Matter’s big coming out party is going down today, November 3rd, in Amsterdam at the Matter launch event. After years of waiting and multiple delays, companies are finally announcing their product roadmaps for the transition to Matter, the new smart home standard that promises to fix smart home interoperability.
Matter has been developed by Amazon, Apple, Google, and Samsung, alongside many other smart home companies like Eve, Nanoleaf, Wyze, Lutron, Somfy, and Signify (Philips Hue), to name just a few. Perhaps most importantly, once they’re in your home, Matter devices can operate entirely locally, talking to each other over Thread and Wi-Fi and not going through the cloud.
Matter’s governing body, the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA), says 190 products are now certified or close to gaining certification in the first Matter categories. These categories include smart lighting, smart plugs, smart thermostats, smart shades, smart sensors, and smart locks.
Below, you’ll find all the announcements and analysis from the event.
Nov 5, 2022Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
Matter is here, but it’s still a long road to the simple smart home
Matter’s launch event showcased speed and interoperability, but now it’s up to the platforms to deliver simplicity.
- THere’s Aqara’s new Thread-enabled door and window sensor.
Sure, Aqara’s Door and Window Sensor P2 is just two chunks of rounded white plastic. But things like color, size (it’s smaller than it looks), and logo placement are important when deciding if you’ll attach one to every door and window of your Matter-enabled smart home to trigger automations. The Thread-enabled sensor isn’t yet Matter-certified, but we saw this prototype working at yesterday’s Matter launch event.
A prototype of the Thread-enabled Door and Window Sensor P2 from Aqara. Philips Hue Bridge is getting updated to Matter early next year
The free software update is coming to all users by March of 2023. Developers can access the beta firmware starting today.
Level locks had a secret Thread radio this whole time
A firmware update will bring Matter to all of Level’s locks, making them interesting outside the Apple Home ecosystem.
Nov 3, 2022Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
We’re getting our first look at Matter devices today, and here’s what’s coming next
Over 190 products are now Matter certified or close to gaining certification, including smart plugs, motion sensors, and thermostats. And more device categories are coming soon to the new smart home standard.
Nov 3, 2022Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
Amazon announces a phased rollout of Matter to its Alexa smart home platform
Matter over Wi-Fi arrives on 17 Amazon Echo devices this month.
- TWhy Matter matters in one chart.
See the green and blue bars on the far right? That giant blue bar represents the expected growth in smart devices by 2030. Matter is here to make sure they work easily together. Good luck.
Nov 3, 2022Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
Nanoleaf announces the first Matter-over-Thread light bulbs
New A19, BR30, and GU10 bulbs and a light strip could arrive as early as February, starting at $20. But there are still no plans to upgrade existing Nanoleaf products to Matter.
Aqara’s Matter transition begins in December with free hub update
Followed by two Matter-over-Thread sensors and a new multi-protocol Hub M3 — Aqara is on the way to having 160 Matter-compatible devices.
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