My Thread devices are all HomeKit devices, and they work incredibly well. Once they are joined to the Thread network they show up as IPv6 devices in mDNS and just work.
I have a ton of Thread enabled lightbulbs, smart outlets, and sensors on Thread, and I haven't had any issues.
They seem to mesh really well, store and forward for devices that are sleepy just works, but sleepy devices waking up and sending traffic is almost instant.
I do not own any devices that use WiFi, other than my Ecobee thermostat. So I can't compare against that. I would put the Thread devices up there alongside the Zigbee devices in terms of reliability, if not more resilient since I have multiple thread border router capable devices (multiple HomePod mini's and Apple TV's with Thread) so a device getting restarted (unlike a Zigbee hub like Hue/IKEA TRADFRI) won't affect the network/ability for the devices to trigger responses.
> Once they are joined to the Thread network they show up as IPv6 devices in mDNS and just work.
I don't have any thread devices but I've been eyeing them.
Do they show up to your router/networking gear as IP6 devices? I know that this is the underlying tech, and use mDNS, and thread routers are IP routers, but I always assumed they wouldn't integrate with existing IP home networks.
I see mDNS advertisements with my devices in them (such as Nanoleaf bulbs/Eve Thread devices), with a custom IPv6 prefix from the ULA, I assume assigned by my Thread border router.
The advertisements are captured by Avahi on my router... so they are on my existing IP home network.
I have a ton of Thread enabled lightbulbs, smart outlets, and sensors on Thread, and I haven't had any issues.
They seem to mesh really well, store and forward for devices that are sleepy just works, but sleepy devices waking up and sending traffic is almost instant.
I do not own any devices that use WiFi, other than my Ecobee thermostat. So I can't compare against that. I would put the Thread devices up there alongside the Zigbee devices in terms of reliability, if not more resilient since I have multiple thread border router capable devices (multiple HomePod mini's and Apple TV's with Thread) so a device getting restarted (unlike a Zigbee hub like Hue/IKEA TRADFRI) won't affect the network/ability for the devices to trigger responses.