Samsung SmartThings looks set to become the first major smart home platform to fully support Matter 1.2. According to a press release, the SmartThings platform now works with Matter 1.2, so manufacturers and developers can begin integrating their compatible devices with the platform. The SmartThings app won’t be updated to support Matter until later this summer — so you won’t be able to control your Matter-compatible Roborock robot vacuum or Midea dishwasher through SmartThings until then.
Samsung also announced several other updates to its smart home platform, including app design improvements, new device control options, a hub backup option, split routines and gamification of its SmartThings Energy feature.
Support for Matter 1.2 in SmartThings means that devices 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.
These include refrigerators, room air conditioners, dishwashers, washing machines, robot vacuums, smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, air quality sensors, air purifiers and fans. You’ll be able to add devices directly to the SmartThings app via Matter, control them, and receive notifications and alerts through the app.
The SmartThings platform already supports many of these devices, both Samsung’s own brand and those from other manufacturers (including Thermador, Bosch and Dacor). But they are generally through cloud integrations.
Materia will bring these integrations local, which should mean faster response times and the ability to control devices even if your internet is down. While Samsung’s connected devices work with the SmartThings app, they are not certified by Matter. This means they only work with the SmartThings app, while Matter devices can work with any smart home platform that Matter supports.
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 that it will support robot vacuums later this year, but there’s no word on any of the other types of devices. Home Assistant supports Matter 1.2, but its Matter integration is still in beta. While Matter 1.3 was announced in May, bringing support for power management, microwave ovens, ovens, hotplates, vacuum cleaners, and electric dryers, it’s unclear when we’ll see broad platform support.
There are currently only a handful of Matter-certified devices in the newly supported categories — Roborock’s S8 MaxV Ultra, Ecovac’s Deebot X2 Combo robotic vacuums, and AiDot’s air purifier are a few examples. But now that one of the major platforms has announced support, I expect to see manufacturers enabling it on their devices. Whirlpool (which owns KitchenAid and Maytag), Midea, LG and Haier (which owns GE Appliances) are all notable brands that have said their products will support Matter.
Samsung announced a few other improvements to its platform in addition to a Matter update. It’s adding a new Hub Manager interface to the SmartThings app to provide a single place to manage multiple hubs. This adds the option to select a primary hub, as well as a new Backup Hub feature. If you have multiple SmartThings hubs, a secondary hub can start if the primary hub fails.
SmartThings has significantly expanded its hub infrastructure in recent years, adding SmartThings hubs to TVs, soundbars and smart refrigerators. With the Hub Backup feature, since you more than likely have multiple hubs in your home, if one gets unplugged, fails or you replace it, your smart home will continue to work. 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 users are getting a new quick access device control feature. You’ll now be able to select devices to add to your home control page on your phone’s quick panel for quick access to adjust the TV volume or change the brightness of a light without opening the SmartThings app.
Energy management is a key feature of the smart home, and SmartThings Energy, SmartThings’ energy management service, is one of the most powerful options. Now, Samsung is adding a neat gamification feature to the platform that lets you view and manage the power usage of compatible devices to help you save power. When you use Samsung’s AI Power Mode, which automatically adjusts your devices’ power usage, you can earn an Energy Stamp for every day you save 400 Wh of electricity. These can be converted to Samsung Rewards and spent on Samsung products on Samsung.com.
The SmartThings app is also getting some interface updates. The Devices tab will now display Rooms as top-level tabs, making it easier to manage your devices by room. The device search has also been “enhanced” to help you find what you need faster. Devices will also display more visible information on their card, including device status – for example, a door lock will show whether it’s locked or unlocked.
You’ll also now be able to share any routines or automations you create in the app with friends and family. Separate routines will allow you to generate a QR code of a routine you’ve created for someone to scan to activate it in the SmartThings app.
While these are mostly incremental improvements to the platform, they’re all welcome updates that — if they work as advertised — will make using SmartThings to manage your smart home easier and more reliable. The platform has also been a leader in the adoption of Matter, and while Matter is still far from the smooth and seamless smart home experience we were promised, SmartThings now offers one of the most powerful implementations.