Ikea has a new Matter-enabled indoor air quality monitor

Ikea is gearing up to launch a new smart indoor air quality monitor that works with the company's Matter-enabled, Homekit-compatible smart hub.

In an effort to combat indoor air pollutants, Ikea has just announced its upcoming smart indoor air quality monitor, that is is calling "Vindstyrka." As shipped, the monitor can be used with other Ikea products to improve indoor air quality.

Vindstyrka boasts a large, backlit display. It can monitor PM2.5 levels, humidity, temperature, and total volatile organic (TVOC) levels.

The monitor also color codes the indoor air quality as green, yellow, or red, enabling users to glean the information they need at a glance.

Vindstyrka can also be connected to Ikea's Dirigera Matter-enabled smart hub. When paired together, users can use Vindstyrka to trigger other smart devices.

Ikea notes that, for example, Vindstyrka can be used to automatically adjust the fan speed of the company's smart air purifier, Starkvind.

The company has yet to price for Vindstyrka, but says it will launch online and in stores in April.

The Dirigera hub is Matter-enabled and can work with HomeKit and other smart home platforms. The Dirigera hub is currently available from Ikea for $69.99.

2 Comments

kurai_kage 5 Years · 115 comments

About 1 year ago

AppleInsider said:
The monitor also color codes the indoor air quality as green, yellow, or red, enabling users to glean the information they need at a glance.

Based on the image in the article, that isn't completely accurate. It appears the display has fixed green, yellow, red blocks, and the monitor brackets one of the blocks with small arrows. If this is on your desk and you glance over, I'm sure you'll be able to pick out the bracketed color. But if this is on a counter or shelf, and you glance at it from a distance, determining the selected color is going to be more difficult.

If they have control of the colored blocks, then a better UX would be to dim or hide the non-relevant colors. If only one color block was visible at full intensity at a time, a user could "glean the information they need at a glance."

jesusfreak 12 Years · 79 comments

About 1 year ago

Looks interesting. Unfortunately, I have found that Ikea has about the worst customer service I've ever experienced when it comes to technical products. Really hope they can get their act together.