We are barely into 2022 and, following CES 2022, I couldn’t be more excited for the coming year! Last week brought many exciting Thread- and Matter-related announcements — I could barely keep up with all of it. Even the global pandemic’s shadow on Las Vegas couldn’t dampen the mood for smart home enthusiasts. If anything, there was even greater attention to products that could improve life (and work) at home. I think The Verge put it best in their CES summary:
“Matter — as [Project] CHIP is now called — was the darling of the show, with a full dance card and a line of admirers that stretched to the virtual Starbucks.”
As a quick reminder, Matter is an industry-unifying application layer protocol for the smart home. Matter allows devices from any manufacturer to securely and reliably communicate directly end-to-end, and seamlessly plug into any major ecosystem. Matter benefits consumers by simplifying the purchasing process with choice and interoperability, developers by reducing cost and allowing them to focus on product-specific features, and retailers by creating confidence in smart home purchases, reducing returns, and growing the overall market.
In terms of protocol architecture, Matter is an application-layer protocol that leverages the Internet Protocol (IP) as its transport. Supporting IP means that Matter devices can communicate securely, end-to-end across a number of different networking technologies, including Wi-Fi and Ethernet. It also means that Matter can operate over the same network infrastructure as other IP-based devices in your home.
Matter’s first specification release supports operation over both Wi-Fi and Thread. The two wireless protocols compliment each other perfectly — Wi-Fi for applications that require higher throughput and Thread for low-power applications that could run for years on batteries. Because Matter, Wi-Fi, and Thread all support IP, Matter-based solutions can combine the advantages of both Wi-Fi and Thread.
The industry momentum and alignment behind Matter and Thread is unprecedented. Just two months ago, the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA) announced its largest test event in CSA history, with 134 devices and 187 participants representing over 53 companies.
Last week offered an early preview into what’s coming with Matter and Thread later this year.
HomeKit users, who started enjoying Thread technology over the past year, 
received exciting updates as well.
- Belkin started rolling out a software update to existing Wemo Stage Scene Controller devices that enables Thread, and users are already reporting significant improvements to latency and reliability after switching from Bluetooth to Thread.
- Eve and Coulisse announced immediate availability of Eve MotionBlinds, the first connected blinds and shades motors in the market to support HomeKit-over-Thread.
- Nanoleaf also announced that, with a software update, its Shapes, Elements, and Lines lights will be the first non-Apple Thread border routers capable of supporting HomeKit-over-Thread devices, including devices from Eve and Wemo. Nathan Dyck previously discussed our “Shared Mesh” vision, where a Thread network can be supported by a mix of devices from any vendor, each individual device is both interoperable and interchangeable, and devices can communicate directly end-to-end regardless of what devices in between may be relaying the message. It’s the same underlying principles that drove the Internet’s success, and the Nanoleaf update finally turns the “Shared Mesh” vision into reality.
- Schlage introduced the Encode Plus, its first HomeKit-over-Thread product.
The ecosystems that Matter devices will connect into also made important announcements that will simplify device setup. Amazon announced the availability of Frustration Free Setup for Thread devices. At the same time, Google announced that Fast Pair will support Matter and Thread. With built-in support for Matter on Android, and Thread Border Routers in many existing Nest Devices, you’ll be able to use Fast Pair to quickly connect new Matter-enabled Thread devices to your network, Google Home and other accompanying apps all in just a few taps.
The silicon industry also took an important step forward with NXP’s announcement and Matter demo of a new tri-radio SoC that supports Wi-Fi 6, Thread, and Bluetooth LE 5.2. A single-chip solution simplifies the inclusion of Thread (especially Thread Border Router functionality) into end products, reducing end-product cost and time-to-market. For example, radio coexistence is a significant challenge and single-chip solutions can hide much of that complexity from end-product designs while offering significant performance advantages. Integrated silicon solutions should really accelerate the industry’s adoption of Thread.
For those of us that weren’t able to attend CES in person, Apple Insider put together a video from the show floor highlighting many of the Thread-enabled products I mentioned above. The video also shows a Matter demo by Nordic Semiconductor, with a Google Nest Hub controlling an Eve Energy, Leedarson light bulb, and Yale Lock. It’s always great to see real end-user products in action.
In my 20 years of working on low-power wireless technologies, I have never seen so much industry excitement and momentum around a set of communication technologies for the connected home. Work in industry standards bodies and alliances can be difficult (and frustrating!) at times. But the work on Thread and Matter is different this time around. In the collaboration I’ve seen on specification development, common open-source implementations, and test and certification programs, everyone recognizes the benefits of working together towards a common goal. I’m really looking forward to what Thread and Matter will enable in 2022, improving interoperability and reliability in the home.