Pocket-lint has spotted that IKEA's Tradfri smart plug is finally available to buy through the IKEA website in both the US and UK.
This past autumn, IKEA began selling the smart plug in Sweden and a few other countries in the EU. Now, IKEA is selling it via the US IKEA website and UK IKEA website for $9.99 and £9.99, respectively. Pocket-lint recently checked the UK IKEA website but didn't see it for sale at the time. It appears IKEA quietly added it within the past couple weeks. We also visited a UK IKEA store Thursday and was able to purchase one plug in person.
For the price, it's an absolute bargain. You need the Tradfri Gateway ($30/£30) and a control device like wireless control remote ($15/£15), but it works as well as the TP-Link smart plugs, which are usually £30 each. The Tradfri smart plug connects to the company's existing Tradfri Gateway, which connects to a variety of other smart home products like light bulbs, dimmers, and motion sensors.
The plug also says Zigbee on it. So, in theory, you can ditch the gateway, if you have an Zigbee-enabled speaker, such as the new Echo Plus. We've yet to test that functionality, but we will post a full review on the Tradfri system soon.
The smart plug can be attached to "dumb" lamps, coffee makers, tea kettles, or other household appliances to enable control through IKEA's own app. IKEA also plans to offer HomeKit support for Tradfri, but it recently delayed this feature. IKEA will roll it out in the future via an update.
When the HomeKit integration goes live, Tradfri accessories will be able to be controlled through Apple's Home app and Siri.