After a bit of a rollercoaster ride, Ikea is finally delivering on a promise made two years ago. The Swedish furniture giant is rolling out non-beta firmware for its Dirigera smart home hub, and it’s a big deal because it means the hub is now fully Matter-compatible.

Let’s rewind to 2022. That’s when Ikea first introduced the Dirigera hub with the bold claim that it would support Matter—a new standard designed to make smart home devices from different brands play nicely together. In theory, this meant you could connect everything from your Apple HomeKit gadgets to various other smart devices without a hitch.

But as is often the case with tech promises, the reality didn’t quite match up. Ikea’s spokesperson at the time admitted that the company was working towards Matter certification “step-by-step,” with an update supposedly just a few months away. Spoiler alert: it wasn’t ready.

The Dirigera hub’s journey wasn’t smooth sailing. It took several months for even the non-Matter version to make its way to the US market. Fast forward to May 2024, and Ikea started talking about Matter support again, with an ever-approaching release date. Now, as of September 11, 2024, the long-awaited Matter support is finally here.

“IKEA is taking the next step in creating a better and simpler smart home experience with the introduction of Matter support for the Dirigera hub,” the company stated in the blog post. “Starting from September 11, any smart products connected to the Dirigera hub will be compatible with smart home platforms that use the Matter standard.”

Damir Smrkovic, Ikea’s Platform and Technology leader, added, “We understand how important it is for our customers to have smart products that work effortlessly together. [Now users] no longer need to worry about compatibility—everything will just work together, easily and efficiently.”

Despite the delays, it’s worth noting that Ikea was actually one of the founding board members of the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA), the organization behind the Matter standard. So, while it’s been a bumpy ride, Ikea is finally catching up.

And while Ikea was lagging on the Matter front, Apple has been all in from the start, championing the standard despite its rocky adoption. With Ikea’s Dirigera hub now onboard, it’s a significant step towards a more seamless smart home experience for everyone. Stay tuned for more updates from Ikea, as they promise more exciting news on the horizon.