- IKEA Ankarlägg is a new battery-powered, motion-sensitive light
- It is completely wireless and self-adhesive, so you can use it anywhere
- It has a battery life of around six months and doesn’t need a smart hub
IKEA has just launched a new motion-sensing light that you can turn on anywhere and doesn’t require a smart home hub to work. IKEA Ankarlägg (which is shaped like a cartoon light bulb) can illuminate your hallway when you come home, your bedroom if you have to get up at night, or a cupboard when you open the door.
Ankarlägg is also cheap. As German website Notebookcheck reports, it costs €2.99 in continental Europe and will hopefully launch in other territories soon. If it follows IKEA’s usual international pricing, we can expect it to be around $7 / £4 / AU$5 when it launches globally. That’s much smaller than a typical smart bulb and motion sensor bundle, which can easily cost four times as much.
It is also more versatile than many other lights and sensors. According to IKEA’s French website (translated by Google), “this lamp can be installed anywhere because it runs on batteries and does not require wires.” Instead, it has an adhesive backing that lets you mount it to any flat surface.
The Ankarlägg light turns off if no movement is detected for 30 seconds, helping to save power. According to IKEA, it has a battery life of about six months if triggered 10 times a day.
No hub needed
IKEA is making a name for itself in affordable smart home tech, with products like the Bilresa remote control kit, Timmerflotte temperature sensor and Mosquitospray wireless motion sensor all promising to automate your home on the cheap.
But while IKEA’s controllers are cheap, they only work when connected to a Thread hub, which can be a significant expense. IKEA recommends its own Dirigera hub, which costs $109 / £60 (and is not yet available in Australia). It’s much more expensive than a Philips Hue Bridge, which unlocks a world of Hue bulbs and sensors.
Ankarlägg is a simple device, but hopefully we’ll see more standalone devices in the future that are great value and don’t rely on additional, more expensive accessories to access their full functionality.
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