Samsung SmartThings is set to be the first major smart home platform to fully support Matter 1.2. press releaseThe SmartThings platform now runs on Matter 1.2, allowing manufacturers and developers to integrate compatible devices onto the platform. The SmartThings app won’t be updated to support Matter until later this summer, so until then, you won’t be able to control your Matter-enabled Roborock robot vacuum or Midea dishwasher via SmartThings.
Samsung also announced several other updates to its smart home platform, including app design improvements, new device control options, Hub backup options, shareable routines, and gamification of SmartThings Energy features.
SmartThings’ support for Matter 1.2 means that home appliances added to the new smart home standard jointly developed by Apple, Amazon, Google, Samsung and others will now work with Samsung’s smart home platform.
This includes refrigerators, room air conditioners, dishwashers, washing machines, robot vacuums, smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, air quality sensors, air purifiers and electric fans. You can add devices directly to the SmartThings app via Matter, control them and receive notifications and alerts through the app.
The SmartThings platform is not just for the Samsung brand. Other Manufacturers (Thermador, Bosch, Dacor included.) However, these are typically done through cloud integration.
Matter enables these integrations locally, which improves response times and allows you to control your devices even when the internet is down. Samsung connected appliances work with the SmartThings app, but they are not Matter certified, meaning they only work with the SmartThings app, but Matter appliances will work with any smart home platform that supports Matter.
Amazon Alexa, Google Home, and Apple Home have not yet added support for Matter 1.2.
However, the other major platforms, Amazon Alexa, Google Home and Apple Home, do not yet support Matter 1.2. Apple has announced support for robot vacuums later this year, but nothing has been announced for other device types. Home Assistant supports Matter 1.2, but Matter integration is still in betaMatter 1.3 was announced in May and introduced energy management and support for microwaves, ovens, electric stoves, range hoods and electric dryers, but it’s unclear when broader platform support will arrive.
Currently, there are only a handful of Matter Certified home appliances in the newly supported categories: Roborock’s S8 MaxV Ultra, Ecovac’s Deebot X2 Combo robot vacuum, and AiDot Air Purifier These are just a few examples, but now that one of the major platforms has announced support, we can expect to see manufacturers enabling it on their devices. Whirlpool (Owners KitchenAid and Maytag) aesthetic, LGand Haier (which owns GE Appliances) are both well-known brands that have announced their products will support Matter.
Beyond the Matter update, Samsung also announced several other enhancements to the platform: It’s adding a new Hub Manager interface to the SmartThings app, allowing you to manage multiple hubs in one place, which gives you the option to select a primary hub, as well as a new Hub Backup feature, so if you have multiple SmartThings hubs, your secondary hub will take over if your primary hub fails.
SmartThings has significantly expanded its hub infrastructure in recent years, adding SmartThings hubs to its TVs, soundbars, and smart refrigerators. With the hub backup feature, your smart home will keep working even if one is unplugged, fails, or needs to be replaced, as you likely have multiple hubs in your home. Most of Samsung’s new SmartThings hubs support Thread, Zigbee, and Matter, but… Aeotec SmartThings Hub It also supports Z-Wave.
Samsung Galaxy smartphone users will get a new quick access device control feature, allowing them to select devices to add to their home control page in the phone’s quick panel, allowing them to adjust the volume on their TV or change the brightness of their lights without having to open the SmartThings app.
Energy management is a key feature of smart homes. Smart Things EnergySmartThings, its energy management service, is one of the more powerful options – now Samsung has added some nice gamification features to the platform, allowing you to view and manage the energy usage of your compatible appliances to help you save energy. Samsung’s AI Energy Modeis an app that automatically adjusts the energy usage of your home appliances, and for every 400Wh of electricity saved per day, you can earn Energy Stamps that can be redeemed for Samsung Rewards and used to purchase Samsung products on Samsung.com.
The SmartThings app will also get an updated interface. The Devices tab will now show rooms as top-level tabs, making it easier to manage devices by room. Device search has also been “enhanced” to help you find what you need faster. Device cards will also show more user-friendly information, including the device’s status. For example, a door lock will show whether it’s locked or unlocked.
You can now also share the routines and automations you create in the app with friends and family. Shareable routines allow you to generate a QR code for the routine you create that others can scan to activate it in the SmartThings app.
These are mostly incremental improvements to the platform, but if they work as advertised, they’re welcome updates that will make managing your smart home with SmartThings easier and more reliable. The platform has also led the way with the adoption of Matter, and while Matter is still a long way from the smooth, seamless smart home experience it promised, SmartThings offers one of the most robust implementations.