Your smart home should be set up in a way that streamlines your usage. Setting up the smart home should take a little bit of thought, as you want devices that you’re going to utilize to make your life easier. You don’t just want to add a bunch of smart bulbs to your home because you can. If you’re going to use them on a schedule or because they have different color options, that’s a different story.

There are so many smart home devices to choose from that it can be overwhelming to get the right system in place. The worst thing you can do is have a bunch of devices not connected and collecting dust because they didn’t actually serve the purpose that you wanted. I have a box in my basement of smart home devices that I don’t use because I wasn’t smart about early purchases. I’ve started to go the route of focusing on Matter-enabled devices for any purchase.

Matter devices can work in all kinds of smart homes

Setting them up is easy if you pay attention

The reason why Matter is so appealing to smart homeowners is its versatility. Matter is an open-source connectivity standard that provides universal compatibility. This means that Matter devices can work within many smart home ecosystems.

If you’re looking for the Matter logo on a product box, you’re going to have more flexibility in terms of how you want to set up your smart home. While Matter’s popularity has rendered some smart home devices obsolete, it has created greater opportunities for users to expand their ecosystems beyond a single platform.

When you’re using Matter, you can use products that work with Google, Amazon, Samsung, and Apple smart home systems, to name a few. Matter runs over your local Wi-Fi, Ethernet, or via Thread Border Routers to connect with one another and your smart home. Because of local connections, your devices are more secure and better prepared against malicious activity.

Matter-enabled gadgets only require a scan of the QR code on the box to get you into setup mode. From there, you just need to follow prompts to set up your device on your smart home platform of your choosing. If you don’t have one set up yet, you should probably consider a Matter hub.

A Matter hub can lead the way for your smart home

This could be the start of a beautiful partnership

If you have a Matter hub, it allows you to utilize the Matter protocol across platforms and connect your devices. Using a Matter hub, you can control different devices around your home all from one central place.

This is the case for many smart home hubs. But a lot of the time, you have to use the same manufacturer for all your devices in order for them to work. Because Matter is an open standard, this frees you up to spread your technology around.

A Matter hub doesn’t only lock you in to Matter devices either. You can find ones that are compatible with other protocols like Z-Wave and Zigbee, which let you enjoy the connectivity of smart home devices without needing to use Wi-Fi. This is also how you work in Thread as well.

A Matter hub doesn’t necessarily have to be a Thread Border Router and a Thread Border Router doesn’t have to be a Matter hub. But when a Matter hub is a Thread Border Router, it gives you more reach to set up your smart home.

The types of devices you can choose from are many

You should be able to find one that you’re familiar with

For those who want a Matter hub, you have a decent number of ones to pick from. If you have never set up a smart home before, you might not have the experience to know which one to pick.

My personal opinion is to choose one with a screen, which makes it easier for you to control when you’re at it. If not, you need to use an app to control multiple devices. You might be able to get away with using voice commands for everything, but you’ll still need to use an app to set up the voice commands.

This is the case for Matter hubs like an Apple HomePod, HomePod mini, Echo Dot Max, Google Smart Speaker, Aeotec Smart Home Hub (1 or 2), or even something like the Zemismart iFi Smart Switch. These don’t have screens, so you need to use other ways of controlling them.

If you want an option with a screen or one that uses a remote with a screen, an Apple TV 4K, Google TV Streamer 4K, Echo Show 8, 11, 15, 21, or an EcoFlow PowerInsight can all serve as Matter hubs.

For those who like to stay within open source platforms, Home Assistant Green provides that flexibility as well. You’re not locked into specific manufacturers or products in that instance.

A Matter hub might be the right place to start your smart home

For anyone that wants to get more from their smart home, opting for a Matter hub that runs it all can be a cheat code for success. This can help you set up your home with more devices at your fingertips because they can work together and don’t need to be from the same manufacturer. A Matter hub gives you versatility when setting up your home that other smart home hubs don’t.