Matter Smart Home Standard Release Timeline Pushed to 2022

Th new Matter smart home standard being supported by Google, Apple, Amazon, Zigbee and others, is now set to be released in 2022. Its original timeline was in the second half of 2021.

According to a blog post from Tobin Richardson, president and CEO of the Connectivity Standards Alliance (formerly the ZigBee Alliance), who is a member of the Matter Standards Working Group, the new standard development is proceeding as planned but requires more support, testing and refining.

“Now that we’re aligned on the feature set for Matter, we’ve shifted into building out device type support, testing, refining, and of course SDK development,” says Richardson. “This is where the participation of member companies and the feedback we are receiving from the test events has proved extremely valuable. It’s allowing us to ensure we have the best solution possible when the final specification and SDK are available. 

“With test event 4 complete, we’re planning to host additional test events, including one in September, with participation only expected to rise as we approach our first “gated” test event, which will be a key milestone in defining first Matter devices in-market. We continue to welcome members into the developer community to work on the SDK via contributions to GitHub, and on the certification process and tools which will help get Matter products to market quicker.”

He continues, “Taking an open-source SDK approach means everyone that develops a Matter device can use the same code base. That’s an absolutely critical element to ensuring rapid adoption and market success — but we need to get it right. The ultimate goal remains to deliver a specification and SDK that delivers on our promise to create a common language for the smart home and improve consumer smart home experiences and spur greater innovation.

“In May of this year, we saw a development path with first devices through certification by the end of the year in 2021. With the completion of several test events and forecasting, our members have updated the schedule to reflect a commitment to ensuring that the SDK, and related tools, are ready to meet the expectations of the market when launched and enable a large ecosystem of interoperable Matter products. Our refined plans include ongoing SDK and certification program development in 2H 2021, targeting a “pre-ballot” version of the technical spec available to members at year’s end. In the first half of 2022, we expect to see the SDK released, the first devices through certification, and our formal certification program opening.”

He adds, “Together with our members, we’ve updated these go-to-market plans to ensure the Matter specification, certification, and testing tools, and of course the SDK, are stable, deployable at scale, and meet market expectations for quality and interoperability. Our members continue to work hard to build these tools, and their own Matter products and we look forward to the first products and timelines revealed next year.

The Matter Smart Home standard claims to be an industry–unifying standard that will provide reliable, secure connectivity and offer consumers a seal of approval that devices will work seamlessly together. Matter’s development is being guided by the Connectivity Standards Alliance.

In addition to Google, Amazon and Apple, prominent members of the Alliance include Legrand, Assa Abloy, IKEA, Comcast, Lutron. Resideo, Somfy, Silicon Labs, Texas Instruments, Schneider Electric, Tuya, and others.