Reportedly, Ikea is picking up its smart line again with the aim to make the low-cost products collaborate with other brands, with or without Ikea’s own hub. Kicking off in January, Ikea will launch more than 20 new Matter-over-Threat smart lights, sensors and remotes with more types of new product and form factors. Ikea’s smart home line is also rebooting the audio offerings as it aims to bridge the Sonos Symfonisk-shaped gap on its shelves. Let’s explore what more is yet to come this year.
What’s New?
The first two models in the new line of cheap, easy-to-use bluetooth speakers for smart home are $50 retro-style Nattbad and a speaker-slash-table-lamp, the Blomprakt which is yet to be released. The expected releasing time is in October with many more to come.
The new Ikea’s smart home products are associated with the organisations’ ongoing attempt to make the smart home as simple as well as budget-friendly for as many people as possible. The company aims to capitalise on the past learnings from working with Zigbee and Sonos and its engagement in pioneering and developing the new smart home standard. They think they have almost reached the point and there is a lot to come.
Ikea launched an update, presently in beta, to the Dirigera smart home hub past week. This update turns the hub into a Matter controller and enables its long-dormant Thread radio which makes it a Thread border router. This implies that it can not link with and control any supported Matter device, including those from non-Ikea. It will also support Ikea’s new Matter devices after their launch. This will ultimately replace the present Zigbee devices which is a major move towards a more open, plug-and-play smart home.
How is Dirigera Revolutionizing?
In the beginning, Dirigera will support Matter device types which are presently offered by Ikea. The company states that they will update the hub to support more devices with the further launch of smart home products.
The Dirigera hub already works as a Matter Bridge, allowing Zigbee-based Ikea devices to link with greater Matter ecosystems such as Apple Home and Amazon Alexa. The latest update supports Matter 1.4 and Thread 1.4 allowing energy tracking and option to join an existing Thread network.
Even though the final launch is expected lately this year, the beta is available now through Ikea’s Home Smart app. However, not all features are available right now.
What is Expected to Come?
The company expects 20 new devices to join its smart home portfolio in the upcoming years. It is confirmed that the new devices will replace the existing functions. For example, there could be new smart bulbs, sensors, plugs, remotes, air-quality devices, and so on. Novelty is evident in the designs. Although little is known about the newcomers, some images appeared at the beginning of the year.
Some of the products are expected to be released in January, followed by April, and subsequently. Among the product categories, Matter-over-Wi-Fi products are expected to be released in January. The prices will be comparatively low than the past launches that started under $10. Therefore, they are standing strong with affordability as the main priority.
The cost of making a product smart is no longer prohibitively high. Hence, it is clear that the new product types and form factors will be rolled out soon.
Even after the separation from Zigbee, Ikea is continuing Zigbee’s Touchlink functionality. This point-to-point protocol enables devices to connect and work together without the need for an application or hub. For example, bulb and remote bundles by Ikea work like this. This implies that past versions of Zigbee remotes can control the new Thread bulbs, and vice versa.
Most importantly, the new Matter-over-Threat products by Ikea will also function without the Ikea hub or app, as they can be set up directly in any supported Matter smart home setting, such as Samsung SmartThings, Apple Home, Google Home, Amazon Alexa, and others.
The Fact of the Matter
Ikea’s move toward full acceptance of Matter makes it a more open platform that should assist in making the smart home easier and more affordable. It is also an important move for the industry. Ikea aims to offer the best value to customers with their products, regardless of whether it is with Apple Home, their hub, or without any hub. The goal is to remove barriers to intricacies and make everything simple and functional.
This move makes Ikea one of the first primary retailers to bring Matter to the mainstream market, a significantly risky endeavor since Matter has struggled with division, slow adoption, and other issues since its release. However, the company is confident that this is the right move, and Ikea is not targeting tech enthusiasts but rather making Matter pocket-friendly and easy for many people.
To date, Ikea has maintained a slow pace and steady approach to the technology, waiting for something exciting to come up before launching it for the customers. Ikea does not want people to have negative experience. Hence, they try to maintain a balance of potential and user experience.
Final Thoughts
Ikea is all set to release more than 20 Matter-over-Thread products in the upcoming days. The goal is to extend Ikea’s smart home product line to make it simpler and affordable. This reboot is going to support the future of the company in the industry. There is much to be launched in the upcoming years. Ikea’s new Matter devices will be rolled out soon. The aim is to replace the present Zigbee devices and move towards a more open and simple smart home. Matter devices unfolds interoperability, affordability and ease of use for the users. Therefore, the users of Ikea can expect much from its attempt to leverage on technology that makes life easier and simple.
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