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Matter is the new smarthome standard and these are the benefits

Connecting smart home devices from different brands is often – unfortunately – not without problems. For example, you have to purchase a special bridge for Hue lamps, while the Nest Thermostat works again via WiFi or Thread. Matter, formerly known as Project CHIP, is an open-source standard designed to eliminate compatibility issues.

Smarthome connection: a big chaos

Those who are currently looking for smart home equipment will get lost in a maze of loose connectivity standards for smart home equipment. Of course you can connect devices to a local WiFi network or by connecting them over short distances via Bluetooth, but in many cases that is not the route that manufacturers of smart equipment prefer. Hue lights, for example, use the Zigbee protocol to control equipment. In addition, you can purchase equipment for your smart home that support the Z-Wave protocol, such as Fibaro switches.

Such separate standards have an important disadvantage, because they do not communicate with each other. Devices that support Z-Wave usually cannot handle Zigbee equipment, and this also applies to equipment with Wi-Fi or Bluetooth support. The disadvantage of this is that you have to control the equipment on a different platform for each standard, but you also have to purchase separate connection hubs for equipment with Zigbee or Z-Wave support. Will the smart home of your dreams get lights from Hue and Fibaro switches? Then you need separate hubs and you can’t control the lamps directly via one app, you first have to link them to a platform that can control everything the equipment, such as Google Home.

However, you run into a problem there, because Amazon or Apple’s smart home systems – the smart speakers and screens – do not support both protocols, for example, and in the case of Apple, the HomePod does not even offer Zigbee or Z-Wave support at all. . Since the Z-Wave and Zigbee devices are not connected to WiFi, the smarthome control always runs via the servers of the manufacturer of the Zigbee or Z-Wave hub. The disadvantage of this is that the support for such hubs, as can be seen with Philips’ first Hue bridge, is not infinite and that over time you have to purchase a new bridge or hub to continue to operate your equipment.

Matter: the smarthome standard

There are also exceptions, because the Nest Hub can, for example, handle different smarthome standards. Still, you want all devices and operating platforms to speak one language to make operation easier. That’s where Matter comes in as standard, a project launched by the Zigbee Alliance in 2019 under the name Project CHIP (Connected Home over IP). With Matter you can now ask Siri or Alexa to control devices from Google, for example. This should be possible without the user having to jump through different hoops.

Matter is the new smarthome standard and these are the benefits
Matter-supported products always carry the Matter logo

Unlike Zigbee and Z-Wave, Matter does not work on one specific network frequency. According to the CSA (Connectivity Standards Alliance), the network standard works with Bluetooth, WiFi, Ethernet and via the Thread protocol that many Google products support. In addition, Matter will work via platforms such as HomeKit, Alexa, Google Assistant and SmartThings.

Update plans from Google and Signify

The platform is widely supported by smart equipment manufacturers, including Amazon, Apple, Google, IKEA, Signify and Tuya. A total of 180 companies are participating in the standard. Google and Signify have already announced plans for the Matter protocol.

For example, all Hue lamps will receive Matter support via the Hue Bridge, while Signify’s WiZ lamps will miss the Matter update. WiZ lamps that will be on store shelves from September 2021 will receive Matter support later. Google announced that it was updating its Thread-enabled devices, including Nest speakers and displays, Nest Wifi, and Nest Thermostat with the protocol.

Matter is the new smarthome standard and these are the benefits

Devices that receive the update with Matter support can serve as a bridge for all Matter devices in the house – this applies to the Google Nest Hub 2 for example – while Matter devices such as the Nest Thermostat or Philips Hue lamps are now easier to switch on. close are in Matter networks. This effectively eliminates the requirement for separate hubs or bridges for such equipment. Below is a list of all manufacturers launching products in 2021 that work with the Matter protocol:

  • Amazon (including Alexa)
  • ASSA ABLOY
  • Comcast
  • Espressif Systems
  • Eve Systems
  • Google (including Nest)
  • Grundfos Holding A/S
  • Huawei
  • Infineon Technologies
  • LEEDARSON
  • legrand
  • Nanoleaf (including smart lamps)
  • Nordic Semiconductor
  • NXP Semiconductors
  • Qurvo
  • residence
  • schlage
  • Schneider Electric
  • Signify (including Philips Hue and WiZ)
  • Silicon Labs
  • SmartThings
  • Somfy (including security systems)
  • STMicroelectronics
  • Texas Instruments
  • Tuya Smart (including smart lamps and cameras)
  • Ubisys
  • Wulian
  • Zumtobel Group

New devices with Matter

Ultimately, Matter should serve as a replacement for Zigbee and Z-Wave and it will become easier to smarten a house and operate the smart equipment in a safe way. At the moment, however, it is not yet there. The Connectivity Standards Alliance released the standard in May and expects to be able to certify the first Matter devices by the end of 2021 before they can be found in stores. Presumably by then the first software updates will also roll out for devices that receive Matter support via an OTA update.

It is not known whether Matter will eventually be able to solve the smarthome problems of Wi-Fi equipment that is no longer supported by the manufacturer after a few years. Nevertheless, it is a step in the right direction, with an open protocol that makes it easier for equipment to communicate with each other – the future of smart homes looks a bit brighter, and above all more user-friendly.

Do you have any tips or ideas?

This week it is theme week on Androidworld and it is all about smarthome for beginners. You can expect everything from us in the field of Android and smarthome. From apps to WiFi cameras, from tips to handy hacks. In the side menu on the right and also on this page on Androidworld you will find all articles of this theme week. This way you have all the tips easily at hand.

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