The integration of Matter was already planned for the spring, but Hue has decided to take more time for it. Now support for Matter is available on the Hue Bridge. Philips Hue communicates this itself here. However, a wave of enthusiasm is unlikely to materialize.
As of now, the Hue Bridge also functions as a Matter Bridge. This means that it is now able to integrate lights, switches and sensors connected to the Hue Bridge via Zigbee using the Matter standard.
To use this in Matter-compatible smart home systems, a Matter controller is required. The good news is that many smart homes already have a suitable Matter controller, such as when an Amazon Echo, HomePod or Apple TV is present.
You can now activate Matter in the settings of your Hue app under the “Smart Home” section. Signify has placed the Matter connection in the “Other Apps” section. They may have hidden it there for now until Matter becomes compatible on a larger scale.
During setup, Signify shares that in addition to the current status (on/off, sensor data, etc.), they also communicate the names for rooms, zones, lamps, and accessories and scenes. Philips Hue is already compatible with many systems. They provide an API that is used by numerous systems. Especially for existing HomeKit users, Matter on the Hue Bridge will not offer significant added value for now.
However, the Hue Matter update can offer one advantage over Apple Home. If you use HomeKit, only certified Hue devices and Hue lights will officially show up in Apple Home. With Matter, it’s different. Third-party devices that were previously connected to the Hue Bridge via Zigbee can now also be integrated into Apple Home via Matter. That means Apple users can also rely on cheaper ZigBee lights from Innr, IKEA, and others, at least for that functionality.
Integrating the Hue Bridge via Matter is certainly not wrong as an additional choice. But we ourselves will definitely not remove our Hue system from HomeKit to switch to Matter. Currently, in our opinion, especially as HomeKit users, Matter is simply not the optimum solution. We have reported.
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