You might also want to check out our rundown of the best smart home hubs at the same time.Īmazon's Alexa digital assistant appeared on the original Amazon Echo smart speaker in 2014, and has since spread its wings to a plethora of speakers and other devices. Whether you're starting from scratch, wanting to switch platforms, or building out your current system, read on for our guide to the biggest and best smart home ecosystems. Just look out for the 'Works With…' sticker on the box of the smart home tech you're considering to see if it's going to slot into your existing setup.
Smart home showdown: Amazon Alexa versus Google Homeĭon't panic though, because this isn't like iOS versus Android, or PC versus Mac: a lot of smart home devices play nicely with multiple systems, so you don't necessarily have to choose a system and stick with it for the rest of your life. These ecosystems are going to be crucial in gelling your devices together, so you need to factor in both compatibility (how many devices are supported by each program), and the range of features on offer (like automatic scheduling). More on that further down.Ī good place to start is with your favourite digital assistant: Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant and Siri from Apple can all be used as the centre of a smart home system, so that's one way in.Īlternatively, look at some of the smart home gadgets you're thinking of buying, and check which platforms they work with. Google, Amazon, Apple and SmartThings are the major players in the smart home arena now, with their smart speakers, ecosystems and voice assistants not only making your connected smart home devices easier to control, but to make home automation a doddle.Īnd things are set to become even easier soon, with the launch of Matter a smart initiative backed by Big Tech that should, in theory simplify things for consumers setting up and managing a smart home. Note: The ObyThing Music SmartApp is located in the SmartThings Labs category, which is found under the More header of SmartSetup.Setting up your smart home is easier than ever, but choosing the right smart home system to unify your devices and get them talking together is a decision worthy of some serious consideration.īefore you start making purchases, you need to make the right choice about how you're going to bring all this hardware together, and as the smart home scene has matured, you've got several very good options to pick from as we approach 2022.
Here’s a video showing you how to set up ObyThing on your SmartThings app.
First add the IP address and port info from the Mac App.
Install the ObyThing Music SmartApp on your smart phone (See video below).Start the app and a small icon will appear in the menu bar in OSX.Purchase the Mac app ($3.99) from the Apple App Store, download, and install it.When prompted to select a speaker system in the field “On this Sonos player,” you’d just select “ObyThing”–or whatever it is that you’ve named it. Note: In order to perform these actions, you’d simply access the Sonos Notify With Sound SmartApp that’s found in SmartThings Labs. Set up a message to play when your mail has arrived, if a door opens unexpectedly, or when a variety of other things take place.Trigger a custom greeting to play when a family member enters the front door.Set up custom alerts when things happen (ie: a barking dog if the SmartSense Multi sensor or SmartSense Open/Closed sensor on your door or window opens unexpectedly).In addition, you can also perform many of the same actions with the ObyThing Music SmartApp as you can with the SmartThings Labs & Sonos integration–without having to purchase the actual Sonos speaker. Here’s a list of features that are possible with SmartThings and ObyThing. Many people have already seen the SmartThings Labs integration with Sonos, but today, we’re happy to announce a brand-new way to give your home a custom voice with SmartThings.Ĭreated by Brice Dobry, a developer in the SmartThings Community, the ObyThing Music SmartApp allows you to play a sound or start a playlist when your SmartThings devices are activated.