IKEA and Sonos have announced their partnership aiming to bring “music and sound” into all aspects at home. Information on possible product release was not revealed, but their new product is expected to hit the market by 2019.
IKEA and Sonos have announced their partnership aiming to bring “music and sound” into all aspects at home. Information on possible product release was not revealed, but their new product is expected to hit the market by 2019.
IKEA has taken steps to move forward in the smart home market: integrating Qi wireless charging technology into its furniture in 2015; launching its own smart lighting products in 2016; and now, it’s teaming up with speaker maker Sonos.
“Together with Sonos we want to democratize music and sound in the home, and we want to create products designed for how people listen together at home. By teaming up with Sonos, we want to combine IKEA home furnishing knowledge with Sono’s expertise within great home sound,” said Björn Block, the business leader of IKEA’s smart home division.
“Music and sound” are the keywords this alliance gave to the public. What could it be?
One possible outcome is that the two will create a smart home sound system with IKEA’s design elements. The sound system not only plays music, but also makes all types of sounds in a smart home, for electronic doorbell, an intercom system or an alert notifying the end of a laundry cycle, for example.
Of course, the creation of the two companies will also support multiple voice assistants. Sonos is unique in the smart speaker market because it may integrate all major voice assistants – Amazon Alexa is currently supported, Google Assistant will join soon, and Siri may be added later after the company succeeds in persuading Apple.
Having Sonos as its home audio partner, IKEA doesn’t need to pick side on voice assistant.
In-store presentation may be on the horizon too. Sonos recently built its first brick-and-mortar store, where various Sonos sound systems are showcased in different interior settings. It aims to show that Sonos can fit into various room environments.
IKEA stores already use a similar approach to present furniture and home products. IKEA might sell Sonos’ products directly in-store and add them to IKEA’s classic home interior section.
IKEA is actively embracing technology. In addition to offering smart home products, the Swedish furniture maker is one of the first to release app supporting Apple’s ARKit. It also purchased online gig economy TaskRabbit for its tech-savvy customers.