Ikea is 'just getting started' in smart home peripheral market

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Ikea has announced that it will aggressively grow its burgeoning smart home line that includes HomeKit compatibility, and is creating a daughter company called "Ikea Home smart" to do so.




The foundation of Ikea Home smart was built in 2012, and the expansion will see it as the central hub responsible for the smart home business end-to-end.

"At Ikea we want to continue to offer products for a better life at home for the many people going forward," Ikea's Bjorn Block, Head of the new business unit said in a statement. "In order to do so we need to explore products and solutions beyond conventional home furnishing."

Ikea Home smart has launched products that feature smart lighting, wireless charging, and with the Sonos partnership, smart sound as well.

Ikea says that they continue to work to establish relationships with major companies in hopes of expanding their business further. The company plans on investing more money, time, and resources into Ikea Home smart.

"This is the biggest New Business we are establishing since the introduction of Children's Ikea," said Peter van Der Poel, Manager of Ikea Range & Supply.

Ikea initially created Tradfri, its smart lighting system and app. That app has since been renamed Ikea Home smart. When the Tradfri line of smart home accessories originally debuted, the company had a significant amount of hurdles keeping them from integrating with HomeKit.

All of Ikea's smart home peripherals have always been controllable from within the Ikea Home smart app. With the addition of a hub, nearly the entire line is now compatible with Apple HomeKit, Google Assistant, and Amazon Alexa.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 11
    Still am all in and enjoy the Phillips Hue Lighting system.
    williamlondon
  • Reply 2 of 11
    I've probably got 20 Ikea smart lightbulbs, with motion sensors and dimmer switches. All work perfectly with Homekit. Really pleased with my purchase as they are more than half of the price of Phillips Hue here in the UK.
    williamlondonwatto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 11
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    Come on then Ikea, I want my own Number Six fully integrated with my Apple ecosystem. (Battlestar Galactica remake reference)
    jbdragonwatto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 11
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member
    MacPro said:
    Come on then Ikea, I want my own Number Six fully integrated with my Apple ecosystem. (Battlestar Galactica remake reference)
    We got it :-)
  • Reply 5 of 11
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member
    wattouk said:
    I've probably got 20 Ikea smart lightbulbs, with motion sensors and dimmer switches. All work perfectly with Homekit. Really pleased with my purchase as they are more than half of the price of Phillips Hue here in the UK.
    Yeah, I jumped in too soon with the Hue. The Ikea set up looks a lot more flexible. 
    edited August 2019 watto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 11
    kkqd1337kkqd1337 Posts: 424member
    It’s a bit worrying that this is just an announcement of intention. I hope this doesn’t mean products are years away....
    williamlondonwatto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 11
    entropysentropys Posts: 4,152member
    I am keen on the controllable blinds soon for release.
    lolliverStrangeDayswatto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 11
    Rayz2016 said:
    wattouk said:
    I've probably got 20 Ikea smart lightbulbs, with motion sensors and dimmer switches. All work perfectly with Homekit. Really pleased with my purchase as they are more than half of the price of Phillips Hue here in the UK.
    Yeah, I jumped in too soon with the Hue. The Ikea set up looks a lot more flexible. 
    To be honest, Hue are probably a better product but I would, and do recommend the IKEA stuff to everyone as it hits the sweet spot on price. They also seem to be getting involved in a lot of smart home stuff so I'm excited to see where it will end up.
    lolliverStrangeDayswatto_cobra
  • Reply 9 of 11
    entropysentropys Posts: 4,152member
    Rayz2016 said:
    wattouk said:
    I've probably got 20 Ikea smart lightbulbs, with motion sensors and dimmer switches. All work perfectly with Homekit. Really pleased with my purchase as they are more than half of the price of Phillips Hue here in the UK.
    Yeah, I jumped in too soon with the Hue. The Ikea set up looks a lot more flexible. 
    You should not regret it. First movers always face this risk. Competition will bring the future price of hues down anyway.
    lolliverrazorpitStrangeDayswatto_cobra
  • Reply 10 of 11
    22july201322july2013 Posts: 3,564member
    entropys said:
     will bring the future price of hues down anyway.

    Maybe, but right now I’m looking closely at ikea and not looking at hue. 

    Here’s looking at Hue, kid. 
    razorpitFileMakerFellerwatto_cobra
  • Reply 11 of 11
    AppleExposedAppleExposed Posts: 1,805unconfirmed, member
    Man never thought about it but Ikea would have been the perfect partner/acquisition for Apple Home. Would have given Apple an advantage before everyone copied and cluttered the market.
    watto_cobra
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