I haven’t found much regarding hub V3 functionality via forum searches. I thought maybe the 20% off sale on all Smartthings products (thru 4/9/16) could mean a v3 product on the rise? I know v2 came out in September 2015, but was just hoping.
On a positive note, for the last 3 months or so, I’ve had a fairly reliable system and feel the latest iOS app works well for me. Btw, I’m still on v1 with no plans to move to v2.
From what we know…
The new version of ST will be integrated into appliances (all the 2016 Samsung Smart TVs will have the capability to act as a hub with just a USB dongle needed for the radios). It doesn’t mean this new version will offer anything that the v2 hub didn’t offer other than the fact it’s not necessarily a standalone hub.
Interesting… I had heard mention of Samsung TVs having Smartthings integration, but I was thinking as an integrated device (think “Alexa, turn on the TV”)… not that it would have built-in hub functionality.
Am I the only one who thinks this is a poor design choice? I like that my hub is a hub and my tv is a tv and my thermostat is a thermostat. I can update any of these things independently, as necessary.
I find it random, for example, that the Nest thermostat is Google’s hub. What if I like the thermostat I currently own or can’t use Nest with my current HVAC system (as with newer Trane Comfort Link II zoning systems).
So, let’s say I buy a new Samsung TV with a built in hub. Then next year a new hub comes out that I can’t live without… time to buy a new TV???
It possibly could be both the hub and an integrated device.
This isn’t the first time anyone has done this. Securifi has a router that is also the hub.
Google MIGHT go that route at some point with the OnHub.
So far, SmartThings has at least continued support for the old version of the hub, so if a new hub comes out, you can continue using the older ones. It doesn’t mean they won’t produce standalone hubs anymore (note: there is no guarantee they will continue it either). This is just a way to get MORE hubs out to the masses so they can expand their business.
Sure. I guess so long as using the integrated hub is optional, “getting it to the masses” is fair enough.
They also said there was another method of getting hubs out to people but didn’t elaborate.
My expectation is that it will be a tablet with integrated HA radios. The tablet will function like a standard tablet (either Android or Tizen), but also have the hub built in ( a la CastleOS’ little Windows computer-ball thing you can buy) to control your automations.
I guess there’s also a possibility of Samsung releasing an Amazon Echo-type speaker that has the hub built in.
The tablet with integrated hub idea is a stretch… unless you don’t use it as a tablet, but instead mount it to a wall in your home as more of a control panel of sorts.
Tablets are meant to be portable… would your hub leaving the house make any sense (use case?) ?
(I realize neither of us know for sure what will come out, but fun to discuss nonetheless. 
)
I would buy a nice wall mount Galaxy tablet with an integrated hub control panel.
no new firmware has been released for v1 since v2 came out.
Has there been a need for one though?
v1 hub is much more stable than v2 right now.
v2 will definitely see more updates since there are still locked features and there will hopefully be more apps pushed to run local.
Amazon has built their Echo (Alexa) functionality into the FireTV. It doesn’t cost much to do, and adds a lot of upside for them. I imagine Samsung is similar.
The big difference is that Alexa is a piece of software where SmartThings is both hardware and software. It requires specific hardware (the radios) to function. Alexa can be run as a webpage.
But I agree that it adds a lot of upside for them. It gets into the hands of people who might not normally buy the hub, but will experiment with it since it’s included with their TV.
Exactly the reason I ordered an Echo Dot… I already had a Fire TV. When the Alexa functionality was added on recently, I played around with it and it’s SmartThings integration and “saw the light” 
Lucky for me, none of it requires ST v2 hub.
i wouldn’t call 6+ months of no updates “support”, and at the time v2 came out, there were major issues with v1. of course, cloud issues affect both v1 and v2, so not really firmware related