The marketing term is “Matter over bridge”. A Matter bridge is indeed a type of Matter device that talks Matter, exposes functionality of non-Matter devices and connects over WiFi, Ethernet or Thread.
The term is mostly used by Aqara to advertise new non-Matter products as if they had some special feature that makes them Matter compatible, when they’re just regular zigbee devices and the bridge is the one exposing the functionality to Matter.
Grumble grumble grumble.
I bought a new device last fall. So about eight months ago.
It stopped working. I contacted customer support who had me send them screenshots from two different apps plus two videos.
Then they said “OK, we’re going to send you a new one. No charge.”
The new one comes.
I have to do the setup process five different times. I do it Exactly the same way each time. I keep getting different errors at different points in the process. And finally, on the fifth try, it works and everything is fine.
Why does this stuff have to be so hard? 
Because if it was easy, cavemen could do it. Cavemen were not particularly fond of Zigbee or Z-wave protocols. Often they would become frustrated while unsuccessfully trying to pair their wooden switches to the stone hub. Their anger would spiral into a fit of rage until they ended up outside of their cave smashing rocks and yelling at cave support across the river. We know this because ancient drawings have been discovered of such behavior.
Good enough for the bathroom where the FP2 would be overkill.
The FP2 Edge Driver is on its way and it supports the most useful feature: zoning.
The Streamer is powered by the Google Home Framework for Android that was certified for Matter 1.3 a week ago. Looks like the framework supports Matter buttons and scenes, but since Google Home app does not support them yet I guess we’ll have to wait.
The same framework should be in the Chromecast with Google TV which will receive a update later this year to be a Matter controller.
the 4th generation is on the way… with Matter Support.
Google Nest Thermostat (4th generation - 2024)
Official now. Matter over wifi.
I ordered two of these Arpobot Thread/Matter Roller Blind Motors which came to market recently after their very delayed Kickstarter.
Sweet! Exactly what I’ve been looking for. Can you report back?
I think you skipped the most important step.
After some trial-and-error I found that the most important part of the pairing/setup process isn’t adequately documented.
I would try to set something up, and it didn’t work the first time. I swore at it, tried again, it worked. It’s true, sometimes it took more than 2 tries, but on those occasions I found if I escalated the heat of my language, it cooperated. (Please note that my husband is a retired sailor and so my vocabulary is extensive. YMMV)
After puzzling over it for awhile, I had an idea. The next time I had a new device, I swore at it BEFORE I tried to set it up. Imagine that! It worked the first time!
I hope you may find this tip useful.
Truth! (Perhaps @JDRoberts was being too kind to his new device!)
<rant>
Use Cases: in the haste to get product to market, no doubt it “worked” at least once. As a former software manager, I sometimes had to fight back–the product “just isn’t ready yet!” In one notorious case, marketing & product management told us in engineering: “Just ship it!” Knowing full well it didn’t work, it was shipped–and upper management was so happy the numbers for the quarter were met. Their rationale–and I kid you not–was, “Keep working on it and we’ll get a fix ready before the customer even gets it installed!”
Sad. But, time-to-market is important, numbers must be met, and customer satisfaction sometimes gets the back seat.
</rant>
But I really like the idea @epukane suggests and plan to try it out soon! 
Now showing the SmartThings logo here, I ordered one!
They are very good, get them! I ordered 4 more.
One problem, one kept going offline so I factory reset it and commissioned it to google home then back to SmartThings, no problems since.
Thanks for the response and the photos.
Pre-order the upgraded Arpobot Smart Shade today, shipping in October! We’re enhancing our software to align with the latest Matter version, ensuring a more seamless connection and adding new features. Secure your spot now and receive a free extra battery as a thank you for your support—don’t miss out!
Just in time!
“is also a Matter smart home hub and a Thread border router”
Thanks to this thread, I have a good idea of what a Matter controller and a Matter Bridge are. What is this “Matter smart home hub” then? Is it an equivalent to the SmartThings hub? Also, I have never understood what a “Thread border router” is, although I think I know what Thread is.
As I have written before, if this kind of thing is ever going to become mainstream, there needs to be much clearer guidance that is easy to find so that people who are not prepared to dig deep and expend hours of time to find out whether widget X from manufacturer A works with system F can confidently buy stuff and then get it working relatively easily.
A Matter hub is the informal way to call the Matter controller. It may or may not include Thread border router capabilities.
Think of a wireless technology like WiFi but made for low-power devices and including perks like forming a mesh for extra reliability. Just like WiFi, it exposes devices to your local network.
For WiFi devices you need a WiFi router, which usually you already have at home. For Thread devices you need a “Thread border router” to do the same, it doesn’t even have to be of the same brand of the Matter controller although right now it’s a good idea and usually come together with a Matter controller.
