Playground SmartHome [SmartHome] SmartThings Hub 3rd Generation Purchase Review

Overview

A review of purchasing the SmartThings Hub v3.

Introduction

After putting together my smart home plan, I was searching for sellers on Amazon to purchase a hub when I heard that it was being officially released in Korea. The retail price was over 100,000 KRW, and since I didn’t have any devices to connect right away, I debated whether it was worth buying at this point. But as they say, hesitation only delays shipping! Just buy it!

Let’s Buy It

Sales and after-sales support for the officially released SmartThings devices in Korea are handled by a company called 4MI. Until right before the official release, it seemed like Samsung would handle the branding and support, but apparently there were some internal issues. You can purchase it through a group buy on a Naver Cafe. The 3rd generation hub is priced at 93,600 KRW, and since it’s listed on the Naver Store, anyone with the link can purchase it at the group buy price even without being a cafe member. The group buy period has been extended until November 30th at 11:59 PM.

Let’s Unbox It

1. Box Package

The box packaging is clean and simple in white. There is tape sealing on the bottom of all four sides. On the sides, you can see logos for the communication protocols that can directly pair with the hub, along with the manufacturer Samjin’s logo. Hello, Hub! Looking forward to working with you.

2. Device Appearance

The appearance is also simple in white. The international version has “Samsung” printed on it, but the Korean retail version says Works as a hub SmartThings. I’m not sure what the USB port is for. If anyone knows, please leave a comment.

3. Other Components

The other components include a user guide, a power cable, and a CAT.6 Ethernet cable.

Since the actual installation and device pairing will happen after I move in February, I’ve carefully stored it in the closet for now. In the meantime, I’ll spend some time reading through the developer documentation.

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