Connectivity Standards Alliance; illustration by Stephen Shankland/CNET
Samsung SmartThings devices will adopt the Matter standard starting in 2022 for easier installation and use of smart home products, the electronics giant said Tuesday at its developer conference. Matter support will come to Samsung TVs, refrigerators and other devices.
Matter is designed to make it easier to connect devices like networked light fixtures, thermostats and security cameras to different manufacturers’ phones and smart speakers. Amazon, Google, Apple, Samsung and others announced the technology earlier this year but delayed its release a few months until 2022.
One big part of Matter’s promise is that devices supporting it should easily fit into homes overseen by tech giants Amazon, Google and Apple — for example controlling a Nest thermostat with an Apple iPhone or an Amazon Echo smart speaker. Today’s connection problems are a problem for consumers and device makers alike, so Matter’s success could help speed adoption of smart home technology.
SmartThings refers to Samsung’s line of smart devices, the app it uses to control them and underlying technology for linking them. Matter support should make it easier for Samsung devices to bridge its system with others’ and “makes smart home connectivity nearly effortless,” the company said in a statement.
Dozens of the biggest names in smart home technology have pledged support for Matter. When Matter certified devices arrive on the market, they’ll be recognizable with a logo showing three round-tipped arrows pointing toward a central point.
Matter is core to Google Home device technology, and Amazon is adding it to its Echo smart speakers. For controlling devices, Google and Apple are building Matter support into Android and into iOS.