Colour-changing lighting is now available from IKEA as its ramps up its efforts to have a seat at the smart home table.
It safe to say that IKEA’s recently introduced Tradfri lighting range received a mixed reputation when it was announced in April. Whilst some applauded the retailer for its attempt at bringing ‘smart’ lighting to masses, others dismissed the offering as cheap and rather flimsy (especially when it comes to its network hub).
Regardless IKEA appear invested in taking on Philips Hue in the entry-level marketplace – now evident in its move into offering coloured lighting options with the launch of its E27 bulb.
The 600 lumen lightbulb is now shipping, providing the ability to adjust colour and colour temperature via the accompanying iOS 8 app (but with default colour temperature set at 2700K).
The full Tradfri line incorporates a range of bulbs, connectors and a network gateway which connected to an Ethernet connector on either a router or hub.
IKEA is still holding out on announcing an official release date for HomeKit compatibility so for now all we have is a “fall” launch to go off. It’s still currently keeping us on our toes when it comes to Google Assistant compatibility too.
The bulb retails at US $34.99, including a hardware remote.