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I recently got some Matter-capable IoT lightbulbs to try, and I am not impressed. They seem to have all the same problems I've experienced with previous IoT pro

I recently got some Matter-capable IoT lightbulbs to try, and I am not impressed. They seem to have all the same problems I've experienced with previous IoT products (connectivity issues, state de-sync between device and "edge router", firmware updates take ~10 minutes per device). Then there are problems specific to Apple's IoT stack - like how it's impossible to set an RGB capable light to a ~specific~ white color temperature. Instead you get a shade picker and you have to guess what the color temperature is. The best IoT experience I've had is with OpenGarage[1] using regular old WiFi, but overall I'd still never rely on IoT products for anything critical. [1] https://opengarage.io https://opengarage.io

majormajor 3y ago
Were the Wifi or Thread? I'm generally disenchanged with Wifi for bulbs and such - having SO MANY devices on my network has been a big maintenance and performance pain on the 2.4 bands - and have been thinking about moving away from that to Thread (which seems to be new replacement for the old non-wifi Z-wave/Zigbee).
SV_BubbleTime 3y ago
>Then there are problems specific to Apple's IoT stack - like how it's impossible to set an RGB capable light to a ~specific~ white color temperature. Instead you get a shade picker and you have to guess what the color temperature is. I can guarantee that light is sent a hex value and what you are describing is a UI choice to dumb it down for most users.
- bootloop 3y ago
  The Matter spec requires you to support multiple color-spaces. It is indeed a dumped down UI by whatever vendor (Google, Apple etc.) is used to control them.
js2 3y ago
> Then there are problems specific to Apple's IoT stack - like how it's impossible to set an RGB capable light to a ~specific~ white color temperature. Instead you get a shade picker and you have to guess what the color temperature is. That's a problem with the atrociously, comically, terribly badly designed Home app, not with HomeKit itself. If it weren't for the "Controller for HomeKit" app, I would have given up on HK long ago. Controller lets you pick/assign a color temp directly. I've been very happy with the combination of HK, Controller app, and Homebridge for integrating non-HK devices. Controller is worth it just for its ability to back up and restore your HK configuration and makes replacing devices a tolerable experience. It has tons of other features besides. https://controllerforhomekit.com/ https://controllerforhomekit.com/

majormajor 3y ago

Were the Wifi or Thread? I'm generally disenchanged with Wifi for bulbs and such - having SO MANY devices on my network has been a big maintenance and performance pain on the 2.4 bands - and have been thinking about moving away from that to Thread (which seems to be new replacement for the old non-wifi Z-wave/Zigbee).

SV_BubbleTime 3y ago

>Then there are problems specific to Apple's IoT stack - like how it's impossible to set an RGB capable light to a ~specific~ white color temperature. Instead you get a shade picker and you have to guess what the color temperature is. I can guarantee that light is sent a hex value and what you are describing is a UI choice to dumb it down for most users.

bootloop 3y ago
The Matter spec requires you to support multiple color-spaces. It is indeed a dumped down UI by whatever vendor (Google, Apple etc.) is used to control them.

js2 3y ago

> Then there are problems specific to Apple's IoT stack - like how it's impossible to set an RGB capable light to a ~specific~ white color temperature. Instead you get a shade picker and you have to guess what the color temperature is. That's a problem with the atrociously, comically, terribly badly designed Home app, not with HomeKit itself. If it weren't for the "Controller for HomeKit" app, I would have given up on HK long ago. Controller lets you pick/assign a color temp directly. I've been very happy with the combination of HK, Controller app, and Homebridge for integrating non-HK devices. Controller is worth it just for its ability to back up and restore your HK configuration and makes replacing devices a tolerable experience. It has tons of other features besides. https://controllerforhomekit.com/ https://controllerforhomekit.com/