Matter 1.5 enhances the consumer experience at home with right-first-time NFC onboarding of multiple devices as fast and easy as paying by phone
Market-first secure chip supporting new Matter 1.5 smart-home networking specification is ready for integration into smart-home devices

https://newsroom.st.com/media-center/press-item.html/p4739.html

In its quest to build a range of universal smart home devices, IKEA has replaced its Zigbee lineup with one that uses Matter over Thread. On paper, this makes a lot of sense. In practice, the vision has yet to be realized.

IKEA is all in on Matter over Thread
IKEA first made a dent in the smart home space with its previous lineup of Zigbee devices. The company promoted these alongside its Dirigera hub, but use of the open Zigbee standard meant that platforms like Home Assistant and Homey could also use them with a standard Zigbee radio.

Matter is a specification around which hardware manufacturers and platform holders can design their wares. For example, a company like IKEA designs a smart plug that adheres to the Matter standard, and a company like Google makes sure that Google Home also conforms. With everyone onboard, you can theoretically buy any IKEA Matter device and add it to your smart home, whether you have an iPhone and a HomePod or a Google Pixel and a Nest speaker.

Thread is a low-power wireless protocol that handles communication. It’s a lot like Zigbee in that it uses the 2.4GHz band (like older Wi-Fi networks do), and it forms a mesh between powered devices. It’s a more reliable way for smart home devices to communicate than relying on Wi-Fi for everything.

IKEA has combined both of these technologies into its new range of sensors, plugs, remote controls, and who-knows-what future products they have coming in the future. But the transition hasn’t been easy.

Matter is the weak link in the chain
There are three main problems with Matter as it stands. These issues crop up constantly on message boards, subreddits, and in online comment sections. The first is an inability to pair Matter devices with a smart hub, with some coordinators posing more of an issue than others.

#SeeedXIAO
What if you could build your own Matter-enabled smart device with a tiny ESP32 board?

In Episode 1 of the ESP32 Matter Series, techiesms shows how to build a Matter-based smart bulb using our XIAO ESP32-C6 and control it with Amazon Alexa. The tutorial explains the fundamentals of the Matter protocol, why it simplifies smart home ecosystems, and how to set up the ESP32 board in Arduino IDE to create your first Matter device.

The project demonstrates device commissioning with QR or pairing codes, controlling a light through Alexa, and even resetting the device for other ecosystems. A great starting point for makers exploring Matter, ESP32, and future-ready smart home projects.

Watch the full tutorial
https://bit.ly/40evdnS

#Alexa #Matter #IoT #ESP32C6 #Matter

Thread is the hot new low-power mesh network in the smart home world, with IKEA recently adopting it for a new range of Matter devices. But even though Thread is the future, Zigbee still gets my personal pick for the present. Let me explain.

Zigbee devices are almost always the cheapest mesh network smart home accessories you can buy. Much of that is down to the fact that the technology has been around for so long. Zigbee really started to pick up speed in the early 2010s and remains arguably the most common mesh technology.

These devices have always been cheaper than Z-Wave alternatives. IKEA’s Zigbee smart plugs typically cost less than Amazon’s basic own-brand Wi-Fi. Broadly speaking, Matter over Thread is a newer technology, so it still demands a premium over Zigbee.

IKEA’s entry into the market certainly changes things, with the company’s Thread devices managing to cost less than their Zigbee ones, but it will take a while before other manufacturers bow to downward pressure on their prices. Even Zigbee radios, the hardware accessories necessary to coordinate a network, can be found for relatively cheap, like the $25 SONOFF Zigbee 3.0 USB Dongle Plus.

People seem to be having more problems with Matter

Thread is a mesh network, comparable with Zigbee, whereas Matter is the underlying protocol. Thread isn’t used for much beyond Matter at the moment, which means that if you’re building a Thread network, then it’s effectively going to be a Matter over Thread network since those are the devices that will be connecting to it.

Anecdotally speaking, there appear to be more issues with Thread (and Matter) than there are with Zigbee. I am but one person, so my experience is subjective, but I see a lot more complaints about getting Matter devices working over Thread than I do with Zigbee on the Home Assistant forums and r/HomeAssistant.

STMicroelectronics on esitellyt ensimmäisen NFC-piirin, joka tukee uutta Matter 1.5 -standardia ja mahdollistaa älykotilaitteiden liittämisen verkkoon yksinkertaisella hipaisulla. Uusi ST25DA-C on markkinoiden ensimmäinen kaupallinen ratkaisu, joka hyödyntää standardiin lisättyä NFC-pohjaista tap-to-pair -komissionointia.

Tämä on iso edistysaskel älykodin laitteiden hallintaan. Käyttäjä voi liittää valot, anturit, ovilukot tai kamerat Matter-verkkoon koskettamalla laitetta puhelimellaan. ST kehuu tekniikkaa yhtä helpoksi kuin ostosten maksaminen kännykällä.

ST:n mukaan NFC tekee käyttöönotosta nopeampaa, luotettavampaa ja selvästi vähemmän virhealtista kuin Bluetooth- tai QR-koodiin perustuva liittäminen. Uusi piiri on NFC Forum Type 4 -tunniste, joka kykenee suorittamaan Matterin vaatimat kryptografiset toiminnot ilman ulkoista virtalähdettä. Se saa tarvitsemansa energian puhelimen RF-kentästä, mikä mahdollistaa myös täysin virrattomien laitteiden liittämisen ennen varsinaista käyttöönottoa.