Taking Matter(s) into your own hands

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provided a starting point to build out a set of foundational features such as temperature setting and monitoring. “We wanted to expand the definition of what a traditional smart home was,” explained LePre. “Now we have releases every six months.” THE EVOLUTION OF MATTER At the time of talking to LePre, the latest version of Matter was 1.3, which created support for water and energy management devices – an area LePre shared that he saw the CSA moving into. “Energy management is a critical spot for us to be going into,” he said. “We support electric vehicle charging equipment and energy reporting, so all devices now can report their energy usage.” Following on from this, the CSA announced Matter 1.4, which, alongside bringing improvements for a multi- ecosystem user experience and introducing Matter certifiable Home Routers and Access Points (HRAP), also expanded its energy management capabilities for users to save on their energy usage. The CSA said that it represented a step further in its journey, as energy reporting was introduced in 1.3, while 1.4 added support for device types like solar panels, batteries, and heat pumps.

Apple, Amazon, and Samsung wanted to work with an IP-based stack.

“We are a member-driven organisation,” said LaPre. “The members dictate where we go. We have processes and procedures that put guidelines around what a member company has to do in order to get something done. But if members want to start working on a Matter toaster, we will provide them a place to work on the Matter toaster.” In other words, the possibilities are, in theory, limitless. “Our view is guided by how the industry is approaching us to support them on Matter,” said Chetan Joshi, Lead Product Manager at Panasonic Industry Europe. “Everything we do on Matter has been in response to the requests we receive from customers and the idea is to service them to the best of our capabilities.” Since the release of Matter 1.0 in October 2022, three more versions have been released; Matter 1.1. in May 2023; Matter 1.2 in October 2023; Matter 1.3 in May 2024; and Matter 1.4 in November 2024. Although the architecture of the stack is the same, the capabilities and device types it supports has expanded significantly. Take Matter 1.2 compared with Matter 1.3, for instance. Matter 1.2 added nine new device types including refrigerators, dishwashers, and air purifiers. The appliance support added to the 1.2 version, the CSA said,

This feeds into what you might envision when you think of a smart home, i.e.