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The best Ikea smart home gadgets

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Where can you go to find furniture, bedding, kitchenware, home decor, delectable Swedish meatballs, and melt-in-your-mouth cinnamon rolls? Yes, you can hop in the car and score a number of these items on a multi-store errand run, but there’s only one emporium that houses everything mentioned under one roof (particularly the meatballs and cinnamon treats), and that’s Ikea.

A go-to shopping center with a focus on modern yet minimalist design, Ikea features massive showrooms, bountiful inventory, and plenty of consumer tech as well. On par with Best Buy, Target, and other major brick-and-mortar competition, Ikea’s shelves are stocked with several smart home products.

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Looking to add smart lighting to your home? Considering automated blinds? Ikea has got you covered, and so do we. Hoping to make your next Ikea excursion one filled with gadgets for you and yours, we’ve put together this roundup to highlight the best smart home products you can buy at Ikea right now.

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At a glance

Best Ikea smart home hub: Trådfri Gateway

Ikea Trådfri hub next to a phone with the Ikea Home smart app opened.

Did you know that Ikea’s entire lineup of smart home products is all part of one smart ecosystem? Similar to Philips Hue and Samsung SmartThings, Ikea’s many lighting products, electric blinds, and smart plugs require a web-connected hub to allow you to control and manage all of these devices using the Ikea app or a smart home assistant (Alexa, Google Assistant, HomeKit). That’s what the Ikea Trådfri is for.

Available as part of a smart home starter kit for $70 (Trådfri, three smart bulbs, and a remote control) or as a stand-alone Trådfri for $35, setup is as simple as connecting the hub to your router, downloading the Ikea Home smart app (available for iOS and Android devices), and following the on-screen steps to get the gateway activated. During initial setup, you can also choose which (if any) voice assistant you would like to control your Ikea gadgets with.

Similar to the Philips Hue app, the Trådfri hub and Ikea’s Home smart app allow you to break your smart lights up into multiple control zones, allowing you to adjust brightness, color, and power for groups of bulbs or individually.

If you’ve picked up Ikea smart bulbs or a smart switch and already own an Echo speaker, Hue, or SmartThings hub, it’s not necessary to purchase the Trådfri hub, as similar to the aforementioned brands, Ikea’s gateway is powered by Zigbee. As long as your home is running one Zigbee hub, your Ikea smart tech should nicely shake hands with your existing controller.

Best Ikea smart lights: Trådfri LED bulbs

Ikea's Trådfri multicolored bulbs.

Ikea’s web-connected lighting options include everything from individual LED bulbs and light strips to cabinet lights, door panels, and the kits and accessories to control all of this hardware.

If you’re starting from nothing, we recommend going with the previously mentioned Trådfri Gateway starter kit, as the bundle comes with two E12 small-base LED bulbs, one E26 large bulb, and a remote control for power and dimming. This will also set you up for zone controls that you can create and manage through the Ikea Home smart app or with your preferred voice assistant.

Want to add some color to your living space? The Trådfri LED E12 450 lumen is a multi-hue bulb that allows you to choose between nine colors and various warm and cool tones using the Home app or Trådfri remote.

Best of all, LED power means you can expect up to 25,000 hours of operation from many of these Trådfri bulbs. Whether you’re looking for something basic or require a more advanced smart-light system based on mood, colors, and dimmers, Ikea has all your lumens needs in mind.

Best Ikea smart blinds: Fyrtur and Kadrilj

Fyrtur blackout blinds in a bedroom.

Smart blinds are a savvy investment for several reasons. Automated shades can help lower your energy bill, deter thieves, and allow you to regulate exactly how much sunlight you’re letting into your home, all from your smartphone or remote.

When it comes to smart blinds, Ikea offers two options: Fyrtur blackout blinds and Kadrilji rollout blinds (not available in the U.S.). Like competitive smart blind manufacturers, Ikea’s lineup is motorized thanks to a built-in battery pack. Once linked to your Trådfri gateway or other compatible smart hub, you can raise and lower your blinds with the Home smart app or voice assistant.

You can also create customized automation routines for your blinds to follow. Imagine waking up every morning and saying, “Alexa, I’m awake,” followed by the action of your blinds opening and the news of the day playing on your bedside smart speaker.

Ikea’s smart blinds are available in a number of sizes and configurations, so be sure to take exact window measurements before purchasing.

Best Ikea smart plug: Trådfri smart plug

Tradfri smart plug connected to a bathroom outlet.

Want to be able to automate your dehumidifier, desk fan, and coffee maker? While more and more appliances are adding smart capabilities, not every brand is on the Alexa wagon just yet. That’s where smart plugs come into play, and our friends at Ikea have another Trådfri offering that fits the bill.

These individual smart plugs are available for $10 individually and through several Ikea smart home bundles. Once connected and paired to your Trådfri gateway or other hub, you’ll be able to control up to 10 different smart plugs at once with physical on/off toggling and timers.

Do keep in mind that in order to interface the plugs with your Ikea smart ecosystem, you’ll also need to purchase a Trådfri remote, motion sensor, or dimmer.

Best Ikea smart speaker: Symfonisk table lamp

Symfonisk table lamp in white.

We’re no strangers to Sonos at Digital Trends. Long hailed as one the premiere wireless music speakers, Sonos allows you to pair and stream tunes from a myriad of top music platforms, Internet radio stations, and directly from your device, all through the Sonos app.

Partnering with Ikea in 2019, both companies combined elements of design and top-notch audio engineering to bring us the Symfonisk family of bookshelf speakers, smart lamps, and picture frames. Our focus today is on the table lamp.

Available in black and white finishes, the base of the lamp is covered in a fabric mesh to allow sound to travel out from the internal drivers. In true Sonos fashion, users can expect well-balanced midrange, delicate high frequencies, and rich bass underneath. Controllable through the Sonos app, you can stream music and podcasts from all your favorite platforms and stations with ease, just as you would with a regular Sonos speaker.

If you’re using Apple hardware, the Symfonisk is also Airplay 2-compatible, allowing you to wirelessly send tunes from your mobile device directly to the speaker. While the Symfonisk doesn’t feature onboard support of Alexa or Google Assistant, you can still control the speaker with Alexa through a Sonos One or Beam.

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Michael Bizzaco
Michael Bizzaco
AV Contributor
Michael Bizzaco has been selling, installing, and talking about TVs, soundbars, streaming devices, and all things smart home…
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