Thread is a promising way for all of your smart home devices to connect to one another. With a bit of foresight, you can build a network that’s extra-responsive and doesn’t require a dedicated hardware hub. As a widely-adopted standard, Thread is still picking up steam, but you can already get started supporting it with some of the best smart home devices available.
As a smart speaker, the Buy at Apple mini performs admirably when it comes to sound — and as well as you can expect from Siri. Seamless Airplay integration lets you send audio to the speaker from the rest of your Apple devices.
Read our review to get all of the details on the Apple HomePod mini.
Integration with Google Home and Apple HomeKit provide a unified interface for managing the Buy at Amazon as well. This feature is quite handy for inclusion alongside all of your other non-Thread smart home products.
The Buy at Amazon is a natural pick for building the backbone of your home Thread network, since you’re building out coverage anyway. Eero Pro 6 devices are designated border routers, so you can start extending your Thread network right away. As an added bonus, the Eero Pro 6 also supports Zigbee, for any of those legacy devices you may still have around the house.
Read our Eero 6 review to learn more about how it fares in real-world performance.
The camera is quite handy in a number of ways. Either enable facial recognition, so different household members get personalized options when approaching it, or set it up as a security camera to alert you to strangers passing the field of view. The device acts as a hands-free smart speaker too, so you can issue Google Assistant questions to the Buy at Best Buy and get answers.
Read our review of the Google Nest Hub Max to learn more.
As the cherry on top, Buy at Amazon also monitor energy consumption of connected appliances and provide cost estimations through the companion app.
The Apple TV 4K Gen 2 is a border router, which is great news if you want to enable a wider Thread network and don’t have a border router yet. Heck, even if you do, extra border routers provide a lovely bit of redundancy so all your bases stay covered.
Read our Apple TV 4k review to get into the details.
Those are our top picks for Thread devices, but be sure to check back again soon. New Thread-enabled products are coming out all the time, and it’s worth benefiting from the standard while it’s gathering momentum.
Simon Sage is a green tech contributor at Digital Trends. He looks at all sorts of devices that can help reduce emissions through electrification, like power stations, solar panels, smart thermostats, and LED lighting. He's also keen on exploring right to repair and sustainable transportation.
Simon started journalism 17 years ago in the mobile tech space, covering the meteoric rise and fall of BlackBerry. Since then he's dipped his toe in mobile gaming, app reviews, and sponsored content. He's been to his fair share of trade shows, such as Mobile World Congress, the Consumer Electronics Show, E3 (RIP), the Game Developer Conference, and a smattering of smaller shows. He's done multiple TV interviews, the most surreal of which was explaining how Pokémon Go works on a morning show. Simon's also hosted over 100 podcast episodes.
Previous publications include BlackBerry Cool, IntoMobile, and Mobile Nations sites like Android Central, iMore, CrackBerry, and Windows Central.
Simon's based in Ottawa, Ontario, where he is constantly clawing against the gravitational pull of becoming a government drone. He studied English at Carleton University there, including a stint at Lancaster University in the UK. He has since levelled up his education in sustainability through the Climatebase platform. Simon spends way too much of his free time playing games, especially Magic: The Gathering.
This post is brought to you in paid partnership with Best Buy.
Technology evolves every day, transforming how we live and work. Our devices are becoming more than tools we use. They are increasingly capable companions that help streamline day-to-day routines and spark creative ideas. If you have been waiting for the right moment to upgrade your tech setup, the Discover Samsung Shopping Event offers an opportunity to explore what connected, AI-powered living can look like.
With AI progressing so fast, it's only a matter of time before we start getting AI companions like the ones we used to see in movies like R2-D2, Wall-E, or Baymax. Now, Singapore-based OKA Technology has unveiled Mori, a cute little AI companion that looks less like a conventional home robot and more like someone turned the Pokémon Foongus into a table lamp.
Mori isn't meant to clean your house or control your smart home, but to serve as what OKA calls a "Nature Companion." It uses subtle movements, warm lighting, nature-inspired sounds, and small reactions to make its presence around the house feel calming rather than distracting. Mori can sit quietly while you read, sway along to music, welcome you when you enter a room, or encourage you to slow down for a moment without requiring a screen or a conversation.
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