The Verge
All the Matter-compatible devices you can buy, plus the latest on the Apple, Amazon, Google, and Samsung-backed smart home standard.
The Verge
All the Matter-compatible devices you can buy, plus the latest on the Apple, Amazon, Google, and Samsung-backed smart home standard.
Continue reading…
All the Matter-compatible devices you can buy, plus the latest on the Apple, Amazon, Google, and Samsung-backed smart home standard.
If you buy something from a Verge link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement.
Two years after its launch, Matter — the smart home standard developed by Apple, Google, Amazon, and Samsung — is finally gaining traction.
Matter is a common language for your smart home designed to simplify buying, setting up, and using connected gadgets. With Matter, you shouldn’t need to worry if this smart lock will work with your phone or that light bulb with your smart speaker. If it works with Matter, it should work with any Matter-enabled smart home platform or device.
In this article, you’ll find a list of all the Matter-compatible products you can buy now, along with details on how they will work in your smart home. We also have information on the smart home platforms that support Matter and what you need to get started with them. We’ll keep this updated as new information comes out.
What is Matter?
If you’re unfamiliar with what Matter is, check out my deep dive: “Matter’s plan to save the smart home.” Here’s a quick summary:
Matter is a new standard founded by major players in the smart home industry, including Amazon, Apple, Google, and Samsung. It’s being developed and supported by those companies, along with hundreds more. An open connectivity protocol that enables easier, more secure, and more reliable communications between IOT devices, Matter allows manufacturers to build to one standard but still work within any ecosystem.
In other words, if a smart gadget works with Matter, it can be used with any Matter-compatible platform, including Amazon Alexa, Apple Home, or Google Home. It can also be connected to more than one platform and be controlled simultaneously within them, using iOS or Android devices or your voice assistant of choice. So if you have an iPhone and your roommate has a Google Pixel, both of you can control your smart lights.
Matter works locally over Ethernet and two wireless protocols — Wi-Fi and Thread (a low-power, low-bandwidth mesh networking protocol specifically designed for smart home devices). It doesn’t require a cloud connection, so should make turning your smart lights on as fast as flipping a light switch (just more convenient). Matter also has security built into the standard, so you can feel more confident about buying connected devices.
For more details on how Matter will work with each smart home platform, what you will need to get started with Matter, and how Matter works, read my explainer, “What Matters about Matter.”
The current state of Matter
Following the most recent spec release in May 2024, Matter now supports most device types you might want to use in your smart home (with a few notable exceptions). Energy management — a compelling reason to connect your devices if you want to reduce energy use and save money — is also now part of the standard. It may be a while until we see widespread implementation, but it’s an important step for Matter.
However, just because you built it doesn’t mean they’ll come. Matter provides the building blocks for a smarter home, but as of August 2024, only a handful of manufacturers have added support for the standard to their devices. Additionally, while all the major platforms support some device types, none support them all.
Matter still doesn’t support cameras or home security systems, and while energy management will be a great addition when it’s implemented, water heaters and heat pumps — important in controlling energy use — aren’t part of the standard yet.
Feature support for some device types in Matter is still bare-bones: you can’t add a PIN to door locks connected via Matter, nor does Matter support smart lighting features like dynamic light scenes or adaptive lighting. Thread border routers are still causing headaches in some smart homes, and Matter’s much touted Multi-Admin feature — which should let you control your gadgets in any platform you want — is still spotty.
All of this means Matter isn’t ready to be the main way to connect all your devices in your smart home, and it has a long way to go before it’s ready for the mainstream. But if you’re eager to get started and see some of the promised benefits in your own smart home — local control, improved device security, and being able to control your gadgets with any smart home platform you like — then read on for everything you need to know about what works with Matter today.
Device types supported by Matter
As of August 2024, the Matter spec supports the following device types:
Implemented
These device types are in the Matter spec and are currently supported by some or all Matter-compatible platforms.
Announced
These device types have been added to the Matter spec but are not currently supported by any platforms and / or there are no available products to buy in these categories.
Matter supports basic functions for most device types, which means that whether you use a gadget in Apple Home or Amazon Alexa, you’ll have the same controls. Smart home platforms can add features on top of Matter, plus you may need to use the manufacturer’s app for features not supported by Matter — such as setting dynamic lighting scenes for smart lights, mapping for robot vacuums, and PINs for smart locks.
The Connectivity Standards Alliance says support for security cameras, garage door controllers, ambient motion and presence sensors, Wi-Fi routers, and access points are all on its roadmap. It is also working on more features for existing device types.
Smart home devices that work with Matter
Matter-compatible products can be identified by a Matter logo on the packaging and a Matter QR code on the device itself. The exception is existing devices that have been updated to Matter with over-the-air firmware updates and devices that can be added to Matter through a proprietary hub or bridge (such as Philips Hue lights).
To use Matter devices, you will need a Matter controller and a smart home platform that supports Matter. We’ve got details on controllers at the end of this article, and you can read about the platforms that support Matter here.
Now, let’s get into the gadgety good stuff. Here are all the products that currently support Matter.
Smart door locks
All the major platforms support smart door locks through Matter, but only a handful of locks currently work with the standard. This is because most smart locks use Wi-Fi, and the Matter spec does not support battery-powered devices that connect over Wi-Fi.
I’ve written more about the supported Matter locks here, but the biggest thing to know is that if you use a lock through Matter, the only guaranteed support is the ability to lock and unlock it. Features such as adding PINs depend on what the platform you are using supports. Apple Home and SmartThings support PINs through Matter, but Google and Amazon Alexa don’t.
Smart thermostats and heating / cooling / air purifying equipment
It’s not clear why there aren’t more thermostats that support Matter today; the new Nest Thermostat is the only one that works with the common HVAC units in the US market. The Matter spec supports most functions you might need to control such a device, so if you want a Matter thermostat, that’s the one to go for right now. However, there are rumors that a new Nest Learning Thermostat with Matter support will be launching soon.
Ecobee told me it is committed to Matter but hasn’t shared a timeline on when its thermostats will support the standard. However, when they do, the company said it should be via an over-the-air update, so hold off on swapping out your Ecobee if you’re getting antsy.
Robot vacuums
For robot vacuums, the Matter spec supports functions including remote start and progress notifications, switching cleaning modes (i.e., from dry vacuum to wet mopping), and status details such as brush and charging status and error reporting.
Matter does not support room mapping, so you will still need to use the manufacturer’s app for that. However, based on Apple’s plans to implement robo-vac support in Matter, it appears you can control room-specific cleaning through Matter.
Samsung SmartThings is the first platform to add support for robot vacuums; it will be available this summer. Apple has said support will come later this year, but as of August, neither Amazon Alexa nor Google Home support robot vacuum control through Matter.
These robot vacuums are Matter-compatible according to their manufacturers:
Read more about Matter support for robot vacuums in my buying guide.
Home appliances
Fridges, dishwashers, washers, dryers, and ovens are all supported Matter device types, but so far, you can’t buy any appliances with Matter support.
Manufacturers Whirlpool (which owns KitchenAid and Maytag), Midea, Hisense, Toshiba, LG, Samsung, and Haier (which owns GE Appliances) are all members of Matter. But so far, only Midea has implemented the standard, and only in a dishwasher and microwave, neither of which you can buy yet.
Some Samsung refrigerators and TVs are Matter controllers but not Matter devices (see below). Notably, Samsung has not committed to making any of its appliances Matter devices.
Televisions & media streaming devices
Several TV manufacturers, including TCL, Hisense, Toshiba, and Universal Electronics have said their products will support Matter. LG and Samsung have enabled their newer TVs as Matter controllers, but not Matter devices.
As a Matter-enabled device, a TV should be controllable through your smart home app, including adjusting volume, changing inputs, powering on and off, and changing channels.
Amazon has added Matter support to its Fire TVs (running Fire OS 7 or higher), which enables Matter Casting. This feature of Matter lets you cast content from an app on your phone to an app on a TV or display. So far, only Amazon supports it, and only for Prime Video.
Smart shades, blinds, and shutters
Controlling shades is fairly simple: it’s either up or down or partly open. Matter support is available for all those features, plus tilting for blinds, so if you are looking for smart shades, those with Matter support will work as expected with all the big platforms.
Smart lighting
There are many smart lighting options available in Matter, from bulbs, switches, and smart plugs to a lamp or two and a couple of outlets. If you want to control your smart lights with basic on / off, dimming, and color control, then any of the options below will work well for you.
The benefit of Matter here is the lights will connect directly to your platform of choice without needing a third-party app and will work locally in your home without relying on the cloud for commands, meaning they should respond more quickly and reliably.
However, if you want to take advantage of additional features offered by some smart lighting companies (Philips Hue, Wiz, and Nanoleaf, for example), you’ll need their apps to control those. This includes dynamic lighting scenes, security lighting, or circadian rhythm lighting (Apple’s Adaptive Lighting).
Smart bulbs and lights
Smart switches and buttons
Smart dimmer switches
Smart plugs and outlets
Several smart plugs work with Matter (over Thread or Wi-Fi). Matter supports basic on / off functionality. While the Matter spec now supports energy monitoring, none of the platforms have implemented that feature yet, so the Matter plugs listed below that support energy monitoring do so through their app (e.g., Eve Energy and the Eve app).
Smart sensors
Sensors have some of the most robust support of any device type, with support in Matter for occupancy, open / close, light, temperature and humidity, and pressure and flow sensing for water leak detectors. Ambient and presence sensing are promised for a future update.
Bridges in Matter
Smart home devices that use a proprietary bridge — such as Philips Hue smart bulbs, Aqara sensors, or a SwitchBot door lock — can be “bridged” into Matter to control their connected devices in a Matter smart home platform. If you have devices that work through a bridge and that bridge has been updated to Matter, the devices connected to it will work in a Matter platform.
Be aware, though, that because of the current limitations of Matter control, you might lose some features if you bridge your devices through Matter rather than through existing integrations.
For example, Apple Home’s Adaptive Lighting feature works with Philips Hue bulbs if you connect your bridge to Apple Home through HomeKit, but not if you connect it to Apple Home through Matter.
Bridges that currently support Matter
What are Matter controllers and Thread border routers, and why do you need them?
To use a Matter device, you need a Matter controller. This onboards Matter devices to your home network, controls them, manages communications and automations, and facilitates remote access (when enabled). A Matter controller needs to be a device that is always in your home, always powered, and has a Wi-Fi or ethernet connection to your home network.
You need a Matter controller for the smart home platform you plan to use: an Apple HomePod or Apple TV for Apple Home, a Google Nest Hub for Google Home, an Amazon device for Alexa, etc. You’ll also need that platform’s smartphone or tablet app — these act as Matter commissioners, connecting the Matter device to a Matter Controller.
These are the smart home apps that currently act as Matter commissioners:
Every major smart home platform has updated its existing hubs and smart speakers to make them Matter controllers. Some controllers are also Thread border routers, which you will need if you add any Thread devices to your home.
Thread is the main wireless protocol Matter runs over, along with Wi-Fi. Amazon (Eero) and Google have updated their Wi-Fi routers to be both Matter controllers and Thread border routers, giving you a good all-in-one option (more on that below).
Matter controllers with Thread border routers
Apple Home
Google Home
Samsung SmartThings
Amazon Alexa
Other Platforms
Matter controllers without Thread
Apple Home
Amazon Alexa
Google Home
Samsung SmartThings
Other platforms
Wi-Fi routers as Thread border routers and Matter controllers
If you have a Matter and Thread-enabled Wi-Fi router, you won’t need any other Matter controller in your home, assuming it’s a Matter controller for the platform you want to use.
Google Nest’s Wi-Fi routers are Thread-enabled, Matter controllers for Google Home, and Amazon (which owns Eero) has added Matter support to its Eero 6 series (Eero Pro 6E, Pro 6, 6 Plus, 6, PoE 6), PoE Gateway, and it’s Eero Max 7.
Amazon spokesperson Connor Rice confirmed to The Verge that these Eero devices can all act as Alexa Matter controllers and Thread border routers. Eero Beacons and the older Wi-Fi 5 Eero Pro devices can also act as Thread border routers. Wi-Fi routers are not Matter devices yet, although the CSA says they are on the roadmap.
Having Matter and Thread built into a Wi-Fi router makes a lot of sense. You don’t need to buy additional devices to set up a Matter product, making the process easier. It’s just a shame that most Matter controllers don’t support more than one platform; you still need one for each smart home system you want to use. Comcast, which has also been a major player in developing Matter, made its xFi gateway Matter-compatible, but it doesn’t have Thread and doesn’t currently work with any smart home platforms.
A future where all Wi-Fi routers have Thread and Matter built-in could finally make setting up a smart home easy.
Update, August 2nd, 5PM ET: Added newly announced products,
The Verge – All Posts