A lifelong storyteller and gadget nerd, Bertel has spent his entire adult career immersed in consumer tech. He covered news for Android Police during the wild smartphone boom years of 2013-2016, helped readers make use of technology at none other than MakeUseOf from 2014-2025, and continues to write passionately about our digital tools and companions over at How-To Geek. Matter gave him the confidence to build a smart home of his own, and he's happy to share that enthusiam as part of the Matter Alpha team. When not writing about tech, you can find him playing board games with family and friends, binge reading graphic novels, or enjoying leisurely meditations out in the woods.
Sometimes the biggest ideas that Matter come from the smallest companies.
Smart devices that don't depend on the cloud.
I love a smart home, but I value an energy-efficient one even more. Fortunately, we can have both.
Matter is designed to be private and secure, but that depends on how you use it.
Home Assistant is great, once you know what you're doing. Let us help you get started.
Thanks to Matter, these unsupported lights are still a decent purchase.
It's not for the masses yet, but if you're ready to give Home Assistant a try, this is as easy as it gets.
Matter doesn't rely on the cloud, but many Matter-compatible devices and services do.
Traditional Wi-Fi routers are units that you stick in a single place in your home. Times have changed.
If Matter is the future of the smart home, these are the trends you should be following.
The Honeywell Home Smart X2S Thermostat looks functional enough, but does its Matter-compatibility deliver the smart home integrations you need?
Compared to some of the alternative Matter-compatible motion sensors, SwitchBot's is rather basic. But does this mean you should't buy it?
Matter promises a smart home that you can set up and manage entirely offline - but are we there yet?
Installing smart switches doesn't mean rewiring your house.
SwitchBot Meter Plus offers simple temperature/humidity readings and Matter compatibility via a SwitchBot hub. But does this make it the reliable, affordable smart home addition you're looking for?
If you're looking for a new smart home lighting solution, the answer isn't as straightforward as you might think.
Pixel users have multiple Matter smart home hub options: Google Home, SmartThings (Samsung hub needed), Home Assistant (privacy-focused), Amazon Alexa, or TP-Link Deco routers.
Save yourself the frustration and shop brands that are all-in on Matter.
Most smart homes get a lot less smart when the internet goes out. Not all Matter-compatible platforms are affected by this, but it's something you should plan for.
If you're building a smart home, you might be confused: Zigbee, Z-Wave, or Thread? Well, the answer is straightforward -- when in doubt, look for Matter.