What Is Different Between Alexa-A and Smart-Hub?

Alexa, short for “Alexandria,” is Amazon’s virtual assistant. It’s not a true smart hub in the conventional sense, but it may serve that purpose by connecting and controlling several intelligent devices with only your voice.

A specialized smart hub with its own hardware and software is usually used as the primary hub for controlling various connected devices.

However, Alexa is an artificial intelligence-driven virtual assistant that utilizes internet-connected devices like the Amazon Echo speakers to carry out different actions and procedures.

So, it acts as a “smart hub” for voice-controlled devices. However, it may have fewer features than a specialized smart hub.

Even though a wide variety of intelligent home devices are available, it is important to remember that all products are unique. When it comes time to download the 18th companion app on your phone to handle whatever new item you’ve acquired, this fact will likely strike you as particularly noteworthy.

If only there was a centralized location from which we could manage and control all of the connected gadgets in our smart home. Warning: There is a spoiler ahead.
You need a “smart home hub” to complete your setup. The functioning of your Internet of Things devices may be consolidated with intelligent hubs designed to work in conjunction with the Internet-enabled gadgets you already have in your house.

However, much like the gadgets that are meant to be controlled by them, all smart hubs are different. This article will guide you through the essentials of how intelligent home hubs function so that you can make an informed decision about whether or not to invest in one.

What exactly is a hub for a smart home?

A smart home hub performs the function of a centralized control center for all the smart devices you have installed in your residence.

Yes, your Amazon Echo speaker or your Google Intelligent Hub Nest display can be used to manage and control several smart devices connected to your Wi-Fi network. However, compatibility becomes an issue when it comes time to integrate hardware that uses something other than Wi-Fi or Bluetooth as the wireless protocol.

You need to understand that the market is flooded with various wireless protocols. In addition to Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, there are others, such as Zigbee, Z-Wave, and SmartThings, that you may be familiar with.

Your smart gadgets are equipped with built-in antennas and other receptors, and many of these devices come packed with a first-party transmitter that, in most cases, links to your home’s network for power and generally to the internet.

When the transmitter is active, it will broadcast the precise protocol necessary for your smart device to function.

It is easy to understand how managing everything at once might get complex when a large number of intelligent devices are present in a single house, especially because many of these devices need their own applications and use distinct wireless protocols.

The purpose of a smart home hub is to provide you with one central peripheral that, independent of protocols and other hardware limits, will enable you to exercise control over as many of your smart home devices as is practically feasible.

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What factors should you consider while selecting a hub for your smart home?

In today’s world, smart home hubs are losing some popularity. This is due to the fact that many of the leading manufacturers of smart devices, like Amazon, Google, Apple, and a host of other major companies, are building many of their smart speakers and displays to be compatible with a variety of networking protocols in addition to Wi-Fi.

For instance, the Amazon Echo Show 10 and the fourth-generation Echo are all equipped to communicate over Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Zigbee.

Nevertheless, it is difficult to pass up the luxury of being able to manage all of your gadgets via a single application, which is one of the primary selling points of a dedicated smart hub.

How Does One Even Know Where to Seek the Corners?

It is a good idea to ask yourself what intelligent gadgets you now own and what kinds of things you may be interested in purchasing. The next step is to determine the wireless protocols these devices employ to connect to the internet.

Some smart hubs are more vital at managing one category of protocols than others, even though it is expected that any helpful smart hub would be able to simultaneously interface with several distinct protocols.

For example, the Echo Show 10 is fantastic at controlling devices that use Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Zigbee, but it is difficult to enable it to handle Z-Wave devices.

And what happens if you have a lot of different gadgets that are powered by Z-Wave? In this situation, a hub such as the Wink Hub 2 would be a far better choice.

The Wink Hub 2 is capable of interfacing with Zigbee, Z-Wave, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), and various other wireless protocols, making it one of the most versatile hubs currently available.

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What are the most effective hubs for smart homes?

However, as experts in smart home hubs, we know that a few corners are head and shoulders above the competition.

• Amazon Echo, 4th Generation Smart Speaker

Amazon’s Echo smart speakers and displays are operated by Alexa, the company’s much-publicized voice assistant and intelligent home controller. Alexa is the brain behind Amazon’s Echo smart speakers and presentations.

Alexa is not a smart home hub; nevertheless, the majority of Alexa-powered Echo products can operate various smart home devices via Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

Consider Alexa more of a glorified function of the smart speaker or display that Amazon has provided you with. In addition, this more immense voice assistant functionality includes smaller capabilities, such as reading your daily calendar, providing answers to your inquiries, and interacting with the internet-connected innovative technology in your home.

Both the Amazon Echo (4th Generation) speaker and the Echo Show 10 may, as of right now, be categorized as smart home hubs, and they are very capable of doing so.

This is because both devices are compatible with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Zigbee, and Amazon Sidewalk, an ambitious attempt at community networking by Amazon. As a result, you can manage many protocols with the Alexa app.

These Echo products support a variety of protocols, and in addition, thanks to Alexa and other add-ons, they are excellent, innovative products that come with a plethora of features that are both entertaining and useful.

Some examples of these features include music streaming, games, and drop-in calls, but there are many more.

Samsung SmartThings Hub

One of the most versatile and feature-rich intelligent home hubs is the Samsung SmartThings Hub, currently in its third version. When it’s powered up, this little white box can do many incredible things for your smart home.

To begin, the SmartThings hub offers compatibility with many different protocols, including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Zigbee, and Z-Wave. This allows it to be compatible with a variety of today’s most popular intelligent gadgets.

You can set automation schedules, construct custom scenes for items, and do a lot more using the SmartThings app, which is another reason it’s a beautiful tool.

Additionally, there is built-in compatibility for Google Assistant as well as Alexa.
Since Samsung has stopped producing the SmartThings Hub, the only challenge with purchasing one of these devices is that they are no longer available.

However, at the time of this article’s writing, you can buy both the second-generation and the third-generation SmartThings hubs on Amazon, even though the third-generation hub is relatively pricey.

   Wink Hub 2

When it comes to taking on wireless protocols, the Wink Hub 2 is a powerhouse that can’t be ignored. This behemoth of a hub is capable of handling Wi-Fi, Bluetooth Low Energy, Z-Wave, Zigbee, Kidde (for devices such as Kidde smoke alarms), and Lutron Clear Connect.

The hub is compatible with over 400 distinct innovative brands, including Nest, Philips, Ring, Ecobee, and Sonos, among many more. Alexa and If Then That (IFTTT) compatibility are only two of the features supported by the hub.

If you use the Wink app, you can put all of the controls for your devices under one roof. This gives you the ability to write short instructions for doing things like turning lights on and off and locking and unlocking doors.

Keep in mind that there is a $5 monthly fee that must be paid to maintain your Wink membership. This is necessary to utilize any of the functions offered by the hub, which may be a deterrent for some prospective purchasers.

Do you want further recommendations for the most reliable brands of intelligent hubs? Check out our rundown of the top five smart home hubs that are currently available for purchase.

Should you invest in some different smart home hubs?

Most of the time, a single intelligent home hub should be capable of handling all of the various protocols and functions you demand from it.

Having said that, there are perhaps additional scenarios in which the hub you’ve acquired addresses the vast majority of your requirements but not every one of them.

It’s possible that it isn’t Z-Wave compliant, or you want Alexa support, but your central hub doesn’t provide it. Both of these scenarios are possible.

In circumstances like these, you absolutely have the option to buy a second hub to compensate for the qualities that your first hub does not provide. Doing so might introduce a significant amount of disturbance to your smart home, which is not required for its operation.

Do you remember when we went through the differences between wireless transmitters and receivers? When you add a second hub to your network, you invite a whole new group of transmitters to compete with those already there.

Even though Hub B may allow you to manage your priceless thermostat through Z-Wave, it still sends out signals using Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Zigbee, just as Hub A did before it added Z-Wave support.

Conclusion

Alexa is an artificial intelligence-driven virtual assistant that can serve as a smart hub for voice-controlled devices. However, compatibility issues arise when integrating hardware using wireless protocols like Zigbee, Z-Wave, and SmartThings.