Samsung has released a major new update to its SmartThings app on Android devices. It brings some new features, including Home Insights, Daily Routines, expanded cards for devices, Quick Controls for more device categories, and automatic backup for SmartThings Hub.
SmartThings app gets updated to bring Home Insights, Daily Routines, Quick Controls, and Hub backup
A new update (version 1.8.21.28) for the SmartThings app is now available for Android smartphones and tablets. You can download it through the Galaxy Store or the Google Play Store. After installing the new update, you will find five new features: Daily Routines, Home Insights, expanded cards for device controls, Quick Controls for more devices, and automatic SmartThings Hub backup.
The Home Insights feature, which was announced earlier this month during the Samsung Developer Conference (SDC) 2024, shows you all the important things about your smart home at a glance. It is the first thing you see when you open the app. It shows all the important notifications, smart home suggestions, and AI-powered summaries about your smart home (and its devices). The AI-powered summaries are currently limited to South Korea and the USA.
The Home Insight Dashboard is visible below the summary. It shows key information, such as your devices' energy consumption or indoor air quality. The Home Insights Dashboard widget is also available on certain devices, such as the Galaxy Tab S10.
The Routines feature, which allows you to create automation rules, now has a categorization option. You can arrange your Routines in categories. Moreover, there is now a new feature called Daily Routines. With this feature, you can set multiple time conditions for your Routines. For example, you don't need to create two Routines to automatically turn off or on your lights in the morning and the evening, respectively.
Samsung has also decided to show bigger control cards for devices. So, when you open SmartThings and go to the Devices tab, you will see more device controls without tapping the device's name. The company says expanded control cards are now supported for air conditioners, kimchi refrigerators, Music Frame speakers, refrigerators, robot vacuum cleaners, soundbars, and wine coolers.
Another neat feature is that when you move close to a 2024 Samsung home appliance, a Quick Control panel will appear in your Galaxy smartphone or tablet's Quick Panel. With this mini virtual remote controller, you can quickly control your device. This feature now supports cooktops, microwave ovens, ovens, and refrigerators released in 2024. Quick Control for TVs has been supported for years.
If you have multiple smart home hubs, such as a SmartThings Hub built into your TVs, SmartThings can now automatically set one as primary and the other as a backup. Earlier, you had to do this manually. If one hub fails, such as in cash of connection issues or power failure, the second hub will take over all the controls.
