Enlarge / The Nest 2020 thermostat is getting Matter support, making it (theoretically) easier to control across multiple smart home platforms, including Apple’s Home. (credit: Google)

A major piece of the smart home market now supports the Matter standard. The 2020 Nest Thermostat is the first smart thermostat to join in the slow-going wave and, in doing so, now works in an Apple Home system without additional bridges or hubs.

Take note that only the 2020 redesign of the Nest Thermostat will be updated with Matter support, starting today and rolling out “over the next few weeks,” according to a Google Nest Community post. Google has said it is investigating Matter support for the more common Nest (3rd generation) Learning Thermostat and Nest Thermostat E (now mainly available in Europe). Let’s hope it does, because the Learning Thermostat has the broadest compatibility across HVAC systems and is the one we see installed in most homes, at about a 100-to-zero rate versus the 2020 version.

If you have a newer Nest, your device will quietly absorb an over-the-air update at some point today or in the next few weeks. After that, you can control your Nest from multiple Matter-compliant systems. Nest already worked with Amazon’s Alexa, Samsung’s SmartThings, and, of course, Google’s Home platform. But with Matter support, you can set it up to interact with other Matter-enabled devices, such as non-Nest temperature sensors or motion detectors.