Exciting News for Smart Home Enthusiasts
IKEA has officially begun rolling out Matter support for its Dirigera smart home hub. This long-awaited update enhances its compatibility with the broader smart home ecosystem.
Seamless Connectivity Across Brands
This update will enable all IKEA Zigbee-based smart devices to communicate with any Matter-enabled devices, regardless of the brand. Notably, IKEA has opted to implement Matter support as a bridge, meaning the Dirigera hub translates between IKEA’s Zigbee devices and the Matter standard instead of natively supporting Matter itself. Therefore, devices like the Inspelning smart plug will now be compatible.
Wide Availability and Compatibility
The Matter update is available in all locations where the Dirigera hub is sold. This support extends to IKEA’s entire range of Zigbee-based smart devices, including lights, blinds, controllers, air purifiers, and sensors. Users can now control these devices using any Matter-compatible system. Additionally, IKEA’s existing integrations with Apple, Google, and Amazon setups will remain intact, ensuring a smooth transition for current users.
Understanding Matter’s Role
Matter is a unifying smart home industry standard that allows different brands of smart products to connect and work together seamlessly. Acting as a bridge, it translates between various communication protocols, like IKEA’s Zigbee, enabling interaction within Matter-enabled ecosystems. This streamlined approach eliminates the need for custom integrations for each brand or platform, alleviating concerns about device compatibility as more brands adopt the new standard.
A Long-Awaited Update
I’ve been anticipating this update since its announcement in May of last year. This update significantly improves the compatibility of IKEA’s existing smart devices and contributes to the creation of a more open smart home ecosystem. It’s far more efficient to have a universally accepted bridge than to rely on a single brand or juggle multiple different apps to operate various devices.
