The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2023 was buzzing with excitement and innovation, and one topic that stood out as a clear game-changer for the smart home industry was Matter.
Matter is a new smart home connectivity standard from the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA) that enables seamless communication between smart home devices from different manufacturers and platforms.
On the CES show floor, several examples of Matter in action were showcased, including plugs and switches from Schneider Electric, an Ayla customer. The implementation of Matter in smart home devices brings a new level of convenience and ease of use for consumers. It is an exciting time for the smart home industry, and forward-thinking device manufacturers have the opportunity to lead the way in this new era of smart home connectivity. Adopting Matter in smart home devices will set device manufacturers apart from the competition and give them a competitive edge in the market.
Matter is the beginning, not the end
Here’s some perspective from a November 2022 article, “Matter’s plan to save the smart home,” in The Verge:
“Before Matter, compatibility was a huge selling point for devices. You bought a smart lock largely because it worked with your ecosystem of choice. With Matter, that reason should go away. Now, companies will need to innovate on top of the standard to create reasons ... to choose their devices over the competition.”
IoT expert Stacey Higginbotham's post-CES report highlighted the exciting advancements and new products in the smart home market that support the Matter standard. She encountered several leading companies that have announced plans to offer Matter-compatible products, demonstrating the growing interest and adoption of this new standard. However, she also encountered major companies in the smart home market that had no Matter plans to announce, and she noted consumer complaints about the lack of Matter support for existing products.
As with any new technology, there will be challenges and obstacles for manufacturers to overcome. Retrofitting existing smart home products to support Matter can be a complex process, and manufacturers may also face compatibility issues beyond the domain that Matter handles.
Solving the challenges of Matter
The implementation of Matter in smart home devices requires dealing with various technical aspects such as cloud access, device management, user management, device schedules, support for non-Matter devices, data analytics, and development of apps to control the smart devices. To achieve success in implementing Matter in their products, manufacturers can benefit from using a comprehensive, end-to-end IoT platform like Ayla Networks.
With Ayla Networks, manufacturers can easily and cost-effectively transform any device into a Matter-connected product, deliver custom-built, differentiated products that stand out above generic Matter solutions, retain direct access to insights about product usage and customer interaction, enjoy a one-stop shop for Matter devices, firmware, cloud platform, and a 5-star mobile app and ensure that customer and Matter usage data is secure, thanks to the Ayla platform’s management under regional privacy guidelines and laws, free of geopolitical risks.
As Stacey Higginbotham said in another post, “For buyers of Matter gear who start with Matter and stay there, the road to smart home devices will be so easy that Matter will essentially fade into the background, paving the way for companies in 2024 to launch services on top of the gear making its way into more homes.”
It won’t happen instantly, but Matter is the future of the smart home. For device manufacturers that want to be at the head of the pack, now is the time to get serious about Matter, or risk being left behind.
Put your Matter strategy on the right track.
The best way to achieve Matter success is to build your smart home products on a comprehensive, proven, and secure IoT platform. Which is what Ayla Networks has been providing since our founding in 2010, near the dawn of the IoT market.
Whether you’re an established player in the smart home market or just entering it, contact us today to get your smart home future, including your Matter strategy, on the track to success.
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