What is SmartThings?

SmartThings is Samsung's smart home platform, and the app that runs it. The name and the Samsung badge make people assume it only works with Samsung gear, but the opposite is true: SmartThings is one of the most cross-brand platforms going, pulling hundreds of brands and every major wireless standard into a single app. Samsung says more than 430 million people have a SmartThings account, though that figure counts anyone with a connected Samsung device, not just smart home builders.

What SmartThings is, and isn't

SmartThings is three things at once: the app on your phone, the cloud platform behind it, and the hub hardware that talks to your devices. What it is not is Samsung-only. A Philips Hue light, an Aqara sensor, a Ring doorbell and a Samsung TV can all live in the same SmartThings app. It leans on Samsung hardware, your Galaxy phone, your Samsung TV, your fridge, but it does not require it beyond a Samsung account to sign in.

Do you need a hub?

It depends on what you are connecting. Wi-Fi devices, cloud-connected brands and Samsung's own appliances work with the app alone. But Zigbee, Z-Wave, Thread and every Matter device need a hub on your network to talk to.

SmartThings hubs come in three forms now. Samsung stopped making standalone hubs and licensed the design to Aeotec, so the dedicated box is the Aeotec Smart Home Hub. The SmartThings Station is a small Samsung hub that doubles as a wireless phone charger. And many Samsung Smart TVs from 2022 on, and Family Hub fridges, have a hub built in, so a device you already own may be doing the job. One catch: only the original Aeotec Smart Home Hub still includes a Z-Wave radio; the Station and Samsung's newer hardware have dropped it.

The protocols it speaks

SmartThings' real strength is breadth. It is a Matter controller, so current Matter gear pairs directly. On the newer hubs it also acts as a Thread border router for battery-powered Matter devices. The hubs carry Zigbee, and the original Aeotec hub adds Z-Wave, which makes SmartThings one of the few big platforms that still supports it. In practice, an old Zigbee sensor, a Z-Wave lock and a brand-new Matter plug can all run side by side, which is exactly what draws tinkerers to it.

Local and cloud

SmartThings runs as a hybrid. Device logic, the code that says a sensor should switch a light, runs locally on the hub through what Samsung calls Edge drivers, so those actions are quick and survive a brief internet drop. But the app, remote access and a lot of the cleverer automations still route through Samsung's cloud, and you need a Samsung account to use any of it. It is more local than Alexa or Google Home, and less local than Home Assistant.

The Samsung side

If you do own Samsung gear, SmartThings ties it together. SmartThings Energy tracks power use across compatible appliances and can run them in a lower-power AI energy mode. SmartThings Find locates your Galaxy phone, tablet, watch or a SmartTag, Samsung's version of an item tracker. Samsung Food, a companion app, handles recipes and meal planning and ties into your SmartThings appliances. And Samsung is steadily pushing an AI direction for the home, with its Bespoke appliances learning your patterns, though most of that is still tied to specific high-end models rather than the platform as a whole.

Where SmartThings falls short

SmartThings' biggest weakness is its own history. Samsung has rebuilt the platform more than once, and each time it has broken things. The Classic app was retired, and in 2022 Samsung shut down the old system that ran custom device handlers and community automations, which left many long-time users rebuilding setups that had worked for years. It also depends on a Samsung account and the cloud, so a fully offline, private setup is not on the table. And with Samsung's newest hardware dropping Z-Wave, the long-term future of that protocol on the platform is unclear. Samsung is also bringing in paid API tiers from late 2026 that will affect third-party integrations, even though the app itself stays free. If you want full local control with no vendor account, Home Assistant is the more independent route.

Who SmartThings is for

SmartThings suits two groups. Samsung households, who get a single app for their TV, fridge, phone and the rest of their smart home. And tinkerers, who value the widest protocol support of any mainstream platform, Zigbee, Z-Wave, Thread and Matter in one hub, and who are comfortable with the occasional platform upheaval. If you want something that just sits still and never changes under you, or you have no Samsung gear and no interest in Z-Wave, one of the other ecosystems may be a calmer choice.

How SmartThings compares

Here is how the five main smart home platforms line up.