Ikea launches smart home offensive in the Matter standard
The Swedish furniture retailer is relying on the open Matter standard for its future smart home portfolio. New products should be easier to integrate into different systems.
Matter is a cross-industry standard developed by companies such as Apple, Google and Amazon. It is designed to simplify compatibility between devices from different manufacturers and make setup easier. Thread is an energy-efficient wireless protocol for mesh networks that is specifically designed for smart devices such as sensors or lamps.
Until now, Ikea has primarily relied on Zigbee, another low-power wireless protocol with a mesh structure, which, however, requires its own hub and is less open to other platforms. Ikea's existing Dirigera hub will still be able to integrate Zigbee devices. A firmware update will soon turn Dirigera into a Matter hub. It also activates support for threads.
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By switching to Matter and Thread, Ikea wants to make it easier to integrate its devices into various smart home ecosystems and increase the choice for users. The new products can be integrated directly into systems such as Apple Home, Google Home, Amazon Alexa or Samsung SmartThings. Conversely, the Dirigera hub will also be able to control Matter products from other suppliers after the update.
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