One of the products Samsung showed off at its CES 2022 presentation was the Home Hub, an 8.4-inch tablet for controlling all the connected home devices in your household. The company has now shared more information about it. At launch, the Home Hub will have the ability to connect to every product in the SmartThings ecosystem, including Samsung appliances.
In that way, it can tell you how much power your appliances use and if one needs cleaning. Home cooks will find a recipe hub for creating shopping lists and meal plans. Those are just some of the use cases Samsung outlines for the Home Hub. The company says the device’s AI software will anticipate what you need and put that information in front of you exactly when you need it.
Samsung has also pledged to support the upcoming Matter standard, which should open the door for the hub to connect to devices from other manufacturers. Based on the photos shared by Samsung, the Home Hub runs Android, suggesting it may also be possible to use it as a standard tablet. The device also comes with two speakers and two microphones, as well as the company’s Bixby assistant. The tablet will come with the charging dock you see pictured in the photos, and you’re free to take it out of that stand.
At first glance, it’s hard to see the appeal of the Home Hub. After all, it’s essentially a tablet that comes with the company’s SmartThings app preinstalled. You can download that same software on your phone. So it’s not like it’s offering something that isn’t already out there. However, framed another way, it’s a different approach to a smart display. Samsung hasn’t tried to create a device like the Echo Show 15 that wants to be the center of your home. The focus here is narrow, and that’s something that could appeal to people.
Samsung will release the Home Hub in Korea sometime in March, with global availability to follow later. No word yet on US pricing.
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