Samsung today made its smart home platform even easier to use with a new July update Its centerpiece feature is Shareable Routines, which makes the process of automating the best smart home devices more accessible to everyone in the home Meanwhile, background Matter 12 support, hub enhancements, and UI enhancements are all major additions that streamline the experience and enhance its reputation as one of the best smart home hubs

The new features allow users to easily share a series of automated smart home device tasks with others in the home, including family members and guests For example, you can share your morning routine, gradually turn on the lights, start the coffee maker, and play your favorite playlist And at night, you can turn off the lights, read out the status of the smart lock, and play a sleep noise The routine, with its endless possibilities, can be easily shared via a QR code Recipients can scan it and activate the routine in their own SmartThings setup

SmartThings now supports Matter 12 and integrates with an even wider range of devices, including refrigerators, air conditioners, dishwashers, and the best robot vacuum cleaners This update makes interaction with Matter 12-enabled devices smoother and provides a more cohesive smart home experience regardless of platform

SmartThings will be available in the SmartThings app later this summer

The new Hub Manager feature in the SmartThings app provides a central management interface for configuring smart home infrastructure This includes the creation of "hub groups" with various SmartThings hubs and hub backups Hub backup minimizes the potential for disruption of daily life by ensuring that a secondary hub can take over in the event of a primary hub failure, allowing for seamless transfer of device settings, network configurations, and automation

In particular, Samsung Galaxy owners will benefit from new device control features that make it easier to access, navigate, and control their smart home devices This includes a larger device card for more intuitive control, and users can create custom home control pages for doing everything from adjusting the brightness of lights to turning down the volume on the TV Device controls can be accessed directly from the phone or tablet's Quick Panel, as well as Bluetooth and WiFi controls

Like Xbox achievements and PlayStation trophies, SmartThings Energy introduces a gamified element to encourage energy conservation Anyone with an account can now earn badges and Samsung Rewards points by effectively saving energy using the AI Energy Mode For every 400Wh saved, users can convert to 20 Samsung Rewards points Stamps, which can be converted into 20 Samsung Rewards points, and used to make purchases on Samsungcom

Overall, these updates represent a major step forward in simplifying and enhancing the SmartThings user experience Even in the background, small innovations like device status visualization (display color and battery life) make for a more efficient smart home management platform