Swedish homewares behemoth IKEA has delayed the release of its upcoming smart blinds to August 2019 for European markets. Likely reaching our shores before the Christmas period.
An FCC filing for the smart blinds was first noticed back in September 2018, that would join IKEA’s TRÅDFRI smart home range.
Currently, the TRÅDFRI range is limited to smart light bulbs and accessories.
The upcoming SYMFONISK speaker range — made in collaboration with Sonos — is set to join the range this year as well as the smart blinds.
There are rumours that the Swedish homewares giant is also working on a smart home plug to rival Lenovo at a much lower price point.
All products in the TRÅDFRI range can be controlled via its companion app that can be integrated with Apple Home, Amazon Alexa, and Google Assistant.
According to the Swedish site, the smart blinds KADRILJ and FYRTUR “were intended to be sold in February [in Sweden], but will now be available in August, according to our forecasts.”
The Verge reports that the original delay was due to a required firmware update.
They also point to a US release date this October, likely when the Australian release date will occur.
IKEA’s smart blinds are tipped to make a big impact on the smart home market due to their low cost.
The KADRILJ was originally announced to begin at €99 and the FYRTUR blackout shades are tipped to cost from €119.
IKEA France tweeted out a planned an August launch date, it is expected that international markets — including Australia — will get the smart blinds after the initial European release.
