What We Know About Nordic's New Entry-Level nRF54L Chip

Nordic Semiconductor has added an entry-level chip to its nRF54L series that supports Bluetooth Low Energy, Thread, Zigbee, and Matter in a single part, Hackster.io reported.

The report describes the chip as the newest, lower-cost member of the nRF54L family, aimed at manufacturers building connected devices that need to speak more than one wireless protocol without adding separate radios.

What protocols does the chip support?

According to Hackster.io, the chip covers four protocols used across today's smart home market: Bluetooth LE for phone pairing and setup, Thread for low-power mesh networking, Zigbee for legacy device compatibility, and Matter, the cross-brand smart home standard. Supporting all four on one chip lets a device switch between or combine protocols depending on the network it joins.

Why does multiprotocol support matter for smart home hardware?

Matter was built specifically to let devices from different brands work on a shared network regardless of which radio technology they use underneath, an approach detailed in a separate report on a recent Matter connectivity update. Chips that natively support Thread, Zigbee, and Matter alongside Bluetooth reduce the engineering work needed to make a single product compatible with multiple smart home ecosystems, rather than requiring separate hardware for each standard.

What details remain unconfirmed?

Hackster.io's report does not include pricing, a shipping date, or a specific part number for the new entry-level chip. Memory size, clock speed, and other technical specifications were not detailed in the available reporting. Those figures typically appear in Nordic's own product documentation once a chip moves from announcement to general availability.

Where does this fit in Nordic's broader lineup?

The chip is positioned as an entry-level option within the nRF54L series, according to the report, suggesting Nordic is targeting cost-sensitive smart home products rather than high-end or industrial applications. Nordic has built a business supplying wireless chips to device makers across the smart home, wearable, and industrial IoT sectors, though the report does not name specific customers or products planned around this chip.

What should device makers and buyers watch for next?

The report does not specify when products built on the new chip will reach retail shelves. Buyers interested in Matter-certified smart home gear typically see certification and product listings follow chip announcements by months, though no timeline was given in this case. Device makers evaluating the chip will likely wait for Nordic's full datasheet and development kit before committing designs, standard practice when a new multiprotocol chip is introduced.

Hackster.io's original report can be read in full through Google News, which broke the news of the chip's protocol support.