Matter and HomeKit

There’s no need to tell you the background that there are today with the standards for the connected home. A the best known as HomeKit, Alexa, Google or Smart Things dozens of manufacturers join with their own devices and applications, in some cases they are not even integrable with anything and you have to use their own application.

Obviously. this goes against the user, as this fragmentation makes it difficult to choose the standard that best suits our needs And we end up wasting time and money on devices that don’t meet our expectations. Therefore, at the end of 2019, the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CHIP) was renamed Matter and set the basis for what would be a new standard open and common to all manufacturers.

This project is of course involved in Apple, Amazon and Google but also other big ones like Samsung or the Zigbee Alliance, not to mention manufacturers like IKEA, Legrand, Schenider Electronic, Somfy, etc. In fact, many devices compatible with Matter and with Thread, the protocol we talked about a few weeks ago.

What is Matter?

Basically, Matter is the new standard for connected house accessories, smart-home, compatible home or whatever you call it. (I would be upset if it were ‘the new standard of compatible domestics’ because that would give the blog a lot of hype!).

I hear don’t confuse ‘standard’ with ‘protocol’. A protocol is Thread, or Blueooth or Wifi. Matter if you place in the application layer so that the user does not have to worry about what ‘is below’, so in principle we will not care if we have ‘old’ smartbulbs connected by bluetooth or Wifi and some more modern ones that use Thread directly, as we will be able to see them all together and be able to automate actions.

The main features of the standard are:

– Trust (Reliable in English): Since it is supposed to always be available, we will now see why.
– Secure connectivity:: as you will negotiate with the devices and grids of the different protocols to integrate them to all, they will be automatically updated, we will not be ‘slaves’ from the manufacturer’s app, etc.

So, what does Matter improve?

As we said at the beginning, today the art state of domotics is very fragmented. Some of the devices we buy are only compatible with a standard… it’s very easy to get a smart Alexa-compatible plug, but if you want the same HomeKit-compatible plug you have to pay more because the HomeKit standard has specific requirements in the encryption of communications that makes you need a more powerful hardware.

Also We have fought for years with Zigbee devices that need a bridge And things happen to us like that even if we buy the last bridge of Aqara that is certified Zigbee 3.0, we can’t add other devices other than Aqara… even if they are also Zigbee 3.0!!! It’s like when we had a computer with Windows on the same network years ago, a computer with Linux and a computer with MacOS, because even though all 3 of them spoke TCP / IP there are things that were not easy to do like sharing a folder or a printer on one of them and that access the other two… and that TCP / IP has been in place for many years! They use the same protocol but not the same standard.

This causes some confusion to the user I myself bought some very cheap smartlight bulbs a long time ago thinking that I was going to be able to screw them directly into the bulb shell without more… and they actually needed a bridge that I had not bought and that was not even compatible with anything but its own application. Think also of developers who make very good bulbs and want them to be compatible with current HomeKit, Alexa and Google standards, which means they have to do 3 different developments to integrate with all of them… and then keep them, of course.

Well, in a few months these developers will just have to worry about integrating their great bulbs with a single standard: Matter. I mean, that users will see a much wider range of devices and, for which we have so far used HomeKit, we will see how from then on we can enjoy more brands and options than we were currently using.

To identify such devices will have to be fixed in the box as we have done so far but instead of having several logos with compatible standards, only the Matter logo will appear… and we can use it both from HomeKit with the Home and Siri app and from the Amazon Echo with Alexa or the Google Nest. Oh, and Android has published that it will be compatible with Matter this year and will be able to create automations and run actions directly from the operating system, without any manufacturer or third party app! That’s so cool.

In addition, Another important advantage of Matter is that it is open-source, which means that anyone can download the standard source code and review it as it is with the Linux kernel, for example. This is interesting since the user is confident that the code is being reviewed by thousands of users worldwide, which means you’re not going to find a back door that has introduced a rare manufacturer and that allows the bad guys to access all your devices. On the other hand, open-source or free-software projects advance very fast asthe possible collaboration with the project to

new functionalities, that is, we will see how it goes much faster than today’s.

But What we’re gonna like most to those who think about privacy and, above all, delays in communications that make a light not turn on when it has to turn on is that Matter runs locally, no need for Internet connection!!! What you do need is a Matter-compatible router, which is called a Border Router, but I advance you that the Eero we have already spoken of on some occasions are compatible with Matter and implement the Thread protocol for some versions. I saw this.

We with HomeKit, but Alejandra or Google users have always needed Internet connection to be able to run actions on devices.

The point is, with Matter there is a requirement for all devices to be managed locally without Internet access and that this access is optional in case we want to use external automation or device management services, for example to integrate them with an alarm plant.

My network with Thread

As we have already commented Thread incorporates the best of 2 worlds: On the one hand we have the low-energy of the Bluetooth which is phenomenal but that if you’re too far from the device… it’s not going to work since the blueeoth has a very short range. And on the other hand, we have the advantages of Zigbee but without the need to use a bridge.

As soon as we start using Thread, We’ll have 3 different types of devices.… the Border Router, which is the router that connects us to IP services, that is, cabling devices as can be TV or WiFi devices such as our mobile or any other bulb or similar that is directly connected by WiFi. This Border Router is the one that makes it ‘central accessories’, so you can imagine that both the HomePod mini and Apple TV by Apple, Amazon Echo or the Google Nest (from the

second generation) are already compatible with Thread.

Then we’ll have the Thread Rockets which are powerful devices with power to create a MESH network of devices. Yes, you have read it well, create a MESH network so that all devices create a kind of mesh and, if one of them falls or is not available, the rest are still connected to each other, without depending on one particular one. For example, domestic plugs, switches and such devices with power.

And finally we’ll have the End Device, which are simple devices without power beyond a stack such as temperature or door / window sensors open.

What’s gonna happen to the apps?

You’re not gonna believe this. It’s my turn to send it to me and stop using Home + v5!!! and see that it bothers me because it is my favorite app to create automations, with a few clicks add several complex conditions and you can specify if you want them to meet all or only with one being met is enough… roll AND AND AND OR. But right now, from Home + or from Home you can’t see the devices we have connected using Thread as it doesn’t show protocol… and that’s what we have to add that there are devices that don’t come out on Home + v5 like TV or HomePod, which bothers me even more as I have to create the automations of

sde Casa y Atajos, with the limitations of both.

And what do I plan to use? Well, no idea, the truth, but I advance you that Eve’s people have been one of the first to have Thread-compatible devices as well as Nanoleaf’s comments the other day, so Both the Eve and Nanoleaf app are Thread-compatible and you can see which devices are connected using this technology. and which devices use other ‘obsolete’ technology.

But it must be made clear that The applications are always gonna work the same, huh? We can continue to use House and shortcuts because they can communicate smoothly with the Matter devices as we do now, not even changes in the configuration will have to be made. And of course I could continue to create automations with Home + v5 as the connected devices using Thread will be available equally transparently to the user.

What’s going to happen to my current devices?

Don’t worry you’re not gonna have to change the current devices! You thought I was gonna rip your pocket, huh? Although if you’re reading this, I bet you will eventually change some of them: D

However, If the bridge you currently have supports Thread, all the accessories we have connected to that bridge will remain accessible. They will not become Thread devices, that is, they will not be part of the MESH network created by Thread and if the bridge falls we will not see those devices… but if for example we have the Aqara bridge because there will be no problem to maintain the Aqara devices we currently have, although new devices that come out compatible with Matter no longer need the bridge to connect to the network and, if the bridge is not available, the new Aqara devices compatible with Thread follow?

♪ being visible from the net. By the way, Aqara has confirmed that during 2022 both M1S and M2 will be compatible with Thread (and we will end the problems of linking them to 2.4 and 5Ghz! networks).

But What if we don’t have a Thread-compatible router? Many users use the operator’s router at home and it is this joint that manages wifi at home. In that case We can continue to buy HomeKit, Alexa or Google-compatible devices just like now, but until we buy a Border Router We can’t use the devices that come certified for Matter.

It is a matter of time before operators’ routers are updated to support Thread just like they were updated to support the 5Ghz wifi networks, but I’m afraid it’s going to be a long time until we see this… and then we’ll have to call the operator to tell him that our router has broken and we need another one, as I don’t think they’ll change it to us on our own as well… xD

And my Shellys?

Shelly has not said anything about it. and that Reddit is giving him wax, but I personally think the Shelly is going to remain a WiFi device and not Thread. Probably. the firmware will adapt to Matter and we can link it to other devices without flashing, but what is sure is that the current devices can NOT be compatible with Thread basically because they don’t have the necessary antenna.

And this so cool… when?

Mediates 2022. The date has been postponed since it was to be in the first quarter of 2022 and now they have already said that in the middle… but surely this year we see the release of the standard.

I have to buy a new device… wait a few months?

A lot of devices from many manufacturers that are going to be compatible with Matter have been presented at the ESC. Manufacturers like Arlo, Belkin, Aqara, Tuya and, of course, Philips Hue. What we do not know yet is whether for example Philips will update his bridge to be compatible with Thread or simply release a new bridge compatible with Thread and Zigbee for the bulbs we currently have at home that, in a few months, will be replaced by bulbs directly compatible with Thread that allow us to link them to the network without the need for the bridge.

What I do have clear after the Nanoleaf bulb experience I just want to take over my devices little by little to get them connected through Thread. The Nanoleaf has liked me so much that I want to continue testing Thread devices, so I have even looked at the new Eve switches compatible with Thread… but I100 strokes each switch costs They’ve made me think about it a little bit more and I’ll pass the initial heat.

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