CES 2023: IoT security concerns? No matter. Chinese smart home firms among big adopters of new standard

The biggest names in Internet of Things (IoT) and mobile electronics have jumped on board with a new global standard that promises to allay compatibility and security concerns, with Chinese companies among the biggest adopters as they seek to address scrutiny from Washington and consumers.

IoT companies across CES 2023, the world’s largest consumer electronics show that concluded in Las Vegas on Sunday, are promoting their integration of Matter, which is set to become a unifying standard in the industry that has brought together big rivals like Google and Apple and even sanctioned Chinese firms like Huawei as they seek to address incompatibility among IoT products from different brands and encourage consumer adoption.

Matter will allow a wide range of smart devices – 550 certified products by the current count – to work with each other and with users’ favourite app, whether it is Google Home, Apple’s Home app or some other competing platform.

Matter is managed by the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA), formerly the Zigbee Alliance, a fifth of which comprises Chinese companies, according to the group’s figures.

“When you look at IoT, as consumers have figured out, it’s really hard. It’s too hard,” CSA CEO Tobin Richardson said in an interview with the South China Morning Post on Saturday. “So how do you make that easy? Well, you have to have everybody in the room … It should not be just a Chinese standard, it should not be a US standard. It should be a global standard.”

One enthusiastic Matter adopter is Tuya, the Hangzhou-based IoT device maker that has grown into one of the biggest brands in the market. Its products range from home security cameras to smart thermostats.