I’m an impulsive speculator when it comes to trying to understand secret business strategy. Subscriptions as a revenue source for SmartThings cannot be ruled out; in fact, it is already planned for “premium services” (such as video storage and ad hoc sharing of events and control with neighbors or extended family…). SmartThings could also earn money by partnering with insurance, installers, data analyzers, etc., etc…
SmartThings could also just be a cost-center (instead of a profit-center) for Samsung to leverage as a premium feature in their appliances, AV, and phones or as a data collector for these business lines and partners, etc., etc…
I’ve written so many threads speculating on whether or not hub margins are sufficient and what other revenue streams may help, I don’t even know how to find them all. So here’s one at random…