Matter's journey began back in 2019 under the name Project CHIP (Connected Home over IP). The first release was planned for late 2020, but delays pushed it into 2021, and then again into 2022. When Matter 1.0 finally launched in October 2022, it brought with it a shared Software Development Kit (SDK), open testing tools, and a global certification program via eight authorised test labs, kicking off the slow but steady adoption we've seen since.
Expected later this year, Matter 1.5 is rumoured to finally unlock native camera streaming support, likely using Real Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP) over Wi-Fi or ethernet. This would mean installers and integrators could bring smart cameras into the same unified Matter ecosystem as lighting, heating and AV without the headaches of brand specific apps or workarounds. For residential AV professionals, that's a potential game changer.
Matter's specification may be evolving at pace, but real world adoption by the biggest players (Google, Apple, Amazon, Samsung), still lags behind the release cycle. Each new update provides manufactures with the SDK and testing tools, yet it can take months before those capabilities make their way into consumer ready devices.
For the professional integration market, this gap is both a challenge and an opportunity. Understanding the roadmap means you can design systems that are ready to take advantage of new capabilities the moment they roll out, positioning your projects not just for current needs, but the connected homes of the near future.