If you have one of these Thread border routers, your smart home will be Matter-ready
by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy from The Verge - All Posts on (#61JGK)
The HomePod Mini is a Thread border router. With the launch of the new Thread specification, border routers from different manufacturers can now be part of a single Thread network. | Photo by Jennifer Tuohy / The Verge
Matter is getting closer. The new smart home standard promising to make setting up a smart home as easy as screwing in a lightbulb took a big step toward that lofty goal this week. Thread, the main wireless protocol Matter will run on alongside Wi-Fi, just dropped a major upgrade. Thread 1.3.0 will enable Thread devices to work with any Thread border router, removing the current manufacturer-specific roadblocks. It also sets the stage for Thread-enabled Matter devices - which should start arriving later this year - to join existing Thread networks using those border routers.
If you have any of these devices in your home today, you are in luck. Once upgraded by the manufacturer, they can become a Thread 1.3.0 border router. This will...