Hardware manufacturers such as Apple, Google and Amazon often use their own communication protocol for their products. Even with third-party solutions like IFTTT it is not always possible to get these smart devices to communicate with each other. 

Ordered before Homekit devices, for example, the Homekit Accessory Protocol (HAP) is used as a communication protocol. The devices communicate fine with each other as long as you use HAP. But if another device does not have HAP, for example your Bluetooth speaker, you must first reconnect before you can play music. Of course you don't want that in 2022.

The big tech companies have also realized that there will be no market leader. That is why Amazon, Apple, Google and other providers have been working on Matter in recent years. The new smart home standard, where smart devices now speak the same language.

It's annoying enough when devices don't communicate properly with each other. This is not the only thing. Sometimes devices respond slowly or can be broken in from the outside. To prevent this, the Matter team has devised four core principles every product that has to meet. 

Simplicity: the product is easy to purchase and use. You can also easily connect to this.
Interoperability: devices from multiple brands work together seamlessly and are easy to connect.
Reliability: connection is consistent and responsive.
Security: the connection is well secured and robust for developers and users. 

If products do not meet the above points, the producer will not receive a certificate to use Matter. We as an app developer are aware of the expectations and also apply this in the products. A good example of this is in-lite.

Providers using Matter all work with a universal connection protocol based on an IP address (IPv6). Because this protocol is the same, you can connect to all smart home devices with any brand of smartphone. is used for the connection Thread (802.15.4), Wi-Fi (802.11), or Ethernet (802.3). According to TheVerge during previous demos, the core feature – multi-administrator control – was also presented. This allows smart home devices to have multiple managers so that you can ask Siri to turn down your Nest thermostat or activate your Google home on your Samsung speakers.

In the update of iOS 16.1, Apple has already added Matter and can already be used in the meantime. The new smartphone from Google and the smartphones from Samsung already offer the possibility to use Matter. This means that hardware parties have to work hard to integrate the protocol into their hardware. Unfortunately, the first version of Matter currently supports fewer product categories than, for example, Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa or Apple HomeKit. Among other things, security cameras are missing, while for many users they are essential for a smart home system.

In addition to the major tech giants, there are already more than 200 (small) companies that have joined under Matter. This requires major investments in development, marketing and positioning. The advantage is that this also offers new opportunities. The market for Smart Home products is becoming much more accessible. That's why we are like appdevelopers in the meantime also busy testing to make Matter available to our customers.

If you already have products on the market that work on a WiFi or Bluetooth protocol, you can add Matter with a software update. We thinking happy to join you.