Eve Thermo finally gets an Android app thanks to Matter

Table of Contents

Key Takeaways

The smart home industry has been waiting for Matter, a new protocol that aims to solve compatibility issues between devices.
The Eve Thermo, a smart radiator valve, now works with Android devices thanks to Matter.
Although Matter enables cross-platform compatibility, it may not support all features of some devices, like the Eve Thermo.

The smart home revolution started off strong, but innovation has slowed in the last few years as the entire industry waited for the launch of Matter, which promised to allow different devices to work together, even if their protocols weren’t initially compatible.

While it didn’t quite live up to all its promises, Matter did make it possible for some devices to be used on other operating systems. Take the Eve Thermo, for example — this smart radiator valve originally only worked with iOS, but with newly-added Matter support, it now has a dedicated Android app that differs from the iOS version in several ways.

A smart display, smart lightbulb, and smart power plug on a multi-color carpet

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After promising Matter support in early 2023, Eve has now delivered, as reported by 9to5Google. However, while the Eve Thermo now works with Matter, the protocol itself lacks compatibility with certain existing features. On Reddit, users reported that the Matter update excluded functionality like the automatic lowering of the temperature when they leave the house.

The Eve Thermo’s main capability remains, however, letting you control the temperature of your room through voice input, touch controls, or based on a programmed schedule. It even has presence detection. It’s designed to offer convenience, lower energy costs, and keep your home more comfortable throughout the winter. Each Eve Thermo controls one radiator, with an onboard LED display that makes it easy to see the current temperature at a glance.

A picture of a small room with a wall-mounted radiator with a Thermo installed on the side.

Source: Matter

Source: Eve

How does it work?

This smart radiator valve works with Alexa, Google Assistant, and Siri, and takes only minutes to install. The downside is that it requires a Matter hub, otherwise known as a Matter Controller with Thread Border Router functionality. It’s a mouthful, right? Here are some of the devices that will work:

Apple TV 4K (2nd gen)
Apple TV 4K (3rd gen, 128 GB)
HomePod (2nd gen)
HomePod mini
SmartThings Hub v3
SmartThings Station
Echo (4th gen)
Echo Hub
Echo Plus (2nd gen)
Echo Show 8 (3rd gen)
Echo Show 10 (3rd gen)
Echo Studio
eero 6
eero 6+
eero Pro 6
eero Pro 6E
eero Max 7
Nest Hub (2nd gen)
Nest Hub Max
Nest Wifi
Nest Wifi Pro

Matter, while functional, isn’t quite what smart home enthusiasts imagined. It’s missing compatibility features, combined with the restrictions it places on customizing settings, makes Matter feel less like the future of smart homes and more like another way to limit what a smart home is capable of.

The purpose of the protocol was so odd workarounds like the Android app wouldn’t be necessary to begin with. Our hope is that, in time, Matter will live up to expectations.

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