Matter, the smart home standard backed by Samsung, could soon be the solution to uncomplicate music streaming to smart speakers. A company founded by ex-Apple and ex-Sonos engineers is working with speaker brands to bring Wi-Fi-equipped speakers that can work with any smart home platform.
Matter-equipped speakers could make music streaming easier, more flexible
Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA), which governs the Matter smart home standard, has confirmed to The Verge that Matter could soon support smart speakers. Chris LaPré, CTO of CSA, said that “a new streaming speaker device type and related controls” is being developed.
When this AirPlay and Chromecast alternative launches, it could allow you to stream music to compatible smart speakers in your home. This is similar to how you can cast Spotify to an AirPlay or Chromecast-equipped smart speaker. However, its advantage would be that it could be controlled via any Matter-compatible app or smart home platform like SmartThings.
It could also allow you to get notifications related to other Matter-enabled smart home devices in your home. For example, a compatible speaker could notify you that your washing machine has finished the washing cycle or alert you when someone is at the door.
Technically, Matter has always supported smart speakers, but not for streaming audio. Amazon Echo, Apple HomePod, and Google Nest Hub feature Matter controllers, which means they can control Matter-compatible smart home devices in your home. However, music can't be streamed to them using Matter.
If you cast music to Amazon's Echo speaker, you can't control it using Google Home. Similarly, if you cast music to the Google Nest Hub, you can't control it using the Alexa app on your phone. Matter's upcoming audio casting standard aims to solve that problem.
Legato, a company founded by executives who previously worked with Apple and Sonos, is leading the group developing Matter's audio casting specification. While the company hasn't revealed which brands it is working with, you should know that Bose, IKEA, LG, Sonos, and Sony are members of CSA.
A few months ago, Matter Cast was announced. It is a Matter-powered media casting protocol, but it is designed primarily for video and TVs. Amazon Music and Amazon Prime Video are the only apps that currently support Matter Cast. So, Amazon could be the first to support Matter's audio-casting protocol.
Legato CEO Fiede Schillmoeller said the company has employees with “deep knowledge of wireless speakers, software engineering, and user experience.” The new protocol will support all the important features an audio casting standard is expected to support, including group playback and multi-room speaker setups.
Since Matter is an open standard, expect compatible smart speakers to be cheaper than speakers with proprietary protocols like Alexa, AirPlay, or Google Cast. Speaker manufacturers can license Legato's software and compatible chipsets to make smart speakers.
Samsung has a chance to use Matter's audio casting protocol to finally launch a smart speaker
Apple and Google, which have their own smart speaker lineups and smart home platforms, might not make Matter-compatible smart speakers. Other brands like Bose, JBL, Marshall, and Sonos could make speakers that support Matter's audio casting protocol.
Samsung could also be interested in it since it hasn't released any smart speakers yet. It may have been waiting for something like Matter to finally bring smart speakers. Remember, Galaxy Home and Galaxy Home Mini, the two Bixby-powered smart speakers that Samsung showcased, were never launched to the public.
Image Credits: Amazon, Legato, Samsung
