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After an excruciatingly long wait, the Matter 1.0 standard is finally here. It promises to bring full device interoperability to smart homes: if two devices are compatible with Matter, they will work together regardless of brand. And since Matter leverages Thread, it should increase the range and responsiveness of your smart home.
Matter is a protocol developed by the Connectivity Standards Alliance or CSA (formerly known as the Zigbee Alliance). It combines the best of Zigbee, Thread, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth LE to serve as a “universal translator” for smart home products.
Essentially, Matter solves the biggest problem with smart homes: device incompatibility. And you don’t need to download any new apps or voice assistants to unlock this functionality, as Matter will be integrated into Google Home, SmartThings, Alexa, and HomeKit in the coming weeks or months.
The Matter standard should also improve the range and responsiveness of your smart home through Thread, an existing protocol that HomeKit users should be familiar with. And, in particular, Google claims that Android can automatically detect nearby Matter devices for quick setup.
Hundreds of existing products are already ready for Matter. Once these products go through a certification process, they must receive an update that unlocks Matter support. We expect major brands like Google, Apple, Samsung, and Amazon to be the first to get certified, as these brands helped the CSA develop its Matter protocol.
Earlier today, Google revealed its redesigned Home app with Matter support. A public preview of this redesign will be released in the coming weeks. Presumably, Matter won’t feel “real” until updates like these hit consumer devices.
We assume that smart home brands will publish press releases related to Matter during the week. Keep an eye on this article or join our free newsletter for any updates.
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