Smart home company Eve has begun rolling out a firmware update that adds Matter support to their Eve Energy, Eve Motion, and Eve Door and Window devices. I had the opportunity to test the new Matter integration with these devices using a default HomeKit setup. The Eve Energy, Eve Motion, and Eve Door and Window accessories have been available for some time but have recently been updated to work with Matter. Matter is a recently released smart home standard that has been adopted by major brands like Apple, Samsung, Google, and Amazon. It allows smart home accessories to be added to any platform that supports the Matter standard.

With Matter support, Eve devices can be added to HomeKit, Google, and Amazon smart home platforms, allowing users with iPhone and Android devices in the same household to control the accessories with their respective devices. However, HomeKit can only be accessed from an Apple device.

I won't go into too much detail about the Eve accessories themselves, as this review primarily focuses on the Matter experience. But to provide a brief overview, the Eve Motion is a motion detector that can activate lights and other devices when motion is detected. The Eve Door and Window attaches to a door and can notify you when it's opened, serving both warning purposes and activating other accessories in automations. The Eve Energy is a smart plug that allows you to control plugged-in devices with your Apple devices and Siri commands. All three of these devices have Matter support, but a firmware update is required to add Matter functionality.

If you already own these devices or plan to buy them for use with Matter, be prepared to perform a firmware update. The first step is to add the devices to HomeKit by scanning the QR code using the Home app, just like any other HomeKit product. After that, the Eve app needs to be granted access to your Home setup. Although Matter support is not officially available yet, Eve offers a TestFlight version of their app that allows users to test Matter through an Early Access program.

To install Matter, you'll need an Eve device supported by Matter, access to the Eve TestFlight app, a device running iOS 16.2, and a Home Hub such as a HomePod mini or Apple TV 4K. Once you have the TestFlight version of the Eve app and one of the supported devices added to HomeKit, the app can download a firmware update to enable Matter compatibility. Importantly, switching to Matter is a one-time irrevocable trade, meaning you can't revert back to HomeKit functionality after upgrading to Matter.

The upgrade process itself is not overly difficult, but it does require following several steps. The Eve app guides you through the process, starting with generating a new Matter QR code. This code replaces your previous HomeKit QR code, so make sure to save a copy of it. The code is essential for connecting your Eve product to Matter, and you'll need to scan it with your primary device.

During my testing, the migration process from HomeKit to Matter took about 10 minutes. Once Matter-enabled devices are available in stores and no longer require firmware updates, setting up devices will be much simpler, similar to setting up a HomeKit device.

In terms of functionality, Matter devices in the Home app are indistinguishable from HomeKit devices. Automations, scenes, and schedules work as expected in both the Home app and the Eve app. It's worth noting that Eve devices are Thread-enabled, which should provide better integration with Thread devices compared to standard Bluetooth. However, I did encounter an issue with the Eve Energy where the connection dropped frequently, resulting in loss of communication with my home installation. I reached out to Eve, and they acknowledged the problem and said it would be resolved in upcoming updates.

As an Apple user with a HomeKit setup, I don't have firsthand experience with how Eve's Matter devices work with other platforms like Google Home and Samsung SmartThings. However, for HomeKit users, Matter offers a largely similar experience to HomeKit without any major changes. The one exception is that Matter devices require a Matter controller, such as a HomePod mini or Apple TV, whereas HomeKit devices can be used without a home hub.

Matter will be particularly beneficial for households with both Apple and Android users, as it allows Android users to access smart home products that were previously exclusive to Apple Home. By adding a second platform like Google Home to your HomeKit setup, devices can be controlled through Google hubs or Android smartphones. Amazon has not fully implemented Matter support yet, but many Echo devices are compatible, so in the future it will be possible to control smart home products with both an iPhone and an Amazon Echo or Nest Hub.

Overall, Matter expands the number of smart home products available to HomeKit users and offers a seamless transition from HomeKit to Matter. While there may be some initial challenges with firmware updates and device compatibility, future updates to iOS and the Eve app should address these issues.