Episode 415: Making meaning from Matter product delays

Episode 415: Making meaning from Matter product delays

Author: Stacey Higginbotham, tech journalist March 23, 2023 Duration: 52:07

This week’s show starts off with our take on Belkin deciding to hold off on releasing Matter products, and an update on Matter plans from other vendors including Wyze and Yale. We also talk about Nanoleaf’s new Matter-compatible Essentials bulbs and lights strips. We try to explain why Matter is still frustrating to use and wonder where all the other gear is. Then we discuss Google killing both Glass and its Jacquard touch-sensitive fabric interface. Samsung has a new ultra-wideband chip called the U100 and we talk about where that might be used. In LPWAN news, Unabiz has a new partnership, and in smart home news, Wyze has a new lock. Finally, we answer a listener question about light switches that don’t require a neutral wire. There are a lot more options than there used to be!

Levi’s offers a jacket made with smart fabric from Google. Image courtesy of Levi’s.

Our guest this week is Svein-Egil Nielsen, the CTO of Nordic Semiconductor. We talk about the DECT-NR standard for massive IoT, defining both the standard and what we mean when we talk about massive IoT. We also cover use cases for energy harvesting technology and Nielsen gets cagey about Nordic’s plans for energy harvesting technology in Nordic chips. We end with a conversation about TinyML and how Nordic is planning to make its modules ML-ready for developers. It is a fun interview.

Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guest: Svein-Egil Nielsen, the CTO of Nordic Semiconductor
Sponsors: InfluxData and Silicon Labs

  • Yes, Matter will commodify smart plugs … and locks
  • AR in the enterprise is still a hard sell
  • Let’s build an ultra-wideband standard please?
  • Massive IoT may owe a debt to old cordless phones
  • Wi-Fi 6 will trickle down to IoT devices

The post Episode 415: Making meaning from Matter product delays appeared first on IoT Podcast - Internet of Things.


For anyone trying to make sense of a world where everything from your thermostat to a factory floor is getting smarter, The Internet of Things Podcast-Stacey On IoT offers essential context. Veteran tech journalist Stacey Higginbotham, who brings her experience from Fortune, and co-host Kevin Tofel break down the weekly flood of news, separating genuine innovation from mere hype. Their analysis spans the entire connected ecosystem, diving into the gadgets in our homes, the sensors transforming industrial workspaces, and the complex enterprise systems tying it all together. This isn't just theoretical; it's a practical guide to the business and technology decisions shaping our networked future. You'll hear from a range of voices that have built and critiqued this landscape, including pioneers like Vint Cerf, insightful commentators like Om Malik, and practitioners from companies such as Amazon, AT&T, and IBM Watson. Listening to this podcast provides a crucial framework for understanding the real-world implications of connectivity, whether you're an industry professional, a curious developer, or simply someone wondering how all these "smart" things actually work-and what they mean for privacy, security, and daily life. It's the clear-eyed conversation you need to navigate the ever-expanding Internet of Things.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 100

The Internet of Things Podcast - Stacey On IoT
Podcast Episodes
Episode 396: Here’s when you’ll get Matter on your devices [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 55:12
This week’s episode kicks off what I hope is a flurry of news from vendors about their Matter plans. We hear when and how vendors such as Amazon, Eve, Nanoleaf, and Schneider Electric plan to roll out Matter to new and o…
Episode 395: I’m running Matter. Now what? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:41
We kick off the podcast with more conversation about the planned White House-led cybersecurity label for consumer IoT devices. Contrary to what I wrote last week, it seems that privacy won’t be as big of a focus, which i…
Episode 394: This company thinks TinyML will be big [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 52:55
TinyML is about to get really big, or at least that’s what a startup thinks, as we explain on this week’s podcast. Useful Sensors is the company that’s making inexpensive, low-powered edge sensors in a way that protects…
Episode 393: Why Roku needs the smart home [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:42
The biggest news this week is probably the launch of a line of inexpensive smart home products from Roku, the smart TV and set-top box maker. We talk about the products, its deal with Wyze and where you can get them. The…
Episode 392: Matter is here. Now what? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:06:08
Matter is now official after almost three years of waiting, and Kevin and I are super excited. Well, I am. Kevin is more measured, but we talk about what to expect and when to expect Matter to start changing your smart h…
Episode 391: Amazon’s turning Alexa into the brains of the home [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:07:57
This week’s show focuses on Amazon’s new devices and services launched Wednesday. Kevin and I talk about Amazon’s direction with Alexa as the manager of your life. We also gawp at the price iRobot is charging for its lat…
Episode 390: The FTC eyes Amazon’s iRobot buy [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:01:49
The Federal Trade Commission is looking into Amazon’s decision to purchase the maker of Roomba vacuum cleaners for $1.7 billion. The agency this week asked Amazon and iRobot for more information about the deal, so Kevin…
Episode 389: Is Matter ready for its close up? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:02:05
I’m in Austin this week, for Silicon Labs’ Works With event, and while there I hosted a panel that provided a good sense of what is going to happen with the Matter smart home interoperability protocol. I think Kevin is a…
Episode 388: Insurers come for the smart home [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 55:21
This week launched with a bang for those interested in the role insurers might play in the smart home as State Farm agreed to make a 1.2 billion equity investment in security firm ADT. This follows on the heels of Google…
Episode 387: Is Kickstarter still relevant for smart devices? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 56:23
This week we start off talking about the Federal Trade Commission suing a data broker for sharing sensitive location data. It’s a topic we’re following closely, in part because location information can’t be anonymized ev…