Samsung's IoT hub gets warm reception on launch

Samsung's new £200 SmartThings Hub has garnered mainly positive reviews on its recent launch, as the "grand unifying box" linking everything from smart plugs to thermostats, door sensors to security cameras, ensuring they all communicate with each other for more effective central command and control. The SmartThings Hub has been commended for its app available on Android, IOS and Windows, its support of all home-network based devices through fixed and Wi-Fi networks, and compatibility with two of the most popular wireless home automation standards ZigBee and Z-Wave, enabling it to talk to every product available on the market right now. It also stands out from the crowd with a viable, productive home hacker and developer community, which means there are plenty of solutions available for potential new problems.

The Internet of Things – where seemingly ordinary devices connect to each other and the internet to make them more than the sum of their parts (think fridges that know when you’re out of milk and then order more for you) – is still more a concept than a reality for many.

That is steadily changing as more and more devices arrive on the market but, like the spokes on a bicycle wheel need a hub to connect them, those devices need to be linked up to be useful. Samsung’s SmartThings hub hopes to be that central pin that connects them all.

The majority of IoT devices – from smart plugs to thermostats, door sensors to security cameras – come with their own apps, their own systems and connections, and many of them do not speak to each other. That’s where Samsung’s SmartThings hub attempts to step in, as the grand unifying box – one IoT command and control centre to rule them all.



The SmartThings Hub is a small white box that is meant to be hidden out of sight somewhere. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs/The Guardian

It supports home-network based devices, plugging into your router to control them through fixed or Wi-Fi networks, as well as two of the most broadly used wireless home-automation standards, ZigBee and Z-Wave. It means that the Hub can talk to almost every product currently available on the market that doesn’t use an isolated proprietary system.

Not all products support the Hub, however, even if they can talk to it. But SmartThings has something many other devices vying for a similar spot in people’s homes doesn’t have – a viable, productive home hacker and developer community.

The result is that even if a product doesn’t officially support Samsung’s open system, such as Google’s Nest smart thermostat for instance, someone will probably have developed a workaround. Those workarounds are often relatively complex to put into practice, but tutorials are available and there are enough support tools to guide most people with a moderate understanding of computers and basic code to make it work.

The Hub

Power, ethernet and a couple of USB ports add to the wireless connections in the back of the SmartThings Hub. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs/The Guardian

The Hub is a small white plastic box with a power cord and an ethernet socket. It can be placed almost anywhere as long as it can connect to your router via ethernet. It’s best placed in the centre of your home somewhere, but I found Samsung’s sensors could connect anywhere in my home and even at the end of the garden without issue.

The box also has a battery backup system, should the power go out, which is useful for making sure any battery-powered locks still work if there’s a power cut, for instance.

The app

The SmartThings app is one of the best bits about the system, providing step-by-step guides, examples and ‘smart apps’ and an easy-to-use control system once everything is set up. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs/The Guardian

The Hub is only half the story. You interact with and control your Hub and connected devices through the SmartThings app. It’s available for Android, iOS and Windows Phone, but you will need one of those devices to make it work.

The Android app is relatively intuitive. You add supported devices or “Things” to the app using an automatic discovery system. The Hub scans for stuff it can connect to and allows you to select which ones you want to set up. A couple of taps and that’s all that’s required for most devices.

You can then group devices into rooms, such as the lounge or kitchen, and assign tasks and events to them. An event can be triggered by almost anything, from other devices to your presence or the time of day. There’s a step-by-step guide that walks you through the process and some pre-formed ideas of what might be useful.

More advanced configurations can create an alarm system, using sensors, cameras and other bits. For instance, you can “arm” your house so that the lights come on, the camera starts recording and it sends you alerts to your smartphone if the locked door is opened.

The SmartThings motion sensor, here set up in a hall to monitor movement. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs/The Guardian

Again, that’s not a new thing – traditional alarm systems can do that. But when they’re not being used for an alarm the sensors and devices can do other things, like turn off the lights when shut or lock a door.

It all works seamlessly with compatible devices, of which there are over 50, and will even control devices like the Sonos wireless speakers. It gets a bit more complicated when you’re trying to work with a device that isn’t officially supported, such as the Lightwave RF lighting control system, but it is possible, using community-generated tools and work arounds.

In fact, what you can do with it is only limited to your imagination and the number of devices you own. Want to announce your arrival to the house as soon as you step through the door with a fanfare and flashing lights? No problem. Fancy getting your coffee brewed the moment your alarm – which is tracking your sleep to wake you up at the best moment possible – goes off? Simple.

You can even unlock and open all the doors in your property in case of a fire, if you have the right devices.

Everything that happens in your home stays under your control through the SmartThings app, which means others wanting access to the system need your username and password. Samsung assures that all the account details and devices are encrypted to protect intrusion, including its smart cameras.

The Kit

The multi-purpose sensor included in the kit, here set up to monitor the closed state of a door. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs/The Guardian

The Hub can be bought as part of a starter kit costing £200 with a motion sensor, a multi-sensor that does temperature, vibration and door and window open and close states, a smart plug, and a presence sensor for your keys.

Each is very easy to set up, and self explanatory. The motion and door sensors are similar to non-IoT versions and work in a similar manner. The smart plug turns the power on or off to something plugged into it when commanded. The presence sensor tells the Hub when you get home. Your smartphone can also be configured as a presence indicator, which saves carrying the relatively bulky sensor around on a keychain.

The sensors are powered by coin cells and last for around two years, according to Samsung. There’s also a moisture sensor available for £30.

The presence sensor that attaches to a keychain but can be replicated using a smartphone. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs/The Guardian

Price

The SmartThings Hub is available on its own for £99 or as part of a kit with a £30 motion sensor, £30 multi-sensor, £45 smart power plug and a £30 presence sensor for £200.

Verdict

The Internet of Things is still a bit of a mess of standards and protocols, with loads of devices unable to talk to each other. The SmartThings Hub is the closest thing I’ve come across to unifying your existing and new kit.

Setting up officially compatible products is a doddle, as you would hope. But it is the open and community-driven hacks and workarounds to support other in-compatible bits that is the strength. That bit isn’t for novices, but anyone who has an existing system that likely took a bit of work to set up will probably be able to do it.

The SmartThings sensors work well, but are quite pricey, the kit is worth buying, the system is adaptable and the cross-platform app support is a huge bonus compared to other closed systems.

This is about as good as an integrated IoT system that connects to devices from a plethora of vendors gets right now.

Pros: simple setup, cross-platform, decent app, developer community, multiple standards in one box, unites your existing kit, adaptable Cons: not compatible with everything, workarounds for non-natively supported devices will be difficult for some, Internet of Things still very early in its lifecycle

The plug can control the power to any device plugged into it, typically lamps or coffee machines, with a button on the side to manually power it on if required. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs/The Guardian



