What you need to know
- Ikea plans to release three new smart home sensors: an entry point sensor for doors and windows, a liquid sensor, and a motion sensor.
- These new sensors will not support Matter at launch, but they support Ikea's Dirigera home hub, which the company has promised will support Matter.
- All three sensors are affordable, with expected retail prices of under $10. You can buy them in select regions starting in January, with the rollout concluding in July 2024.
Ikea announced today a new lineup of three low-cost smart sensors that can detect motion, the status of an entry point, and water leaks. The sensors will become available for purchase starting in January, but you could have to wait as late as July depending on what sensor you're looking for and your region.
The standout characteristic of these sensors is their price, which is expected to be less than $10 each. This could be a game changer for people interested in smart home monitoring, as it may finally be relatively affordable to outfit an entire home with sensors without breaking the bank.
The first sensor to come to market will be the motion sensor, and it's designed for use both outdoors and indoors. The sensor, called Vallhorn, can activate lights automatically when motion is detected. Users can configure the lights' color and intensity to their preferences, too.
For smart home security, Ikea plans to release a contact sensor called Parasoll. The two-part sensor is fairly slim and can let users know when a point of entry has been opened. This is ideal for use with doors and windows.
It's perhaps the most intriguing sensor of the bunch since Ikea's low pricing might make it possible for users to install a sensor on all the entry points in their homes. Though many competing options exist on the market today, none are available as cheaply as Ikea's new sensor.
That leaves Ikea's upcoming liquid detection sensor, called Badring. This is a simple sensor that you hopefully won't have to use often but could save a lot of money and hardship if you need it. After you place this sensor near a water source — like the floor of a laundry room — it will notify you and play an alarm if water is detected. In theory, it allows you to stop the leak before more irreversible water damage occurs.
All three sensors are designed to work with Ikea's Dirigera smart home hub, which costs $69. The sensors can function without the hub, but functionality will be more restricted. For example, the water sensor can sound an alarm without being connected to a hub. However, the hub is required for wireless notifications.
The Dirigera smart home hub also allows all three products to work with Google Home. Matter support is yet to come, as Ikea still hasn't released the promised update to Dirigera that would enable the standard.
"Over time, our entire smart product range will support Matter via our DIRIGERA hub, which will serve as a Matter bridge - an entry and connection point to Matter products," an Ikea customer service page reads.
When asked about the status of Matter following the announcement of these three new sensors, Ikea told The Verge it "decided to delay this functionality." Furthermore, the company said it would give updates "when it's time."
The new sensors do not have official U.S. pricing yet, but they're priced at €9.99 or less in Europe and should all be less than $10 in the U.S. Vallhorn will be available in January in both the U.S. and Europe, while Parasoll will debut in January in Europe and April in the U.S. Finally, Badring will release in April in Europe and July in the U.S.
