The Connectivity Standards Alliance which includes Apple today announced the latest version of Matter, Matter 1.6. The update focuses on improved device configuration, more coordinated device management, and response to control inputs.
Matter 1.6 includes NFC-based commissioning for configuring bulbs in ceiling lights, wall switches and other products that need to be configured before installation. It allows setup before the device is fully powered and is an alternative to Bluetooth LE setup. Users will only need to hold their smartphone near a device to activate it.
For cross-ecosystem device sharing, Matter 1.6 supports “Joint Fabric” as a new approach that extends the Enhanced Multi-Admin toolkit. Joint Fabric allows multiple user-authorized controllers to co-administer a single shared Matter network. Any device added to Joint Fabric is accessible to all participating controllers, making it easier for Android and iOS users in a household to access and control Matter-enabled devices. Matter smart home products can be controlled from any interface or ecosystem without requiring separate configuration of each device for each platform.
Thermostat Suggestions improves how thermostats take user input and preferences into account. The controllers will not send direct commands to change the temperature or mode, but rather will submit a time-limited suggestion tied to the presets supported by the thermostat so that the thermostat can react based on preferences and environmental conditions. The CSA says the new functionality will be useful in the following situations:
- A user enrolled in a utility demand response program can configure the thermostat to protect these commitments, preventing an automation from a different ecosystem from accidentally overriding a savings event.
- A user who has chosen to optimize for energy savings, or for humidity control, air quality or another preference, can have the setting recognized and respected in all connected services without needing to configure it in each.
- A thermostat that has just been adjusted manually, on the device or through an ecosystem, can recognize a suggestion arriving moments later from another source and will identify that it is probably not what the user wanted, and will defer.
The update standardizes how devices communicate their capabilities and operational limits, and CO and smoke detectors are now able to indicate when they have been removed from their installed position. Security sensors are also capable of interoperably reporting the history of sensor events, so ecosystems have access to real-time status and past activity.
Matter 1.6 is available for device manufacturers and platforms to integrate into their products. So far, Apple has not implemented the new Matter specifications quickly. Matter 1.4 was announced in November 2024, but Apple Home does not support all of Matter 1.4’s features.
In tvOS 27, Apple implemented support for Thread 1.4, improving Matter-over-Thread connectivity. Thread credential sharing allows smart home devices to join existing Thread networks for a true mesh network instead of separate parallel networks between Thread Border routers from different manufacturers.
