Eve has this week announced that on 17th April, it’ll be rolling out the first public version of the firmware for its devices that will contain support for Matter. Back in December 2022, Eve made the firmware available for a few devices but only in a beta capacity, users had to register for interest and using TestFlight, install the software to the Eve Energy and another few devices.
Beta
Taking into consideration the software was beta, we installed it on a handful of Eve Energy UK devices and had mixed results. Devices would be super fast to respond to requests from Siri or the Home app, but after a few days they would go offline and need resetting. However, since iOS 16.4 and the new Home Architecture, so far it has been running smoothly.
Going GA
So, Eve is planning on launching the software next month on 17th April and will be available of the Eve Energy, Eve Motion and the Eve Door & Window. The update will only be available for devices that have Thread enabled, so double check that first. Those devices can also only be upgraded from a compatible iPad or iPhone, as up until now, Eve has only supported Apple HomeKit and Apple devices.
The main reason Eve hasn’t support anything else other than HomeKit before, is the relentless requirement from other platforms to use the cloud for everything. From the start, HomeKit has been local only and devices on the network can even be firewalled off to have no internet access at all and they still work. So the only way Eve was going to support other platforms is though Matter as like HomeKit, it is also local only. Eve has a strong commitment to privacy.
From 28th March, Eve is also starting to offer Matter-ready accessories, with the Eve Energy in the UK, Europe and North America. The Eve Door and Window Sensors will also gain support, but will launch on 17th April.
If you purchase a device that is Matter-ready from Eve, you can expect to set it up without an Apple device needed and it’ll work with Samsung SmartThings, Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit and Google Home (provided you have a compatible hub on each platform.
You can find more about Matter on the Eve website.
