Ikea already has a good set of products to turn your house into a smart home . Until now, all the Swedish brand’s light bulbs, sensors and home automation devices were compatible with Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa, but they did not have such good integration with Apple‘s voice assistant. Luckily, the brand is also putting its effort into getting its technology to HomeKit. Two of the products that will enjoy such compatibility from their launch will be the new smart blinds that will go on sale very shortly.
Ikea expands its range of smart blinds
The huge catalog of Ikea blinds is going to be expanded with two new members: TREDANSEN and PRAKTLYSING . These two products have not been officially confirmed by the brand, but they were published by mistake in several Ikea online stores in Europe for a short period of time and journalist Dave Zatz took the opportunity to take note. These two models of smart blinds seek to solve the disastrous launch of the FYTUR and KADRILJ models in 2019, which were good products, but were heavily criticized after receiving numerous delays in the delivery date and for delaying Apple HomeKit compatibility .
As usual in Ikea home automation products, we will have to get the TRÅDFRI gateway if we get one of these new blinds regardless of whether we use Alexa, Google Assistant or HomeKit. A single gateway will be more than enough to control dozens of devices. Later, we can control the blinds with the voice assistants, with the integration in the iPhone or directly with the Ikea Home app.
What novelties do Ikea’s TREDANSEN and PRAKTLYSING blinds bring?
The TREDANSEN model will be a folding blind —what we know here as a Venetian blind— and it will be 195 centimeters long. It will be sold in widths of 120 and 140 centimeters . They will not need any type of plug, but will work through a battery that can be removed from the upper support to recharge. They will start at 149 euros and will be equipped with a very interesting translucent material. You can see a video of its operation captured by Dave Zatz:
On the other hand, the PRAKTLYSING blinds will retain the same style as the two 2019 models, that is, they will be roller blinds . They will have the same length and will also be sold in lengths of 120 and 140 centimeters . The shorter model will start at 129 euros here in Europe. The idea is that this new model is positioned as Ikea’s high-end roller blind. However, the type of power they will use has not been confirmed, despite the fact that everything indicates that it will also work with a battery system identical to that of the TREDANSEN. Both models can also be activated by a small remote control. In addition, presumably it can be integrated with other products from Ikea’s TRÅDFRI range, such as motion sensors, for example.
At the moment, Ikea has not made this information public , because the brand normally makes a gradual launch of this type of home automation device. In addition, in recent months, the company has been seriously affected by the crisis in the microchip and transport sector , so it would not be strange if it took us a few months to be able to buy these new smart blinds.
