I just bought me a ST v3 hub, but was that a good choice?
Is ST still making hardware or are they just licensing there software so other manufacture can come to the market?
The answer to your first question is subjective. The answer to the first part of your second question is no and the answer to the second part of your second question is no.
So if your answer to the first part is no, is ST dying?
Depends on who you ask. I personally don’t think they are. They’re just changing the way they do things. See this thread for more details. An Update Regarding our Hardware
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I have had my STv3 hub for almost a year. I have really enjoyed the turn key usability it offers. I don’t have as many issues as some seem to. Based on my experience with ST I think it’s only going to get better. I waited a long time to start getting into smarthome stuff, so that some of the kinks would be worked out.
Things have been changing fast the last couple of years , and a lot of people on this forum seem to be frustrated with change. I only have used the V3 hub and the new app, I also try to keep everything Z-wave. I believe if you start with a bunch of Zigbee or Z-wave stuff you should pick one and try to stick with it.
I also don’t try to force my hub to be a single cure for everything I want from my smarthome. By that I mean , if you try forcing things to work with smartthings , and it doesn’t work the way you want it to…be open minded to the Idea of having a couple of apps on your phone or controller to interreact with your smarthome.
My security system is seperate from my ST, My outside cameras are seperate from my ST, and a couple of other things.
This hub is awesome for what it is . It’s affordable and it handles traffic for several commands in my home.
The only con I can share, is that when they decide to push an update to the app or hub you don’t always get notice in advance so it can make things goofy for a little while.
Enjoy your Smarthome
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Samsung has decided to get out of the home automation hardware and support business, and they are licensing production partners for that. Details in the links you’ve already been given.
They say they intend to continue providing the cloud and the app, which is a business model Tuya has done pretty successfully. (Hence all the devices From different brands that use the same “smart life“ app.)
so it may end up working for them, it may not, it’s just a time of great transition.
As to whether or not the hub is a good choice for you, every platform has pluses and minuses, it’s a matter of your own specific needs as to whether smartthings is a good match or not. You can definitely expect a lot more changes over the next year.