Ikea’s new range of Smart Home Gear is quietly changing the game

I always have been IKEA fan. I lived in nine different apartments over the course of 15 years before moving into my own, and each one of those places had an abundance of Ikea furniture. But the latest thing to catch my eye from Ikea isn’t the bold new blue color of the Billy bookcase, but the brand’s expanded and updated smart home equipment.

IKEA announced last year that… A new collection of smart home gadgets It will be fully compatible with the material. This is a big deal, as well Open source interoperability standard Amazon, Apple, and Google have signed up, which means these devices will work well with Alexa, Siri, and Google’s anonymous voice assistant. While some of this equipment has been available for a short time, much of the lineup — like the latest light bulbs and smart plugs — is new. These are now some of the most affordable smart home gadgets available, and in my experience, they’re also some of the best when it comes to ease of setup and price.

IKEA still uses them Live axle ($110) Which launched a few years ago, so if you’re already an Ikea Smart Home user, you won’t need a new hub to start using these tools. But new users should choose one if they don’t have thread enabled, Compatible with the material Smart home hub in their home.

Here’s the gear I tried out from IKEA’s new smart home range, and how it went.

Wharf bulb

Photo: Nina Farrell

One of Ikea’s major new products, which was just launched last April, is a new light bulb. Smart light bulbs are one of the most used items in my home, and one of the most accessible and useful smart home products out there.

the Smart bulb dock It has 11 different types, ranging from the classic standard E26 bulb to Edison style dimmable bulbs. The lamps are well priced, ranging from just $6 for a 450 lumen white bulb only For highlights even $13 for a 1100 lumen color bulb. This makes it a bit cheaper than my favorite Cync Smart bulbbut you’ll miss out on the extras like music sync that more expensive bulbs offer, which I don’t find myself using very often.

The Kajplats bulb was easy to set up in my home, and since I’m an iPhone user, I also used the Matter to sync with my Apple Home app as well as my Ikea app. I wish these came in more packaged bulbs instead of always having to buy them custom made, but it’s a solid bulb at a good price. Just check the lumens before you check out to make sure you don’t accidentally buy the cheap, dim color when you need something bright enough to fill the room.