Not seen anything on this since a 2017 post so just seeking to clarify.
I now have a nice shiny SmartThings Aeotec hub and want to mix and match the smart kit I can link to. So, for example, can I use a motion sensor operating on, say, Matter protocol with a smart bulb operating on, say, Zigbee protocol without the need for any other hubs other than my Aeotec SmartThings one? The ads and writeups I’m reading seem to be saying that I’ll need to have their hubs (bridges?) to allow that. Can that be correct? Surely that is the point of SmartThings. One hub and no need for bridges etc? Can anyone clarify please.
Well I have a mix of Matter and Zigbee devices and currently I don’t have any other bridges or whatever, so the answer can be yes.
Were I not phasing out most of my IKEA Zigbee devices, might I be happier with them on a Dirigera hub acting as a matter bridge to SmartThings? Possibly.
Had there been a useful way of bridging Aqara Zigbee devices to SmartThings a few years earlier might I have had them on a native hub that understood their quirks instead of throwing them away? Possibly.
If I had Hue devices would I even consider NOT using a Hue hub? No.
It I used Tuya ZigBee devices, which famously do a lot of custom stuff, might I want them on a Tuya hub. Possibly.
There can be good reasons for using manufacturers own hubs/bridges but they are rarely actually necessary with SmartThings, and often might not gain you much that is worth having.
Hopefully others may throw in their tuppence worth.
Do you think that the Aeotec hub should be regarded as essentially a box containing several other hubs - eg., Matter, Zigbee etc? or as a device which can talk to these hubs using their individual protocols and which is able to emulate them in some aspects rather than replace them entirely?
Oh I have very confused thoughts on the subject. What I was thinking a few months ago when I was using version 2 hubs (no built-in Thread, not supported in hub groups) is somewhat different as I am now using version 3 hubs (the Aeotec is a version 3 hub carrying a new branding). There is also the hobby aspect creating a bit of a disconnect from what is really needed and what I do.
What I don’t really like is single points of significant failure. So with Zigbee devices on a single SmartThings hub I ponder what happens if the hub fails. If my Zigbee devices are on one or more separate third-party hubs I probably have access to them via native apps and I can perhaps connect them to multiple SmartThings hubs or to other platforms such as Google. So the failure of the one ST hub is less of an issue, but I now have multiple single points of lesser failure.
With a hub group things change. I now effectively have a single hub with an automatic failover. Now the third-party hubs do look like an increased risk.
This is more a case of my peace of mind than a real world problem. It is completely overthinking the situation.
The thing is if I tried to avoid creating unnecessary confusion by just saying you only need the Aeotec, it is quite likely someone else will come along with a case for separate hubs based on their own experience and create that confusion anyway. Really the worst that is going to happen if you just stick to the Aeotec is that you might end up having to return an unsuitable device. However it is quite hard to find a device that isn’t in the supported list, hasn’t been discussed in this community already, or that someone on this community wouldn’t have thoughts about if asked.
I would not consider it that having worked in systems connectivity, integration and process/decision management. It is one hub that has a connectivity layer for those protocols and common messages, a message layer, a trigger/event mechanism, and a decision function. You do not want to separate your logic depending on which low-level protocol random devices in your house are using.
