If you were looking forward to IKEAs smart blinds, you will have to wait. IKEA is delaying its smart blinds until later in 2019 so it can work on a firmware update. The Swedish furniture maker pushed back the release date for the smart blinds, which were expected in Europe last month and in the US in April because it had an opportunity for “improved functionality”.
IKEA said that the wait means that the smart blinds will be compatible with Alexa, Siri, and Google Assistant right away, instead of having to wait for a later firmware update. The KADRILJ starts at around $113 dollars and the FYRTUR starts at around $136 dollars, based on European pricing. So they are priced affordably, while some existing smart blind options like Somfy or Velux start at twice that amount.
The IKEA model lets you draw your blinds at will or time them to close at a certain hour of the day with the TRÅDFRI smart home app. Right now, only the FYRTUR blackout shades are expected to be released in the US.
Right now there’s no information on an updated release date. The company plans for sales to start in Europe and the US sometime later in 2019 and that’s all we know.
Source Engadget
