I have had a SmartThings V2 hub for a while, have not done much with home automation lately. Is it worth moving to the V3 hub? The questions that come up include will I need to replace devices to support new features? Does it have a battery backup (and is it necessary). And finally how would I transfer all connections to new hub?
My hub: V2, firmware 000.047.00011
Thanks.
The v3 has less memory and there have been reports of performance issues as a result. If you switch, you will have to manually exclude/include all your devices and you will have to rebuild all your Routines.
While the v3 will provide Matter support, Thread, and be a Thread Border Router, I wouldn’t buy one just for those features when you can get all of that in the SmartThings Station device for far less money.
I’m personally not a fan of the Station device. (adding wifi and thread and wireless charging together in a device that is supporting a radio already susceptible to interference just seems daft to me.)
Considering the fact that the V2 hub has everything except a Thread Border Router (TBR) and you can basically use ANY TBR - just install a Nest hub or Amazon Echo Gen 4 (or newer) that provides a TBR and go that route. No need to switch any ST equipment.
My reccommmendation is to pull the batteries out of your v2 if you haven’t already (there’s a minor risk to leakage, it runs fine without them - just plug it into a UPS if you’re worried about power outages) then let it sit as is until one of the following happens.
A) hub dies
B) v2 goes end of life supportability - no there’s no announcement or dates at this time
C) you leave ST.
D) st or Aeotec come up with a new hub that isn’t the station.
The station doesn’t have zwave, though. 
Right. I was thinking you just keep your existing hub and add a Station if you want to add Matter to the mix.