Do you have IKEA smart products with Matter? Samsung now promises their seamless integration into SmartThings

IKEA has long been pushing smart home technology towards everyday consumers, while Samsung is building one of the broadest smart home ecosystems on the market. Both companies have now joined forces, resulting in reportedly seamless integration into the SmartThings platform. As The Verge reports, the new generation of IKEA products using the Matter protocol often faced issues, but that should now be over.

One hub instead of two

Until recently, anyone interested in connecting IKEA smart products with the SmartThings platform had to acquire both an IKEA hub and a Samsung hub and create a bridge between them. The new generation of IKEA devices eliminates this complication because it relies on the open Matter standard. Devices now connect directly to the SmartThings hub and subsequently work with Samsung TVs, air conditioners, or washing machines, as well as with thousands of other third-party products supported by the platform.

In total, there are 25 products, including smart bulbs, outlets, motion and door sensors, temperature and humidity sensors, air quality sensors, and a water leak detector. Samsung’s press release also outlines specific use cases. For example, a door sensor can monitor the activity of elderly parents in their home as part of the Family Care feature, bedroom sensors can generate a Sleep environment report with recommendations for an ideal temperature of 19–21 °C, and humidity detection can trigger automatic dehumidification by air conditioners.

Designer rotary controller as an attraction

From the entire offering, Samsung particularly highlights the BILRESA controller, which relies on a rotary dial. With it, users can smoothly adjust the brightness and color temperature of lights, and later this year, blind control will also be added.

“Before launch, Samsung and IKEA conducted several rounds of testing to increase connection stability and implemented a special user interface within the SmartThings app to ensure full compatibility,” Samsung states in its press release.

Samsung bets on Thread 1.4

The integration is part of a broader strategy in which Samsung positions itself as a leader in the Matter ecosystem. The South Korean manufacturer was the first to deploy Thread 1.4 in smart homes, a newer version of the low-power networking protocol that allows connecting Thread networks from different manufacturers into a single functional unit. According to Jaeyeon Jung, Head of the SmartThings division, the partnership with IKEA is intended to open the doors to smart homes even for users who previously considered them too expensive or complicated.

Do you use SmartThings, or do you prefer a different smart home platform?

Sources: Samsung Newsroom, The Verge, SamMobile