CES or the annual Consumer Electronics Show is an annual tradeshow held in Las Vegas each year. It is one of the largest technology events in the world where companies showcase their latest products and technologies. In the consumer electronics industry, it usually provides a good idea of things we can expect to see throughout the year.
2023 onwards, things are likely to get easier for people to put smart home devices in their homes. There’s a new standard called Matter. Matter is going to make it easier for consumers to know that what they buy is going to work. It doesn’t matter about compatibility. So you can go and buy a new smart door lock or a new video camera and know that regardless of whether you use Amazon or Google or what ecosystem you use. Amazon, Apple, Google, Samsung, they’re all rolling out software updates to millions of devices. And as we move forward, we’ll see that Matter logo on products and you know that when you bring it home, it will just work. A lot of brands were seen showing the Matter logos. There was also a number of OEM companies showcasing their Matter support like Tuya among others, as well as the big players like Google, Amazon and SmartThings putting a big emphasis on Matter. Matter being the new Smart home standard that has officially rolled out now seems to clearly be the direction most of the industry is leaning towards. And if a product supports Matter, it will work with HomeKit as well as Alexa SmartThings and Google Home. Let’s take a closer look at Matter related announcements, smart home related products and compatibility with HomeKit, alexa and google home.
Eve at CES 2023: Pioneering the Matter Standard and Introducing New Smart Home Devices and Upgrades
From CES 2023 first up, we have Eve,. Many may already know Eve as being one of the pioneers of the Matter over thread standard. They were also one of the very first to offer over the air Matter updates to some of their existing devices, including the Eve Energy Smart plug, Eve door and window sensor and the Eve Motion sensor with plans to roll out Matter support to the rest of their products in the near future. They had a private room set up for demos showing off their products, working with Matter new Matter packaging, as well as some of their Eve Motion Blinds products. Eve announced new out of the box Matter devices that will arrive in retail by the end of Q1 of this year. This includes a matter ready eve door and window, eve energy and eve motion which will all be available with matter out of the box starting March 28. Eve has also announced an upgrade kit for existing roller blinds. This is a retrofit option that allows you to add thread technology to your existing Roller shades, giving you all the benefits of integrating with the Apple Home app and the Eve app, including their new adaptive shading option. The kit comes with mounting brackets, covers and a set of adapters that make the motors fit into a wide range of roller blind tubes. Starting on March 28, the Eve Motion Blinds upgrade kit for roller blinds will be available online for 199.95 USD. They also announced new options for Honeycomb and Venetian style blinds. What’s quite impressive is that the Venetian style blinds are designed for both tilting and raising wood and aluminum blinds. We have not seen products before that allow you to mechanically raise the blinds as well as tilt the blinds, at least in HomeKit. Eve Motion Blinds for Honeycomb and Venetian blinds will be available from a global network of retailers. Starting March 28, Eve is working towards releasing a Matter firmware update for all existing Eve motion blind products. The original Eve roller blinds, launched in collaboration with Colise at CES 2022, has already passed the Matter certification and will be available later this quarter. Aria is a company that offers a nice suite of Zigbee products like sensors, light bulbs and sirens. Traditionally working with Alexa and Google Assistant, they had on display their hub showing support for Matter. If this happens, then we should be able to get many of their products to work in HomeKit. Their products are currently available in many stores like Amazon, Walmart and Lowe’s.
Govee at CES 2023: Introducing First Matter Device and Future HomeKit Compatibility with New Product Releases
Goviee had a big flashy booth at CES showing off all of their cool lighting products as well as some of their other products such as smart sensors and air purifiers. Unfortunately, none of the Govee stuff has ever supported HomeKit, but they did announce their first Matter device, the M1 light strip that should be available in early 2023.They also highlighted some things like their AI technology, a new AI sync box, outdoor lights and more. But again, currently none of that supports HomeKit. They did claim that they plan to release more Matter products in the near future following that M One light strip, which will give us that Apple Home compatibility.
Flick at CES 2023: Showcasing Smart Buttons, Hub and New Twist Device with HomeKit Integrations and Future Matter Support via Firmware Updates
Flick had a real nice booth at CES showcasing their Flick buttons, Flick Hub and the new Flick Twist. Their smart buttons have a ton of integrations, including HomeKit, and are a great way to control your HomeKit accessories and scenes. The new Flick Twist is a really neat device that allows you to control your smart devices with a twist, a push of the button, or a push and twist. They told me they have a target to release these at the end of Q One. They will not have Matter out of the box, but will gain Matter support via firmware update to the Flick Hub. And the regular Flick buttons should also gain Matter support through the hub via Firmware update when that rolls out.
SwitchBot at CES 2023: Introducing the SwitchBot Hub Two with Matter Support and Expanding HomeKit Compatibility for SwitchBot Curtain and Lock
SwitchBot was at CES showing their many smart products, including the new SwitchBot Hub Two with support for Matter planning to hit shelves in March for $69 US. The Hub Two is a WiFi based hub that will make the SwitchBot Bluetooth products compatible with Matter, starting with the SwitchBot Curtain once the new Hub Two is officially released. The hub also includes a temperature and humidity sensor that should be exposed to HomeKit through Matter. The hub is also an IR blaster similar to the original hub, but this one is said that the IR control function is strengthened with a 100% larger coverage than the Hub mini. They expressed that the SwitchBot Lock would be the second device to gain Matter support through the new Hub 2following the SwitchBot Curtain, with more following that throughout the year. SwitchBot also showed off their Retrofit blinds option, which hopefully will support Matter through that hub. They mentioned a new robot vacuum coming out later this year and they also showed off a new outdoor battery powered camera that unfotunately won’t support HomeKit or Matter, at least not anytime soon, since the Matter standard doesn’t currently support cameras.
Nanoleaf at CES 2023: Introducing Matter Compatible Smart Light Switches, Light Kits, and Automation Learning Assistant for Immersive Lighting Experience
Nanoleaf had a really cool display at their booth as always, along with some exciting announcements, they announced five new Matter compatible products, including the company’s first ever learning smart light switches, matter enabled and running on thread, the Sense Plus Controls line includes a hardwired smart light switch, wireless smart light switch, and the NALA Learning Bridge. All three products have a built in motion and ambient light sensor to personalize your entire home’s lighting and automate your daily routines and personal schedules. The NALA Learning Bridge also acts as a thread border router and works as a color changing nightlight with a nice soft glow. The Synths Plus products work together with Nanoleaf’s new Intelligent Automation Learning Assistant to learn your preferences from your everyday usage and routines. It’s said to be able to predict actions like turning your lights on and off, brightness and color adjustments, scene selection based on your preferences, and more. NALA ‘s automated learning technology is enabled via the NALA Learning Bridge, and existing Nanoleaf thread border routers will also be upgraded to work as a NALA Bridge. The Sense plus Controls is the winner of this year’s CES Innovation Awards and is launching in Q three 2023.Nanoleaf announced a new 4D TV screen, mirror, camera and light strips kit that will allow for a more immersive viewing and gaming experience. The camera can be set up on the top or the bottom of the TV, while the light strip features an easy install with snap on brackets and included adhesives. Nanoleaf’s new Sync Plus technology not only enables screen mirror with your TV, but synchronizes your entire suite of Nanoleaf lighting products together, screen mirroring your favorite entertainment across the entire room. The Nanoleaf 40 TV Smarter kit is launched in Q Two2023 and will be available in two length options suitable for TV size 55 to 65 inches and 65 to 85 inches. The Nanoleaf Skylight is another product that really caught my eye. It’s a modular light kit that will also support matter. The way it works is you replace your existing ceiling light fixture with one of these. Then you can add on additional panels to make a really cool customizable design on your ceiling. It’ll work over WiFi and can provide bright whites for functional lighting, as well as 16 million colors for that mood lighting and the cool effects that we’ve come to love from Nanoleaf. I was told you can connect 50 to 60 of these light panels together, which sounds amazing. The Nanoleaf skylight is launching Q three of 2023. And finally, Nanoleaf has announced their new essential bulbs and light strips that will be the first lighting products to support matter over thread. The Matter certified essential bulbs will include an A19 BR30 GU10, and a recess downlight. And of course, we have the essentials light strips as well. The essentials matter certified bulbs and light strips are launching very soon in Q One, and you can even see them here with that little Matter logo printed on the box. Nanolea’s full line of light panels and light bars, including the shapes, elements, canvas and lines, will all be Matter upgradable later this year. Through an over the air firmware update.
TPlink at CES 2023: Committed to Matter and Showcasing HomeKit enabled WiFi Switches and Future Smart Home Devices with Home Connection Center Tapo H 900
TPlink announced and showed off everything from WiFi 7 routers to smart cameras and locks to smart light switches, most of which don’t work with HomeKit right now, but they do seem to be very committed to Matter. They showed off some HomeKit enabled WiFi switches that are currently available to purchase, as well as some future products that should support Matter, including light switches, a garage door controller, and a very interesting product called the Tapo H 900 home base, something they called the brain of every smart home. This is a home connection center that supports WiFi Bluetooth, matter thread and other protocols. Sort of reminds me of something like a Google Nest hub. Max pricing and availability was a bit vague on the Matter stuff, just stating that the lineup of new Tapo and Casa products will become available throughout 2023 at competitive price points.
Aqara at CES 2023: Introducing New Smart Home Devices including Presence Sensor, Light Strip, Doorbell Camera, and Smart Lock with HomeKit and Matter Support
Aqara announced some new products. First up is the new FP 2 present sensor, which uses millimeter wave radar technology and can detect human presence even when you’re sitting really still. This is great for automations. It supports zone positioning, allowing only certain zones to trigger certain automations. It also supports multi person detection, fall detection, and includes a built in light sensor. Aqara’s new T1 light strip supports HomeKit, Alexa and Google Home and matter support via a compatible Aqara hub is expected to be added after the launch. The LED strip is Zigbee based, and it can also serve as a repeater that enhances your Zigbee network. They announced the new Aqara doorbell G4. The exciting thing about this doorbell camera is that it can be hardwired if you have an existing doorbell to replace, but if you don’t, it can also run on six AA batteries. That makes this the first battery powered HomeKit doorbell camera. It features local AI enabled facial recognition that can trigger different automations based on which person is detected. It includes seven day free cloud storage as well as local storage via a microSD card. And of course, with HomeKit Secure Video, you can get ten days of cloud recording storage via icloud if you have a compatible icloud plan. It supports HomeKit secure video and local streaming to Amazon and Google. Smart Displays The Aqara Smart Lock U 100 is the first deadbolt lock from Aqara that will be available for the US. Market. It’s compatible with HomeKit and supports the Home key feature, which many of you love. You can also unlock the door using fingerprints, the Keypad Aqara app, NFC cards and mechanical keys. It connects via Zigbee and will support Matter via compatible Aqara hub. All the new Aqara products will become available in the coming months.
Yeelight at CES 2023: Introducing New Smart Lamp with Matter Support and HomeKit Compatibility, and New Smart Curtain Opener with Future Plans for More Matter Compatible Smart Lights
Yeelight introduced their new cube smart Lamp. This is their first product to support Matter, and therefore it will support HomeKitas well as the other voice assistants. These cubes snap together like magnetic little bricks. You have the spot, the matrix and the panel options. Pretty neat little product. They told me the Cubes will release in the first half of the year in certain countries, but won’t be available in the US. Until later. Yeelight also introduced a Smart curtain opener similar to the others we’ve seen on the market over the past year or so. The product will not support HomeKit or Matter. Initially, Yeelight also showcased their pro light series. The Pro series does support HomeKit, and they claim it will also support Matter. With an over the air update before Q two of 2023, the Pro series is designed to be a whole home lighting solution. Yeelight announced plans to release more Matter compatible smart lights in the future, as well as bring Matter support to existing products like their light strips and smart bulbs.
LifeSmart at CES 2023: Introducing Nature X, a Desktop Hub with Support for Zigbee and WiFi, and Possibility of Future Matter Support.
LifeSmart, the company that also makes the cool Color light panels, also had a little Matter display. But what caught my eye was this interesting little desktop or countertop hub called the Nature X. As a hub, it supports Zigbee and WiFi. Not sure about future Matter support yet, but you can control your music, your Home, and even your Tesla from this cool little device.
Homey at CES 2023 “Homey Pro Bridge – A hub supporting multiple protocols including Matter and Thread”
We also saw Homey at CES showing off their new Homey Pro Bridge. This thing looks pretty awesome. It’s a hub that will support WiFi, Zwave, Zigbee, Bluetooth, infrared, thread, and Matter, all of which will of course expose all those paired devices to HomeKit. It has a nice interface for creating some advanced automations that all run locally you can preorder the bridge now for $399 US, and shipping is estimated to begin in February 2023. It is worth noting that while it does have the necessary hardware to support Matter and Thread, that support won’t roll out until later in the year.
Twinkly unveils new entertainment hub and budget-friendly lighting products at CES 2023 with HomeKit compatibility
Twinkley was there showing off their cool lighting products, all of which support HomeKit. They announced the Twinkly Entertainment Hub, which is essentially just an app or software. This will allow anyone the ability to seamlessly connect Twinkly lights to audio and video content for an immersive experience or even a mirror function, which you can see here with the Twinkly Squares, which is really cool. I reviewed the Twinkly Squares not too long ago here on the channel. They also announced a new product called the Twinkly Candies, which should come later in 2023, and this is more of a budget friendly alternative to some of their other products, such as the Twinkly dots, lines or strings. We assume these will support HomeKit, since all their other products do, so we’ll be looking out for those later in the year.
Overall, it was a great year for HomeKit, Google Home, Alexa and Matter.