Several companies have set out to create a new standard that simplifies home automation and benefits users when buying smart home products. The result has been Matter and we tell you what it means.
Home automation is on the rise and now everything is connected, from speakers to light bulbs to switches. The main drawback of all smart devices is that, in most cases, they are only smart with one company: Google, Amazon or Apple.
The situation of exclusivity generates that users have to use the different platforms of the companies to control the smart devices they have. At least this was the reality so far, as a group of large companies has decided to create an open standard.
Large companies such as Amazon, Google, Apple, Samsung, Ikea, Somfy, Signify or Zigbee Alliance, among others, are behind this. The alliance they have created has resulted in Matter, this will be both an open standard and an indicative seal that the device we acquire will work both in the Google Home ecosystem and in Samsung’s SmartThings or Apple’s Homekit.
The standard, in addition to being open, is free and, therefore, many home automation product development companies will be able to use it without having to pay the respective rights to a specific company. This will promote the creation and production of these products.
The arrival of Matter does not mean the disappearance of Google Home or Amazon Alexa. Each company will maintain its home automation application or platform, but the products may be used indiscriminately among all existing platforms.
Matter will work through communication and connectivity standards that already exist, such as Wi-Fi 802.11, Bluetooth low energy, Ethernet (802.3) and Thread (802.15.4), in addition to being IP-based.
This movement is a breath of fresh air in home automation and, in principle, it comes to benefit users who will not have to close to a single ecosystem. It has not yet been released in products, but is expected to make an appearance in late 2021. It would be in those dates that we would begin to see the logo on light bulbs, cameras, thermostats and a long etcetera.