As smart home technology develops rapidly today, the most common problem faced by users is the "fragmentation" of devices - smart bulbs, thermostats or door locks of different brands often need to rely on specific ecological platforms (such as Apple HomeKit, Google Home or Amazon Alexa) to operate, which not only raises the threshold for use, but also makes the expansion of home IoT complicated. The Thread protocol and Matter standard are the key to changing this situation. These two technologies are like the "infrastructure" and "universal language" in the field of smart home, promoting the industry towards openness and unification from the two dimensions of bottom-level connection and top-level interaction.
The Thread protocol was born out of the urgent need for low-power, high-stability connections in smart home devices. It is a wireless communication protocol based on the IEEE 802.15.4 standard, designed for IoT devices, and capable of building a decentralized mesh network. Unlike Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, each device in the Thread network can act as a signal relay node, automatically selecting the optimal path to transmit data. Even if a device loses power, the network can still self-repair through other nodes to ensure uninterrupted communication. More importantly, Thread natively supports the IPv6 protocol, allowing each access device to have an independent IP address and directly access the Internet without going through a gateway. This feature allows low-power devices such as smart door locks and temperature control sensors to maintain battery life for several years and integrate into the home LAN like mobile phones and computers, laying the foundation for subsequent cross-device collaboration.
If the Thread protocol solves the problem of "how to connect" devices, then the Matter standard answers the problem of "how to communicate". Matter, developed by the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA), is essentially a set of application layer protocols covering device function definition, data format, and security mechanism. It is like a universal dictionary, allowing devices of different brands to exchange instructions in the same "language". For example, a light bulb that supports Matter can be recognized and controlled by smart speakers from Apple, Google or Amazon, whether it is connected via Thread, Wi-Fi or Ethernet. This cross-ecological compatibility completely breaks the previous situation where each brand "goes its own way" - users no longer need to repeatedly confirm whether the device supports a specific platform, just look for the Matter logo to achieve plug-and-play.
The relationship between Thread and Matter is like the road system and traffic rules in a city. The mesh network built by Thread is like a criss-crossing road, providing an efficient and reliable channel for data transmission between devices; and Matter is like a unified traffic signal and sign, ensuring that different vehicles (devices) from different manufacturers can follow the same rules when sharing the road to avoid "collisions" and "getting lost". This collaboration is particularly evident in actual scenarios: when a user uses a mobile phone to adjust a smart curtain that supports Matter, the command may first be transmitted to the Thread border router via the home Wi-Fi, and then reach the curtain motor via the Thread network; if the Wi-Fi is suddenly interrupted at this time, Thread's local networking capability can still maintain the mobile phone and the curtain to continue communicating through Bluetooth or other Thread nodes. This multi-layer redundant design not only improves the stability of the system, but also allows users to completely avoid the need to perceive the technical details behind it.
The synergy between the two is reshaping the industry landscape. In the past, manufacturers often needed to develop multiple versions of the same device to adapt to different platforms. Now, they only need to integrate the Matter protocol to cover the mainstream ecosystem. For example, after supporting Matter, Philips Hue bulbs can be directly called by Apple HomeKit without an additional gateway, and Google Nest thermostats can also be linked with Samsung smart home devices through the Thread network. This change has greatly reduced development costs and freed consumers from the dilemma of "choosing a platform or a product." According to ABI Research, by 2030, more than half of new smart home devices will support both Thread and Matter. This combination is likely to become the next generation of connection paradigm after Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.
Of course, Thread and Matter are not intended to replace other protocols, but to integrate into the existing ecosystem in a complementary way. For cameras or TVs that require high bandwidth, Wi-Fi is still a more suitable choice; but in low-power scenarios such as sensors and switches, Thread's low latency and Matter's interoperability advantages are irreplaceable. This flexibility enables the home IoT to choose the best solution based on device characteristics - for example, using Thread to connect security sensors to ensure real-time alarms, while using Wi-Fi to transmit camera images, and then managing all devices uniformly through Matter.
From a more macro perspective, the rise of Thread and Matter marks a key turning point for smart homes from "single product intelligence" to "system intelligence". When connection technology and interaction standards are unified, home appliances will truly become "Lego blocks" that can be freely combined, and users only need to focus on functional requirements rather than technical compatibility. Just as the Internet's TCP/IP protocol and HTTP standards laid the foundation for the World Wide Web, Thread and Matter may be building a similar infrastructure for the Internet of Things - allowing smart homes to evolve from fragmented islands to a truly interconnected smart ecosystem.