3D printing is great. Discussion of z-wave brands and availability is great and useful. However, as the OP, I really want this thread to be about ... well, Thread. and Matter.
So to stimulate discussion, I'll share some resources I've come across that I found interesting.
Which devices will work with Matter?
This article discusses some of the brands that are out there now that are making products that will be compatible with Matter when it comes out. It's a bit hard to tell, but in at least a few cases, I think that devices you can buy today will be firmware-upgraded to new versions that will actually be Matter-compliant. Matter will be built on the Thread networking protocol. Thread is its own kind of mesh network and several manufacturers are selling products you can buy today that are also based on Thread, which presumably means that in the future, your Matter devices will "cooperate" with these devices to propagate signals.
As an Indigo user, I'm left to wonder: in a hypothetical future where I go into Home Depot and see a thermostat on the shelf that says "works with Matter", what will this mean for me? If Matter is the great new standard some are hyping -like Insteon and Z-wave (but more "standard", more "open", and with more wholesome goodness) - then surely it would won't be long before Indigo supports it, right? So is it right to think of Matter as a "protocol" in the same category as "z-wave", "zigbee", "Insteon", "X-10", etc?
If so, I wonder if it will it be treated in Indigo more like z-wave (official "built-in" support) or will it be more like zigbee (no official support, spotty brand-specific plugin-based support for some devices, no standard interface)?
It looks like I can buy today a small set of devices for which the manufacturers claim will be upgraded to Matter support. There's a larger set that are already using Thread protocol. Brands like Hue have announced that they have a transition plan for their existing "bridge" device that will keep all their legacy products working smoothly and interfacing with Matter. The timeline has already shifted a few times, but if you believe the industry news, we'll see release of official supported devices into the market by the end of this year.
My instincts are to try these devices out and to develop and test control capabilities for this new protocol. ... and also to stop spending money on other stuff that looks like it's headed toward obsolescence. That choice has of course been made simplified in recent weeks by clarifications of Insteon's future (isolated to the eBay scrap-heap). The first wave of Matter devices will work out-of-the box in HomeKit (which comes pre-installed on my iPhone, my AppleTV, my Mac, and even my watch) as well as with other major platforms. I know of nothing announced so far that indicates there will be any way to tie these devices to Indigo. HomeBridge and friends look really encouraging, but afaik also seem like they're only going to be "one-way" in terms of bridging devices...
I'd like to hear thoughts of other Indigo users. Skeptical? Hopeful? Working on new plugins that will keep Indigo vibrant and relevant during the upcoming Matter rollout? Please share your thoughts.