Matter and Your Favorite Apps and Ecosystems

Works With, Not Instead of, the Apps You Love

Smart home control via smartphone, a hand holding a mobile phone with illuminated smart device icons, connecting to a black cylindrical smart speaker

Matter isn’t a new app to download or a separate smart home system you’ll need to learn. Think of it as a universal language spoken between devices, one that lets your smart devices talk directly to each other and to the ecosystems you already use and rely on every day.

Matter is designed to enable your favorite smart home devices and ecosystems to make your home simpler and more reliable for everyone in your household.

What Is an Ecosystem?

An ecosystem is a platform you use to manage your home, like Amazon Alexa, Apple Home, Google Home, or Samsung SmartThings.

It’s a centralized system where you can control devices using things like voice commands, smartphone apps, and automated routines.

Matter doesn’t replace these ecosystems. Instead, it makes them more flexible by letting you control a wider range of products quickly, locally, and reliably, giving you the freedom to choose the brands you love while keeping everything working together.

Most smart home ecosystems have been updated to support Matter, so there’s no need to start over to begin or grow your smart home with Matter devices.

Find out how your smart home ecosystem works with Matter:

Freedom for Everyone in the Home

One of Matter’s important features is Multi-Admin. Simply put, it lets a single smart device connect to multiple apps and ecosystems at the same time.

This means everyone in your household can use the phone, voice assistant, or controller they prefer, whether that’s an iPhone, an Android device, a smart display, a smart speaker, or physical buttons and dials, to control the same set of products.

Once a device is connected to your first ecosystem, you can share it with another using the first ecosystem’s or device maker’s app.

Learn More About Multi-Admin

Lock your door with your voice on your Google Nest Hub, and your partner will get a notification from Apple Home on their iPhone.

Create a Home Assistant routine to start the robot vacuum in the kitchen, then pause it with a voice command to Alexa if it’s in your way.

View Matter security camera streams on your Samsung TV, and on your smartphone when you’re away from home.

Adjust advanced power settings for your smart plug in the eWeLink app, while letting your kids turn it on or off with a smart speaker.

Choosing Your Ecosystem

To connect a Matter device to a specific smart home ecosystem, you need a Matter Controller from that brand. For example, you might use an Amazon Echo for Alexa, a HomePod for Apple Home, a Google Nest Hub for Google Home, or a Samsung Smart TV for SmartThings.

Setup is consistent across all of them: In most cases, you can simply scan the Matter QR code on the device or in the box, and your chosen app guides you through the rest of the setup process.

Control Without Compromise

You don’t have to choose between connecting devices to an ecosystem and enjoying advanced, unique experiences with them.

While Matter enables ecosystems to more easily handle everyday control, coordination, and automation, many smart home devices still have their own dedicated apps to give you more advanced controls or access to device configuration and settings.

Compatibility Confidence

The Matter badge on the box guarantees a device speaks the universal language and offers the benefits that come with Matter, such as ease of setup, local control, and interoperability.

Because not every ecosystem supports every Matter device type, many smart home devices also carry “Works With” badges from one or more ecosystems to provide extra confidence that the device works with your chosen platforms or apps.

Matter gives you ultimate flexibility. You are free to buy the hardware you like best, control it with the apps you already trust, and build a smart home that truly fits your life.