Samsung SmartThings looks set to be the first major smart home platform to fully support Matter 1.2. According to the press release, the SmartThings platform now works with Matter 1.2, so manufacturers and developers can start integrating their compatible devices with 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-compatible Roborock robot vacuum or Midea dishwasher through 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 Samsung Energy features.
SmartThings support for Matter 1.2 means devices added to the new smart home standard being co-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 vacuum cleaners, smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, air quality sensors, air purifiers and fans. You’ll be able to add devices directly to the SmartThings app through Matter, control them, and receive notifications and alerts through the app.
The SmartThings platform already supports many such devices, including Samsung’s own brands as well as those from other manufacturers including Thermador, Bosch and Dacor. But these are usually achieved through cloud integration.
Matter brings these integrations natively, which means faster response times and the ability to control devices even when the network is down. While Samsung’s connected devices can be used with the SmartThings app, they are not Matter-certified. This means they will only work with the SmartThings app, while Matter devices 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, have yet to add support for Matter 1.2. Apple announced it would support robot vacuum cleaners later this year, but did not reveal any other device types. Home Assistant supports Matter 1.2, but its Matter integration is still in beta. While Matter 1.3 was announced in May, providing support for energy management, microwaves, ovens, electric ranges, range hoods, and electric dryers, it’s unclear when we’ll see widespread platform support.
Currently, there are only a handful of Matter-certified devices in the newly supported categories—Roborock’s S8 MaxV Ultra, Ecovac’s Deebot X2 Combo robot vacuum cleaner, and AiDot’s air purifier are some examples. But now that one of the major platforms has announced support, I expect we’ll see manufacturers enabling it in their devices. Well-known brands such as Whirlpool (which owns KitchenAid and Maytag), Midea, LG and Haier (which owns GE Appliances) have said their products will support Matter.
In addition to the Matter update, Samsung also announced some other enhancements to its platform. It adds a new Hub Manager interface to the SmartThings app to provide a place to manage multiple hubs. This adds the option to select a primary hub as well as a new hub backup feature. If you have multiple SmartThings hubs, the secondary hub can start up if the primary hub fails.
SmartThings has significantly expanded its hub infrastructure in recent years, adding SmartThings hubs to its TVs, soundbars and smart refrigerators. With hub backup, since you most likely have multiple hubs in your house, your smart home will continue to function if one of the hubs becomes unplugged, fails, or is replaced. Most of Samsung’s newer SmartThings hubs support Thread, Zigbee, and Matter, but only the Aeotec SmartThings hub also supports Z-Wave.
Samsung Galaxy smartphone owners will get new quick access device controls. You can now select devices to add to your own home control page on your phone’s quick panel for quick access to adjust TV volume or change light brightness without opening the SmartThings app.
Energy management is a key feature of a smart home, and SmartThings Energy (SmartThings’ energy management service) is one of the more powerful options. Now, Samsung is adding a clever gamification feature to the platform that lets you view and manage the energy usage of compatible devices to help you save energy. When you use Samsung’s AI Energy Mode, which automatically adjusts the energy use of appliances, you can earn energy vouchers by saving up to 400 watt hours of electricity per day. These can be converted into Samsung Rewards and purchased on Samsung products on Samsung.com.
The SmartThings app has also received some interface updates. The Devices tab now displays Rooms as a top-level tab, making it easier to manage devices by room. Device discovery has also been “enhanced” to help you find what you’re looking for faster. More at-a-glance information will also be displayed on the device’s card, including the device’s status – for example, a door lock will indicate whether it’s locked or unlocked.
Now you can also share any routines or automations you create in the app with friends and family. By sharing routines, you can generate a QR code for the routine you created for others to scan to launch it in the SmartThings app.
While these are mostly incremental improvements to the platform, they are welcome updates that, if they work as advertised, will make managing your smart home with SmartThings easier and more reliable. The platform has also been leading the way in Matter adoption, and while Matter is still far from the smooth, seamless smart home experience we were promised, SmartThings now offers one of the most robust implementations.
