Among smart home platforms, Apple's HomeKit is my third favorite, behind Alexa and SmartThings; with HomeKit, you can create an amazing number of clever routines to make various smart home devices work with each other.

However, there is one problem with Apple's smart home platform: not many of them work with HomeKit. This point was made clear with the Eve Outdoor Cam and Wemo Smart Video Doorbell, which were announced at CES 2022. They are the second and third outdoor video camera and video doorbell, respectively, that work with HomeKit Secure Video. Both are very expensive at $249. On the other hand, if you want the best video doorbell that works with Alexa, you can buy them starting at $49.

At least the news about smart locks is better for HomeKit. With the announcement of the new Schlage Encode Plus, there are now four smart locks that are compatible with HomeKit.

The same goes for other smart home categories. Smart switches, smart plugs, smart thermostats, etc. There are few options for homeowners who rely on HomeKit, and those that are available are not always the best, or require other devices Nest Learning Thermostat with HomeKit Want to use the Nest Learning Thermostat with HomeKit? You need to use the Starling Home Hub as a workaround.

But there is hope in sight: many of the announcements at CES include support for Matter, a new smart home protocol that makes it easier for devices to work with any smart home platform, including HomeKit. Below are some of the major companies that announced products or announced support for Matter at CES.

Equally important, Amazon announced additional developer support, including "frustration-free setup" for Matter devices. This has been around since 2018 and has been used for all Alexa smart speakers, but will now be extended to Matter products. This is useful if you want to control your smart home devices even if your internet connection is down.

This last part has nothing to do with HomeKit, but Amazon's commitment to Matter could be a great incentive for other smart home device manufacturers to update their products to support the standard.

This is not the only announcement made at CES 2022; be sure to check out all the winners in Tom's Guide CES 2022 Awards.