Recent reports suggest that the latest generation iPads, iMacs and MacBooks will feature the Thread smart home radio that was announced to be included in the latest iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max models. The radio is an essential part of the Matter ecosystem of smart home technology, a wireless protocol that allows “Internet of Things” devices to communicate with each other.
This discovery marks the first appearance in an FCC filing for these new devices, indicating that the Thread radios are undergoing testing for compliance. The list of devices that have undergone this certification and testing is as follows:
iPad Pro 13-inch (M4) (Wi-Fi + Cellular) iPad Pro 11-inch (M4) (Wi-Fi + Cellular) iPad Pro 11-inch (M4) (Wi-Fi) iPad Air 11-inch (M2) (Wi-Fi + Cellular) iPad Air 13-inch (M2) Wi-Fi MacBook Air 15-inch (M3) MacBook Pro 14-inch (M3) MacBook Pro 14-inch (M3 Pro or M3 Max) MacBook Pro 16-inch (M3 Pro or M3 Max) iMac (M3, 2 ports) iMac (M3, 4 ports)
Interestingly, not all SKUs of each device have been tested – for example, the iPad Pro 13-inch Wi-Fi model is not listed in the FCC filing – it remains to be seen whether this particular SKU does not have the chip or has not yet been tested and certified.
A key feature of Thread radios is that the standard is based on IP, which allows any Thread compatible product to communicate with other IP-based technologies such as smartphones, tablets, etc. Matter itself can run on these Thread radios, and is expected to become more widely adopted in low-power technologies such as locks and motion sensors.
The fact that Apple has these radios in its devices likely means that it will introduce more support for Matter in upcoming software updates, allowing its devices to communicate with smart home devices that support Thread and Matter in the future. It's unclear at this time whether this will be announced in the next round of software updates at WWDC 2024 or at another time.
Source: The Verge