What Does CNET Say the Matter Smart Home Standard Needs to Fix?

CNET published a piece arguing the Matter smart home standard needs changes heading into 2025, under the headline "5 Ways the Smart Home Standard Matter Needs to Change in 2025". The headline itself is the clearest signal available: Matter, the cross-brand connectivity standard backed by Amazon, Google, Apple and Samsung, still has friction points that outlets covering the category are flagging as 2025 priorities.

What is CNET's report actually arguing?

The full text of CNET's list was not available in the material reviewed for this report. What is confirmed is the headline claim: Matter, as deployed heading into 2025, has room to improve before it delivers the plug-and-play experience it was designed to offer. Readers looking for the five specific fixes CNET proposes should consult the original story directly.

What is the Matter standard, and why does it need fixing?

Matter is the industry connectivity protocol meant to let smart home devices from different manufacturers work together without separate apps or hubs. It launched with backing from the Connectivity Standards Alliance and major platform makers. The premise: buy any Matter-certified device, pair it once, and control it from any Matter-compatible app. CNET's headline suggests that promise has not fully matched the day-to-day experience for buyers going into 2025.

Has Matter already changed how devices connect?

Yes, separately from CNET's list. Smart Home Central reported that a Matter update was issued specifically to simplify how smart home devices connect to each other, according to that report. That update points to an ongoing pattern: the standard is iterated through periodic revisions rather than a single fixed release, with connectivity and pairing among the recurring areas addressed.

Does naming and labeling play into the Matter experience?

Separately, Smart Home Central covered how device naming affects usability inside Matter-connected homes, noting that readable scene and device names make multi-brand setups easier to manage day to day, according to that piece. That coverage is not part of CNET's list, but it addresses an adjacent pain point in the same ecosystem: once devices from different brands are connected under one standard, how they are labeled and organized becomes the next usability question.

Timeline: Matter coverage through late 2026

• Sept. 16: Smart Home Central publishes guidance on naming smart home devices for readable scenes, addressing usability inside multi-brand Matter setups.
• Sept. 17: Smart Home Central reports a Matter update aimed at simplifying device connectivity.
• 2025: CNET publishes a list arguing Matter needs five changes, per the headline reviewed for this report.

What should smart home owners watch for next?

• Whether future Matter revisions address connectivity directly, following the pattern described in the September update covered by Smart Home Central.
• Whether device makers adopt clearer naming and labeling conventions as more brands certify Matter devices.
• Whether CNET or other outlets publish the specific technical detail behind the "five ways" claim, which was not available in the source material for this report.
• Whether the major backers of Matter — Amazon, Google, Apple and the Connectivity Standards Alliance — issue statements responding to criticism of the standard's current state.

Readers who want the specific fixes CNET proposes should read the original CNET story via Google News. HTT News will update this report if additional detail on CNET's five-point list becomes available.

Who decides what changes in Matter, and how?

Matter is maintained by the Connectivity Standards Alliance, the industry group that also counts Amazon, Google, Apple and Samsung among its backers, according to the material reviewed for this report. Changes to the standard arrive as revisions rather than a single rewrite. The Sept. 17 connectivity update covered by Smart Home Central is one example of that process in practice: a fix issued after the standard's initial launch, addressing a specific friction point rather than overhauling Matter at once.

That structure matters for reading CNET's headline. A list of "five ways" the standard needs to change in 2025 fits a pattern already visible in the source material: Matter's backers and the CSA have continued to issue targeted updates after the protocol's debut, rather than treating the original release as finished. Whether CNET's specific five items match the connectivity and naming issues already flagged by Smart Home Central was not confirmed in the material available for this report.