Google Nest speakers, smart displays, and routers will be updated to control Matter devices

Ben Schoon | Oct 4 2022 - 6:10 am PT

Matter is a new standard for smart home devices that’s making huge promises for the future, and Google is a core part of that. Alongside the announcement of its revamped Google Home app, the company is also confirming this week that it will update its Nest speakers, smart displays, and routers to help control Matter devices. It’s also showing off how you’ll be able to set up Matter devices from Android.

The new Google Home app is built with “scale” in mind, according to Google. The goal was in part to help users better control larger collections of smart home devices, with Matter being a part of the expected growth in smart home gear going forward.

Google says that, along with native support and Fast Pair for Matter devices on Android devices, its lineup of Nest speakers, smart displays, and routers will be updated to control Matter smart home gear.

Your Android phone will automatically detect a Matter device and help you securely set it up quickly. Matter setup and app linking will be available by default on billions of Android devices with Google’s launch of Matter support later this year. We are even working directly with top device makers to ensure we have support across as many Matter-supported devices as possible. We’re also updating our existing Google Nest smart speakers, smart displays and routers to control Matter devices.

The company is also showing off a closer look at the workflow of adding a Matter device to your smart home using Android’s Fast Pair feature. This experience was first teased early this year.

The workflow looks pretty quick and seamless in this example, with a few taps, a QR code, and entering the device name being fairly quick and easy. By comparison, setting up a smart plug today would likely require first downloading a separate app, setting it up using wireless networks, and then pairing the account for that app to the Google Home app for further controls.

On a related note, Google’s new Nest Wifi Pro ships with a Thread border router and also will be able to act as a Matter hub when the standard fully launches.

Nest Wifi Pro also includes a built-in Thread border router so you can connect all your Thread smart devices to your home network — and save energy, thanks to Thread’s low power mesh.
Shortly after Matter, the new smart home protocol, launches, you’ll be able to use your Nest Wifi Pro router as a Matter hub, too. It will control and connect to all your Matter-enabled devices, making it that much easier to manage and add devices to your smart home in the future.