IKEA has announced a fresh wave of smart home gear, and it’s a big shift in direction: 21 new products built to work with Matter, the cross-brand smart home standard. The range is focused on the basics that most people actually use day to day, lighting, sensors, and simple controls.
What makes this announcement worth paying attention to is that IKEA isn’t just adding a few Matter products to the side. They’re repositioning the whole IKEA Home smart lineup around Matter compatibility, with the goal of making setup simpler, improving interoperability with other brands, and keeping the price barrier low.
If you’ve been living in Zigbee land with TRÅDFRI and friends, the headline is not “throw everything out”. IKEA says its DIRIGERA hub acts as both a certified Matter controller and a Matter Bridge, meaning it can run Matter devices and also expose existing IKEA non-Matter devices to Matter platforms.
What IKEA actually announced (and why Matter is the point)
IKEA says all 21 products are built to work with Matter, and the range is grouped into three areas: Lighting, Sensors, and Control.
Matter is an IP-based smart home standard from the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA). The promise is simple: devices from different brands should be able to work together across major ecosystems, without you needing to lock yourself into one app or one vendor forever.
IKEA’s version of this is basically: keep the IKEA experience simple, but don’t force people into “IKEA only” if they don’t want that. They explicitly call out that Matter means their products can connect with a wider range of devices and platforms.
The new KAJPLATS smart bulbs (11 variations)
Lighting is clearly the centre of gravity here. IKEA is launching the KAJPLATS smart bulb range in eleven variations, covering common fittings and styles, including colour and white spectrum options, and dimmable models.
Highlights from IKEA’s own product list:
- E27/E26 globe shape (60 mm diameter), with multiple brightness options including 470 lm, 1,055 lm, and 1,521 lm, plus colour and white spectrum variants
- P45 E14 compact bulbs (45 mm diameter), including 470 lm and 806 lm options, with colour and white spectrum variants
- GU10 directional spotlight bulbs (470 lm colour and white spectrum, and 575 lm white spectrum)
- Clear-glass decorative bulbs (white spectrum only), including E14 and E27 options
IKEA also positions KAJPLATS as the next step after TRÅDFRI, saying each bulb has “more functionality” including more colour options and broader light intensity spans.
Five new sensors: motion, door/window, leak, climate, and air quality
The sensor lineup is a nice spread of the stuff you can actually automate without getting fancy. IKEA lists five models:
- MYGGSPRAY motion sensor (indoor/outdoor), aimed at hands-free lighting in places like entrances, staircases, and garages
- MYGGBETT door/window sensor, with phone notifications when connected to a hub
- TIMMERFLOTTE temperature and humidity sensor, with a button to cycle through readings
- ALPSTUGA air quality sensor, measuring CO2, PM2.5, temperature, and humidity, and it can also display the time. IKEA says it’s designed to work with IKEA air purifiers
- KLIPPBOK water leakage sensor, with an audible alert and phone notifications when connected to a hub
For smart home tinkerers, these are the sorts of sensors that quickly pay off: leak alerts under a sink, motion-driven lighting, and basic indoor climate tracking that can drive automations.
New controls: BILRESA remotes and the GRILLPLATS smart plug
On the control side, IKEA is launching two BILRESA remotes (plus two colour multi-packs):
- BILRESA dual-button remote: power, brightness, colour changes, or triggering a preset scene
- BILRESA scroll wheel remote: similar controls, but with a wheel for adjustment, and the ability to control groups or scenes
Then there’s the GRILLPLATS smart plug, which does two things people actually care about:
- turns “dumb” lamps or small appliances into smart ones
- tracks energy use, and can pair with a remote or motion sensor
That energy monitoring callout is interesting, because it’s the kind of feature that usually jumps you into pricier ecosystems.
Do you need an IKEA hub?
IKEA’s answer is: you need a smart home hub for Matter products, either IKEA’s DIRIGERA or another brand’s hub.
If you use DIRIGERA, IKEA says it’s a certified Matter controller and it can also act as a Matter Bridge to make existing IKEA non-Matter smart products compatible with Matter platforms.
Separately, IKEA’s own DIRIGERA product page in Australia describes it as a Matter bridge and notes it connects to your router via cable and works with the IKEA Home smart app.
Practical implication: if you already have IKEA smart gear, DIRIGERA is IKEA’s “make it all play nicely” box. If you’re mixed-brand already, Matter compatibility is the main reason this new IKEA lineup becomes more tempting.
What to watch next
IKEA frames this as “the first step” in a broader update of IKEA Home smart, with more categories planned over time. That’s the part I’m most curious about, because the current 21 products are a strong foundation, but the long-term value of Matter grows as more device types show up.
For now, if you’ve wanted affordable smart bulbs and sensors that are designed to fit into a mixed-brand home, this is IKEA making a very direct play for that spot.