Samsung has introduced SmartThings Now, a set of cards that pairs information about a user’s home with suggested actions, alongside expanded local device control in its SmartThings update. Samsung says local control can deliver responses approximately 30% faster than commands sent through the cloud, provided the phone and SmartThings Hub share a Wi-Fi network.
SmartThings Now sits above the other content in the Home tab and builds on Home Insight, using the user’s circumstances to suggest controls. As a user approaches a home location previously registered in the app, it can offer to switch on lights and air purifiers before arrival. After the user takes that action, Samsung says the feature proposes creating a routine to automate those tasks on later occasions.
For caregivers, SmartThings Now can display a care card when someone enrolled in Family Care, such as an older parent, has gone an extended period without device activity. The card offers ways to check in or call that person. Samsung says SmartThings Now also examines activity from the previous week to recommend changes to Favorites, covering routines, services and devices.
Those recommendations can include removing an air conditioner card when use declines or adding an AirDresser card when that appliance gets more use. The Routine Insight card opens a detailed account of routine activity during the previous week, allowing users to review routines and delete unwanted ones. Service cards also take up less screen space while showing information such as numerical readings and device status.
Samsung says local control helps connected devices remain operable during interruptions to external internet service or changes in the home network. SmartThings switches automatically between local commands and remote cloud control according to whether the user’s mobile device is home or away. The revised Offline Device Diagnostics page lets users apply updated network information to every registered device together to help restore offline connections.
The interface also gains a Floating Bar near the screen’s bottom, putting commonly used features closer to hand on larger smartphones. Live Wallpaper changes over the course of the day. Samsung has added Matter 1.6 support, which it says improves stability and Group Control performance, to a platform with 470 million registered users and more than 430 brands certified under Works with SmartThings (WWST).
