Wink vs. SmartThings Gen 3

Smart technology is more prevalent than ever before, and products that were once reserved for the wealthy techie have become accessible to pretty much any homeowner. Now more than ever before, it’s a real possibility to have a home that is connected, convenient, and that responds to your whims.

There are hundreds of smart products on the market that offer utility or entertainment to your home, but what really separates a smart home from a jumble of technology is the smart home hubs. These bases communicate with your different technology and allow them to work together seamlessly, providing a cohesive experience rather than forcing you to deal with a bunch of self-contained devices.

Below we take a look at the Wink vs. SmartThings Gen 3 to help you get a sense of which smart home controller might be best for your home. Each brand offers their own take on the connected home, but is one better than the other? The answer might not be so simple.

Read on below for a detailed breakdown of what each device has to offer.

GE Link Hub vs. Wink Hub

GE Link Hub vs. Wink Hub — What’s the History?

Before we even get into comparing GE Link Hub vs. Wink Hub (which you’ll find below), we need to talk a little bit about the companies themselves.

Both GE Link Hub and Wink Hub allow you control your smart home appliances, and both hubs come from the same company, Quirky — Except that Wink is a spin-off from invention incubator Quirky. According to a Quirky report, by 2015 there were Wink products in 300,000 homes, and the business was growing until April 2015, when Wink experienced a security problem.

Now, the problem caused a lot of Wink hubs to go offline or break. This incident forced the company to issue a recall. And already by November 2015, the Quirky company went through bankruptcy proceedings due to financial difficulties. Wink was sold for $15 million to Flextronics (now called Flex). It wasn’t surprising since Flex was Wink’s primary supplier of hardware and firmware. As of now, Wink continues to successfully operate as an independent subsidiary of Flex.