HomeKit support for IKEA’s smart blinds delayed until ‘early next year’

Chance Miller | Dec 8 2019 - 6:35 am PT

IKEA’s Fyrtur and Kadrilj smart blinds are now widely available in retail stores, but they notably lack HomeKit support in their current form. IKEA had promised that HomeKit support would roll out sometime during the fall of this year, but it now appears that has changed.

In a post on Twitter this weekend, first spotted by HomeKit Hero, IKEA customer support indicated that HomeKit functionality “should be added to the blinds early next year.” This is a change from the last update we had from IKEA, when it said that HomeKit support would roll out “later this fall.”

This isn’t necessarily a surprising delay. There are only two weeks left in the fall, and IKEA had gone silent on the status of the update until now. It’s always wise to be cautious when manufacturers promise future HomeKit support via a software update. More often than not, those sort of updates end up being delayed or even canceled in some instances.

IKEA does have experience in retroactively adding HomeKit support to its accessories, though. IKEA originally touted that its $10 Tradfri smart plug would support HomeKit, but when it actually launched to the public, HomeKit support was delayed and eventually added via a software update 6 months later.

IKEA’s website currently has 8 different sizes available for the Fyrtur smart blinds, ranging from $129 to $179 in pricing. This makes them more affordable than other smart blinds on the market, but other smart blinds do currently offer HomeKit support. IKEA’s smart blinds currently integrate with Google Assistant and IKEA’s own Smart Home application.

Do you plan on buying IKEA’s smart blinds once they have HomeKit? Have you already bought them based on IKEA’s promises? Let us know down in the comments.