It looks like Samsung SmartThings will become the first major smart home platform to fully support Matter 1.2. According to a press release, the SmartThings platform is now working 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 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, a hub backup option, shared routines, and gamification of its SmartThings Energy feature.
Support for Matter 1.2 in SmartThings means that 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, robotic 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 alerts and notifications through the app.
The SmartThings platform already supports many of these appliances, both Samsung’s own brands and third-party appliances (including Thermador, Bosch and Dacor). But those are generally through cloud integrations.
Matter will bring these integrations local, which should mean faster response times and the ability to control devices even when your internet is down. Although connected Samsung devices work with the SmartThings app, they are not Matter certified. This means they only work with the SmartThings app, while Matter appliances can 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 not yet added support for Matter 1.2. Apple has announced that it will support robotic vacuum cleaners 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 and brought support for energy management, microwaves, ovens, electric cooktops, hoods, and electric dryers, it’s unclear when we’ll see widespread support for the platform.
Currently, there are only a few Matter-certified devices in the newly supported categories – such as the Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra robotic vacuums, Ecovac’s Deebot X2 Combo robotic vacuums, and the AiDot air purifier. But now that one of the major platforms has announced support, I expect we’ll see manufacturers enable it on their devices. Whirlpool (which owns KitchenAid and Maytag), Midea, LG and Haier (which owns GE Appliances) are all major brands that have said their products will support Matter.
Samsung has announced a few other improvements for its platform in addition to the Matter update. Adds a new Hub Manager interface to the SmartThings app that provides a single place to manage multiple hubs. This adds the ability to choose a primary hub as well as a new hub backup feature. If you have multiple SmartThings hubs, the secondary hub can start 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’re more likely to have multiple hubs in your home, if one disconnects, fails, or is replaced, 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 get a new device control feature with quick access. Now you’ll be able to choose which devices to add to your own home control page on your phone’s quick panel for quick access to adjust the volume of your TV or change the brightness of your lights 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 robust options. Samsung is now adding a neat gamification feature to the platform that lets you view and manage power usage from compatible devices to help you save energy. When you use Samsung’s AI Energy Mode, which automatically adjusts your appliances’ energy consumption, you can earn an Energy Label 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 now displays 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. Devices will also have clearer information on their card, including device status – for example, a door lock will indicate whether it is locked or unlocked.
You’ll also now be able to share any routines or automation you create in the app with friends and family. Shared routines allow you to generate a QR code of a routine you’ve created so that someone can scan it and 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 led the way in Matter adoption, and while Matter is still far from the smooth and seamless smart home experience we promised, SmartThings now offers one of the most robust implementations.