> That’s fair, I guess, but _something_ has to coordinate things.
You don't need any coordination for basic scenarios like a wireless switch in a room controls the lights in that room.
Depending on whether the underlying protocol allows forwarding and can establish the minimum spanning tree, you might need a repeater if you want all-on/all-off kind of functionality in a large home.
The coordinator, which in Matter is a thread border router, translates between the Thread and WiFi networks, which is what allows app or cloud based control, including "automations" like reactions and schedules.
You generally don't need a Thread Border Router to combine one manufacturer's products together, e.g. Phillips Hue, but it will use Bluetooth instead of Thread/ZigBee.
You don't need any coordination for basic scenarios like a wireless switch in a room controls the lights in that room.
Depending on whether the underlying protocol allows forwarding and can establish the minimum spanning tree, you might need a repeater if you want all-on/all-off kind of functionality in a large home.
The coordinator, which in Matter is a thread border router, translates between the Thread and WiFi networks, which is what allows app or cloud based control, including "automations" like reactions and schedules.
You generally don't need a Thread Border Router to combine one manufacturer's products together, e.g. Phillips Hue, but it will use Bluetooth instead of Thread/ZigBee.