Smart home standard 'Matter 1.4' released, multi-administrator and energy management functions enhanced
Matter 1.4, a new version of
Matter 1.4 Enables More Capable Smart Homes - CSA-IOT
https://csa-iot.org/newsroom/matter-1-4-enables-more-capable-smart-homes/
The Matter smart home standard gains support for more devices, including heat pumps and solar panels - The Verge
https://www.theverge.com/2024/11/7/24289972/matter-smart-home-standard-1-4-spec-new-features-device-types
On November 7, 2024, the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA), a standards organization that includes Google, Amazon, Apple, and others, announced the release of Matter 1.4. CSA stated, 'Matter 1.4 introduces enhancements to help device vendors and platforms improve the multi-ecosystem user experience with Enhanced Multi-Admin capabilities.' In addition, improvements such as strengthening the network infrastructure with home routers and access points and enhancing energy management functions have also been made.
◆ Enhanced multi-administrator functionality
Matter 1.4 adds a feature called Enhanced Multi-Admin. Matter allows you to connect smart home devices to multiple smart home systems, but connecting each device individually to multiple systems can be a tedious task.
Enhanced Multi-Admin improves device interoperability by allowing existing devices to automatically connect to multiple smart home systems with a single user consent: For example, a new smart light can be set up once on an iPhone to be controlled by Apple Home, while simultaneously being controlled by Google Home from a roommate's Android phone.
Daniel Moneta, Marketing Chair of the CSA, explained that Enhanced Multi-Admin is made possible by a system called 'Fabric Sync' that approves intercommunication between different ecosystems (Fabrics). According to Moneta, 'all the major companies' are actively involved in the development of this solution, and we can expect that smart home devices from major companies will support Enhanced Multi-Admin by 2025.
◆ Strengthening network infrastructure with home routers and access points
Now, home routers, modems, access points and other devices can be designed or upgraded to support Matter-based smart home systems. Matter-certified home routers and access points (HRAP) devices act as Wi-Fi access points and
◆ Strengthening energy management functions
Matter 1.4 enhances energy management capabilities, adding new devices such as heat pumps, water heaters, battery energy storage systems, and solar power generation devices, as well as enhancing thermostats and electric vehicle charging devices.
Matter 1.3 already added energy reporting for smart home devices, giving users access to data about their power consumption, but Matter 1.4 will allow users to turn devices on or off based on the amount of energy they use, adjust energy consumption during peak demand periods, and switch power sources for the entire grid or for devices.
Matter 1.4 also added in-wall switches to control non-smart home devices like lights and fans, as well as support for sensing technologies like radar, but security cameras are not included in Matter 1.4, although there are plans to add them to Matter in the future.
Since this release is merely a specification, it will likely take some time for device manufacturers and platforms to integrate Matter 1.4 into their products and ecosystems. When The Verge contacted Apple, Google, Amazon, and Samsung to ask if they plan to adopt the new features and device types in Matter 1.4, Amazon and Google responded that they plan to adopt Matter 1.4 at the time of writing.
'The Matter 1.4 update will be rolled out to supported Echo and Eero devices in early 2025, and we plan to add new features and support for Matter device types as device manufacturers release new products,' Amazon spokesperson Connor Rice said in a statement.
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