There’s a secret radio in Apple’s new Macs and iPads – here’s what it does
We knew Apple’s latest Macs and iPads were already packed with the latest chips and components, but it looks like there’s also a bonus Apple didn’t tell us about: a radio that supports the Thread networking standard.
The edge did some research into the latest US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) reports and found circumstantial evidence of Thread radios in most of Apple’s new Mac and iPad models. These include the iPad Air 6, iPad Pro 13-inch (2024), iPad Pro 11-inch (2024), MacBook Air 15-inch (M3), MacBook Pro 14-inch (M3 Max and M3 Pro) and the iMac ( M3).
So what exactly does the Thread radio do? Not very much at the moment; Apple has not commented on whether or not the radios are active. It’s more likely that it’s a future-proof step for later smart-home functionality (Thread is the main wireless protocol for Matter, which Apple helped develop) or simply a standard feature of the latest tri-band radio chips.
Those Macs and iPads aren’t the first Apple products with a Thread radio; Apple has also included them in the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. At the time, Apple called them the “first Thread-compatible smartphones” and said it opened up “future possibilities for Home app integrations.”
So there’s a chance we could hear more about it at WWDC 2024 on June 10. At the developer conference, Apple launches new software features for iOS, macOS and HomeKit, for example. Perhaps we’ll see the iMac or iPad become capable of acting as home hubs that can control Matter-supporting accessories directly through Thread.
Alternatively, the Thread radio can simply remain idle and Matter remains a mess. Either way, it’s certainly an interesting find.
Hanging by a thread
A few years ago, the Thread protocol would be one of the main stars of the new Matter smart home standard, which promised to finally rebuild the largely broken smart home.
Unfortunately, that hasn’t quite worked out, as smart home brands simply haven’t created the seamless experience that was initially promised. Thread also hasn’t delivered on its key advantage, which is that compatible devices don’t really need a smart home hub to talk to each other (as long as they include a Thread border router).
This means that the discovery of Thread radios in Apple’s latest Mac and iPad models isn’t as big of a deal as it could have been. Still, the potential shows that Apple still believes in the low-power mesh protocol, and we’ve also seen signs of similar features of the Matter standard lately, such as the arrival of Matter version 1.3 in May.
While WWDC 2024 is expected to focus mainly on Apple’s new AI technology – including an unlikely partnership with OpenAI – we’ll hopefully hear about some smart home developments as well, including whether Apple plans to bring those Thread radios actually use it in his new Macs. and iPads.