Hi,
The analysis is from 2022:
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Getting both Zigbee and Thead on one SilLabs radio proved too hard - one IEEE 802.15.4 stack, but suspect meeting higher-level timings to TWO protocols proved too much for one TX/ RX bandwidth.
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Matter is starting to make it to shops, but FAANG companies still like lock-in so Matter 1.4 had to make it explicit that open interoperability is required. It looks like Google got the memo.
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It appears Matter & Thread may be stuck in the middle:
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High-end goods are getting Matter (washing machines, refrigerators) to avoid the long-term costs of private cloud infrastructure (exactly as designed).
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Low-end goods may have too little margin for many brands, but the security hardware needed means Zigbee (and Tyua white-label) is still cheaper so still not Thread. Espressif keeps bringing out cheaper ESP32 variants, so this will likely equalise.
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Matter does work, and I have deployed devices in 2025. The biggest selling point now is the ability to use Google/ Apple/ Amazon today, but move to Home Assistant or another platform tomorrow without pain. Matter kit is ideal for relatives who want some tech, but you don’t want to have to deploy and manage HA for them (even a NC Green needs some sysadmin).
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Z-Wave LR seems weird to me - longer range, but not mesh, and no sign of the multiple gateway support that Thread has (e.g. several TBR giving full coverage). Feels like a hail mary for specific industrial customers (building automation or like LoRA?) rather than a consumer product. It’s from the same SilLabs that locked up Z-Wave for years, so hard to say if they can get partners to make LR compete with Thread (battery life?).
If this helps,
this post!