Ikea’s not a tech company, but it sure knows the home. That’s probably why the flat-pack company, founded in 1943, calls its smart home initiative “Home smart,” giving the home priority over the technology. What started as a trickle of smart devices — including tables with integrated Qi chargers and low-priced lights, switches, plugs, and blinds built upon the Zigbee standard — has ballooned into a full-blown business. The Ikea Home smart business unit now sits alongside the company’s more traditional businesses, like Bedroom & Bathroom, Kitchen & Dining, and Ikea Food (aka, meatballs) with investment to match. Ikea’s partnership with Sonos marks the first time the company has ever sold a co-branded product in one of its stores. With 433 stores servicing over 1 billion customers in 2019, let’s just say that Ikea’s impact on the smart home could be significant.
The Swedish flatpack furniture maker shared a video through its Instagram account today that seemingly reveals an upcoming collection inspired by the console. The video’s details are vague but it appears to show a piece of furniture inspired by an Xbox controller’s thumbstick as well as a bright green X-shaped cushion.
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The new Varmblixt adds color-changing, dimming, and Matter-over-Thread support, and brings a touch of inexpensive style to my smart home.
0It’s just a simple Bluetooth speaker, but for 10 bucks it’s a cheap, colorful addition to a desk, shelf, or kid’s room.
First announced at CES 2026, the Ikea Varmblixt donut lamp is now available from the company’s online store and retail locations across the US. It’s still priced at $99.99 and comes with one of Ikea’s Bilresa remotes for cycling through 12 preset colors. To connect it to your smart home and unlock new colors you’ll need a Matter hub.
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The company’s new line of affordable gadgets was supposed to prove Matter’s promise. Instead, it exposed just how far interoperability still has to go.
Rollable laptops, twice-folding phones, and a ‘longevity station.’ This is the CES tech we come back for.
As the cost of some electronics continues to skyrocket, Ikea has dropped the price of several of its new smart home accessories. The Myggspray motion and Klippbok water sensors are now down to $7.99 from $9.99, and while the three-pack of the colorful two-button Bilresa remotes launched in the US for $19.99, they’re now $14.99.
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Following the release of several of Ikea’s new Matter-compatible smart home sensors earlier this week, the two-button version of the company’s Bilresa Matter remote is now available through Ikea’s US website and several of its stores across the country. It’s listed at $7.99 but is currently discounted to $5.99.
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The new Matter-over-Thread lineup delivers affordable, platform-agnostic lighting, sensors, and remotes for every smart home.
With plans to launch more than 20 Matter-over-Thread devices, Ikea is embracing Matter in a move to make its smart home simpler and more affordable.
The Swedish retail giant’s latest update for its Dirigeria hub adds the feature in beta. Matter controller functionally means you can add Matter devices from other brands to the hub and control them with Ikea’s Home Smart app. Ikea’s David Granath told The Verge it hopes to send the update to all users by “the beginning of next week.”
The hub is already a Matter bridge, allowing its lights, blinds, and sensors to be used on other Matter platforms (Apple Home, Alexa, etc.). With a Matter controller, Ikea can become a Matter platform in its own right.
Updated July 3, added comment from Ikea.
[homekitnews.com]
The head of the Ikea-owned gig work platform on AI automation, the state of the gig economy, and the future of labor.
The Inspelning smart plug is now available for $11.99 in the US and beyond. It works with Ikea’s Dirigera smart hub and Energy Insights feature so you can adjust how and when you use energy-intensive appliances to maybe save some money and reduce your energy usage.
Despite being just “a couple of months away” over a year ago, Ikea’s Dirigera hub still can’t bridge the company’s smart home gear to Matter. Here’s the latest statement... on the matter:
We want to make sure our products meet the highest quality standards and have therefore decided to delay this functionality for some time. We simply need more development time to secure good functionality. We will provide more information when it’s time.
At least we’ve got three new affordable sensors coming.
