Sleekpoint Innovations develops premium connected devices and appliances. Under the company’s AIRVERSA brand, its flagship product, Purelle, is the world's first Thread-enabled Apple Home smart air purifier that combines powerful air purification and smart capabilities. It works with Apple HomeKit using Thread technology. With a Thread Border Router, users can control Purelle with their iOS devices anytime, anywhere.

THE CHALLENGE

Airversa has been developing HomeKit-enabled smart accessories for 6+ years and has adapted multiple Wi-Fi and Bluetooth LE chipsets to enable products to operate on Wi-Fi or Bluetooth LE networks. Both solutions, however, presented challenges.

When using Wi-Fi, users running multiple smart accessories throughout the home can overload the network, negatively impacting response times. Further, HomeKit users often experience pairing and “no response” issues caused by router incompatibility.

With Bluetooth LE, the effective range distance is relatively short and coupled with slow response times due to small data transmission, it’s more suitable for battery-powered products that require low power consumption.

THE PROCESS

Airversa defined several requirements in selecting a wireless technology for its line of air purifiers.

In order to deliver the best experience for Apple users, requirements included:

• Seamless compatibility with Apple Home hubs
• Excellent responsiveness, including remote access
• Robust networking capabilities
• Compatibility with multiple ecosystems (Alexa, Google)
• Minimal power consumption
• Encrypted security

Thread was the ideal solution to address all of these requirements since it works seamlessly with Apple Home hubs, and its mesh connectivity strengthens the network as more devices are added. Thread also offers fast responsiveness and is upgradeable to support Matter.

THE SOLUTION

Thread solved a number of issues in the development of the Purelle Air Purifier.

First, it reduced R&D resource consumption by eliminating the need to invest in router compatibility development which was a significant cost savings.

Thread also enabled Apple users to add and control accessories with the Apple Home or Sleekpoint app which works seamlessly with other HomeKit accessories on the market.

Thread also enabled significantly faster customizations such as full functional settings, automation settings, PM2.5 tracking and graphics, cleaning stats such as area and particle count, as well as scheduling actions.

Competitive  Advantage

Mesh network

• Thread forms its own mesh network with border routers and smart accessories, separate from a home network such as Wi-Fi or Bluetooth.

No additional hub, no bridge

• All you need for HomeKit over Thread is a Border Router such as HomePod mini or the latest Apple TV4K (Gen 2 or newer), which also support Matter.

Ultra-responsive

• With Thread, smart accessories connect almost instantly delivering faster response times and reduced latency, regardless of network size and density.

Matter matters

• Thread is one of the key pillars of Matter, the industry-unifying set of connectivity standards. In the future, Sleekpoint will support Matter, making its Thread devices future-proof.

Hassle-Free Pairing

• Sleekpoint utilizes Bluetooth to enable HomeKit over Thread. Using one of the Apple Home Hubs, Airversa-branded accessories automatically communicate over Thread without any additional configuration.