Smart home technology is the poster child for technological fragmentation. Just because two smart gadgets have the same components does not mean they can talk to the same platforms, which is a problem when you’re trying to build a cohesive smart home that’s actually, well, smart. There’s a new standard that seeks to solve this problem called Matter, and v1.0 is now complete. We don’t know if this is going to be the thing that finally makes smart home tech less frustrating, but it’s the best shot we’ve had yet.
We first heard about Matter in 2019 when Google, Apple, and Amazon sat down to come up with a standard everyone could agree to support. There were delays, and sometimes it seemed like Matter would fizzle, but it has finally arrived. With the 1.0 specification release, manufacturers and testing labs like TUV Rheinland and UL Solutions can begin certifying products that will work with Matter, which relies on Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Thread to communicate with your other devices.
Matter is currently supported by more than 280 companies, most of which you’ve probably never heard of. The big names include the aforementioned smart home trio, along with Samsung, Signify (Philips Hue), Ikea, Comcast, LG, and Lutron, just to name a few. The smart home platforms and products made by these companies should all be interoperable going forward, making it easier to find devices that will talk to the software you’re already using. For example, Google has announced that many of its smart displays and speakers will be updated to become Matter controllers that will help integrate these devices into your Google Home ecosystem. Amazon also has Thread support in many of its Eero routers and Echo speakers, ready to do the same for Alexa smart homes.
There are some notable limitations at this early juncture, most notably that you as a consumer cannot buy any matter gadgets yet. It will take time for companies to get their hardware certified and on store shelves. However, the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA) that oversees Matter says that some partners were able to develop products as part of an early access program. Those products could be available later this year. However, Matter won’t work for all the smart home devices we use every day. Currently, it works with low-bandwidth devices like lightbulbs, switches, thermostats, locks, and various sensors. You might notice security cameras are missing.
Creating a new standard to fix a fragmented ecosystem is always a risk — see relevant xkcd — but Matter does have the support of all the major players. This might be the right time for everyone to get on the same page. Now we’ll have to see how many CSA partners stick to their guns and begin releasing Matter hardware.
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