Is Ikea going all-in with Matter? A leak just dropped another hint
Evidence is growing that Ikea is warming up to Matter over Thread, with yet another Thread-enabled Ikea device reportedly being spotted in the wild.
This time, it’s a smart switch, with Homewithapple (via Notebookcheck) sharing an image (below) of what it says is a dual-button switch with Matter-over-Thread support.
The Ikea Bilresa Dual Button is still in the “internal testing phase,” Homewithapple says on Threads.
There’s no word on when the Bilresa may actually arrive, or how much it might cost. We’ve reached out to Ikea for comment.
Of course, the most interesting bit of trivia about the rumored Bilresa smart switch is that it supports Thread, a low-power, mesh-networking protocol that forms one of the pillars of the Matter standard.
Could this be a new Thread-enabled smart switch from Ikea?
Homewithapple
Ikea already has plenty of smart products that work with Matter, the new smart home standard that helps Alexa, Apple Home, Google Home, and other major smart home platforms play nice with each other.
Currently, Ikea’s Matter-ready devices depend on the Dirigera smart hub, which bridges those products into Matter households via Wi-Fi.
But earlier this month, an FCC filing surfaced that detailed the Ikea Timmerflotte, a temperature and humidity sensor with an onboard Thread radio.
The discovery of the Timmerflotte documents fueled speculation that Ikea might be moving toward Matter-over-Thread connectivity, which would allow Thread-enabled Ikea devices to communicate directly with other Matter devices, controller apps, and routers.
And while Ikea’s Dirigera hub doesn’t currently support Thread connectivity, it does come with a dormant Thread radio that could theoretically be activated with a software update.
While the Bilresa Dual Button would be Ikea’s first smart switch with Thread connectivity, it’s not the brand’s first smart switch in general.
Ikea currently offers three wireless smart switches, including the Somrig remote, the Styrbar dimmer, and the Rodret. The products sell for $9.99, $13.99, and $8.99, respectively.