Smart home enthusiasts in the U.S. who have been waiting impatiently for Ikea to release its affordable smart blinds need wait no longer. Despite a series of delays, the blinds are now available to purchase in the U.S., but only in selected stores.
As part of its push into smart home technology, Swedish furniture company Ikea has been offering products like Sonos speakers and smart lights. But there have been even more smart home products available from Ikea stores in Europe, where customers can pick up the Fyrtur smart blinds. These blinds were set to arrive in the U.S. in April, but their launch was delayed for unspecified reasons.
The arrival of the blinds to the U.S. was delayed once again at the start of this month, though the blinds did continue to be available in the U.K. store. But now, the blinds have appeared on Ikea’s U.S. website. They cannot be ordered online, however, so you’ll have to head to one of the selected physical stores if you want to purchase one. At the time of writing, those stores include locations in California, Colorado, Utah, Indiana, and Oregon.
Currently, the blinds are listed as being available at a range of U.S. stores, costing $154 for the 32×76 ¾ ” size or $149 for the 30×76 ¾ ” size. Both sizes are blackout roller-style blinds, which are controlled wirelessly by remote control. That means there’s no need to plug the blinds in, as they are powered by a lithium-ion battery pack which is removable and rechargeable, saving the need for ugly and inconvenient cables. And you can use the Ikea Home smart app to control the blinds, either individually or as a group if you own several of them.
Like other smart home products, the blinds can also be set on a timer so they raise or lower when the sun rises or sets, or when you leave or arrive at home. The products can currently also be controlled through Google Home using the Trådfri gateway, and Ikea promises that support for Apple HomeKit and Amazon Alexa will be coming soon.
Other products in Ikea’s Trådfri smart home range include smart plugs, smart lights and remote controls, signal repeaters, and smart LED light panels. This is in addition to the speakers, smart lamps, and wireless chargers which the company also now sells.
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