Issue 1.0 here. After months of hearing how this software standard would provide a huge benefit to our smart home, users can finally start seeing it in action as it rolls out new gadgets and old favorites.
More than 500 companies worldwide are working together under the Communication Standards Alliance to bring Matter to life. With the launch of Matter 1.0 and the start of the Matter certification program, it will now be easier to find smart home technology that will benefit you day in and day out rather than causing you a bunch of trouble.
But what is important and how will it work? We are here with the answers.
What is the matter?
The promise of smart home technology is that your devices can interact with each other to create a system that is better than the sum of its parts. An example of a perfect world could be seeing you unlock your smart front door after coming home from a long day at work and out of your day Amazon EchoDot (2020) smart speaker Your favorite tunes can instantly be played while the smart coffee machine prepares you a relaxing drink.
Unfortunately, to achieve something like this, you have to spend a lot of time researching whether the device is compatible with the tools you already have – and if there is no alternative, there may not be.
This is where it comes in. Instead of having a lot of small micro-ecosystems, all the devices that support materials will be able to interact as part of one big smart home setup. When you buy a new Matter compatible product, you don’t have to worry if it will interact with your existing product Google Assistantor Amazon Alexa or Apple HomekitPowerful setup, it should be able to integrate seamlessly.
How will the material work?
Using Matter should not change how you currently interact with your smart home setup. Once the update is rolled out to your devices and their smartphone apps, you should be able to continue using everything as you do now, and you’ll have more options for gadgets to add to your home. The only thing to keep in mind is that different brands do not combine their products with Matter in the same way.
some like Philips Huewill make almost all of their existing devices (plus new ones) compatible. Like Phillips, the companies will do so with a software update — which will happen to the Hue Bridge in “Q1, 2023,” January, February, or March — which will then bring the hardware into the fold of the new standard.
There may be a few hiccups here and there – Philips has to give up a file Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box And the connection for the Philips Hue Tap Dial Switch is right now, and some settings may be reset through the change — but for the most part, switching to Matter will be quick and painless.
Unfortunately, this complete adoption of Matter will not be possible for every smart home device out there. For some brands – like Amazon and Google – you’ll leave very old models behind.
If you have the latest smart device like new Echo Dot (5th generation)The Google Nets Hub Maxor the Echo Show 10 (Among other things) They should get the issue updated. However, models older than a few years will not necessarily offer the same support. In these cases, you will either have to upgrade your smart speakers or give up on the benefits that Matter will bring.
Furthermore, even some fairly recent models won’t be updated to Matter, with support for the new standard coming only for newly released smart home devices from some brands. Such is the case with Nanoleaf smart lighting – only new Matter-compatible additions to the Essentials line will adopt the Matter standard.
However, even if your older devices don’t get the update, your current smart home setup should continue to work as it always did. So, unless you’re already planning to upgrade it, there’s no need to rush out and replace everything right away.
If you’re looking to buy some upgrades – let’s say you’re looking to take advantage of some of this year’s best updates Black Friday Deals On smart home technology – you then want to make sure what you’re buying supports it, or else your new purchases can get old very quickly.