Benefits of Matter certification for smart-home consumers
Matter delivers significant benefits for consumers. Matter provides a common language for smart-home devices to seamlessly work together across major platforms. By certifying devices with Matter, consumers now experience simpler setup and management of their smart home as well as greater flexibility and choice in how they control their devices.
Simplified setup and unified management
One of the biggest frustrations that consumers face is the complex setup and onboarding processes that are required to operate different smart-home devices and get them to work together. Each device might require its own proprietary app and separate account. To address this issue, Matter enabled plug-and-play functionality for certified devices. Onboarding Matter-certified devices is as simple as connecting the device to the local home network and then using the Matter admin, such as the Alexa app, to read the QR code on the device. Matter 1.4.1 introduced Enhanced Setup Flow with Multi-Device QR Codes and NFC onboarding, making the process even more streamlined.
This unified setup experience through a single app means consumers no longer need to juggle multiple, separate apps to manage different brands of devices. They can view and control all of their Matter-certified lights, locks, sensors, thermostats, cameras, appliances, energy management devices, and more from a single interface. Apple HomeKit, Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and Samsung SmartThings users all benefit from being able to discover and control Matter devices without having to download separate manufacturer apps. The simplified management of smart-home devices through a unified system reduces complexity for consumers and makes building out and expanding their setup much less daunting.
Improved choice and flexibility in voice control
Voice control has become a popular way for consumers to interact with their smart-home devices. However, today the choice of voice assistant often dictates what brands of devices you can control with your voice. Matter changes this by enabling voice control across ecosystems.
Consumers gain the flexibility to choose which voice assistant ecosystem best suits their needs, without having to worry about device compatibility. A user comfortable with the Google Assistant can control their Matter-certified devices with their voice, even if the devices were originally manufactured for the Alexa or HomeKit markets.
This cross-compatibility of voice control creates a more open environment that gives users greater choice. They can pick devices based on features and pricing instead of compatibility with a single ecosystem. If a user wants to change voice assistants in the future, their existing smart-home setup can easily move with them because all devices speak the common Matter language.
The Enhanced Multi-Admin feature added in Matter version 1.4 allows a single device to be controlled by multiple voice assistants simultaneously. This means family members can use their preferred voice assistant (Alexa, Google Assistant, or Siri) to control the same devices without conflicts or additional setup.
