At the time of this posting, matter offers three protocol options:
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Matter over WiFi. No additional hub required.
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Matter over Thread. You must have at least one “thread border router“ in your home. There is one built into the v3 hubs and the Station, but not the V2.
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Matter over Bridge. This method allows an end device of a non-matter protocol, typically Zigbee or Bluetooth, to be brought in to a matter setup using a “matter bridge“ device typically provided by the end device manufacturer. Several of the aqara hubs are also matter bridges and can bridge many of their Zigbee devices into matter. The SwitchBot hub 2 is a matter bridge that can bring in many of its Bluetooth devices including its lock. And the Phillips hue hub is a matter bridge that can bring in many of its Zigbee devices, including some third-party Zigbee green power devices which would otherwise not be supported by SmartThings.
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Aqara does have a few end devices which are individually certified for matter, typically using thread. But I believe at the time of this posting all of their locks except the U200 require a matter bridge to use matter.
BTW, aqara does have a couple of cameras which have hub capability and also act as matter bridges, if that’s of any interest. You can’t use the Camera function in the SmartThings app, but you can use it in its own app and stream it to an echo device. And it’s an IR blaster. This device is a perfect example of why I’m willing to go outside my existing ecosystem to get some specific features and use case solutions. 
