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Samsung takes aim at Google and Eero with new smart home Wi-Fi system

By Jayce Wagner Published March 30, 2017

Samsung Connect Home Router — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Aiming to get in on the smart Wi-Fi market, Samsung announced its own home router system complete with mesh network support, and a host of unique features — including support for your smart home devices.

The Samsung Connect Home Smart Wi-Fi System launches in competition with the Google Wifi, and Eero mesh networks, and shares a few important features. Namely, it will be available as a three-pack, so you can blanket your home with powerful Wi-Fi connectivity, and it boasts a slim, attractive profile.

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In addition to all of that, Samsung took one step further and built in a SmartThings hub, through which you can control many of your smart home devices. Using the Samsung Connect app, you will be able to control a wide variety of compatible smart home products from your Connect Home system, including Phillips Hue Lights and the Ring Video Doorbell.

There will be two versions available at launch, the Home version and the Home Pro version. The standard Home model which will feature a single or three pack of the Samsung Connect Home router nodes sporting 2×2 MU-MIMO antennae with support for 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac. While the Home Pro version will sport 4×4 MU-MIMO antennae and a much faster processor coming in at 1.7GHz compared to the standard Home version’s 710MHz processor.

Each node in either version will reportedly cover about 1,500 square feet with a powerful Wi-Fi signal, but that range will vary significantly depending on the layout of your home or apartment.

We don’t have a release date or pricing just yet, but it’s likely we’ll see them sometime in 2017, possibly after the launch of Samsung’s new flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S8.

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Former Digital Trends Contributor

A staff writer for the Computing section, Jayce covers a little bit of everything -- hardware, gaming, and occasionally VR.

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