My Samsung washer has been successfully connected to the SmartThings cloud using the Samsung Connect App. But could I as an alternativ connect it to the SmartThings HUB instead?
No. Samsung appliances only connect via the cloud.
That leads me to the next questions:
- How do you define “appliances” in this context? Is a speaker or a light bulb appliances?
- What is the logic behind such a division between products from one and the same Brand ?
In order to plan a Home Automation project based on products from Samsung, it is important to understand why some products can be integrated and others can’t.
First, understand that this forum was set up a number of years ago so that customers could help other customers with the smartthings hub. It’s not an official support forum and we are just other customers. We don’t know anything about the reasons behind official Samsung policy. To speak to Samsung employees, go to the official support forum at:
https://us.community.samsung.com/t5/Get-Help/ct-p/get-help
As far as what “appliances” are, Samsung has a “Home appliances” division. It sells Samsung brand appliances, which are washers, dryers, vacuums, and kitchen appliances.
https://us.community.samsung.com/t5/Home-Appliances/ct-p/get-help-home-appliances
Lightbulbs, plug-in pocket sockets, and the smartthings hub are from a different division and are not considered “appliances.”
The Samsung smartthings hub Can establish local networks which directly control devices using the Z wave and zigbee home automation protocols. There are also a few specific devices using the local Ethernet network which can communicate locally with the hub, such as the Phillips hue bridge. But there are not very many of these and at the present time they do not include the Samsung brand appliances. (Note that most models of the Samsung smartthings hub do not have a Wi-Fi radio.)
Everything else, including the Samsung brand appliances, is a cloud to cloud integration. Even the smartthings mobile app uses the cloud to communicate to the hub. If your Internet is out, you will not be able to use the mobile app to control your home devices. 
Technically, they didn’t have to do it that way, but they did. As to why Samsung made those design choices, they have never said officially. If you want to ask them, you should ask through their official Facebook page or Twitter feed. 
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