The new Matter smart home standard launched to device makers back in October, and more details were shared with consumers two weeks ago. Now, the popular smart home accessory maker Meross has unveiled one of the first Matter devices that you actually order, a new Wi-Fi smart plug that works with Matter out of the box…
The new Wi-Fi smart plug from Meross is one of the first smart home accessories you can order that is designed specifically to work with Matter, as pointed out by The Verge. There’s even a fancy Matter logo on the front so you can distinguish it from other non-Matter smart home products you might already have.
Some smart home device makers are planning to update existing devices with Matter support with software updates, but those updates haven’t yet started to roll out broadly. Eve, for instance, will start rolling out Matter software updates in December. Eve will then make Matter-certified products available in retail in Q1 of 2023.
As it stands today, Apple’s Home app and Samsung SmartThings are the two main platforms with support for Matter accessories. Support from other platforms is expected over the coming months, with Amazon promising updates starting later this year.
You can order the new Meross Wi-Fi smart plug with Matter support starting today. The accessory will retail for $50 for two plugs, but the company is offering a 50% discount for early adopters. This means you can get two Matter-certified smart plugs for just $25. The first orders will begin shipping on December 31.
With Matter still relatively limited in scope, the biggest benefit of buying a device with out-of-the-box support is longevity. As more platforms begin to support Matter, you’ll know that a product certified for the standard will also be supported by those platforms.
There are over 280 companies that are members of the Matter group, including big names like Apple, Amazon, and Google. The initial release of Matter will support a number of the most common categories of smart home accessories: lighting and electrical, HVAC controls, window coverings and shades, safety and security sensors, door locks, media devices including TVs, controllers as both devices and applications, and bridges.
The Matter standard could be a major boon to smart home adoption and popularity. It works by giving accessories cross-platform capabilities without nearly as much overhead as before. Whether or not this turns out to be the case remains to be seen, but we’ll learn more over the coming months.
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