Logitech has today taken the wraps off of a new accessory that it says will make smart home devices even easier to control. The company has introduced the Pop Home Switch, which allows users to set moods and control a variety of smart home products with the press of a button.
Logitech will be selling the Pop Home Switch Starter Pack, as well as individual Pop Add-On Home Switch buttons separately. Essentially, what the product does is allow for a certain physical button to be assigned to a certain mood. Each button can carry three functions that are accessible by single, double, and long presses.
For instance, one press could be assigned to a “date night” mood. Pressing that button could have the lights go down and a certain playlist to begin to play. Pressing the button twice could be assigned to a “morning” preset, while a long could be assigned to “bedtime.”
Logitech explains that the Pop Home Switch essentially means that there’s no need for all smart home control to run through an app. So somebody that doesn’t have the app or doesn’t have their smartphone with them, could still control the house.
The setup process is performed through an accompanying app, though. Once you connect to your WiFi network, you can add individual devices to a switch or combine multiple devices into a single trigger using what Logitech refers to as Recipes. These essentially are combinations of product controls, like the aforementioned “date night.” The product is compatible with smart home products such as LIFX, Phillips Hue, Lutron, and INSTEON.
The Logitech Pop Home Switch Starter Pack and Pop Add-on Home Switch will be available in the United States sometime this month. The two products will cost $99.99 and $39.99, respectively. The Pop app will be free on both Android and iOS. More information below:
Logitech Introduces Button to Control Your Smart Home
With the Logitech Pop Home Switch, Everyone in the Family can Control the Smart Home
NEWARK, Calif. — Aug. 11, 2016 — Today Logitech (SIX: LOGN) (NASDAQ: LOGI) introduced the Logitech Pop Home Switch Starter Pack and Pop Add-On Home Switch, putting smart home control at your fingertips. After initial set-up, with the push of a button, everyone in the home can control smart home devices to set the scene with lighting presets, Sonos® playlists and more.
“Sometimes you just want to set the mood for movie night without opening multiple apps to turn down the lights, turn on the TV and the sound bar and draw the blinds.” said Renee Niemi, head of the Smart Home business at Logitech. “With Pop, you can do all that with a press of the switch. It makes the smart home simple and accessible for everyone — not just the person with the smartphone.”
Logitech Pop Home Switch is compatible with a wide range of lighting and smart home products including lighting, door locks, and blinds from companies like LIFX, Phillips Hue™, Lutron, and INSTEON®, and you can mix and match product controls on an individual switch.
Each switch can trigger three actions using different presses – a single press, a double press, and a long press. For example, you can set individual switches to turn smart products on/off, adjust brightness and scene presets, or quickly access your favorite Sonos music playlists and stations.
Setup is simple. The Pop app (available for Android® and iPhone®) scans your Wi-Fi network for compatible devices in the home. Then, you can assign individual devices to a switch or combine multiple devices into a single trigger using Recipes — simple combinations of product controls you can set up using the Pop app. So, if you want to set the mood with lighting and the music turned up for date night, you can do that easily with a single press of Pop. Or if your kids want the music tuned to a specific playlist or the lights bright to help them concentrate when they’re studying, they can easily do that with another press.
Plus, pairing your Pop Home Switch with a Logitech Harmony hub-based remote expands the types of devices that Pop can control exponentially with the addition of every entertainment product Harmony can control. The Pop Home Switch can be used to trigger one-touch Harmony Activities, such as “Watch TV” or “Listen to Music”, combining both home entertainment and smart home devices like lights, locks, blinds, and more.
Availability The Logitech Pop Home Switch Starter Pack and the Logitech Pop Add-on Home Switch are expected to be available in the U.S. in August. The suggested retail price of the Pop Home Switch Starter Pack is $99.99 and the Pop Add-On Home Switch suggested retail price is $39.99. The Pop app, will be free for both Android and iPhone users, and is expected to be available in the coming weeks. For more information, please visit Logitech.com, our blog or connect with us on Facebook.
