IKEA Trådfri Smart Lighting System to Get Apple HomeKit Support

[MacRumors]

Swedish home store IKEA has announced that its recently announced Trådfri smart lighting system will soon be compatible with HomeKit, Apple's smart home management platform.

The affordable range of home lighting products was originally announced in late March and includes LED bulbs, illuminated panels, a motion sensor kit, a gateway kit, and dimming lights, but no mention was made about whether the collection would be able to integrate with existing smart home solutions like HomeKit.

However, IKEA said in its press release that HomeKit support is in the works, enabling users to control the devices using the Apple Home app on iPhone, iPad or Apple Watch, or voice using Siri.

In the summer and autumn, IKEA takes the next step towards the smart home. With increased functionality, IKEA's smart lighting range can be used with Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit and Google Assistant, which means that you can voice-control your lighting.

We believe that smart home technology should be accessible to everyone. For this reason, we will continue to work with our products to be compatible with other products available on the market.

According to iphone-ticker.de, which first spotted the announcement, IKEA plans to retrofit the new functions via a software update to the Trådfri Gateway and Trådfri app. In addition to HomeKit, the update will also make IKEA's smart products controllable through Amazon Echo and Google Home.

Article Link: IKEA Trådfri Smart Lighting System to Get Apple HomeKit Support

 

[McFlyOz]

Sounds interesting enough for some to like it (even if he does look like he partake in wacky tabacky)...

 

[44267547]

I can appreciate IKEA trying to factor into the smart home era. When this Eventually becomes HomeKit supported, I think this would be a step in the right direction for them.

 

[budselectjr]

Is being $10 more than the Hue starter kit "affordable" now? Do I have to put it together myself as well?

 

[rictus007]

Is being $10 more than the Hue starter kit "affordable" now? Do I have to put it together myself as well?

Well you can go to Ikea just for the meatballs

 

[Chupa Chupa]

Is being $10 more than the Hue starter kit "affordable" now? Do I have to put it together myself as well?

Hue White Ambiance starter kit is $129 and is 800 lumens. IKEA's bulbs are $18 each and 1000 lumens. Not sure if it needs a hub for HomeKit control but the existing IKEA hub is $30. So two bulbs + hub is $66. Seems about 1/2 the cost of Hue and also 200 lumens brighter.

Maybe you are looking a the regular white Hue bulb. That is an incorrect comparison as those bulbs only turn on/off and dim w/o the same 2700K color temp. They cannot be adjusted for color temperature from daylight to soft white like the White Ambiance.

 

[Aston441]

I see it works with Alexa. That's good. I control all my automation stuff with Alexa and nothing with Homekit.

 

[tazinlwfl]

Hue White Ambiance starter kit is $129 and is 800 lumens. IKEA's bulbs are $18 each and 1000 lumens. Not sure if it needs a hub for HomeKit control but the existing IKEA hub is $30. So two bulbs + hub is $66. Seems about 1/2 the cost of Hue and also 200 lumens brighter.

Maybe you are looking a the regular white Hue bulb. That is an incorrect comparison as those bulbs only turn on/off and dim w/o the same 2700K color temp. They cannot be adjusted for color temperature from daylight to soft white like the White Ambiance.

Are the TRÅDFRI any different than Hue White? Both seem to be "white-only" 2700K bulbs (albeit one is 9w the other is 12w).

Edited to clarify after reading more:
203.182.67 - ($17.99) is the White Ambiance (warm-to-cool white spectrum) ($49.99 Hue WA)
803.394.36 - ($11.99) is the White (2700K-only) ($14.99 Hue W)

This also continues to the kits

703.533.43 - ($26.99) is the spectrum dimmer kit
003.499.34 - ($19.99) is the 2700k-only dimmer kit

903.533.61 - ($79.00) spectrum gateway kit (703.533.43 dimmer kit + 203.182.67 single + 003.378.13 gateway)

 

[Stefan johansson]

Lol... there is already,in Swedish App Store an app for iPhones and iPads to control it withouth HomeKit.
Fact is,that in the TRÅDFRI home product line,is also a cordless phone charging device.

 

[tasset]

This is nice news, but I'll believe it when I see it that the gateway will be "retrofitted" for HomeKit. Philips and Chamberlain made similar lofty promises, but when it comes down to it they release a new hub after delays. Which is fine, but not being upfront about that leads me to believe it won't be as soon as they state.

 

[cyanite]

Lol... there is already,in Swedish App Store an app for iPhones and iPads to control it withouth HomeKit.
Fact is,that in the TRÅDFRI home product line,is also a cordless phone charging device.

Great, but most people want HomeKit integration which is what this article is about. The fact that they have their own app is of course expected, but irrelevant to the article.

 

[litmag01]

Is being $10 more than the Hue starter kit "affordable" now?

I was wondering the exact same thing The HUE kit is $69 on Amazon... this is $79.

 

[tazinlwfl]

Is being $10 more than the Hue starter kit "affordable" now? Do I have to put it together myself as well?

I was wondering the exact same thing The HUE kit is $69 on Amazon... this is $79.

litmag01 (and others), be sure to double check the actual devices:
http://a.co/6iBYBvG - Phillips Hue White Starter Kit (2 x 2700K bulbs + Hub) = $69.99
Building the same kit with IKEA (2 x 2700K bulbs + hub/gateway) = $53.97

http://a.co/gWEzZqL (or maybe http://a.co/6NPhMVh) - Phillips Hue White Ambiance (2 x "Spectrum" bulbs + Hub + Dimmer) $123+
Compares to 903.533.61 (2 Spectrum bulbs + dimmer + hub/gateway) = $79

 

[litmag01]

http://a.co/gWEzZqL - or http://a.co/6NPhMVh - Those are the comparable kits. Two "Spectrum" bulbs, Hub, and Dimmer.

Now that makes better sense why they would call it "affordable" versus the HUE.

 

[justperry]

1000 Lumen Bulbs are only €10, this is good news, sad news is they are 2700K, why not also sell 4000K or higher bulbs for places where work is involved.

 

[hybrid_x]

This looks promising, but I'm wondering if HomeKit and Alexa compatibility will be added via a software update, or if a new hub will be required. That makes a big difference when considering buying now vs. waiting for HomeKit compatibility.

The biggest drawback with the TRÅDFRI system as it exists now is that the hub (and therefore, your lights) can only be controlled by the mobile app when you are on the same WiFi network. That's one advantage Hue has. Presumably, HomeKit will allow an iPad or Apple TV to act as an Internet bridge to the dumb IKEA hub.

 

[IGI2]

Is being $10 more than the Hue starter kit "affordable" now? Do I have to put it together myself as well?

I didn't read the prices in the article, I checked myself at IKEA in Poland.

It's 150 PLN for the bridge which is 35 euros. Then you've got the weakest bulbs from 49,99 PLN which is less than 12 euros per bulb.

 

[tazinlwfl]

1000 Lumen Bulbs are only €10, this is good news, sad news is they are 2700K, why not also sell 4000K or higher bulbs for places where work is involved.

They have another model that can change color temperature (2200k, 2700k, 4000k), but basically all LED bulbs that do that (including Hue's White Ambiance line) change brightness in the process (Hue WA: 342 lumens @ 2000K, 570 lumens @ 2700K, 800 lumens @ 4000k)