This Thursday, Google officially rolls out support for Matter on Google Nest and Android devices. Matter is a new unified smart home platform that fosters interoperability across ecosystems and allows a platform to borrow support from an incompatible device.
Google has added support for the Matter platform on Nest Mini, Nest Audio, Nest Hub (1st and 2nd generation), Nest Hub Max, Nest Wi-Fi Pro, Google Home and Google Home Mini. This means that if you already own one of these devices, it will act as a bridge between the internet and the other Thread-enabled devices in your home.
Google confirms that more Nest devices, including Nest Thermostat (2020) and Nest Wi-Fi (non-Pro), will be updated in 2023. Android phones will also support Matter devices and integrate with Fast Pair to quickly add a new device to your home. Google will bring Matter support to the iOS version of the Google Home app early next year. Once a device is on your home network, any Matter-enabled app will be able to control it.
Matter uses Wi-Fi and the “Thread” protocol to communicate with smart home devices so that the smart home devices themselves can become nodes in a mesh network at home. This way, commands to smart home devices don’t have to bounce off a cloud-based system, reducing reliance on cloud services and reducing the latency between command and reaction.
Regardless of the brand of your Thread “edge router”, Thread version 1.3.0 will standardize its function across brands, so you would no longer have Thread networks running in your home.
Amazon has confirmed that 30 of its Echo devices will receive Matter and Thread compatibility, and Apple has already rolled out Matter and Thread support on its HomePod Mini (2nd Gen) and Apple TV 4K (2nd Gen).
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