Manufacturers who want to sell devices with the “Works with SmartThings” label (link) will find it easier to obtain the corresponding approval in future. At least if their products also support the Matter standard. Because in this scenario, SmartThings will now also accept the results from the CSA’s testing facility for its own certification program.
New test suite for SmartThings developers
As a result, product manufacturers who submit their devices to the Interoperability Test Lab (ITL, link) of the Connectivity Standards Alliance will not only benefit from the lab’s practical tests, but can also receive the “Works with SmartThings” certification. The Samsung company has has collaborated with the CSA and developed a new software tool to support the process. The so-called WWST Test Suite (link) can be accessed via the SmartThings Developer Centre (link). It simplifies the certification process, is designed to save time and resources as well as shorten the development time.
This is SmartThings’ and the CSA’s response to requests from the developer community for a reduction of the numerous certification programs to a reasonable level. Early hopes that a Matter logo would make existing badges from Amazon, Apple, Google and SmartThings obsolete have ultimately not been fulfilled. On the contrary: as the ecosystems implement the Matter standard quite unevenly, the “Works with” programmes remain an important purchasing guide. They guarantee that a device really works on the respective platform and is supported by the ecosystem’s software.
Apple is doing somethig similar. Google to follow suit.
Back in January, the CSA announced that Apple had started to adopt the results of the CSA Interop Lab for “Works With Apple Home” (link). SmartThings is now joining as the second major Matter supporter. A comparable solution for “Works with Google Home” is said to follow. What Amazon, Home Assistant and other platforms will do is not yet clear. But having three partners that integrate Matter with their own certification program is at least a start.
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