Google has confirmed that its Nest and Android hardware are compatible with the Matter smart home standard, opening the door to a new era of Internet of Things interoperability.
Google is a member of the Connectivity Standards Alliance that developed Matter, and this agnostic standard is now beginning to roll out to existing products, with hundreds of new Matter devices coming in the new year. Google is the first major alliance member, including Apple, Samsung, and Amazon, to launch full platform support.
Google says in a blog post that the switch for Nest and Android is automatically turned on. That means you don’t need to download any updates. Turn your Google Home or Nest device into a Matter Hub and use it to control smart devices.
The new standard requires a Matter hub. So if you own any of the following devices, this will certainly help: Original Google Home Speaker, Google Home Mini, Nest Mini, Nest Audio, Nest Hub (1st and 2nd Gen), Nest Hub Max, the new Nest Wifi Pro.
On Android, Google added Matter support to Fast Pair. This is the company’s technology that makes it easy to connect Bluetooth headphones. In the smart home realm, that means setting up new Matter-enabled smart home products with equal speed and ease.
Google says there will be more devices coming in the new year, and advises users to look for the new Matter badge to make sure it works out of the box with Google Home. The news comes after her smart home maker Eve, previously only her Apple HomeKit, began adding Matter support to many of its products.
Eve Energy Smart Plugs, Eve Motion Sensors, Eve Door & Window Contact Sensors (all Thead products) are now receiving firmware updates to support the Matter standard. House. All 14 Eve devices will eventually get the update, but this is optional.