The SmartThings Blog

In August, we shared the beta release of SmartThings Edge – a new hub architecture that allows hub connected devices to execute locally. SmartThings Edge creates smart home experiences that are more reliable and faster. Now, developers and hobbyists can build and consume custom device drivers in a much easier way. Since the beta launch, SmartThings has partnered with Aeotec, Leviton, Kwikset, Somfy North America, Yale, and August to transform connectivity and the smart home experience in a noticeable way. SmartThings Edge’s advanced technology increases the speed of automation for consumers by eliminating the need for cloud-based processing, bringing all the information directly to the Hub. This not only streamlines events and commands but also allows for local device support on a home network. This local device support decreases latency and increases reliability. All Zigbee, Z-Wave, and Wi-Fi devices can run locally on the Hub, with the ability to connect more protocols and standards, including Matter, in the future. Previously, our developers were required to copy and paste code into their Samsung IDE accounts to distribute and leverage custom device type handlers for hub connected devices. With SmartThings Edge comes the introduction of the new driver sharing feature, an easy-to-use and time efficient alternative for community distribution and consumption. SmartThings users can now share custom device drivers with a simple web link – eliminating the need to copy and paste code. While device manufacturers are still encouraged to submit their drivers to SmartThings for WWST certification and distribution via the SmartThings catalog, the Driver Sharing feature can also be used to distribute custom drivers that partners may want to test before officially releasing integrations.  New drivers are regularly being added. Our latest release includes Zigbee range extenders, Z-Wave buttons, water leak sensors, contact sensors, smoke detectors, and humidity sensors.  SmartThings Edge is the latest innovation in SmartThings technology, representing the company’s commitment to developing solutions for global developer networks – thereby improving the next generation of smart home experiences.

SmartThings is excited to announce SmartThings Edge, a new hub architecture that allows core functionality to execute locally, leading to smart home experiences that are more reliable, faster, and more secure. While users will not see a change within the SmartThings app, on the backend, SmartThings Edge is transforming connectivity and the experience in a noticeable way. SmartThings Edge’s advanced technology increases the speed of automations for consumers by eliminating the need for cloud-based processing, bringing all the information directly to the Hub. This not only streamlines events and commands, but also allows for local device support on a home network, allowing users to run their Automations locally. This local device support decreases latency and increases reliability. SmartThings users will also be able to connect Zigbee, Z-Wave, and LAN-based integrations, with the ability to connect more protocols in the future, including Matter. As part of SmartThings’ evolution to modernize and move away from the legacy Groovy platform, SmartThings developed a solution that would be able to deliver the developer experience to meet the current times. Developers are now able to code and build Device Drivers with Lua©, offering a more robust and simpler way for device manufacturers to integrate with the SmartThings platform. This new platform architecture is an example of SmartThing’s commitment to investing in technologies that make it easier for our global developer network to build the next generation of smart home experiences that inspire meaningful moments.

SmartThings is pleased to announce its integration with Somfy, the best-in-class manufacturer of tubular motors for interior window coverings and exterior solar protections. Through this integration, Somfy-powered shading solutions can now be fully integrated into the smart home and controlled through the SmartThings application, simplifying the everyday. The integration is available in North America market. With Somfy smart shading solutions, homeowners and residents can seamlessly control their shades, blinds, and screens from the same control system as their other connected living devices. Leveraging the power of SmartThings, users can create customized experiences and comfort at the touch of a button, with unique features including:  One Master Control System to control and automate Somfy motorized shades and blinds along with other smart home devices. Natural Lighting Control, allowing users the choice to have their shades, blinds, draperies, screens, awnings, and pergolas open and close on demand or automated to spend more time on other tasks.Energy Efficient Homes, with scheduling that allows shades to open during the warmest times of the day in winter and close during the hottest times of the day in summer to save on heating and cooling costs. Home Automation, allowing for simultaneous control of multiple smart home devices. With one command, homes can be ready for your next activity, whether waking up or going to bed, leaving the house or watching a movie. This new offering is another representation of SmartThings’ commitment to uplifting everyday living by making the home more unified. By adding Somfy into SmartThings’ ecosystem, users can automate everyday tasks and stay more engaged in the moments that truly matter most.  

Looking for new ways to take control of your energy consumption? SmartThings Energy, a new service within the SmartThings app, allows consumers to make greener decisions with monitoring, target-setting, and notifications of Samsung appliances and HVAC systems.  The new, first-of-its-kind solution provides another reason to invest in IoT. With more people staying at home during the pandemic, there has been a significant increase in home energy usage. Now, one of the most sought after smart home features is available. SmartThings Energy delivers a real-time view of energy consumption, analysis and cost estimates – putting control into the hands of its users.  SmartThings Energy is the most comprehensive real-time energy consumption data on the market and addresses challenges related to major energy consuming appliances like air conditioners, refrigerators and laundry machines, head-on.   Through SmartThings Energy, users can: Monitor the energy usage of home appliances. Users can check their electricity and water usage from a single device or aggregated usage from multiple compatible devices. They can also view their consumption data in comparison to target goals and see how much energy they are using compared to the previous month.  Discover consumption data. User-friendly charts allow users to understand how much energy each of their devices is consuming. In addition, users will receive energy saving tips based on the devices that are connected. For example, switch to eco-wash mode to run laundry. Save energy through notifications that alert users when they’re using too much energy at a given time. For instance, the interface sends alerts when a device is left on while users are away from the home and when they are using more energy than their monthly target. SmartThings Energy, which will support most of the Samsung Home Appliances and HVAC products, is the latest innovation that represents the company’s commitment to sustainable living. In the future, SmartThings will expand the service to WWST partners and bring in new partners that specialize in energy management.

We are pleased to unveil the next generation of our SmartThings connected home experience. Featuring a new look and feel, the new SmartThings interface offers users a simpler, more robust user journey, and faster load times.  Smart homes continue to surge in popularity, with the number of smart homes expected surpass the 350 million mark by 2023. The new SmartThings interface delivers on the needs of both future and existing customers by creating a more seamless application experience. With an enhanced user journey, SmartThings makes life easier to discover and experience IoT services, while ensuring a seamless transition from SmartThings’ previous version.   The updated app, which will be available on desktop and mobile devices, is the latest example of our ongoing commitment to bringing smart functionality and capabilities to consumers. The revamped layout will include five different sections: Favorites, Devices, Automations, Life, and More: Favorites is the new home screen within SmartThings and gathers the devices, scenes, and services used most for quicker access. Devices lets users view and control all devices, connecting TVs, light bulbs, appliances, and more. Life is a place to explore the growing world of connected living where users can discover new SmartThings services that transform physical products into meaningful user experiences. Automations connects devices and allows them to work together and respond to specific conditions in the home, such as a door opening and a light turning on.  Menu will house additional SmartThings features including SmartThings Labs, Notifications, History, and Settings.     This update comes on the heels of recent news about SmartThings’ new Windows application, which offers a similar user experience right from a Galaxy Notebook and any other Windows PC. 

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We’re pleased to announce that a new protocol, Matter, will soon be integrated into the SmartThings ecosystem, marking a critical step in advancing smart home solutions and creating new opportunities for consumers and developers. Powered by market-proven technologies, Matter devices will interact with thousands of products and brands already within the SmartThings platform, allowing for even more versatility and flexibility.     Unveiled earlier this week, Matter is a royalty-free, open-source connectivity standard that will enable communication among a wide range of smart devices. SmartThings will fully integrate Matter into its powerful ecosystem, while continuing to support existing protocols including Zigbee, Z-Wave and more, ensuring no disruption to current connected homes. New and existing customers will still be able to leverage the powerful SmartThings automations to create rich smart home experiences.  For our developers, Matter opens the door of innovation, allowing more time to focus on creativity while reducing time spent of recreating efforts across various ecosystems. For our builder and real estate partners, Matter is the future of reliable connectivity, ensuring the widest choice in smart device compatibility at scale. The protocol allows them to unlock additional revenue, streamline installation and training, and ensure lasting quality for their customers. Matter bridges the gaps between the past, present, and future connected devices by simplifying connected experiences and ensuring new devices can seamlessly be integrated into existing smart homes. As pioneers in the smart home industry from the very beginning, we believe this will become the de facto standard in every smart home in the world, and seamlessly be controlled by the SmartThings app.  SmartThings continues to be the glue that connects devices together across brands and platforms. With the addition of Matter, SmartThings maintains its stronghold position as a powerful and comprehensive ecosystem offering users more choices for their everyday lives. This collaboration represents the next step in SmartThings’ commitment to providing an open environment and consumer-driven experiences. With an expansive ecosystem, SmartThings prides itself with its dedication to consumer choice. In the months ahead, SmartThings will continue to collaborate with other members of Connectivity Standards Alliance to shape the future of IoT and give customers a greater peace of mind.  Do you have Matter products? Fill out this form to learn more about certifying them with SmartThings and getting in front of our millions of users.

Want to give new life to legacy Galaxy smartphones? Leveraging the power of SmartThings and repurposing built-in sensors within Galaxy devices, you can now turn old Galaxy phones into sound and light sensors. Here is how to start:  Onboard legacy phone Download the SmartThings app on your current phone. Tap the Menu (☰) and select “SmartApps” Select More Options (⋮) and choose SmartThings Labs* followed by Galaxy UpcycleClick on “Next” to generate a QR code.Scan the QR code with your legacy phone.Install the “Galaxy Upcycle” app on your legacy phone.Select either “Light sensor” or “Sound sensor” feature. Set up a “Light sensor” Tap “Light sensor” to add your legacy phone as a light sensor.Go back to your current phone and open the SmartThings app. The new light sensor will now be available on your device list. Tap the light sensor device card to see the current brightness level, scored out of 7 levels of brightness.Using Automations, you can now adjust your lighting based on the brightness level detected by the sensor.  Set up a “Sound sensor” Tap “Sound sensor” to add your legacy phone as a sound sensor.Go back to your current phone and open the SmartThings app. The new sound sensor will now be available on your device list. The sensor detects 5 types of sounds including baby crying, dog barking, cat meowing, glass breaking, and knock on door.Using Automations, you can now control your devices using the sounds detected by the sensor.  *SmartThings Lab uses experimental features. Some features may only be available for certain devices, models, or countries. Some features may be removed or changed without notice. 

Repurpose Older Galaxy Smartphones into Smart Home Devices with SmartThings SmartThings is pleased to share its integration within Samsung’s Galaxy Upcycling at Home program, giving new life to older Galaxy smartphones not currently in use. As part of Samsung’s commitment to responsibly recycling devices, users in the United States, United Kingdom, and Korea can leverage SmartThings to turn older devices into connected devices to enhance their living experience and extend the lifecycle of their products.    Users can transform their old devices through SmartThings Labs, a new feature within the SmartThings app. Leveraging the power of SmartThings and repurposing built-in sensors within Galaxy devices, users will initially experience enhanced sound and light control features, including: Using an improved artificial intelligence solution, Galaxy devices can more accurately distinguish sounds in everyday surroundings, and users can choose to save certain sound recordings. For example, if the device detects sounds such as a baby crying, dog barking, cat meowing, or a knock, it will send an alert directly to the user’s smartphone and the user can listen the recorded sound.Galaxy devices can be used as light sensors to measure the brightness level of the room. Users can easily set the device to automatically turn on lights or the TV through SmartThings, if the room becomes darker than the preset standard of light.  Through Galaxy Upcycling at Home, users will also be able to connect older devices effortlessly to SmartThings, allowing them to interact with more than 5,000 IoT devices across 200 brands within the SmartThings ecosystem. The Galaxy Upcycling at Home feature is available on all S, Note, and Z series released from 2018 (S9, Note9 and above) with Android 8.1 and above. Samsung and SmartThings are committed to building environmental sustainability and Galaxy Upcycling at Home is an innovative way to minimize global e-waste. The Galaxy Upcycling at Home program supports Samsung’s global efforts toward meeting its goal of collecting 7.5 million tons of e-waste and making use of 500,000 tons of recycled plastic by 2030. This first phase of the program officially launches today, with new features to be released in the near future.

SmartThings continues to fuel infinite possibilities and its commitment to working with partners to create a seamless connected living experience. With Samsung One UI 3.1 and Android 11 update, accessing all connected devices just became more convenient, further enhancing the connected home experience with SmartThings. With this addition, users can find and manage multiple apps and devices, through a single-entry point. Tap on Device in the Control Panels on the phone, users can easily select SmartThings or Google Home app and quickly switch between each service so users can see all connected devices within the app on one screen. For example, users can set the temperature to chill, then dim the lights. Currently, in Android 11 or later and Samsung Galaxy devices with One UI 3.1 and above, the Controls feature allows users to quickly manage their smart home devices such as lights, thermostats, and cameras from one convenient place. This feature will also be available in Galaxy S21 series and all upcoming One UI 3.1+ devices this year. The rollout of Google’s Device Control Panel working with SmartThings technology follows SmartThings recent partnership with Google, bringing the company’s portfolio of Nest products into SmartThings IoT ecosystem. With this integration, Google Nest devices, including thermostats, cameras and doorbells, are now “Works With SmartThings” certified, allowing users to seamlessly control their connected home through SmartThings. Control your connected devices from one place. Set the temperature to chill, then dim your lights. All from a single spot on your phone. Simply tap on the Device Panel to see and manage your connected devices. Making life at home that much easier.