There is a hidden thread radio inside your iPhone 16 and 15 – and Apple has just explained the 2 important things it does

iPhone 16 and 15 have both thread radios inside
An Apple director and wire president have explained why they are there
Both most important benefits are related to future -proofing of smart homes

Apple related quite quietly with the fact that its iPhone 16 and iPhone 15 series, along with many newer iPads and MacBooks, have thread radios inside them. But now one of its directors has explained why they are there-and how they will soon be able to boost your smart home plans.

What is thread?

(Image Credit: Thread)

Thread is a wireless protocol specially designed for the smart home. It is designed to complement Wi-Fi by offering a way for devices can communicate with each other, with low bandwidth.

In an interview with The Verge (via 9to5mac), Vividh Siddha-who is director of software engineering at Apple and also President of Thread Group-said that Apple’s inclusion of thread radios is to “enable an early adopter” to build A case-based Smart Home, and then gave two clear examples of how the infant protocol can help.

“If you take a very early smart home user-a person who goes to Ikea buy a pear and a switch-what happens to these users is that they discover that they cannot automate. So, thread on Mobile can activate this development [to a border router]”, Siddha said.

In other words, while you typically need a hub to unlock powerful Smart Home features such as automations, having thread on your phone can work as the necessary glue to make them all talk to a border router ( Like Apple TV). Because any device that supports Thread can act as a border router, hopefully you already have a place in your setup.

The second advantage of the thread radio inside your iPhone 16 or 15, according to Vividh Siddha, is that it can act as a practical backup during power breaks. “The other important factor is the ability to use your accessories, and some important, like your front door lock when there is a power outage,” Siddha said.

“If you have no infrastructure-your Wi-Fi router is down, your thread limit router is down-and you still want the opportunity to enter your house or do other things that may be related to smart- Home.

The matter is still a mess – but there is hope

(Image Credit: Connectivity Standards Alliance)

The problem with the smart home and Matter (the standard that is supposed to make everything sing from the same hymn sheet) is that it is still very messy and confusing. Unless you have a qualification in network protocols, you probably don’t care about thread, border routers or mats – you just want everything you buy to work out of the box.

That’s probably why Apple has been quiet around Thread support on your iPhone, iPads and Macs-because it’s still early. But there is hope on the horizon, according to this interview at least.

With reference to the problems that have hampered Matter and Thread, Tobin Richardson (President and CEO of Connectivity Standards Alliance or CSA) said: “2025 will be a really important year for Matter. We don’t want to add 100 new units types this year We really seek to hit reliability and make sure things just work, and that’s why these relationships are so important. “

Vividh Siddha, from Thread and Apple, agreed by adding that “2025 is really crucial to us to solve all these problems, to make all these product experiences be more robust and reliable”.

So while the trouble-free smart home experience we have been promised for years is still a while away, you know at least that the latest iPhones, along with other Apple devices like the latest Apple TVs and HomePods, will be Future -proofed and ready to join the party when it finally starts.

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