Ikea, the big-box Swedish furniture and meatball store, continues to expand into the consumer electronics category. Its latest offering is the $15 Vappeby, a portable Bluetooth speaker that’s also waterproof.
The speaker, which comes in black, red and yellow, can be paired with another Vappeby, Ikea said in a press release last week. It will have 80 hours of playtime when audio is at 50% volume.
Ikea says the speaker has an IP67 water resistance rating, meaning it can handle being submerged under water for up to 1 meter (3.3 feet) for up to 30 minutes. But consumers are advised not to test the limits of a device’s water and dust resistance, regardless of IP rating.
Ikea has slowly been expanding into the consumer electronics space since 2012. The company has launched hubs for smart home products, air quality monitors, bookshelf speakers and table lamp-speaker hybrids. While Ikea reported total retail sales of $43.5 billion in 2022, up 6.5% over the year prior, it didn’t detail how much came from the sale of consumer electronics. Ikea’s strategy with the Vappeby, like with its furniture, seems to be to undercut the competition on price. The Vappeby is cheaper than all of the devices on our roundup of the best portable mini Bluetooth speakers by a decent to wide margin.
Ikea didn’t immediately respond to a request for additional comment.
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Imad Khan