Samsung SmartThings hub manages your home IoT

Samsung has launched a new hub for smarthome devices, which it hopes will kickstart the evolution of the internet of things (IoT). The owner could monitor, control and automate parts of his home wherever he or she may be.

The company revealed it will be bringing its SmartThings Hub to the United Kingdom and Europe in 2016, giving consumer a central unit to control all of their smart, connected devices from your tablet or smartphone using the companion SmartThings app, which will deliver real-time notifications and even video clips.

I sure didn’t need Samsung’s SleepSense to tell me how jet-lagged I felt the morning after flying to Berlin for the IFA trade show– a transatlantic flight across the pond is hardly a way to feel rested.

The Samsung SmartThings Hub has a more powerful processor than the last edition, as well as video monitoring and ten hours of battery backup, so your smart home won’t fall apart if the power goes out. The device and service will be available from 10 September, following Samsung’s acquisition of the IoT company SmartThings in April a year ago. Nonetheless, controlling your devices around the home to help you stay asleep is quite an accomplishment. It connects to your home network to send you data when you’re outside the home, but the new version has some features to help it operate when the Internet connection or power are down. Samsung said that this is as easy as a “simple tap” so that your home can then react to whichever preferences have been set. Their Hub will, we’re assured, securely unite sensors and all manner of accessories from anyone who makes things that work with the SmartThings open system.

Samsung announced that an update to the SmartThings app, which simplifies the user interface and adds some new functionality, would roll out to customers today. Beyond improving sleep, the appeal would be that the device could detect when you were asleep and then turn off your lights and TV.