Amazon confirms plans for Matter support on Echo devices

Amazon has confirmed its plans to support Matter on its Echo devices. The company will support this universal smart home standard via WiFi and the Thread protocol. Several Eero routers are also getting support for Matter.

Amazon provides the first details on the rollout of Matter support in a short blog post, ahead of the release of Matter in 2022. The company confirms that the fourth-generation Echo speaker will be the first to receive support for Matter via the Thread protocol, together with the Eero 6, Eero Pro 6, Eero Beacon, and Eero Pro routers, which will simultaneously receive support for the standard. This must be done ‘in time for the release of the Matter SDk’. Matter support for other Echo devices will follow later.

The company previously confirmed to The Verge that virtually all Echo devices will receive Matter support, with the exception of the first-generation Echo, Echo Dot and Echo Tap. Amazon is part of the Matter alliance, so it’s not surprising that devices from the tech giant will support the standard.

Development started at the end of 2019 by companies such as Apple, Google, and also Amazon. It is intended as a kind of universal smart home standard, which should ensure that devices from different companies can work together.

Several companies and individuals are now participating in the project, including Huawei, IKEA, NXP and Signify. The standard was initially called Project CHIP, short for Project Connected Home over IP, before being renamed Matter. The final Matter specification was planned for this fall, but was delayed to the first half of 2022 earlier this year.