When you buy smart home products, you are locking yourself into one ecosystem and products from a particular brand. However, with the introduction of an innovative technology standard called Matter, which is all about to change.

Matter is a home automation connectivity standard. Matter’s aim is to make home automation simple to set up and for devices from different vendors to talk to one another across different smart home ecosystems. For Matter to work all devices must support Matter.

WHY should you consider setting up a smart home?

Almost everyone has a smartphone today, and we would be lost without them. Smart homes are becoming a bigger thing, with many households now having a smart speaker or smart assistant. When you buy a new TV today, most have smart functionality built in.

In Australia, there are two dominant smart home ecosystems, Google Home, and Amazon Alexa. Samsung SmartThings and Apple HomeKit also have their own solutions. Indeed, any smartphone is also a smart assistant in which we can use our voice to play a song, tell us the weather, turn on the LED light, take a picture, call someone etc.

To take the smart home concept a step further by linking various devices, we can ask our smart assistant in the kitchen to turn on the television to channel 2. If we buy a smart light bulb, we can ask our smart assistant to turn it on or off and change its color if it supports colors. That same light bulb can be automatically turned on or off at certain times or be switched on only when someone is in the room, saving you electricity.

Surprisingly, you think you would not use a smart light bulb, but once you start, you find all sorts of reasons to have a smart device. Other smart home devices include:

• Power outlets and power boards
• Switches
• Thermostats
• Airconditioning
• Blinds
• Fans
• Watering systems
• Door locks
• Garage door openers
• Room sensors
• Doorbells
• Speakers
• Televisions
• Security cameras

Over time we will see many more products with smart capabilities. Why do we want a smart home? Smart homes make our lives just that little bit easier! They can simplify a process, create home automation, or remove the need to carry keys.

Smart homes can also be programmed to do a sequence of things all at once, like automatically turning off air conditioning, lights, and music when you leave the house.

WHAT is the problem that Matter is solving?

Brands over time are making it easier to set up a smart home, but brands don't play well together.

To set up a smart device today, you buy a product, download an app, and set the product up. Then, as a separate exercise, if supported, you connect to a smart home ecosystem like Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa. This can be difficult for those not technically savvy, which is a barrier to adoption, and some products may not support your preferred ecosystem, such as Apple HomeKit.

Let's assume you want more smart home products, and you buy a different brand product. You now have an additional app you need to download, and your existing smart home products will not interact with your new app.

In summary, a smart home is not simple to set up, and different devices don't play well together.

Matter is an alliance of brands (companies) who have all agreed on a standard they will build into their products.

To quote the Matter website:

"One protocol to connect compatible devices and systems with one another. Smart home devices should be secure, reliable, and seamless to use. And with Matter, they are."

So far, more than 50 brands have joined the alliance, including all the major brands we are familiar with today. The success of this will come down to execution. To date, we have no commercially available solutions to test.

Other issues that Matter is solving include security, wireless communication, and local connectivity. Matter will utilize blockchain and encryption like WPA3 to maintain our privacy and security.

Our smart devices need to communicate in our homes. This communication will be wireless and require long-range using low power. A new Wi-Fi standard called Thread has also been developed to improve connectivity.

Local connectivity means your devices will still work if the internet connection is lost to the house. Your home network, if still live, will work with your various devices, so you keep the lights on. Local connection will also speed up the responses and increase reliability.

HOW will Matter work?

Matter is due to launch before the end of 2022. You will know if a product supports Matter if the Matter symbol is visible on a product. Each Matter product must have a QR code.

Some of the existing smart products in your home today will receive updates to support Matter.

The diagram below shows the first products we expect to incorporate Matter.

Matter will require a hub to talk to your devices. If you already own a Google Home speaker, Amazon Echo, or an Apple HomePod, this should become your hub without having to buy something else.

Google has provided some images to show how a Matter device will be set up.

When you switch your new Matter-enabled smart product, your mobile phone, tablet, or smart assistant will notify you have a new device.

You must then scan the device's QR code

Once the device indicates it is connected, you must select which apps you wish to use to control your device.

Let's assume that you have chosen Google Home to control your devices. Then it is as simple as using the Google Home app or talking to your Google Assistant to control your smart home setup. Here you will also be able to set up routines to action multiple actions from one command like "goodnight" (turn off lights, tv music and lock the door, for example).

A side benefit is you can delete all the individual smart device apps off your smartphone, freeing up some room.

SUMMARY – Matter

Matter is leading-edge technology designed to simplify smart home integration and operation. Many questions need to be answered, but there is no doubt the intent is there from all the major brands, and to truly make our homes smart, we need this evolution.