Amazon had already announced a few months ago that many Echo smart speakers and smart displays will support matter. Now the company goes further into detail in its own blog. The company has announced that the Echo 4 will not only be the first device to receive a software update next year, but will also support the Thread wireless standard.
The radio protocol will be enabled via software update. This means that in the future, not only matter devices, that are linked to the home network via LAN or WLAN, will be controlled via Echo 4. It is also possible to register Thread products directly on the Echo 4. With this, Amazon expands the possibilities as up to now only devices via Bluetooth and Zigbee could be connected directly. It is currently unclear whether other Echo models will also be expanded with Thread. After all, not all devices have a Zigbee chip installed, which also has to meet certain requirements.