Matter is the hot new smart home connectivity standard, and CES 2023 is full of devices built for it. Samsung just introduced the “SmartThings Station,” which works as a Matter hub, wireless charger, and smart button all in one.
The SmartThings Station is mostly intended to act as a smart hub, but seemingly only for Matter devices — it’s not clear if this can bridge older Zigbee, Z-Wave, or Bluetooth devices to your local network like other SmartThings smart hubs. Setup works just like other Matter smart home products, with a simple QR code to scan, or an automatic prompt on any nearby Android phone. Samsung also didn’t explain if the hub acts as a thread router, or if it’s only for controlling devices already connected to your network.
So, what can it do? Well, there’s a large button on the top that Samsung calls the “Smart Button,” which can activate a custom routine in the SmartThings app, like the button on Samsung SmartTag products. The button can be configured to toggle lights, turn on a TV, turn off an outlet, ring a nearby phone, or other similar tasks — including multiple actions at once. You can even set different routines for a short press, long press, or double press. The device is connected to Samsung’s SmartThings Find network, so it can help locate Galaxy phones, tablets, watches, earbuds, and anything attached to a SmartTag.
The SmartThings Station is also a wireless charging pad. It can power devices at up to 15W, and you can even set a SmartThings routine to run when a device starts charging. The station can also alert you when charging is complete. It doesn’t seem like you can easily press the main button while a device is charging, though.
Samsung plans to sell the SmartThings Station in South Korea and the United States, in both black and white colors. Pricing isn’t confirmed yet, but US availability starts in early February.
Source: Samsung (1, 2)
