We have some simple home automation here. Lights come on at sunset and go off again later. Some lights we turn on or off by calling out. Nothing fancy. Mostly these were done with Wifi connected switches via whatever app they need which is hooked in to Google home and Apple Home.
In the past it's been a struggle to configure new devices, often having to try over and over again. Some of them tend to drop of the Wifi network at times. Zigbee based mesh networking is an alternative but requires a hub to link to your network.
Happily Apple, Google, and the manufacturers have come together and agreed on a standard for setup, status and control called Matter and a mesh network called Thread. My local electrical store didn't have any Matter + Thread devices but, guess what, the old stock is on special! I ordered some bulbs on line.
If you're buying, make sure you see these little icons on the box:
Adding the "accessories" to my Home was the best experience I've ever had. Open the Google or Apple Home app, scan the 2D barcode on the device, plug in the device and in seconds it had been found and added. There is a link to a manufacturer's app but there's no need to install it or use it for control.
You might think that a Wifi to Thread radio hub might be needed but happily Apple has been quietly building Thread in to many of their products for years. Thread is in Apple TV, HomePods, iPhone 15 and later, iPads (M4 Pro, M2 Air), MacBooks (M3 and later). I was pleased to learn that starting with iOS 18 newer iPhones can directly control Matter devices over Thread radio locally without needing Wifi or internet. This makes the experience fast and reliable.
Google has been doing a similar thing and Thread routers are in the Nest Hub (2nd gen), Nest Hub Max, Nest Wifi, Google TV Streamer (4K), and is expected to be in the Pixel 10 phones. Android version 15 or later supports Matter.
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