Look out, Philips. Ikea, the home-furnishing giant, is making its line of inexpensive smart LEDs compatible with Amazon Alexa, Google Home, and Apple's HomeKit. The connection, expected to come later this summer or in the early fall, will enable owners of Ikea's smart lights to control them via voice.
Currently, Ikea's smart lights, called TRÅDFRI (because of course they are), can only be controlled using Ikea's smartphone app, or through a physical remote control. However, a Swedish press release found by MacRumors uncovered the upcoming interaction with the three major smart home players.
Ikea's smart lights include a starter kit, which has a gateway and two bulbs that costs $80, while individual bulbs run as low as $12. That's similar to the Philips Hue White A19 Starter Kit, which costs $69 and includes a hub and two bulbs; additional Hue White bulbs cost about $15 each.
Amazon and Ikea are hoping that these affordable smart home options will excite people into using smart homes, which have been slow to take off, despite exciting developments. Particularly, not having to use an app to control the smart home will make it an easier proposition to swallow.
To be sure, the TRÅDFRI lights aren't the first smart bulbs that work with Alexa, Google Home, or HomeKit; all of the Philips Hue line can be controlled by all three smart home hubs, as well as many others (here's a list of all the lights that work with Alexa). However, it makes sense for a home goods retailer such as Ikea to get into this space.
MORE: The Best Products That Work With Amazon Alexa
Luckily, users won't have to tell Alexa to dim or turn off their TRÅDFRI. They can just refer to them as lights.
