Matter

One Reddit user found the Echo Hub at Best Buy last week, but the clerk sent him away hubless. Another recently saw a big marketing display at Lowe’s complete with an empty cage where an Echo Hub should be.

Amazon said the Hub would ship at the end of 2023. It’s February 2024 and we’re still waiting. But perhaps not for much longer ...

Previously, and with most other smart locks, this was only possible over WiFi, requiring a dedicated bridge or regularly replacing your lock’s batteries (Wi-Fi is very power-hungry).

Thread is designed to be more stable and more efficient than Wi-Fi for battery-powered devices. Nuki says Thread remote access works with Apple Home and Home Assistant at launch via a Thread-enabled Matter controller. The company plans to bring its retrofit locks to the US later this year.

But, as Matter doesn’t support energy monitoring, you can only access its energy features through Eve’s iOS app or, if you’re an Android user, the Samsung SmartThings app. (You’d also need a SmartThings Matter Controller).

Yep, folks. We are still waiting on Matter to make everything easier.

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The new version adds support for Matter and can control your smart lights, locks, thermostats, and music as well as monitor your home’s energy use. You can write messages on it, and there’s a speaker and microphone for voice control.

The Mui Board has been about to launch since 2019, but the company says it’s coming for real this time. You can preorder it on Kickstarter for $499, with delivery in December 2024.

This means that LG TVs will act as Matter controllers for Google Home, giving you another option beyond a Google Nest Hub, Nest Mini, or Nest Wifi to use Matter devices with Google Home.

Moneta, who has worked for Google Home and Samsung SmartThings, is the chair of the CSA’s Marketing and Product group. So it’s his job to explain how Matter works, and he’s very good at it. He turned the hardened HomeTech.fm hosts into true believers following this interview.

As I’ve discussed, Matter has a lot of problems, but it’s encouraging to hear how they are working on solving them.

At least we’ve got three new affordable sensors coming.

Launching today, the K10 Plus costs $499.99 with a special launch price of $399.99. It can also mop, has 2500Pa of suction, and comes with a teeny, tiny auto-empty/charging station.

I saw it in person at the IFA tech show in Berlin, along with SwitchBot’s more advanced S10 robot vac, and loved its compact size, which can get into tight spaces better than most full-sized bots. I’ve been testing it and will have a review soon.

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