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ANDROID ADVISOR<br />
news<br />
and Siri. The Swedish furniture company announced<br />
in a press release that you will soon be able to<br />
control its affordable line of smart lights with the<br />
smart speakers and assistants you already have.<br />
IKEA’s bulbs offer a no-frills approach to smart<br />
lighting. Unlike Philips Hue (£49 from tinyurl.com/<br />
y753y6tc) or LIFX(£47 from tinyurl.com/yaauL3f6)<br />
bulbs, the Trådfri bulbs are only available in white<br />
light, but with a starter pack that costs £69 from<br />
tinyurl.com/yc4q7p3z and add-on LEDs that won’t<br />
break your budget. IKEA might not be the first name<br />
we think of when its comes to wireless tech, but<br />
they’ve been in the lighting business for years, and it’s<br />
easy to see it expanding into other smart home areas.<br />
The Trådfri bulbs are available now and start<br />
at just £15 from tinyurl.com/y8yLrLa7. A variety<br />
of bulbs and kits are offered for sale, including<br />
panels, doors for IKEA’s cabinets and furniture,<br />
and dimmers. To get up and running you’ll need<br />
to plug the £25 Trådfri gateway/bridge (£25 from<br />
tinyurl.com/yctm6mu6) into your router.<br />
Until the AI integration is offered later this<br />
summer, IKEA offers its own proprietary app through<br />
the <strong>Android</strong> and iOS app stores, or you can use a<br />
physical remote control.<br />
We talk a lot about the internet of things and how<br />
smart devices are the next big thing, but high price<br />
tags are preventing mass adoption. Most of the objects<br />
that connect to our speakers are way more expensive<br />
than the devices themselves, so IKEA’s solution is a<br />
welcome addition. It might not be the thing that brings<br />
smart lighting mainstream, but it’s a good start.<br />
14 ANDROID ADVISOR • ISSUE <strong>39</strong>
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