Matter’s latest update adds support for home devices, but does it matter?
Remember Object? The smart home standard that should be Unify all gadgets in the connected home? It is been updated with support for a wide range of connected devices, mainly household appliances. The update is intended to help more third-party accessories work together in smart homes run by Google, Apple and Amazon, as long as everything is already Matter compatible.
Matter 1.2 supports nine new device types. These include refrigerators, air conditioners, robot vacuum cleaners, air quality sensors, and smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. The updated specification allows you to access the basic functions of these devices and, for example, finally start the laundry remotely or start the robot vacuum cleaner as soon as it detects that the air is dusty.
This version of the updated specification is the second in the Connectivity Standards Alliance’s (CSA) promise of semi-annual updates. The CSA hopes that the open source nature of the SDK will inspire manufacturers to improve the tools already offered. The CSA reminds us that its specification is “market-driven,” meaning it relies on the companies and manufacturers of smart home devices and controllers to disseminate the standard.
To be honest, I haven’t updated my smart home to Matter yet. I’ve been playing around with it Samsung SmartThings Station for a few months, but that was just another step towards what I already consider to be an optimized smart home. Nothing in my home is actually compatible with Matter. I took devices with me out of my network to simplify my processes and make maintenance less problematic. I’m still working on the basics; I have smart lights and a smart thermostat, but I hardly rely on routines other than automatically turning on the lights at sunset or turning on the heat below a certain temperature.
I feel validated by this choice after realizing that the smart home has done this stagnated. In January, during CES 2023, it seemed like the rest of the year would be overtaken by devices updated with compatibility for the new Matter spec. Instead, the rollout was slow and I didn’t feel the need to update my devices since everything still works.
A few months ago, Stacy Higginbotham put forward a theory as to why this is the case The matter rose slowly before the store closes Internet of Things Podcast. Higginbotham explained from the outset that it is not the specification that is struggling to gain traction, but rather that vendors have failed to promote it. They are also not up to date with their updates. “Many vendors have provided support for Matter in inconsistent ways,” Higginbotham wrote at the time. And perhaps that will continue to be the case.
We don’t know if Google, Amazon, Apple or even Samsung will use SmartThings to add support for what Matter 1.2 offers in its SDK. Based on the muted response from various companies The edge When asked, there seems to be no rush to give meaning to the matter.
