A year ago at Berlin\u2019s IFA tech trade show (think European CES), Verge<\/em> reporter Jon Porter witnessed a Google Nest Hub control an Apple HomeKit smart plug. This \u201clightbulb moment for the smart home<\/a>\u201d was the first public demonstration of Matter<\/a>. The new smart home standard is designed to fix the biggest issue facing tech in our homes: interoperability, and witnessing two fierce competitors in the space working together was exciting. Twelve months later, on the eve of IFA 2023<\/a>, we\u2019re still waiting for that lightbulb to turn on across the industry.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The smart home remains fragmented. Despite being developed by the biggest names in the industry \u2014 Amazon, Apple, Google, Samsung, and more \u2014 Matter has yet to deliver on its main promise. You still can\u2019t just buy a smart light bulb, screw it in, and have it work with every other smart light you have (no matter who made it) and with any ecosystem you want. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n The industry needs to provide a more compelling reason for people to bring smart tech into their homes \u2014 beyond \u201cit\u2019s cool\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Today, if you want the full benefits of home automation, you still need to pick a smart home platform and largely stay within its walled gardens unless you want to tinker with more hardcore DIY options involving Raspberry Pis.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n But trade shows like IFA, which kicks off this week, are about tomorrow. And I\u2019m hoping the future that\u2019s on display at this year\u2019s show is more connected and less fragmented than what we\u2019ve seen from the smart home so far.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n That\u2019s not to say I\u2019m not excited for a new generation of smart home tech, which, from the list of companies holding press conferences at the show<\/a>, could include all manner of security cameras, video doorbells, smart speakers, robot vacuum cleaners, and smart lighting products. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n South Korean tech giants Samsung and LG will be in attendance, with the latter having already preannounced plenty of its IFA showing<\/a>. We\u2019re expecting news from robot vacuum giants Ecovacs and Roborock, and smaller smart home players such as Eve, Nanoleaf, SwitchBot, Aqara, Aeotec, and Yeelight are all on the show floor. Honor also plans to hold a keynote<\/a> focused around its Honor Magic V2 foldable phone, which recently launched in China<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n No doubt, there are cool smart home announcements on the way. But what\u2019s more important is the long and boring task of getting them to seamlessly work together to create a home that\u2019s actually smart, not just a collection of disparate gadgets that solve specific problems. A video doorbell showing me who is at my front door no matter where I am is useful. But what if my doorbell was smart enough to recognize that person and either tell the smart lock to let them in or the security system to call the police?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n