review of LED strip and smart socket with Matter from Yandex

In the spring of 2024, Yandex expanded its line of smart home devices. The assortment now includes LED strip and socket. Both devices support the Matter protocol and should work perfectly in the Yandex smart home ecosystem. I’ve been using gadgets for a couple of months now, I’ve formed my opinion and found all the downsides. About all this in the article.

Socket

In short, Yandex’s smart plug turned out great. In general, it is difficult to damage a device whose task is to break a circuit on command. True, I don’t quite understand smart sockets with plugs. They are inconvenient: if I have a line of five sockets, then I need to plug in the same number of smart ones; it will look terrible.

I've already used several smart plugs from different manufacturers. Last time it was Tapo – a model from Tp-Link. I found the only useful case for myself – turning the fan on and off in the summer using a voice command. I’ve been using this scenario for the third year now and have adapted a Yandex socket for it.

The device is available in two colors, so it will be easier to fit into the interior of the apartment. I liked the shape of the case. A smart plug does not take up much space, so you can connect other devices nearby. There are problems with some sockets: it takes up one space and blocks another one on each side.

The socket is easy to connect:

connect the smart socket to the household one;
open the “Smart Home with Alice” application;
follow the instructions in the app.

After that, it will appear in the “Smart Home with Alice” application. The outlet can be controlled using voice commands or buttons. Custom scripts are supported, but there is a library of ready-made ones. For example, “The Happy Farmer”. You can set the phytolamp to turn on and off automatically.

Smart socket in the “Smart Home with Alice” application

The socket not only controls the supply of electricity to the end device, but also collects useful data: power consumption (W), current voltage (V) and current consumption (A). Information is displayed in the form of graphs with the ability to filter by hour, day, week and month. I looked at these graphs only a couple of times out of curiosity and forgot, but it might be useful to someone.

Socket usage statistics in the application

Overall, I can't say anything bad about the smart plug. It works stably, does not turn off randomly, does not lose connection with the station and the application, heats up within normal limits, is compact and quite beautiful. In the reviews, some complain about the very bright indication diode, but it does not cause problems for me: the socket is located behind the furniture, where the diode is not visible.

A socket from Yandex is somewhat more expensive than analogues from other manufacturers. Perhaps this is an additional payment for the presence of the Matter protocol. Similar devices do not have it, but the general functions are similar, and they also collect network data.

LED Strip Light

For me, the LED strip from Yandex is a long-awaited device. Similar devices are available from Xiaomi, Philips and a bunch of unknown Chinese companies. It so happened that I like all kinds of lighting, lamps and small lamps in the home interior more than the “big light”. Therefore, I had time to experiment with many LED strips. At first these were cheap Chinese tapes, then I switched to addressable ones and tried to connect a controller to them for use with a smart home.

The last solution I settled on was a kit from Kojima. It includes five meters of LED strip, a remote control and a controller for connecting to Yandex Station. I am completely satisfied with this solution; it works great, although without Matter’s support. But now it is possible to use the device that was originally created for the “Station” and a smart home with support for “Alice”.

Characteristics of LED strip from Yandex:

The length in the basic set is three meters and the width is 10 millimeters. The tape can be made longer using meter extensions, but the total length should not exceed ten meters.
The luminous flux for a three-meter strip is up to 750 lm.
The ripple factor at maximum brightness is less than 1%.
The service life is designed for 25 thousand hours of glow.

The kit includes a three-meter tape, a power supply and a control unit. I would be happy if they included an additional remote control. Different scenarios happen, and sometimes picking up the remote control from the table is faster than going to the phone. Otherwise, the box contains everything you need to connect the tape. By the way, the inner packaging material is made of special cardboard that dissolves in water, which is more environmentally friendly than plastic.

The tape is attached to an adhesive layer from which the protection must be removed. You can use special plastic hooks. They are not included in the kit, but such fasteners are sold separately. It seems to me that this is not the most convenient way, but some people like it.

Setting up the feed

My workplace already has a strip that is attached to the ceiling and illuminates the entire room. Without thinking twice, I decided to attach the Yandex tape around the perimeter of the table. To be precise, stick it on its edges that are adjacent to the walls. Firstly, this way the light will reflect off the walls and fill some space around it. Secondly, it won’t hurt your eyes.

Next, I wiped and moved the table, cleaned the edges of the tabletop and applied tape. I simply cut off the excess with scissors. Yes, everything here is the same as with other LED strips: the remains can be cut off, but this must be done only according to special marks, otherwise some areas may stop glowing.

The tape can only be cut according to special marks.

The tape is holding securely, so it's time to connect it. Everything is done using the “Smart Home with Alice” application. We connect the power supply to the outlet, in the application we go to the menu for adding a new device, select the ribbon and go through the activation steps. You may need to wait until the firmware is updated. This takes about 10-15 minutes.

Smart feed in the “Smart Home with Alice” application

In the application itself, you can choose the color and brightness level. By default there is a prepared palette, but you can create your own. To do this, you need to select the shade itself and set the temperature. If you use several lighting fixtures at home, you can copy the settings to transfer the new color to other gadgets. Once configured, the new color will appear in the ribbon management menu and will be available through voice commands.

There are glow modes, for example “Party” and “Candle”. The first one blinks quickly in different colors, and the second one imitates the fire of a candle. There are few such modes out of the box, but there is an editor for creating your own. You can choose a set of colors, animation, set a name and icon. There are only three animation modes: “Pulse”, “Flow” and “Beat”.

The tape works with smart home scenarios. For example, you can create a “I’m at home” scenario that includes lights, appliances and music. There is a collection of ready-made scripts for different cases. They can be used immediately or adapted for yourself. The script I most often use is “Good Night”, which is turning off the lights in the room.

Desk in daylight. It's a problem with the wires, I haven't yet made a convenient mount for them

Workplace after upgrade

Desktop with contour lighting strip from Yandex

And this is what the table looks like with two ribbons turned on:

Why is Matter here?

The main feature of the smart LED strip and socket is support for the Matter over Wi-Fi protocol. Here's what it gives:

Unification. The Matter protocol is built on Thread and Wi-Fi, which means that devices from different manufacturers can be used in the same ecosystem. This expands the capabilities of a smart home, and now you don’t need to choose a gadget for your system – you can use any one with Matter support. It is expected that more such devices will appear on the market in the near future.
Connection. All gadgets on Matter have the same connection algorithm. It is easier for the user to integrate new devices, and there is no need to look for the correct order in the instructions every time.
The local network. Matter over Wi-Fi allows you to exchange data over a local network, which means smart home scenarios will work even without the Internet. Convenient if the network is unstable and the signal often disappears.

Will there be any disadvantages?

The devices turned out to be convenient and reliable; after a couple of months of operation, there were no cases when anything did not work or fell off. I remember that there used to be big problems with this and I often had to reconnect sockets or light bulbs. But there were still a few disadvantages:

Too short. The length of the tape in the basic set is only three meters. This, it seems to me, is not enough for convenient installation. I've tried different LED strip kits and I'm always three meters short. It would be better if the set included a five-meter solid piece of tape with the ability to increase the length. Ideal option: release sets with ribbon lengths of three, five and ten meters. This way everyone can choose the appropriate option.
No remote control. All control of the feed is carried out using Yandex Station and a mobile application, but in some situations it is easier to use the remote control.
Address strip. The feed from Yandex is not addressable, which means that gradients and light shimmers cannot be used in lighting. This is the most disappointing thing, and I would like to see an improved version in the future.