Apple-backed smart home alliance launches new connectivity standard
We may finally get smart home products that all work together.
What you need to know
- The Zigbee Alliance has rebranded to the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA).
- The group has announced Matter, its new connectivity standard.
The Zigbee Alliance has a new name and a new standard.
The Zigbee Alliance, now known as the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA), has announced Matter, its new connectivity standard for smart homes.
The proliferation of connected objects continues to change the way we live, work and play. From homes to offices, factories to hospitals, connected objects enable us to experience our environments in cohesive, interactive ways. Yet, for too long, disconnected platforms and disparate development paths have caused confusion for consumers and complicated processes for developers and innovators. Smart objects should be reliable, secure, and work together – this is the shared vision behind Project Connected Home over IP (CHIP), now known as the new standard, Matter.
Apple has been part of the effort, along with other smart home giants like Amazon, Google, and Samsung’s SmartThings, since 2019.
Amazon, Apple, Comcast, Google, SmartThings, and the Connectivity Standards Alliance came together in 2019 to develop and promote this new standard, joined by fellow Alliance board member companies IKEA, Legrand, NXP Semiconductors, Resideo, Schneider Electric, Signify, Silicon Labs, Somfy and Wulian. Now, there are more than 180 Member organizations of all sizes, across a range of business categories, and over 1,700 Member individuals participating in bringing the Matter specification, reference implementations, testing tools and certification programs to life.
Tobin Richardson, President and CEO of the Connectivity Standards Alliance, said that Matter is a “foundational element in delivering a truly connected world.”
“We create marks of trust, and Matter is an important milestone for users in our long history of delivering unifying, secure, reliable and trustworthy standards for the IoT … I’m very excited to unveil Matter as a foundational element in delivering a truly connected world.”
If the standard is widely adopted, consumers would be able to purchase smart home devices with confidence that they will work across different ecosystems.
