Smart home products do a lot.
If there’s something you want done around the house – to turn the lights down and the music up, open the garage door, or get alerted if a stranger is prowling around your porch – there’s probably a gadget available to do it.
But sometimes, these smart devices aren’t as good at working together as they should be. They can be challenging to set up, or they may require you to add additional gear to your
This is about to change in a big way, thanks to two industry-wide standards, Matter and Thread, developed by Google and more than a hundred other leading technology companies. Matter will make devices across major
Matter is a set of protocols that enables your smart home device to communicate with many other smart devices, even if they aren’t made by the same company. As long as your new smart lock or
“You can think of it as a kind of universal translator,” says Jonathan Hui, vice president of technology for Thread Group and principal software engineer at Google. “With Matter, many of your smart home devices are now speaking the same language.”
Matter devices will work alongside your other Works with Google Home devices, so you can set up
Matter devices connect to each other locally over your home network using Wi-Fi or Thread, making your devices more responsive, reliable, and secure. (While older products may not be compatible with Matter, they’ll continue to work as they always have.)
Thread is a networking protocol that makes Matter work better by making it easier and faster to connect smart devices to your home. It works alongside your
Thread is built into many new smart bulbs, locks, sensors, and other smart home devices. It complements your Wi-Fi network by creating a
This lets smart devices respond more quickly to commands such as “Turn on the lights.” It also means they require less power to operate – making it ideal for battery-powered devices like smoke detectors, door locks, and motion sensors that can run for years without needing a new battery.4
Thread devices join your home network and connect to the internet through a Thread border router. Just as a
So what can you do with Matter and Thread in your own home? The possibilities are endless. Thousands of Matter-enabled devices are already available – including lights, plugs, blinds, and sensors – and more products are rolling out all the time. Purchase any device with the Matter logo and add it to the ones you already own.
“I bought my aging parents a smart speaker last year but they rarely use it,” says Sujata Neidig, vice president of marketing for Thread Group and marketing director at NXP Semiconductors. “They need a more intuitive home so they can continue to live independently, but without the frustration, cost, and confusion of setting up a smart home. They need things to just work. That’s what Matter and Thread do.”
Requires mobile phone or tablet running Android 8.1 or newer, Google Account, Google Home app, Matter-enabled Google hub device, working Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Low Energy (4.2) or higher.
Many Google devices will be automatically updated to support Matter. Check
g.co/nest/matternow for more information on Matter-enabled devices and functionality.Personalized features require additional enrollment and setup. Routines are for convenience only, not safety- or security-critical use cases.
Compatible smart devices required.
Some features, including mobile and browser notifications, remote control, video streaming and video recording, require working internet and Wi-Fi.
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