CES 2024: Amazon Unveils Matter Casting Standard as Interoperable Alternative to AirPlay - MacRumors
Skip to Content

CES 2024: Amazon Unveils Matter Casting Standard as Interoperable Alternative to AirPlay

by

Amazon today announced Matter Casting, an interoperable rival to Apple's AirPlay feature, at CES 2024 (via Bloomberg).

echo show
Matter Casting will initially only support streaming content from Amazon's Prime Video app to Echo Show devices, but the feature will support Fire TV in the coming months. Later in the year, it will work across a range of other video services, including Plex, Starz, Pluto TV, Sling TV, and ZDF.

‌AirPlay‌ allows Apple device users to wirelessly stream video from an iPhone, iPad, or Mac to an Apple TV or another Mac, as well as stream audio from almost any Apple device to any HomePod, ‌Apple TV‌, or compatible third-party speaker. Google has a similar equivalent for its Chromecast devices called Google Cast. Both ‌AirPlay‌ and Google Cast are proprietary technologies, so Amazon's new feature is designed to be interoperable across platforms.

Apple and Google worked with Amazon on the Matter home standard, but they have not yet announced any plans to support Matter Casting and could choose to remain uninvolved. Nevertheless, it is clearly Amazon's wish to make video streaming apps and TV accessories work together more seamlessly, regardless of their platform.

Tags: AirPlay, Amazon, CES 2024

Popular Stories

iPhone Satellite Feature

Apple and Amazon Ink Satellite Deal Amid Globalstar Takeover

Tuesday April 14, 2026 5:33 am PDT by
Amazon and Globalstar have announced a definitive merger agreement under which Amazon will acquire the satellite operator. News of the deal puts to bed questions about the fate of Apple's exclusive satellite connectivity partner, and reveals how Apple will still benefit. Alongside the acquisition, Amazon and Apple have signed a separate agreement for Amazon's Leo satellite network to power...
Read Full Article • 59 comments
Dynamic Island iPhone 18 Pro Feature

11 Reasons to Wait for the iPhone 18 Pro

Monday May 11, 2026 9:01 am PDT by
We're only four months out from the launch of Apple's premium next-generation smartphone lineup, and while we're not expecting a sea change in terms of functionality, there are still several enhancements rumored to be coming to the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. One thing worth noting is that Apple is reportedly planning a major change to its iPhone release cycle this year, adopting a...
Read Full Article • 35 comments
General Apps Reddit Feature

Reddit Starts Blocking Mobile Website, Pushing Users to App Instead

Monday May 11, 2026 6:10 am PDT by
Social network Reddit recently began blocking mobile visitors to its website while pushing them to download the official Reddit app, and it's fair to say that the move is not going down well with users. If you visit reddit.com on your iPhone today, you may see a new popup that can't be dismissed, asking you to "get the app to keep using Reddit." A Reddit spokesperson told Ars Technica...
Read Full Article • 124 comments

Top Rated Comments

brijazz Avatar
brijazz
31 months ago
"Anything you cast will be interrupted by an ad every 20 minutes unless you give us an extra $2.99/month." - Amazon in six months, probably
Score: 32 Votes (Like | Disagree)
C
clebingames
31 months ago
Some crucial differences in how The Verge present this.

MacRumors: "Amazon today announced Matter Casting, an interoperable rival to Apple's AirPlay feature"

The Verge: "Amazon, one of the founders of Matter, is the first to add support for Matter casting, a feature of the Matter smart home standard"

Elsewhere (Techhive): "The new open casting standard is called Matter Casting, and yes, it’s part of the Matter smart home standard. At CES this week, Amazon announced that it will roll out Matter Casting to Fire TV and Echo Show 15 devices."

Seems like sloppy wording at the top of this article.
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Porco Avatar
Porco
31 months ago
The xkcd ('https://xkcd.com/927/') that never stops being relevant…



Attachment Image
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
B
BuffaloTF
31 months ago

Forgive my cynicism, but I feel like Apple is only implementing the RCS as a means of staving off accusations of anti-competitiveness. I wouldn't hold your breath waiting for them to implement another protocol (if they even can... this is proprietary I'd assume).
I have the opposite feeling here. Matter is in its name, but Amazon is the one to be cynical of here. All my HomeKit devices play nicely with Matter, I can control them with Alexa commands. Anything “Made for Alexa” though… no way to set it up to Matter. There’s a Matter section in the app, but it’s to add external Matter devices to its device list, not to connect it to the service to open up its devices to other assistants. Even 3rd party devices I linked to my Hue hub that were previously no bueno on Home are now there with Philips adding Matter. It’s not really inspiring confidence here.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
WarmWinterHat Avatar
WarmWinterHat
31 months ago
I'd rather there be a fully open, non-patented or proprietary casting protocol that everyone implements, on device, but Google and Apple don't want to let you out of the ecosystem. I don't see this helping too much. Matter doesn't seem to matter (ha) much, either, since it's not being implimented in a meaningful way.

We have Google Nest audio at our house... I can't send music with Apple Music, from my phone, to the device (I use Spotify now). I have an Homepod in my office, but my wife can't send music to it with her Pixel.

It's a garbage landscape, currently.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
wanha Avatar
wanha
31 months ago
Considering how badly the usability of AirPlay suffered from version 1 to version 2 (it used to be so simple and just WORKED), I would rejoice if Apple adopted/implemented this technology in their products.

As it stands, it's a pain point to not be able to easily stream content to a device that doesn't have AirPlay support, especially when I go to a friend's house.

Time will tell whether Apple considers AirPlay important enough to keep siloed, but I personally see that silo as more of a limitation than an advantage.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Read All Comments