I'm a sucker for reliable, affordable smart home tech. These days, that often means turning to Ikea for a new remote or sensor for my home. Ikea's low prices are a big reason, but the Swedish home furnishing brand, which has been making a bigger play for smart home tech dollars of late, has a healthy selection and most can be controlled locally -- no internet required.
When I heard Ikea was exhibiting at the world's largest consumer tech show, I jumped at the chance to stop by its cozy suite at the Venetian Hotel during CES 2026.
Read more: Best of CES 2026: 22 Winners Awarded by CNET Group
While Ikea announced many of these products last November -- including smart home sensors, smart lighting and Bluetooth speakers -- the home furnishings company also surprised me with updates to the stunning Varmblixt series of lamps and a $10 Bluetooth speaker that isn't half bad.
Here's everything the brand had on display, with a few highlights that caught my attention.
Varmblixt enters the Matter equation
You can place the Varmblixt donut lamp on a shelf or mount it on the wall -- I love the sci-fi vibe you get when stacking them. John Carlsen/CNET
The most striking elements of Ikea's CES display are the updated Varmblixt donut and pendant lamps. Originally debuting in 2023 through a collaboration with Rotterdam-based designer Sabine Marcelis, these latest Varmblixt versions are now compatible with the wider Ikea Home Smart app and Matter ecosystem.
While the first iterations of the Varmblixt donut lamp boasted a fixed color palette, the Varmblixt smart donut lamp's Matter capabilities support an automatic color cycle of 12 preset colors right out of the box using the included Bilresa remote control. You can even expand it to 40 colors and access dimming controls by linking it with Ikea's Dirigera smart home hub.
During my visit, I didn't think to try the remote with the smart donut lamp to see if it only cycles through a preset color pattern or if you can pause it on a specific color. My Ikea contact confirmed that you can manually cycle through the colors to find your favorite. You don't need a Dirigera hub for this function, only the included remote. (The same applies to the smart pendant light.)
... continue reading