Amazon is making it easier for developers and partners to build across multiple device standards and protocols including Matter, and integrate deeply with Amazon’s Alexa-enabled products.

Last year, it announced that Matter was coming to most Echo devices. This includes most Echo, Echo Dots, Echo Plus, Echo Studio and Echo Show devices.

“We wanted to make sure that we are ready when you are, to enable your customers to control your Matter devices with their voice from their Echos,” said Manisha Talwar, senior product marketing manager at Amazon.

Amazon also announced that its existing Echo devices would receive a software update so they could start commissioning and controlling Matter devices soon after the Matter SDK was ready. It also increased its commitment to Thread devices by joining the Thread Group as a board member. And it announced that the Echo fourth generation would be a Thread border router, while also continuing to be a Zigbee hub.

“This announcement is a continuation of our goal to support a broad range of smart home protocols, which benefits both you and your customers,” said Talwar. “We are excited to share that frustration-free setup documentation is now available for device makers to review and that leading brands are working with us to deliver a great setup experience for their customers.”

Users will be able to purchase a Matter device and setup and control it with an existing Amazon Echo. These enhancements are part of Amazon’s ongoing support for Matter as a unified connectivity standard that is adopted by leading brands and built for the future with privacy and interoperability in mind.

In terms of compatibility, Alexa has focused on choice for device makers and for users. For device makers, it supports most popular protocols from Echo devices, including wifi, Bluetooth LE Mesh, Zigbee and now Matter. This reduces the number of hardware systems that device makers need to support to reach the largest number of users.

For its customers, Amazon provides badges such as Works With Alexa (WWA) and Certified for Humans (CFH) to make it easy for them to know what devices will work for them.

“We wanted to find ways to make it easy for customers to set up their smart home devices,” said Talwar. “That’s why, in 2018, we launched frustration-free setup, an Amazon programme that enables device makers to incorporate technology to make device setup as easy for customers as powering on a device.”

This involved making sure that all the functionality a device would need to implement frustration-free setup was in the first version of the Matter specification so device makers would not need to configure custom code or SDKs into their devices.

Amazon is working with brands such as eWeLink, Ledvance, Sengled, TP-Link, Tuya and Lifx to launch frustration-free setup on Matter-certified devices. Device makers can deploy frustration-free setup on their Matter-certified devices with the Matter SDK; no Amazon-specific SDK is required. 

Devices that support frustration-free setup are available from Amazon today, and later this year it plans to expand this to devices sold through other retailers. Eligible customers will be able to set up devices easily without having to remember or manually re-enter wifi passwords and Thread credentials.

The Matter specification includes a feature called multi-admin, which allows a single Matter device to be controlled by multiple smart home systems at the same time. This means users no longer need to choose a single system to control smart home devices directly in their home.

Many devices get set up first using a custom app. Sometimes the app is developed by the device maker. Apps are also frequently developed by smart home system companies, such as a home security vendor or a lighting system. These apps often provide value by highlighting features, helping the user with device configuration or performing service enablement.

“We expect this trend to continue for many Matter devices,” said Talwar. “For these use cases, we have introduced the new commissionable endpoint Alexa capability. This capability gives the customer an effortless way to add Alexa as an additional Matter administrator to a device that is already set up by one of the methods described. There’s no need to write setup codes, switch between apps or ask customers to monitor a process before it times out. Commissionable endpoint can be used to connect Echos and Eeros locally to any Matter enabled devices that your skill manages, including hubs and bridges.”

After using the commissionable endpoint capability to add local connectivity for a skill-connected device, Alexa can have multiple paths to the same device via the cloud skill and via the local network using Matter. In these cases, Alexa chooses the most appropriate path based on the interaction, and the state of connectivity for each path.

Local connectivity will usually be preferred, especially for local voice control interactions, where Alexa responds to user utterances without using the internet. Local connectivity between an Alexa device and a Matter device also allows Alexa interactions to work with low latency, even when the internet is down.

Commissionable endpoint also lets users enlist their custom app for device setup before making Alexa an additional Matter administrator on the device. This effectively allows a local Echo or Eero to deliver the Alexa ambient smart home experience without the need for additional hubs in the home.

Brands such as Philips Hue and Resideo plan to provide this experience for their customers with their Matter-enabled devices.

Amazon is collaborating with silicon vendors, including Silicon Labs, Espressif, Beken, Realtek, Nordic and TI, to support features such as frustration-free setup. Many silicon vendors have already begun to develop their Matter offerings, which often include tools and testing environments for their customers that include developers and device makers. This validation work enables silicon vendors to market a Matter system-on-chip (SoC) that supports frustration-free setup.

“Alexa’s Matter support for silicon vendors clarifies how they can take advantage of the features that will drive more value for developers and end customers,” said Talwar. “It enables silicon vendors to test these configurations with Amazon first so that developers can evaluate and easily implement a silicon vendor’s Matter offerings with confidence. The end result will be reduced time and effort by OEMs and ODMs to enable the best user experiences, like frustration-free setup, on the Matter devices they bring to market. We look forward to seeing what device makers build in this coming year and we remain committed to simplifying the smart home for our customers by supporting Matter and other smart home standards.”