Your home automation installation will undoubtedly become simpler in the coming months. A few weeks after presenting the very first version of the Matter universal protocol, the organization in charge of its development announced lots of new features, in partnership with the big names in the sector.
During a big gathering in Amsterdam, the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA) detailed the changes that were going to occur in the marvelous universe of the connected home during the next months. In all, nearly 190 products have been announced as compatible (or soon compatible) with the Matter protocol. A drop of water in the ocean of current connected objects, but a drop of water that can make a difference given the products concerned.
Amazon and Philips Hue fully into Matter
Amazon, which has never hidden its desire to become a major player in the smart home, has announced that 17 of its Echo accessories will become compatible with Matter from next December. Echo Dot speakers, Echo Show screens, and even the Echo Plus are all set to get an update that makes it easier to integrate accessories into its home automation ecosystem over the next few weeks. Unfortunately, this update will only support the Matter protocol via wifi — no Thread, the hubless protocol, at this time — and connection will need to be done via the Android app, with iOS support planned. for the next year.
For its part, Signify (the company that markets Philips Hue products) has also announced that its hub will become compatible with Matter by the 1st quarter of 2023. This is not entirely a surprise, since the company had already committed to supporting the protocol in 2021, but the firm still provided some details on this development. With a simple update, the overwhelming majority of Philips Hue accessories will therefore become Matter compatible, with the exception of the Dial switch and the HDMI Sync box (protocol developments should solve the problem). For those who want to get their hands dirty, it is possible to install a beta version of the software now.
Limited beginnings for the universal protocol
Finally, among the other manufacturers of connected accessories, the company Nanoleaf (which markets, among other things, connected light panels) announced that Matter compatible connected bulbs would arrive in the first quarter of 2023. These will take the form of a luminous ribbon and bulbs in GU10 format (among others). You don’t even need to go broke, since the first price gadgets will be around 20 €.
The avalanche of Matter compatible products that should arrive in the coming months proves that the new protocol is still in its infancy. If Matter is supposed to eventually unify all the connected devices in your home, it is above all the lights and the connected sockets that will open the ball. Locks, surveillance cameras or smart coffee machines will be integrated into the ecosystem in a second phase. Even officially Matter compatible products won’t necessarily support all the features the standard has to offer. Most will still need to be connected to a home automation hub and will require a wifi connection. Anyway, it’s already a good start.