The wait for the first major update to iOS 16 is almost over. Apple revealed Thursday in a backwards sort of way that iOS 16.1 will reach iPhones everywhere on October 24.
And one of the new features in iOS 16.1 is support for matter accessories.
Doesn’t mean matter will instantly work, it’s just another piece being moved into place.
Have anyone tried the Matter devices yet?
Today I have run the virtual matter device from Google example and the experiment failed.
In the Smartthings app, the device is found but the handshake failed with a “not supported” message. The Google Home app fails even earlier - on the discovery step.
Also, the list of supported device types is rather short. I haven’t even found a basic button (remote) device type.
So I don’t understand if it is possible to link a controller from one manufacturer to devices from another provider. Will there be Matter protocol scene controllers?
Sadly, the first rule of home automation still applies: “The model number matters.” So it all comes down to the details.
There are several possible scenarios.
A. A Matter Controller from one brand controls Matter devices from another brand.
Absolutely possible when the end devices are themselves individually Matter-certified (right now, WiFi or Thread).
So for example once Matter is fully supported, you will be able to add an Eve brand sensor (Thread) to your SmartThings account, something you could not do before. But you will need at least one “Thread Border Router” to collect the messages. That could be a SmartThings/Aeotec V3 hub. But not a V2 hub.
If you have a V2 hub or no hub, you can use the Thread Border Router inside some Amazon Echo or some Google Home devices. Or an Apple HomePod Mini. Or any other Thread Border Router from any other company. You only need one.
This is possible if and only if those end devices are connected to a “Matter Bridge.”
This will work similarly to how the SmartThings/Philips Hue LAN integration works today. You add the bridge to your account, and it brings many of its devices with it.
This will allow for several integrations which are not possible today.
For example, several Aqara hubs will be certified Matter bridges. You will be able to connect Aqara sensors to one of these Aqara hubs and then Add that Aqara hub to your SmartThings account and it will bring most of its devices along with it. Fast, easy, no custom code required and the integration will run locally. And you won’t need a SmartThings/Aeotec hub for the integration.
Unfortunately, the SmartThings/Aeotec hub will NOT be a Matter bridge. So you cannot add it to, say, the Apple HomeKit app or the Ikea Dirigera app. (This is probably because zwave is going to be way harder to use with Matter than zigbee due to differences in address protocols.)
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So…it depends what you mean by “link a controller.”
If you mean add individual devices from one brand to another brand’s Matter-supporting app, yes if those devices are individually matter-certified.
If they are not individually matter-certified, they have to be connected to a “Matter bridge.” Then you add that matter bridge device to another brand’s app, and that bridge brings a lot of its connected devices along with it.
So far Philips Hue and Aqara have said they will have at least one model hub that is a Matter bridge.
Tuya’s statements were unclear because they said they would have some Matter support, but they used nonstandard terminology.
SmartThings said they will not offer a Matter Bridge at this time.
IKEA’s new Dirigera hub will definitely be a Matter Controller, but we don’t yet know if it will be a Matter Bridge.
So…the model number matters. 
YOUR SECOND QUESTION
Will there be Matter protocol scene controllers?
I’m sorry, I don’t understand what you mean by this.
If you are just asking if the Matter standard includes handheld actuators, right now it doesn’t, but some buttons will work. again, it depends on the model.
Flic has announced that its buttons will work with Matter, but only when used with their Flic mini hub. That’s the same way they work with SmartThings and HomeKit. But there’s a trick to it: these buttons look like sensors or webhooks to the other platforms. (That’s why at the time of this writing they are the only third party buttons that can trigger an Alexa routine, for example.)
I have heard that some other device manufacturers plan to bridge their buttons as switches, although the button itself cannot be turned on with an automation. Just a physical press.
So we will just have to wait and see on this one.
basically my questions: If I have TRÅDFRI Shortcut button, white smart - IKEA with the latest and greatest IKEA hub . would it be possible to create a routine in ST app to turn on Samsung dishwasher ?
will be there Matter buttons that doesn’t require a hub in the future?
It will be possible IF that Ikea hub is a “Matter Bridge” and IF that Matter Bridge exposes the button to other platforms.
Those are two different questions, and we don’t know the answer to either one yet. Presumably when the Dirigera hub is released next month we will find out.
will be there Matter buttons that doesn’t require a hub in the future?
Someday, yes, using Thread. But when? We don’t know.
For example, WeMo has a 3 button scene controller that uses Thread and works with HomeKit. They have announced Matter support for some of their other devices, but not this one. Once Matter has a button device class, it wouldn’t need a hub: but we’re not there yet.
Nice to see but is it necessary to install matter drivers? I thought it would automatically add drivers if we have a matter device?
Yes, they are going to be part of the stock driver set once everything is fully transitioned.
Oh, ah, right! I admit I often accidentally neglect Zigbee Matter bridges. Thank you for the reminder.
On that topic, the Z-Wave Alliance recently congratulated Matter on their 1.0 release, called it an “impressive“ launch, and emphasized the need for Z-Wave Matter bridges.
However, unexpectedly, the Z-Wave Alliance insinuates existing Z-Wave devices are now legacy devices. Perhaps just a funny choice of words.
If Matter succeeds in getting homeowners comfortable purchasing and setting up new products but misses by making it difficult to adapt legacy devices already in market, it wouldn’t really fulfil its promise. With a large existing install base of Zigbee, Z-Wave, and other wireless IoT protocols across the smart home, bridges will play a key role in connecting Matter to legacy devices and becoming interoperable with new Matter networks.
The new Ikea hub will be available on November 1st in the US at IKEA stores.
Good news and bad news.
Good news first:
Ikea has a long-term commitment to Matter and the first step that we are targeting now is for Dirigera to become a Matter bridge in a couple of months,”
Bad news: “a couple of months” could mean anything, including, to be honest, never. You just don’t know With hardware until it’s actually delivered.
So… Dirigera could indeed be the zigbee/Matter hub we’ve been waiting for, but it’s not here yet even if you’ll be able to buy one in a few weeks. Because the one you’ll be able to buy in a few weeks won’t have matter support yet.
iOS 16.1 is now public, which means iOS officially supports Matter. Two Matter Controllers live, but no devices to add…
It’s apparently available at my local store here in the Great White North.
Tempted to go get one just to have one.
Love the idea of a low cost Matter controller AND bridge, unlike the one sitting here now.
Interestingly a few of the Ikea products now say they require the Dirigera hub even though the hub itself is not yet officially available everywhere.
From the shortcut button:
To use this smart product, you need the DIRIGERA hub (sold separately).
.
This smart product can also be connected to a TRÅDFRI gateway.
.
This product is part of our smart home range. Connect it, along with other smart products, to DIRIGERA hub and IKEA Home smart app for more features and functions.
My dirigera will arrive on thursday. Im in Sweden.
IKEA Australia App shows Dirigera Hub available for delivery but not in store yet.
With added “Australia tax” by the looks - $99.
Again, while I think the Dirigera has great potential, and I understand people might want to go ahead and get one now, it’s important to note that it will initially ship without matter support and you won’t be able to add it to smartthings at this time. (Although you will be at able to add it to Apple HomeKit.) they are saying that they do want to support matter but that it will be “a few months.“ And we’ve all seen situations where integrations were promised that were then never delivered, or were delivered with a different set of features. So just know what you are getting if you order it now, which is a new IKEA hub that works with HomeKit and is promising future delivery of matter integration.
This should probably go somewhere else, but here it is.
Paid $79.99 
for it.
It has a USB-C adapter, so that’s an added bonus.
Starts up faster, hub firmware update was definitely faster than the previous device.
Home Assistant recognised it as a HomeKit controller, but the code on the bottom didn’t work for pairing it.
I’m not an Apple person, so no loss for me personally.
Edit: A reboot of the Dirigera hub allowed it to be connected to Home Assistant.
Time will tell how well this hub works out once they roll out the Matter update.
Now to go tinker with it and see what all will pair with it.
Posted this in another topic, but I’ll put it here as well.
I really like the following article about how Thread differs from Zigbee and zwave with regard to Matter.
