Matter is a new standard that aims to fix the smart home’s biggest problems: interoperability, reliability, security, and being easy to use. With Matter, your smart lights, smart lock, smart thermostat, and other smart devices will all work with together, easily. All the major smart home platforms are on board — Apple Home, Amazon Alexa, Google Home, and Samsung SmartThings — and so are almost all the big device brands, from Philips Hue and Lutron Caseta to August, Ikea, and TP-Link. If you see the Matter logo on a product, you know it will work with any other Matter-compatible gadget in your home.
“SmartThings for ships is a new integration that uses Matter, the connectivity standard, to connect with compatible ships,” Sean Michael of Samsung Electronics America said during the company’s press conference today.
Apparently, you’ll be able to automate the climate, lighting, and even the engine of your yacht or, you know, cargo ship.
The company announced the price of the Bolt Mission UWB Plus NFC at CES this week. It’s Ultraloq’s first lock to support the new hands-free unlocking technology, and they say it will launch in Q1 2025. It will also support NFC for tap-to-unlock and Matter.
The Ultraloq Bolt Fingerprint Matter, which debuted at CES last year, will go on sale on January 7th for $199.
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In 2024, smart locks got better; in 2025, they’re going to be truly great.
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The fourth generation of the Nest Thermostat improves on the original in almost every way, and it’s still a stunner.
All the Matter-compatible devices you can buy, plus the latest on the smart home standard backed by Apple, Amazon, Google, and Samsung.
The company has launched a Matter-over-Thread version of the Bolt for $229 and is offering existing Bolt users a free upgrade.
This means that, as promised, the “invisible” smart lock, which goes inside your existing hardware, now works with more smart home platforms without needing Level’s bridge.
The Level Lock Plus recently got a Matter upgrade, too, but the Lock and Lock Touch are still waiting.
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An update to the company’s Flic Hub LR Controller allows users to program custom commands for Matter devices, including those connected to Flic’s Button and Twist controllers.
Matter support in FlicScript — a JavaScript-based scripting API — will let you “subscribe and send commands to and from any Matter device” (up to 1.2) and create custom solutions for your smart home.
Flic launched the first independent Matter Controller earlier this year.
[Flic Smart Button]
As promised, the smart lock that doesn’t look like a smart lock now supports the new smart home standard, bringing better connectivity options without needing Level’s bridge.
The new Level Lock Plus (Matter) costs $329, and existing Level Plus owners can upgrade to Matter for free through January 14, 2025. But while they could support Thread, the Level Bolt, Lock, and Lock Touch aren’t eligible for this upgrade.
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The open-source smart home platform has joined the Z-Wave Alliance board to help shape the direction of the protocol alongside companies like Ring, ADT, and Assa Abloy.
Founder Paulus Schoutsen said that around one-tenth of Home Assistant households use Z-Wave, “accounting for an estimated 1.7 million Z-Wave devices.” They’re also seeing increased interest in the protocol, which has faced questions about its future since the arrival of Matter.
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With more storage, a (slightly) faster processor, and some proper smart home chops, Google’s new take on the Chromecast is its best attempt at a streaming device yet.
Apparently, the company messed up something with its Matter implementation, causing some lights to randomly turn up to full brightness. But they’ve identified the problem, and an update should be rolling out this week.
He shared The Verge’s article about the smart home protocol appearing in Apple devices across social media this week. Fadell developed Thread for the Nest Thermostat over a decade ago and says Apple’s move “reminds me how long deep tech takes for broad adoption. But, when it’s the right thing, it’s the right thing.”
