After numerous delays, Matter launched in November 2022. Since then, the list of Matter-compatible accessories has only grown by leaps and bounds. But there have been issues. Belkin gave up on the smart home standard a year after it announced an updated version of all its popular smart home accessories. Philips has also delayed bringing the standard to the Hue bridge without providing any reasoning. On the other hand, Google has gone all in on the protocol and added Matter compatibility to several of its smart speakers and displays in December 2022. And now, true to its words, the company is updating the Nest Thermostat with Matter support.
In a post on the Nest Community, a community manager confirmed Matter support is rolling out for the Nest Thermostat starting April 18. The rollout will continue over the next few weeks, so your device may not immediately update itself automatically to the latest firmware. As The Verge notes, this makes Google's offering the first smart thermostat in the market to support the next-gen smart home standard.
It was already possible to control the Nest Thermostat using Alexa and Samsung SmartThings. With Matter support, though, the thermostat can communicate with your devices locally, making the overall process faster and more reliable. And if you use an iPhone, iPad, or Mac, Matter compatibility enables you to use the Home app to control your home or office temperature. Siri support is also there, so you don't always need to rely on the app. Just ensure your device is running the latest iOS or macOS build available.
You need to generate a pairing code to pair the thermostat with another Matter app or device. The Google Home app for iOS has not been updated with Matter yet, so you can't pair the thermostat with another device using your iPhone. As for the pairing code, that can be generated directly from the thermostat as well.
Do note that Google is rolling out Matter compatibility only for the 2020 Nest Thermostat. There's no word from the company on whether the Nest Learning Thermostat and the Thermostat E will gain Matter compatibility or not.
Google Nest Thermostat
The Nest Thermostat is a smart thermostat that's easy to set up and use. It works reliably, which is ultimately what you want from a smart thermostat. Matter support acts as icing on top, as you can now control the thermostat from any device.