Matter Unlocks Google Home APIs

Google Home has been revived, and undergone a transformation. While the name was largely retired in favor of Google Nest, it has been re-envisioned as a new element in smart home development.

Google has announced the release of Home APIs and Home runtime, re-imagining Google Home as a Matter-compatible platform not just for smart home tech, but for developers as well.

Home APIs for Developers

Google’s Home APIs have been introduced with the aim of expanding the possibilities for a Google Nest-based smart home.

Google’s APIs embrace Matter’s interoperability, observing that "developing for the smart home is harder than it needs to be." Integrations go beyond the smart home, however, with the APIs open to developers building apps with no smart hardware element. Developers can build an app that integrates with some 600 million connected devices, offering enhanced automation possibilities. Or, it might support a simpler on/off experience.

How Home APIs and Matter Could Enhance the Smart Home

So, what could Home APIs bring to a Matter smart home? Well, there’s the potential for some pretty clever stuff. Google cites an example of your home’s lights switching on when a food deliver arrives. If you’re sat in the dark watching a movie, that’s a pretty useful thing to have.

Smart thermostats integrated with workout schedules are also possible. We could also see doors unlocking because an authorized user is in the vicinity of a Matter enabled lock.

Google Home Goes Beyond Speakers

The Home API doesn’t just add a new dimension to smart home app development. It should also improve the entertainment aspect of a connected living room.

Google plans to bring Chromecast with Google TV, some TVs running Android 14+, and some LG TVs, into the Google Home with the Home runtime. These devices will then function as Google Home hubs. Improved local control over devices and swifter responses should be possible.

The Smart Home Experience You’ve Been Waiting For?

Google’s announcement may have flown over the heads of most people, but there is quite a bit to unpack.

Perhaps the most important aspect of this is that it promises a new degree of smart home integration that we haven’t seen outside of futuristic movies and TV shows.

The Home APIs could have a big impact on the smart home landscape, elevating the experience. A more unified smart home, as user friendly and responsive as the one in your dreams, is actually within reach.

Whether Google will achieve this without competition from Apple and Amazon is another matter. The promise of a more unified smart home might first depend on whose API is best.