What you need to know
- Samsung is rolling out a huge usability update to its SmartThings app.
- It simplifies the app into five sections, each addressing specific user needs.
- The update will roll out to Android devices today and iOS ones in the future.
Samsung has announced a new update to the SmartThings app on the Play Store. The update is targeted at simplifying the user interface to be easier to use and more organized. It's a departure from how it used to be, but the intention is to make using the app more focused and purposeful.
The app is now divided into five main tabs. Users will now see Favorites, Devices, Life, Automations, and Menu. These all do pretty much what they say on the tin. The Favorites tab is where you find all of your most-used features. If you're at home, you may see your smart speakers and light bulbs, for instance. Devices will show all of the devices you can control. This will range from TVs to light bulbs, speakers, smart toasters, or whatever else you have plugged in.
Automations is where you'd find Samsung's versions of Routines. Life is where Samsung will highlight "life" experiences that try to give practical applications to your smart home tools. Finally, Menu is more or less the "misc" section, where everything that doesn't fit is tossed in. This has everything from notifications control to Labs, History, and Settings.
Announcing the update, Jaeyeon Jung, Corporate Vice President at Samsung Electronics, said:
We're pleased to introduce our new SmartThings experience. We've listened to our customers and have invested in our technology to enhance the user experience to make it simpler. As smart homes continue to surge in popularity, SmartThings is the ideal platform that allows everyone to enjoy a smarter life with connected devices.
The Samsung SmartThings ecosystem is a powerful one, even allowing you to do something as useful as turn an old Samsung Galaxy into a smart home sensor. It's thankfully not just locked down into the best Samsung phones but was also recently made available on Windows PCs.
Hopefully, this new simplifying design doesn't prove confusing or users accustomed to old workflows. Samsung says it is prepared for a seamless transition, but it is its customers who will decide how that works out.
