What is Matter?  |  Google Home Developers (2024)

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Matter is an open standard for smart home technology thatlets your device work with any Matter-certified ecosystemusing a single protocol. Matter comes from theConnectivity Standards Alliance, anorganization of hundreds of companies creating products for the smart home.

Like Google’s Local Home SDK,Matter adds a local fulfillment path to your deviceintegration. However, you do not need to write a local fulfillment app forMatter, because nearly every Google Nest speaker,hub, and Wi-Fi system will natively support yourMatter devices for local connectivity and control. So youonly need to ensure that your device is Matter certified toknow that it will work with any Matter-enabled app,ecosystem, or other Matter controller.

Why build with Matter?

Reasons to build with Matter include:

• Lower latency and higher reliability than Cloud-to-cloudconnection, because Matter is an IP-based localconnectivity protocol.
• Lower development costs: build once and it works for allMatter-certified ecosystems.
• Consistent setup experience across all Matter-enableddevices.
• If you have an existing cloud-connected or local-home integration, Google canhelp you upgrade your device by adding a Matterlocal-fulfillment path to it.
• Fast and easy development with the Google Home Device SDKand Google Home Mobile SDK, enabling users to link theirsmart home devices to your app during or after setup, with a few simpletaps—no need to link accounts.

What are the considerations when building with Matter?

Matter is not yet supported for all device types, thoughthe list is growing.Your device must be able to handle the memory and processing requirements, anduse a supported network layer technology like Wi-Fi orThread. Checkwith your preferred silicon provider on their Mattersupport and minimum hardware requirements.

Why should I build Matter with Google?

Google believes in open and interoperable ecosystems, and provides the toolsto innovate and build quickly on our platform to reach billions of users. Ourtools, like our Device and Mobile SDKs built with Mattersupport, help you rapidly roll out core user journeys (such as device setup),put your branding front and center, and give you ways to build new experienceswith Google’s intelligence, such as integrating home/away into your deviceexperience.

The best part is that your device doesn't just work with Google.Matter enables users to set up your device with theirfavorite platforms and ecosystems without changing hardware or software.

What is the effort level required to build a Matter device?

To build Matter devices, your device needs a compatibleradio (for example, BLE/Wi-Fi or BLE/Thread combo radios)and needs to meet the minimum hardware requirements to run a compliantMatter software library, likethis open-source reference implementation.

Your mobile app will also need changes to support the pairing and interactionmodels of the protocol.

Because you may need to select a new chipset for your device, development effortmay be significant, depending on the differences in radio compatibility andsoftware requirements.

How do I get started?

You’ll find all the technical documentation you need to start buildingright on this site.