With 190 products certified, Matter smart-home standard looks ahead

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About 190 products are certified for the Matter standard (or soon will be after testing).
About 190 products are certified for the Matter standard (or soon will be after testing).
Photo: CSA

The Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA) showcased companies and products using the newly available Matter home-automation standard at a launch event in Amsterdam Thursday.

The group, which includes Apple, Google and many other companies, emphasized the standard’s building momentum and drew a rough road map of what’s to come.

What’s next for the Matter home-automation connectivity standard?

Matter 1.0, a connectivity standard that helps products from different companies work together in the smart home, launched about a month ago after several delays.

Prior to launch, Apple participated in a Specification Validation Event (SVE) and qualified to submit certification applications. Cupertino’s big Home app revamp for use with HomeKit brings Matter support.

CSA said member companies at the Amsterdam event showcased Matter products in categories including lighting, door locks, motion blinds, occupancy sensors, weather devices, smart plugs, gateways, platform components and Matter-based software applications.

This comes as various companies, such as Eve Systems, Aqara and Nanoleaf, roll out their Matter-ready products.

190 products certified or in line so far

CSA said that since the launch, 190 products have been certified or await testing before certification.

Further, the new Matter specification has been downloaded 4,400 times since its release and the Matter software development kit (SDK) has been dowloaded 2,500 times from GitHub, the group said.

Covering both hardware and software, eight authorized test labs in 16 locations across nine countries now operate, “making it easy to bring Matter products to life,” the group added.

“This is a major inflection point for the [Internet of Things] IoT. As we become more connected and break down the walls between the digital and physical world, we need to work together to make those connections meaningful. Matter and our membership are tackling this challenge head-on,” said Tobin Richardson, CSA’s president and CEO.

“With collaboration, inclusiveness, and a deep sense of responsibility to the market and consumers, Matter has the power to create a more connected, safe, and useful Smart Home,” he added.

Interest in smart-home devices rising

The number of people intending to purchase smart-home devices is rising, according to CCS Insight, a European-based firm. It said 35 percent of households in key European markets intend to make such purchases in the coming year.

And U.S.-based Parks Associates research shows 73 percent of U.S. households that own or plan to buy a smart-home device say interoperability among products is important in their purchasing choices.

Launch events in Amsterdam and China

Thursday’s launch event (see video above) covered the latest certified Matter devices and featured CSA member experts speaking on topics such as security, energy management and empowering Matter developers. Twenty member companies offered product demos.

Some member companies spoke at the event about their place in the IoT ecosystem, CSA said.

“As services like Alexa continue driving rapid smart home adoption, Matter presents a new opportunity to further simplify development for device makers and add to the customer experience of smart home devices from a range of different companies and brands,” said Marja Koopmans, Amazon director of Smart Home & Health.

CSA said a similar event will take place in China, but it didn’t specify when or exactly where.

Call for companies to work in new product categories

Looking beyond Matter’s launch, CSA said work is underway for Matter support in new device categories.

While existing teams work on cameras, home appliances and more advanced energy-management use cases, CSA said new teams will work on closures (such as doors and gates), environmental quality sensors and controls, smoke and carbon monoxide detectors and ambient motion and presence sensing.

And the group used the launch event to call on companies “looking to develop connected solutions in these areas to join the Alliance and build what’s next in Matter.”

CSA added that 20 new companies have joined the alliance since the specification’s release last month. Companies can join by going here. For more information about certification, go here.

New versions of Matter may come along every six months, AppleInsider reported, so the next one could arrive in March 2023. Updates should contain new functions, improved performance and support for new devices.

Watch the Matter launch video:

 

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