Ikea, the big-box Swedish furnishings and meatball retailer, continues to increase into the buyer electronics class. Its newest providing is the $15 Vappeby, a conveyable Bluetooth speaker that is additionally waterproof.
The speaker, which is available in black, crimson and yellow, can be paired with another Vappeby, Ikea mentioned in a press launch final week. It’s going to have 80 hours of playtime when audio is at 50% quantity.
Ikea says the speaker has an IP67 water resistance score, that means it will possibly deal with being submerged below water for as much as 1 meter (3.3 toes) for as much as half-hour. However shoppers are advised not to test the limits of a device’s water and dust resistance, no matter IP score.
Ikea has slowly been increasing into the buyer electronics house since 2012. The corporate has launched hubs for smart home products, air quality monitors, bookshelf speakers and table lamp-speaker hybrids. Whereas Ikea reported complete retail gross sales of $43.5 billion in 2022, up 6.5% over the 12 months prior, it did not element how a lot got here from the sale of shopper electronics. Ikea’s technique with the Vappeby, like with its furnishings, appears to be to undercut the competitors on value. The Vappeby is cheaper than the entire gadgets on our roundup of the best portable mini Bluetooth speakers by a good to large margin.
Ikea did not instantly reply to a request for added remark.
