Yes, I should have been clearer about that. As you said, you get to add them as Zigbee devices in ST or Matter over Bridge devices in ST and you can only commission them in both ecosystems if they are Matter over Bridge devices.
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Until they allow local control thereâs no advantage in practice.
Matter has the concept of multi-admin where several ecosystems can control the same device so, if you have Matter devices in SmartThings (be them WiFi or Thread), you can âshareâ them to other ecosystems, like Google Home. Technically you would not need a Thread border router in the Google Home side since the Thread connection is handled by SmartThings in your case.
In practice, when GH allows local control, it will mean that controlling your Matter devices from the phone is going to be faster and more reliable with the GH app since it will not use the cloud like SmartThings does.
But thereâs nothing else, they will be still two different ecosystems.
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In the âwhat is Matter good for today?â
My current answer is
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itâs great for using the same device in more than one home automation platform at the same time. For example, if you want to use Apple home as your app and Alexa as your voice assistant and SmartThings as your rules engine, Matter makes that easy.
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Itâs great for increasing the selection of devices you can use with Apple home.
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For many people, it will improve the reliability of the devices in every day use.
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for people using SmartThings, it will significantly increase the number of connections which run locally, although the SmartThings app still requires an active cloud connection. And so do some automations.
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Everybody gets a new selection of candidate devices using thread.
ââ
But thatâs it. As of the time of this posting, we definitely havenât gotten easier onboarding or easier pre-purchase research.
We have gotten an easier way to use devices with multiple home automation platforms simultaneously and more thread options.
Those already using Apple home (which already ran everything locally, except voice processing) get a lot more devices to choose from.
Those already using SmartThings (which already had lots of devices to choose from) get more local operation, although the app still requires the cloud. And a lot more devices that wonât require custom code.
Those already using google home or Alexa get an easier way to use devices with multiple platforms at the same time, plus additional local operation.
So I wonât say itâs useless: I think there have been some real benefits, Although which benefits you get depend on what you were already using. But it definitely hasnât delivered on its big promises for people who arenât power users, that is, easier device selection and easier onboarding. Hopefully, they can improve in both those areas in the future.
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Hopefully wonât require custom Edge drivers. Weâre already seeing where ST hasnât implemented all the capabilities for some Matter devices in their stock Matter Edge drivers 
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Yes, good point.
I do think that eventually matter will make it much easier to use some Tuya devices in SmartThings, specifically those that can be bridged. And we should see less need for power users to use virtual devices as proxies.
Just expanding the number of tuya devices that can be used without custom code would be a big benefit for a large segment of the forum community, I think. 
I know weâre not there yet, but it is one of the things I hope for in the future.
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The 3R-Installer app is a weird one. I beleive Thirdreality released it solely for the purpose of updating the firmware on their Matter devices. Hence no third party matter support or outside the home control. But whatâs weird is one of the features of Matter was supposed to be the Distribute Compliance Ledger (DCL) validating firmware versions and providing a way to securely distribute firmware updates. So either all Matter controllers donât yet support firmware updates or Thirdreality isnât submitting them to the DCL.
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SmartThings didnât share any update so itâs not yet applying all available firmwares: Matter OTA Controlled Rollout Plan
I donât know the situation in other controllers, itâs probably going slow like Matter bindings.
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It appears they have Not submitted it for matter certification, In which case they can do whatever they want with it. 
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The bridge itself is CSA certified âŠ
Summary
Ironically, the zigbee bridge canât talk to their matter over wifi devices.
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I suppose you may be right, but they advertise it this way:
With the 3R-Matter App, you can seamlessly connect your Matter-compatible devices, eliminating complex setup procedures. Tailor your devices to your preferences by fine-tuning basic attributes to ensure they work exactly the way you want them to. Stay up-to-date with the latest features and improvements through convenient software upgrades, all managed within the App.
Welcome to a world of smart living made simple. Elevate your smart home experience with the 3R-Matter App, where connectivity and control meet simplicity and convenience.
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I donât know if thatâs ironic, thatâs true for most of the bridges so far, including Tuya and Aqara. In those cases, the app can talk to the Wi-Fi devices, but the bridge cannot.
Another Matter Bridge.
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EWeLink is an app/cloud service used by a number of home automation brands, including Sonoff and Losonho for many models.
They have a paid services subscription for $10 a year, which gives you additional features, in particular IFTTT and web hooks that can be used for other integrations, Plus a pretty nice custom dashboard system. I think itâs a reasonable business model because the cloud service does cost them something for every customer, plus the additional customer service.
I helped a friend set up the paid service on her account for some devices last year, so I have a little familiarity with it, but not much.
Anyway, theyâve just added some new features to the paid service, including the ability to add matter devices and matter bridges to those custom dashboards.
I donât know if you can use matter devices with their platform without the paid subscription or not. But it was interesting.
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Mat from Not Enough Tech posted a video this week on the Sonoff Bridge Ultra.
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Aqara just announced the âŹ39.99 Wall Outlet H2, which offers a one-for-one smart replacement for standard 16A wall sockets used in Europe.
Wall Outlet H2 is built on Zigbee 3.0, not Thread
Matter over bridge. 
can be integrated into Matter-compliant homes if you have a compatible Aqara hub like the new M3 installed.
Not sure yet if/how the energy monitoring will be exposed to SmartThings.
Home Depot has added the eve matter over thread in wall outlet to their âbuy more save moreâ program, so if youâre buying at least three you get 20% off, although the offer may vary by store.
As previously mentioned, this is a matter over thread device and has some nice features. The two sockets are individually controllable, although energy reporting combines them into one. I donât know exactly what energy reporting features you get in SmartThings, or if it appears on the energy dashboard, but you do get something. Itâs also one of the first Matter over thread devices which works as a thread repeater. Quality build, UL listed.
I just posted it under the memorial day sale deals, but I figured it was worth calling out in this topic, since I know a lot of people here have been waiting for it.
Notice the price in the picture is for a pack of two, and again, each socket can be individually controlled.
Memorial Day sales 2024 - #7 by JDRoberts
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With that offer, you get Qty 6 outlets for about $240 or $40/ea. That $10 cheaper than the individual price on Amazon. Plus it free delivery so there is no penalty for not being able to use Prime. If my Z-Wave outlets start acting up, this is likely the direction Iâll go.
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With the unfortunate demise of the German âmatter Smart Homeâ blog, which did a great job of keeping up on industry developments, I am pleased to see that the always thorough HomeKitNews site has now added a section for reviews of Matter devices.
While understandably their primary interest will be about Apple home, this particular site typically does deep dive hands on reviews, not just a regurgitation of a manufacturerâs press release, so often has details that other sites miss. They also usually cover the engineering specifications for those interested in that aspect.
Also, the site covers three regions: North America, EU, and Asia.
Worth bookmarking and checking occasionally for new product releases.
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