"It was a banner year for smart home products, but the big trends I saw weren't about new product categories; they were about bringing better features and lower prices to smart home staples such as smart lighting, smart locks, cameras, and TVs. This is what I expected the launch of the interoperability protocol Matter would bring. Once companies could stop spending time and money on working on integrating with half a dozen platforms, they could focus on developing new features and lowering prices."
"Out of the box, the Varmblixt comes with a paired Bliresa remote so you can control the warmth of its white LED lighting and switch through 12 curated preset colors. Then, if you want more control, you can connect it to Ikea's HomeSmart app via the Dirigera hub and take advantage of its Matter-over-Thread connectivity. This allows for more color options, brightness controls, and the ability to pair it to other smart home platforms so you can connect with lights from other brands."
Top CES 2026 smart home gadgets include Aqara's Smart Lock U400 and Roborock's Saros Rover robot vacuum. The event focused on improving features and lowering prices for smart lighting, locks, cameras, and TVs. Matter interoperability reduced integration overhead, allowing manufacturers to prioritize new features and cost reductions as Matter device categories expand. Ikea's Varmblixt lamp ships with a paired Bliresa remote for warmth and 12 preset colors, supports Dirigera hub connection and Matter-over-Thread for expanded colors, brightness, and cross-brand pairing, costs $99.99, and releases April 2026. Lifx's smart mirror uses front and back LEDs, de-fogging, and a makeup-check mode cycling daylight colors.
Read at The Verge
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