Every once in a while you stumble upon a gadget that haunts your nights and can appear unbidden in your daydreams. You imagine it on your desk, next to your best 4K TV or filling a wall like a vertical box of delicious donuts.
IKEA’s quirky, donut-shaped Varmblixt lamp is that product, and I haven’t stopped obsessing over the Bluetooth lamp since I saw it at CES 2026.
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However, I’m glad that IKEA chose to keep the small physical remote control, which means that even if you don’t want to connect the lamp to an app, you can access all 12 colors (app control raises the level of customization to 40 different shades).
There’s another reason I’m obsessed with Varmblixt: I used that remote. Unlike most other Bluetooth LED-based lighting systems that make harsh, almost jarring transitions between colors, Varmblixt takes it slow.
With each press of the remote, I watched the color change almost imperceptibly, then slowly transition to the new, fully dimmable shade. Not only that, but the color dispersion under the molded glass is almost perfect. It is simply beautiful to see and I loved basking in the glow.
Function follows form
None of this would work so well if there wasn’t such a clear connection between design and color choice. Dutch artist Sabine Marcelis clearly designed the pair to be a marriage of nuance and form. Even the way the colors change is more like a symphony than a switch, and it suits Varmblixt’s smooth look perfectly.
Perhaps the other thing that attracted me to Varmblixt is its basic simplicity. No hubs, just a choice of using the remote or the app.
One wonders if the Philips Hue line of smart lighting products would be the same kind of sensation if it put so much emphasis on design and simplicity.
I remember thinking that the Varmblixt would be perfect if it was also rechargeable and truly wireless; then my secret dream of a wall of them could come true.
The other thing I loved is that even though this is a more powerful and smarter version, the Varmblixt will still only cost $99 (prices will vary outside the US) when it ships in April.
I know this is just a lamp, but the best tech products are often the ones that do one thing and do it very well. Warmblitz seems to succeed on that level, but it will do more than that, because when you have one or more of these donut lamps in the home, they will be instant conversation pieces. And whether you use your app, voice or the handy remote control to control them, I bet you’ll elicit more than a few ‘oohs’ and ‘awws’.
By the way, there is another Varmblixt option, a large hanging LED pendant that looks like a random bunch of hanging ‘U’s. It currently only supports white light and will also ship in April for $149. I don’t dream about that lamp.
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