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TechRadar

Alistair Charlton

Devices that Matter: these products work with the new smart home connectivity standard

Matter Google Apple Nanoleaf Amazon Samsung

Will the Matter smart home standard put an end to laggy smart home devices.

Today’s smart home isn’t as clever as it should be. Yes, you can ask Alexa to turn on the lights and boil a kettle, or tell Siri to adjust the thermostat. However, finding ways to make different products, services and voice assistants – often from various unrelated companies – talk to each other is at best difficult, and in some cases impossible.

The issue is a lack of interoperability, which a system called Matter aims to solve. Previously known as CHIP (Connected Home over IP), Matter arrived in 2022 and could be the answer our smart home woes. Backed by tech giants like Apple, Google, and Amazon, among many others well-versed in the smart home space, Matter is intended to be a universal communication standard that makes it possible to control any device by speaking to any voice assistant. It even has the power to let you control a single device by speaking to different assistants.

There are already lots of Matter devices available to buy for your smart home. Some are new and came with Matter from day one, while others are older products that have gained Matter compatibility with a software update.

Below, you’ll find a list of Matter product categories followed by a comprehensive list of Matter devices and applications. From the best smart lights and smart locks, to smart thermostats and the best smart speakers, this includes devices that work with Matter now, and those that will gain Matter support in the future. This list will expand considerably in the future, but for now, it gives some insight into what you need to build a complete Matter smart home.

That list will expand considerably this year, but if you want to be an early adopter, it’s important to know which devices offer it now.

Appliances

Slim pickings for now, but this category includes household appliances like smart refrigerators, dishwashers and air purifiers from brands like Bosch, Samsung and Siemens.

For now, only a handful of appliances have had Matter support announced, with several yet to receive the software needed to switch it on. Those that are ready now include Whirlpool appliances. No doubt there will be more to come from this category during the second half of 2024.

Apps and software

This includes the apps you currently use to control smart home systems, like Apple's Home app on the iPhone, iPad and Mac, and Google’s Home app. Both of those are ready to work with Matter devices, along with Samsung’s SmartThings system and Amazon’s Alexa app.

Blinds

Nice and simple, this one. In this section you’ll find a range of smart, motorized window blinds that have Matter support.

Some are ready now (such as those controlled by the Aqara and SwitchBot hubs) while others have had Matter compatibility announced, but haven’t yet been updated to support the new smart home standard.

Decorative lights

There are a lot of smart lights around these days, so here’s a separate category just for those considered decorative. It includes the Holiday String Lights and Skylight by nanoleaf, plus the Eve Flare and Cube Smart Lamp by Yeelight. Some are ready now, while others have had Matter support announced but aren’t ready just yet.

Door locks

You’ll find smart door locks from Level, SwitchBot and Yale in this section, among a handful of others. Matter support is pretty useful here, as it means your door lock can be controlled by a wide range of voice assistants and smart home systems, not just the manufacturer’s own app.

Heating and air conditioning

Also commonly known as HVAC, these products include smart thermostats by Eve and Nest. By gaining Matter support, they should be controllable by more apps, automation systems and voice assistants.

Hubs and bridges

They’re not the most glamorous of smart home devices, but hubs and bridges are what you need to connect everything together. They usually plug into your Wi-Fi router with an Ethernet cable, then hook up to everything else wirelessly.

Matter-ready hubs and bridges include some models from Aqara, Mediola, Nature and SwitchBot, with plenty more announced or in the beta testing phase.

Lighting

Lighting must surely be the biggest smart home product category. Matter support will bring the ability to control smart lighting in a more flexible way, instead of relying on a voice assistant or the bulb company’s own app, which often leave much to be desired.

Lighting systems ready for Matter include those from Govee, Nanoleaf, Philips Hue and Wiz, with Matter also announced by GE Lighting, Sengled and TP-Link.

It isn’t all good news though, as Belkin decided in 2023 to step away from Matter with its Wemo smart light switches. It’s more of a “regroup and rethink” strategy, Belkin says, rather than an outright cancellation, but the move goes to show it’s still early days for Matter and not everyone is quite sure how best to approach it.

Sensors

These are foot soldiers of your smart home system. They might not look like much, but the data they collect and send are vital to the running of your home, as these signals tell other devices how to function.

Matter-ready sensors include those from Eve Systems and Tuo, with others from Nanoleaf and Netatmo coming soon.

Smart plugs

Just about as common as smart light and smart speakers, smart plugs turn whatever they’re connected to on or off. What’s key here is how Matter can help them talk to sensors, switches and other devices from loads of different manufacturers, giving the humble plug an opportunity to venture far beyond its own product ecosystem.

There are already plenty of Matter-compatible smart plugs, including models from Eve Systems, Leviton and TP-Link, with others from GE Lighting and Sengled still to come.

Belkin, as mentioned in the lighting section, has taken a temporary step back from Matter and its Wemo plug is no longer compatible.

Smart speakers and displays

The smart speaker or display is how you’re most likely to interact with your smart home, thanks to their voice assistants and broad compatibility with devices from other companies.

Their interoperability isn’t universal though, and without Matter the assistants of different speakers aren’t compatible with each other. So long as everyone’s on the same page, Matter could change this.

Smart speakers and displays that already have Matter support include Amazon’s Echo range, as well as the Apple HomePod and HomePod Mini, plus Google’s Nest speakers and hubs.

Speakers from Sonos, which joined Matter in 2022 but hasn’t yet committed to supporting the standard, is a notable exception, at least for now.

Televisions

Television manufacturers that have joined Matter include LG, Samsung, Hisense, Toshiba and TCL. However, while some of these TVs (and Samsung’s smart refrigerators) act as Matter controllers, they are not fully-fledged Matter devices. At least, not yet.

The full list of Matter devices

Here’s a list of devices that either have Matter support now, or will do in the near future. As you can see, quite a few devices are due to gain Matter support soon, but don’t have it just yet.

This situation is constantly evolving as manufacturers test Matter support and roll out software updates to their devices. Similarly, we’ll be updating this article as best we can as Matter support arrives and new compatible products are announced.