Ikea’s smart window blinds leak, to be compatible with Alexa, HomeKit and Google Assistant

Meet KADRILJ and FYRTUR. They’re Ikea’s upcoming smart window blinds and they look great. The two product lines are battery-powered shades that can open and close through a dedicate app. They also interact with IKEA’s TRÅDFRI lighting gateway allowing homeowners to control the shades through Alexa, HomeKit and Google Assistant.

Pricing is aggressive: 99 to 155 euros (about $113 to $181). The shades have yet to be officially announced by Ikea, but according to the company’s site, they will be available in Europe on February 2nd. It’s unclear when they’ll be available in different markets.

These products are joining Ikea’s growing list of smart home devices. Last year, the company launched its smart lighting solutions that competes with Philips Hue and LIFX. Before that, Ikea produced a few tables integrated with wireless charging pads.

The upcoming smart window blinds follow the understated trends set by Ikea’s other smart home products: inexpensive relative to competitors and equipped with just a basic feature set. There’s nothing fancy here with the smart window shades. And that’s the point. With its smart home products, Ikea is seemingly concentrating on including just the necessary functions and not building in extra things, feature-creep style. Ikea’s smart home gadgets are as basic as Ikea’s furniture and that’s great.