Ikea launches smart lighting collection

For many folks, the easiest entry into the smart home world is through a smart light bulb, which often means that by literally just changing a bulb, you can start controlling lighting wirelessly. Furniture retailer Ikea certainly got the memo and is expanding its home tech offerings with Trådfri, a new line of smart lighting announced today.

Arriving two years after Ikea’s collection of wireless charging furniture, Trådfri primarily offers a series of dimmable LED bulbs that can be purchased individually or as part of plug-and-play kits, which you can bring home and deploy right away without any special wiring. Individual bulbs start at $19.99 each and kits range from $19.99 to $79.99.

Smart bulbs on the market are typically controlled with a smartphone app, but Ikea wants to make the process even easier. All the kits include a small circular remote control—reminiscent of the many one-button smart home solutions we saw at CES earlier this year—which lets you control the light in a more tactile manner.

One kit lets you change from cold to warm white light in three clicks and from a “strong and clear” light to a “soft and subtle” one. Another dimmer, which comes in black, white, or yellow and can be hung on the wall or carried around the house, lets you toggle between a strong and subtle light.

“Easy dimming is our starting point and simplicity is key for many people,” Björn Block, Business leader for IKEA Home Smart, tells Curbed. “Therefore we believe that a pre-paired bulb and wireless remote is a great starting point enabling dimming of any lamp in your home, without requiring any installation or downloading of an app.”

But this being 2017, an app is still involved. The Trådfri Android and iOS app will be free to download and offers more advanced features like personal light settings and moods, as well as a timer.

In a further merging of tech and furniture, the Trådfri line also includes smart light doors and panels that can help increase a sense of daylight indoors. The Surte light doors fit right onto Ikea’s Bestå cabinets and the Jormlien light doors onto Sektion kitchen cabinets. The Floalt light panels, available in three sizes, can be mounted on the wall and ceiling.

Trådfri bulbs and dimmers are already up on Ikea’s U.S. website and should be in stores in April. The smart light doors and panels will launch later this summer.