Matter - smart home connectivity standard (formerly Project CHIP)

Right, I remember now the “story” about the KE100, the H100 and its Kasa clone the KH100. It’s always nice they’re unifying stuff and adding Matter support. Next stop should be the water leak sensors.

The team behind the H100 usually makes a good job. I’m sure the button could be working via Matter in SmartThings if ST had implemented bindings already.

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Thread 1.4 is coming.

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Nice! :sunglasses:

With 1.4, the spec will mandate how Thread devices connect to a network.
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This means that when you add a new Thread border router it should join your existing Thread network, no matter which manufacturer it’s from. Previously, it may have set up its own network, which could cause problems.
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Credential sharing also makes connecting to your network easier for Thread devices. Now, devices such as smart bulbs and sensors should connect to any Thread border router rather than insisting on connecting with one from the smart home platform you’re setting it up with.

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This part sucks:

However, Hui says that 1.4 does not bring a fix for merging multiple existing networks. It will only help for setting up new border routers. Currently, the only solution for existing networks is to factory reset each device and set them up from scratch.

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Shortcut Labs cofounder Joacim Westlund Prändel wrote in an email to The Verge that while the Flic with Matter can (for instance) control Apple Home devices after they’re paired with Flic, it’s not quite a two-way street. You can’t, for example, add a Flic device to the Apple Home app using Matter. You can, however, add Flic 2 buttons to Apple’s app through the devices’ already-existing HomeKit integration (though only with the Flic Hub LR, as the Hub Mini isn’t HomeKit certified).

“You have to use our products to control other Matter things,” Prändel told me in an interview, “but at least you won’t be at all dependent on any privacy concerns or any big tech.” Shortcut Labs doesn’t sync device data with any cloud servers, CTO Oskar Öberg, who was also in the interview, wrote in an email afterward.

It freaks me out. Do I really want my air purifier sucking all the bad stuff in the room over the top of my coffee? :flushed:

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Turns out Nanoleaf is launching things. It’s interesting that they are launching Matter over WiFi lights (that’s a surprise, but until Thread is more spread I guess it’s wise).

The best part is the Nanoleaf Sense+ remote! It uses a proprietary protocol to communicate with the Nanoleafs, but… it also has Matter over Thread compatibility, although it’s not clear how they are exposing it (maybe as generic switch, maybe as dimmer requiring bindings, it’s not yet certified so can’t check the compliance document).

Edit: Mmmh…

Configurable Side Buttons

Get easy access to your most-used features.

Set up to 6 custom actions for quick one-touch access to your favorite colors and smart home routines (through Matter Early Access) without ever having to pull out your phone.

That reminds me the Switchbot Universal compatibility with Matter, just a couple of small buttons for Matter and nothing else. Guess I’ll pass.

Although, if there are six actions, that means at least the two buttons support single, held and double tap. It could be useful, even if most features of the remote are Nanoleaf-only.

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Haha I thought the same thing. It’s weird. But I guess the ikea one with the table is the same concept.

Does feel weird to place important things (even a cat?) in the same spot that you are pulling in your bad air.

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Matter Early Access

Set up one of the programmable side buttons

This would be a deal breaker for me. If it were both side buttons, I’d consider buying it.

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However, in addition to standard lighting controls, the Sense features two configurable buttons that can be programmed in Nanoleaf’s app or set up to work with Apple Home and Samsung SmartThings through Matter.

This lets you create automations with other devices to have, say, a “Movie Time” scene that closes the shades, dims the lights, and adjusts the thermostat with the press of a button. But, because not all Matter platforms support smart buttons yet, the Sense’s Matter integration is currently in an early access program.

The Sense uses two protocols simultaneously to connect with Nanoleaf’s lights. Matter over Thread and Litewave, a technology the company developed specifically for this product. A proprietary local protocol that works over the same 802.15.4 radio as Bluetooth/Thread, Litewave allows the switch to communicate with all Nanoleaf lights, whether they use Thread, Bluetooth, or Wi-Fi.

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I’ll wait until they are released, it’s not still clear what they’re exposing to Matter and we’ve already seen all the marketing tricks when it comes to Matter compatibility in other products.

If the two buttons have the three events exposed to Matter I’m probably getting it and making the living room full Nanoleaf (it’s mostly Nanoleaf but partially WiZ with a WiZmote and an IKEA remote).

BTW, the 2m Nanoleaf LED strip Matter over Thread is down to 25€ in the official EU store, free shipping in selected countries. Do the whites match the light bulbs?

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All of my lights are Nanoleaf (M/T).

BTW, the 2m Nanoleaf LED strip Matter over Thread is down to 25€ in the official EU store, free shipping in selected countries. Do the whites match the light bulbs?

In my opinion, yes, but a bulb is a bulb and a strip is a strip. Get them! When I bought them, they were 70 €!

My shopping list so far: 2-4 Nanoleaf Sense, 1-3 Aqara H2 light switches.

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A post was split to a new topic: Multiple Matter Controllers on Google?

This blog article published today by SmartThings doesn’t really say anything new but I found interesting that they showcase a Matter bridge from a brand that until now depended on the community to create custom drivers to work because they didn’t support SmartThings at all.

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Interesting article. Also interesting because it is a great example of how the whole smart home environment needs to get more user-friendly. I am a long way from being expert in this field, but I have spent many hours trying to get my head around SmartThings and Zigbee. I have one Ikea smart bulb (yes, really!) and a SmartThings hub with all my devices connected to it.

I have now read that blog article and have no idea at the end of it what a Matter Bridge Integration actually means in practice. Do I need a Dirigera hub for it to work? There is an implication that it assumes a system already in place based around the Ikea hub, but it isn’t very explicit and is easily overlooked on first reading. Is it software or hardware? Does it just happen? After importing into SmartThings, is the old hub redundant?

This is not intended as a criticism of anybody. But it is part of my constant plea to consider how difficult it is for those not technologically minded to enter this realm. For those of us who want it to become more accessible, with better and different smart devices and greater compatibility, I believe it is important that the barriers to entry are lowered considerably. Making it easier to understand would be a step in the right direction.

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Yes, that’s what bridges devices in the IKEA ecosystem to Matter so SmartThings can integrate them.

Matter is a common language and, for non-Matter devices, you need a translator. That translator is the bridge which usually belongs to the same vendor you want to bridge, in this case the Dirigera.

The article is written like if was something special with IKEA but it’s the same for any other brand with Matter bridges like Tapo, Aqara, Hue, Switchbot, etc. it’s the beauty of a common language after all.

However, IKEA bridged buttons for instance don’t have all the events that you’ll get with custom drivers connecting them directly to the SmartThings hub via ZigBee.

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