Matter 1.4 Brings Support for New Devices and Easier Integration to Smart Home Setups

[MacRumors]

Matter 1.4 adds enhanced interoperability features for smart home ecosystems like Apple's HomeKit, including multi-platform device support and expanded energy management.

The Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA), the organization responsible for Matter, has now finalized version 1.4 of the specification (via The Verge), introducing a range of new device types and enhanced functionalities that promise to improve interoperability between smart home ecosystems, including HomeKit.

Matter 1.4 introduces support for home routers and access points (HRAPs) that are certified to operate as both Wi-Fi access points and Thread border routers. This means that any Matter-certified HRAP device will be able to enhance network stability and simplify smart home connectivity. Thread border routers allow Matter-enabled devices to connect across a home, regardless of which company manufactures them, while Matter-certified routers can securely store and share Thread network credentials.

The update also introduces Enhanced Multi-Admin, which allows users to add Matter devices to multiple ecosystems automatically with a single authorization. For example, a smart light or thermostat could be added to both Apple Home and Google Home without the need for multiple setup processes. Enhanced Multi-Admin achieves this by enabling "Fabric Sync," a system that allows each Matter ecosystem to securely communicate with other ecosystems a user has authorized.

Matter 1.4 also broadens its support for energy management devices. New categories include heat pumps, water heaters, battery walls, and solar energy devices, such as solar inverters and hybrid solar/battery systems. Matter 1.4's expanded energy management options allow devices to adjust their energy consumption based on demand.

While it's unclear exactly when Apple will introduce support for Matter 1.4's features, the CSA's bi-annual release schedule suggests that Apple and other Matter supporters will implement elements of the specification over the next few years.

Article Link: Matter 1.4 Brings Support for New Devices and Easier Integration to Smart Home Setups

 

[victorvictoria]

So all that remains is convincing manufacturers to adopt Matter support. They're few and far between at this point. Nest products especially.

 

[mozumder]

Houses could be built around an expanded Matter protocol. General maintenance should also be part of the spec. I could use info on when air filters need to be replaced, when gutters need to be cleaned, if a drawer is left open, if sump pump is still working, if air quality is acceptable, when indoor plants need to be watered.. so much maintenance in a house needs to be automated.

 

[stocklen]

Two questions...

1. How do we know what version of Matter Apple Home currently supports... and if and when they will support this newest iteration.

2. Enough with these obscure categories... when is video coming? I want my cameras in home as soon as possible and another year and version goes by and still no camera support.

 

[WarmWinterHat]

Houses could be built around an expanded Matter protocol. General maintenance should also be part of the spec. I could use info on when air filters need to be replaced, when gutters need to be cleaned, if a drawer is left open, if sump pump is still working, if air quality is acceptable, when indoor plants need to be watered.. so much maintenance in a house needs to be automated.

I don’t want any connected tech on my home and property that can’t be ripped out at a moments notice. No thank you. 🙂‍↔️

All that said, when is this going to be applicable? When will I be able to ask a HomePod to adjust my nest thermostat, or control my HomeKit plugs with Google Home?

 

[Will Co]

Seems to me to all be a bit of a mess - and I work in that line of business. There is very little clarity as to what devices support what, what hubs are needed, who will really interoperate with whom else. I think it's fair to say - it's not gone well. And I'm not sniping - I want it to go well.

 

[Powerbooky]

The last time I tried to use a Matter device (Eve Energy) it broke a part of my Thread network. All HomeKit only devices that were near and tried to connect to this Thread node, the Home app lost their connections. Maybe it's specific for Eve, but apparently HomeKit and Matter do not mix on the same Thread network.

 

[stocklen]

I don’t want any connected tech on my home and property that can’t be ripped out at a moments notice. No thank you. 🙂‍↔️

All that said, when is this going to be applicable? When will I be able to ask a HomePod to adjust my nest thermostat, or control my HomeKit plugs with Google Home?

HomePod already can adjust your nest thermostat... as long as you have one of the supported models of course.

 

[WarmWinterHat]

HomePod already can adjust your nest thermostat... as long as you have one of the supported models of course.

Mine cannot, so I have starling hub.

We have five Nest 3rd gens, three Mysa heat-pump thermostats, and two nest doorbells, in a mixed iPhone/Android household. It's complicated.

 

[mozumder]

I don’t want any connected tech on my home and property that can’t be ripped out at a moments notice. No thank you. 🙂‍↔️

All that said, when is this going to be applicable? When will I be able to ask a HomePod to adjust my nest thermostat, or control my HomeKit plugs with Google Home?

Yah I don't want to do labor around my house all the time like I'm some kind of oxen.

Give me smart home automation that handles all maintenance tasks for me. Just say no to dumb homes.

Just finding an AC tech repairman itself when my AC system goes down is a time sink and could be automated. I don't need to do that myself.

 

[WilliApple]

We still need support for video cameras and video doorbells.
As soon as this is added, it will simplify my smart home experience once companies adopt it.

 

[WarmWinterHat]

Yah I don't want to do labor around my house all the time like I'm some kind of oxen.

Give me smart home automation that handles all maintenance tasks for me. Just say no to dumb homes.

Just finding an AC tech repairman itself when my AC system goes down is a time sink and could be automated. I don't need to do that myself.

We have a pretty large home with multiple outbuildings on several acres, and we seem to manage it okay. You might want to automate an AC repair person, but I would rather talk to them in person and vet who I’m hiring. Same for any other household maintenance that I don’t do myself. Too many variables.

I’m pretty handy, so I prefer to do 90% of my household and auto repairs, among other tasks. It’s a way to relax for me, compared to my days at work.

 

[mozumder]

We have a pretty large home with multiple outbuildings on several acres, and we seem to manage it okay. You might want to automate an AC repair person, but I would rather talk to them in person and vet who I’m hiring. Same for any other household maintenance that I don’t do myself. Too many variables.

I’m pretty handy, so I prefer to do 90% of my household and auto repairs, among other tasks. It’s a way to relax for me, compared to my days at work.

Yah most people would much rather not spend time doing ANY housework. It's why restaurants and maids and car service centers exist. Life's too short for that.

 

[WarmWinterHat]

Yah most people would much rather not spend time doing ANY housework. It's why restaurants and maids and car service centers exist. Life's too short for that.

We have a maid service for weekly cleaning, but the rest we do. Gardening and working out in the yard and field beat watching tv or YouTube or playing video games any day.

My opinion, anyway.

 

[stocklen]

Mine cannot, so I have starling hub.

We have five Nest 3rd gens, three Mysa heat-pump thermostats, and two nest doorbells, in a mixed iPhone/Android household. It's complicated.

I must admit.. I was waiting for Google to support Matter in the Nest Learning thermostat. They did in the cheaper model but left out the learning thermostat.
I decided to give them a year, and if they still didn't I would ditch Nest and get a version that did work with Apple Home.
Sadly, they have obviously used Matter compatibility to drive sales of new devices rather than support old ones - so thats me done with them. I replaced my Nest Learning Thermostat a year ago.

 

[DominikHoffmann]

Are there guidelines for how to set up a firewall managing access between subnets and the internet with appropriate allow and deny rules?

 

[erihp]

soooooo Matter -still- doesnt matter. cool.

all i read is increased complexity and patching gaps that dont exist for other homekit compatible devices, nothing new or beneficial here.

 

[JippaLippa]

Beyond ridiculous that I cannot use my iPhone or mac to control the colour of my light bulb...

 

[macmac30]

Matter 1.4 adds enhanced interoperability features for smart home ecosystems like Apple's HomeKit, including multi-platform device support and expanded energy management.

The Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA), the organization responsible for Matter, has now finalized version 1.4 of the specification (via The Verge), introducing a range of new device types and enhanced functionalities that promise to improve interoperability between smart home ecosystems, including HomeKit.

Matter 1.4 introduces support for home routers and access points (HRAPs) that are certified to operate as both Wi-Fi access points and Thread border routers. This means that any Matter-certified HRAP device will be able to enhance network stability and simplify smart home connectivity. Thread border routers allow Matter-enabled devices to connect across a home, regardless of which company manufactures them, while Matter-certified routers can securely store and share Thread network credentials.

The update also introduces Enhanced Multi-Admin, which allows users to add Matter devices to multiple ecosystems automatically with a single authorization. For example, a smart light or thermostat could be added to both Apple Home and Google Home without the need for multiple setup processes. Enhanced Multi-Admin achieves this by enabling "Fabric Sync," a system that allows each Matter ecosystem to securely communicate with other ecosystems a user has authorized.

Matter 1.4 also broadens its support for energy management devices. New categories include heat pumps, water heaters, battery walls, and solar energy devices, such as solar inverters and hybrid solar/battery systems. Matter 1.4's expanded energy management options allow devices to adjust their energy consumption based on demand.

While it's unclear exactly when Apple will introduce support for Matter 1.4's features, the CSA's bi-annual release schedule suggests that Apple and other Matter supporters will implement elements of the specification over the next few years.

Article Link: Matter 1.4 Brings Support for New Devices and Easier Integration to Smart Home Setups

I'm curious if others have experienced weird behavior from devices connected to Apple's Home app? I'm using 18.2 on most of my devices and have numerous Apple TVs, HomePods, and Leviton Matter enabled light switches in my home. Once or twice a week, several of my lights rapidly turn on/off and during this time one or more HomePods will start playing randomly and if an Apple TV is turned on, the volume will quickly rise and fall. It's bizarre. It's almost like Apple's engineers are rebooting the dev Home server and it's causing beta sites to experience this weird behavior.

 

[coolfactor]

They should just combine all of these protocols into one super-protocol called "Dizzy", because that's how I feel reading about WiFi, Bluetooth, Matter and Thread.

 

[coolfactor]

We still need support for video cameras and video doorbells.
As soon as this is added, it will simplify my smart home experience once companies adopt it.

My Aqara G4 video doorbell shows up in Home, but that brand suffers from requiring 2.4Ghz WiFi connection, and not supporting 5Ghz.

 

[ChrisA]

When will I be able to ask a HomePod to adjust my nest thermostat, or control my HomeKit plugs with Google Home?

You can do this today. But you have to use some non-Apple products and software. I have a homepod in the bedroom and I have asked Siri to control a fan in the bath using a third-party humidity sensor. It all works but it is not possible for a consumer with no technical knowledge to build a system like this. Although it can be done

I doubt Apple will ever want to be an "integration hub" where they try and manage products from many different companies. That is not what Apple does.

But the problem is that Apple will NEVER offer products like, for example temperature and humidity sensors that I can place is different rooms and then control a bathroom fan to run until bathroom humidity is no more then 15% over the house average.

I'm using Home Assistance as the core software system. HA, will integrate with Siri, Google Assistant or it's own native voice assistant and will control just about any device. So yes I cay say to my Apple watch, "Siri, set Nest Thermostate to 68 degrees." It works today.

 

[Mike_Trivisonno]

We began replacing all of the 1970s era outlets and switches in our house with the Leviton Decora 2nd Generation devices. Our home is getting smarter. While Apple HomeKit and Google Nest are just a bewildering array of absolute nonsense, the myLeviton app is doing all sorts of automated things.

Porch lights come on at sunset and go off at sunrise, the hall light now illuminates at 20% for a few hours in the evening, ceiling fans come on at 6:30am and turn off at 2:00am, the dehumidifiers in the bedrooms all turn of at 10:00pm and come back on at 6:30am (they're loud and annoying at night). The lights in the kitchen come on in the morning, turn off at 10AM, and turn on at 5% illumination in the evening and then turn off at 2:00AM.

Just replacing the outlets and switches with the Leviton devices has made our life so much easier. And we didn't need to use Apple or Google anything.

 

[stocklen]

You can do this today. But you have to use some non-Apple products and software. I have a homepod in the bedroom and I have asked Siri to control a fan in the bath using a third-party humidity sensor. It all works but it is not possible for a consumer with no technical knowledge to build a system like this. Although it can be done

I doubt Apple will ever want to be an "integration hub" where they try and manage products from many different companies. That is not what Apple does.

But the problem is that Apple will NEVER offer products like, for example temperature and humidity sensors that I can place is different rooms and then control a bathroom fan to run until bathroom humidity is no more then 15% over the house average.

I'm using Home Assistance as the core software system. HA, will integrate with Siri, Google Assistant or it's own native voice assistant and will control just about any device. So yes I cay say to my Apple watch, "Siri, set Nest Thermostate to 68 degrees." It works today.

you are right in that Apple will never produce many such devices but thats what either Apple HomeKit certification or latterly Matter is for.

There are many many third party devices that are Apple Home compatible - though admittedly far few than there are Amazon Echo compatible for example.

 

[ChrisA]

My Aqara G4 video doorbell shows up in Home, but that brand suffers from requiring 2.4Ghz WiFi connection, and not supporting 5Ghz.

This is really common. They call it a "feature" but a bug. 2.4 GHz is better is going through walls then is 5 ghz. Almost all automation devices that use WiFi are 2.5 GHz only. This is not unique to Aqura. It is almost universal. And really how fast do you need to move data for a doorbell or a door lock? 5 ghz is not needed.

Home automation over WiFi needs a _VERY_ reliable 2.5 GHz network. Enough so that it is worth is to add a few access points around the house so that every device has the full "five bars". WiFi is my least preferred connection method because the last thing I want is for my lights to stop working if the router needs a reboot. I like Zigbee, Thread or even Lutron's proprietary radio links better than WiFi as they seem to be much more reliable. But still, WiFi can be made to work if you add enough access points. If the devices were 5 ghz, you would need even more APs.

You can use 5 ghz for the backhaul to the APs but Ethernet is more reliable if you can pull the cable.

Today, many times you can not find a Thread device, so I look for a Zigbee device. Only if this fails I am forced to WiFi. So I have a mix. While my goal is to have 100% matter over Thread, this is not possible in 2024.