The Swedish furniture giant Ikea (link) plans to launch more than 20 new smart home devices starting in January 2026, all supporting the open protocol Matter over Thread. In an interview with “The Verge“, Ikea’s David Granath announced this step (link). The lineup will include smart bulbs, buttons, remotes, sensors for air quality, temperature, humidity, and some new product categories, according to the company’s Range Manager für Lighting & Home Electronics. The goal is to make the smart home simpler, more interoperable, and affordable for many – whether or not they use an Ikea hub.
More Features for the Dirigera Hub
A key part of this new strategy is a software update already available for the Dirigera hub. This update turns the hub into a Matter Controller and Thread Border Router. It allows the hub to manage Matter-compatible devices from various manufacturers. Additionally, the update brings support for Matter 1.4 and the latest Thread version 1.4, laying the groundwork for energy monitoring and the integration into existing Thread networks.
Although the Dirigera hub currently supports only those Matter device types that Ikea itself offers, compatibility will gradually expand. At the same time, Ikea’s Zigbee integration via the so-called Touchlink function remains in place, ensuring a degree of backward compatibility with older Tradfri products.
A first for Ikea customers: the new Matter over Thread devices can be integrated into common platforms like Apple Home, Amazon Alexa, Google Home, or SmartThings – even without Ikea’s own app or smart home hub. This marks a significant shift for the company toward greater cross-platform support, which is, after all, a core idea behind the Matter standard.
The new products are expected to stay at Ikea’s usual price point – or even drop below it. The first models are set to launch in January 2026, with more arriving in April and later in the year. According to Granath, Matter over Wi-Fi devices are also being considered.
New Speakers – and a Replacement for Sonos?
In addition, Ikea is releasing a new series of affordable Bluetooth speakers to fill future gaps in its lineup. As the company had previously confirmed to “The Verge“, it has ended its long-running partnership with Sonos (link), which began in 2017. All previous Symfonisk speakers were co-developed and manufactured in collaboration with the American multiroom audio specialist.
Whether upcoming products like the Ikea Nattbad speaker or the Blomprakt speaker-table lamp will live up to that legacy remains to be seen. But here, too, the Matter standard could open new opportunities in the long term: for some time now, a working group within the Connectivity Standards Alliance has been focusing on streaming speakers. Its aim is to define a new device category within Matter that supports music playback, including all necessary control functions.
While Matter 1.0 already includes a media player spec for stream control, it’s primarily intended for TVs and set-top boxes and offers only limited functionality. Amazon’s version of Matter Casting also falls short of what speaker manufacturers are looking for.
Whether Apple and Google will adapt this development is uncertain – they already have well-established streaming technologies in the market with AirPlay and Chromecast and are not participating in Matter Casting. But for Ikea, this new Matter speaker category could arrive at just the right moment. And since Sonos is also a CSA member, that leaves room for speculation.
Balcony Power Plants from Ikea – with Tech from Ecoflow
Ikea’s broader smart home ambitions are also reflected in a recent collaboration in Germany. There, the company has teamed up with Svea Solar in Cologne, a subsidiary of Sweden’s largest solar installer (link). The offering includes plug-and-play balcony solar systems and energy storage solutions, aimed at renters and small businesses.
Ecoflow’s “Stream” product line is modular, portable, and flexible enough to combine with additional components or smart plugs. The systems are even designed to power larger home appliances. Ikea says no complex installation is required. These balcony setups are part of a growing energy portfolio that already includes photovoltaic systems, heat pumps (link), and wall chargers (link).
An interesting detail: Ecoflow was one of the first manufacturers to announce compatibility with Matter’s energy management features. At CES 2025, the Chinese company announced an update for its solar batteries, home storage systems, and balcony power plants. In that sense, both companies’ strategies complement each other – and could give the Matter standard a welcome boost in the direction of energy management.
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