 2021.