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The latest version of Matter has just gone live, but while it doesn’t add support for any new device categories, there are still plenty of updates involved that should make setting up a smart home less frustrating.

Announced by the Connectivity Standards Alliance at Unify, which is taking place in Austin, Texas this week, Matter 1.6 focuses on easier setup, better support for households running multiple smart home ecosystems, and smarter thermostat controls that are less likely to fight with user preferences.

The most immediately useful addition is a new NFC-based setup process. Building on the NFC features that were added in last year’s 1.4.1 update, it means that instead of scanning a QR code and relying on Bluetooth to finish the onboarding process, Matter devices can now be fully commissioned over NFC.

That might not sound too exciting until you think about where many smart home devices actually live. Ceiling lights, in-wall switches and other hardwired products are often easiest to set up before they're installed.

For anyone who’s tried scanning a Matter code inside a back box, or realized they’ve left the box with the code at the bottom of a ladder, it’s a welcome addition.

Matter 1.6 also introduces something called Joint Fabric, which could help solve another long-standing problem: living in multiple ecosystems at once.

Matter already allows devices to be shared between platforms such as Apple Home, Google Home, Amazon Alexa and Samsung SmartThings. Joint Fabric takes things a step further by allowing multiple controllers to manage the same Matter network rather than creating separate copies of device access behind the scenes.

In practice, that could make life easier for households that mix ecosystems, property managers handling smart home installations, or builders handing over connected homes to new owners.

Matter 1.6 also introduces a new "Thermostat Suggestions" framework that lets platforms make recommendations rather than issue direct commands.

The thermostat can then decide whether a suggestion makes sense based on user preferences, energy-saving programs, humidity settings or recent manual adjustments.

The goal is to stop the increasingly common smart home scenario where multiple apps, automations and services all try to control the same device at once.

Beyond the headline features, Matter 1.6 adds a handful of smaller improvements.

Security sensors can now share event history with ecosystems, smoke and carbon monoxide alarms can report when they've been removed from their mounting position, and devices can communicate their capabilities and limitations more clearly to smart home platforms.

As is always the case with Matter updates, support won't appear overnight. Whether these features show up quickly will depend on when the smart home ecosystems adopt them.