Sonos and Ikea have teamed up to release a line of connected speakers that include a table lamp and a bookshelf. Both devices connect to Wi-Fi, can be controlled by an app and let users play music from their favorite services, like Spotify or Apple Music. The lamp and bookshelf, part of a line called “Symfonisk,” are priced at US$179 and US$99 respectively, and are expected to be available for purchase in August. While both devices are priced within the same affordable range typically found in Ikea products, they pack the high quality of any other Sonos speaker. The lamp and bookshelf have roughly the same audio quality as Sonos’ Play One speaker. They’re both packed with two digital amplifiers*, one tweeter* and one woofer* inside. Unlike other connected speakers, the Symfonisk line is meant to blend in with your other decor. “The lamp-speaker partly springs from the idea of the fireplace — one single piece that spreads warm light as well as sound,” Iina Vuorivirta, a designer at Ikea of Sweden, said in a statement. Both the lamp and the bookshelf come in either black or white. The bookshelf can be used in a variety of different ways. It can serve as a bookend*, placed on either side of a stack of books, or affixed to the wall, with users able to place items on top of it. While they don’t have a built-in voice assistant, users can control them with Siri, as the speakers both support AirPlay 2. Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant users are still out of luck.(SD-Agencies) |