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IKEA Goes All In On Matter With New Smart Home Products
In a significant move, IKEA has announced its commitment to the smart home industry by launching a new line of Matter-compatible products. This marks a substantial expansion into the category for the Swedish furniture giant, which has been cautiously testing the waters with various smart home solutions in recent years.
The company will be releasing 20 new products that support the open-source Matter standard, which enables seamless connectivity and compatibility across different brands and devices. In an interview, David Granath, range manager at IKEA, emphasized the importance of this step: “Bringing Matter to our products means we are taking a big step in the right direction, offering compatibility across brands, and lowering the threshold for people to get started.”
Although details on specific products were scarce, it’s clear that IKEA is making a concerted effort to establish itself as a major player in the smart home market. The company has been quiet about which exact products will be part of this new launch, but promises more information ahead of the January release.
To whet appetites, IKEA did provide some early glimpses into its audio offerings. The company is set to introduce two new Bluetooth speakers later this year. Firstly, a budget-friendly option called NATTBAD, modeled after an old radio, will hit shelves in July. A more premium choice, dubbed BLOMPRAKT, featuring atmospheric lighting and multi-speaker setup capabilities, is scheduled for release in October.
Notably, this marks the first time IKEA has released new speakers since severing its partnership with Sonos earlier this summer. With these new additions to their audio lineup, it’s clear that IKEA aims to make a significant splash in the smart home arena.
The company will provide further updates on their entire range of smart home products before the January launch.
Source: www.engadget.com
