Ensuring HomeKit compatibility for smart home products is now very much easier to achieve. Apple has agreed to accept Matter certification for all new devices, without requiring additional testing before granting the Works With Apple Home badge.
Although it was always the goal that Matter support meant automatic compatibility with HomeKit, Google Home, Alexa, and Samsung Smart Things, there was previously a difference between theory and practice …
Theory and practice of the Matter standard
Prior to the development of the Matter standard, every smart home device had to achieve separate compatibility with each of the main smart home platforms it wanted to support.
Brands would have to submit applications to Apple, Google, Amazon, and Samsung, and then send their products for specific testing by each company. This added both time and expense to the product development process.
The Matter standard was intended to change all of this. All the main platforms supported it, which meant that so long as a device was Matter-compatible, it would by definition also be compatible with Apple’s HomeKit, Google Home, Amazon Alexa, and Samsung Smart Things.
In practice, however, none of the smart home platforms took this for granted. Each still required devices to be subjected to their own tests before they would grant the Works With badge.
HomeKit compatibility now assumed
However, Apple has now agreed to accept Matter certification as proof of HomeKit compatibility, without the need for additional testing. Provided a product passes all the Matter tests, Apple will allow it to use the Works With Apple Home badge.
The news was announced by the Connectivity Standards Alliance.
A key part of many Matter device makers’ go-to-market journey is earning major smart home ecosystems’ “Works With” certification and badges. These programs often require device makers to complete the Alliance’s certification process, and then participate in an entirely separate testing process for each “Works With” ecosystem.
Recognizing the need for a more streamlined end-to-end certification process, the Alliance is excited to share that Apple has begun accepting Alliance Interop Lab test results for Matter devices for Works With Apple Home, and that Google and Samsung will be doing the same for their respective Works With Google Home, and Works With SmartThings certifications later this year, underscoring the credibility and reliability of the Alliance’s testing programs.
The Lab is continuing to work with other members [read: Amazon] towards integrating additional “Works With” programs.
Streamlined certification for improved versions
Another obstacle for smart home products was that a software update for an existing product would need to go through the same certification process as the original, making it slower and more expensive to push over-the-air upgrades.
The CSA has now agreed to a streamlined process, merely checking that they still work in the same way.
The FastTrack Recertification Program was introduced by the Matter Working Group in November 2024. This new recertification program simplifies the process, significantly reducing costs and administrative overhead for product makers. It ensures product makers can more easily release critical updates to enhance their products and utilize the Interop Lab as a “light touch” check using the Lab’s capabilities to check that updates do not unintentionally degrade in functionality or performance when used with other popular devices and systems.
Companies can also gain certification for carrying out their own tests using the CSA’s test suite.
Photo by Patrick Campanale on Unsplash
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