SmartThings
Samsung's smart home platform, and the one that reaches the widest set of radios. What it is, which of the four things called a hub you actually need, and whether you can buy one here.
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Releases
What SmartThings changed
SmartThings updates the app and the hubs through the year. Here is the newest one in plain English.
Full release archive Latest release · June 2026
SmartThings 0.61.6: sharper device health and faster Matter reconnection
SmartThings hub firmware 0.61.6 rolled out in phases through late June, sharpening how the hub works out whether your Zigbee devices are really online and speeding up how Matter devices reconnect after a power cut or a battery swap. It is a stability release: additive, with nothing to reconfigure.
Faster reconnection after a power cutNew Matter 1.5 device typesKnob control for Zigbee and Hue lights
Read the rundown How SmartThings works
The plain-English versions first: what the platform is, whether it needs a hub before you can do anything, and what keeps running when the internet drops out.
Explainer Explainer Explainer
What is SmartThings?
SmartThings is Samsung's cross-brand smart home platform. Here is what it does, the hub you need, and why it supports more protocols than its rivals.
Does SmartThings need a hub?
No for the platform, yes for Zigbee, Z-Wave and Thread. Why it's a per-device question, what a hub actually adds, and the four different products that go by the name.
Does SmartThings work without internet?
Hub-connected devices and the automations built from them keep running through an outage. What survives, what stops, and why a hub cannot rescue a cloud device.
Which hub, and can you get one?
Four products go by the name of hub and they do not carry the same radios. Which one to buy, whether you can buy it here, the dongle that adds Zigbee and Thread to a TV, and how to tell whether your own Samsung set already has one.
Buying guide Explainer Explainer Explainer
Which SmartThings hub should you buy?
The SmartThings hub choice turns on one question: do you need Z-Wave? Only the Aeotec Smart Home Hub still carries it, and in Australia you need the ANZ variant. If not, you may already own a hub.
Can you buy a SmartThings hub in Australia?
Yes, but through one importer, and the seller that can honour the warranty is not the one shipping in from overseas. What is actually sold here, and the model code to check first.
The SmartThings Dongle, explained
The SmartThings Dongle adds Zigbee and Thread to a Samsung TV whose built-in hub reaches only Wi-Fi. Which models need it, what it will not do, and buying one in Australia.
Does your Samsung TV have a SmartThings hub?
Whether your Samsung TV has a SmartThings hub with radios in it depends on its tier, not its year. Which product lines are on Samsung's list, and how to check your own model.
What works with it, and sharing with other apps
What the badge on the box is promising, and how to keep the same device in SmartThings and in Google Home, Alexa or Apple Home at once.
Explainer Setup
SmartThings compatible devices, and what the badge means
Samsung publishes a filterable index of certified SmartThings products, so you can check a device before you buy. What a listing proves, and what the badge leaves out.
Sharing SmartThings devices with Google Home, Alexa or Apple Home
SmartThings hands a Matter device to another platform happily. It will not republish the Zigbee and Z-Wave gear already on its hub as Matter devices, and that is the half people get wrong.
Head to head
Comparison
Does a Samsung TV replace a SmartThings hub?
Your Samsung TV may have a hub in it, but it is not a standalone SmartThings hub. Where the two differ, what the dongle fixes, and the one protocol that decides it.
ComparisonSmartThings vs Home Assistant
SmartThings and Home Assistant reach the same radios, given the right hardware, so the choice is really about who runs your smart home. Including the October 2026 API change.
The library
Everything SmartThings
Every guide we have written about SmartThings, filtered by what kind of read it is.
Setup Update hub Comparison Explainer Explainer Buying guide Explainer Setup Explainer Explainer Explainer Comparison Explainer
Shelly and Matter: supported devices, setup and limits
Gen4 Shellys ship with Matter on by default; Gen3 needs a firmware update and a toggle. Which devices support it, what your network needs, and how to pair with Apple Home, Google Home or Alexa.
SmartThings updates
Every SmartThings change that matters, summarised in plain English each month. What's new, what moved, and what to check.
Does a Samsung TV replace a SmartThings hub?
Your Samsung TV may have a hub in it, but it is not a standalone SmartThings hub. Where the two differ, what the dongle fixes, and the one protocol that decides it.
SmartThings compatible devices, and what the badge means
Samsung publishes a filterable index of certified SmartThings products, so you can check a device before you buy. What a listing proves, and what the badge leaves out.
Does SmartThings work without internet?
Hub-connected devices and the automations built from them keep running through an outage. What survives, what stops, and why a hub cannot rescue a cloud device.
Which SmartThings hub should you buy?
The SmartThings hub choice turns on one question: do you need Z-Wave? Only the Aeotec Smart Home Hub still carries it, and in Australia you need the ANZ variant. If not, you may already own a hub.
Does SmartThings need a hub?
No for the platform, yes for Zigbee, Z-Wave and Thread. Why it's a per-device question, what a hub actually adds, and the four different products that go by the name.
Sharing SmartThings devices with Google Home, Alexa or Apple Home
SmartThings hands a Matter device to another platform happily. It will not republish the Zigbee and Z-Wave gear already on its hub as Matter devices, and that is the half people get wrong.
Can you buy a SmartThings hub in Australia?
Yes, but through one importer, and the seller that can honour the warranty is not the one shipping in from overseas. What is actually sold here, and the model code to check first.
The SmartThings Dongle, explained
The SmartThings Dongle adds Zigbee and Thread to a Samsung TV whose built-in hub reaches only Wi-Fi. Which models need it, what it will not do, and buying one in Australia.
Does your Samsung TV have a SmartThings hub?
Whether your Samsung TV has a SmartThings hub with radios in it depends on its tier, not its year. Which product lines are on Samsung's list, and how to check your own model.
SmartThings vs Home Assistant
SmartThings and Home Assistant reach the same radios, given the right hardware, so the choice is really about who runs your smart home. Including the October 2026 API change.
What is SmartThings?
SmartThings is Samsung's cross-brand smart home platform. Here is what it does, the hub you need, and why it supports more protocols than its rivals.
Ready to add something to SmartThings?
The Philips Hue lights we stock reach SmartThings through the Hue Bridge, which the app connects to as a bridge rather than as a hub of its own.