Ikea Tradfri smart lights work with Google Assistant now

Back in November, we found out that popular furniture retailer Ikea pushed out an update to its Tradfri line of smart lights that enabled them to work with Amazon Alexa and Apple HomeKit. But where was Google Assistant?

While we don’t know what the holdup was, we’re pleased to announce that Ikea introduced Google Assistant support to the Tradfri line. Now you can use Google Assistant voice commands to control the lighting in your house.

Keep in mind, that the Ikea Tradfri line of smart lights needs a hub to operate. There’s an Ikea hub that obviously works with Tradfri bulbs, but you can use a third-party hub like the Philips Hue as well. If you already own a hub, check to be sure that the Tradfri lights are compatible with your hardware.

If you don’t own a hub yet, the Philips Hue bridge is probably the most popular, but it’s also relatively expensive. You’ll have to shop around to find what will work best for you and your budget.

The smart light niche has come a long way in the past few years, now that smart speaker technology like Google Home is so affordable. The fact that you can go to Ikea of all places to pick up virtual assistant-connected gear is a testament to that fact.

Now the only real issue is figuring out how to pronounce Tradfri when issuing your commands. “Hey Google, please dim the Trådfri lights, tack så mycket.”