Matter has released update 1.2, which makes major improvements to the interoperability standard and expands access to nine more types of devices, such as washing machines, air purifiers, refrigerators, dishwashers, robot vacuum cleaners and other smart home gadgets.

Previously, Matter only worked with a few types of devices, such as smart lamps, smart plugs and smart sensors. Now it can integrate more smart home gadgets regardless of their ecosystem (HomeKit devices can work with Amazon Alexa, for example).

For developers, other fundamental improvements to the software will help them roll out features. Updates include items such as adding semantic tags to ease program operation, using generic descriptions to make it easy to generate new device types, and more.

These updates will also help with accuracy. The Connectivity Standards Alliance blog said it expects Matter to “continue to grow” at a rapid pace in 2024 following the latest improvements.

“As we turn the calendar to 2024, Matter will continue to expand its footprint in the smart home, across the world. [Internet of Things] ecosystem, and in the minds of consumers. New products will come to market, complementing the existing Matter device types and among the first in the new Matter device types debuting with Matter 1.2. We expect Matter to receive two new updates next year as part of its semi-annual release frequency – which should add even more device types and expand into new areas.”