Google is announcing today that Google Nest and Android devices are now Matter-enabled. For those unaware, Matter is a new smart home standard that many of the big companies (Apple, Amazon, Google among others) have worked together to build. It’s going to make using smart home devices a lot easier, and make them interoperable with different ecosystems.
This means that customers are going to be able to use and connect Google devices with Matter from other brands. So you’re able to create a customized smart home experience that would best suite you.
So what devices will support Matter? Well, from the Nest side of things, that includes the original Google Home speaker, Home Mini, Nest Mini, Nest Audio, Nest Hub (1st and 2nd gen), Nest Hub Max and Nest WiFi Pro.
Why does Matter, matter?
There’s a few big features that this announcement brings. First off is Fast Pair on Android. This means that with Matter, you will be able to very quickly connect a Matter-enabled device to your home network. This does also include other smart home apps.
Additionally, Matter-enabled devices are able to connect to your home over WiFi or Thread. Which is a networking technology that is very helpful to form a seamless connection over a long distance.
We’re seeing more and more devices getting Matter support, Nanoleaf and Philips Hue are a couple of brands that are rolling out Matter support right now actually.
So what’s next for Google Home? Well, in 2023 they will be enabling more and more Nest devices with Matter, as well as adding iOS support. Google has also partnered with Samsung to build a deeper integration of Matter’s Multi-Admin experience, that will also be coming in 2023. What that means is that you can see Samsung SmartThings products in your Google Home app and easily add them as well.
Don’t forget that the entire Google Home app is getting a refresh next year too, which is available as a preview right now.
2022-12-15 15:06:46