How often do you read the release notes of an app update? Not often I bet, and nor do I.
However, I did happen to spot this when my Ikea Home smart iOS app was updated this morning:
New cellular blinds! Crazy names! Praktlysing and Tredansen! Praise be!
A quick Google and I discovered that there's no sign of the new smart blind duo on either the Ikea UK or US online stores, but that they are on sale already in Germany.
Guide:The best smart blinds
Starting with Praktlysing and they are described as "Honeycomb blinds, wireless/battery operated, white."
The new Ikea Praktlysing smart blinds.
Looking at the accompanying images over on Ikea Germany and they seem to have a battery module that pops out for charging.
They come in two sizes: 120 x 195cm and 140 x 195cm, and the price-tag is €125 or €129 depending on what size you opt for.
Tredansen (Ted Danson!) come in the same dimension options but cost €20 more as they are "blackout, pleated" blinds.
The battery compartment on the new Ikea Tredansen.
As with the rest of Ikea's smart home range, you have the choice to control them using a paired remote control or to make them genuinely smart by syncing them with the Trådfri Gateway.
If you do the latter, you open up the likes of Google Assistant, Alexa and HomeKit voice controls, routines and the like.
Ikea currently has two smart blind on sale Stateside: Kadrilj and Fytur. The Europe-launch first approach isn't new for Ikea with its smart shades as US Trådfri users had to wait a while to see them become available locally back in 2020.
Read this:Complete guide to Ikea Trådfri
So we await news of a wider launch with a bit of trepidation. We've asked our Ikea contacts for more info and we'll update this story when we know more.
Ikea has made a big push in the smart home market over the last few years; kicking off with its Trådfri smart lights and following that up with a smart plug, motion sensor and also, thanks to a partnership with Sonos, the Symfonisk speaker range.
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