IKEA has once again introduced technological innovations in everyday life. The Swedish global home furnishing brand IKEA recently unveiled new Bluetooth speakers, 'NATTBAD' and 'BLOMPRAKT'. The two products are the result of combining IKEA's smart and simple design with practical technology, making them a great choice for those who want to enjoy music and their interiors at the same time.
NATTBAD features soft, rounded edges and a matte finish. Available in neutral colors such as white and light gray, it blends seamlessly into most interiors.
BLOMPRAKT has a decorative appeal with its smaller, cubic shape and subtle patterns. Its lighting function makes it both a table lamp and a speaker. It comes in three colors and has a slanted top so you can adjust the light direction as you like.
Functionally, it adopts Bluetooth 5.3 to support stable connection, and the touch panel on the top makes it easy to control the volume and skip songs. Here, a Spotify tap button has been added, so with just one press of the button, the Spotify app will be launched and you can immediately play the music you were listening to before. This can be seen as a strategic shift by IKEA to provide a user experience that focuses more on music, moving away from the existing collaboration with Sonos.
Both products support TWS (True Wireless Stereo) function, so you can enjoy rich stereo sound when you connect two of the same devices. Despite their small size, the sound quality is higher than expected, and the bass is also solid. IKEA's philosophy in terms of sustainability is also reflected. More than half of the plastic used in the product is recycled material, and the packaging is also designed to be environmentally friendly. The battery can be used for up to 12 hours, and it is convenient because it can be charged with a USB-C port.
These two speakers can also be connected to IKEA's smart home hub DIRIGERA. DIRIGERA has recently established itself as a controller that supports 'Matter', a global standard for smart homes. Matter is a standard designed to enable compatibility between devices from various brands, and plays an important role in IKEA's smart home system evolving into a more open and flexible platform. Through DIRIGERA, existing IKEA products are compatible with Matter, and products from other brands can be easily connected.
IKEA will be introducing more than 20 new smart products compatible with Matter starting next January. Through this, they have revealed their goal of delivering the value of technology that is tailored to people’s everyday problems and routines, rather than technology for technology’s sake. They have also clearly revealed their intention to lower the entry barrier to smart home technology by setting reasonable prices.
IKEA’s new approach to acoustics is also noteworthy. IKEA believes that electronics should go beyond their functional role in the home and become natural elements of the interior. In this vein, a collaboration with Swedish designer Tekla Severin will be released in January next year. Reflecting her bold use of color, the collaboration explores design possibilities for electronics to better fit into the home.
