It’s been nearly two years since the Matter standard was launched to make the smart home experience even better. But the rollout has been a bumpy ride. The standard’s latest update is here, but will it be enough to speed up progress? Matter 1.4 features improved interoperability The Matter standard is designed to solve a major problem in smart home technology.
Currently, there are three major platforms—Apple HomeKit, Google Home, and Amazon Alexa. You’ll need to buy smart home devices, such as smart door locks, that are compatible with the platform you choose.
But smart home devices with Matter can work with any ecosystem. This removes a major barrier to adoption for new users. After its release, the standard failed to take off for a variety of reasons, including slow adoption by accessory manufacturers and smart home platforms. The Connectivity Standards Alliance’s new 1.4 update adds several features to the standard.
Most importantly, multi-admin has been enhanced. This allows users to connect Matter devices to multiple smart home platforms. The advanced feature allows existing and new devices to automatically connect to multiple ecosystems without any additional work from users.
With the update, several new energy devices are being added, including solar power, batteries, heat pumps, water heaters, and more.
Another added feature is that home routers/modems, access points, and set-top boxes can be designed or upgraded to provide more robust support for Matter. This is done by combining Wi-Fi access points and Thread border routers.
Even though the update has arrived, don’t expect to see any changes right away. Both smart home platform manufacturers, such as Amazon, and device manufacturers will have to update or add the new standard. And that will take a considerable amount of time.
Matter needs time to succeed
Despite a rough start, Matter is still the smart home standard of the future. The Connectivity Standards Alliance is made up of a wealth of all major smart home platforms and accessory manufacturers.
Progress takes time, and the Matter standard has already made the smart home better and easier to use. Hopefully continued updates will help make the standard even better.