Ikea Smart Home: 21 New Matter Devices Hitting Shelves

On Thursday, Ikea unveiled 21 devices with which the furniture giant aims to massively restructure and expand its smart home range. These include light bulbs, sensors, remote controls, and power outlets, all of which support the smart home standard Matter. This allows them to be integrated into higher-level control systems such as those from Amazon, Apple, Google, Samsung, or Home Assistant, even without going through an Ikea gateway.

Ikea did not specify which wireless protocol the devices use. However, it is likely to be Thread. The ZigBee protocol, previously used by Ikea, is thus history in the furniture giant's plans. The new devices are now going on sale globally. Ikea has not yet announced a launch date or prices for Germany.

The 21 Smart Newcomers

Twelve newcomers are smart lamps from the new product line called Kajplats. There are standard bulbs with a 60 mm diameter and larger ones with a 90 mm diameter, as well as candle and filament lamps. They fit the common E27, E14, and GU10 sockets. Depending on the model, they emit white spectrum or RGB colors. Lumen values range from 470 to 1521 lumens. Compared to the previous Tradfri lamps, the Kajplats models offer more color options and higher maximum brightness, Ikea announced.

A quintet of smart sensors includes the Myggspray motion detector, intended for indoor and outdoor use; the Myggbett door and window contact sensor; the Timmerflotte temperature and humidity sensor; the Alpstuga air quality sensor; and the Klippbok water leak sensor.

Among the three new control devices are the Grillplats smart plug and two remote controls named Bilresa. One of them features a double button, the other a rotary dial. Bilresa is also available in a two-pack with the distinct colors green, red, and beige. Only if these colored remote control sets are considered separate products does one arrive at the 21 newcomers announced by Ikea.

With or Without Ikea Gateway

For network contact, the new devices require a Matter-compatible smart home hub. This could be Ikea's Dirigera gateway. In this case, the ensemble is controlled with the app called Ikea Home Smart. Alternatively, a Matter controller from Apple, Amazon, Google, or Home Assistant can also be used. In that scenario, the technology is controlled with the respective app.

Another option: all devices are paired with the Dirigera gateway, and this is used as a bridge that passes the devices through to a Matter controller from alternative platforms. This allows you to use the Ikea app for everyday operations and other software for additional automations. Furthermore, according to Ikea, the Dirigera gateway can also serve as a Matter controller and manage lamps, sensors, and plugs from other manufacturers.

(mho)