Got IKEA smart lights? You can now control them directly from your Apple Watch

• IKEA has launched a version of its smart home app for Apple Watch
• The app lets you control your IKEA smart lights from your wrist
• Support for other smart devices may be added at a later date

IKEA has released a new version of its smart home app for Apple Watch. The app hasn't been announced officially yet, but has appeared in the App Store and lets you control your IKEA smart lights from your wrist.

As Polly Allcock of Notebookcheck notes, the change log for the IKEA Home Smart app doesn't mention the new watchOS app, but screengrabs show that it will let you toggle your smart lights on and off, adjust their brightness, choose lighting scenes, and pick custom colors from a palette.

IKEA Home Smart for iPad, iPhone and Android also lets you control other devices, including smart speakers, blinds, and air purifiers, but the screengrabs of the WatchOS version only show options for smart lights. It's possible that more devices will be added with a future update.

To use the app, you'll need watchOS 10.6 or later, plus an IKEA Dirigera hub, which lets you connect your IKEA devices to one another, and works as a Matter bridge.

More bright ideas

Don't have IKEA lights? Not to worry, you can use your Apple Watch to operate any smart bulbs and lamps that are compatible with Apple HomeKit. The exact options available will depend on which lights you own, but you'll usually be able to turn them on and off, dim them, and change their color with a tap and a swipe. See Apple's guide for full instructions.

Govee makes some of the best smart lights we've tested, and its Govee Home app for Apple Watch lets you toggle lights on and off, tweak their brightness, and check the status of other devices like smart thermostats and thermometers.

There's no longer an official Philips Hue app for Apple Watch (Signify, the company behind Hue, dropped it a few years ago), but you can still operate your Hue lights from your wrist using Apple HomeKit, or one of the many third-party apps on the App Store such as Hue for Watch.

How do you prefer to control your smart lights, and which apps do you recommend? Let us know in the comments.

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