SMART TECHNOLOGY IS AMPING UP HOME ENTERTAINMENT

Interviewed for a piece by Jennifer A. Kingson about trends in smart home technology and how they are specifically enabling entertainment and recreation use cases that make homes more satisfying and immersive.

"This is a pivotal moment, actually right now this year," for smart home technology, says Mark Benson, head of Samsung's SmartThings U.S., which makes IoT systems for "connected living."

• The rollout of Matter, an industry connectivity standard for smart home devices, is expected to ensure that the gadgets we buy are interoperable, starting as early as next year.
• Ideally, you'll be able to control all your devices through one hardware hub connected to a single app — and you'll be able to set things up and program them without needing to call in a professional.

Matter "is a real thing that is happening and that will fundamentally change the [smart home] experience for the mass market user," Benson tells Axios.

• In the earlier days of IoT, "you really had to be an enthusiast DIY hobbyist person to really fit everything together, understand how it works, and in some cases even do a little bit of programming to get it to work," Benson says.
• But gradually, setting up all the devices you want is getting easier. In the "post-Matter world, it's about mass household adoption — how everyday consumers can get value from having a smart home and not have to be an expert," Benson says.