Buying a smart bulb, a lock or a motorised blind raises one practical question before any other: will it show up in the app already on the phone. The Matter mark on the box is the short answer to that.
What the mark stands for
Matter is an IP-based connectivity standard run by the Connectivity Standards Alliance, an industry body whose members include the large platform and hardware makers. The point is that a device from one company talks to a platform from another without a bridge in between.
Devices run over Wi-Fi or over Thread, a low-power mesh aimed at small battery gear such as sensors. First-time pairing goes over Bluetooth Low Energy.
What the 2025 release brought
Version 1.5 was published on 20 November 2025 and is the biggest functional expansion so far:
- Cameras, with WebRTC live video and audio, two-way talk, several simultaneous streams and pan-tilt-zoom control.
- Closures, bringing shades, drapes, awnings, gates and garage doors under one design.
- Soil sensors reporting moisture and temperature for planting and irrigation.
- Energy work, including a tariff device type that carries pricing and carbon intensity, better metering, and EV charging with state-of-charge reporting and bi-directional flow.
The 2026 update
Version 1.5.1 landed on 31 March 2026 and is refinement rather than expansion: several video streams at different qualities at once, HEIC snapshots, HLS and DASH upload support, more flexible camera positioning, and chimes that can play a chosen sound instead of the default.
And 1.6, in June
Version 1.6 followed on 17 June 2026. It changes how things get set up and shared more than it adds new device types:
- NFC setup with no Bluetooth step, so a bulb can be paired before it goes into the ceiling and an in-wall switch before the power is on.
- Joint Fabric, which lets several platforms co-run one Matter network: a device added once shows up in every participating app at the same time.
- Thermostat suggestions: a platform sends a time-limited suggestion instead of a hard command, and the thermostat weighs it against its own settings and the room, then reports why if it declines.
- Smoke and CO alarms can now report when they have been taken off their mount.
What it does not promise
The mark certifies interoperability, not feature parity. Anything a manufacturer builds on top of the standard stays inside that manufacturer’s own app. Thread devices also need a border router in the house; many current speakers and streaming boxes already act as one.
Photo: A smart bulb, with the maker’s print retouched out. By Japanwikisan, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Source: Connectivity Standards Alliance, the 1.5, 1.5.1 and 1.6 release announcements.
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