Apple, Amazon, Google’s Matter Smart Home Standard Delayed To 2022

Right now when it comes to smart home devices, you need to take into consideration the device you’re using and whether or not it will be compatible with it. For example, if you buy a set of smart light bulbs that can only be controlled by Apple’s HomeKit platform, but you have an Android device.

The lack of a standard can be frustrating to users, which is why earlier this year, it was kind of exciting to learn that Apple, Amazon, and Google (and others) teamed up for a unified smart home standard called Matter. The plan was to launch later this year, but it seems that it has now been delayed to 2022.

According to Tobin Richardson, the CEO of the Connectivity Standards Alliance, the reason for the delay was partly due to the resurgence of the pandemic, more companies coming onboard the Matter alliance, and also trying to get out a high-quality SDK. While it might sound like a bad thing to be delayed, it might actually be a blessing in disguise.

A developer working on Matter told Stacey On IOT that the delay wasn’t surprising and it was actually a good thing. This is because it could help give smaller companies more time to prepare their products within the specifications. In any case, if you were hoping to see Matter-compatible products this year, you’d be out of luck.

However, Google did state that their Nest products will be part of the alliance so if you already own a Nest device, you should be able to expect more compatibility in the future.

Tyler Lee
Categories: Apple, Home
Tags: Amazon, Connected Objects, Google, IoT (Internet of Things)