Whirlpool Bets Big on New Matter Smart Home Standard—What to Know

Today is the official launch day of the smart home connectivity standard, Matter, and appliance manufacturer Whirlpool is joining in on the fun. 

The company just announced it will officially support Matter across its line of connected appliances, calling it "the gold standard of smart home connectivity." What does that mean exactly? According to the company, it's developing software updates for its smart appliances to allow for Matter integration, though it stopped short of saying which specific devices would get these improvements. 

Whirlpool also stated that future smart home appliances will be built from the ground up with Matter in mind, eliminating those all-too-familiar hiccups when trying to connect a houseful of smart appliances and gadgets. 

"Matter allows consumers to enjoy all the smart features found on our products while connecting compatible devices and systems with one another and controlling them from their preferred app or voice assistant," said Whirlpool Corp. VP of Global Platforms Ludo Beaufils. 

Whirlpool is not just developing appliances that work with the Matter platform. They also joined the Matter working group, so they will be involved with future protocol updates, focusing on "supporting appliances." 

Matter already has support from more than 220 global companies, including Apple, Samsung, Amazon, and Google. In other words, a single smart home ecosystem is finally within our grasp. Until now, most smart devices have been tied to the communications protocol created by the parent company.