Google's popular Nest Thermostat is this week getting an update that will bring with it support for an exciting new smart home standard called Matter and with it, a major upgrade to Apple Home compatibility.
Google says this now means you can adjust your home's temperature and your thermostat's mode with multiple Matter-certified smart home platforms and apps, including excitingly, Apple Home.
Starting April 18, an over-the-air update for the Nest Thermostat from 2020 brings with it Matter support. "Great news! We're rolling out Matter compatibility for our newest Nest Thermostat," Google stated, in a blog post spotted by The Verge.
Nest without a hub
This is tremendous news either for those who already own a Nest Thermostat, or want a great thermostat option for their home. Until now, we've not been able to recommend the Nest Thermostat in our best HomeKit thermostats for the Home app 2023 roundup because it doesn't support HomeKit, and could only be used in an Apple-powered smart home by using a bridge. Now, however, with Matter support, it will work natively with your Apple Home ecosystem and can be controlled using your iPhone, or Siri through a HomePod without the need for any additional hardware.
Google says this update is rolling out Matter compatibility "over the next few weeks", so not everyone will have support from day one. However, the Nest Thermostat is now a valid entry on our list of what works with Matter.
New Nest Thermostats bought recently or in the future will also get access to this upgrade by the same over-the-air update, so this is really excellent news when it comes to smart homes powered by Apple.
This is the first major example of a great smart home product previously out of reach to Apple users that is now a totally viable purchase thanks to Matter. It opens up a whole new world of smart home tech to those that previously couldn't use it.
