Best Matter Hubs of 2026: Anker MindBase, Ugreen HomeAgent, Shelly, Meross, Homey and SmartThings Compared

IFA 2026 turned the humble smart-home hub into the most crowded product category of the autumn. Anker and Ugreen want a local AI "brain" with hard drives inside, Shelly turned wall panels you may already own into Matter controllers for free, Meross sells a $35 bridge, Homey bets on a physical dial and Samsung pushed SmartThings to Matter 1.6. This guide compares them side by side and tells you which one fits which home, with the caveats the launch press releases skip.

Why the hub is back

Matter was supposed to make hubs unnecessary. In practice, it moved the job around. Something still has to commission devices, run automations when the internet is down and, for Thread accessories, act as a border router. The 2026 wave adds a fourth job: running AI models locally so camera footage and voice commands never leave the house.

What to remember

• Cheapest upgrade: Shelly Wall Display firmware 2.8.0 is a free update that turns supported panels into Matter controllers.
• Cheapest new box: Meross MSH450P, about $35, but its new sensors are bridged over Bluetooth, not native Matter.
• Most ambitious: Anker MindBase and Ugreen HomeAgent combine Matter control, camera AI and NAS storage, but neither had a firm price or ship date for all models in October.
• Thread still needs a border router: several of these hubs do not clearly provide one.
• Home Assistant remains the most open controller; most of these hubs can share devices with it through Matter multi-admin.

The 2026 hubs compared

Hub	Radios	Local AI / storage	Works with	Price and availability
Anker / Eufy MindBase	Wi-Fi, Thread, Zigbee, Bluetooth, 2× Gigabit Ethernet	26 TOPS AI Core, 64 GB eMMC, two bays up to 48 TB	Matter 1.5 controller, HomeKit Secure Video, Alexa, Google Home, Home Assistant	No price or date announced in October
Ugreen HomeAgent HA100 / HA100 Pro	Matter (Thread border router role not clearly stated)	26 TOPS and 16 GB DDR5 (HA100); 205 TOPS (Pro)	Matter devices from Aqara, Eve, SwitchBot, Govee and others via multi-admin	Deposits from $50; HA100 first shipments planned late January 2027
Shelly Wall Display (firmware 2.8.0)	Wi-Fi, Bluetooth; Thread needs a separate border router	Local scenes and scripts on the panel	Matter controller and Matter device; Apple Home, Google, Alexa, SmartThings, Home Assistant	Free update for X1i, X2i, XL, U1, S1, S2, XT
Meross MSH450P Matter Hub Pro	Wi-Fi 2.4 GHz, Ethernet, BLE, 433 MHz	Local alarms and spoken alerts if the network drops	Matter bridge to Apple Home, Google, Alexa, Home Assistant	$34.99 / £25.99; shipping from Sept 28
Homey Portal (Athom, LG)	Works with a Homey hub	None announced	Homey ecosystem; reported in Korea as "Homi Portal" with SmartThings control	$249 intro, then $299; shipping before end of 2026
Samsung SmartThings (hubs, TVs, fridges)	Depends on hub: Thread, Zigbee, Wi-Fi	Local execution about 30% faster on the same Wi-Fi	Matter 1.6, 430+ Works with SmartThings brands	App update, October 6

Three families of hubs

1. The local AI brain: MindBase and HomeAgent

The Verge's hands-on describes MindBase as a central brain running an Anker-developed language model on the device. It handles up to 16 wireless and 4 wired cameras plus 34 sensors, offers natural-language search through recordings and person, pet, package and stranger alerts without a monthly AI fee. Later agents are promised for energy and robot vacuums. The catch: no price and no release date for the hub itself; only the companion Eufy S4 doorbell had a price, $299.99.

Ugreen, better known for NAS boxes, launched HomeAgent with a voice assistant called Uliya. HomeKit News lists three tiers, from the HA100 (26 TOPS) to the MasterAgent MA100 built on NVIDIA Jetson Thor. It publishes a Matter compatibility list including Eve Energy, Motion and Weather, which matters to Apple Home users who want a second controller without re-pairing. Two open questions: Ugreen has not clearly positioned HomeAgent as a Thread border router, and "local first" still relies on the cloud for registration, remote access, notifications and updates.

2. The panel on the wall: Shelly and Homey

Shelly took the opposite route. Firmware 2.8.0 makes compatible Wall Displays both a Matter controller, able to add lights, blinds, thermostats, fans, plugs and sensors from other brands, and a Matter device that exposes its own relays and thermostat to Apple Home, Google Home, Alexa, SmartThings and Home Assistant. Scenes run locally on the panel. First-generation Wall Display and Wall Display X2 can only control devices shared from a newer panel.

Homey's Portal is a 2.8-inch round touchscreen inside a stainless-steel rotary ring, for a desk or a wall, controlling lights, music, heating and energy for a room. Korean press covered the same LG-owned project as "Homi Portal", claiming support for over 70,000 devices from more than 2,000 brands and cross-brand automations with Samsung SmartThings. If you already use Homey, our Homey Pro 2026 review explains the hub that sits behind it.

3. The bridge and the platform: Meross and SmartThings

Meross' MSH450P is the budget door into Matter: up to 32 Meross devices, an Ethernet port, a 433 MHz radio for older accessories and spoken announcements. Its four new IP66 sensor kits (temperature and humidity with display, door and vibration, leak and freeze with a 1.5 m probe, and a programmable button) talk to the hub over Bluetooth Low Energy. The hub then exposes them through Matter. That is practical, but Apple Home users looking for native Thread sensors will be disappointed, and Matter may show fewer features than the Meross app.

Samsung's October 6 update adds contextual cards (SmartThings Now), commands sent straight to a hub on the same Wi-Fi about 30% faster, and Matter 1.6 with group control and new device types: energy meters, closures, irrigation and soil sensors. Easy Pair pops up on Galaxy phones when an unconfigured Matter device is nearby. TP-Link also said new hardware revisions (v2.0 or v2.6) of the Tapo C560WS, C260 and C660 Kit cameras add Matter camera support, and heise noted that SmartThings was the only major platform supporting Matter cameras at the time.

Which hub for which home?

• You already run Home Assistant: you do not need a new brain. Add a Thread border router if you lack one, and consider a Shelly Wall Display as a local wall interface. See our Home Assistant 2026 guide for what changes this autumn.
• You live in Apple Home: your HomePod mini or Apple TV is already a hub and Thread border router; read our Apple Home 2026 guide before buying anything else.
• You want cameras without subscriptions: MindBase is the most complete promise, but wait for a price and independent tests.
• You want cheap sensors fast: Meross MSH450P, accepting the Bluetooth bridge.
• Your household is Samsung: SmartThings with a recent hub or TV is the path of least resistance, and the first with Matter 1.6.

The Thread border router question

Thread devices such as radiator valves, presence sensors and many new bulbs need a Thread border router on the network. Shelly states clearly that the Wall Display does not remove that requirement. Ugreen does not say clearly. MindBase includes a Thread radio. Before you buy a Thread accessory, check that at least one device in your home plays this role: a recent HomePod mini or Apple TV, a Google Nest hub, a SmartThings hub, or a Home Assistant setup with a Thread dongle. Our presence sensor and Thread guide explains how to check your network.

A warning from Korea: cloud firmware can brick hardware

On September 22, a firmware test update pushed through SmartThings left many Samsung Bespoke AI refrigerators in Korea without power or cooling, mostly four-door models from 2024 onward, Ars Technica reported. Samsung halted the update on September 23 and prioritised emergency service. The lesson applies to every hub here: prefer devices that keep working locally, and disable automatic firmware updates on critical equipment when the app allows it.

Multi-admin: keep one hub, share devices with others

Matter lets the same device belong to several controllers at once, a feature called multi-admin. You commission a sensor in its maker's app or in Apple Home, then generate a pairing code and share it with Home Assistant, SmartThings or a new hub such as HomeAgent. Each controller sees the device and can automate it. This is the safest way to test a new hub: you do not have to reset or re-pair anything, and you can remove the new controller later. Keep in mind that each ecosystem may expose a different subset of features, and that Thread devices still route through whichever border routers are on your network.

Buying checklist

1. Does it act as a Matter controller, a Matter bridge, or both?
2. Is it a Thread border router, or will you need another device?
3. Which features survive the Matter bridge compared with the brand's own app?
4. What still needs the cloud: account creation, remote access, notifications, updates?
5. Is there a firm price and ship date, or only a pre-order deposit?
6. Can it share devices with Home Assistant through multi-admin?

FAQ

Do I need a Matter hub if I have Home Assistant?

No. Home Assistant is a Matter controller. You only need a Thread border router for Thread devices.

Are the Meross sensors Matter devices?

Not on their own. They talk Bluetooth to the MSH450P, which exposes them through Matter.

Is the Shelly update really free?

Yes, firmware 2.8.0 is an over-the-air update for supported Wall Display models.

When can I buy Anker MindBase?

Anker had not announced a price or date for the hub in October 2026.

Which platform supports Matter cameras?

At launch of the new Tapo revisions, heise reported SmartThings as the only major platform.

More smart-home coverage is on our smart home hub page.

Sources: The Verge (MindBase), HomeKit News (Ugreen), Shelly, HomeKit News (Meross), Samsung Newsroom, Ars Technica.