Last month, IKEA launched its own line of low-cost smart lighting, called TRÅDFRI, and up until now, users have had to rely on a remote control or a proprietary app to use the product. But no longer.
Today, the Swedish retailer announced that their IKEA Home Smart products will respond to voice commands from Alexa, Siri, and Google Assistant starting this summer. Additionally, the product line will integrate with Apple’s HomeKit. "With IKEA Home Smart we challenge everything that is complicated and expensive with the connected home. Making our products work with others on the market takes us one step closer to meet people’s needs, making it easier to interact with your smart home products," said IKEA Home Smart’s business leader Björn Block.
Traditionally, smart lighting systems are pricey. Take Philips Hue, perhaps the best known smart lighting system. The Philips Hue Bridge 2.0, which supports 50 Hue lights, costs $60. In comparison, IKEA’s Smart Lighting System’s TRÅDFRI Gateway is half that price — just $30, though the number of lights it supports is unclear. Hue provides more choice in bulb types, from floodlights to spotlights, but IKEA wins on price — their standard bulb is priced at $12, compared to Hue’s $15. A $3 difference may not seem like much, but when you’re replacing every bulb in your house, that seemingly small gap can add up quickly.
Smart lighting systems may have once been a quirk for those with too much money on their hands, but with their arrival at IKEA, it looks like they’re here to stay. IKEA’s aggressive pricing makes smart, voice-controlled lighting more accessible to a wider range of potential buyers.
Source: Ikea
via Engadget
IKEA’s affordable smart lights will dim with your voice