Matter was supposed to end the "works with" sticker problem. Buy a plug, a bulb or a lock with the Matter logo, and it should work with Apple Home, Google Home, Amazon Alexa and Samsung SmartThings alike. Three years after the first version arrived in late 2022, the honest answer is: mostly, for the basics.
The standard keeps growing. The Connectivity Standards Alliance released Matter 1.5 on November 20, 2025, adding security cameras for the first time, along with a unified approach to closures such as blinds and garage doors, soil sensors, and more energy features. Cameras were the biggest missing category, and the spec builds them on WebRTC for live video, two-way audio and remote viewing.
There is a gap between a spec and your app, though. A device type being in the standard does not mean every platform supports it yet, or supports every feature of it. Expect cameras in particular to take a while to show up as shipping products and as working controls in each ecosystem.
The practical friction is mostly networking. Many Matter devices run over Thread, a low-power mesh network that needs a border router in the house. Recent Apple TV and HomePod models, Google Nest hubs and some Echo speakers do that job. If you own none of them, a Thread device will not work until you buy one.
Adding the same device to two ecosystems at once is supported, and Matter calls it multi-admin. It works, but it is the part people most often report as fiddly, so plan on one main app and treat the second as a bonus.
The other limit is depth. Matter covers the shared basics of a device type well: on and off, brightness, lock and unlock, temperature. Features a manufacturer builds on top, like a lock's guest codes or a vacuum's room maps, often still live in that company's own app.
Where Matter clearly pays off is choice. A Matter plug or sensor bought today is not tied to one voice assistant, so switching from Alexa to Google, or adding an iPhone to the household, no longer means replacing hardware.
The short version: for plugs, bulbs, switches, sensors, thermostats and locks, buy Matter and stop worrying about ecosystems. Make sure you have a Thread border router first. For cameras, the standard exists now, but give the apps time to catch up before you buy on that promise.
