{"id":528719,"date":"2026-06-10T21:16:13","date_gmt":"2026-06-10T21:16:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/528719\/"},"modified":"2026-06-10T21:16:13","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T21:16:13","slug":"apple-google-add-support-for-thread-1-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/528719\/","title":{"rendered":"Apple, Google add support for Thread 1.4"},"content":{"rendered":"

Apple and Google are updating their smart home streaming devices to Thread 1.4. As first spotted by Matter Alpha<\/a> and 9to5 Google<\/a>, the latest spec has arrived on compatible Apple TVs in the tvOS 27 developer beta and the Google TV Streamer<\/a> through a software update.<\/p>\n

Thread<\/a> is one of the connectivity protocols the interoperability standard Matter runs on. The original plan was for Thread Border Routers to all work seamlessly behind the scenes, but that didn\u2019t pan out<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In 2024, the Thread 1.4 spec introduced a standardized way for border routers to share credentials. Two years later, with 1.4 on board, the streamers should offer a more straightforward way for users, manufacturers, and ecosystems to share the credentials so they join your existing Thread network. Think of it like sharing a Wi-Fi password.<\/p>\n

However, it looks like I\u2019ll still have to wait for a unified Thread network. While the Google TV Streamer now offers the option to generate a QR code to join a Thread network, it didn\u2019t work for me. And although DNS discovery tools show my Apple TV is on Thread 1.4, there aren\u2019t yet any options to share credentials in the current iOS and tvOS 27 dev betas. It\u2019s worth noting that 1.4 appeared in a tvOS 26 beta, but got pulled before the final release.<\/p>\n

Since there\u2019s still no dev beta for HomePod Software 27, the smart speakers aren\u2019t joining the party yet, either, and Google\u2019s Nest Hubs still haven\u2019t got a 1.4 update. My guess is the Google Home Speaker<\/a> will land later this month<\/a> with Thread 1.4.<\/p>\n

The fact that the Apple TV and Google TV Streamer have Thread 1.4 at all is a big step in the right direction. To be fair, Apple and Google already handled this credential-sharing issue better than any other ecosystem \u2014 but unity here is only a good thing. And, considering Samsung added support for credential sharing<\/a> on its SmartThings hubs last October, and Ikea\u2019s Dirigera hub is on Thread 1.4, we\u2019re now just waiting for Amazon to get on board and update its smart speakers to the latest spec. The company has said<\/a> that will happen this year.<\/p>\n

Once Amazon updates, the major ecosystems will all be on the same version of Thread, which could bring significant improvements to Matter\/Thread smart homes.<\/a><\/p>\n

I, for one, can\u2019t wait to see my nine different Thread networks unified into one giant, meshy goodness.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Apple and Google are updating their smart home streaming devices to Thread 1.4. As first spotted by Matter…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":528720,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[74],"tags":[18,19,17,24218,5,7565,753,82],"class_list":["post-528719","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","tag-eire","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-matter","tag-news","tag-smart-home","tag-tech","tag-technology"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116727892837588690","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/528719","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=528719"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/528719\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/528720"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=528719"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=528719"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=528719"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}