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Ikea

Ikea’s not a tech company, but it sure knows the home. That’s probably why the flat-pack company, founded in 1943, calls its smart home initiative “Home smart,” giving the home priority over the technology. What started as a trickle of smart devices — including tables with integrated Qi chargers and low-priced lights, switches, plugs, and blinds built upon the Zigbee standard — has ballooned into a full-blown business. The Ikea Home smart business unit now sits alongside the company’s more traditional businesses, like Bedroom & Bathroom, Kitchen & Dining, and Ikea Food (aka, meatballs) with investment to match. Ikea’s partnership with Sonos marks the first time the company has ever sold a co-branded product in one of its stores. With 433 stores servicing over 1 billion customers in 2019, let’s just say that Ikea’s impact on the smart home could be significant.

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Ikea support for Matter smart homes still delayed.

Despite being just “a couple of months away” over a year ago, Ikea’s Dirigera hub still can’t bridge the company’s smart home gear to Matter. Here’s the latest statement... on the matter:

We want to make sure our products meet the highest quality standards and have therefore decided to delay this functionality for some time. We simply need more development time to secure good functionality. We will provide more information when it’s time.

At least we’ve got three new affordable sensors coming.


Ikea’s got more smart home sensors coming.

The two FCC filings spotted by Zatz Not Funny! reveal a new two-piece open/close sensor (Ikea’s first) called the Parasoll that tells you the current state of a door or window, and its second IP44-rated (splash-proof) motion sensor called Vallhorn.

They’ll use AAA batteries and were tested with Ikea’s newer Dirigera Matter hub. The filings list IoT maker Leedarson as Ikea’s collaborator.


<em>The new Ikea Vallhorn motion sensor.</em>

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The new Ikea Vallhorn motion sensor.
Image: Ikea
Ikea’s new cover art for its Sonos wall speaker is simply stunning.

The three new covers for the Sonos-collab Symfonisk picture frame speaker are inspired by Latin American street art.

The covers snap onto the speaker and add some much-needed color to the current options. I love to see more adventurous decor in the smart home — and don’t forget, you can pair two of these speakers with a Sonos Arc or Beam sound bar for surround sound with some serious style. The new covers go on sale in April.


Diana Ordóñez’ print on a Symfonisk picture frame speaker is inspired by the colorful masks of Colombian carnival.
Diana Ordóñez’ print on a Symfonisk picture frame speaker is inspired by the colorful masks of Colombian carnival.
Image: Ikea

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Ikea and Sonos picture frame speaker review: wall of sound

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