Jebusfreek666:
Sorry if I sound dumb, but if alexa is able to handle these functions with routines I am struggling to see the need for ST at all? I’m sure I will find out when I start diving into the routines in the alexa app and its limitations, and when I go past the most basic home automation level. But the hub seems kind of redundant to me if the alexa app can handle it by itself?
Adding SmartThings allows you to use some devices which can’t work with echo on their own, and also allows you to have a much more complex kind of rule, including rules with conditions like “unless” and “while” and also as @Mike1616 mentioned, automatic home/away recognition.
See the following FAQ (this is a clickable link) and it should explain.
(This is a wiki post: feel free to edit it or add to it as needed. Also, I can’t take any screenshots since I can’t use the app at this time due to its incompatibility with voiceover, so feel free to add screenshots where they would be helpful.)
At one point, one of the biggest advantages of using the SmartThings platform was the wide variety of devices that it supported. However, by the end of 2017 several competing platforms had caught up in that regard.
Where SmartThings still holds a significant advantage over some of the other low-cost home automation solutions is in the ability to really build really complex rules in a fairly simple manner. You won’t have to be a programmer, but you may need the help of other community members to get the logic constructed just right.
Also, you …
