Samsung Debuts A New Hub
Samsung’s new SmartThings Station, which resembles a hockey puck, is a wireless charging device that acts as a smart home hub to support Matter and Thread. The device, which comes to the US market in February and will cost $59, features a USB-C port for charging and a dedicated button on the device to trigger SmartThings scenes. The Station also works with Samsung’s SmartThings Find service to help locate misplaced devices, sending a notification to a lost smartphone or tablet when activated. With Matter built-in, the Station will onboard other Matter devices in the home. The device is a Thread Border router and contains a Zigbee SmartThings hub in addition to having Wi-Fi and Bluetooth radios. There is no Z-Wave support.
The NPD Take:
- Samsung’s “Hub Everywhere’ strategy means the company is looking to embed smart home functionality into all of its products and the Station is one of the first efforts at this philosophy.
- Despite the popularity of voice, the smartphone still figures very prominently in how consumers interact with their smart home devices; the Station’s charging capability is an effort at incorporating the mobile device into the product experience.
- Expect Matter and Thread’s inclusion into more Samsung products as the company looks to connect more device categories and drive increased interoperability in the home.
Enter the Mui Board
First previewed in 2017, the Mui Board is a piece of wood that doubles as a touch interface for controlling smart home devices. The board has no screen, is touch-enabled, and uses LED lights to display information like time, weather, and notifications. Mui redesigned the board in late 2022 and now the controller is Matter compatible. Why make a smart home controller out of a piece of wood? One thought circulating is the proliferation of screens in the home is increasingly distracting and combining natural materials like wood with electronics is a route to offering ‘Calm Technology’. Mui is currently taking pre-orders of the 2nd Gen Board.
The NPD Take:
- With the Board, Mui is trying to introduce an ambient computing experience in the home using natural materials. In response to the expansion of screens in the home, the Board has no screen and therefore cannot double as a content device.
- The addition of Matter is significant as it allows the board to be compatible with a variety of devices users might bring into the home. Mui’s Board is an effort to drive increased connectivity in the home while trying to control the distractions that can come from having content devices situated around the house.