CES 2019: Brilliant Home Control Light Switch Replacement Gaining HomeKit Support in the Spring

[MacRumors]

Smart home tech company Brilliant will be adding HomeKit support to its Brilliant Home Control light switch in spring 2019, Brilliant told MacRumors today.

Introduced in September 2018, Brilliant Control is designed to replace any existing light switch in your home, adding touch and voice control capabilities for a number of smart home platforms.

At launch, Brilliant supported smart home devices from Amazon, Google, Nest, Ecobee, Honeywell, Ring, August, Philips Hue, Sonos, and Wemo, but HomeKit support was left out. That's going to be rectified later this year, with Brilliant announcing the news just ahead of this year's Consumer Electronics Show.

Brilliant Control offers a number of features when paired with other smart home devices. With Sonos, for example, the light switch is able to act as a hub for music playback. With a Ring doorbell, you can view the video feed on the Brilliant Control, and with a Nest, you can adjust temperature through the device without having to access the Nest itself.

Multiple Brilliant Control devices can be paired up to serve as a speaker system and video intercom for house-wide communication purposes, and the display can be used as a picture frame, displaying family photos and other art.

The three grooves on the Brilliant Control serve as sliders for adjusting lighting for the lights attached to the switch the Brilliant Control replaced.

With HomeKit support, HomeKit-enabled devices will be able to be controlled via the voice and touch integrations on the Brilliant Control.

"Brilliant unifies control of smart home devices in a way that is seamless, simple and accessible throughout the home," said Aaron Emigh, CEO and co-founder of Brilliant. "This new integration with HomeKit will soon give Brilliant owners who have invested in the Apple ecosystem even more functionality and convenience."

Brilliant Control is available in six colors and is priced starting at $299 for a one light switch panel. Pricing goes up to $349 for a two switch panel, $399 for a three switch panel, and $449 for a four switch panel.

The HomeKit update will be delivered as an over-the-air firmware update to all Brilliant Control owners in the spring of 2019.

Article Link: CES 2019: Brilliant Home Control Light Switch Replacement Gaining HomeKit Support in the Spring

 

[TheOtherJFK]

The woman in the kitchen dancing looks completely unnatural.

 

[Jssmith83]

Seems like another example of HomeKit not being publicized. Would be nice to see a push in the public for HomeKit

 

[Spock]

$299 for a light switch is absurd, these things have less technology than a $199 iPod Touch.

 

[centauratlas]

The more HomeKit the better, but I wouldn't buy it until it is shipping with it - and at $299, I wouldn't even buy it then.

 

[DaveGee]

Prices should be as advertised for HomeKit users (these are the people who thought it was 'fine' to pay $100 per HUE for a color changing bulb.... however the Alexa crowd will likely expect to pay less and the Google people even less still.

 

[justperry]

Way too expensive if you want this integrated in your house, lets say you have a small family with to kids, 3 bedroom house, need one for each room, so 3 bedrooms, living room, kitchen, probably want one in the garage too, 6 X $300 plus it needs a professional installer, too much for the average Joe.
Not only that, this is only for the single switch so if there are more lights it will even be more.

 

[gtg465x]

Prices should be as advertised for HomeKit users (these are the people who thought it was 'fine' to pay $100 per HUE for a color changing bulb.... however the Alexa crowd will likely expect to pay less and the Google people even less still.

When were Hue color changing bulbs ever $100? I've never seen them above $50, and you can usually find them for $40 on sale. And the regular dimmable non-color-changing Hue smart bulbs are only $10.
[doublepost=1546891920][/doublepost]

Way too expensive if you want this integrated in your house, lets say you have a small family with to kids, 3 bedroom house, need one for each room, so 3 bedrooms, living room, kitchen, probably want one in the garage too, 6 X $300 plus it needs a professional installer, too much for the average Joe.
Not only that, this is only for the single switch so if there are more lights it will even be more.

Who says you have to have one of these in every room? If I were to get them, I would probably only get them in a few key areas... you could always add more later if you wanted. And most people can figure out how to change a switch... it's not hard and you don't need a professional installer. Also, I don't think this is meant for the average Joe... I mean look at those things. They are fancy. They are meant for fancy houses. Not every product has to be affordable to everyone.