Zemismart matter wifi bulbs

hi everyone. i purchased a zemismart brand matter enabled wifi bulb. its currently being shipped. i was under the impression that if its a wifi bulb and the matter logo is on the packaging then it will be compatible with any matter enabled platforms and that a hub is not mandatory. later in the description of the product page it says matter hub required. i was wondering if its true that i will be needing a matter enabled hub like the smartthings station. dont know if this helps but i got the bulbs from aliexpress. btw im new to the whole smart home thing :slight_smile:

[Zemismart Matter Over WiFi 7W Smart LED Light Bulb RGBCW E27 Dimmable Lighting SmartThings Siri Alexa Google Home Voice - AliExpress]

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005564467888.html?spm=a2g0o.order_detail.order_detail_item.3.5422f19cFNg9wN

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A SmartThings hub is required to use matter devices with SmartThings. It could be a freestanding hub such as the v2, v3, Aeotec, ST Station, or hubs built in Samsung TVs and appliances.

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Welcome! :sunglasses:

Technically there’s no such thing as a “Matter hub,” but you do require a “matter controller” for each platform you want to add the device to, and in SmartThings’ case, as @Paul_Oliver mentioned, that means a SmartThings/Aeotec hub.

See the community FAQ:

FAQ: What do I need to add a Matter device to the SmartThings app? Do I need a bridge router device?

So, yes, to use any matter device with SmartThings you do need to have a SmartThings hub. The Station would be fine, and is typically the least expensive, unless you already have one of the Samsung devices with a hub built-in. It’s also a decent phone charger, for what that’s worth.

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Thankyou guys for replying so soon.
So isnt the platform itself a matter controller ?
Im currently eyeing the smartthings station as it seems to be the cheaper option. Is there anything cheaper. Like are there 3rd party brand options ?

A “Matter Controller” is a specific device which is able to send and receive messages from matter-certified devices. Each home automation platform that supports matter has its own. In the case of smartthings, right now that is only the smartthings branded hubs (standalone, or built into another Samsung device) or the Aeotec “works as a smartthings hub“ hub. So the station is the least expensive option for that.

There aren’t any third-party matter controllers that work with smartthings, I’m not even sure that’s technically possible. :thinking:

At the time of this writing, If you want to use matter with Apple, you have to have an Apple HomePod mini or an Apple TV box. If you want to use matter with Alexa, you have to have one of the echo devices that works as a matter controller. If you want to use matter with Google Home, you have to have one of the Google home devices that acts as a matter controller. And if you want to use matter with smartthings, you’ll have to have a Samsung device that works as a matter controller.

Then whichever matter controller you have should be able to bring in third-party WiFi end devices that have the Matter logo.

So there’s a lot more integration than there used to be, but there are still some platform-specific requirements. :man_shrugging:t2:

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Oh my god this clears up everything. Thankyou so much.
Is there like a list where i can find all samsung applicances that have built in hub capabilities ? Or does the smartthings official website has a place for that ? Because i am planning on getting some samsung stuff amd thougt if so then no need of purchasing the station

I haven’t seen an official list, they’ve mostly just been announcing model by model. @Automated_House might know if there is one.

The following article does list some specific items. Note that some have the hub chip built in and some need to have an additional optional dongle that you add.

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