The way you shop for, set up, and use connected devices in your home is about to change thanks to the arrival of the Matter smart home standard. It was officially finalized on Oct. 4, meaning manufacturers can start selling devices that meet the standard or update existing ones people already own. Starting in November, the standard will enable individual connected products to work with the smart home system of your choice, be it Amazon Alexa, Google Home, or something else entirely.To get more news about smart home solutions, you can visit securamsys.com official website.

“If it succeeds, this new standard will be a huge improvement and will allow consumers to choose models based on features and price rather than compatibility with a specific system, free from the worry that they may stop working due to inevitable changes in the industry,” says Bernie Deitrick, who has tested a variety of connected devices at Consumer Reports.

Because of these compatibility issues, Amazon, Apple, Google, Samsung, and other companies came together through the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA), a standards-setting organization for the Internet of Things industry, to create a new connectivity standard, called Matter, for smart home devices. The effort began over two years ago as Project Connected Home over IP (Project CHIP), and its supporting companies have grown from a few dozen to about 280.
The goal of the standard is to make all smart home devices interoperable. That means if you buy a product emblazoned with the Matter logo, you can use it with Amazon Alexa, Apple Home, Google Home, Samsung SmartThings, or any other ecosystem that meets the standard.

The first version of Matter was delayed a few times. The CSA says it expects to start with 130 compatible products from more than 50 companies. And throughout this past year, many companies—including Arlo, Belkin/Wemo, Comcast, Eve, GE Lighting, Ikea, and Yale—have announced plans to support the standard.

While the end goal of the Matter standard is simplicity, the questions raised now are pretty complex. That’s why we created an FAQ for consumers. We cover everything you need to know, including the benefits of the standard, the types of devices that will work with it, and privacy and security concerns. We’ll continue to update this FAQ with more information as it becomes available and the standard continues to roll out.
Why Does Matter, Ahem, Matter?
When you shop for a connected device—say, a smart TV, thermostat, or door lock—you’ll see a number of different labels on the packaging or in the website description: Works With Alexa, Works With Apple Home (formerly Apple HomeKit), Works With Google Home (formerly Hey Google, and before that, Google Assistant), and Works With SmartThings.

Each represents a different smart home ecosystem (Amazon Alexa, Apple Home, Google Home, and Samsung SmartThings, respectively) that you can use to connect these devices so that you can control them from a single app or smart speaker.

But this seemingly simple approach quickly becomes cumbersome as you build out your smart home. Some devices, such as the Schlage Encode smart lock, work with some systems (Alexa and Google Home) but not others. Not all ecosystems offer the same types of devices. For example, large appliances like washers and ovens are supported by Alexa, Google Home, and SmartThings but not Apple Home. And each subsequent device you purchase makes it more expensive and prohibitive if you decide to change ecosystems in the future.