The last reason to avoid a smart home video camera has vanished

It’s easy to be hesitant about getting a smart home video camera for your stoop, front porch, or backyard. But your hesitation may not stem from the thought of hackers surreptitiously spying on your video feed. The number of security layers available to prevent that scenario is more than reasonable.

No, the main hangup about getting a smart video camera for your house in the ‘burbs or your brownstone in Brooklyn is that once you do buy that video camera, you might be nudged toward using an entire ecosystem of products you may not want. (As a Google Home person, I know this feeling all too well.)

Say you’ve been eyeing a Google Nest video camera for your backyard, but the rest of your home’s smart speakers and displays are running through the Apple Home app on your iPhone. Right now, you’re not able to add the Google Nest camera to your Apple Home (formerly HomeKit) app. So you’d end up with two apps, two sets of logins, and siloed data.

It might be the final reason to avoid buying a smart home video camera, as costs have come down, supply has gone up, and Wi-Fi connectivity has generally improved and gotten cheaper.

Matter 1.5 is the most critical update ever

It adds the most important smart home device: the video camera

The last reason to avoid buying a smart home video camera vanished on Thursday as the Connectivity Standards Alliance announced the release of Matter 1.5, the latest version of the open-source protocol for smart home devices.

Notably, this new technical standard now supports video cameras. The Matter standard and the Matter-enabled devices it supports have been around since late 2022, and anyone who has set up a new smart device on their phone might have seen the option to “add a Matter-enabled device.”

The Matter technical standard has been the open-source alternative to walled-garden ecosystems created by Apple and Amazon for years now, but with the addition of video cameras — arguably the most important smart home device — the Matter standard may go from the techy, open-source alternative to the mainstream norm.

The addition of video cameras to the Matter 1.5 standard also greatly opens up the smart video market. Big tech companies with their own cameras have had a years-long head start because their branded cameras have already worked within their own branded ecosystems. But now any smart video camera that meets the Matter 1.5 standard can join the ecosystem. That could drive innovation, increase differentiation, and lower costs for consumers.

What if you already have smart video cameras?

Here’s how to know when you can update to Matter 1.5

If you already have smart cameras in your home, you’ll need to wait for an over-the-air update to become available. After that update is complete, you’ll be able to connect your camera to other smart home devices and place it within ecosystems outside its brand (e.g., adding your Google Nest camera to your Apple Home app).

To take advantage of all this, you’ll need to be patient, though. Updates to those devices to meet the Matter 1.5 standard may not arrive for months. That said, some cameras are rushing to market. Take the Ulticam IQ V2 smart camera, which debuted on Thursday in sync with the announcement. It is Matter 1.5 enabled and goes on sale in December.

Chris LaPre, a Technology Strategist for the CSA, said in an interview with Apple Insider that the new 1.5 technical standard was crafted so that many cameras could be updated to support it: “The team says they intentionally designed it so many existing cameras could support it with software updates.”

The Matter standard aims to ensure that Internet of Things/smart home devices work better together more often. Major smart home players Amazon, Apple, and Google were among the founders of the Connectivity Standards Alliance, which established the Matter technical standard earlier this decade.

While smart speakers, light bulbs, and smart displays are excellent features of a smart home, the video camera is often the one with the most utility. Was that package stolen off your stoop? Check the camera. Did a stray cat really tear down your string lights? Check the camera. You get the idea.

The addition of video to the Matter technical standard isn’t just about security, though. Video cameras are increasingly built into devices — doorbells, baby monitors, thermostats — and if those devices meet the Matter 1.5 technical standard, you can add them to any home app that meets it, too.

What else is included in the Matter 1.5 standard?

Closures, solar panels, and EV charging

The Matter 1.5 standard also simplifies and, hopefully, makes technology for smart window shades, curtains, awnings, gates, and garage doors more consistent. If you’re a gardener, the new Matter standard now includes smart devices that measure soil moisture and temperature. Matter 1.5 also supports energy-producing devices like solar panels on your roof, so you can collect that data and communicate with utility companies about costs. And finally, the new standard adds support for EVs, including charging them and powering other devices from their batteries.