The Inspelning (transl. recording) smart plug looks pretty much like many of today’s offerings, which at its core ensures that it’ll plug into one socket without blocking the other. It has a  power button on the side, along with a small indicator LED and reset button.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, this new smart plug, which uses Zigbee to connect to both Ikea’s own smart platform and others, will only work with the company’s latest hub – the Dirigera. So if you’re still using the original Trådfri smart hub with your Ikea products, this plug is either a pass or you’ll need to upgrade.

On the assumption you do have the Dirigera hub, you can then expose it to Apple Home, Amazon Alexa, and Google Home, although not via Matter officially yet. A Matter firmware update is available for beta testing if you want to try it out. A firmware update from Sept. 2nd states;

• DIRIGERA Hub version 2.615.8
  • Maintenance release, plus extended support of device types via Matter Bridge for:• Lights, including Drivers
    • Smart plugs/outlets
    • Connected blinds
    • Remotes
    • Motion sensors
    • Open/close sensors
    • Air purifiers and Air quality sensors

If you don’t want to use this beta option, adding the hub to the latter two platforms requires the legacy connection method that ties your Ikea smart home account to Google/Amazon.

Energy monitoring is only available via the Ikea Home Smart app (not the old app, named Home Smart 1). Currently it’s listed on Ikea’s US website for US$11.99, although it may be available in your nearest Ikea store.

The post Ikea Release Smart Plug with Energy Monitoring appeared first on Homekit News and Reviews.

Whilst light strips are ‘ten a penny’ so to speak, for users of Ikea’s smart products, this could be quite welcome, not just for the low price, but also the fact that it can be paired to dimming devices, like the company’s own Styrbar remote controller that allows on/off, and colour control, as well as dimming. As you can see from the image above, the LEDs are quite spread apart, which has the effect that you only get 640 lumens, which appears to be for the entire strip, not per metre, so this is definitely for accent lighting only.

As it’s designed to work with the Dirigera hub, which is HomeKit compatible, it’s almost certain that it’ll also be exposed to HomeKit.

One thing the strip does offer is the chance to have the strip placed in temporary locations with the help of a set of wall mounting clips, as opposed to having to commit to a location with the double-sided adhesive that comes on the back of the strip. This will help in some sense to move the light strip if for whatever reason the original placement doesn’t work.

so far, it seems the strip is only available in stores within the Netherlands, although it’s a sure thing it’ll be released in the rest of Europe and beyond before too long.

The post Ikea Releases New Dirigera-Compatible Colour Light Strip appeared first on Homekit News and Reviews.

• Parasoll (Door and Window Sensor) – This sensor is designed to monitor doors and windows, alerting homeowners to any unauthorised entry or potential security breaches. It provides an extra layer of security to your home by notifying you of any unexpected openings.
• Vallhorn (Motion Sensor) – The Vallhorn motion sensor helps detect movement within its range, which is useful for security and automation purposes. It can trigger actions or alerts based on detected motion, making it a valuable component of a smart security system.
• Badring (Leak Sensor) – The Badring sensor is designed to protect your home from water leaks, particularly from appliances like washing machines. If it detects any water leaks, it can send alerts to your smartphone, allowing you to take quick action to prevent or address potential water damage.

Whilst further details on these devices are scarce at the moment, it’s likely all three will use Zigbee 3.0 for communication, via the Dirigera hub.

These new security products complement Ikea’s existing Smart Home range, which includes smart bulbs, curtains, and speakers. They’re designed to work with Ikea’s Dirigera hub, which allows users to control and monitor their smart home devices through a mobile app as well as third-party platforms including Apple HomeKit of course.

All three sensors are reportedly going to be available for purchase in stores and online from January 2024 (the leak sensor will be following on in April), ranging from around US$10 ~ US$12 according to our sources, which undercuts pretty much all the other sensors in terms of price, although you still need to factor in at least one Dirigera hub of course.

The post New Ikea Sensors For Dirigera Hub Due in 2024 appeared first on Homekit News and Reviews.

Matter Beta Rollout For Aqara M2 Begins

Onvis Prepare for March Release of Thread Motion Sensor

Aqara Unveil Four New Products For the Chinese Market

Aqara FP2 Presales Launch in China With March Release

Zemismart List First Matter Devices For Purchase

Multi Feature Smart Outlet With Matter Launching Soon

Updated TP-Link/Kasa Matter Smart Plug Surfaces

ZemiSmart Releases First Thread/Matter Curtain Motor

Meross Releases its First Contact Sensor

Aqara Video Doorbell G4 Now Available in Amazon Stores

Nanoleaf Essentials with Matter Preorders Start

Ezviz Move Towards Matter and HomeKit Integration

Ikea Dirigera Update Adds HomeKit Support for Air Quality Sensor

Aqara Video Doorbell G4 Receives Fixes Via Update

REVIEWS

Aqara Ceiling Lamp L1-350 (review)

Aqara Smart Video Doorbell G4 (review)

YOUTUBE

Aqara Smart Ceiling Light L1-350

Yeelight Cube Smart Lamp with Matter

Aqara Smart Video Doorbell G4

The post HomeKit New Roundup (Feb/Mar 2023) appeared first on Homekit News and Reviews.

Three years after launching their first collaborative products, IKEA and Sonos introduce their new Symfonisk floor lamp speaker. In 2019, the first Symfonisk lamp speaker was launched, marking the first products developed together by IKEA and Sonos. Now, the collaboration continues with the introduction of the next version of SYMFONISK – in the shape of a floor lamp. Just like the previous products developed by IKEA and Sonos, the new SYMFONISK floor lamp speaker combines high-quality sound with a thoughtful design, and blends into the home in a new way to make the most out of people’s living space.

“We have learnt a great deal about how people want to furnish with light and sound. We also know that many people want to have several light sources on different levels and parts of the room to create the right mood. The challenge of not having enough room for a table to put the lamp on led us to create the floor lamp”, says Stjepan Begic, Range Design Leader at IKEA of Sweden. “Since the launch of the first Symfonisk speaker, we have built on our learnings to create a great sounding, great looking piece of furniture that brings the worlds of home furnishing and sound closer together than ever”

Symfonisk floor lamp speaker is designed with simplicity in mind, offering elevated sound while spreading gentle light. The floor lamp speaker comes with a shade in bamboo and can be personalised through different Symfonisk speaker lamp shades that can be purchased separately. Paired together with other products from the Symfonisk range or other Sonos products, the lamp can also act as a rear speaker to create a home theatre setup with light and room-filling sound.

“The Symfonisk floor lamp speaker is a great example of how our collaboration continues to challenge the traditional idea of sound in the home”, says Sara Lincoln, Principal Product Manager at Sonos. “We created the floor lamp speaker to sound great on its own but also to be versatile. It works seamlessly with all our Sonos speakers and is a great option for those who are looking to add rear speakers to their home theatre set-up, when paired with our soundbars such as Ray and Beam”, Says Sara Lincoln.

All Symfonisk products are part of the Sonos system, making connecting to music and audio content easy, as well as allowing them to be exposed to Apple’s own AirPlay audio ecosystem. Enabled by Dirigera – the IKEA hub for smart products – the SYMFONISK floor lamp speaker can be added to the IKEA Home smart app and be steered together with other smart devices to create scenes that positively affect moments in the home.

The new SYMFONISK floor lamp speaker will be available in all IKEA markets starting January 2023. For more information, contact your local IKEA.

The post IKEA and Sonos launch Symfonisk floor lamp speaker appeared first on Homekit News and Reviews.

Eve Introduce New and Updated Products to IFA 2022

Tado ‘Black Edition’ Smart Thermostat Announced

tedee Go: New Cheaper Smart Lock Announced With Thread

Lutron Release Newly Designed Rocker and Dimmer Switches

Aqara Officially Launch Smart Radiator Thermostat E1 in Europe

Smartmi Introduce Uniquely Designed Humidifier

Sensibo Announce New ‘Elements’ Air Quality Monitor

Aqara Announce Wall-mounted Air Quality Sensor

Yale Launches New Matter and Thread Focussed Assure Smart Lock Collection

Terncy/Xiaoyan Announce Thread-enabled Ceiling Lights

REVIEWS

Ikea Skydrag Cabinet Strip lights (review)

Wemo Smart Dimmer with Thread (review)

YOUTUBE

Ikea Skydrag Cabinet Lighting

The Wemo Smart Dimmer with Thread

The post HomeKit News Roundup (Sept 22) appeared first on Homekit News and Reviews.

With the new IKEA DIRIGERA, the furniture giant will release a brand new hub. This not only looks much more modern than its predecessor on the outside, but the inner features ​​are also convincingly updated. In addition to Zigbee, an Ethernet connection and USB-C, the device also has WLAN and Thread. This means that the new hub can also function as a Thread border router. In addition, the device will eventually support the new smart home standard Matter.

At around €69, however, the new hub will not exactly be a bargain compared to its predecessor. After all, the old device was previously available for just €20, even if IKEA now charges €50 for it. The company will also deliver a new and updated app in October. This will work exclusively with the new hub. Owners of the predecessor must continue to use the currently available app and should receive security updates for at least the next three years. Incidentally, the devices connected to the previous hub will also work with the new IKEA DIRIGERA.

The post Matter & Thread Enabled Ikea Hub Due in October appeared first on Homekit News and Reviews.

The current gateway from IKEA is already on sale. Nevertheless, there will be no new hub before October. Matter, the new smart home standard, which IKEA also plans to support going forward, is also to be released during this period. However, it is still unclear whether the new hub will have official certification from the start. Therefore, the new hub will initially be sold as “matter-ready”.

With the Dirigera Hub, IKEA will also release a completely new Home Smart app. The previous gateway will not be controlled via the new app. Instead, the previous app and the current hub should receive security updates and patches for at least three years.

But back to the new IKEA Dirigera Hub. This comes with USB-C power, as well as an Ethernet connection, and is about half the height of the current gateway. In addition to Zigbee, the new device also supports Thread and can also be integrated via Wi-Fi. The hub is intended to act as a Thread Border Router for other Thread devices in the future. After the Matter certification, other Matter devices should also be able to be connected to the hub.

There is no information about the price at the moment. As soon as we have more information, we will inform you here on HomeKit News and SmartApfel.

The post IKEA Dirigera: New Matter Hub Officially Announced appeared first on Homekit News and Reviews.

The first of these two sources is Ikea themselves, via their Swedish website (amongst others we imagine), which has the product listed and available for purchase for SEK1495.00 (roughly equivalent to UK£126.00, €147.00, or U$172.00). It also reveals in the detailed specs that it is indeed compatible with Apple HomeKit, as well as Amazon Alexa, although Google is not mentioned.

The second source comes from a German YouTube channel that (we assume) is putting the new Ikea product through its paces, whilst also revealing it being exposed to the presenter’s HomeKit setup. It doesn’t appear to be done so unofficially either, as the Ikea Home Smart app is listed within the settings section.

If you’re not aware of the new Ikea Starkvind, it comes in two separate formats, and in two finishes. Here are some specs;

The post New Ikea Air Purifier Confirmed as HomeKit Compatible appeared first on Homekit News and Reviews.

The updated speaker/lamp is smaller than the original in part due to customer feedback;

“Since launching the first SYMFONISK table lamp speaker, we learned a lot about how and where they are being used. For example, a lot of people use the lamp speaker on a nightstand, which led us to create a new, slightly smaller lamp base. We’re now also offering customers more design choices, making the lamp speaker a better fit for their individual homes”, says Stjepan Begic, product owner at IKEA of Sweden. “By integrating a speaker into a table lamp, we can save space, decrease clutter, and create atmosphere with both light and sound,” he adds.

 The new table lamp speaker allows greater personalisation as the product is now divided into the speaker lamp base and the speaker lampshade, which are being sold separately. Customers can choose between a black or white version of the lamp base, as well as two lampshades in different styles and colours: A textile or glass lampshade, in either black or white. The new lamp also supports a broader range of light bulbs thanks to the added E26/E27 socket.

The new Symfonisk table lamp speaker features a completely new acoustic architecture that uses a custom waveguide, creating a great sound experience, from any angle. The lamp speaker connects over WiFi and can be used as the only sound source in a room, or it can be connected with other Sonos products, including those from the Symfonisk range. As with all Symfonisk products, this speaker is also part of the Sonos system, easily connecting listeners to more than 100 streaming services, but it also comes with compatibility with Apple’s AirPlay 2 audio ecosystem, and as such will be exposed to HomeKit and the Home app.

Starting from October 2021, the new table lamp speaker will be available in IKEA stores and on IKEA.com, both in most European territories, as well as North America.

The post Ikea Unveils Updated AirPlay 2 Lamp-Speaker Combo appeared first on Homekit News and Reviews.