[OPLIN 4cast] OPLIN 4Cast #797: Soon, smart home devices might all work together nicely (for a change)

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OPLIN 4Cast #797: Soon, smart home devices might all work together nicely
(for a change)
April 6th, 2022

[image: many devices connected by a cloud] I assiduously avoid IoT
(Internet of Things) in my house. I only resigned myself to a Roomba
because expecting a teen boy and two long-haired cats to clean up after
themselves is apparently a ridiculous notion. The Roomba not withstanding,
I don't use IoT devices. IoT manufacturers have long been known for adding
features, not security. So, I remain envious of those people with Ring
doorbells and Nest thermostats, but not enough so that I want to put aside
my own uneasiness. Aside from security concerns, one of the main hang-ups
people have had with home IoT devices is that they don't all play well with
each other. That's about to change...and I wonder if the new standard for
these devices will chip away further at my resistance.

   -
   - What’s the Matter? We Explain the New Smart Home Standard
   <https://www.wired.com/story/what-is-matter/> [Wired] "Matter promises
   to enable different devices and ecosystems to play nicely. Device
   manufacturers will comply to the Matter standard to ensure their devices
   are compatible with smart home and voice services such as Amazon’s Alexa,
   Apple’s Siri, Google’s Assistant, and others. For folks building a smart
   home, Matter should enable you to buy any device and use the voice
   assistant or platform you prefer to control it."
   - Matter Is the Smart Home Standard You’ve Been Waiting For
   <https://www.howtogeek.com/793284/matter-is-the-smart-home-standard-youve-been-waiting-for/>
   [How To Geek] "That “it just works” experience is the baseline expectation
   we all have when interacting with our homes, but it doesn’t usually work
   out quite that way with smart home tech. Instead, the last decade of smart
   home has been less like the ease of flipping a switch and more like the
   agony of getting stuck on the wrong side of the Betamax/VHS format war.
   Multiple times."
   - Industry Group Pushes Back Matter Smart Home Standard Again
   <https://www.pymnts.com/technology/2022/industry-group-pushes-back-matter-smart-home-standard-again/>
   [PYMNTS.com] "Consumer Reports wrote in January that “Some devices, such as
   the Schlage Encode smart lock, work with some systems (Alexa and Google
   Assistant) but not others. Not all ecosystems offer the same types of
   devices. For example, large appliances like washers and ovens are supported
   by Alexa, Google and SmartThings but not Apple HomeKit. And each subsequent
   device you purchase makes it more expensive and prohibitive if you decide
   to change ecosystems in the future.”"
   - Matter, the upcoming smart home-unifying standard, just got delayed
   again
   <https://www.techhive.com/article/624208/matter-the-upcoming-smart-home-unifying-standard-just-got-delayed-again.html>
   [Tech Hive] "The latest delay of Matter, which leverages Wi-Fi, Thread, and
   Zigbee to help smart home devices in disparate ecosystems talk to each
   other, may be disappointing, but it’s not a surprise. Industry insiders
   have been privately saying they expected another hold due not only to the
   pandemic, but also to the difficulties in getting such a large group of
   companies (more than 240 are participating in the Matter working group) to
   push the standard forward."

*From the Ohio Web Library <http://ohioweblibrary.org>:*

   - New Matter Solution from Silicon Labs Unifies the IoT Connectivity
   Experience
   <https://search-ebscohost-com.proxy.oplin.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bwh&AN=202105111400PR.NEWS.USPR.DA72258&site=ehost-live>
   (PR Newswire. (2021, May 11). New Matter Solution from Silicon Labs Unifies
   the IoT Connectivity Experience. *PR Newswire US*.)
   - Xiaomi Strengthens Its Position on Consumer IoT Security with Proposed
   Global Common Standards
   <https://search-ebscohost-com.proxy.oplin.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bwh&AN=202201170401PR.NEWS.USPR.CN32788&site=ehost-live>
   (PR Newswire. (2022, January 17). Xiaomi Strengthens Its Position on
   Consumer IoT Security with Proposed Global Common Standards. *PR
   Newswire US*.)
   - Zigbee Alliance Rebrands As The Connectivity Standards Alliance,
   Unveils Matter: Formerly known as Project CHIP, Matter is creating
   connections between more objects, increasing compatibility for consumers.
   <https://search-ebscohost-com.proxy.oplin.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=150806047&site=ehost-live>(Zigbee
   Alliance Rebrands As The Connectivity Standards Alliance, Unveils Matter:
   Formerly known as Project CHIP, Matter is creating connections between more
   objects, increasing compatibility for consumers. (2021). *TWICE: This
   Week in Consumer Electronics*, *36*(6), 26–27.)

------------------------------
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