Technological advancement is rapid in the 21st century. All this progress in the tech world has made our daily lives somewhat easier and pleasant. One such tech gadget which has added a new dimension and color in our routine life is the smart hub. A smart hub is a gadget that connects the Internet of Things (IoT) devices within a given space i.e. your home or office etc.
We would discuss Amazon Echo Plus and SmartThings in this category here today. We would look into a few of their similarities and differences as well as their pros and cons over one another.
What is Amazon Echo Plus?
Amazon Echo Plus is also a smart hub. It is a device that looks like a speaker and is one too. It has a built-in hub that connects and manages all your smart devices. Amazon Echo Plus supports every works with the Alexa device.
What is SmartThings?
SmartThings is a smart hub. It is a device that looks like a router. SmartThings connects a wide range of smart devices and makes them all work together. You connect all your compatible smart devices and control them via the SmartThings app. It makes your home a smart home.
Echo Plus Vs SmartThings
Before we discuss the pros and cons of both the Amazon Echo Plus and SmartThings, let us dive into a few main differences between the two smart hubs.
Differences
- SmartThings allows you to run custom made programs to automate your devices on your local network. This case might not be possible with Amazon Echo Plus.
- SmartThings Hub is easily connected with various different kinds of smart devices and make them work together. While Amazon Echo Plus has certain protocols with which it connects its smart devices.
- The Amazon Echo Plus is an upgrade on the regular Echo. It has an added ZigBee radio module which gives you limited functionality with the ZigBee devices. Meanwhile, the SmartThings is not only cheaper than the Amazon Echo Plus, but it is also a wide community-centric platform. SmartThings gives you Zwave, WiFi, and ZigBee protocols. You will get support for considerably more devices in the SmartThings.
- The Amazon Echo Plus kind of provides limited time-based functions as compared to the SmartThings which has a considerably larger scope and brain for running automated actions. It virtually allows you to automate almost any smart device.
Advantages of Amazon Echo Plus
- It has a 360-degree good quality omnidirectional speaker. It makes the Amazon Echo Plus a perfect fit as a music player.
- It has seven microphones which can listen to you from long distances.
- It can also stream music from Amazon Prime.
- It uses an extensive Alexa ecosystem that supports over 900 skills that integrate with apps. It works a lot better after some time because it learns and adapts to your speech patterns.
Disadvantages of Amazon Echo Plus
- It does not provide support for all kinds of protocols and smart devices. It is limited to some.
- Amazon Echo Plus is not compatible with Google Play Music or Apple Music.
Advantages of SmartThings
- It is compatible with a wide variety of devices as compared to the Echo Plus.
- SmartThings allows for much-added functionality by allowing user-submitted code.
- SmartThings offers us a fully detailed way of setting up scenes and different devices.
- One of the main and most useful advantages of the SmartThings is that it provides us with a backup battery in case the power fails. It can function for up to 10 hours on a backup battery if for any reason whatsoever the power is lost.
- It has a cool automatic home and away mode which really makes life comfortable and easier. You only once need to configure your devices, after doing that the SmartThings automatically goes into away mode when the connected devices leave the house or the connection area. It automatically turns back on when the devices are in range again.
Disadvantage of SmartThings
- Its companion application can take some time to get used to.
- Pairing a device is a little lengthy process or you can say that pairing a device is a little more involved than it needs to be.