The Matter platform has always carried a rather powerful promise. Smart home devices should just work. Getting multiple products to talk to one another shouldn’t require the homeowner to become a part-time systems engineer.
A smart light switch should be able to work with any voice assistant. A connected thermostat shouldn’t be hindered just because the user built their platform on Apple HomeKit instead of Amazon, Google, Samsung, or something else. Devices should be able to join the intended network easily, communicate locally, and behave somewhat predictably.
That was the promise, or the dream, when Matter launched. And based on what we’re hearing come out of the Connectivity Standards Alliance’s recent Unify conference in Austin, the industry still believes in that dream. CSA, which brings together hundreds of member brands in an effort to grow support for the Matter platform, introduced Matter 1.6 at the event. The upgrade introduces a feature they’re calling Joint Fabric, which they say will allow the smart home to operate as one shared Matter network that multiple ecosystems can control, rather than forcing the homeowner to add and share devices across separate platforms or environments.
That all sounds like a fancy way of explaining what many people thought Matter was supposed to do from the beginning. And you wouldn’t be wrong. But that’s also kind of the point. Matter’s promise remains just that: a promise. It’s a story that remains compelling because the experience is something we’re still working towards. The technology hasn’t caught up with it yet.
As a consumer, that’s not really something I want to hear. Progress is great, but what about my smart home experience today? Can I ask Siri to turn on my living room lights, and will that command work? Do the shades go up or down on command? Can I arm the security system? Did the specific movie night scene I set up execute properly? Did I get a call from the wife today when the TV wouldn’t land on the right input when she asked to switch from the kids’ video games to her new show on Netflix?
Those are the daily struggles that Matter is supposed to remove from the equation. It’s making progress, and this new update is definitely a step further down the path. And we can’t discredit CSA for all the work they’ve done getting just about every major player into the room in order to create the kind of buy-in needed to allow this platform to flourish. But that’ll only take it so far.
The standard is only as useful as its implementation. Matter can define what should be possible, but Apple, Amazon, Google, Samsung, device makers, silicon providers, and network infrastructure companies all have to support those possibilities in consistent, timely, and consumer-visible ways. When the specification moves faster than the platforms, the result can be more confusion rather than less.
The Challenge of Expectations
While the improvement of the standard is a big win, the slow adoption creates a challenging environment where consumers expect greater interoperability only to be met with disappointment. That disappointment, though, is where the major opportunity lies for the custom integrator. And it’s why this channel remains so inherently essential to both the homeowner and the design/build trade partners you work with.
The misconception is undeniable. Many of you likely view something like Matter as a major threat to your work. If a consumer can bring multiple devices into their home and they “just work,” then what’s the need for an integrator or this channel?
That outlook sells this community way too short. You’re more than just a device installer. Integrators today—especially the successful ones—are experience architects, system designers, the troubleshooter (the dreaded tech expert to you family and so many others), educators, and, perhaps most importantly, the long-term stewards of the connected ecosystem. Your value is not limited to making incompatible products talk to each other, though that has certainly been part of the job. Your deeper value is making technology disappear into daily life.
Matter may help on a surface-level, but it struggles to help create those memorable experiences for the user.
It doesn’t know that the kitchen scene should be bright and cool in the morning, softer after sunset, and different when entertaining. It doesn’t know that the homeowner wants the exterior lights to respond differently when the alarm is armed away versus armed stay. It doesn’t know that the media room should prioritize reliability over novelty, or that the guest suite needs simple controls because no guest should need an app tutorial before turning off the lights.
And let’s not forget about the network that needs to support this entire experience. It takes more than a standard or protocol to help manage Wi-Fi density, decide how to segment a home network for performance and security, or document the system for future service.
Making products compatible is one thing. Creating a cohesive experience that’s tailored to the homeowner? Good luck.
The Matter standard will continue to mature and simplify things for the DIY community. But viewing it as a threat to what the custom integration channel does is a misjudgment. You shouldn’t dismiss the standard entirely. Rather, understand how it works, where it can support what you’re doing in the home, how it can reduce certain frictions, and where gaps still exist that your knowledge and expertise will be needed to build those connections.
Matter promises a simpler smart home. The Integrator’s promise is a tailored one.
Those promises don’t conflict. And, in fact, they may be strongest when they work together.
