Logitech POP programmable button gains Apple HomeKit compatibility with new model

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
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in iPhone
Logitech has updated the its POP home automation line, adding support for Apple's HomeKit platform with a new hardware revision, giving users the ability to control smart home devices and scenes with the simple press of a button.




On Tuesday, Logitech announced that the latest revision of its smart home programmable button smart home control, the POP Smart Button, is available and now supports Apple's HomeKit. While the switch itself has been available for some time, the new POP Smart Button is the first programmable button that can be integrated with HomeKit.

The Logitech POP Smart Button Kit includes one smart button with three gestures to customize control, and includes a POP bridge needed to connect the button onto a WiFi network. Users can then extend control with additional POP Add-on Smart Buttons.

The POP Smart Button can also be used with non-HomeKit devices such as Sonos wireless music systems, or Logitech Harmony hub-based remote controls. In addition to compatibility with Apple HomeKit, the Logitech POP Smart Button offers the ability to control Osram lighting, Philip Hue lights, Hunter Douglas and Lutron blinds, and other compatible devices.





A firmware update to first generation POP Home Switches will add functionality to the devices, but not HomeKit integration.

The Logitech POP Smart Button Kit ($59.95) and POP Add-on Smart Button ($39.95) will be available exclusively at Apple stores and Apple.com for a period of time, with other retails carrying the devices later in 2017.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 4
    macxpressmacxpress Posts: 5,808member
    So its like a Hue Tap, only not quite a functional. The Hue Tap has 4 programmable buttons (including 1 big button for easy use) so you can program 4 different things into it. it also doesn't require a battery...it doesn't appear like this does either. It uses the energy from the press to send the signal thus, not requiring a battery to function. 
  • Reply 2 of 4
    [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 0
    macxpress said:
    So its like a Hue Tap, only not quite a functional. The Hue Tap has 4 programmable buttons (including 1 big button for easy use) so you can program 4 different things into it. it also doesn't require a battery...it doesn't appear like this does either. It uses the energy from the press to send the signal thus, not requiring a battery to function. 
    Can the hue tap control any connected homekit device or just Hue bulbs/scenes?
  • Reply 3 of 4
    macxpressmacxpress Posts: 5,808member
    adm1 said:
    macxpress said:
    So its like a Hue Tap, only not quite a functional. The Hue Tap has 4 programmable buttons (including 1 big button for easy use) so you can program 4 different things into it. it also doesn't require a battery...it doesn't appear like this does either. It uses the energy from the press to send the signal thus, not requiring a battery to function. 
    Can the hue tap control any connected homekit device or just Hue bulbs/scenes?
    I only have Hue bulbs so I can't tell you that. I assume it only works with Hue stuff but I could be wrong. I think it relies on the Hue Bridge so that may be a downside.  
    edited April 2017
  • Reply 4 of 4
    nhughesnhughes Posts: 770editor
    adm1 said:
    macxpress said:
    So its like a Hue Tap, only not quite a functional. The Hue Tap has 4 programmable buttons (including 1 big button for easy use) so you can program 4 different things into it. it also doesn't require a battery...it doesn't appear like this does either. It uses the energy from the press to send the signal thus, not requiring a battery to function. 
    Can the hue tap control any connected homekit device or just Hue bulbs/scenes?
    I have the Hue dimmer and switch and it itself is not a HomeKit compatible accessory — it simply controls the bulbs. I assume the Tap is the same.

    There are some ways around this, in theory, with HomeKit triggers and scenes, but in practice they do not work much (most?) of the time, depending on your setup. For example, I have a Lutron dimmer by my front door, and I have a trigger set to turn off all lights in the house when the dimmer is turned off and the front door is unlocked (in other words, when I am leaving and I hit that switch, turn off all of the lights). Sometimes it works, most of the time it does not. That's a HomeKit problem, not an accessory problem.

    In theory, by being programmable and not requiring a trigger or scene, the Logitech Pop would bypass this and actually work. Again, in theory: This is HomeKit, so it's still a dice roll, unfortunately.
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