Ahead of Galaxy Unpacked this week, Samsung is announcing several new features coming to its smart home platform, SmartThings, including the ability to create routines using natural language. That means you’ll be able to simply tell SmartThings what you want your smart home to do, and it’ll take care of all the complicated details for you. Samsung also announced updates to its Apple Watch app, a new dark mode for the SmartThings app on iOS, and more features coming to SmartThings Find, its location-tracking service.
One of the barriers to home automation is how complicated and time-consuming it can be to set up automations, especially if you want to do anything even slightly advanced. SmartThings’ latest update is designed to address this with a feature called Routine Creation Assistant.
According to Samsung, this lets you type a phrase describing what you want your home to do in the SmartThings app — like “turn off all the lights whenever I leave the house” — and it will set it up without you needing to configure each device or setting. SmartThings is one of the more powerful home automation platforms, so this should make it easier to tap into its features.
You’ll be able to just tell SmartThings what you want to do, and it’ll take care of all the complicated details for you
This type of AI-powered automation creation tool is also available in Google Home, through its Gemini integration, and is part of Amazon’s new Alexa Plus. All three platforms claim that the features are powered by large language models and are designed to make it easier to use your smart home, which could potentially spur broader adoption of home automation.
While Google and Amazon’s natural language routine features are still in beta / early access phases, Samsung’s Routine Creation Assistant is apparently available now to users in Korea and the US, on both Android and iOS.
Another update to SmartThings routines is the option to schedule multiple timed steps using a Delay Actions feature. For example, Samsung says, “Users can now create a ‘Good Morning’ routine that turns on bedroom lights at 7:00 a.m., starts the coffee maker 15 minutes later, and opens curtains while playing music after 30 minutes all within a single routine.” This is available now in the SmartThings app.
A new Confirm to Run Actions feature lets you add an extra step to a routine in the form of a notification confirming that you want to run it. This is designed to prevent a routine from triggering when you might not want it to. According to Samsung, “This helps avoid accidental actions in shared households, such as a security mode that is set to activate upon exit, but another family member is still at home.”
SmartThings’ Apple Watch app is getting an upgrade, allowing access to more actions and a widget. Image: Samsung
The SmartThings app on Apple Watch is getting a new widget that should make controlling devices faster, and an update to the app now lets you switch between locations and control individual devices on your watch. Smart home controls on your wrist can make it faster to do things like unlock the door or turn on the lights while you’re moving around your home without having to pull out your phone.
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