Being tied into a single ecosystem can be frustrating, especially when a competing brand’s product is a better device than the unit you are restricted to using, which makes the news that Samsung and Google are teaming up to allow cross-platform support a welcome move. Starting from January 2021, the two tech giants will partner up to introduce new levels of integration between the Google Assistant, Nest, and SmartThings.
The integration means that you’ll be able to control your Nest devices such as cameras, thermostats, smart doorbells, via the SmartThings app as well as its other smart home gadgets like your Samsung Smart TV. And as you might hope, the integration goes both ways, which means you’ll be able to control your smart Samsung devices by issuing voice commands via Google Assistant and probably via the Home app as well.
The partnership between Google and Samsung means that now it isn’t a zero-sum decision on which smart home product to buy, hopefully, you’ll be able to control your Ring Doorbell via your Nest Hub Mini, and adjust your Nest Thermostat via your Samsung Smart TV.
Scheduled to begin rolling out in January 2021, the SmartThings/Google Assistant integration is hopefully a sign of better things to come.
