Lighting innovator Nanoleaf opens up Thread capabilities for key products

Nanoleaf's most recent lighting products become Thread Border Routers very soon.

What you need to know

• Three product lines will soon gain Thread capabilities
• These include Shapes, Elements, and Lines
• The goodies will arrive through new firmware.

At this year's Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Nanoleaf has announced plans to allow its key lighting products to act as Thread Border Routers via Apple's HomeKit. Shapes, Elements, and Lines products will gain the new capabilities through a firmware update arriving sometime this quarter. Thread is a low-power, hub-free wireless mesh networking protocol built for the Internet of Things.

This isn't the first time Nanoleaf has embraced Thread. Already, its Nanoleaf Essentials bulb and light strip support the protocol. By doing so, smart home accessories can better communicate with the internet, apps, and each other.

As noted previously, a Thread Border Router acts as a gatekeeper for your network by providing the proper credentials to new accessories during the setup process. It also assigns roles for the device once connected. The HomePod mini and Apple TV 4K (2021) are Apple's first products to act as Thread Border Routers.

With the upcoming Nanoleaf firmware update, Shapes, Elements, and Lines will work with all Thread over HomeKit devices, including the Nanoleaf Essentials Bulb & Lightstrip, Apple TV 4K, and multiple Eve products (Thermo, Switch, Energy, Aqua, Weather, and Door and Window Sensor).

Over the years, Nanoleaf lighting products have been well-received for their uniqueness and ease of use. The company's latest product, Lines, received a 4 1/2-star iMore rating in October.. The 4-star Elements product arrived last July.

iMore will continue to highlight new technology products and services announced at this year's CES, which runs through the end of the week. Already, we've noted new product announcements from Aqara, Intel, and many more.

Nanoleaf is also working closely with the Connectivity Standards Alliance to build support for Matter in Nanoleaf's current and future lines; Nanoleaf's first products to be compatible with Matter will be available with the protocol launch in late 2022.

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