Samsung’s Smart Home Hub 2 Runs Automations Without Internet

Samsung just released the Aeotec Smart Home Hub 2, and the best part is that it's designed to keep your smart home running even if your internet drops out. Aeotec has made sure that your automations can continue operating as long as they don't require the internet itself.

This is a huge win for anyone who hates that feeling of having a smart home suddenly turning "dumb" the second the Wi-Fi goes out. This local processing capability makes sure that core routines, like motion-triggered lights or door alerts, will keep working fast and securely because they don't have to wait for signals to travel to the cloud and back.

While local processing is great, you're also getting a speed boost that should make things better. The new hub is a beast under the hood, with 53% faster CPU performance compared to the previous model and double the RAM. That extra power is going to translate directly into smoother multi-device connections and a better experience overall, even when you have a huge number of devices connected.

One of the biggest focuses for the Smart Home Hub 2 is its connectivity, especially for the newest standards. It's a pioneer in the Matter ecosystem, which is designed to make all your different smart home brands finally work together. The Hub 2 supports Zigbee, Thread, and the Matter protocols.

The hub is already supporting products from hundreds of certified devices and over 270 brands with Matter. However, now it has a Thread Border Router built in, which you need for Matter-over-Thread products. While SmartThings has always been versatile, this will make the hub future-proof, which is important as Hubs become outdated a bit too quickly.

The downside to all this is that the Hub 2 will no longer support Z-Wave. If you've already got a home full of Z-Wave locks or sensors, you might want to stick with the older Aeotec Smart Home Hub , as this new Hub 2 is really designed for people who want to lean fully into the modern Matter, Zigbee, and Thread platforms.

On the design side, the Hub 2 is now 50% smaller, which makes finding a spot for it much easier. It's got a much smaller footprint, so it's easier to tuck away, and it even comes with a wall-mount option to give you more flexibility with where you put it. Considering a hub needs to be in a central location for the best wireless range, having a wall-mount option is pretty nice.

Getting everything set up is supposed to be much simpler, too. While this was pretty simple before, SmartThings has streamlined the onboarding process, so even first-time smart home users can get it running quickly. It uses BLE and QR code onboarding for a really fast start.

This upgrade is great for anyone wanting a more reliable hub. The local-first communication alone is a huge relief for anyone who has experienced the pain of a smart home blackout. You can expect the Smart Home Hub 2 to be available soon, but if you want it now, you can fill out a form to be the first to know when one is ready to purchase.

Source: Samsung