Matter 1.3 Levels Up Your Smart Home with EVs, Water Management, and More

Matter 1.3 was released by the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA) on May 8, 2024. It adds new device type support for kitchen appliances, EV chargers, and more. 

It also introduces enhanced features for existing hardware. However, as you will find out, there is one expected device type for which support has not yet been introduced.

New Device Types Supported in Matter 1.3

One of the most anticipated developments in smart home, Matter 1.3 adds support for new device types. 

Kitchen appliances, EV chargers, energy management, water management hardware, and laundry devices have all been added. Meanwhile, smart TVs get improved notification support from other Matter devices.

Kitchen Appliances

The introduction of kitchen appliances into the Matter ecosystem is significant. While more extreme examples of kitchenware (smart coffee machines, kettles, etc.) have not been included at this time, ovens have.
Microwave ovens, standard ovens (including ranges), cooktops, and extra hoods are all now supported by Matter.

But what does this mean? Does a kitchen need to be smart?

For microwaves, Matter support offers control over the cooking time, power level, and the type of cooking. Notifications can be sent from the device, and where an extractor fan is installed, this can also be configured.

Standard oven support, covering built-in, standalone, and ranges with a cooktop, can now be controlled over Matter. Ovens operational modes can be selected individually (e.g. roast, grill, bake, etc.), temperature can be managed, and notifications (such as confirming the correct temperature has been reached) sent.

Meanwhile for cooktops, individual elements can have temperature set remotely. Note that this is typically for induction-based devices, rather than gas or standard electric elements.

Extractor hoods might not seem the obvious addition to a smart home, but they exist. Matter 1.3 adds support for light and fan settings in such devices. It also supports notifications when the filter requires replacing.

EV Chargers

Matter 1.3’s new energy management features enable greater control over EV chargers. Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE) can be set to start and stop charging, as well as optimize charging depending on factors like departure time, destination, and range. EVSE can also be configured to charge an EV at the cheapest possible time.

Energy Management

Further energy management options are available in Matter 1.3, this time focused around the home. Now, any device can report actual and estimated energy use (including voltage, current, and other information) in real-time. 

Water Management

Interior and external water detectors and sensors are supported in Matter 1.3. Managing leaks and freezes is now possible with support of compatible detectors, along with rain sensors and controllable water valves.

This development has possibilities beyond the four walls of your home – managing your lawn or greenhouse just got smarter.

Laundry Appliances

Laundry dryers are the final device type to be introduced in Matter 1.3 (laundry washer support was added in 1.2). Mode, temperature, and remote start and stop can be controlled (depending on local safety legislation), and notifications are also supported.

What is Missing From Matter 1.3?

The development of Matter is one of the most interesting things in the smart home and IoT arena right now. Designed to ensure maximum interoperability between smart home devices and hubs, Matter’s evolution has reached a significant point. 

Although there is much to celebrate with Matter 1.3, the update omits expected and desirable features. The most prominent of these is support for home security cameras.

While cameras are on the Matter roadmap (according to the CSA), they are yet to be added. Other than a couple of hubs that also happen to be cameras, no Matter-compatible home security cams have been released. This is simply because the specifications released don’t include cameras.

Key New Features of Matter 1.3

A couple of striking new features have been introduced with Matter 1.3.
The first of these is the support of scenes, enabling triggers to be set that then satisfy a particular outcome.

For example, specifying a group of lights to switch on at a specified time. Scenes can be set up for specific rooms, individual devices, or the entire home. Crucially, devices store what scenes they’re linked to, rather than an app or the Matter hub. This is intended to improve how smart home devices respond to scene commands and transitions.

Linked to this is command batching. This is a process in which multiple commands are communicated in a single message to the relevant Matter-compatible devices. One improvement this delivers is minimizing the “popcorn effect” of smart lights switching on and off out of sync.

How Does Matter 1.3 Improve Existing Matter-Compatible Devices?

If you’re already using Matter, you may wonder what 1.3 does to improve existing devices. One key example of an improvement over 1.2 is the enhanced Matter Casting. 

Designed to relay information between endpoints for display on a TV or smart screen, Matter Casting has new features. These include better push messages from endpoints (smart home or IoT devices on your network) and dialog for ambient experiences. So, you can expect notifications from robot vacuums, laundry dryers, etc.

Because Matter Casting is important to the Matter smart home experience, further iterations will likely add features to it. Currently, only the Amazon Echo Show supports Matter Casting, but other devices are expected to be added.

Benefits for Smart Home Owners

The aim of Matter is to improve compatibility and interoperability between smart home devices. With a single protocol, based on this enhanced cross-connectivity, smart tech and Internet of Things kit will become easier to use. Rather than rely on a device that handles multiple smart home protocols with varying levels of functionality, with Matter you get something closer to the smart home experience you dreamed of. 

As Matter is designed to be secure, it makes a smart alternative to the weaknesses of older protocols and hardware.

If you already use Matter, upgrading to 1.3 will improve your options for smart home automation and control. It also improves energy efficiency of connected devices, and resource management. This doesn’t just include obvious devices like EV chargers, either. 

Any device that can be connected to a Matter hub can potentially be managed to run at optimum times. As more Matter iterations are released, so your smart home can become more efficient.

Where Does Matter Go Next?

With previous iterations of Matter, it has taken around 6 months for new devices to be released. For example, as of May 2024, devices compatible with Matter 1.2 are just hitting the marketplace.

So, over the next few months, Matter 1.3 will roll out to existing devices as an OTA update. Meanwhile, new devices slated for release with Matter support will be tested for adherence to the new standard. Over the course of the next 6 months, these will be issued, a process that – based on previous events – will overlap with the release of the next version of Matter.

This should improve existing device support, while no doubt adding new devices. Will it deliver enhanced security camera support? We’ll have to wait and see.

Whatever happens with the next version of Matter, 1.3 can deliver a more unified smart home experience. If you’re not already using it, Matter 1.3 is an excellent point to switch to this smart home standard.