When you think of it, IKEA is an interesting company. The first thing people think of when they think of the retailer is oddly-named furniture and meatballs. However, there's so much more that IKEA does, and in recent years, they've leaned into smart home products, though they maintain the foreign-sounding Swedish nomenclature.
IKEA doesn't have any intention to pull away from making smart home products. In fact, its latest announcement indicates that it plans to continue with the smart home devices that it makes, but this time around, it will focus on building them with the Matter standard. That's a big step in the right direction.
IKEA Plans to Add More Than 20 Matter-Compatible Smart Home Products to Its Lineup
Matter is a standard for smart home devices. You can think of it as the equivalent of USB, but instead of applying to wired electronics, it is wireless and only applies to smart home devices. The reason why something like this is so important is that there are many brands making smart devices, and instead of having to deal with a dozen proprietary standards, there's one to bring everything together, even from different OEMs.
IKEA has smart home devices available for sale already, including:
- Light bulbs
- Light switches
- Motorized blinds
- Air purifiers
However, the existing devices aren't compatible with Matter. IKEA wants to change that story for good, though, starting with its Dirigera smart hub.
The Dirigera smart hub has been around, but now, it will serve as a Matter controller, allowing Matter products from other OEMs to connect to it, and it also means that your existing IKEA smart home devices can connect through the smart hub, and in turn, interact with other platforms that use Matter.
IKEA also plans to launch more than 20 smart home products, supporting Matter right out of the box, in January. However, the company provides no details on the exact kind of products you can expect.
IKEA Launches the New Nattbad Bluetooth Speaker, With Another Model to Follow in October
IKEA has always shown that it can focus on more than one thing at a time, so besides the new smart home products that it has committed to, it is also going to solidify its stance on audio equipment for your home. The most convenient form that can come in is a Bluetooth speaker, and the brand will launch not one of them, but two.
The first of the bunch is the Nattbad Bluetooth speaker, which comes in a design reminiscent of an old-timey radio. It nails that aesthetic pretty well, with an aesthetic that I can see working in quite a few creative ways. Plus, it is very reasonably priced and is available for purchase already.
| Nattbad Bluetooth Speaker | |
| Price | $49.99 |
| Colors | Black, Pink, Yellow |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth only, 10m range |
| Features | Spotify Tap, Multi-speaker |
If the Nattbad isn't quite your taste, then IKEA will also launch the Blomprakt speaker, though you'll need to wait until October for that. The speaker will be available in three colors: beige, black, and blue. Plus, not only will it play music, but it will also serve as an atmospheric light. It will support Spotify Tap and multi-speaker too.
