Ikea Varmblixt smart bulb review: A sweet treat

Popular IKEA Hot flash lamp just got Smart home glow. The delightful bulb light now features color changing, dimming and smart home control. I tested the new smart bulb in my daughter’s room and found that it makes a great bedside lamp and adds a fun touch of ambiance to her space. Although she’s rarely a fan of adding smart technology to her room, she gave this one the “It’s Cute” badge — high praise from my 15-year-old daughter.

The donut lamp, as it is known for its distinctive shape that resembles everyone’s favorite dessert, can be mounted on the wall or placed flat on the table. It comes with a long power cable, which helps with placement, and differs from its non-Smart counterpart in that it has a matte finish rather than the original’s glossy glow. The matte finish looks very stylish and helps the new colors stand out – the old version just glowed orange.

At $100, the Varmblixt is a bit of a luxury gadget, but if you’ve shopped for an accent light, you’ll know this is a good price. The lamp isn’t super bright, giving out 180 lumens, so it’s not intended for task lighting (my daughter isn’t the type to read in bed), but it gives enough of a glow on the bright white setting to cast perfectly usable light in her small room.

The button on the device makes it easy to turn off the light, and it’s pre-paired Remote road trip It has two buttons that can control the light, turning it on or off, dimming, and cycling through 12 preset colors. These include shades of white, blue, green, pink, orange and yellow “curated” by the lamp designer, Artist Sabine Marcellis.

The lamp bulb is rated to last 25,000 hours, but the good news is that it is user replaceable. Additionally, the remote uses AAA batteries, which are cheaper and easier to replace than the coin cell batteries found in most remote controls.

If you add the lamp to Ikea’s Home Smart app using it Live hub ($109) Or a Matter-compatible ecosystem — like Apple Home, Google Home, or Amazon Alexa — you can unlock hundreds of additional colors, the ability to schedule light, set sleep/wake scenes, and pair it with a motion sensor and other lights in your room. Using the Dirigera hub, you can also enable Ikea’s adaptive lighting feature which gradually adjusts white throughout the day to mimic daylight. The lamp also works with Apple Home Adaptive Lighting.

Overall, it’s a simple smart bulb, with fun features out of the box and the ability to unlock more functions. My only real issue is that Varmblixt seems somewhat dull when turned off.

Varmblixt is part of IKEA’s new line of ultra-affordable smart home appliances They start at about $5. They are all used A question above the topic for communicationInstead of the Zigbee protocol that the previous Tradfri line was based on. I have tested several new devices, which include Smart bulb dockthe Myggspray motion sensorthe Smart plug barbecue zone, Smart buttons for the road tripthe Timmerflotte temperature sensorand With albusto Monitor indoor air quality.

All Matter tools can be paired with Ikea’s Dirigera hub or with any Matter-enabled platform – including Apple Home, Google Home and Amazon Alexa. The benefit of Matter here is that if you already own a Thread-enabled Matter controller — such as an Apple HomePod, Amazon Echo Show, or Google TV Streamer — you won’t need to purchase an additional hub to get the added functionality.

However, since IKEA launched the new line earlier this year, I (and… Others) have encountered Communication problems with new tools, Whether with Matter platforms or with the Dirigera Centre. IKEA acknowledged the problems and released them Number of updates to its center over the past few months. This seemed to solve some of the issues, and I was able to install the lamp and remote into the Dirigera on the first try. Additionally, after a week of testing, the lamp and remote connection was mostly solid.

I had difficulties getting the bulb into Apple Home via Matter. But after the fourth attempt (and leaving it for a week while I was on vacation), it finally connected. However, sharing the device from Apple Home to Home Smart using Matter’s Multi-Admin feature did not work. I was finally able to get the bulb to work on both platforms by first pairing it with the Dirigera, then using the Matter code generated in the Home Smart app to connect to the Apple Home.

The good news is that, unlike other new products in IKEA’s smart home line, the Varmblixt doesn’t require a smart home connection. It works with the included remote out of the box without the hub.

Setting up the lamp was generally straightforward. Although my remote wasn’t pre-paired, Ikea’s basic instructions were clear enough to connect the lamp and remote with a few button presses — much simpler than Ikea’s complex Tradfri pairing process. Once paired, it quickly responds to a single button press to turn it on or off, a double press to change color, and a long press to dim. Although after I paired it with a Dirigera hub from Ikea, I did experience occasional lag.

To connect it to the Dirigera, I had to reset both the bulb and the Bilresa remote by holding down their programming buttons for a few seconds, then scanning their Matter QR code in the Home Smart app with my iPhone. Once connected, I placed both devices in the same room in the app and was given the option to pair the remote to the lamp.

The app connection allows me to use my phone to adjust brightness, choose from a wide range of colors and adjustable whites, enable adaptive lighting, and set up scenes. The Home Smart app also offers preset sleep/wake scenes, which gradually dim and brighten the lamp over the course of 30 minutes — perfect for the bedroom setup I was testing.

With the remote connected to Home Smart, I can add more functionality to the buttons by turning them into a scene controller. This allows me to control any scenes I’ve created in the app by pressing different buttons. I set up a lighting scene to evoke the color purple, which I liked because it matched the room’s decor, along with other lighting scenes that suited how my daughter used the room.

The remote can also control multiple lights, so if I outfit my daughter’s room with compatible Ikea or Matter lighting and smart plugs, the Bilresa can manage all of those lights — which is impressive for Tool $6.

Another benefit of connecting the lamp to the Dirigera hub is that I can add the new $9 from Ikea Myggspray motion sensor into the room and turn on the lamp when motion is detected.

This worked well, and the app offers basic settings that can be adjusted when it detects motion. I remember when motion sensors and smart buttons cost up to $30. I’m very excited to see the smart home becoming more accessible to everyone.

I’ve tested a lot of smart lighting products, and this is one of my new favorite lighting products, thanks to its affordable price, fun design, and extensive functionality when connected to my smart home, plus its ability to blend well with my home decor. It combines form and function in a stylish package.

There aren’t many smart products designed to look beautiful in your home, but this is definitely one of them. While smart bulbs and lighting fixtures from companies like Govee and Nanoleaf, with their flashy RGB lighting effects, are fun for a certain period of time and space, Varmblixt is more versatile.

Philips Hue and LIFX both offer some good-looking lighting fixtures, but they’re more expensive than Ikea bulbs and don’t come with replaceable bulbs. With its home furnishing heritage, focus on low prices, and the help of artist Marsilis, IKEA has created a truly delightful smart lamp that’s not only beautiful, but also affordable and practical.

Photos and video by Jennifer Pattison Toohey/The Verge