Smart home company Meross has announced its first Matter-certified smart thermostat, designed to work seamlessly with North American whole-home heating and cooling systems. The Meross Matter Smart Thermostat, priced at $99.99, marks a significant milestone in the smart home industry, providing an affordable alternative to Google Nest's Matter-compatible thermostats.

The new thermostat features a sleek white glass panel with a touch screen, smart scheduling capabilities, and the ability to track system usage through the Meross app. It requires a C-Wire for installation and is compatible with 95% of heating and cooling systems in North America. Additionally, the thermostat can integrate with Meross' smart temperature and humidity sensors, which are also Matter-compatible and priced at $30 each.

One of the key benefits of the Meross Matter Smart Thermostat is its ability to integrate with popular smart home platforms such as Apple Home, Amazon Alexa, Google Home, and Samsung SmartThings locally over Wi-Fi, without requiring a cloud connection. This means users can set up and control the thermostat directly on these platforms, eliminating the need for the Meross app.

Notably, the Meross thermostat is only the third Matter-compatible smart thermostat available for US HVAC systems, joining Google's Nest Thermostat and Nest Learning Thermostat (4th Gen). Other prominent brands in the space, including Ecobee, Amazon, and Honeywell Home, have yet to add Matter support to their thermostats.

The limited adoption of Matter support among thermostat manufacturers may be attributed to the standard's current limitations. Currently, Matter only allows for temperature adjustments and mode changes on compatible platforms. However, the recent release of Matter 1.4 has added support for scheduling and preset modes, such as home/away and vacation settings, which is expected to simplify the setup and use of Matter smart thermostats.

The Meross Matter Smart Thermostat is available now, with a launch price of $69.99 from the Meross store. This affordable entry point makes it an attractive option for those looking to integrate their HVAC system with their smart home ecosystem.

For those unfamiliar, Matter is a smart home interoperability standard designed to provide a common language for connected devices to communicate locally in the home without relying on a cloud connection. Developed by Apple, Amazon, Google, and Samsung, among others, Matter is an open-sourced, IP-based connectivity software layer for smart home devices.

Matter's widespread adoption has the potential to revolutionize the smart home industry, enabling seamless integration and control of devices across different ecosystems. As the smart home market continues to grow, the availability of affordable, Matter-compatible devices like the Meross Matter Smart Thermostat will play a crucial role in driving adoption and shaping the future of smart home technology.