IKEA's Symfonisk speakers, made in collaboration with Sonos, was an affordable way of getting Sonos sound in a more lifestyle-friendly design. This collaboration came to an end this year, with the Symfonisk speakers – such as the bookshelf model and the lamp speaker (both four stars) – being phased out globally.
But that hasn't stopped IKEA's ambitions for a speaker range, and the Swedish furniture giant has unveiled three very colourful Bluetooth speakers of its own in time for Christmas.
The Solskydd range – which means "sunscreen" or "sun protection" in Swedish – is made in partnership with Swedish designer Teklan (Tekla Eveina Severin), and features bold colours and patterns that are certainly eye-catching. And they are rather affordable, too.
The IKEA Solskydd speaker range features circular designs varying in size: a small, portable 8-inch/19cm model that costs £29; a medium-sized 11-inch/29cm version costing £50; and a large 18-inch/45cm speaker for £80.
Prices in the USA are $89, $100 and $140 respectively, while the fabric finishes available are a bold-patterned orange and a minimal white (for the smallest model), a green and pink diagonal pattern (medium and large), and a textured orange option for the largest model only.
The smallest speaker features one 6.5mm full-range driver that outputs a claimed 9W of power and has 25 hours of battery life, although note that the USB-C cable and power adapter are sold separately.
The other two models have a 25mm tweeter and a 10cm woofer, and they feature 3.5mm aux and digital optical inputs. Power ratings are claimed at 20W and 40W respectively. These models can also be put in stereo pair mode and offer three EQ settings to fine tune the sound to your preference.
All models feature Bluetooth streaming, although the version and codec supports are not specified. Spotify Tap is available for one-touch streaming from the music service, and you can connect all three speakers together for a multi-speaker arrangement.
You can wall-mount the largest model, while the smaller two can be wall-mounted or placed on their stands.
There are shades of Bang & Olufsen in the Solskydd's design: the largest model is reminiscent of the iconic Beosound A9, while the smallest one puts us a little in mind of the Beosound A1 Gen 3 Bluetooth speaker.
There are LED and buttons on the top of the speakers, for controlling playback and volume adjustment.
Also part of the new smart home range is two lamps with built-in speakers, with equally bold colours and scalloped lamp shade designs that are meant to mimic soft-serve ice cream – or like a bobbing jellyfish, even.
This range is called Kulglass (a combination of the Swedish works for "cool/fun" and "ice cream"): there is a dark green base model with a light green shade, and a red-brown model with a pink shade. They also feature Bluetooth, Spotify Tap and multi-speaker mode.
IKEA says this "vibrant and playful" new range aims to create "high-quality sound products with bold patterns and unexpected colour combinations set to make technology a more enjoyable and visible part of the home."
All models are available from December 2025 onwards.
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