New Updates From Apple and Google Could Mean Big Things for Smart Home Technology Standards

A smart home is one that's been equipped with appliances, fixtures and other devices that can be controlled by a computer or another device. The term "smart" in the name refers to the fact that these homes are fitted with technology and software that connects them to the Internet of Things (IoT).

The rise in smart home devices has been fueled by more than just an expansion in innovation that led to widespread automated technology. There's been a recent embrace of smart home technology from Amazon, Google and more because of the:

• Increase in people's desire for convenience.
• Increase in the number of people who work from home.
• Increase in the number of people who live alone (28% of all households – up from just 13% in 1960).

There are an estimated 175 million smart home devices worldwide, and that number is expected to increase at a CAGR of 25% between now and 2025. It's quite an incredible thing to see how much more in tune our homes are becoming with technology.

Smart home devices are becoming even more compatible with Matter smart home interoperability standards

The Matter standard is an open-source specification for how devices, apps, and services work together to create a seamless user experience. The goal of the Matter standard is to provide a common framework for manufacturers, developers and service providers to design products that unite effortlessly. The standard allows developers to create interoperable devices for the home. This means that devices from different manufacturers can work together in a single network and operate on the same set of commands. Essentially, it makes the user experience more consistent and reliable.

The biggest smart home corporations are beginning to set up compatibility with these upcoming standards which are expected to be finalized sometime before 2023.

Google has announced that its launch of the Google Home Developer Console will be compatible with Matter standards, stating in a recent blog article that it "provides everything needed to build intelligent and innovative smart home products with Matter. By simplifying the process of building Matter-enabled smart home products, you can spend more time innovating with your devices and less time on the basics."

Tech giant Apple has recently released the iOS and iPadOS 16.1 developer betas. One of its newest features is the inclusion of a "Matter Accessories" option under Settings. You can then choose from the various options available under "a connected service." If your iOS is up to date, you should see this option, however, it will remain empty until the Matter standards are released.

Amazon also made a similar announcement after joining the Board of Directors that oversees the shaping of Matter protocol, stating that "we will be supporting Matter over Thread [a low-power and low-latency wireless mesh networking protocol] across millions of new and existing Echo and eero devices. All eero Pro, eero Beacon, eero Pro 6, and eero 6 devices already act as border routers, and they will gain Matter over Thread support alongside Echo (4th Gen) in time for Matter's SDK release."

Perle continues to lead the way in IoT technology

Perle offers device servers and terminal servers to aid in the connectivity required to match all future Matter capabilities. For more information on how Perle works with providers to enhance the Internet of Things connections, reach out for a discussion.