Yes. The interviewer stressed multiple times that HA still requires a level of user nerdiness and is missing the plug and p(l)ay character of products like Hue. I guess the new HA hardware aims for a user experience more like a Hue or Smart Things hub and will contain a Matter (or at least Zigbee) RF component right from the start. So people can fire it up and pair their gadgets right away.
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Probably very interesting for us ESPhome users:
Announcing ESP32-H2, an IEEE 802.15.4 + Bluetooth 5.2 (LE) RISC-V SoC | Espressif Systems
"The combined availability of IEEE 802.15.4 and Bluetooth LE connectivity enables building devices for the upcoming Matter protocol that intends to bring interoperability for Smart-Home devices."
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That was to be expected as Espressif is an active member of the Connectivity Standards Alliance. That also means the Matter protocol will be supported. That is obviously an awesome news, thanks for sharing @Jpsy.
The future of IOT and home automation is exciting!
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So is it worth to wait for this?
Will we be able to control devices through zigbee the same way we do it now with wifi (f.i. control a temp sensor attached to a esp32 h2 using zigbee/matter)?
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Maybe, but I guess it’s more like you will have the ability to make whatever you want (like a sensor for example), so it can be a ZigBee end device (runs on battery) or a Zigbee Router (runs continuously on a outlet/USB for example).
The way you control it depends both on how you flash the ESP firmware obviously (using HomeAssistant or other).
Let’s hope the price will not be too high. There’s so much opportunities with that device!
How to build a openthread system:
How to install openthread on Raspberry:
https://openthread.io/guides/border-router/raspberry-pi
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Please vote for OpenThread integration here!!!
Thread is a network protocol, that will be used by Matter (amongst other), unless I get that wrong.
Think of it of a kind of Wifi.
There is no integration for Wifi in HA, that’s an OS area of concern.
What kind of integration would you want to see for Thread in HA itself?
Thread will be launch in 2 months. It is used in home pod mini, google nest wifi and google nest hub max, amazon eero wifi, and some devices like bulbs from nanoleaf and plugs like eve. It is like zigbee or zwave with one usb stick HA will be abble to act as a router, the same as zigbee o zwave.
This one is the stick
I just one a feature for plug that stick and have a Thread border router, the same as zigbee o zwave
Probably with an addon.
No, it’s not. Matter + Thread (or other) is.
Once again, Thread is is like Wifi, just a transmission protocol. It only enables devices to talk to each other.
Assuming you have a Thread-enabled router, and a Thread adapter on your HA machine, then Thread-enabled devices will be able to talk to each other over Thread rather than Wifi. No more, no less.
That alone won’t enable you to understand the language of the other side.
There is where Matter come into play: see it as the Esperanto of IoT.
And yeah, Matter is definitely on the roadmap of HA, as it’s one of the promise of their Yellow device
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Sorry for being wrong then. But I cannot understand this. If I have a usb that can provide that “thread wifi” and can comunicate with thread devices and I can set up that with docker. Why HA wouldn’t be abble to replace de docker container in an addon? I think that thread is part of matter, but it isn’t matter at all.
Would you be able to play with Threads in a docker container, replicating Build a Thread network with nRF52840 boards and OpenThread? Likely, assuming you manage to have the stick programmed properly.
Does that achieve anything? No.
It just like me picking up a phone I made myself, and call a Chinese person who doesn’t speak English. Hopefully, sounds will be exchanged, but as I don’t talk Chinese, nothing meaningful will be achieved above the satisfaction of having sound exchanged 
Ok I understood you. I don’t have the stick yet, I already ordered. It is suposed that when I have the docker ready, I enter the ip adress like when I want to enter in HA and the proper port. And I will be able in that browser window manage my devices.
Well, have fun with that experiment 
I hope so, when it arrives I will tell you what happens.
https://openthread.io/guides/border-router/docker/test-connectivity
They refund me because there is no stock. If you think Im going to loose money please tell me, but thats the screenshot from Open Thread web after you deploy de docker.
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Hello,
I would like to ask if a OpenTread Router can replace a HomePod/AppleTV Bridge device only for the the matter ready devices.
Thanks