On our recent IoT Podcast, we took a question that Chris left on our IoT Voicemail Hotline. And Chris isn’t the only one with this question as we’re receiving it more often these days. Chris is ready to migrate his smart home hub to something new and add some more connected devices to his home. With the Matter standard expected to officially roll out within the next few months, Chris wants to know if he should wait before buying new products.
We’ve suggested for some time that smart home owners hold off on large smart home investments until Matter products arrive. We still think that’s good advice. Why purchase a new smart dimmer that just debuted, for example, if you know it won’t support Matter?
The problem at this point in time is that there simply aren’t any connected devices available with the “Matter certified” logo yet. Yes, that’s expected to change within a few months. But if you’ve waited this long for Matter, why not wait a few more months?
If you’re feeling optimistic, however, there are some products available that device makers have committed to supporting the Matter standard. Eve Home, for example, offers a Thread-capable motion sensor that is fully expected to work with Matter. Philips Hue says that its existing lights will work with Matter through an update to the Philips Hue bridge. And Apple intends to upgrade its HomeKit hubs for Matter support as well.
So while you can’t purchase any official “Matter-certified” devices, some existing products are slated to gain that all-important certification. Buying any such devices should be a low-risk investment because we’re so close to the Matter rollout. You’d expect that after a few years of making Matter a reality, device makers would now have those Matter strategies and product plans in place.
To hear Chris’ question in full, as well as our discussion on the topic, tune in to the IoT Podcast below: