When it comes to smart home gadgets, interoperability is not their strong suit. Apple, Amazon, Google, Samsung, and others make devices that work great within their ecosystem but struggle to play nice with each other. Matter, the new smart home standard is poised to change that. Matter-compliant devices can work with Wi-Fi or Thread, a new wireless communication technology developed specifically for Internet of Things (IoT) devices.

Here’s a quick, non-techie, high-level overview of Matter and Thread to help you smarten up your home.

What is Matter?

Matter is a new open-source wireless communication standard for smart home devices. Developed jointly by some of the major players, such as Amazon, Apple, Google, and the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA), Matter provides a single standard for smart home connectivity. Simply put, if your system supports the Matter standard, all you need to do is to pick Matter-compliant devices and pair them with your smart home network. As a consumer, you no longer have to worry about “Works with Google Home,” “Works with Alexa,” or other such labels when you buy a smart home device.

Why do you need Matter?

Most smart homes today have a mish-mash of devices from different manufacturers. These devices are designed to work seamlessly within their application framework and use proprietary hubs and controllers. However, cross-platform support to control an Apple device using a Google Nest Hub or an Apple TV with Amazon Alexa was not possible without workarounds. Matter’s open-source application framework provides a single standard for smart home device manufacturers. For end-device manufacturers, the complexity of testing and complying with multiple platform requirements will become a thing of the past. The open ecosystem encourages developers to create apps that simplify smart home connectivity and control.

So, what’s Thread?

The Thread is a new low-power, wireless mesh network technology that allows smart home devices to communicate with each other and also connect to the Internet. Thread achieves reliable communication between smart home devices with minimal power usage. Thread is ideal for connecting smart home devices such as thermostats, lights, security cameras, and door locks.

Similar to a Wi-Fi network, Thread can connect multi-vendor environments and run diverse applications over its network. Thread creates a self-healing mesh network using the smart home devices in your home, ensuring no single points of failure. Unlike a Wi-Fi network that carries high-bandwidth applications such as video and audio, Thread is primarily designed to facilitate secure, instant connectivity between devices in your smart home. Thread also enables your smart devices to connect to the cloud directly. Matter can work over Wi-Fi or Thread as the connectivity component. You can read more about Thread here.

What now?

Considering the benefits of Matter, any future home automation device you buy should be Matter-compliant. While the Matter standard may become the norm for smart home devices over time, we are not there yet. The good news is that  Amazon, Apple, Google, Samsung, and others have announced the integration of Matter into many of their popular devices. You can check if the product you buy is compliant by looking for the Matter logo on the packaging or the product website. Similarly, Google, Amazon, Apple, and others have announced support for Thread networking in some of their devices.

Smart homes do not have to be just for techno geeks. The Matter standard will eliminate the need for costly hubs and the complexities of interworking between platforms. The average user stands to benefit from the simplification of home automation devices and applications set up. It is time smart home implementations leveraged the full functionalities and capabilities of the included devices. Matter and Thread may be your answer.