Matter: A new window of opportunity
What is Matter & What Does it Mean for the Window Covering Industry?
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What’s the news?
- This article explains what Matter is and how it impacts smart window coverings. It outlines how Matter improves interoperability, simplifies setup, and enables broader smart home integration for Motionblinds users.
What you need to know
- Matter standard: A universal smart home protocol developed by major industry players. It enables devices from different brands to work together within one ecosystem.
- Interoperability: Matter allows blinds to connect seamlessly with platforms such as Apple Home, Google Home, and SmartThings. Compatibility depends on hardware support.
- Local control: Devices communicate locally within the network, improving reliability and response time compared to cloud-only solutions.
- Simplified setup: Standardized onboarding via QR codes reduces installation complexity. Requires a compatible Matter controller.
- Future-proofing: Matter is designed as an evolving standard with regular updates. Devices need compatible bridges or firmware to support it.
Key takeaways
- Matter introduces a unified smart home language that reduces fragmentation across platforms. For smart window coverings, this means broader compatibility and more consistent performance.
- This is relevant for installers, integrators, and end users seeking long-term smart home flexibility. Choosing Matter-compatible solutions supports scalable and ecosystem-independent integration.
What's Matter?
Matter is a new communication protocol which lets smart home devices communicate with each other independently of eco-systems like Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, or Apple HomeKit. In other words, a common ‘language’ that lets smart home devices chat and understand each other. For consumers, this means more flexibility in the future and less headaches about compatibility with your smart home system: Just look for the Matter symbol if you buy a smart home device and feel safe that it will be easy to connect and use.
Who's the brains behind it?
Matter has been created by the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA). This 400+ member group of tech companies includes all the big names such as Google, Apple, Samsung and Amazon. The members have been putting their heads together for years to create this new Matter standard that will make life much easier. As CSA states, Matter is: “A promise of reliable, secure connectivity. It is a seal of approval that devices will work seamlessly together – today and tomorrow. Matter creates more connections between more objects, simplifies development for manufacturers, and increases compatibility for consumers.”
Life before Matter
The smart home sounds like a well-oiled machine full of smart devices that make life easier, but in practice this is far from the truth. Various devices require multiple apps, and you cannot control everything through the same smart voice assistant. Everything uses different standards like Zigbee and Z-wave and they cannot always communicate with each other. But Matter will solve these problems.
Smart home with Matter
With Matter, two important things are about to happen for smart-home owners. First, it will become easier to install new devices because they communicate in the same way. Second, it will become easier to control devices because they work with the same app or voice assistant. This means that in the future, it really won’t matter which manufacturer you buy smart lights, a smart security sensor or smart tv from, as you can control them all through the same place in one household.
Matter-over-Thread
Matter needs Thread, Wi-Fi or the Ethernet to work. Thread is Matter’s best friend so to speak. The Thread mesh network is designed to make smart home devices work faster, better and use less energy. Even better, there is no need for a bridge and Thread is designed to be more reliable and connective and gets stronger every time a new device is added.
Smart window coverings
The first version of Matter - aka Matter 1.0 - was released in October 2022. Blinds and shades have been chosen at one of the first product categories to be Matter certified. This is exciting news for the window covering industry because this means that there is a new potential market that we can tap into. The growth of smart home is accelerating at a substantial rate and in the next coming years we will see smart blinds and smart shades becoming increasingly popular all over the world.
Smart shades in action
What does a Matter-certified smart window covering, like Eve Motionblinds, actually do? They can connect to any smart home ecosystem, without the need for a bridge, when a Thread border router is present. Set your blinds to open and close at any time you require, which means your home seems inhabited even when you are away. Let your smart blinds automatically adapt to changing temperatures inside and outside the home, helping to save energy.
New window of opportunity for our industry
Matter really is a new window of opportunity for the window covering industry. At CES in Las Vegas this year, we saw that Matter was the buzz word amongst smart home experts and was one of the reasons why Eve Motionblinds won a CES Innovation Award at this biggest tech event in the world. With smart home growth accelerating at a rocketing speed and all tech giants keen to get on board, smart window coverings will be future of our industry.
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