Home automation standard Matter has officially launched

Over the few years, home automation has become a big deal. But, despite all the talk by Amazon, Apple, Google and others, the reality of creating a smart home is far harder than many people realise. Not all devices will interoperate because there has been a turf war. There are a a bunch of standards and proprietary platforms that make the integration of different components something of a nightmare. A new standard, called Matter, will hopefully being peace to the warring factions.

Where are we today?

Amazon, Apple and Google (I’m listing them alphabetically – the order I’m writing them has no bearing on whether I think one is better than the other) have all created their own automation and remote management tools for smart home devices.

Amazon has built their platform around the Alexa range of products. The Alexa service uses voice control (“Alexa, turn on the lights”) through apps and smart speakers.

Apple HomeKit, works with its digital assistant Siri (“Siri, turn on the lights”) and can be controlled through the Home app that’s part of all Apple’s operating platforms. If you’re deep into the Apple ecosystem, HomeKit makes a lot of sense – except that HomeKit certified gear tends to cost more than equivalent kit from the other platforms.

Google Home is similar to Amazon in that accessories are priced less expensively than similar HomeKit products. Like the others, it works with Google’s smart speaker system (“Hey Google, turn on the lights”).

For most users, the first step in going down the smart home road is choosing which platform you’ll stick with. Amazon and Google are the lowest cost options. Both have a range of smart speakers you can use around the house and products that support the platforms are plentiful. 

You can buy Google Home and Amazon Alexa compatible gear from almost any homeware store. My local supermarket stocks lights, for example, that work with these platforms.

HomeKit gear goes through a different certification process and Apple’s security requirements for how devices operate are a little more stringent to the other two players. As a result, they typically cost more than the others and are a little harder to find.

What is Matter?

 The Connectivity Standards Alliance has launched the Matter 1.0 smart home accessory standard. The CSA says the standard gives device manufacturers:

a complete program for bringing the next generation of interoperable products that work across brands and platforms to market with greater privacy, security, and simplicity for consumers

Connectivity Standards Alliance

The standard means new IoT (Internet of Things) products, such as as home automation devices, can be certified as being able to work together regardless of who makes them. According to the CSA, over 280 companies were involved in the development of the standard, including Apple.

Part of the program is a certification program backed by eight test labs as well as a Software Development Kit that can be used by device manufacturers and software companies.

Devices that are Matter compliant will be able to communicate using Wi-Fi and a low-power mesh networking communications protocol called Thread. This uses less energy than Wi-Fi and allows devices to communicate with each other. And adding devices will work with Bluetooth Low Energy. Effectively, Matter is a language that devices can use to communicate over whatever wireless protocol it can use.

Why does Matter matter?

Once Apple full implements Matter support – it’s expected to be part of iOS 16.1 when it’s formally released – its wont matter if a product is HomeKit compatible or not. What you’ll be looking for is Matter compatibility. This opens up a plethora of new home automation options for consumers.

Among the biggest complaints made about HomeKit is that devices are typically more expensive than non-HomeKit equivalents and that there are fewer devices to choose from. For example, I can by a non-HomeKit light bulb for about half the price of a HomeKit enabled unit.

Matter makes a difference because it simplifies life for consumers.

The Home app is where Matter will reside

The Home app will remain the central hub for all your home automation services. But it will now support all Matter-compatible devices, as well as those using HomeKit. Over time, I expect we’ll see the HomeKit, Alexa and Google Home labels become smaller or even disappear from smart home devices, replaced with the Matter logo.

When will the first Matter products be available?

It will take a couple of months before we see Matter-compatible products released. In some cases, we may find existing products will be declared as certified to work with Matter. But new products aren’t like to appear for a couple of months as the first tranche of products need to go through certification.