Belkin takes “big step back” from Matter, endangering universal smart home standard

Enlarge / Several of Belkin's Wemo smart home accessories support the Thread networking protocol, but the company is holding off on Matter support for now. (credit: Belkin)

Belkin is pumping the brakes on its support for the nascent Matter smart home standard, according to The Verge. Devices from Belkin's Wemo smart home brand may still support Matter eventually, but Belkin will "take a big step back, regroup, and rethink" its product strategy before supporting Matter in any of its products. This is a reversal for Belkin, which had announced at CES 2022 that it planned to support Matter in several of its new accessories when the standard was ready.

Some Wemo devices already support Thread, the underlying network protocol that Matter uses to allow devices in your home to communicate without flooding your Wi-Fi router. But at least for now, those devices remain tied to Apple's HomeKit ecosystem.

The oft-delayed Matter standard was finally released in the fall of 2022. It promises to break down the walls between smart home fiefdoms, taking the guesswork out of buying accessories and allowing for control of devices without having to install any device-specific apps. Matter devices should work whether you use HomeKit, Amazon's Alexa, Google Home, or even some combination of all three. Matter-compatible devices will also retain a basic level of functionality even if the company that made an accessory goes out of business or gets acquired and shut down.

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