Andrew O'Hara
On Wednesday, the CSA unveiled its latest update to the Matter home automation spec, introducing several new device categories to the burgeoning standard.
Matter, overseen by the Connectivity Standards Alliance, has officially reached version 1.3, six months after its last major update. Now that the spec is finalized, device manufacturers and ecosystem stewards can add support themselves.
New device categories include:
- EV chargers
- Water controllers
- Microwaves
- Ovens
- Cooktops
- Extractor hood
- Laundry dryers
With Matter, users can start and stop an electric vehicle charger. Plus, they can choose the charging rate or time of their expected departure.
Water management devices encompass not just faucets and spigots but also rain sensors, leak detectors, and freeze detectors.
Microwave support lets users control the cook time, power level, and mode during operation. Plus, they can receive notifications when it finishes running.
Ovens can be standalone or in tandem with a cooktop and allow control of the cooking mode and state. There's a great degree of support for granular controls, like filter lifespan or light/fan control on extractor hoods.
Finally, laundry dryers are well overdue as washing machines were previously added as part of Matter 1.2.
Additional improvements with Matter 1.3:
- Energy management to report power, voltage, current, and other real-time consumption or generation
- Improvements to TV functionality such as notifications
- Standardized scenes across platforms
- Command batching to reduce delays
- Improved network commissioning
- Event timestamp synchronization
While Matter 1.3 is now available to developers, major ecosystems have still yet to add support for Matter 1.2, including Apple Home.
Apple Home, Samsung SmartThings, Google Home, and Amazon Alexa all have so far not implemented Matter 1.2, nor have they promised any timeline for adoption.
Matter 1.2 brought several new device categories including robotic vacuum cleaners, washing machines, dishwashers, refrigerators, alarms, air quality monitors, and more.
We may not see support for Matter 1.2 until iOS 18 this fall, delaying Apple's support of version 1.3 until even later.
Matter is a new smart home standard that allows devices to achieve one certification and work across multiple ecosystems. Its goal is to help spur smart home adoption and simplify the development process for accessories.
Charles Martin
Christine McKee
Oliver Haslam
William Gallagher
2 Comments
And I guess Apple will add support for 1.3 year 2026.
Apple is so slow the simplest stuff. If Steve Job was still there he would take the sledgehammer and break Apple and redo it. Apple could easily cut 50% of the employees.
I was Apple fanboy since I got my Apple IIe as a kid.
Have had nearly every Apple product since then. Apple is so boring nowadays so most of us tech people have moved to Tesla and Elon Musk because there stuff happens really fast.
I have been using HomeKit since day one and I'm stuck in it. So hope Apple will start working on making HomeKit great again. 😁 Siri as well.
I listen to your pod every week and hope to hear that Apple has done some miracles. 👍
The added support in 1.3 seems mainly for devices that are much more likely to cause a fire - I see the delay as acceptable IF it is due to added safety measures.
Then again, I struggle to see the reason for adding automation features to a microwave or convection oven or a cooktop. The food has to be placed in/on it, so that is clearly the best time to invoke functions and doing it manually is superior. The one scenario that comes to mind is movement-restricted users who have an assistant come in for part of the day and set up meals for reheating later. But even then, thawing will occur and the heating time needs to be adjusted to account for that - not really an ideal situation for automation.