This year I’m excited for phones that fold and new devices with E Ink screens, but it’s IKEA, surprisingly, that has blown me away with its newest line of tech—and its new temperature and humidity sensor is an example of the kind of device I most love to see.
A tech product that doesn’t look like tech
Tech that looks like tech? It’s a vibe. If you’re really into giant transparent desktop towers that show off all the components inside, I get it. Microchips can be alluring in the right context. Nuts, bolts, and wires can make something feel punk.
More often than not, though, I prefer for tech to make an effort to mask itself. I understand server-rack batteries cost much less than a product like the Anker SOLIX F3800 Plus, but I’m only willing to look at one of them in the corner of my pantry.
The IKEA TIMMERFLOTTE is a product I don’t feel the need to hide at all. It’s a little white puck whose purpose is hidden until you press down on its front, causing the temperature and humidity to briefly appear. It’s so tastefully designed, I’ve incorporated it into the art arrangement above my desk. It made a surprise appearance in my review of the SwitchBot AI Art Frame.
A smart device that is just as good dumb
The TIMMERFLOTTE is part of IKEA’s latest line of smart home devices. It’s a small sensor that connects to your smart home hub via Matter, allowing you to see a room’s temperature and humidity within an app.
If you have your home set up in Apple Home, Samsung SmartThings, or Home Assistant, then you need a device like the TIMMERFLOTTE if you want to see the interior climate in various parts of your home that are perhaps too far away to be represented by the temperature on a smart thermostat. It’s a cheaper alternative to products like the SwitchBot Meter Plus.
Even if you have no interest in smart home products, the TIMMERFLOTTE is still a good buy. Regardless of whether you ever pair it to an app, the product will still display the temperature and humidity whenever you press down (the TIMMERFLOTTE is essentially a giant button). I’ve seen digital thermometers before. Rarely do they look this nice.
Setup couldn’t be easier
You don’t need to read lengthy instructions to get the TIMMERFLOTTE up and running. The most confusing aspect is taking off the back cover in order to insert two AAA batteries into the back. That requires inserting a flathead screwdriver into a slot in the bottom, which will be familiar if you’ve purchased any of IKEA’s other Matter products. You access some of their batteries in the same way.
Once the batteries are in, the product immediately powers on. You only have to press down on the front to see the temperature appear for two seconds before showing the humidity for another two seconds. Then it goes back to being a blank puck.
The TIMMERFLOTTE defaults to displaying numbers in Celsius. If your brain, like mine, is accustomed to Fahrenheit, you can make the adjustment by flipping a switch on the back directly under the batteries. It’s a one-time action that you’ll likely never have to think about again unless you purchase more than one.
The most complex aspect of the product isn’t anything IKEA has done. Rather, it’s the fact that this is a basic Matter device. There is no companion app required for installation, nor do you need to download IKEA’s smart home app or purchase the company’s DIRIGERA hub to get full functionality. You do, however, need to know what Matter is and understand how it works.
A basic Matter device, no companion app required
Personally speaking, Matter is the reason I’m now comfortable building a smart home. This open standard means I’m not entrenching myself deeper into one company’s ecosystem every time I buy a bulb or air purifier. Last year I bought 50 smart switches at once, and that’s not a leap I would have taken if I would have to be forever dependent on TP-Link’s Tapo app continuing to exist, and its servers being online, for my lights to function.
Matter, however, comes with quirks. You have to know how to scan QR codes when prompted inside your smart home app, which means you already need to have a smart home platform set up. Not all platforms do as good a job supporting Matter, so features available in one may not exist in another, or they will be presented in a way that’s harder to find.
Fortunately, the TIMMERFLOTTE is so simple a product that even those risks are reduced. Google Home’s Matter support may be several versions behind Samsung SmartThings, but even it can read temperature and humidity plus set up automations based on that information. You can also view historical data on some platforms, as I have visible here in the Homey app.
I hope to see a wider ecosystem of Matter products just like this one—devices that compete on design and price rather than proprietary apps, as well as smart gadgets so thoughtfully designed that even if you don’t care about the added tech features, I can recommend them to you all the same.
- Brand
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IKEA
- Type
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Sensor
- Battery
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AAA
- Batteries Required
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Yes
- Measurement Methods Compatible
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Temperature, humidity
- Integrations
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Matter
The IKEA TIMMERFLOTTE is a puck-shaped temperature and humidity sensor. The device comes with Matter-compatibility, allowing it to connect to your smart home hub of choice. It’s powered by two AAA batteries.
