Amazon just announced the integration Problem over Wi-Fi for 17 Echo devicesplugs, switches, and bulbs will be available in December of this year, but only for Android setups.
According to Marja Koopmans, health and smart home director at Amazon, “The issue will help simplify development and drive innovation while lowering the barrier to adoption for its shared customers. we”.
In your smart home adventure, you may have heard of Problem end Topic once or twice. However, Amazon will roll out Matter over Wi-Fi later this year and then move to Thread support.
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The decision was made in large part due to the possibility of experimentation: Koopmans points out that most consumers have Wi-Fi in their homes, most commonly in smaller items like smart plugs, switches and light bulbs. At this point, the superior availability of Wi-Fi over Thread is more beneficial for conducting extensive testing.
“In line with our high standards for quality experiences, we make sure every feature and device type goes through rigorous testing and works flawlessly with Alexa before they’re available. I release,” Koopmans said.
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This is just the start of giving consumers the opportunity to mix and match devices from different manufacturers, regardless of brand or protocol, through Matter.
Amazon plans to add Matter over Thread support to 30 Echo and Eero devices, as well as expand the availability of Matter on iOS, as it works with Apple’s latest requirements, as early as 2023.
Works with Alexa for Matter devices
Amazon’s Alexa has been one of the most compatible smart voice assistants in the smart home world for a few years. Currently, there are more than 30,000 “Works with Alexa” devices from different manufacturers and using different connection protocols.
Amazon is still waiting for the release Alexa Connect Kit SDK for Problem but it announced the release of Works with Alexa certification requests for Matter devices.
Koopmans said Amazon is “raising the bar in quality, reliability, and functionality” to give consumers confidence that they’re buying a device from a trusted brand that will work with Alexa.
Amazon is making new features available to developers, such as Alexa’s No Frustration Setup (FFS), which is included in the Alexa Connectivity Kit SDK for Issues even for products approved by Amazon.com. purchased from a third party. FFS makes it so that consumers can add new smart devices to their homes by simply powering them on.
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Matter is a new connectivity standard launched by the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA) in early October 2022. The aim is to make it possible for smart home devices using different protocols to work together. together.
Matter works over Thread, which is an IP, Wi-Fi and Ethernet based protocol. Matter uses Wi-Fi and Ethernet to connect to smart home devices that require high bandwidth, like video doorbells or security cameras. And Thread works for low power consumption items like input or motion sensors.
Imagine a group of five tourists, each speaking a different language, casually walking into the lobby at the same time to ask the front desk clerk for directions. If the reception only speaks one of the five languages, the other four tourists will not be able to communicate.
Currently, IoT is flooded with connection protocols such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Thread, Zigbee, and Z-wave. For example, if you buy a door lock that uses Zigbee and you want to control it with your phone, then you need to buy a hub for it to “speak” those “languages”. Matter is the attempt to speak a common language, aka a standard, so it can be used by most devices to communicate.
