ABI Research estimates that more than one hundred million devices will ship supporting the specification in 2022, and that within five years more than half of the world's key smart home devices will ship supporting Matter. Between 2022 and the end of the decade, more than 5.5 billion Matter compliant smart home devices will ship, according to a new report from the company, specialized in the technology market.
The first Matter specification is set for publication by the second half of 2022, but there were already key Matter product announcements from Amazon, Apple, Google, Samsung, as well as key component and service providers ranging from NXP to Tuya. Even so, the specification sets a host of new demands across connectivity, interoperability, security, and marketing. Some aspects are already detailed while others remain in development. Smart home hardware vendors must assess the value and investment that Matter compliance requires, as well as the strategic impact on their roadmaps and their place in the market.
“The efficiencies and capabilities that smart home adoption offers consumers, service providers, and the technology industry now lies well beyond what has broadly been ‘new gadget’ appeal,” says Jonathan Collins, Smart Home Research Director at ABI Research, and author of a new in-depth study of Matter and its potential. “Smart home is transitioning from vendor silos to networked infrastructure with value shared across multiple players and pushing beyond the home and across industries, cities, nations, and economies.”
Matter will significantly change the way consumers adopt and use their smart home purchases, but it will also reconfigure vendor incentives for smart home engagement. "Matter will drive smart home platforms capabilities to onboard and manage smart home devices – dispensing with a generation of device vendor apps," says Collins. "OEM/ODMs will have to quickly establish how they adapt to Matter and how to best protect and expand their customer base," Collins adds.
The Matter specification will provide new incentives for players throughout the smart home value chain. It will also bring additional competition and a rejigged playing field. Beyond the immediate impact on smart home devices and consumers, the specification will enable greater engagement in smart home from consumers and a host of industries. "Matter success will help provide drive and deliver a more readily addressable smart home user base that will in turn draw a number of industries looking to smart home to drive efficiencies, new revenue streams, and consumer engagement," Collins concludes.
These findings are from ABI Research's Matter and its Smart Home Impact application analysis report. According to the related Smart Home Bi-Annual Review report from ABI Research, more than 630 million smart home devices have shipped in 2021.
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