Universal Electronics Inc. (UEI) (NASDAQ: UEIC), a global manufacturer of wireless universal control solutions for the smart home and home theater, unveiled its extended family of QuickSet-certified connectivity solutions at CES 2023. Additionally, the company has stated it has upgraded its QuickSet Widgets to now be supportive of Matter.

Powered by QuickSet Cloud, the QuickSet Widget family of wireless connectivity solutions provides easy onboarding, device management, mobile SDK support, UEI virtual agent support and extensive connectivity options, as noted by the company. These include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth LE, Universal IR, as well as wired protocols, with potential to extend to Zigbee devices via the UE878 module.

UEI Upgrades QuickSet to Matter for Greater Scalability

For 2023, UEI’s QuickSet Widgets – which provide fully managed Internet of Things (IoT) capability to non-connected electronic devices – will now expand to include native support of Matter across the QuickSet Widget family with Virtual Agent-assisted easy onboarding. This, the company notes, will enable products powered by the QuickSet Widget to be Matter-capable.

“As the smart home expands, and interoperability between different devices, ecosystems and protocols continues to be a challenge, we have seen strong interest in our QuickSet services,” says Arsham Hatambeiki, SVP of Product and Technology at UEI.

“Recognized as the most effective solution for OEMs to deliver interoperability and Smart Home services, we expect our QuickSet®-certified silicon chips and modules will grow and expand as we offer new features and capabilities.”

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In addition to UE61S and UE61V, an entry-level bare metal variant, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth LE-equipped UE51 Module will be introduced and expected to ship in 2023.

QuickSet Widgets that have been adopted by major air conditioning brands are also expected to launch in 2023, providing the benefit of enhanced interoperability through Matter capabilities and backward compatibility with billions of legacy connected and non-connected devices currently installed in the field.

Added Network Security Pushed to Single and Multi-Radio Modules

For years, UEI has provided its Fortune 500 customers with high-performance, voice-optimized and energy-efficient Bluetooth Low Energy and Zigbee/rf4CE (802.15.4) connectivity solutions. As of 2022, the company has shipped over 200 million current generation Systems on Chips (SOCs) to many of the world’s leading TV brands, pay TV operators and air conditioning OEM customers.

As many of these SOCs are cloud-connected for a variety of Internet of Things applications, the company has enhanced its end-to-end system security across all its products. Additionally, the company upgraded its SOCs with secure boot, and secured OTA features. Its single-radio UE961/UE962 and multi-radio UE871 solutions also support the latest Bluetooth LE 5.3.

Low Power, Energy Harvesting Capabilities Create More Sustainable Communications

Announced in 2022, USEI states it has just shipped 15 million units of its new sustainability-focused connectivity solutions. The strength of this new Bluetooth LE line-up comes from its low-power analog and radio design and its powerful processing capabilities according to the company. UEI also notes its new silicon features integrated energy harvesting and power management capabilities.

The company states the UE961 silicon variant delivers up to 10x longer battery life and 2.5x more processing power than existing Bluetooth LE silicon. In addition, the UE962 can efficiently harvest energy from multiple external sources such as indoor light and radio frequency signals in the home and supports a wide range of energy storage and charging options.

According to UEI, the silicon is designed to help customers reduce single-use battery waste and significantly limit the product’s carbon footprint.

This article has been updated as of 01/17/23 to ensure the validity of information provided.

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