Matter and the convenience it would bring to smart home users has been the subject of a lot of discussion. The protocol would tear down the walled gardens that so many companies have built and allow devices to interact more easily with one another without the need to jump through hoops. Dozens of brands have already committed to the Matter protocol, including names like Nanoleaf, Schlage, Honeywell, and more. With big names like Amazon, Google, and even Apple supporting the protocol, it’s a strong indication that Matter is going to make a huge impact in the smart home.
Samsung SmartThings is the latest to join the protocol. The company announced the collaboration during its Samsung Developer Conference 2021. What this means is that any SmartThings-enabled device will be able to be controlled through Matter, including televisions, smart home devices, and the Family Hub lineup of smart products. This means the SmartThings ecosystem will be able to work with other ecosystems without the need to purchase additional products.
Matter will serve to lessen competition between brands, at least to some extent. The hope is that the protocol will push further adoption of smart home technologies and create another surge within the industry, pushing sales and innovation forward.
There are currently more than 180 companies working together on the Matter protocol. In a way, it furthers what Samsung set out to do with the SmartThings hub in the first place. It connects disparate devices together across one language, allowing them all to interact with one another. While Zigbee and Z-Wave (and in some cases, Insteon) have reigned supreme in the past, Matter aims to bridge the gap between these protocols to make smart home technology that much smarter.
Samsung has stated that it plans to bring Matter to multiple products in 2022 as the standard becomes more readily available and can be integrated into the SmartThings platform. It’s a safe assumption that most Samsung products releasing at that point forward will work with Matter, although no word has been given yet on if it will be backward compatible with earlier devices.
