Samsung is rolling out Matter support on its SmartThings platform. The company will update its SmartThings hub and mobile app to let users control or manage any Matter-compliant smart device through SmartThings. As long as the device is Matter certified, it will fit right in on their existing smart home ecosystem with no compatibility issues.
Samsung’s SmartThings platform gets Matter support
Matter is a new smart home protocol that aims to solve the biggest problem in this space: interoperability. We have numerous smart home platforms out there, and device manufacturers cannot support all of those. As such, most devices today only work with one or two platforms. This makes it difficult for buyers to find a compatible product. You have to be very specific about the device you pick. You can’t just go and buy a device without worrying if it will work with the rest of the setup.
With Matter, you will no longer have this interoperability problem. A Matter-certified device will work with all major smart home ecosystems. Whether you have Samsung’s SmartThings, Google Home, Amazon’s Alexa, Apple’s HomeKit, or any other ecosystem, Matter-compliant devices will fit right in. Pretty much all smart home companies have pledged support for the new protocol, though not many have adopted it yet. Samsung, which is a key contributor to the development of Matter, is also among the first to support it.
The Korean firm announced support earlier this year, opening an early access program for select partners. It is now officially rolling out support for compatible SmartThings products. The second and third-gen SmartThings Hub and the Aeotec Smart Home Hub will initially get support for Wi-Fi, Ethernet, and Thread-based Matter devices. All products will continue to support Zigbee, Z-Wave, and LAN (Local Area Network) devices, including Wi-Fi and Ethernet.
“We are now shifting from basic connectivity to building incredible experiences,” said Jaeyeon Jung, Head of SmartThings at Samsung. “Matter is the future, giving consumers extensive choice and smart device compatibility at scale. Today marks the most significant milestone yet toward mass smart home adoption.”
Samsung recently joined Google to make your smart home more interoperable
Samsung isn’t limiting its efforts to making the smart home ecosystem more interoperable to Matter. At its Samsung Developer Conference earlier this month, the company announced a partnership with Google for cross-platform control of SmartThings and Google Home ecosystems. You can set up your devices from one app and control them through the other. The companies are leveraging Matter’s multi-admin to add this capability. If you are a SmartThings user, you should be receiving an update for your Android app soon.