The SmartThings Link lets your SHIELD TV act as a SmartThings hub to control a myriad of smart home devices that you may have incorporated around your house, from thermostats, to speakers, to light bulbs, outlets and more. Whatever the normal SmartThings hub could control, the SHIELD TV can now do the same as long as you have the SmartThings Link connected to it. For SHIELD owners, this opens up a world of possibilities for smart home control, and in addition to this Google Assistant on SHIELD TV is compatible, which means voice control of all the items that can be controlled by SmartThings through Google’s digital assistant.
Eventually, the SmartThings Link will be available through multiple online retailers, but for the moment it’s available via the SmartThings website. It’ll set consumers back $39.99 to get one, but that’s not the case if you’re already an owner of the NVIDIA SHIELD TV, as SmartThings is sending out discount offers to those consumers via email which brings the standalone price of the Link down to just $14.99. There’s also another available option for $49.99 which comes with one SmartThings Link and a motion sensor, as well as two dimmable Sengled Element Classic LED bulbs, which is a pretty good price bundled altogether if you have the SHIELD TV.
With Google Assistant on board the SHIELD TV is already equipped to handle some smart home control so long as those other smart home products are also compatible with Google Assistant, so it’s not like the SHIELD TV is completely without any way. With the SmartThings Link though, it can pick up where Google Assistant may not exactly have reach. Those who don’t have an NVIDIA SHIELD TV or the SmartThings link will be able to get a bundle for $214.98 from Best Buy in the near future once the bundle is launched, which will be happening on October 29th, and is also the same day when other retailers will begin carrying the SmartThings Link itself. If you’ve got some smart home products and an NVIDIA SHIELD TV, and you want an easier and inexpensive way to control them, the Link might be just what you’re looking for. The device is rather small too coming in at a similar size to the original Chromecast, and it plugs right into the SHIELD TV unit so it’s easy to keep track of.