Ikea is teeing up an all-new smart hub that boasts more connectivity options and a much smoother onboarding process than its aging Tradfri gateway.
Slated to arrive in October, the Dirigera smart hub will come with Wi-Fi, Thread, and Zigbee radios (as reported by The Verge), a decided improvement over the Zigbee-only Tradfri hub. An all-new and “more user-friendly” Idea Home app will land at the same time. Pricing has yet to be announced.
The Dirigera hub will act as a Thread border router, capable of connecting other Thread-enabled devices to the internet. Even better, the Dirigera will work with Matter, the upcoming but twice-delayed protocol that’s supposed to unite the big smart home ecosystems.
If you currently own a Tradfri gateway, it will continue to work with its existing app, while legacy Ikea smart devices can be migrated to the Dirigera. Ikea told The Verge that it plans to support the Tradfri with security patches for at least three more years.
One of our biggest complaints about Ikea’s old Tradfti hub is that you couldn’t control Ikea’s smart products unless they were paired with a “steering” device, like an Ikea remote or motion sensor. “This turns out to be a really convoluted way to set things up,” our reviewer complained. “Why the gateway needs a middleman…just doesn’t make a lot of sense.”
But with the Dirigera hub, you’ll be able to onboard new smart products and control them directly through the app, meaning steering devices like remotes will be optional accessories rather than requirements.
Ikea is also touting new “personalization” options and smart scene functionality, along with–finally–native out-of-home control, although that feature won’t arrive until the first half of 2023.
Ikea has been building out its smart home portfolio over the past several years. After starting with smart lights, the Swedish home furnishings giant launched motorized smart shades, smart air purifiers, and Wi-Fi-enabled Symfonisk speakers made in partnership with Sonos.
Author: Ben Patterson, Senior Writer
Ben has been writing about technology and consumer electronics for more than 20 years. A PCWorld contributor since 2014, Ben joined TechHive in 2019, where he covers smart speakers, soundbars, and other smart and home-theater devices. You can follow Ben on Twitter.