Matter standard adds 9 new device types, with more to come

Matter, the budding smart home standard that aims to break down the walls between Alexa, Apple Home, Google Home, and Samsung SmartThings, now works with a whole new set of devices. 

Released just today, Matter specification 1.2 adds support for refrigerators, stand-alone room air conditioners, dishwashers, laundry washers, robot vacuums, smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, air quality sensors, air purifiers, and fans. 

Besides the new device types, Matter 1.2 also adds a variety of core improvements over the original specification, including a way for manufacturers to add descriptions of the color and finish of their devices, while semantic tags will allow (for example) for the location and function of multi-button remotes to be properly represented. 

The Connectivity Standards Alliance (the group behind the Matter standard) also announced that it’s planning two updates to Matter in the coming year, similar to the update schedule for Matter’s first year. 

The Matter 1.2 update roughly doubles the number of device types that the new smart home standard supports. The initial Matter standard, which arrived a year ago, included smart lights, HVAC controls, smart window coverings and shades, security sensors, door locks, smart TVs, and smart bridges. 

One key smart device category that’s still missing from the Matter specification is security cameras, and there’s still no word on when that key category will be added. 

Drilling down a bit on the new device categories, Matter will be able to tie into refrigerator temperature control and monitoring, with deep freezers and kimchi fridges also included in the specification. 

Dishwasher alarms will be supported by Mater, along with remote start and progress notifications, while Matter will also be able to control robot vacuum cleaning modes (such as switching between vacuuming and mopping) as well as report on brush wear, battery status, and error states. 

Fans now count as a separate device type in Matter 1.2, complete with rock, oscillation, natural wind and sleep wind modes, plus the ability to adjust airflow speed steps and air direction. 

The update Matter spec will allow air quality sensors to report the presence of a variety of airborne pollutants, including PM1, PM 2.5, PM 10, CO2, NO2, VOC, CO, ozone, radon, and formaldehyde, as well as local AQI conditions. 

Finally, laundry machines will be able to deliver cycle completion details via Matter, but it’s worth nothing that smart dryers aren’t part of the Matter 1.2 specification (but will eventually arrive as part of a “future” Matter release). 

There’s no denying that Matter’s first year was a rocky one. After a splashy debut last fall, the pace of new Matter devices got off to a slow start, which the various smart home ecosystems only added Matter support in fits and starts. Meanwhile, onboarding Matter devices across various smart home ecosystems is still a multi-step, headache-inducing process for end users. 

That said, Matter 1.2 represents a major—and welcome–update for the new standard, and while it doesn’t fix all of Matter’s problems, it demonstrates that progress is being made at a solid clip. Let’s hope that continues in the coming months.