The Connected Standards Alliance, or the CSA, wants to remind you all that the Matter 1.0 smart home standard is live and is now supported by over 190 devices. The CSA held an event in Amsterdam to officially debut devices that will be compatible with the new smart home standard. They include reveals from gadget makers like Nanoleaf, Brilliant, and Philips Hue. Amazon and Samsung were also in attendance in some capacity to promote Matter.
Nothing about Matter has changed much since its initial pitch. The standard is in its first iteration and uses wifi, Bluetooth, and Thread to allow products from different companies to talk to each other. We also learned there is compatibility for cameras and home appliances coming down the line. Currently, the standard supports various products, including motion blinds, motion sensors, weather devices, smart plugs, smart locks, and smart lighting. Here’s a look at the first companies pushing through with Matter-compatible hardware.
What is Matter?
It’s been a while since we talked about Matter and how it works, but the basics haven’t changed. At a high level, Matter is an open-source standard that enables smart devices to all talk to one another, regardless of their company of origin. It works over your local network rather than relying on the cloud to ping other devices about what to do next. It’s more reliable than prior methods smart home devices would use to get online.
That said, the old way of connecting things isn’t going away. The Zigbee antenna and Z-Wave protocol are still a part of many ecosystems — the Philips Hue bridge, for instance, depends on Zigbee for its smart bulbs.
Why are Apple, Google, Samsung, and Amazon all in on Matter? Because they all hope it will make the smart home seem less frustrating so that more people will buy devices and use their assistants. Managing a smart home is not an expert-level hobby, but it requires time and periodic check-ins to ensure all the different parts of your smart home are operating as intended.
While it’s likely that Matter will make bringing devices into the smart home easier for first-timers, since it relies on Bluetooth and support is already embedded into the latest Android and iOS updates, the jury is out on whether it will keep things running smoothly for the long term. After all, this is only the first generation.
Amazon is on board
Amazon is definitely on board with Matter, as it’s a company that made a name for itself in the smart home before Google even launched its first smart speaker. The company announced in a developer blog that you should look for the Works with Alexa (WWA) badge when shopping to find Matter-compatible devices.
Matter will go live on 17 different Amazon Echo devices starting in December, though only select smart plugs, smart bulbs, and smart switches will be compatible at first. Android devices will also be the first to support onboarding through the Alexa app, as the ability to do so on iOS is still in the works.
Sengled also partnered with Amazon to release the first batch of Matter-ready smart bulbs. The company announced it’s using the Alexa Connect Kit (ACK) SDK to gear up for compatibility. You can expect to see it throughout Sengled’s 2023 product launches.
SmartThings will include multi-admin capabilities through Matter
Samsung’s SmartThings has always been an alternative for Android users. If you use SmartThings to set up routines for your smart home, Amazon will enable multi-admin features and easier onboarding with every new Alexa device set up through the app. Amazon built Matter-based credential sharing directly into Alexa’s API.
During Samsung’s annual developer conference last month, Google and Samsung also announced a similar collaboration. You’ll be able to use your Galaxy smartphone to set up a Matter-compatible smart home and set up multi-admin, just like through Alexa.
Your Philips Hue Bridge will be Matter compatible
Of course, the smart home’s most popular smart bulbs are a part of this maelstrom of Matter news. The Philips Hue Bridge will get its Matter update by the first quarter of next year. Beyond that, not much else will change. “Users will continue to enjoy the wide range of features to personalise their homes with Philips Hue smart lighting, including scenes, automated schedules, advanced entertainment possibilities like sync with Spotify, and more,” writes Signify, the parent company behind Philips Hue. The only two Philips Hue devices not receiving a Matter update are the Hue Play HDMI sync box and the Hue Tap Dial Switch.
Your previous settings and personalizations will carry over in the Philips Hue app even after the bridge is updated to Matter. However, Apple HomeKit users will need to reset to connect via Matter the first time around.
Nanoleaf’s Matter-compatible smart lighting
Nanoleaf, known for its neat triangular-shaped smart lights, announced four new Matter-compatible smart lights for its essentials lineup. They include the A19, GU10, and BR30 bulbs, plus one new light strip.
Brilliant’s wall panel is Matter compatible
Brilliant is a quiet favourite in the smart home industry for its installable wall panel controller. The company used today’s Matter event to relay that it’s officially joined the CSA and plans to bring Matter support to its smart home controller and smart lighting system next year.
IKEA’s affordable smart home is also Matter compatible
Although I’ve read opposing reviews on IKEA’s smart home gadgets throughout the years — I have a few in my gadget lab that I’ve yet to try — it makes sense that a major global furniture retailer would keep trying its hand at the connected abode.
Last week, the company clarified that it was invested in the Matter protocol. It was also a sponsor at the event in Amsterdam. “We have learnt how people use their smart homes and what works and doesn’t,” the company wrote in a press release. Maybe it’s time to give IKEA’s smart home another try in the lab!
Other brands on the Matter roster
A host of companies came out of the woodwork for this particular CSA event to attach their names to its major announcement.
Eve, an affordable smart home gadget maker with various products, announced its entire lineup of Thread-enabled devices would receive a Matter firmware update in the future and that there it will have Matter-compatible products on the shelves within the first quarter of 2023. Eve also announced it’s bringing an Android app into the fold alongside its existing iPhone app. Finally!
Schnieder Electric, more known overseas than in the U.S., also put forth its plans for Matter integration. The company announced its Wiser Gateway and Smart Plug would be the first two products to get Matter connectivity.
Google is actually lagging a bit
Remember the big to-do a couple of weeks back about the Google Home revamp? We’re still waiting for that. Although Google has told us it’s committed to the Matter protocol and even built support for it into the latest versions of Android, 9to5Google reminds us we’re still waiting for our updates. Google needs to push out native support for Fast Pair, which it currently uses to sync up with its own ecosystem of devices for simple pairing.
On its part, Apple has built Matter support into iOS 16 and has its own makeover planned for the Home app.