A second look at Samsung SmartThings was worth it – Stacey on IoT

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A second look at Samsung SmartThings was worth it

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After samsung-smartthings-wifi-plume-review-2019/” rel=”noopener noreferrer” target=”_blank”>reviewing the $279.99 Samsung SmartThings WiFi gear last month, I noted that I planned to also use the integrated SmartThings Hub functionality.
I’ve done that, having removed all of my smart devices from my old Wink Hub 2, mainly because I’ve lost a little faith in Wink as a company but also because of some technical issues.
So how did the transition from Wink to SmartThings go?
Overall, however, the Samsung SmartThings experience is far better, at least with my specific smart home devices, than when I last looked at it two years ago.
I say “relatively” because adding one of my old Z-Wave door sensors to SmartThings took a few stubborn tries.
And one time when trying to discover a Cree connected bulb, SmartThings found it but “it” was actually an old Wemo Insight Smart Plug.
One other thing I noticed that I like from SmartThings over Wink is that with the latter, I usually had to have a Z-Wave device practically next to the hub for discovery.
I’m not sure of the internal radio differences (if any) between SmartThings and Wink hubs but that could be the reason.
And since each Samsung SmartThings WiFi unit has Z-Wave radios, perhaps the Z-Wave range is broader due to the mesh network set up around the house.
After adding the two Osram bulbs for the family room to SmartThings, I didn’t see a “sunset” option; only clock settings for each bulb.
And of course, I did link SmartThings to Google Home so the Google Assistant can control all of the devices on the SmartThings Hub. Amazon Alexa integration is also supported.
Since completion of that setup, the SmartThings Hub is working fantastic.
For example, there are 33 supported switch/dimmer brands that appear in the SmartThings apps.
Even though SmartThings doesn’t officially support my Nest or Canary gear, I feel that I have many more choices to pick from as my smart home evolves.
If anything, I’d rather see the Wink platform be successful because competition in the smart home hub space is good for consumers

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