While it’s true that Matter over WiFi doesn’t use repeaters, check The manufacturer instructions carefully for any smart bulb you are considering, as most still say that they should always have power for two reasons.
-
if you cut power to a smart bulb, say with a wall switch, it won’t be able to hear the next “on“ command for the network, so you lose the ability to control them with voice or automations until you restore power again.
-
The radio in most smart bulbs is sensitive to what is called “inrush current“ when the bulb is powered up again, so that overtime, cutting and restoring power to smart bulbs can reduce the working life of the radio, often by as much as 25%. There’s typically no safety issue, but it does make expensive bulbs even more expensive since you have to replace them more often. Sengled are the exception to this since they are designed to be turned on and off like a Dumb bulb.
So with a few exceptions, I would treat matter over Wi-Fi bulbs like any other smart bulbs, and try to avoid cutting power to them. If it happens once in a while, like with a storm-caused power outage, it shouldn’t be an issue. But if you need a bulb where you can regularly cut the power, check the manufacturer’s guidelines for that model. And of course, always be aware in your planning that when you do cut the power, you’ll have to manually restore power before you can use network or voice commands again.
(It’s probably obvious, but “cutting power“ means literally cutting the current going to the bulb, typically with a dumb wall switch. If you turn the bulb off with a network or voice command, that’s no problem as the bulb still has power for its radio, so it can turn itself on again.)
- and one more point, unrelated to cutting power: Zigbee became popular for smart bulbs for several good reasons. The odds are that once you go all in on automation, you will have more smart bulbs than most other device classes. The average American home has about 40 bulbs, But it’s not uncommon to see 60.
If you use matter over Wi-Fi, that means you’re using 40 to 60 device slots on your Wi-Fi router just for lightbulbs. Many home routers max out at about 75 slots, the more expensive ones typically handle up to 125, but some can only handle 30. Taking 40 of those slots Just for lightbulbs may reduce the number of other devices you can add.
(Separately, your ISP may also limit the number of Wi-Fi devices you can have, it’s just something to be aware of. Comcast, for example, will let you have unlimited devices on some unlimited data plans, but restrict your connections to as low as 15 on some of their budget plans.)
Anyway, speaking just for myself, I reserve Wi-Fi for the device classes Which can fully utilize Wi-Fi for audio and video streams like video doorbells, and tablets. And of course, for Internet bridges. But otherwise, I will typically choose a different protocol, and Zigbee happens to be a very good one for lighting.
Choice is good, and if you want to go with Wi-Fi lighting, that’s up to you. Just be aware of the issues you can run into before you start investing time and money. 
FWIW.
obviously, still relevant here, but as anybody who follows my posts will pick up pretty quickly, I do pay a lot of attention to the strengths and weaknesses of each protocol, so I tend to seek clarity if an issue with the SmartThings platform is described as an issue with the protocol. But that’s just me.
