Source: The Verge
Rather than treating Ikea's smart home products as interchangeable Matter devices, Samsung's SmartThings is building deeper native integration that makes Ikea products feel like first-class citizens in its ecosystem. Matter's promise of device interoperability has historically meant lowest-common-denominator experiences—devices work together, but lack the polish of proprietary ecosystems. Samsung and Ikea are betting that the real competitive advantage in smart home consolidation isn't just achieving compatibility; it's who can build the best experience *on top* of the open standard. The next battleground is ecosystem software and UX, not hardware lockdown.