Ikea quietly rolls out smart shades in Europe

Who said a minimalist home can't also be a smart home, eh?

Spotted by the blog Zatz Not Funny, Ikea has quietly debuted smart blinds that pair with voice assistants on its German website. That means Ikea customers in Europe will soon be able to control their window shades with Amazon's Alexa, Google Assistant, and Apple's HomeKit.

The smart blinds are called the KADRILJ and FYRTUR. They'll be available in Europe starting on February 2, and will run from 99 to 155 euros. The black-out shades come in five sizes; the KADRILJ is darker than the FURTUR. According to the Ikea website, they're wireless and battery-powered. There's also a remote if you want to roll your shades up and down the (semi) old fashioned way.  Read more...