What are the advantages of a Matter-compatible smart light?
When you're buying a smart light, does Matter matter? More than you might think.
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Smart lights are nothing new, and some brands are well established. There's Lutron for those who have the budget. Philips Hue is well respected. There's Govee and Tapo and Cync. What's special about buying one that supports Matter?
Matter lights work with any smart hub
When you pick up a smart bulb's box, you'll usually see a logo such as "Works With Google Home" or "Works With Amazon Alexa." It makes intuitive sense to pick up the brand that works with whichever hub you have at home.
Thing is, what if you want to switch ecosystems in the future? You may set up your home for Apple HomeKit, only to decide you really want to try out a foldable phone like the Moto Razr. Suddenly your phone won't be supported, since that's not how Apple rolls. You'll have to use other gadgets to manage your smart home.
A Matter-compatible bulb works with any smart hub that supports the Matter standard. Since all of the major ecosystem have pledged support, you can buy a Matter light and expect it to work, regardless of whether you carry an iPhone phone, prefer to talk to Alexa, or want to manage devices from your TV.
Your lights can work offline
Many smart lights rely on an internet connection to perform many of their features. TP-Link Tapo lights, for example, work exclusively over Wi-Fi. The non-Matter versions require you to download the Tapo app and control the bulbs by sending commands via the app up to the cloud and back down to your home.
With Matter, commands can go directly from one device to another over a local network. These commands will work even if you lose your internet connection. For devices that require Wi-Fi, as long as your hub remains on and it has access to the network, you can still manage your lights from your phone and continue your automated routines. Lights that use Thread, like the Umbra Cono portable smart lamp, can communicate even without a functioning hub.
Umbra Cono Portable Smart Lamp
The Umbra Cono Lamp is an extended color light compatible with Matter, offering a diverse color palette for personalized home lighting.
You're no longer dependent on a companion app
Many brands want you to download a companion app not only to set up their product, but to activate the full range of features. This is the case with Govee lights. The Govee Floor Lamp and the Govee Floor Lamp 2 both come with a companion app, but while the original lamp requires the app, the latter lets you perform certain functions using your smart home hub instead. That's because the Govee Floor Lamp 2 is Matter-compatible.
Matter support doesn't mean you can perform specialized functions like syncing your lights to music using Google Home, but it does mean you can turn the light on and off, schedule it to turn on at certain times, change the hue, and adjust the brightness. Basically, whatever core functionality is common to all smart lights, you can do through your hub. If that's all you want, you can often delete the companion app or never download it in the first place.
You can control different brands of lights at once
The Philips Hue app does a good job of managing your Philips Hue lights, but it only works with Hue-branded products. That's all well and good if you only have Hue lights, but the second you pick up another brand, things get awkward. Now you have to switch between apps, and you can't schedule a routine in one app expecting it to also apply to bulbs in the other.
Fortunately, those Philips Hue lights can be controlled outside of the Hue app. Since the required Philip Hue Bridge that controls Hue lights supports Matter, you can add all of your lights to a third-party app like Samsung SmartThings. Then if you set up your schedules there, they can apply across several different brands simultaneously. This gives you flexibility when budgeting your smart home, because you're no longer beholden entirely to one company's prices.
Philips Hue Bridge
The Philips Hue Bridge, a gateway device by Signify, uses Zigbee for instant light response and enables Matter, a universal smart home standard, allowing seamless integration with other smart home brands and ensuring your lighting and accessories are always connected, even when Wi-Fi is down.
More flexibility with switches and sensors
There are numerous ways to control smart lights. You can use apps on your phone, but that's not ideal for families, especially those with small kids. If you put in the time, you can replace the light switches in your wall. For a more plug-and-play solution, you can get wireless buttons that you stick on the wall. Most brands offer a version of this specific to their product, but a Matter-compatible switch will work with different brands simultaneously.
Your options for motion sensors also expand. You can set up Matter-compatible sensors like the Aqara P2 in the desired corners of your home and have peace of mind that they will work no matter which bulbs you pair them with, as long as those too as Matter compatible.
Aqara Door and Window Sensor P2
The Aqara Door and Window Sensor P2, a contact sensor, is a key component of the Aqara smart home ecosystem, offering compatibility with the Matter protocol, enabling seamless integration and control within your smart home network.
Like with other smart home gadgets, the Matter standard makes smart lights a safer investment. Your lights will continue to work even if the manufacturer folds and shuts down their servers. You can migrate to a new smart home ecosystem knowing that you'll retain control over the various parts of your home. Matter gives you the flexibility to mix-and-match as you fall in love with having a degree over lights you've never had before.
About the Author
Bertel King
Staff Writer
Umbra Cono Portable Smart Lamp
The Umbra Cono Lamp is an extended color light compatible with Matter, offering a diverse color palette for personalized home lighting.