Material, the smart home standard to unite us all, is alive

The smart home standard we’ve been waiting for for what seems like centuries in hardware time is finally here. The Communication Standards Alliance (CSA) is official chest Matter 1.0 specification and launched its own product certification program.

We’ve been waiting for nearly a year for Matter to make its way to the public. Originally, the wifi and Bluetooth LE specifications were scheduled and thread-dependent to launch last summer. But to make sure that the technology was fully breadedCSA decided to take time. Tobin Richardson, CEO of CSA last year. “The ultimate goal remains to deliver a specification and SDK that delivers on our promise.”

We were still in the midst of the pandemic and affected by supply chain shortages, which meant it wasn’t a good time to break out the gates with entirely new technology. But now, Matter 1.0 is available, and there are at least eight accredited testing labs open to help certify those connected tools. Additionally, any CSA member with devices that already have plans to update to Matter Support will be able to do so once approved. The first Matter-enabled devices are close to you.

I have some things enabled The tools are in my lab, and I hope testing starts soon. I don’t think Matter will revolutionize the smart home, but that’s because you might not notice it’s there for a while. The real test for Matter will be how it integrates with new devices being brought into the smart home and whether it makes it more user-friendly for people who aren’t the kind to tinker with.

Fortunately, all the big names behind the Matter standard, including Apple, Amazon, Google, Samsung and Signify, make Philips Hue smart bulbs. There are about 280 member companies so far that have signed up. And there are already hardware on the shelves to choose from like the latest Yale Assure Lock 2, which I hope to test out in the coming weeks. It offers a Matter-enabled unit that you can swap to easily transform your smart home. Google also announced earlier It will include Matter integration into its Nest Wifi Pro, although the Nest Hub Max, Nest Hub second generation, and last generation Nest Wifi have long been compatible.

Amazon has already made it clear that most of its current devices will be updated to support Matter during the early days of launch, including Aero wifi routers. Samsung Devices are also on board, including smart TVs and smartphones, which will act as center consoles using the SmartThings app.

“This release is the first step on a journey our community and industry are taking to make the Internet of Things simpler, more secure and valuable, no matter who you are or where you live,” Richardson said in a press release today. While the industry and consumers are excited about a one-size-fits-all connectivity standard, there is still an air of skepticism about how much easier it is to use compared to older methods. I’m looking forward to testing how Matter works in my smart home. But it will take some time before we truly realize the substance’s effectiveness.