Connectivity Standards Alliance Drops Bluetooth LE for "Wi-Fi Only" Provisioning in Matter 1.4.2
New version of the standard will, hopefully, reduce device costs by allowing Matter on-boarding with only a Wi-Fi radio.
The Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA) has announced a new version of the cross-vendor Matter smart home communications standard — bringing, for the first time, support for Wi-Fi commissioning without needing Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE).
"When we first launched Matter, our goal was clear: empower device makers to build reliable, secure smart home products, and help users easily start and grow their connected homes. With the release of Matter 1.4.2, we take another meaningful step forward in that mission," the CSA claims of the new revision to the standard.
"This release strengthens the foundation of the Matter standard by introducing key enhancements focused on improving security, streamlining certification, optimizing infrastructure, and enabling better user experiences through tighter coordination across the ecosystem," the CSA continues. "The updates in Matter 1.4.2 are rooted in both industry best practices and the real-world lessons learned from Matter products already in the market."
The biggest shift in the new release: Wi-Fi-only commissioning, which allows devices to use Wi-Fi Unsynchronized Service Discovery (USD) in place of Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) for registration into a Matter network. That, in theory, means the potential for cheaper smart home gadgets: instead of needing both a Wi-Fi and a Bluetooth Low Energy radio, devices could still offer Matter support with only a Wi-Fi radio.
Other improvements include security tweaks including cryptographic verification of "Admins" capable of taking control of devices, access restriction lists, and certificate revocation lists, improved management of whole-home or room-based "scenes," enhanced "quieter reporting" for more efficient network communication and boosted battery life, and standardization of robot vacuum cleaner behavior.
The new specification is now available on the CSA website, behind a registration wall.