On October 6, Samsung announced a SmartThings update with two changes that matter to people who already run a SmartThings home. According to Samsung’s announcement, when your phone and a SmartThings hub are on the same Wi-Fi network, “the mobile device can communicate directly with the hub rather than routing controls through the cloud.” The same update adds support for Matter 1.6, the newest version of the smart home standard.
Both changes are real, but each comes with fine print the announcement leaves out. The hub firmware behind local control names a different set of hubs than the press release does. A fix for the feature has a release window of October 12 to 16. And the four device categories Samsung lists next to Matter 1.6 were not added by Matter 1.6 itself, according to the group that publishes the standard. Here is what changes for SmartThings owners, and what does not.
What local control changes in the SmartThings app
Samsung contrasts local control with cloud-based control, in which commands from the app are routed through the cloud. With local control, the app talks to the hub over your home network. Samsung says local control “can improve response times by approximately 30%” compared with cloud control, a figure it bases on “tests conducted by Samsung under controlled conditions.” The app switches by itself between local control when your phone is at home and cloud control when you are away.
The bigger benefit is during an internet outage, and here Samsung’s wording is careful: local control “helps enable continued control of connected devices during temporary network fluctuations.” The announcement does not list which devices keep responding when the internet is down.
Local processing in SmartThings is not new, which is why this update is easy to misread. There are now three separate layers, and only the last one is new:
| Layer | What runs on the hub | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Devices | Matter, Zigbee, Z-Wave and LAN devices that use Edge drivers run locally on the hub. SmartThings began rolling out Edge drivers in 2022. | SmartThings developer docs and support FAQ |
| Automations | A routine runs on the hub only if every device feature and service in it supports local execution. Otherwise it runs in the cloud. | SmartThings Rules documentation |
| App controls (new) | Your phone sends commands straight to the hub when both are on the same Wi-Fi network. | Samsung, October 6 |
So the update does not mean every routine now works offline. The SmartThings Rules documentation says that “in order for Rules to execute locally, all Device features and services involved in the Rule must support local execution.” According to the developer guide for hub-connected devices, “Edge drivers enable Hub Connected Devices to run locally on the Hub.”
The update also redesigns the app’s Home tab around SmartThings Now, a set of cards at the top that suggest actions based on your situation, such as turning on lights as you approach home.
Which hubs get it: two lists that don’t match
Samsung’s announcement lists local control for Android and iOS devices with the SmartThings app, and for “SmartThings Station, SmartThings V2, V3, and V4 Hubs, and hub-enabled Samsung Smart TVs and Family Hub.”
The hub side came first. SmartThings’ release notes for hub firmware 0.62.7, whose rollout began on September 8, 2026, say the app “can now communicate directly with SmartThings Hubs when the app and Hub are connected to the same local network, even when the Hub is offline.” The notes mark that feature as dependent on an upcoming SmartThings app version. They also target a different list of hubs:
| Hub | In Samsung’s October 6 list | In the 0.62.7 firmware notes |
|---|---|---|
| SmartThings Hub 2015 (v2) | Yes | Yes |
| SmartThings Hub 2018 (v3) | Yes | Yes |
| “V4” hub | Yes | No |
| SmartThings Station | Yes | No |
| Hub-enabled Samsung TVs and Family Hub | Yes | No |
| Aeotec Smart Home Hub | No | Yes |
| Aeotec Smart Home Hub 2 | No | Yes |
| ThingsOne Smart Home Hub | No | Yes |
Neither document explains the difference. The press release does not say which product it means by the V4 hub, and it does not name the Aeotec or ThingsOne hubs that the firmware notes target. If you own one of those three, Samsung has not confirmed in writing that the app side of local control covers your hub.
One more detail is time-sensitive. The same release notes add a follow-up firmware, 0.62.13, with a release period of October 12 to October 16, 2026. Its fixes include “intermittent local connectivity issues between the app and the Hub” and bug fixes for Matter OTA updates. The rollout is spread over the week, so your hub may not update on the first day. If local control seems unreliable before your hub gets 0.62.13, that is a problem SmartThings lists as fixed in that release.
What Matter 1.6 adds, and what it doesn’t
Samsung says SmartThings now supports Matter 1.6, “enhancing stability and Group Control performance,” and that the update adds four device categories: energy meters, closures for specialized door and gate types, irrigation devices such as sprinkler systems, and soil sensors.
Those categories are not what Matter 1.6 introduced. The Connectivity Standards Alliance, which publishes Matter, released version 1.6 on June 17, 2026. Its announcement calls 1.6 a focused feature release: “Rather than expanding into new device categories, this release enhances device setup, improves how ecosystems can coordinate device management, and refines how devices interpret and respond to control inputs.”
Most of the categories Samsung lists appear in an earlier release. The Alliance’s Matter 1.5 announcement, from November 20, 2025, covers cameras, closures, soil sensors and new energy management features, including enhanced smart metering, and it pairs soil sensors with Matter water valves or irrigation systems. In other words, the four categories are new to SmartThings. The Alliance’s own description says Matter 1.6 did not add device categories.
What Matter 1.6 does add is different, and Samsung’s announcement does not mention any of it:
| Matter 1.6 feature | What it does, per the Alliance | In Samsung’s announcement |
|---|---|---|
| NFC-based commissioning | Sets up a device entirely over NFC by holding a phone near it, even before the device is fully powered on, such as a bulb before it goes into the fixture. | Not mentioned |
| Joint Fabric | Lets several user-authorized controllers co-administer one shared Matter network. | Not mentioned |
| Thermostat Suggestions | Controllers send time-bound suggestions that the thermostat weighs against your preferences before it acts. | Not mentioned |
| Unmounted state for smoke and CO alarms | Alarms report when they have been removed from their installed position. | Not mentioned |
The Alliance also says that “device makers and ecosystems will implement features according to their own timelines.” For a buyer, that means a “Matter 1.6” label on a platform does not tell you that any particular 1.6 feature works yet. Check for the feature itself on the device’s product page and in your app.
What to do if you use SmartThings
| Your setup | What to do |
|---|---|
| SmartThings Hub v2 or v3 | Update the SmartThings app. Local control applies when your phone is on the same Wi-Fi as the hub, and the 0.62.13 firmware with the local connectivity fix is rolling out October 12 to 16. |
| SmartThings Station, a hub-enabled Samsung TV or a Family Hub fridge | These are on Samsung’s list. Keep the app updated. |
| Aeotec Smart Home Hub, Aeotec Smart Home Hub 2 or ThingsOne hub | Your hub is on the firmware list but not on Samsung’s announcement list. Treat app-to-hub local control as unconfirmed until Samsung says otherwise. |
| No hub and no hub-enabled Samsung device | Samsung lists local control only for hubs and hub-enabled Samsung devices, so this part of the update does not apply to you. |
| Routines you rely on during outages | Keep them simple. A routine runs on the hub only if every device and service in it supports local execution. |
| Shopping for Matter devices | Buy for features the product page says work today. Samsung has not said whether SmartThings supports NFC setup, Joint Fabric or Thermostat Suggestions. |
If Matter is new to you, start with our explainer on what Matter is and how it works. If your setup feels sluggish for other reasons, our guide to why a smart home feels slow covers the usual causes, and our look at which IFA 2026 robot vacuums support Matter shows how device makers are adopting the standard.
How we checked: we read Samsung’s October 6 SmartThings announcement, the SmartThings hub firmware 0.62.7 and 0.62.13 release notes, SmartThings developer documentation on Edge drivers and Rules, three SmartThings support pages, the Connectivity Standards Alliance announcements for Matter 1.5 and Matter 1.6, and coverage from Tech-ish and matter-smarthome. The comparison of hub lists is our reading of Samsung’s two documents. DecodeGear did not test the update on its own hardware.
Leave a Reply