This Doughnut Smart Lamp From Ikea Has the Best Glowing Vibes

When we noticed footage of Ikea’s new smart-ready Varmblixt lamp at CES 2026, we straight away advised every different “I would like one.” The lovely doughnut of sparkling happiness was once an speedy winner. Now that I’ve examined it, even with its $100 worth, it is nonetheless one among very best clever lamps I’ve observed. Here’s why.  

The Swedish furnishings and meatball corporate has delivered a amusing, ambient gentle you’ll be able to have compatibility anyplace in your house. The clever house and Matter same old give a boost to make it extremely handy, well matched with Apple Home/Siri, Alexa, Google Home or Ikea’s personal app. Think of hanging it in an entryway, front room, dorm, bed room and even on a wall as an accessory piece. Let’s have a look at the way it works. 

An captivating lamp design from Ikea

Measuring round a foot vast, the Varmblixt comes with a twine, a small on/off faraway and little else. The doughnut-like duvet seems to be and feels slightly like clean ceramic, however it is in reality sturdy ABS plastic. That makes the lamp much less more likely to destroy, however you’ll be able to nonetheless wish to keep away from striking it in puts the place it is simple to knock it over.

The base of the lamp is not just for flat surfaces. You too can mount it to the wall with a couple of screws, providing you with many extra set up choices. What occurs when the sunshine within burns out? Ikea has a push button that unlocks the doughnut, letting you elevate it up and change the sunshine within when vital.

As with the brand new Ikea safety sensors I examined, setup was once so simple as scanning a QR code and popping over to my house platform of selection (Apple Home on this case) to attach… effectively, nearly. For this overview, I had to check out a couple of occasions sooner than the relationship finished, ultimately shifting the lamp nearer to my Wi-Fi router, which perceived to lend a hand.

Ikea sells its own Dirigera smart hub to allow clever gentle controls, however you do not want it when you’ve got any instrument that may act as a house hub, together with a Nest speaker or hub, an Echo speaker or clever show, an Apple HomePod or a more moderen Apple TV. That’s a super state of affairs, because the Dirigera prices $110, making this clever lamp a dear funding.

Cozy glows for atmosphere and slightly of illumination

The Varmblixt lamp would possibly not win awards for sheer lumen output: It’s designed to be a much more mild gentle than lots of the floodlights and LED bulbs I’ve examined. That makes the lamp well-suited for atmosphere, accessory lighting fixtures or a amusing centerpiece on a desk. If the lighting fixtures ever pass down for a birthday celebration, it’ll in reality begin to shine.

That quiet gentle could have extra productive functions, too. Perch the lamp on a bedside desk and it can be a comfy studying gentle. Hang it in a hallway (possibly hooked up to a Matter-compatible movement sensor), and it might turn out to be a serene nightlight. In an entryway and set with a timer, it might greet the ones coming house overdue at night time from paintings. I attempted the lamp in numerous puts and could not make a decision the place I appreciated it very best.

Brightness controls are innate to the lamp, regardless of which platform you utilize — one thing I’ll talk about under — and colour choices vary from heat reds to chill blues. Ikea additionally gives a method to select your personal colour from the entire rainbow and switch adaptive lighting fixtures (responding to ambient gentle ranges) on or off. There aren’t any complicated options right here like track syncing, so you will have to set up adjustments by yourself with an app, however that handiest takes a few seconds.

Smart house options raise this lamp in all of the proper techniques

Ikea’s lamp is way, a lot better with Matter give a boost to and all of the related clever house connections. Whichever app you utilize, you’ll be able to alter brightness and colour straight away with sliders and icons.

The Matter clever house same old and Apple/Alexa/Google compatibility additionally make it simple to set automations and scenes. Apple Home, as an example, steered scenes like turning on while you get house or within the morning, and you’ll be able to in finding identical choices on all platforms.

Automations additionally allow you to attach clever lamp habits to movements like your clever lock unlocking, a movement sensor triggering and different helpful methods relying at the different tech you’ve gotten round your own home. And you’ll be able to keep an eye on the lamp with the voice assistant of your selection.

The handiest drawback I spotted was once that when the use of app controls at the lamp for some time, it perceived to cede keep an eye on clear of the faraway, which I discovered hesitant to paintings correctly later on. I handiest spotted as a result of I made positive to check it, because the app controls are awesome so long as your telephone is within sight. There is a guide button at the lamp to energy on/off and reboot as wanted.

Final ideas at the Ikea Varmblixt clever lamp

Ikea’s spherical lamp proved a contented presence in my house, with its clever options raising it to a prime advice for any individual who needs ambient illumination. While operation with the integrated faraway appeared a bit iffy in my checks, the app controls and automation choices have been excellent. The general high quality could also be a lot upper than you could be expecting from Ikea, which is helping provide an explanation for the just about $100 worth.

This glowy doughnut is at house nearly anyplace, together with each tables and partitions. If you are on the lookout for a different lamp, take into accounts how it’s essential use it.