The US arm of Samsung has gone all-in on wifi mesh technology with the launch of the SmartThings System.

Scott Bicheno

August 14, 2018

2 Min Read
Samsung launches mesh-based wifi system in the US

The US arm of Samsung has gone all-in on wifi mesh technology with the launch of the SmartThings System.

The main feature of wifi mesh technology is to fill wifi coverage not-spots around the house. Rather than use multiple routers or powerline networking, which don’t dynamically switch to the strongest source depending on your location, mesh promises strong coverage throughout the home through a number of wifi boosting nodes.

“As more people embrace a connected lifestyle, we’re focused on creating the best experiences so they can get more out of their smart home,” said SK Kim, Senior Director, IoT Product Marketing at Samsung Electronics America. “SmartThings Wifi is an intelligent solution that adapts to the many devices in the home, with mesh capability to eliminate coverage gaps plus a built-in SmartThings Hub to easily monitor and control hundreds of compatible smart products.”

Unsurprisingly the system uses Qualcomm chips integrated by Plume. Samsung goes on at considerable length about how great Plume’s wifi AI is, which actively tinkers with things to make sure everything’s cool. As Qualcomm recently explained to us, this tech also does other cool stuff like being able to detect where you are in the house, which could open the door to all sorts of other smart home applications.

The SmartThings 3-pack retails for $279.99 and the single device retails for $119.99. It’s not yet known when Samsung plans to launch these products globally, but if it manages to flog a few in the US, the rest of the world will presumably follow before long.

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About the Author(s)

Scott Bicheno

As the Editorial Director of Telecoms.com, Scott oversees all editorial activity on the site and also manages the Telecoms.com Intelligence arm, which focuses on analysis and bespoke content.
Scott has been covering the mobile phone and broader technology industries for over ten years. Prior to Telecoms.com Scott was the primary smartphone specialist at industry analyst Strategy Analytics’. Before that Scott was a technology journalist, covering the PC and telecoms sectors from a business perspective.
Follow him @scottbicheno

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