Google promises that all its Nest speakers and screens will have Matter support so that these devices can be used to control smart home devices that also support Matter. The Nest Thermostat is also getting a Matter update.
Google reinforces its support for the smart home standard Matter with an explanation of how that support will look like in practice at the company. For example, the company reports that all Nest speakers and screens will receive an automatic update so that they can control Matter devices. Because the Thread smart home protocol is also part of Matter, Thread-enabled Nest devices such as Nest Wifi, 2nd Gen Hub, and Hub Max can also be used as hubs for Matter devices.
The Nest Thermostat can also be controlled via Matter devices after an update, but Google is emphatically talking about the latest Thermostat, so it is not clear whether the Nest Learning Thermostat will also receive support. Furthermore, Google emphasizes that Android will have built-in support for Matter, so that users can easily add Matter devices to their smart home setup, for example via Google Assistant and Home, but also third-party apps.
Earlier this month, it was announced that Matter is the name of a widely supported smart home platform that includes Google, Apple, Amazon, IKEA, Signify and The Zigbee Alliance. The foundation of this collaboration was laid in 2019 with Project CHIP, which stands for Project Connected Home over IP. It is an open source standard and the IP protocol works together with Ethernet, Wi-Fi 802.11, Thread version 802.15.4 and Bluetooth Low Energy.