Matter residences is a smart home interoperability protocol that was developed by big players in the industry like Apple, Amazon, Google, Samsung, and Signify. It aims to reduce fragmentation among the smart home ecosystem and improve security and reliability. It works by leveraging existing technologies such as Wi-Fi and Thread and putting an application layer on top of them. It also provides a way to bridge Zigbee and Z-Wave devices into a Matter-compatible app or ecosystem.
As of today, Matter is available for smart light bulbs and switches, smart plugs, smart locks, smart thermostats and other HVAC controls, connected shades and blinds, and media devices, including TVs. More categories will be added as Matter expands.
The big four smart home platforms — Amazon Alexa, Google Home, Apple HomePod, and Samsung SmartThings — all support Matter. This means you can use their apps, smart speakers, hubs, and voice assistants to manage your Matter devices, though some features won’t work with each platform’s version of the app. Those features include things like energy monitoring in smart plugs and complex scenes in smart lights.
Depending on the brand, you won’t need a new device to get started with Matter. Existing devices that support a Matter-compatible platform will be able to become Matter-compatible by applying an over-the-air software update.
For example, all of Amazon’s Echo 4th-Generation smart speakers and the Eero Wi-Fi router will become Matter-compatible with a software update in spring 2023. Also, a firmware update for the Nanoleaf Shapes, Elements, and Lines lineup of smart bulbs will add support for Matter to those products. Other manufacturers are rolling out updates to their smart locks and other products to add support for Matter, too. matter residences
