To date, brands like Kwikset, Piper, Schlage, Samsung, Wink, and Yale all work with Z-Wave. That means you've got a lot of options as you build out your network. Z-Wave products work with a number of other home automation systems, too, meaning you aren't necessarily locked into only Z-Wave products.
Invest in a hub like SmartThings Hub or Wink Hub 2 that work with both Zigbee and Z-Wave. Some smart displays like the Amazon Echo Show 10 and smart speakers like the newest Amazon Echo function as Z-Wave or Zigbee hubs, meaning you won't need to buy a separate hub to add new devices to your home.
A Zigbee network, which doesn't have a maximum number of allowed hops, can support more than 65,000 devices, while a Z-Wave network, limited to four hops, supports a maximum of 232 devices.
At $9.99/month, the fee can be hard to swallow, especially when you realize there are many Z-Wave hubs out there that do just as much, or more, while requiring no monthly fees.
Alexa only “speaks” WiFi (and ZigBee if you have the EchoPlus). It currently doesn't support Z-Wave, the protocol of choice for home automation thanks to its high speed and low interference with other connected devices in your home. That means you can't have a Z-Wave switch or plug speak directly to your Echo.
For example, Alexa can also be used to control Z-Wave, and the newer Alexa models no longer require the hub to bridge the two devices together. Plus, with these newer options, integration is a cinch, allowing Alexa to control Z-Wave effortlessly.
That's why all new eero hardware comes equipped with a Thread radio. Thread is the latest generation in a series of low-power wireless protocols like Z-wave, Bluetooth, and Zigbee, but because it uses IPv6 natively, it's more reliable, and employs secure protocols and encryption by default.
The Apple HomeKit certified Z-Wave controller to extend your Smart Home with Z-Wave products. Thinka bridges HomeKit to Z-Wave. The (included) Z-Wave controller is best of breed, with a 700 series chip for better range, Smart Start, provisioning, backup and restore, remote access and remote support.
The short answer is no, the standard is far from dead and still receives a lot of updates from its creators. Many different standards can exist at the same time without putting one another entirely out of the game.
Do I need a hub? Yes - to get the most out of your Z-Wave device, a Z-Wave Certified hub is required to set schedules and control remotely away from the home, which a handheld Z-Wave controller cannot do.
The SmartThings Hub is a Z-Wave certified central static controller. It can be included in any Z-Wave network and operate with Z-Wave certified devices from other manufacturers.
Earlier this month, the Z-Wave Alliance ceased to exist as a for-profit group and is officially an SDO or Standards Development Organization. That doesn't change the way Z-Wave products work today although it could in the future.
Z-Wave is the leading smart home technology found in millions of products around the world. It is a wireless technology that will not interfere with your Wi-Fi signal and operates on low power.
Connecting Google Home to a smart hub provides a channel that enables you to use Z-wave devices with Google Home. The communication between Z-wave products and the smart hub is solely via the Z-wave network protocol, whereas the smart hub and Google Home communicate via Wi-Fi signals.
The new controller is the first Apple HomeKit-certified Z-Wave controller and is designed to add more than 3,300 smart Z-Wave products for HomeKit users. With the new Z-wave hub, Thinka is bridging the gap between people who want to use Apple's privacy-focused smart home technology but recognize the benefits of Z-Wave.
Thanks to a new update, devices running on Z-Wave, ZigBee and EnOcean wireless standards can now be integrated into HomeKit and be controlled via the voice assistant Siri, among other means.
The new Apple-certified Thinka Z-Wave is a simple hub that allows many Z-Wave accessories to work with HomeKit for the first time. This includes smart switches, thermostats, dimmers, doorbells, speakers, curtains, fans, dimmers and various sensors from over 600 different brands.
The eero 6 systems are equipped with a built-in Zigbee smart home hub, eliminating the need for additional Zigbee hubs around the home. Featuring a built-in Zigbee smart home hub, the eero 6 systems connect compatible devices on your network with Alexa so you don't need a separate Zigbee smart home hub for each device.
Best answer: Yes. Eero 6 and Eero Pro 6 are HomeKit-enabled routers with special permissions for HomeKit devices to keep your network secure. Eero will not act as a HomeKit hub, however.
Eero Pro (discontinued)
Yes. With a Z-Wave certification, the ecobee3 can integrate directly with Z-Wave hubs, but it can also connect to any other home automation hub, which send a Z-Wave device to your Z-Wave hub. Explanation: By default, the ecobee3 is compatible with most Z-Wave hubs, including SmartThings and Wink.
However, right now, Alexa is not quite powerful enough to truly stand alone, in the way SmartThings can. There's the fact it only supports Zigbee (no Z-Wave), but even within this Alexa is limited in exactly how much control you can wield over your connected devices, and Routines are not always totally reliable.
Amazon Echo (4th gen)
With Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and Zigbee, the Amazon Echo (4th generation) is the best smart home hub for most people.
Z-Wave Has Fewer Congestion Problems
As such, Z-Wave's network has much less congestion, as it operates on a lower radio frequency - 908.42 MHz. Zigbee's frequency is closer to that of Wi-Fi - 2.4ghz - meaning a lot more congestion.
The new Z Wave protocol extends communication between devices from 40 feet to about 60 feet. Z Wave Plus devices are smaller which require less power to operate. A typical sensor can last up to 10 years on a single disc style battery. The Plus protocol has more bandwidth.