IKEA’s new Kajplats smart bulbs are quietly hitting shelves in the US, bringing full Matter compatibility at prices that undercut the market by a wide margin. The rollout appears to be ahead of the previously signaled April window, with multiple variants and low-cost starter kits already listed for in-store pickup and delivery. The move gives budget-conscious buyers an easy on-ramp to a cross-platform smart lighting setup without locking into a single ecosystem.
What’s New And Why It Matters For Smart Lighting Buyers
The headline here is simple: these are Matter bulbs priced like no-frills LEDs. The entry model is a 450-lumen E26 bulb with adjustable white temperature for $6. A brighter, 1,100-lumen full-color option lands at $13. IKEA is also selling starter kits pairing a bulb with its Bilresa remote for $10 (white) or $15 (color). That kind of sticker price makes it feasible to outfit an entire apartment for less than the cost of a couple of premium bulbs.
Matter support means these lights can be controlled by mainstream platforms such as Apple Home, Google Home, Amazon Alexa, and SmartThings through a compatible hub or controller. Multi-admin support—one of Matter’s core promises—lets households mix iPhones, Android phones, and different voice assistants without a tangle of brand-specific bridges or accounts. For many buyers, that flexibility is the real value-add.
How The Kajplats Bulbs Fit Into Your Setup
You can control Kajplats bulbs with the Bilresa remote out of the box for basic on, off, and dimming. To unlock scenes, automations, and voice control, you’ll need a Matter controller.
- Apple TV 4K or HomePod mini
- Nest Hub or Nest Wifi Pro
- Recent Echo devices
- A SmartThings hub
IKEA’s Dirigera hub also works and can expose devices to other platforms via Matter.
Real-world tip: during initial pairing, keep bulbs close to your controller, ensure firmware is up to date on both ends, and give the system a minute after first power-on. With any Matter device, stable 2.4GHz Wi-Fi coverage (for Wi-Fi controllers) or a healthy Thread network (if your setup uses Thread) goes a long way toward reliable performance.
Pricing That Pressures The Competition On Matter Lighting
At $6 for 450 lumens, you’re looking at roughly 75 lumens per dollar; the $13, 1,100-lumen color bulb pushes that to about 85 lumens per dollar. That’s aggressive compared to many well-known brands. Philips Hue, for instance, often sits between $20 and $50 per bulb before sales, though it brings a mature app, deep ecosystem, and a rock-solid bridge. Nanoleaf and TP-Link Kasa also offer Matter bulbs, but commonly at higher price points—especially for full color and higher brightness tiers.
For renters and first-time smart home buyers, those deltas are meaningful. Filling a living room, kitchen, and bedroom might require five to eight bulbs. With Kajplats, that’s a double-digit outlay instead of triple-digit—without sacrificing the cross-platform predictability Matter aims to provide.
Early Connectivity Snags To Watch As Matter Matures
IKEA’s push into Matter hasn’t been perfectly smooth. Early users have reported pairing hiccups and occasional drop-offs with some of the company’s Matter-enabled gear. IKEA has acknowledged the issues and says fixes are in progress. If you’re risk-averse, consider starting with one or two bulbs to vet stability in your environment before committing to a larger rollout.
It’s worth noting that the broader standard is still maturing, with new updates from the Connectivity Standards Alliance aimed at improving reliability and expanding device types. In multi-vendor homes, firmware parity and careful network setup remain best practices—regardless of brand.
Availability And What To Expect From The US Rollout
The bulbs are showing as available online and at select US stores, with delivery typically bundled into $35-and-up orders. As first spotted by industry watchers, availability appears earlier than expected, suggesting inventory is ramping now rather than later in the spring.
Bottom line: IKEA is forcing a price reset on Matter lighting. If you want inexpensive bulbs that can live in Apple Home today and a Google- or Alexa-centric setup tomorrow, Kajplats makes that practical. Just go in with eyes open about early software wrinkles, start small, and keep everything updated. If reliability holds, this could be the most cost-effective gateway to a standards-based smart home lighting plan.
