Meross launches a smart thermostat that supports Matter

Meross’ smart thermostat is capable of smart scheduling, energy tracking and is said to be compatible with 95% of HVAC systems. The device can be set up and controlled via the Meross app, or the companion app of your preferred smart home platform since it supports Matter over WiFi. While smart home enthusiasts would have preferred Thread – the mesh networking protocol used instead of WiFi for low-bandwidth devices – there are hardly any smart thermostats that support Matter, much less Thread. 

Besides Meross new smart thermostat, Google's Nest Thermostat and 4th-gen Nest Learning Thermostat ($249 on Amazon) are the only Matter-certified options that are compatible with US heating and cooling systems. And unlike Google's smarter offerings, Meross is the only thermostat with smart temperature and humidity sensors that are also Matter certified, though you need a Meross smart hub for them to work.

For all its benefits, Matter is notorious for having limited functionality with thermostats although this might be changing with the latest spec release. Matter 1.4 allows better scheduling and presets, which can take advantage of the full range of functionality of your smart thermostat beyond the manufacturer’s companion app.  

Perhaps next year more smart home OEMs will upgrade their thermostats to Matter, but for now, the choice for US smart homes is between Google Nest and Meross. At a list price of $99.99 (temporarily discounted to $69.99), the Meross Matter Smart Thermostat is the least expensive smart thermostat on the market with Matter support.