Samsung phones now also see numerous Ikea gadgets, the smart home becomes even simpler

Improved integration and stability

To achieve this, Samsung says it has “built enhanced integrations” with Ikea’s remote control with wheels, bulbs, smart plugs, and sensors for temperature, humidity, air quality, motion, water, and open doors and windows.

Furthermore, “Samsung and Ikea have conducted multiple rounds of testing to improve connection stability and implement a dedicated user experience within the SmartThings app for full compatibility,” reads the Samsung’s press release.

Let’s hope that this means that they also fixed the problems with the so-called “disappearing” devices, where they would simply disappear from the network or could not be added again.

The wider context of cooperation and the Matter standard

This collaboration takes place in the context of wider acceptance of the Matter standard, a universal protocol for connecting smart home devices supported by the largest technology companies such as Apple, Google and Amazon. The goal of Matter is to solve the problem of fragmentation in the market, where devices from different manufacturers were often incompatible.

As part of this collaboration, Ikea has announced a new line of products that are fully compatible with Matter, including smart bulbs, sensors and sockets. These new devices, based on Matter, can connect directly to the SmartThings hub without the need for Ikea’s DIRIGERA hub, further simplifying setup and reducing costs for users.

Of course, in theory, Matter should reduce the need for this kind of platform-specific work. So it’s a little more worrying to see that this level of effort is needed to make Ikea’s promise of a cheap, accessible and reliable smart home a reality.