IKEA will soon release two connected speakers – one of which being a lamp, too – outside of the now-finished Sonos partnership.
There will more than 20 new Matter-enabled smart home devices coming this year too.
It came as quite a shock when we found out in May that the long-standing collaboration between IKEA and Sonos was set to end. No more Symfonisk speakers were to be made, with existing stock to be the last.
However, it now turns out that IKEA is set to go it alone, with its own smart devices and speakers – including a table speaker-lamp with Spotify Tap support and Bluetooth to beam your sounds wirelessly from a connected smartphone.
The IKEA BLOMPRAKT Bluetooth speaker lamp will be in stores this October and will come in beige, black and blue. It houses the speaker in the base unit, while the light above can be angled to set different kinds of moods.
Before that product is released, a standalone Bluetooth speaker with retro radio vibes will be available. The IKEA NATTBAD speaker is coming to stores this month (July) and can be found in pink, yellow and black.
It too features Spotify Tap support and while we're yet to find out how much it costs, it'll be offered at a "low-price entry point".
"We’ve learned a great deal about creating high-quality sound experiences that are easy to use. We understand how people want to furnish with sound in a way that adds atmosphere and feels natural in the home," said IKEA Sweden's range manager, David Granath.
"Those learnings continue to guide us as we bring the worlds of home furnishing and sound closer together."
The two speakers are part of a wider rollout of over 20 new smart products coming to IKEA stores this year, They will each be Matter-enabled, allowing them to not only speak with one another, but smart devices from other brands.
At the heart of the setup is the existing IKEA DIRIGERA hub, which has recently been updated to support Matter. This will allow easy setup of all the brand's future smart home products.
"Until now, smart home technology hasn’t been easy enough to use for most people – or affordable enough for many to consider. Bringing Matter to our products means we are taking a big step in the right direction, offering compatibility across brands, and lowering the threshold for people to get started," added Granath.
