'Brilliant Control' Launches to Replace Regular Light Switches With Smart Home Controls, HomeKit Coming Later

[MacRumors]

Smart home tech company Brilliant today launched its touchscreen-based "Brilliant Control" light switch priced starting at $299.00. Announced in early 2017, Brilliant Control replaces any existing light switch to enable touch and voice control over smart home devices from Amazon, Google, Nest, Ecobee, Honeywell, Ring, Philips Hue, and Wemo, but at launch not HomeKit.

Amazon Alexa is built directly into Brilliant Control, making it easy for those in the Amazon ecosystem to control their products with their voice using the light switch. For whatever light switch you are replacing, Brilliant Control also turns these bulbs into smart lights through the touch and voice control system.

Brilliant Control is compatible with Sonos, allowing the light switch to act as a hub for music playback on Sonos' line of smart speakers. The device also acts as a speaker system if you have two or more installed, so one person can make announcements to the rest of the house or use it as a video intercom between specific rooms.

Connected smart features include being able to see who is at your door by displaying the feed from a Ring doorbell, adjusting the temperature of Nest with touch or voice control, controlling Hue scenes, and more. Brilliant Control's display can also act as a picture frame when not in use, displaying family photos, art, or even seasonal themes.

Next to the touch screen are grooves that represent the traditional light switches you've replaced using Brilliant Control. Users can slide their fingers along each area to adjust the lighting for each respective fixture.

We reached out to Brilliant regarding future HomeKit support, and the company told us that it has hardware support for HomeKit built directly into Brilliant Control. This means that a future software update for the switch will include HomeKit support, but the company didn't divulge a release window for this update.

This should make Brilliant Control more enticing for those in Apple's ecosystem when HomeKit support launches, allowing you to control your scenes and accessories through the touch panel or Siri. As usual, if you're interested in Brilliant Control for HomeKit support, it's probably best to wait until the update has rolled out since we aren't sure how long it will take.

The company is also launching a connected iOS [Direct Link] and Android app, which allows all of the same controls when you aren't at home. Brilliant says that installing the device is as easy as installing a light switch, and requires "no additional wiring, modifications, or remote servers."

Brilliant Control comes in six colors and begins at $299.00 for a one light switch panel, and then rises to $349.00 for a two switch panel, $399.00 for a three switch panel, and $449.00 for a four switch panel. More information about Brilliant Control can be found on the company's website.

Article Link: 'Brilliant Control' Launches to Replace Regular Light Switches With Smart Home Controls, HomeKit Coming Later

 

[Z400Racer37]

Amazon Alexa is built directly into Brilliant Control

​

Nooooopee. Newwwwwwp.

Next please. ✌

 

[macduke]

Amazon Alexa is built directly into Brilliant Control

Instant NOT buy for me.

 

[OldSchoolMacGuy]

"HomeKit coming soon." How often have we seen that and waited months, or even years? I wouldn't buy it now with the expectation that it'll be any time soon. If you want HomeKit, I'd go with another option already offering it.

 

[justperry]

Brilliant Control comes in six colors and begins at $299.00 for a one light switch panel, and then rises to $349.00 for a two switch panel, $399.00 for a three switch panel, and $449.00 for a four switch panel.

That's even more price gauging as what Apple did with memory on it's phones, an additional $50 for every added switch is just plain silly/stupid.
I for one will never buy this, but that's my opinion.

 

[Scottsoapbox]

I feel like regular light switches keep me grounded -you know- in touch with the common man.

And my household staff have never complained about the them either.

 

[rafark]

We're starting to get autonomous, 24hr, internet-connected cameras inside our homes, this will not end well.

 

[Peepo]

Don’t believe promises of HomeKit. I bought a Ring Pro based on this and still waiting couple years later for promised HomeKit.

 

[Mike Oxard]

"HomeKit coming soon." How often have we seen that and waited months, or even years? I wouldn't buy it now with the expectation that it'll be any time soon. If you want HomeKit, I'd go with another option already offering it.

Yeah, companies can take forever to release products after they announce them, AirPlay2, AirPower and Mac Pro’s, for example!!

 

[jlc1978]

A neat idea, but the price is too high, IMHO. The a 3 bedroom, 1 bath home probably has at least 8 light switches. That's at least $2400 if you want all the switches to be replaced. A larger home will have over a dozen on one floor alone.. making it even more costly. People can already do all of that with cheaper switches and a smartphone / smart device; plus it's more convenient to simply pick up my phone and look at who's at the door than stop what I am doing and walk over to a switch.

Most builders wouldn't do it because they are not going to be able to get @400+ more for the house so it'll come off their bottom line so if they are building say 100 homes that's already a quarter of a million dollars lost profit.

Personally, I think the market is going to be for cheaper switches, even with more functionality, with the smarts in the phone or device; since that makes it more economical to upgrade or install them in multiple locations in a house.

 

[VPrime]

This is really cool, but like others have said expensive!
They should release just a connected switch for rooms that don't need the fancy screen. I bet this would reduce the costs quite a bit.

I could see the screen being useful as a central hub. Maybe in the family room or kitchen. Then in the bedrooms have a more basic connected lightswitch.

 

[hobocamp456]

"HomeKit coming soon." How often have we seen that and waited months, or even years? I wouldn't buy it now with the expectation that it'll be any time soon. If you want HomeKit, I'd go with another option already offering it.

Such as? That’s the problem with HomeKit. There just aren’t good options for it and definitely nothing like this. I hope there’ll be something like this for it without Alexa. I’d really like a nice smart controller that’s secure

 

[walstib]

No HomeKit = No Buy.

 

[pbush25]

"HomeKit coming soon." How often have we seen that and waited months, or even years? I wouldn't buy it now with the expectation that it'll be any time soon. If you want HomeKit, I'd go with another option already offering it.

You know it's funny, I always wondered the same thing until the company that I work for went through the process of trying to add HomeKit support to one of our products... and MAN does Apple make it extremely difficult to do so. There's lots of spec you have to meet from both a hardware and software side, and eventually we decided it wasn't worth the effort. If Apple really wants people to implement HomeKit they have got to make it easier to get into the ecosystem, otherwise no company (especially smaller ones) are going to devote the bandwidth to doing so.

 

[Spock]

For $199 you could get a new iPod touch at every light switch and run the iOS app that will allow it to do pretty much the same thing without Alexa. And the newest iPod touch supports Hey Siri as long as it’s plugged in.

 

[ipedro]

I'd get this to replace the Wink Relay that I've had for years that never worked as advertised but I'd be very careful about making sure that lights respond without delay. A delay — even for a couple of seconds — is simply not acceptable in a light switch. When you hit a switch, you expect the light to respond immediately. The Wink Relay has always had variations in delays from 5 seconds to sometimes 30 seconds. It's unusable.

Meanwhile, waiting on HomeKit support for this. Until then, it's a non starter.

 

[CLS727]

I have been wanting a better "smart light switch" solution for a long time.

Is this all over Wifi? Or can it all be hard wired into the house?

 

[mcfrazieriv]

This pile of donkey squat won't add value to the home and will look epically old like this thing hurrr:

 

[LiveM]

Nutone looks better...

What I want is for my Apple Watch to turn into a control screen if I raise it close to the light switch (NFC or W1 range), and so on with other devices around the house.

 

[justincalif]

This pile of donkey squat won't add value to the home and will look epically old like this thing hurrr:

ROFL - Perfect Analogy - Donkey Leave Behinds... and just as useful... it will be on a list of "Remember This Bad Idea - Top 40" in a couple of years (or less).

 

[duhhhhh]

"HomeKit coming soon." How often have we seen that and waited months, or even years? I wouldn't buy it now with the expectation that it'll be any time soon. If you want HomeKit, I'd go with another option already offering it.

For everyone crying about waiting for HomeKit support...

Homebridge: https://github.com/nfarina/homebridge
Raspi:
https://www.amazon.com/Raspberry-Pi-RASPBERRYPI3-MODB-1GB-Model-Motherboard/dp/B01CD5VC92

There. Problem solved!

 

[hagar]

For everyone crying about waiting for HomeKit support...

Homebridge: https://github.com/nfarina/homebridge
Raspi:
https://www.amazon.com/Raspberry-Pi-RASPBERRYPI3-MODB-1GB-Model-Motherboard/dp/B01CD5VC92

There. Problem solved!

Not at all. 99.9% of the target market does not have the technical skills or time to tinker around with this. If you pay 300$ for a light switch, you should expect it to work flawlessly with your other (mostly useless) internet connected toys.

I have Homebridge to connect Nest and Scout to my HomeKit and a few months ago it stopped working. Haven’t found the time to fix it.

 

[jonnysods]

Alexa is creepy. Way too creepy for us to have in our home.

 

[RedTomato]

Just what I need, a light switch that tells me who's at the door, and displays tiny photos of my family so that visitors can poke them in the face with their fingers.

$2k+ for a small house, requires electrician to install, and will be broken or outdated within a couple of years.

And I do actually think smart fridges are a good idea for families with multiple kids - makes it easier to track if kids are eating healthy, reminds me which foods are nearing expiry date and need to be cooked / eaten up (avoids waste and saves money), and updates shopping list when favourite foods are running low.

 

[masterbeat99]

Smart home tech company Brilliant today launched its touchscreen-based "Brilliant Control" light switch priced starting at $299.00. Announced in early 2017, Brilliant Control replaces any existing light switch to enable touch and voice control over smart home devices from Amazon, Google, Nest, Ecobee, Honeywell, Ring, Philips Hue, and Wemo, but at launch not HomeKit.

Amazon Alexa is built directly into Brilliant Control, making it easy for those in the Amazon ecosystem to control their products with their voice using the light switch. For whatever light switch you are replacing, Brilliant Control also turns these bulbs into smart lights through the touch and voice control system.

Brilliant Control is compatible with Sonos, allowing the light switch to act as a hub for music playback on Sonos' line of smart speakers. The device also acts as a speaker system if you have two or more installed, so one person can make announcements to the rest of the house or use it as a video intercom between specific rooms.

Connected smart features include being able to see who is at your door by displaying the feed from a Ring doorbell, adjusting the temperature of Nest with touch or voice control, controlling Hue scenes, and more. Brilliant Control's display can also act as a picture frame when not in use, displaying family photos, art, or even seasonal themes.

Next to the touch screen are grooves that represent the traditional light switches you've replaced using Brilliant Control. Users can slide their fingers along each area to adjust the lighting for each respective fixture.

We reached out to Brilliant regarding future HomeKit support, and the company told us that it has hardware support for HomeKit built directly into Brilliant Control. This means that a future software update for the switch will include HomeKit support, but the company didn't divulge a release window for this update.

This should make Brilliant Control more enticing for those in Apple's ecosystem when HomeKit support launches, allowing you to control your scenes and accessories through the touch panel or Siri. As usual, if you're interested in Brilliant Control for HomeKit support, it's probably best to wait until the update has rolled out since we aren't sure how long it will take.

The company is also launching a connected iOS [Direct Link] and Android app, which allows all of the same controls when you aren't at home. Brilliant says that installing the device is as easy as installing a light switch, and requires "no additional wiring, modifications, or remote servers."

Brilliant Control comes in six colors and begins at $299.00 for a one light switch panel, and then rises to $349.00 for a two switch panel, $399.00 for a three switch panel, and $449.00 for a four switch panel. More information about Brilliant Control can be found on the company's website.

Article Link: 'Brilliant Control' Launches to Replace Regular Light Switches With Smart Home Controls, HomeKit Coming Later

[doublepost=1540763744][/doublepost]WARNING - DO NOT BUY - I got suckered by the adverting (and misleading review, can't believe you didn't catch this) that they have HUE integration. THEY DO NOT - they literally can only see BULBS - ONE BULB AT A TIME! That means that you can literally only select and control ONE HUE BULB with your $399 switch. You can't control a whole room - making the switches WORTHLESS! Who wants a $399 light switch in the wall that you can dim ONE of your 4 ceiling bulbs with? The inability to see HUE rooms is a massive shortcoming and is very misleading. DO NOT BUY until they advertise they have room support. I waited months for Plum to have a promised update, now they are out of business. Don't make the same mistake I did and end up with worthless switches.