Smart Home Standard ‘Matter’ Delayed Until Fall

Do you own multiple smart home ecosystems and want a single app to control them all? For this purpose, there is a new smart home standard called “Matter”, which is intended to connect smart home devices from a dozen different brands. Early software kits for Matter, being developed by the Connectivity Standards Alliance, were expected to be available in the coming week. But now, the Connectivity Standards Alliance has announced that Matter has been delayed until fall of this year.

When rolled out, Matter will allow smart home devices from Apple, Google, Amazon, GE, Philips, and many other companies to work together in a single smart home ecosystem. For instance, a Google Nest speaker, an Amazon Echo speaker, and a Philips light bulb could all be controlled through the Google Home app via Matter. It will come as a software development kit that will allow companies to integrate with the platform.

This is not the first time that the program has been delayed. Initially, Matter was slated for a 2020 release but was pushed back multiple times before, which further postponed its release to the end of this year. Additionally, the Connectivity Standards Alliance is also planning to conduct a specification validation event, which will provide data necessary for the first device certifications. At this launch, the alliance will go through 130 devices from 50 companies, which after Matter’s official fall launch, will start the certification process.

As per the Connectivity Standards Alliance, “Matter is the seal of approval that says smart devices work reliably together — taking the guesswork out of the purchasing process, and despite all the delays, the member companies are all-in, the finish line is in sight, and we are reaching milestones with confidence, quality, and massive support.”