Get ready for matter with a new Smart Home display, speaker, or router

Matter 1.0 was officially announced on October 4, 2022, and the actual release is right around the corner. These are the devices you can buy today that will automatically upgrade to become Matter hubs when the smart home protocol rolls out.

Why pre-purchase a Matter Hub?

All of the devices we’re about to talk about are useful in their own right, so you don’t run the risk of buying a product that will sit idly by until the Matter protocol is active on the device.

If you already have a smart home, all of our suggested devices are either a direct upgrade to something you probably already own or a welcome addition to your smart home kit, and have the added bonus of working as a wire edge router. for Subject.

And if you don’t have much in the way of smart home gear, well, there’s no time like the present. Matter is about to usher in a golden age of smart home cross-compatibility, so you might as well start your smart home journey with a device that also serves as the hub for Matter.

Either way, all of the devices listed below are slated to get a Matter update, which means that as soon as Matter is released and the device is officially certified, you’ll have a Matter thread edge router in your hands, no matter what. need to install a rush order or discover that your preferred device is out of stock.

These devices will get automatic matter updates

There are quite a few devices with planned Matter updates that include thread edge router functionality, so there’s a good chance there’s something somewhere in your home that you’d like to update that matches.

Instead of grouping products by brand, we’ve chosen to group products by function so you can shop for what you need around the house and get a free pass to the Matter ecosystem in the process.

Transmitting video

Currently, the only streaming device on the market that can also pull double duty as a Matter-compatible Thread edge router is the Apple TV 4K (2nd generation).

If you don’t need anything else listed here, but do need a solid 4K streaming solution, it’s a great way to introduce an edge router to your smart home.

smart screens

Although Amazon has a plethora of smart displays of all sizes, currently all of its smart displays are programmed to support Matter as controllers (interfaces you can use with your Matter system), but none will be updated to serve as a Matter hub. .

If you want a combined smart display, you’ll need to lean on Google and pick a Nest Hub Max or Nest Hub (2nd gen).

smart speakers

In the smart speaker market, there are plenty of options from Amazon and Google that will support Matter as drivers, but there are no standalone speakers from Google that will become Matter hubs.

Amazon will update the Echo (4th generation) to work as a Matter hub. And Apple will update the HomePod Mini.

smart lighting

While there is broad support in the smart lighting community for Matter (Philips, for example, will update Hue Hub to be compatible with Matter and bring all Hue lights and switches into the Matter universe), right now, there is only one company activating support for Matter hubs in your hardware.

You can choose a Nanoleaf Elements, Shapes, or Lines light panel kit to add some pretty sweet ambient lighting to your home while simultaneously sneaking in a Matter hub.

WiFi routers

No need for some fancy light panel action? Don’t worry, if you’re looking for a new Wi-Fi router, especially a mesh system, you’re in luck.

Google’s Nest WiFi mesh networking platform is getting a Matter hub update. Though if you’re shopping for a mesh system from Google, be aware that they announced a new version of the Nest WiFi that supports Wi-Fi 6E on October 4, 2022. You can pre-order the Nest Wifi Pro directly from Google.

On the Amazon side of the smart home fence, there are plenty of options ready to upgrade the Matter hub. The eero Beacon, eero 6, eero Pro, and eero Pro 6 will receive an update.