Ikea is broadening its smart home aspirations with a full range of 21 Matter-over-Thread devices, including lighting, sensors, remotes, and a smart plug. The plan is obvious: make the next generation of connected home tech easier to install, more compatible across ecosystems, and affordable for average consumers.
Understanding Matter Over Thread for smart homes
Matter is the smart home standard from the Connectivity Standards Alliance, built on proven technologies like Ethernet, Wi‑Fi, Thread, and Bluetooth LE.
It means that Ikea’s new wares can reside in Apple Home, Google Home, Amazon Alexa, and SmartThings without vendor lock-in or a home full of bridges. Matter stresses local, encrypted control for faster response times and resilience in case your internet blinks.
Thread is the low-power mesh network that transports the signals. Unlike Wi‑Fi, Thread allows devices to relay messages through each other to extend your range and enhance reliability as you add more sensors or bulbs. To use Thread gadgets, you need a Thread border router — popular examples include the Apple HomePod mini, recent Nest Wifi or Nest Hub models, many Eero routers, and some newer smart speakers and hubs. Once you have one in your home, the Thread devices connect to the mesh with little fuss.
The Thread Group cites that mesh networks can connect hundreds of nodes with low latency and multi-year coin-cell battery life for sensors suitable for door contacts, motion detectors, and leak monitors, which require an always-on function without repetitive recharging.
The new Ikea Matter Over Thread device lineup explained
Kajplats smart bulbs are the headlining product of its lighting push, filling out the staples most households need. Standard E27/E26 bulbs (60 mm) are available in white and full color with dimming, or a color-and-white option that emits up to 1,055 lumens of bright output ideal for living rooms or kitchens.
There’s a compact P45 E14 variant too, for use in smaller lamps and fixtures (again in white and color). GU10 spots address track and recessed lighting. For aesthetics-first installations, clear-glass decorative bulbs in E14 and E27 give a retro look — these are white-only for old-school ambience.
The sensor suite is atypically comprehensive for a first-wave launch. Myggspray is a motion-activated indoor or outdoor appliance, which is ideal for driveways, garages, and front doors. Myggbett is a door/window contact that can enable lights or send warnings when a door or window opens or closes.
Timmerflotte reads the temperature and humidity, which you can use to turn on fans or dehumidifiers when necessary. Alpstuga also adds CO₂ and PM2.5 particulate sensing as well as temperature and humidity, plus a display that can help you quickly assess air quality — if you use it with Ikea’s own air purifiers, that is.
Klippbok is a discreet leak sensor designed for sinks, dishwashers, and utility rooms. In a Matter integration, it can sound an alarm and ping your phone, and with the right automation, it can flip on lights or switch off a smart plug connected to a suspect device.
On the other side of the street, Bilresan remotes come in two varieties. The dual-button version is for on/off, dimming, and color swapping or scene activation. The scroll-wheel version also introduces fine tactile controls for brightness and color temperature. Ikea will also sell different-colored three-pack kits of these remotes for multi-room layouts.
Finally, completing the roundup, Grillplats is a Thread smart plug with energy monitoring. It allows you to automate lamps or small appliances and monitor consumption — an increasingly common feature in Matter and cross-platform ecosystems via energy dashboards.
Setup and compatibility with major smart home platforms
Getting started should be easy if you already have a Thread border router. Your platform choice doesn’t matter: you add each device by scanning its Matter code in the app of your preferred platform — Apple Home, Google Home, Alexa, or SmartThings — or Ikea’s app that supports sharing to other ecosystems via Matter. Since the control is local, a light switch being flipped from a motion sensor will feel near‑instantaneous.
Examples in real life: the Myggspray can theoretically flip Kajplats bulbs on when you descend into a stairwell after sundown. Myggbett has the potential to induce a scene in the hallway as someone opens and shuts the front door. Timmerflotte can even wake a fan when the humidity skyrockets, or a purifier if CO₂ or PM2.5 levels creep upward. With Bilresan remotes, you can skip over automations on the go without having to take out your phone.
Why this launch matters for standards-based smart homes
Ikea’s size could hasten the march toward standards-based smart homes. The Connectivity Standards Alliance has seen rapid Matter certifications since its launch, and having a global retailer embrace Matter over Thread serves to normalize best practices such as local control, seamless setup, and multi-brand support.
There are also some real gaps in the portfolio. Then there are fewer people in many of these homes that can afford the downright attractive Thread bulbs, both in GU10 and decorative lighting forms. All-scenario sensors — motion, contact, climate, air quality, and leak — let you stitch together meaningful automations room by room instead of small experiments.
And crucially, Ikea should charge quite affordably as it has with its previous lighting and smart accessories. That counts in a category where a single sensor can very easily cost as much as one lamp. The lower cost of entry usually means more devices per home, and that means Thread meshes are stronger and automations more powerful.
Availability details and what to watch before purchasing
Ikea said timing and prices will vary by market. Matter and Thread logos on product packaging should be looked for to help ensure that the hardware is indeed the latest in eco-friendly ecosystem gear. If you’re new to Thread, check that there’s an appropriate border router available before purchasing, but many homes already have one thanks to a recent smart speaker or mesh networking device.
An intelligent starter kit might consist of a Kajplats bulb or two for some rooms, a Bilresan remote for daily access, a Myggspray sensor at the door, and the Grillplats plug for power data. Include sensors for air quality and climate as you grow. And as more and more brands lean into Matter over Thread in the future, these devices should fit harmoniously into multi-vendor homes without the usual growing pains.
