Google offers local control with Home Matter

Google announced that it has added the local control feature to Google Home hubs for devices that support the Matter standard. One of Matter’s main goals is to enable smart home devices to be controlled locally without having to communicate over the cloud. This makes device control more reliable, especially in situations where there is no internet connection.

With this innovation by Google, Google Nest hubs, speakers, Chromecasts, Google TV devices using Android 14 and some LG televisions will be able to establish a direct local connection with Matter-supported devices. Google Home product manager Jeannie Zhang stated that this innovation provides lower latency, high reliability and improved privacy for users.

This development is an important step that changes the cloud connection-based structure of the Google Home ecosystem. Now, even when the internet connection is disconnected, this operation can be performed successfully when you tell Google Assistant to turn on the lights.

Google also shared other work it’s doing to streamline the development of Matter devices. These include simplifying the certification process for Matter devices with the Connectivity Standards Alliance and a partnership with MediaTek to develop a new chip that supports Wi-Fi, Bluetooth LE and Thread. Thanks to this chip, it becomes both easier and more cost-effective for manufacturers to integrate Thread technology into their devices.

Google Home APIs opened to developers

Google has opened Home APIs to all developers, offering a new opportunity for developers. These APIs make it possible to integrate Google Home devices and automations with third-party applications. In this way, developers will be able to focus more of their resources on device development.

Home APIs are offered under three main headings:

1. Device and Fabric APIs: It provides access to more than 600 million Google Home devices and offers a unified control interface for both cloud-based and Matter devices.
2. Commissioning API: It enables quick installation of Matter devices. It works integrated with the Quick Pairing feature on Android devices.
3. Automation API’s: It offers smarter and personalized experiences by allowing users to easily manage their home automation through the application.

Thanks to these innovations, developers can release their applications faster. For example, Eve developed an application for Android using this infrastructure. However, there is also concern that developers may be harmed if API access is removed by Google in the future.

In the past, Google terminated the “Works with Nest” program, leaving some developers in a difficult situation. However, the company states that it has adopted a more robust and long-term approach to smart home technologies. With Matter, Google Home becomes a more flexible, fast and reliable platform for both users and developers.