Matter 1.5: What’s New and Why it Matters for Smart Homers

Matter 1.5 has decided to show what exactly their hype is about. They fixed the everyday issues that real smart home users face. If you already use smart home devices or you’re planning to Matter 1.5 is one of the most important updates you’ll benefit from, even if you never notice it directly. Let’s break down what’s new in Matter 1.5 and why it genuinely matters for smart home users. 

What is Matter 1.5?

The simple answer is that Matter 1.5 is an update to the Matter smart home standard developed by the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA). The prioritize question is that Matter answer is allowing smart home devices to work across platforms like Apple Home, Alexa, Google Home, and SmartThings. Matter smart home standard creates a universal, secure, and local-first Matter IoT framework that allows smart home devices to work across  

As part of the broader Matter IoT ecosystem, the standard focuses on reliable communication between Matter devices, controllers, and smart home hubs. Unlike major version jumps, Matter 1.5 focuses on stability, reliability, and real-world behavior, rather than flashy new features. In short, it’s a maturity update and that’s exactly why it’s important for long-term home automation reliability. 

 Matter is now here after many versions but if you want to know about from the beginning you can read Matter Smart Home Protocol: What's It All About?  

Key Improvements Introduced in Matter 1.5

How Matter 1.5 Improves Smart Home Reliability

No matter how great the features are, reliability comes on top for smart home users. So Matter 1.5 decided to impress users through that as well by: 

• Response times when controlling devices.
• Recovery behavior after Wi-Fi outages or power cuts.
• Consistency in automations and routines across home automation systems.

This is especially noticeable in larger homes with many Matter smart home devices or mixed ecosystems. 

In practice, this means fewer “No Response” messages and fewer manual re-pairing sessions a major win for everyday home automation usability. 

Matter 1.5 and Smart Home Devices

Matter 1.5 improves how common Matter smart home device categories behave, including: 

• Smart lights and dimmers
• Smart plugs and outlets
• Switches and buttons
• Sensors (motion, contact, temperature)

Devices now communicate their capabilities more clearly to smart home controllers, allowing platforms to display better controls and automation options. 

For users, this translates into cleaner app interfaces, and more reliable automation triggers Matter-compatible smart home ecosystems. 

 If you are interested in more Matter supported smart home devices check out the 10 Best Matter Supported Smart Hubs. 

Matter 1.5 for Smart Home Hubs and Controllers

 Smart home hubs and controllers are the backbone of any Matter setup. Matter 1.5 improves how hubs handle: 

• Device discovery
• Network recovery
• Cross-platform syncing

Whether you’re using an Apple Home hub, Alexa-enabled device, Google Nest hub, SmartThings, or a Bosch smart home hub, Matter 1.5 helps create a more stable foundation for home automation. 

This update is particularly beneficial for homes using multiple controllers at the same time. 

What is Matter 1.5 Multi-Admin Support?

Multi-admin is one of Matter’s most powerful features. It allows a single device to be controlled by multiple platforms simultaneously, for example, Apple Home and Alexa. 

With Matter 1.5:

• Multi-admin connections are more stable.
• Devices stay accessible across platforms.
• Ecosystem changes are less disruptive.

For households with different preferences or mixed devices, this makes Matter far more practical. 

What are the Platforms It Support?

 Matter 1.5 works across major smart home ecosystems, including: 

• Apple Home
• Amazon Alexa
• Google Home
• Samsung SmartThings

Support depends on both the platform and the device manufacturer but Matter 1.5 improves consistency across all of them. Most improvements are delivered through firmware and platform updates rather than new hardware, making Matter-compatible devices more future-proof. 

Matter Cameras: Where Things Stand in Matter 1.5?

Smart cameras are one of the most requested additions to Matter and one of the most misunderstood. Many users assume Matter camera support means full video streaming, cloud recording, and AI features handled directly by Matter. 

In reality, Matter cameras involve complex requirements that go far beyond basic device control. As of Matter 1.5, cameras are still not fully supported as native Matter device types across all platforms.  

What this means for users: 

• Matter 1.5 does not add direct Matter camera support.
• Video streaming, recording, and advanced camera features remain platform-specific.
• Cameras still rely heavily on vendor ecosystems and cloud services.

However, Matter 1.5 lays out important groundwork by improving device descriptions, controller behavior, and security handling all essential steps before cameras can be fully standardized in future Matter versions. 

Samsung SmartThings and Matter Cameras

Samsung SmartThings has emerged as the first major smart home platform to announce Matter camera support, expanding Matter devices beyond lights, locks, switches, and sensors to include cameras. 

This milestone highlights an important shift for Matter. The standard is moving beyond basic device categories toward more complex and security-sensitive hardware, and Matter 1.5’s stability improvements make that evolution possible. 

Samsung’s early adoption demonstrates how a mature Matter foundation improved device descriptions, stronger controller behavior, and more reliable multi-admin handling allows platforms to safely experiment with advanced Matter devices like cameras. 

Who Should Care About Matter 1.5?

Matter 1.5 is especially valuable for: 

• Smart home users tired of unreliable devices.
• Homes using multiple ecosystems.
• Power users running complex automations.
• Manufacturers building cross-platform smart home devices.

Even casual users benefit from the stability improvements, often without realizing why things suddenly “just work better.” 

Final Thoughts

Is Matter 1.5 worth it? My answer would be Yes. You might feel like it didn't feel exciting on the surface. But it minimized the headaches smart home users had delivered consistency and reliability. So, for a smoother, calmer, and more trustworthy smart home experience, Matter 1.5 has clearly proven its value through real-world reliability and long-term stability.