IKEA Announces Affordable Smart Lighting Product Range

[MacRumors]

Swedish home furniture store IKEA announced its own affordable smart lighting system today called Trådfri, which means "wireless" in Swedish.

The Smart Lighting range of products includes Trådfri LED bulbs, a remote dimmer switch puck, a gateway kit, a motion sensor kit, and dimming lights. IKEA is also introducing a selection of LED light panels and doors that can be built into cabinets for the bedroom and kitchen.

The Gateway starter kit will cost around $80 and includes two bulbs, a remote, and a gateway hub to connect everything to the app. The Trådfri bulbs have three white color temperature options (2200K, 2700K, and 4000K) that IKEA claims each last around 25,000 hours.

"The Ikea vision is to bring affordable home furnishing solutions to the many people. We know from research that existing smart lighting technology is perceived to be too expensive and difficult to understand, so we have worked to remove those barriers to make smart lighting more accessible," IKEA Home Furnishing expert Helen Longford said in a statement.

Like the Philips Hue series, IKEA's first range of automated lighting products is based on the ZigBee Light Link standard that got released in a number European countries late last year and should see a larger rollout at the end of this month.

IKEA gives a March 31 availability date for the lighting range in Sweden, with the range expected to arrive in the U.K in April, making them likely to roll out to other countries soon. The IKEA website makes no mention of compatibility with existing smart home platforms like Apple HomeKit, but support for other standards seems likely at some point down the line.

Article Link: IKEA Announces Affordable Smart Lighting Product Range

 

[Solomani]

Are they as difficult to assemble like my Fahrvehrblüten chair and Kromsaänerbuigler ottoman?

 

[Hermes Monster]

Oh great, another set of home automation equipment that doesn't use HomeKit and requires yet another app

 

[aswitcher]

If it uses HomeKit it will sell bananas

 

[Hermes Monster]

If it uses HomeKit it will sell bananas

I don't think it will, as per the article "includes two bulbs, a remote, and a gateway hub to connect everything to the app." makes me think it has its own app,

 

[8692574]

Oh great, another set of home automation equipment that doesn't use HomeKit and requires yet another app

Well the world does not revolve around Apple. ...(thankfully).

Philips hue work beautifully even whithout using homekit (as I am doing on Android) and as for the app, I barely have to use it as lights can be turned on and off from the notification bar.....hardly a "bad thing".

 

[341328]

Oh great, another set of home automation equipment that doesn't use HomeKit and requires yet another app

I like HomeKit but sometimes not needed (but preferred). If price is right, I might suffer the inconvenience. I do now with my air conditioners and automating them using Sensibo.

 

[allenvanhellen]

I don't think it will, as per the article "includes two bulbs, a remote, and a gateway hub to connect everything to the app." makes me think it has its own app,

Hue has its own app, too.

 

[Tork]

Curious, since it's using ZigBee, if the bulbs will play nice with the Hue base station like some (but not all, I believe) other ZigBee bulbs do. There aren't enough (any??) cooler 3-4000K smart bulbs on the market and I'd be very interested in the 4K setting if it's bright enough (800ish lumens). It sucks that even non-smart LED bulbs are generally only available in too-yellow 2700K and too-cool 5000K.

I know some 5000K smart bulbs exist, but they're just too cool for me. And the Hue bulbs with a sliding scale temperature are too dim (500-600ish lumens, depending on the temp setting) and are twice the price. Hope this by chance works!

 

[H2SO4]

Oh great, another set of home automation equipment that doesn't use HomeKit and requires yet another app

Why does it need to support Homekit?

 

[Arran]

Hue has its own app, too.

Yeah, Hue started with it's own app and then migrated to homekit a year or so ago. That's when they released a HomeKit-compatible hub. Upgrading to HomeKit was a simple $40 hub replacement.
[doublepost=1490698781][/doublepost]

Why does it need to support Homekit?

Hey Siri (amongst other things)

 

[DavidDoyle]

The key words here from the quote in the article are 'affordable' and 'expensive'. HomeKit integration has a cost in terms of the need to incorporate a custom HomeKit authentication/encryption chip in each and every device, plus the Apple licensing cost for HomeKit.

Plus not aligning yourself to HomeKit means you can use other mobile operating systems on the same solution...

What's the compelling reason for using HomeKit then? Sounds like using HomeKit means a device that is more expensive to produce, has a per device licensing cost and only supports iOS.

 

[Corrode]

Great to see something more affordable on the market, however, I won't invest without HomeKit support. Security and app-autonomy are my biggest concerns.

 

[Carlanga]

Umm $80 is not affordable vs hue since it's white bulbs ($69) and not color versions. Unless it's fully compatible w HomeKit / google home / echo then I don't see the savings (sure you get a remote) unless bulbs by themselves are to be as cheap as their regular led bulbs.

 

[Robert.Walter]

Hey IKEA, no HomeKit, no sale!

 

[8692574]

Hey Siri (amongst other things)

That's more an issue with Siri than Homekit compatibility..I mean Apple want you to pay them to make it Homekit compatible so you can use Siri...

On Android I can use Google now with my hue wihotut "homekit".

So yes Apple is forcing you to buy more expensive "homekit" devices in order to use a function that would not require homekit at all...

Sounds like using HomeKit means a device that is more expensive to produce, has a per device licensing cost and only supports iOS.

More expensive yes, only support iOS no as hue is homekit compatible but works perfectly on Android (without using homekit .....that's for sure ).

Hey IKEA, no HomeKit, no sale!

I am sure they'll survive, especially as they can bundle some on some furniture, and they'll get you hooked with their system...

 

[yanksfan114]

That's more an issue with Siri than Homekit compatibility..I mean Apple want you to pay them to make it Homekit compatible so you can use Siri...

On Android I can use Google now with my hue wihotut "homekit".

So yes Apple is forcing you to buy more expensive "homekit" devices in order to use a function that would not require homekit at all...

More expensive yes, only support iOS no as hue is homekit compatible but works perfectly on Android (without using homekit .....that's for sure ).

I am sure they'll survive, especially as they can bundle some on some furniture, and they'll get you hooked with their system...

From what I've read on this site, the increase in price and low availability is because of Apple's insane requirements for security. If it's true I wouldn't be opposed to paying that premium.

 

[bluespark]

I don't think it will, as per the article "includes two bulbs, a remote, and a gateway hub to connect everything to the app." makes me think it has its own app,

Nearly every mainstream HomeKit-capable product has its own app. I don't follow your thinking.
[doublepost=1490709117][/doublepost]

The key words here from the quote in the article are 'affordable' and 'expensive'. HomeKit integration has a cost in terms of the need to incorporate a custom HomeKit authentication/encryption chip in each and every device, plus the Apple licensing cost for HomeKit.

Plus not aligning yourself to HomeKit means you can use other mobile operating systems on the same solution...

What's the compelling reason for using HomeKit then? Sounds like using HomeKit means a device that is more expensive to produce, has a per device licensing cost and only supports iOS.

Wow -- some real misconceptions here. For a product to support HomeKit in no way means other operating systems are locked out. They just don't have HomeKit. Nearly everything in my home is HomeKit compatible but also works just fine with any other operating system. Adding a feature doesn't necessarily mean you have to take others away, and it certainly doesn't with HomeKit.

Also, HomeKit does not require that "each and every device" have a special chip. Take Philips Hue, for example (a product that also supports my above point). Individual lights don't connect at all to HomeKit. Rather, they connect to the Hue bridge, which is HomeKit capable. That bridge manages the HomeKit integration and the security features (etc.). Case in point, I bought my entire Hue setup before Philips supported HomeKit. Once they added that support, I needed only to upgrade my bridge, at which point every light in my house became accessible via HomeKit.
[doublepost=1490709412][/doublepost]

Why does it need to support Homekit?

It probably doesn't to sell decently well, and Ikea may have made the right choice for their needs. But what you're hearing here is that many people really like what HomeKit has to offer and wouldn't welcome a "smart home" product into their own homes if it didn't offer HomeKit support. If you're not worried about device security (I doubt most people are) and just want lights that Alexa or whatever can turn on and off, then these should be fine. Many people here want more.

 

[saudade]

Are they as difficult to assemble like my Fahrvehrblüten chair and Kromsaänerbuigler ottoman?

If you can pronounce 'Kromsaänerbuigler' you wont have any problem dud.

 

[cube]

I think someone is being clever here, the name also resembles "free trade".

 

[jaydubyou]

Swedish home furniture store IKEA announced its own affordable smart lighting system today called Trådfri, which means "wireless" in Swedish.

The Smart Lighting range of products includes Trådfri LED bulbs, a remote dimmer switch puck, a gateway kit, a motion sensor kit, and dimming lights. IKEA is also introducing a selection of LED light panels and doors that can be built into cabinets for the bedroom and kitchen.

The Gateway starter kit will cost around $80 and includes two bulbs, a remote, and a gateway hub to connect everything to the app. The Trådfri bulbs have three white color temperature options (2200K, 2700K, and 4000K) that IKEA claims each last around 25,000 hours.
Like the Philips Hue series, IKEA's first range of automated lighting products is based on the ZigBee Light Link standard that got released in a number European countries late last year and should see a larger rollout at the end of this month.

IKEA gives a March 31 availability date for the lighting range in Sweden, with the range expected to arrive in the U.K in April, making them likely to roll out to other countries soon. The IKEA website makes no mention of compatibility with existing smart home platforms like Apple HomeKit, but support for other standards seems likely at some point down the line.

Article Link: IKEA Announces Affordable Smart Lighting Product Range

[doublepost=1490714396][/doublepost]What is the compelling need or use for automating lights? I've never quite understood the demand for this, other than it's 'cool' or 'new."

Anyone?

 

[RedTomato]

[doublepost=1490714396][/doublepost]What is the compelling need or use for automating lights? I've never quite understood the demand for this, other than it's 'cool' or 'new."

Anyone?

1. lights that follow you from room to room
2. no more shouting at the kids to turn the damn lights off
3. security lights coming on at random times when you are away
4. different light levels for different activities i.e. breakfast, movie, putting on makeup, reading a book, chilling with the gang, having a bath, having a piss in the evening vs at 2am.
5. all the above stuff is achievable with just white on/off lights, but adding programmable colours / colour temperatures is a whole new ball game.
6. how about lights that respond to the music you're playing?
7. lights that alert you to fire alarm / door bell / phone calls / notify you of outside temperature / delays on way to work etc.
8. different light levels for when I am home vs when my grandma is over at mine.
10. Old style incandescent lights had the lovely quality of lowering colour temperature as they dimmed, giving a lovely soft glow, at the price of a massive electricity bill. LEDs don't change colour temperature as they dim, so there's a bit of a need for some extra trickery to enable controlling colour temperatures.

11. Cheap LEDs are dirt cheap now, but they flicker, burn out early etc. Good quality LEDs cost a fair bit more, and last decades. At the price point of a good quality LED, it's not much extra to start including various remote circuitry, and it gives high-end manufacturers a way of selling more LEDs.

 

[maflynn]

Seems like companies are not really wanting to support Homekit and/or Apple has not created an environment that entices these companies to embrace it.

 

[jaydubyou]

1. lights that follow you from room to room
2. no more shouting at the kids to turn the damn lights off
3. security lights coming on at random times when you are away
4. different light levels for different activities i.e. breakfast, movie, putting on makeup, reading a book, chilling with the gang, having a bath, having a piss in the evening vs at 2am.
5. all the above stuff is achievable with just white on/off lights, but adding programmable colours / colour temperatures is a whole new ball game.
6. how about lights that respond to the music you're playing?
7. lights that alert you to fire alarm / door bell / phone calls / notify you of outside temperature / delays on way to work etc.
8. different light levels for when I am home vs when my grandma is over at mine.
10. Old style incandescent lights had the lovely quality of lowering colour temperature as they dimmed, giving a lovely soft glow, at the price of a massive electricity bill. LEDs don't change colour temperature as they dim, so there's a bit of a need for some extra trickery to enable controlling colour temperatures.

11. Cheap LEDs are dirt cheap now, but they flicker, burn out early etc. Good quality LEDs cost a fair bit more, and last decades. At the price point of a good quality LED, it's not much extra to start including various remote circuitry, and it gives high-end manufacturers a way of selling more LEDs.

Thank you so much for the detailed reply. I've installed vacancy sensors in all my rooms, so I've eliminated the only real reason (of those you've listed) that I might want to spend money on "smart" lights. Everything else seems "cool," but not even remotely important or necessary--or justifiable for the additional cost or effort. Seems like a product trying to solve a problem that really doesn't exist....

 

[Mactendo]

Good, good, good. Now just release the bulbs in a nice design, and we are good to go.