HomeKit Is there any point buying the matter compatible Nanoleaf?

[Nickjames]

Hi!

I just bought a Nanoleaf bulb which I was satisfied and therefore want to buy more. However when visiting their site and talking to support I realized I bought the older version that doesn’t have matter.

My question now is it worth for me to buy the bulbs with matter instead? I went with Nanoleaf because of thread since I have HomePod minis and to my understanding that’s the only difference. I can also get the older ones at half price.

 

[iStorm]

I'd say no, it's not worth it to pay more for the Matter version. I have both and prefer the HomeKit version. I was a little bummed when one of my original ones failed and they replaced it with the new version. The main difference I've noticed is that the Matter bulb cannot make use of HomeKit's adaptive lighting feature, which is why I prefer the old ones. This has something to do with the Matter spec, so all Matter bulbs are affected...not just Nanoleafs. Nanoleaf's version of adaptive/circadian lighting can still be done though their app though, but I'd rather have everything done through the Home app.

I went with Nanoleaf because of thread since I have HomePod minis and to my understanding that’s the only difference.

The Matter bulbs can do Thread too. My two HomeKit bulbs and Matter bulb are all threaded together, or on the same Thread network.

Matter is essentially just a universal standard. If you're all Apple/HomeKit, you won't really notice a difference, other than the adaptive lighting feature. If you think you'll ever want to switch to Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, etc. in the future, then maybe you want to consider Matter, so that you aren't stuck with bulbs that only work with HomeKit.

 

[Nickjames]

I'd say no, it's not worth it to pay more for the Matter version. I have both and prefer the HomeKit version. I was a little bummed when one of my original ones failed and they replaced it with the new version. The main difference I've noticed is that the Matter bulb cannot make use of HomeKit's adaptive lighting feature, which is why I prefer the old ones. This has something to do with the Matter spec, so all Matter bulbs are affected...not just Nanoleafs. Nanoleaf's version of adaptive/circadian lighting can still be done though their app though, but I'd rather have everything done through the Home app.


The Matter bulbs can do Thread too. My two HomeKit bulbs and Matter bulb are all threaded together, or on the same Thread network.

Matter is essentially just a universal standard. If you're all Apple/HomeKit, you won't really notice a difference, other than the adaptive lighting feature. If you think you'll ever want to switch to Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, etc. in the future, then maybe you want to consider Matter, so that you aren't stuck with bulbs that only work with HomeKit.

Thanks for your reply. I already know that I’ll always be in the Apple eco system so I’ll buy the older ones at a discount. I saw that the GU10 bulbs and downlights are only on matter though, so it would mean that I’ll eventually have both.

 

[besler3035]

If you're able to get the HomeKit specific ones, I'd steer you to those. Nanoleaf's Matter implementation is still pretty buggy, and you don't get Adaptive Lighting, either.