Google Play Services is getting serious about Thread for your smart home (APK teardown)

A smoothly functioning smart home is one project definitely worth pursuing, and the good news is that configuring a whole houseful of disparate smart devices is getting easier and easier. One big reason that’s true is on account of manufacturers embracing Matter and Thread for efficient, standards-based connectivity. Today we’re checking out one way Google’s working to make sure it’s taking full advantage of all the features these protocols offer.

We’re looking at the recent version 24.38 beta release of Google Play Services, which adds a few new text strings related to Thread:

That sure gives the impression that Play Services is setting itself up to be control center for your home’s Thread network. That could be through the use of a device functioning as a Thread border router, like the new Google TV Streamer, or a phone like the Pixel 9 with its own Thread connectivity. While we were able to enable this functionality in the app, our test was on a phone that lacks the Pixel 9’s Thread radio, so we didn’t get very far:

One big way that smart home systems can make it easier for users to build and expand them is by improving the setup process. We’ve already seen Google take steps in that direction back at the start of the month, when it shared news of backing Thread credentials up to the cloud. Now we’re also seeing evidence for more functionality along that line, with Google implementing support for Thread credential sharing.

The Thread Group announced credential sharing back in January as a new feature coming to the protocol, enabling easy configuration of new Thread devices even across manufacturers. Play Services working to add its own support should only help to encourage adoption.

Have you already configured your smart home? Did you find the process easy going, or do you wish you had the help of setup tools like this? Let us know in the comments.