The smart home in general has been, somewhat messy to say the least for the past 10 years or so. Many protocols have come and gone, and some platforms have been abandoned.
However, what seems very clear is that the Matter open standard seems to be one that has taken off. Since its introduction back at the end of 2019, it has seen slow growth and then in more recent years many more products and platforms now work with it. At its core principle, it allows a smart home accessory manufacturer to make their devices to openly work with all the major platforms at the same time.
While Matter is the language that allows a device to talk to each platform, Thread is the glue that binds it all together. Thread is a low powered wireless system that has the ability to mesh together. Due to its low power draw, this means that battery powered devices can operate for much longer than previously possible with Bluetooth or WiFi.
Now enter IKEA, a company famous for tasty meatballs and cheap furniture. They have launched a brand new range of smart home devices that work with Matter and Thread. IKEA isn't new to smart home tech, having previously launched TRÅDFRI which is a Zigbee based system that needs a proprietary hub.
The good thing about Thread, is that you don't need a proprietary hub, although IKEA will sell you the DIRIGERA if you don't have one already. As of 2026, Thread is baked into a lot of different smart home products, which are known as Thread border routers. These include devices such as the Apple HomePod mini, HomePod, Apple TV 4K and the various Google Home and Nest Hub devices.
The devices that IKEA has launched are refreshingly inexpensive, ranging from £3 for a multifunction button, £7 for a window sensor, £5 for a candle bulb and £5 for a temperature and humidity sensor.
Testing the KAJPLATS E14
I have recently tested out the new KAJPLATS E14 bulbs, which come in at £7 each. If you don't have or need the IKEA DIRIGERA hub, then adoption using the Apple Home app works brilliantly well and all firmware updates are handled here too. In fact, if you don't have the DIRIGERA, the IKEA app won't even work anyway.
So far, IKEA has 21 different devices, ranging from sensors, bulbs and buttons with a smart plug coming soon.
Source: IKEA
