Woo hoo!
Answering my own question, today’s Developer session on HomeKit and Matter established that:
- matter will have a parallel path into the HomeKit framework
- scenes and automations will be usable with matter devices on the same basis as HomeKit accessories: that is, you have to have HomePod mini, an Apple TV, or a plugged in iPad to act as the hub
- on boarding the matter device will look identical to on boarding a HomeKit device
- Matter status like is the door locked or is the sensor open will be available in the same way as HomeKit accessories and can be queried via Siri or an app
- if you are using a different hub that has an iOS app, that app could use the HomeKit/matter framework to connect matter devices to that hub and provides an instant interface which is pretty cool.
All of the above available through the developer preview of iOS 15.
So far the only thing that has been verified to be still in development is the ability to use custom characteristics in matter. Those are not yet supported through this framework but they do intend to do so in the future.
So lots of interesting stuff. Of course all of this requires iOS, so android users will need to find an alternative solution.
