Can IKEA Become a Serious Smart-Home Player? An Analysis of Their Matter-Compatible Products

It’s difficult to take a shopping trip without encountering some form of smart home equipment. Usually it’s programmable lights, or if you’re in an electronics retailer, a whole host of different hubs and related devices. They’re typically compatible with smart assistants, and increasingly have Matter support. 

With bi-annual updates and an ever-growing number of compatible devices, Matter is becoming the most significant smart home standard.
But take a trip to IKEA, and things are a little different. Not only does the Swedish retailer have a wide selection of smart lamps and LEDs, it also has a hub. But can the Matter-compatible Dirigera hub and the rest of the Tradfri line turn IKEA into a player in the smart home?

IKEA's Smart Home Strategy

I can’t take a trip to IKEA without leaving with at least one piece of easily-assembled furniture. While it probably wouldn’t survive an earthquake, IKEA’s lines are stylish and simple.

The same could not be said for the Tradfri line, specifically the gateway device. Temperamental and often at odds with the companion IKEA smart home apps, the Tradfri gateway was first released in 2014. In those days, the smart home was more of a hobbyist concept, wherever you shopped. 

So, as expectations for smart home gear developed, the Tradfri gateway became less impressive. At the same time, IKEA customers have come to expect more than just smart lights.

Simplicity Matters

Unsurprisingly, this is where Matter compatibility comes in. Regardless of whether you buy smart home gear from the big names (Samsung, Google, Apple, Amazon, etc.), if it is Matter-compatible, then it should all work.

With IKEA’s electronics line largely limited to affordable smart lights, the introduction of the Dirigera hub represents a change of approach. Not only is this a smart home hub you can pick up alongside a four-by-four KALLAX and BILLY bookcase, it has been designed to be far easier to use than the Tradfri gateway.

The strategy is twofold. IKEA’s existing smart home customers can upgrade to the Dirigera and after onboarding their lighting can begin adding other smart home devices. Meanwhile, new customers looking for a trusted smart home "name" can pick up a Dirigera, then stop for meatballs. Full up, after escaping the inevitable car park bottle neck, they can set up their first smart home with the simplicity of a LACK table.

Rebecca Töreman, Business Leader at Ikea Home smart told The Verge:

"IKEA has a long-term commitment to Matter and the first step that we are targeting now is for Dirigera to become a Matter bridge in a couple of months."

IKEA does have a small challenge. Matter smart home hubs are already quite numerous. Just 30 seconds on Amazon reveals devices from Homey, A2ZWorld, Blindsmart, and Aqara. You may already know that Amazon’s latest hub supports Matter, as does hardware from Samsung, Google, and Apple.

A Look at the Dirigera Hub

IKEA’s new smart home hub isn’t that new. Dirigera (pronounced something close to “diriguiera”) was actually released in 2022, but at that point didn’t have Matter support. That very important feature was added in March 2024, and at the time of writing is still in beta, but available for anyone to use. Dirigera currently uses the Matter 1.2 standard, although Matter 1.3 is due in Spring 2024.

The Dirigera hub is equipped with Wi-Fi, Zigbee, and Thread radios, and currently relies on Ethernet for connection to your home router. This may change with future updates. Because the Dirigera hub has bridge functionality, any connected IKEA device can be used with Matter. 

“With Dirigera and the new app,” Töreman also told The Verge, "our focus has been on strengthening and simplifying the on-boarding process when connecting new smart products to the smart home."

Smaller, and more puck-like than the TRADIFRI gateway, the Dirigera is unobtrusive. It can be placed on a flat surface, or mounted on a wall. 

Reaction to the hub has been largely positive. Reviewers and customers alike consider the Dirigera superior to the gateway it replaces. There are some questions about the device’s maximum range, but as with any wireless network, architecture can be an issue.

Tradfri and Dirigera

IKEA’s existing smart home line uses Zigbee, so can connect to a Matter network with the Dirigera as a bridge. At the time of writing, none of IKEA’s devices appear to be Matter-compatible. 

Consequently, the Tradfri line continues to be added to, with new smart home products. However, the Tradfri gateway device has been discontinued.  

We suspect that Matter/Thread support will be added to future IKEA smart devices as Dirigera becomes more popular.

Other Dirigera Devices

While no other IKEA smart home devices are explicitly Matter-compatible, it makes sense to consider newer additions to the range. These at least have been released with the knowledge that Dirigera has replaced the Tradfri gateway.

Recent IKEA smart home devices include:

• Newer entries in the Tradfri smart lighting and switch range.
• The Starkvind air purifiers, which supports control of fan speed, a timer, and checking air quality in the IKEA Home app. Some models are standalone, but there is one are built into an occasional table. IKEA isn’t alone in producing smart air purifiers – see our review of the AiDot WELOV P200 Pro Air Purifier.
• Symfonisk Wi-Fi speakers. These are Sonos speakers integrated into various devices, such as lamps, shelves, and wall art.

The design of these items is exactly what you would expect from IKEA. Integrating smart functionality into lighting is something it has been doing for some time now. Taking air purifiers and speakers out of the collection of items that you might consider to have "clutter potential" and incorporating them into furniture and fittings is arguably the epitome of smart home thinking. They look pretty good, too.

Reception to these devices demonstrates that IKEA is on the right track with its furniture-smart tech fusions. Some connectivity issues have been reported, however, so keep in mind IKEA’s returns policy.

We shouldn’t forget the new IKEA Home app, which affords control over the Dirigera hub and enables new device connections. Providing remote access to smart home devices on a room-by-room basis, the app also features configurable "scenes" for creating and resonding to triggers. 

The Road Ahead for IKEA

IKEA is the go-to retailer for flat-packed furniture, storage solutions, and lighting. How does this translate into a revived smart home line? 

The obvious target is for IKEA’s adoption of Matter to increase its market share. As a major retailer, there is an opportunity for its position to be leveraged, boosting IKEA’s smart home business. 

It seems that there has been some sort of alignment – celestial, coincidental, or just plain luck – for IKEA’s smart home operation. Matter represents an opportunity for the company to put Tradfri’s problems behind it and embed universally controllable smart devices everywhere. It's worth noting that the Tradfri gateway will be maintained for a few more years. Talk of speakers in wall art, air purifiers in side tables, and other integrations are extremely encouraging.

IKEA could genuinely reshape the smart home market with “smart” furniture.

However, for a company switching up a gear in the smart home space comparatively late, technical innovation might be difficult. While the Dirigera is a purpose-built smart home hub, it is more expensive than others on the market. That is an initial challenge to consider.

Meanwhile, how will IKEA handle upgrading its existing smart home line? The devices might be largely compatible with Dirigera and therefore have Matter integration, but they are Zigbee devices. Will IKEA move its wireless smart devices to full Matter/Thread support, or maintain Zigbee, using the hub as a bridge?

IKEA Can Matter in Smart Homes

The Tradfri line has been a success for IKEA, and Dirigera is expected to take that success to a new level with Matter integration.

With smart lights, switches and sensors, along with speakers and air purifiers integrated into furniture, IKEA’s smart home offering has innovations that other manufacturers simply cannot offer. A smart home-connected Sonos speaker built into a shelf or wall art is a remarkable proposition, for example.

However, there is some concern as to the degree of IKEA’s commitment to Matter. Supporting the standard is one thing; integrating it fully with new hardware is another. As of Spring 2024, there is no sign of any full Matter support, with new items still released with the Zigbee standard. This relegates the Dirigera to a smart home bridge with Matter compatibility.

Then again, Matter is new technology. Whether the Matter standard and Thread network protocol eventually dominate, at this stage there remains work to do. Some types of device are only partially supported, if at all. IKEA is hedging its bets, refreshing its smart home line while supporting the latest new developments.

But let’s be positive. Comments from IKEA’s smart home suggest the company is behind Matter, and the Tradfri gateway was released in 2014. It has only recently been retired, which points to IKEA having a similar long-term plan for Dirigera. It follows that improved Matter integration should be a part of any long-term thinking.

IKEA could certainly become a key player in the Matter-era smart home. Whether it will or not probably depends on how far it adopts the standard.