If you’re looking to add a hub to your smart home, Samsung just unveiled the SmartThings Station at CES 2023. It’s a multi-talented device that can control all your SmartThings devices and wirelessly charge your phone or earbuds.
The station works with Samsung’s item-tracking SmartThings Find service, which can help you locate Galaxy phones, tablets, watches and earbuds. It can also send a notification when devices leave or come back to your home, which is an especially helpful function for lost Galaxy phones and anything attached to a SmartTag or SmartTag Plus.
The Smart Button is a very important feature of Samsung's new SmartThings Station. It enables users automate SmartThings app routines while removing the need for physical device control. It also integrates with Samsung's SmartFind service to help locate misplaced devices such as smartphones, earbuds and Galaxy SmartTag-connected possessions.
The station is a breeze to set up with a pop-up pairing method and a simple scan of a QR code (Only for Matter devices). After plugging it in, you'll receive notifications that guide you through the setup process.
It is designed to work with a range of smart home gadgets, including lights, locks, thermostats and garage door openers from a variety of manufacturers. It's essentially a smart hub that allows these items to communicate, coordinate routines and schedules, and ultimately operate together as one seamless system.
To use it, you will need to have a Samsung Galaxy smartphone running the SmartThings app installed. The button will be pre-configured to ring your phone when you double-press it, and it will also function as an always-at-home Find device scanner that continually scans for registered Samsung devices and shares a notification on your smartphone when they leave or return home.
You can activate up to three different manual routines by short-, long- and double-pressing the button on the Station's pad, or through the app when you're away from home. These routines can include turning on and off connected lights, closing blinds, and lowering your thermostat.
Routines can be assigned to specific times of day, such as bedtime or morning. These routines can also be linked to the charging state of Galaxy phones, such as when a phone is left unattended on the station to charge.
The button will also be able to automatically ring your phone when it's on the charging pad, and it will be able to notify you when a device is fully charged. Finally, the Station's wireless charging pad can also charge your phone, tablet, earbuds, and other Qi-compatible devices, providing up to 15W of power.
Besides the button, the Station comes with a SmartThings-branded 15W wireless charging pad. You can use the pad to charge your Galaxy phone, watch and earbuds, and you can optionally send an alert when your tech is fully charged.
If you have a Samsung SmartThings device, you can use Routines to automate your home and make it work with voice commands from Alexa. You can create routines to control smart lights, thermostats, speakers, security cameras, and more.
You can trigger your routines with a specific voice command or schedule them to run automatically at a certain time. You can even turn them on or off based on when a specific sensor in your home detects movement.
Using a routine can help you to make your life simpler, but it’s also a great way to get more out of your smart home. For example, you could have a morning routine that dims some lights and plays some music to make you ready for the day ahead. You can add actions that turn on your favourite lights, adjust your thermostat, and more.
One of the best ways to do this is through routines, which are a feature of the SmartThings app and can be triggered by pressing a button on your smart hub. You can assign up to three manual routines from the hub that will activate when a short press, long press or double press is detected.
For instance, if you have a Smart Button on the Samsung SmartThings Station and it’s in a bedroom, you can set a routine that will turn off all the lights in that room, close the blinds, lower the temperature, and lock the doors when you go to bed. Or, you could have a routine that turns on the TV and dims the lights in preparation for watching a film.
You can also use routines to help you sleep better, such as having a routine that will turn off all the devices in your bedroom at night and lower your thermostat. You can even use a routine to help you leave the house more securely, turning off power outlets and unused appliances so that you can save energy while you’re gone.
Another useful routine is that which detects sound, such as a dog barking or someone coming into your home. If a noise is detected, you can have a routine that will alert you and give you a 10-second audio clip so that you can find the source of the noise.
Whether you’re looking to build a smart home or just want to be able to easily automate your daily activities, the Samsung SmartThings Station is a great solution. It not only functions as a wireless charging pad, but it also acts as a hub to control a variety of different devices in your house.
Designed with Samsung’s smart home platform in mind, the SmartThings Station is an easy-to-use device that can help users automate different parts of their homes using pre-set routines created via the SmartThings app. It’s also a useful tool for energy conservation, as it can automatically turn off lights and appliances to reduce your electric bill.
To get started with SmartThings, you’ll need a compatible Samsung smartphone and a 2.4GHz Wi-Fi network in your home. The smartphone will need to be running at least Android 8 to connect to the SmartThings app, while you’ll need to have a modern Wi-Fi router with a 2.4GHz radio in order for the Station to work.
Once connected, the SmartThings Station works with a variety of Samsung SmartThings-compatible devices to provide seamless integration into the SmartThings app. These include light bulbs, speakers, thermostats and plugs.
When the station is turned on for the first time, it will send pop-up messages to your Samsung Galaxy smartphone to help guide you through the process of connecting and onboarding your smart devices. You can also quickly onboard new devices by scanning a QR code with your smartphone camera.
The station will also keep track of registered Samsung SmartThings devices, such as smartphones, tablets, watches and earbuds. It’ll scan for Samsung Galaxy SmartTags or SmartTag+ attached to them and notify you when they leave or return.
As a bonus, the Station will charge your phone or other Qi-compatible device, such as a watch, without the need to use cables. This feature is especially helpful for those who travel a lot and need to be sure their devices will always have power.
Another cool feature is the SmartFind, which will ring your phone if you double-press the button on the Station. This is a welcome addition for clumsy Galaxy owners who often misplace their phones, earbuds or other gear.
Samsung SmartThings Station acts as a hub that seamlessly interconnects with other devices connected to it and allows users to activate routines to make their homes more automated. It is also a wireless charging station that can charge compatible mobile phones and other accessories.
The Wireless Charging function works through inductive charging – which is based on a technique that uses electromagnetic induction. The device's transmitter sends electrical power through a coil to transfer it to a receiver which is typically built into the phone. This charging method is used in many smartphones.
When a magnetic plate comes into contact with the transmitting coil, it generates an electrical current which is transferred to the charging receiver inside the mobile device via a wire that connects the two. This is then converted into direct current (DC) and a battery is charged.
Another important feature of wireless charging is that it is cable-free, which means you can place it without needing to plug a power cord in. This is a much safer way of charging than using a corded charger.
This technology is also a great way to get rid of wires around your home, especially in older homes where you might not have wall outlets to plug the charger into. It can also be a great solution for cars too, as you can avoid the hassle of putting a wire through your car to charge your phone.
You can charge the device from any outlet in your home and you won't even have to worry about a cord getting in the way, which makes it very convenient for bedside tables or other places that you don't want to have wires running through them.
It's also a very cheap and simple way to add a smart home device to your home. You can use it with all of the popular smart home devices that support the Matter protocol, including Philips Hue and Amazon's Echo range.
There's a button on the Station that can trigger all sorts of different routines, including things like turning on lights, toggling on TVs, locking doors and more. You can set different short-, long- and double-press routines that will work with your other smart devices. Lastly, you can integrate it with SmartThings Find, which is an important aspect of the SmartThings ecosystem that helps track the location of your registered devices.
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