You don't need to update your devices, and they don't need to be connected to any cloud. That's the whole point of these local communication protocols, after all.
There's a saying: If you set up a trough, the pigs will come.
Zigbee devices are slow and low power, they cannot access internet directly.
I guess a bridge vendor could pull the rug on the antenna ("your Sonoff zigbee antenna is now only compatible with Sonoff zigbee product")(to be clear: they've never done that), but the format is open enough that there's ton of alternative suppliers and open source bridge (the aforementioned zigbee2mqtt).
In any case, I've got a good amount of both Ikea tradfri and Philips Hur bulb and they have never contacted an Ikea or Philips hardware or software of their life.
For IPv4 networks you're out of luck. The internal mesh traffic is still IPv6 to the hub and anything crossing into the IPv4 network is done through the hub's IP. No more blocking available unless it's a feature of the hub. I'm not aware of any hub having this kind of FW capability.
Sure you can block it, but then you have a pricey paperweight.
This is not unique to Thread/Matter, they can pull the rug on ZigBee as well, ofc.
I thought Matter certification demands that the device work without cloud connectivity, it's part of the spec. Being able to use any hub and have guaranteed basic functionality without the cloud is the big selling point.
> This is not unique to Thread/Matter, they can pull the rug on ZigBee as well, ofc.
Exactly. Enshittification can't be prevented with technical means, a manufacturer looking to rentseek can always do something shady to force your hand no matter the technology. These are by definition smart and connected devices, there are plenty of avenues for abuse. Philips tried to push an app update that required you to log in to an account to manage your Zigbee Hue hub and devices. They'll try again.
Thread/Matter are on paper mostly good for the consumers but come with some potential drawbacks. No smart home technology eliminates these risks, they only balance different advantages and drawbacks.
> but then you have a pricey paperweight.
The device must work offline. You might lose some features though, usually the ones that are only supported via the proprietary app.
Now, will they eventually build devices that don't work like that? Maybe.
And in the future, the offline devices might be no longer available, because they stopped being produced. And only new shittier ones are for sale.
So what's your solution to this problem?
I get that enshittification is a real thing but I’d be surprised if it affected smart home devices in the way you are describing.