IKEA delayed its US smart blinds launch. Again

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iKea Fyrtur smart blinds
iKea Fyrtur smart blinds (Image credit: The Verge)

What you need to know

  • IKEA's smart blinds have been delayed again.
  • This after HomeKit support was also delayed.
  • They're already available in parts of Europe.

IKEA was very pleased with itself when it said it was launching HomeKit-capable smart blinds what feels like forever ago, but things soon started to go wrong. That HomeKit support was stripped first, and then the smart blinds were delayed. And now they've been delayed once more.

Speaking with The Verge IKEA confirmed the delay, saying that the smart blinds will come "later this year". The original delay came when IKEA decided it could improve functionality, although we don't know what that meant. Nor do we know if the situation is the same this time around. A launch date of yesterday, October 1st was set. And it's now been blown, too.

The Fyrtur blinds are already in parts of Europe, and that's the one that will arrive in the US at some point between now and never. There's a more translucent version available in Europe, called Kadrilj, but that isn't making its way over the Atlantic.

This new delay is disappointing for anyone who has been waiting for IKEA to get its act together. Granted, HomeKit support wasn't going to be there on day one, but it was going to come eventually. Who knows, maybe this delay will mean that HomeKit support is there on day one.

Whenever that turns out to be.

Oliver Haslam
Oliver Haslam
Contributor

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.