In a new post on its blog, Google has announced that Android, Google Home, and Google nest devices are now Matter-enabled. Some of the devices to get Matter support include Google Home, Google Home Mini, Nest Hub Max, Nest Hub (1st and 2nd gen), Nest Mini, Nest Audio, and Nest Wi-Fi Pro.
While the devices in the Google Nest and Google Home lineups are getting support for Matter through a firmware update (installed automatically), the company seems to be rolling out support for Matter to Android smartphones and tablets with an update to the Google Home app for the platform. It means that the next time you install or update the Google Home app on your Samsung Galaxy smartphone, tablet, or smartwatch, it will work with Matter-compatible smart home devices.
Matter is the new smart home connectivity standard
Matter is a new smart home connectivity standard that has been developed by a number of companies across the globe, including Amazon, Apple, Google, and Samsung, and is maintained by Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA). Matter aims to enable people to connect smart home devices from various brands with each other easily.
Now that Google’s devices support the Matter standard, you can use them to set up or connect to any Matter-enabled smart home product. Google has also added Matter support for Fast Pair on Android. It allows you to connect Matter-enabled devices to your home network as quickly as you would pair a set of earphones.
Enhanced Multi-Admin with Samsung SmartThings in 2023
A couple of months ago, Google and Samsung announced Google Home-SmartThings integration using Matter's Multi-Admin feature. It allows people to control smart products, which were set up through Google Home, to be controlled using Samsung SmartThings and vice versa.
Well, Google now says that it's working with Samsung to offer an enhanced Multi-Admin feature in 2023. Additionally, Google will soon add iOS support to the Google Home app. It also says that we’ll get to see more Matter-enabled smart products in early 2023.