I would imagine they are applying an electric current to a layer that sits in-between panes of glass for todays privacy glass installations.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
HomeKit Accessories Worth Checking Out
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Good to know and I can attest that the Belkin Wemo bridge is absolute garbage (I had to stop using it as even using an outlet to automate restarting it every night wasn’t enough to make it reliable) and accessories I hooked up through it did always have problems. If you setup the switches directly to HomeKit with no bridge they are pretty reliable. Definitely not 100%, but maybe 90%+? I suppose in the run it is worth it to spend a lot for better dependability but hard to stomach…
If you are using the wemo bridge definitely toss that and just link to HomeKit directly… For me I’d say the HomeKit integration is 90% reliable and at least the switch itself always works to turn on the lights for light switches replaced… One thing I have found too is that with my Hue bridge (extremely reliable) to plug that in directly to your router and not, say, through an Orbi satellite or through switches. I only mention that because I have Wemo controlling Hue stuff through HomeKit…
I run it on a Raspberry Pi. Excellent bit of kit that really completes my HomeKit setup.
Yep, homebridge is awesome. I use it to control all my Wemo lights through homekit as Belkin seem to have pretty much abandoned Wemo in the UK so the official Wemo homekit bridge has never been available here.
In order:
Yes
No
No
Yes
You are paying big bucks for old tech. Had you bought them. Yesterday's "dimming windows" work on b or g wifi, not ac or ax.
There are also Caseta fan controls now - I have two and they work great
Exactly and the reason I went with the Hue bulbs, since if I was going to pay a premium on a light bulb I wanted color/temp control and the ability to dim low.
I do have their ELV+ dimmer on some recessed LED kitchen lights that I'm not ready to replace yet, it is a bit quieter and the humming not as noticeable during normal kitchen activity.
Luckily the Caseta Plug in adapters can be switched to on/off mode and are great for things like Christmas lights and LED cabinet lighting.
Pretty cool stuff. Maybe we're a few years away from windows that can double as a computer/tv display. Imagine turning your windows into a view of the Grand Canyon or Andromeda... fun stuff.
edit: to be on topic, I have only a few HomeKit items (HomePod) but rely on the Hue Hub for a 6 lights (color/normal), 5 smart switches, and a Neato robot vacuum.
I think the real star here is Shortcuts - once you figure this out you can link multiple things together even if they're not designed for HomeKit.
Last edited:
one things that's true is ya wind up spending more down the line replacing the stuff that doesn't work... I currently just ordered another Lutron lamp dimmer cus the idevices switch I previously used for my Christmas tree flat out won't connect to HomeKit at all suddenly
I have a drawer full of iHome and iDevices Wi-Fi smart switches that stopped working or would randomly drop out starting 2 years ago. I gave up on support from both companies because they blamed Apple for changes in homekit and Apple blamed them for not updating their firmware.
There is a 1400+ post thread on Rachio's support channel for the same issue. https://community.rachio.com/t/rachio-3-not-responding-in-homekit-again/17689/1462
In my experience you are better off in Homekit using devices that work via another hub - If you are already in the Philips Hue ecosystem their smart plugs are rock solid, albeit more expensive.
Sounds like you're all set for some wireless access points though. Wish I had that set up.
If you want low-end, the Ikea roller blinds are very reasonable, very easy to install (physically) and fairly reliable.
The main downside is that they're still not Thread, rather Ikea's particular implementation of zigbee with all the weirdness surrounding a dedicated controller and a pairing model that will make no sense to you when you have to re-pair them again in a year after something goes wrong.
Bottom line
- smart shades are REALLY nice if you live in a place like LA or Phoenix
- Ikea are priced low enough to fit most budgets BUT
- wait till Ikea ship a Thread version that (hopefully) dispenses with the Ikea-specific controller weirdness.
In theory Thread will fix this
- based (at the lowest level) on BT rather than WiFi, so doesn't depend on your SSID (or other nonsense like 2.4 vs 5 vs 6GHz)
- mesh-based so, once you install a critical mass of just a few devices, each subsequent device makes the network more reliable.
Thread, like all new HW, is taking its sweet time to become universal -- and we probably lost two years or more of transition time to Covid and the chip shortage :-(
One simply has to be patient...
The essentials are available: base station (aTV or HomePod mini), smart sockets (Eve), lightbulbs (Nanoleaf Essentials), but anything fancier, not yet.
I have a real espresso machine, linked to HomeKit by being plugged into a smart power outlet. It needs 20 minutes to get up to temperature, so I can set it to start up 20min before I need it and these can be automated (ie. geofence triggers, time triggers and of course Siri).
Surprised they didn’t mention the Logitech Circle View smart doorbell, with HomeKit Secure video. Good camera and peace of mind knowing Jeff Bezos isn’t leering at your guests every time they arrive.
Use a VPN to access the US-American site (try Opera for example).
Anyhow:
HunterFan used to have a SmartFan Site where they announced their SimpleConnect fans for Europe a while ago, but they’ve since removed it ?
https://hunterfan.de/en/pages/smart-fan-simpleconnect®
Unfortunately the WayBack Machine on archive.org has no copy of this site. I did capture a screenshot back in October:
I wonder what happened. I‘ve sent hunter an inquiry, but they never answered.
Companies have been making glass turn opaque at a push of a button for a very long time. The first time I saw it, was about 20 years ago (in person, not some random video). But that was for commercial use, not the consumer. Car manufactures have been able to turn the windows on cars go opaque for years, Maybach was the first one.
Phillips hue. Why would they need all that information from me to setup an 'account' to control light bulbs.
I connected with a VPN, wow...those ridiculous prices.
Same here though, my girl will buy me a top of the line 60" Panasonic (Asia) for about the same price as the cheapest Hunter connected fan.