Matter 1.2 has just arrived, and it takes the smart home to innovate automation processes in a way we’ve never seen before. The smart home connectivity standard expands to include support for nine new types of smart home devices, with Matter 1.2 products launching as early as the end of 2023.
Matter’s second update includes robotic vacuum cleaners, refrigerators, dishwashers, air quality sensors, air purifiers, scrubbers, fans, room air conditioners and alarms. This expands the scope of smart home automation to include a much more comprehensive smart home ecosystem than we have now.
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Matter 1.2 goes beyond automating different brands of lights and controlling smart thermostats. Adding smart home appliances to the Matter range means you’ll get a notification when your dishwasher cycle has finished, complete with automation to start the wash cycle immediately – all through your preferred platform, regardless of whether it’s Google Home, SmartThings or HomeKit. .
The Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA) debuted Matter as a new standard for smart home connectivity in 2022 to crush interoperability battles and help different brands work together in smart homes. The first update was made in April 2023 as Matter 1.1 and provided incremental improvements to Matter certified products.
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The new Matter 1.2 update also includes improvements in testing and certification, as well as enhanced interoperability features such as better device modeling, semantic tagging for displaying consistent applications, and public descriptions of device operational states.
Prior to this update, Matter support included smart home hubs, security sensors, smart locks, smart plugs, smart lights, smart switches, smart thermostats, smart curtains, shade triggers, and more.
Since its launch, CSA has recorded more than 24,600 specification downloads, 1,214 certifications, and a nearly 24% growth in the number of companies participating in the Matter Working Group. Part of the rapid adoption of Matter support is likely due to over-the-air software updates that allow existing devices to become Matter controllers.
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Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit, Google Home, and Samsung SmartThings are some of the most popular smart home automation systems, and they all support Matter — the companies behind them even co-created Matter. Matter’s latest update means you’ll be able to control a new Matter-certified robot vacuum using Siri or start your dishwasher by asking Alexa.
The CSA will still release two updates in 2024, as it did in 2023. As we look forward, there are still other smart home devices, like cameras and garage openers, that haven’t made it to the Matter’s range. CSA promises to continue expanding into new types and areas of devices in 2024.