IKEA is launching 26 Matter-compatible devices in the beginning of 2026. Will you be able to use them directly with the Matter binding, or do you need a (hardware) Matter hub?
No, you do not need a Hardware Matter Hub
You need a home network router, which you already have.
For Matter over Thread, generally these are battery operated devices, you need a Thread Border Router.
For Matter over WiFi or Ethernet, these are generally mains powered devices, you do not need anything.
1 Like
Matter is a little confusing IMO so I want to expand on @smitopher’s answer.
Matter can work over WiFi, BT (maybe, originally it was supposed to, but I’ve never seen a BT Matter device), or Thread.
If the device does Matter over WiFi you don’t need anything. An IPv6 enabled WiFi network and openHAB with the Matter binding should be all you need. openHAB will be your hub.
If the device does Matter over Thread though, you will need a Thread Border Router (TBR) on your network. Many devices come with a TBR built in including Apply TVs, some Google Next devices, some Amazon Echo Devices, Dirigera hub, etc. If you are adventurous there is also a DIY TBR you can put together based on ESP32s. These act as a bridge between the Thread mesh network and the WiFi network.
Based on this from the article I would say that you probably do need a Thread Border Router for at least some of these devices.
All Matter-enabled products need a smart home hub to work — like IKEA’s DIRIGERA hub, or one from another brand. As a certified Matter controller, DIRIGERA can also manage and control smart products from other manufacturers and brands. As a Matter Bridge, it ensures that existing IKEA non-Matter smart products will also be compatible with platforms using the Matter standard.
I would expect all of the battery powered devices (i.e. the sensors) will use Thread.
Finally, there is a concept in Matter called a “bridge”. A bridge acts as a proxy for a whole Matter network, making all of those devices avaialble to another Matter network. Bridges can be linked together and make all the devices in both Matter networks mutually accessible. The TBR is a special type of such a bridge. openHAB can also be such a bridge. This is what allows one to for example, pair a bunch of devices with a Dirigera hub and then pair that with openHAB to make all the Dirgera devices available to openHAB and all openHAB Items with matter metadata accessible to Dirigera. All communication is local as well.
2 Likes
I would say “disappointingly confusing”. They saddled Matter/Thread with a lot of lingo that is not easily explained. I get why a border router is a border router and not a hub, but the average consumer doesn’t. Of course, it was always going to be awkward with Matter using multiple wireless standards, so I might be overly critical here.
All I’ve seen are devices that use BT for the initial pairing to the Matter network, and then never again.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the new IKEA devices have virtually the same electronics as the old IKEA devices, with slightly redesigned shells to make them recognizably different and the Zigbee radios firmware-upgraded to Thread. This would enable IKEA to just leave the older Zigbee stuff “as is” so that they don’t break working systems, while allowing homeowners to continue adding new devices to their DIRIGERA hubs. And it’s probably a lot less confusing for their customers.
2 Likes
That is the specification