The all-new Aeotec Smart Home Hub 2 abandons Z-Wave

The article discusses the announcement of the all-new Aeotec Smart Home Hub 2, which is a SmartThings-compatible hub unveiled at the IFA trade show in Berlin. The key points are: - The new hub supports Matter and has a Zigbee 3.0 radio, but it no longer supports the Z-Wave standard, which may disappoint users with existing Z-Wave devices. - The hub can also function as a Thread border router and has improved performance over the previous model, with more RAM and a faster CPU. - It has a Bluetooth Low Energy radio for onboarding and diagnostics, as well as a USB-A port, though the specific function of the latter is not yet revealed. - The hub can be powered via a USB-C port and can be wall-mounted. - Aeotec says the hub is designed for local control, ensuring smart home functionality even in the event of a broadband outage. - Z-Wave was previously a key part of the SmartThings ecosystem, but Samsung has since shifted its focus to Matter-certified devices, including its own SmartThings Station hub. - Aeotec has not yet announced pricing for the new Smart Home Hub 2, but it expects to ship the product by the end of October.