Newest SmartThings Hub has a glaring omission

A few years ago, Samsung stopped making SmartThings Hubs in-house and commissioned that task to a German firm called Aeotec. That company has now launched a new SmartThings Hub which brings better performance and lots of new features, but it also has a glaring omission.

Aeotec has announced (via TheVerge) the Smart Home Hub 2, which is the latest Works as a Samsung SmartThings Hub. It has upgraded hardware for faster performance, more range, support for more smart home devices, USB expandability, SmartThings Hub, Bluetooth Low Energy, ZigBee, Thread, and Matter Controller. However, it drops Z-Wave radio support, something that was available in all previous SmartThings Hubs.

If you have a SmartThings-based smart home setup with Z-Wave devices, you will need to stick to the previous-generation model that is called Aeotec Smart Home Hub (or SmartThings V3 hub). It is the only option to add Z-Wave support to your SmartThings setup, but it looks like Samsung has decided to drop support for that standard.

The older model will be phased out by the end of 2026, but Aeotec says it has recently finished a final production run of the older model and there should be plenty of stock available.

The improved hardware in the newer model brings 2x faster performance, and the hub is said to be designed with local-first communications in mind. It means controls and automations should work even when the internet connectivity is down. The additional of Bluetooth Low Energy is also pretty important, as most smart home devices these days pair via Bluetooth LE.

Of late, Samsung has started including a SmartThings Hub with Matter Controller support into its TVs, soundbars, and home appliances.