Latest news with #Thread
Indian Express
09-05-2025
- Indian Express
‘Abuse of power': Kerala man alleges Bengaluru cop checked his WhatsApp and hidden photos in phone gallery
Vishnu, a Kerala man working in Bengaluru, was allegedly stopped by a cop while returning to his place of stay. According to the now-viral Thread, the incident occurred on May 6 near Hebbal Kempapura when he ran into his college batchmate and stopped to catch up. Sharing details about the incident, Vishnu claimed that a cop on his motorcycle pulled up after he saw him speaking to his college friend on the streets, and went on to question them 'aggressively'. Further, Vishnu alleged that the cop demanded his phone and searched his WhatsApp and scrolled through the 'Hidden' album and the 'recently deleted' album. 'He asked where we're from, what we were doing, etc. We politely said we're from Kerala. Without any reason, he took my friend's phone and started checking WhatsApp and the gallery. Even searched my name on his phone. We felt humiliated. Then he demanded my phone. I hesitated. I told him I have private stuff and it's my personal device. He forcefully took it, searched my WhatsApp, scrolled through photos. Then demanded I open my Hidden Album and Recently Deleted,' Vishnu wrote in his post. When the man hesitated to show his personal photos, the police officer called him a 'suspect' and demanded cooperation. 'After wasting over 30 minutes, he said, 'Next time police ask for your phone, you must give it.' No explanation, no respect. Just abuse of power. I felt disgusted. I'd heard of these incidents — now I've lived it,' he wrote. Vishnu also said that he filed formal complaints and also reached out to the media for support. 'All I want is to feel safe in this city. I'm not against the system — I'm against the misuse of power,' he said. See here: A similar incident took place last year where a cop checked a man's phone who was caught smoking in public. According to the Reddit post, the Bengaluru cop checked the accused's phone and further demanded to read WhatsApp chats.
Forbes
25-04-2025
- Forbes
Aqara Hub M100: Budget-Friendly Ticket To The Matter Smart Home Party
The new Aqara Hub M100 The Aqara Hub M100, first announced back at CES 2025 in January, is now available, offering a cheaper way than ever to get started with a Matter smart home. For less than $20, the M100 gives you an easy and affordable way into the Matter ecosystem, and can also be the starting point of your Aqara smart home journey. The Chinese smart home specialist has really made a name for itself in the past couple of years and is often the brand I often recommend people to turn to when they ask how to start out with home automation. The Hub M100, which is now officially available via Aqara's Amazon store and its own website, supports both Zigbee and Thread - 20 devices of each, simultaneously - and also works as a Matter controller, Thread border router, and a Matter bridge. That means you can use it to tie together your Aqara kit and it will also play nicely with third-party Matter and Thread gear, like Eve lights or smart locks from brands like Level. It's a budget-friendly gateway to smart home sanity, especially if you're just getting started or want to upgrade without spending M3-level money (Aqara's flagship hub, which costs $130). It plugs straight into a USB-A port can also be used to extend an existing Thread or (Aqara) Zigbee mesh network. And while it doesn't bring the higher-end features of the flagship M3 (no IR blasting or Edge computing smarts here), it does support Aqara's new Advanced Matter Bridging. That means automations you build inside the Aqara Home app - like starting a robot vacuum or reacting to facial recognition from a camera - can now trigger events in other Matter platforms, including HomeKit, Alexa, or Google Home. Aqara W100 sensor now available Also now available is the Aqara Climate Sensor W100 ($39.99, above), which brings a few more tricks to the table than your average temp sensor. With a 3.4-inch screen and three programmable buttons, it's not just for monitoring; it's for control. The display gives you at-a-glance temp and humidity readings, while the buttons can be set up to toggle scenes or control HVAC systems. Dual-protocol support (Thread and Zigbee) means you can choose between native Matter integration or deeper Aqara-specific features. So you could stick with Thread if you're building a Matter-based setup, or switch to Zigbee to unlock extras like remote thermostat control or viewing climate data on the W100 screen. Battery life is an impressive 28 months on a pair of CR2450 cell batteries. Aqara is also now bundling up its Camera Hub G3, along with a Door & Window Sensor, Motion Sensor P1, and a Vibration Sensor T1 to form the Camera Protect Kit Y100 starter kit.
Yahoo
01-03-2025
- Yahoo
5 Ways the Smart Home Standard Matter Needs to Change in 2025
The "Matter" standard arrived with a splash several years ago, full of promises to unite the smart home world and fix all (okay, not quite all) our problems. The protocol was formed from a consortium of hundreds of brands, notably top smart home companies like Google, Amazon and Apple. They wanted a communication standard -- plus a new, safe connection protocol, called Thread -- that would reinvent the smart home and usher in universal compatibility. Matter and Thread tried, but the odds against the new standards have been steep. Far more complex than a standard like Bluetooth, Matter is much like a vast treaty slowly built up between warring manufacturers, with loads of fine print and more than a few knots still left. That means progress has been slow, as have the results you can actually see. So, where are we in 2025? Matter is still flailing in many areas, and it's time for a much-needed shot of adrenaline. Fortunately, its creators appear to know that. But there's a lot of work to do. Here are key areas Matter needs to evolve, ASAP, if it wants to impress smart device users. Read more: One Tiny iPhone Feature Shows Apple's Big Plans for Your Smart Home Matter promises broad compatibility, which means you could pick up a Matter device and choose whether you want to control it with Apple Home, Google Home, Amazon Alexa or a similar tool. That's great news, but the details often disappoint. Today, you could pick up a Matter-enabled device and find it works with Google and Amazon, but not Apple -- or vice-versa. You'll have to read the details to know what to expect. Or you may find the some features work with Google Home/Assistant, but aren't available on Apple Home/Siri. Or that the device's own app enables settings or features that you can't find on any of the "universal" apps. That sizable mess has already eroded a lot of trust in Matter for users. In 2025, Matter and its adopters need to work much harder at making features truly universal across apps. Matter's continuing updates (plus the changes we're discussing below) are helping, but individual manufacturers need to stop waffling and put in the work. Thread is an excellent networking protocol, like a more advanced version of ZigBee that improves security and even saves on energy use. But again, adoption has been slow and companies have relied on a variety of workarounds in the Matter "Fabric," a.k.a. a messy continuum where all Matter devices in a home exist. One of the most popular options is a Thread Border Router, usually built into a compatible hub like an Amazon Echo device, Eero device, HomePod, Nest Hub and so on. But not everyone has these devices in their homes, and not all manufacturers want to support them for Thread connections. What we need are Thread connections that don't rely on Thread Border Routers in a handful of hubs. Fortunately, we're starting to see answers appear, like Apple's and Google's adoption of Thread radio frequency support in phones, so they can connect to Thread devices directly without needing a hub. Another promising option is the full embrace of Thread by Wi-Fi routers. While not everyone has or wants a separate hub, everyone has a Wi-Fi router, effectively securing Thread connections for the whole house without jumping through hoops. A few routers have built-in Thread support, like the Eero Pro 6E and Nest Wifi Pro, but it's time for that support to spread. Compatibility with Matter and Thread can be tedious and expensive for manufacturers. And if they want to release a new version of their apps, they usually have to go through the certification process again -- or at least, they did. At the beginning of 2025, the CSA, or Connectivity Standards Alliance, the group in charge of Matter), announced that it would be making testing, approval and certification processes both easier and cheaper, while cutting down on how often certification would have to be redone. It's frustrating that these key changes took so long, but they're here -- and now manufacturers have the opportunity to more confidently embrace Matter investment. The Big Three are, of course, Google, Amazon and Apple, which spearhead the push for Matter. But they can struggle too, and one notable issue is trying to use devices in a multi-admin setup. In other words, switching between apps like Alexa and Apple Home or the device's own brand app on the fly, using whatever method you want. Usually, this brings operations to a screeching halt as devices require all-new authentication steps when trying to jump platforms. Matter 1.4 addressed this with enhanced multi-admin features, including the ability to seamlessly hop to the platform of your choice and have all devices get automatic approval. It's a neat trick and important to for Matter's continued success, but adoption has been slow, especially for the Big Three. 2025 is the time to change that. Matter still hasn't arrived for some smart home devices at all, notably security cameras, video doorbells and any other video capabilities devices may have. The standard has been promising camera support for some time, but home cam technology is complex and fickle from one brand to another. Attempts to add camera support remain ongoing, but I'd sure like to see it sometime this year. Best Home Security Systems for Renters in 2025 See at Cnet As we look for Matter to prove itself this year, you should look at the top home security systems that work with what you have, how to cut down on annoying smart alerts and the worst spots you should never put a security camera.
Yahoo
17-02-2025
- Yahoo
One Tiny iPhone Feature Shows Apple's Big Plans For Your Smart Home
As iPhones get new capabilities like Starlink, there's one recently added feature that you may have missed – but it has huge implications for Apple's push into home technology. The feature found in new iPhones is Thread radio support, and if you don't recognize what that means, it's all about the massive switch in standards slowly coming to home devices -- and Apple's role in it. During a multifaceted interview about the Matter smart home standard with The Verge, Vividh Siddha, a director at Apple and president of smart-device organization the Thread Group talked about this Thread update, what it does and what that means for Apple's ultimate home tech plans. We broke down what everyone should know. Best Home Security Cameras for Apple HomeKit and Siri in 2025 See at Cnet The Thread and Matter standards often go hand in hand, with Thread acting as a special, high-security connection for lower-power smart home devices and Matter being the "language" that passes through Thread. The problem is that most control devices (like phones, tablets or computers) can't yet connect to Thread directly and instead have to jump through Wi-Fi hoops. Apple's recent iPhone changes — changes Google is also making to its devices — enable Thread radio frequency support. That allows iPhones, and presumably iPads and so on, to connect to smart home devices with a built-in Thread border router directly. If you have a newer iPhone. It can already do it. While this Thread support may sound a little puzzling, it enables four very important advantages for the modern smart home and Apple users: With Thread-enabled devices, you won't need any extra hub or even a Wi-Fi router to connect with smart home sensors, lights, locks, etc. That's both simpler and time saving. Thread includes a variety of security protections that make it safer to use than routing commands through Wi-Fi. When Thread and Matter have to get "translated" through a Wi-Fi router or similar gadget, their devices can lose functionality. That can include specific features, automations and home routine choices from apps like Apple Home. With a direct Thread connection, more automations and features are enabled. As long as your smart home devices have power from batteries and so on, you can still control them through a Thread connection. So if your power goes out and your Wi-Fi doesn't work, you can still open compatible smart locks and whatnot, as long as you have your iPhone with you. Sort of. You should definitely get ready for Matter- and Thread-enabled smart devices, which will hopefully come much farther in 2025 and should have this Apple Home compatibility. But Apple has far more in store — you'll just have to wait a little. This year, as early as the spring, expect Apple to release its first smart display, essentially a HomePod with a touch screen, designed to compete with Echo Shows and Nest Hubs as a way to control a variety of smart home devices. There are also rumors a wall-mounted smart home display will be available. Later in 2025, reports suggest, Apple will be releasing other devices to unite its smart home ecosystem, including a HomePod Mini 2 and an upgraded Apple TV. Next year, watch for Apple's jump into home security with its own Apple security camera. Also note that Matter compatibility has grown common on smart locks from Schlage, Lockly, Aqara and other brands, so the Apple Home app will likely be able to connect directly to the latest Thread-supported devices from those brands by this time. The bottom line? In the coming couple of years, Apple is going to come for your smart home. It's already laid the groundwork with small changes like these, and now the company is starting to be more open about its plans for direct, simpler control from everyday devices like iPhones. We're ready to see how it plays out.
