SmartThings needs to support the full functionality of already-supported devices

Apps & Clients Features & Feedback
1

I really like the idea of SmartThings as a central smart home platform, especially with Matter, but there are still many situations where a device is officially supported while only a small part of its actual functionality is available in SmartThings.

I would really like Samsung to focus more on improving existing integrations instead of only adding more supported devices.

Here are some examples from my own setup:

• Matter cameras / Aqara Camera Hub G350: The camera can be connected to SmartThings through Matter, but video streaming and camera functionality are still very limited compared with what the camera itself supports. It would be especially useful to have a live video preview directly in SmartThings Map View / 3D Map.

• Meross switches: The switch works in SmartThings for basic control, but functions available in the Meross app, such as Child Lock, are not available through SmartThings.

• Yeelight lights: SmartThings can control the lights and change their colours, but Yeelight scenes/effects cannot be selected or controlled from SmartThings.

• Govee lights: Similar situation — basic colour control works, but the scenes and effects available in the Govee app are not available in SmartThings.

• Pet Care: SmartThings has a great concept for pet monitoring, but it could be much more useful if it could integrate more deeply with smart pet devices. For example, smart litter boxes could provide automatic weight measurements, litter box visits and individual pet data, while smart feeders could provide individual feeding information.

I understand that some advanced manufacturer-specific features may not be possible through Matter yet. However, it would be great if SmartThings could gradually support more of these functions instead of showing a device as “supported” while only offering a small portion of what the device can actually do.

The goal should be that users can genuinely use SmartThings as their central app without needing to keep opening Aqara, Meross, Yeelight, Govee, PETKIT and other manufacturer apps for important functions.

I really like SmartThings and I would much rather see deeper integrations and better reliability of existing features than simply a longer list of supported devices.

Thank you!

2

Do you have a SmartThings hub?

3

Yes, I have a Samsung Family Hub refrigerator (RS90F66BEFEF), which has an integrated SmartThings Hub

4

The ceiling of functionality you are likely to get on matter devices is the matrix of capabilities which are part of the matter standard. If Samsung is supporting the device over matter any 3rd party features or settings will remain within the 3rd party app. I think manufacturers will always try to add features beyond the matter spec within their own apps to distinguish themselves from the competition.

Example: robotic vacuums provide the following capabilities via the matter 1.2 standard. Yet manufacturers will provide much richer functions and control, eg things like mop wetness, vacuum intensity, number of passes, room cleaning sequence to name a few.

1 Start and resume cleaning
2 Pause and stop cleaning
3 Return to charging dock (send home)
4 Cleaning mode selection (vacuuming, mopping, or both)
5 Operational state monitoring (e.g., cleaning, seeking charge, charging, docked, paused, error)
6 Error reporting and status notifications
7 Service area and zone/room-based cleaning control
8 Multi-admin cross-platform support (Apple Home, Google Home, Amazon Alexa, Samsung SmartThings)
9 Local network execution and control