Andrew Heinzman
Just months after announcing its commitment to Matter, the unified smart home standard, Google is launching a set of tools to help developers integrate Matter with their products. It’s a big step toward a future where smart devices work with any app or assistant, even if they come from rival companies.
Matter aims to take the confusion out of buying smart home products, which aren’t always compatible with one another. It’s basically a universal language (or maybe a universal translator) for connected devices—if two products support Matter, they’ll work together.
But for developers who are rushing to finish products, Matter could feel like a challenging and time-consuming task. That’s why Google is building a Google Home Device SDK for Matter, which should help developers quickly integrate their products with the new protocol.
Additionally, Google announced new mobile development tools to help integrate Matter with smartphones and apps. This should dramatically simplify the setup process for smart home devices—instead of jumping between an app and your Wi-Fi or Bluetooth settings, you’ll just let the app do the work.
Clearly, Google understands that Matter won’t be successful without the support of major smart home brands. Its simple development tools should help companies build Matter integration into their products before the protocol launches in 2022.
