Leviton announces second-gen Decora hubless HomeKit switches and plugs

AppleInsider · March 29, 2021 9:17PM

On Monday afternoon, Leviton announced the second-generation lineup of its Decora smart Wi-Fi-enabled devices that work with HomeKit, including outlets, plugs, and other accessories that don't require a hub.

Leviton Decora

The new Smart Wi-Fi Decora lineup includes a dimmer, switch, mini plug-in switch, mini plug-in dimmer, and new Anywhere Dimmer and Switch Companions. All connect directly to Wi-Fi. Beyond new products and expanded Leviton app functionality, the company also says that the new lineup has a "reduced depth" to make both retrofits and new instals easier.

Leviton now has an even more exhaustive lineup of Wi-Fi-connected devices. Users will likely be able to find any control they need, be it a standard in-wall mounted switch or a plug-in style smart plug. The plug-in dimmer allows users to use any compatible lamp and use HomeKit or Siri to not only turn it on or off, but set the brightness as well.

These devices have expanded platform support and work with Apple's HomeKit as well as Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. The Anywhere Companions add multi-point control and can be easily attached to any wall with adhesives.

"Leviton is making it easier than ever for homeowners to add smart lighting control upgrades that match their unique homes and lifestyles with Decora Smart Wi-Fi 2nd Gen and Anywhere Companions," said James Shurte, senior product manager, Leviton. "Designed with our customers in mind, these exciting new Leviton products take smart to the next level, making it easy and cost-effective to upgrade from standard switches and dimmers to attractive app- and voice-controlled solutions for the entire home."

The new 600W Dimmer retails for $44.99, with the Mini-Plug-in Dimmer selling for $29.99. The 15A Switch sells at a retail price of $39.99, and the Mini Plug-in Switch retails for $24.99. Wide availability is expected soon at Amazon and Home Depot.

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iOS_Guy80 · March 29, 2021 9:42PM

Hue lighting system still the best. No extra hardware on the wall, no extra hardware in sockets, no adhesive needed to stick anything onto the wall.

Andrew_OSU · March 29, 2021 10:58PM

iOS_Guy80 said:

Hue lighting system still the best. No extra hardware on the wall, no extra hardware in sockets, no adhesive needed to stick anything onto the wall.

Hue is definitely great, but there are definite drawbacks that don’t make it ideal for everyone. The biggest of which is that the switches on the wall can’t be used to turn the bulbs on or off. There are workarounds, like the Aura, but that doesn’t make sense to everyone. If you have kids or older family members, you need a physical way to control the lights. Hue has the Dimmer and Tap and those need affixed to your wall with adhesives as well.

There’s no right or wrong solution here, but in-wall switches are great because it has a physical button, smart control, need to replace one switch rather than several bulbs, and no hub.

StrangeDays · March 29, 2021 11:06PM

iOS_Guy80 said:

Hue lighting system still the best. No extra hardware on the wall, no extra hardware in sockets, no adhesive needed to stick anything onto the wall.

I have Hue (among others) and while I like them, I don't like that it requires a hub. Or that their bulbs are so woefully underpowered in lumens.

The brightest lumen smart bulb I have is by Feit, at 1600 lumens and multi-color, but it's non-HK. They make HK bulbs but those are also only around 800 lumens. I don't get it... I want 1) HomeKit 2) bright lumens. Dunno why it's such a tall order.

jeffzacharias · March 29, 2021 11:38PM

This is great. I have 37 of the original switches and they work really well. The addition of Alexa and Google is good. These are by far the best HomeKit switches and you don’t need yet another hub.

j2fusion · March 30, 2021 12:06AM

I hope they keep the ability to change the color of the switch with just changing the faceplate like the original. If you wanted to change the color of your room, all you needed was a $5 faceplate instead of changing the entire switch. After the latest firmware update, the original switches work great. I have one in my unheated garage that has gone down to 0F in the winter and 95+F in the summer with no problems.

22july2013 · March 30, 2021 12:09AM

No Thread support? It's already obsolete.

SxyGayjust · March 30, 2021 12:20AM

What I dislike is the continued dependence on a 2.4 gHz network. It’s a PITA to setup if you don’t have a dedicated 2.4 gHz setup...

d_2 · March 30, 2021 12:41AM

The best part about this lineup is the wall mount remote switch option - my electrician couldn’t figure out how to easily run wiring for an overhead driveway light in my soffit down two stories for control to a garage located switch

gregoriusm · March 30, 2021 1:04AM

StrangeDays said:

iOS_Guy80 said:

Hue lighting system still the best. No extra hardware on the wall, no extra hardware in sockets, no adhesive needed to stick anything onto the wall.

I have Hue (among others) and while I like them, I don't like that it requires a hub. Or that their bulbs are so woefully underpowered in lumens.

The brightest lumen smart bulb I have is by Feit, at 1600 lumens and multi-color, but it's non-HK. They make HK bulbs but those are also only around 800 lumens. I don't get it... I want 1) HomeKit 2) bright lumens. Dunno why it's such a tall order.

Doesn’t that 1600 lumen bulb get quite hot, though?

itinj24 · March 30, 2021 4:43AM

Am I the only one that found the 1st gen Leviton dimmers and switches to be complete trash? They look really nice but constant drops from HomeKit made them useless. Seemingly worsened with every firmware update. The only devices that ever went “No Response” on me for no reason out of ~75 HomeKit devices. Got tired of resetting them daily. Shame. They really are nice switches.

GeorgeBMac · March 30, 2021 11:37AM

Andrew_OSU said:

iOS_Guy80 said:

Hue lighting system still the best. No extra hardware on the wall, no extra hardware in sockets, no adhesive needed to stick anything onto the wall.

Hue is definitely great, but there are definite drawbacks that don’t make it ideal for everyone. The biggest of which is that the switches on the wall can’t be used to turn the bulbs on or off. There are workarounds, like the Aura, but that doesn’t make sense to everyone. If you have kids or older family members, you need a physical way to control the lights. Hue has the Dimmer and Tap and those need affixed to your wall with adhesives as well.

There’s no right or wrong solution here, but in-wall switches are great because it has a physical button, smart control, need to replace one switch rather than several bulbs, and no hub.

Totally agree. I put some LifX floods in the overhead sockets in my grandson's room and they work great! He can control their color, brightness and even how they dance to his music from his phone. But he or anybody can easily turn them on or off as they enter & leave the room at the wall switch.

I would like to add some strip lighting, but that would not be controlled by the wall switch and could only be controlled by his phone -- and that would be a pain. They would either stay on all the time or off all the time.

j2fusion · March 30, 2021 12:22PM

itinj24 said:

Am I the only one that found the 1st gen Leviton dimmers and switches to be complete trash? They look really nice but constant drops from HomeKit made them useless. Seemingly worsened with every firmware update. The only devices that ever went “No Response” on me for no reason out of ~75 HomeKit devices. Got tired of resetting them daily. Shame. They really are nice switches.

Funny, I haven’t had a dropout in at least a year since I did the final update. You do need strong WiFi though. I have 3 Ubiquity access points in my house. I did that because when I originally installed the switches, like you, I had frequent “no response” and learned how to reset the switch WiFi without resetting the entire switch but singe the update all’s well.

itinj24 · March 30, 2021 12:46PM

j2fusion said:

itinj24 said:

Am I the only one that found the 1st gen Leviton dimmers and switches to be complete trash? They look really nice but constant drops from HomeKit made them useless. Seemingly worsened with every firmware update. The only devices that ever went “No Response” on me for no reason out of ~75 HomeKit devices. Got tired of resetting them daily. Shame. They really are nice switches.

Funny, I haven’t had a dropout in at least a year since I did the final update. You do need strong WiFi though. I have 3 Ubiquity access points in my house. I did that because when I originally installed the switches, like you, I had frequent “no response” and learned how to reset the switch WiFi without resetting the entire switch but singe the update all’s well.

Out of curiosity, when was the last update? I stopped using them last May. I’ve moved on to Lutron Caseta since but I still have a bunch of these in a storage box. If they’ve improved, I’ll give them another shot. I (was) still am using Verizon FiOS gigabit speed connected direct to an eero pro with 4 eero pro router points in a (at the time) 2900 sq ft house so plenty coverage with speed tests to confirm. I had a problem switch within 10 feet of a wired eero pro router and a clean line of sight. I would love to blame my WiFi so I have an explanation, but I’m not so sure. These were the only devices that went “No Response” daily. Tried changing the connected Home hub too with no better results. I’m seeing mixed reports on these though. Lots of good and bad ones with regards to the WiFi connection. Best looking wall switches currently on the market IMO, I’ll give them that.

Andrew_OSU · March 30, 2021 2:41PM

22july2013 said:

No Thread support? It's already obsolete.

I think this is a big misconception. Wi-Fi is still a better option than Thread for devices that are always powered. Wi-Fi allows a more constant connection than Thread. While it would certainly be a benefit to have Thread so that it is able to act as a Thread Router and extend your Thread network, it isn't necessary and many, many Thread devices are launching that will fill that role quite quickly.

You will see Thread most often coming to low-power battery-operated devices rather than wired devices that can connect directly via Wi-Fi.

StrangeDays · March 30, 2021 9:23PM

SxyGayjust said:

What I dislike is the continued dependence on a 2.4 gHz network. It’s a PITA to setup if you don’t have a dedicated 2.4 gHz setup...

My new Mitsubishi HVAC system (and their horrible Kumo Cloud app) are in this boat. The manual even says you can’t use a dual-band network, it must be 2.4 only. Laaame. Thankfully the Eero system has a mode to temporarily downgrade to 2.4 only for 10 minutes for set up, then reverts to dual. Seems to be working.

StrangeDays · March 30, 2021 9:25PM

gregoriusm said:

StrangeDays said:

iOS_Guy80 said:

Hue lighting system still the best. No extra hardware on the wall, no extra hardware in sockets, no adhesive needed to stick anything onto the wall.

I have Hue (among others) and while I like them, I don't like that it requires a hub. Or that their bulbs are so woefully underpowered in lumens.

The brightest lumen smart bulb I have is by Feit, at 1600 lumens and multi-color, but it's non-HK. They make HK bulbs but those are also only around 800 lumens. I don't get it... I want 1) HomeKit 2) bright lumens. Dunno why it's such a tall order.

Doesn’t that 1600 lumen bulb get quite hot, though?

Dunno, it’s a porch light in the backyard, great for brightness or party colors.

I have another non-smart 1600 LED as a bedside reading lamp, and the heat has never been an issue. It’s a Switch, which was one of the first LED bulbs and while the company went away the bulb has been going strong.

itinj24 · March 31, 2021 10:43AM

GeorgeBMac said:

Andrew_OSU said:

iOS_Guy80 said:

Hue lighting system still the best. No extra hardware on the wall, no extra hardware in sockets, no adhesive needed to stick anything onto the wall.

Hue is definitely great, but there are definite drawbacks that don’t make it ideal for everyone. The biggest of which is that the switches on the wall can’t be used to turn the bulbs on or off. There are workarounds, like the Aura, but that doesn’t make sense to everyone. If you have kids or older family members, you need a physical way to control the lights. Hue has the Dimmer and Tap and those need affixed to your wall with adhesives as well.

There’s no right or wrong solution here, but in-wall switches are great because it has a physical button, smart control, need to replace one switch rather than several bulbs, and no hub.

Totally agree. I put some LifX floods in the overhead sockets in my grandson's room and they work great! He can control their color, brightness and even how they dance to his music from his phone. But he or anybody can easily turn them on or off as they enter & leave the room at the wall switch.

I would like to add some strip lighting, but that would not be controlled by the wall switch and could only be controlled by his phone -- and that would be a pain. They would either stay on all the time or off all the time.

You can bypass the wall switch to keep the circuit constantly closed by connecting the two switch wires together with a wire nut. Remove the switch and cover the electrical box with a blank wall plate so nobody can turn it off. This way the power to the light bulbs is on demand with his phone. Remembering to turn off the power at the breaker before beginning the job. Longest part of this job is walking up and down the stairs to turn the breaker off and then on lol. I’m no electrician. Just a DIYer.

GeorgeBMac · March 31, 2021 4:37PM

itinj24 said:

GeorgeBMac said:

Andrew_OSU said:

iOS_Guy80 said:

Hue lighting system still the best. No extra hardware on the wall, no extra hardware in sockets, no adhesive needed to stick anything onto the wall.

Hue is definitely great, but there are definite drawbacks that don’t make it ideal for everyone. The biggest of which is that the switches on the wall can’t be used to turn the bulbs on or off. There are workarounds, like the Aura, but that doesn’t make sense to everyone. If you have kids or older family members, you need a physical way to control the lights. Hue has the Dimmer and Tap and those need affixed to your wall with adhesives as well.

There’s no right or wrong solution here, but in-wall switches are great because it has a physical button, smart control, need to replace one switch rather than several bulbs, and no hub.

Totally agree. I put some LifX floods in the overhead sockets in my grandson's room and they work great! He can control their color, brightness and even how they dance to his music from his phone. But he or anybody can easily turn them on or off as they enter & leave the room at the wall switch.

I would like to add some strip lighting, but that would not be controlled by the wall switch and could only be controlled by his phone -- and that would be a pain. They would either stay on all the time or off all the time.

You can bypass the wall switch to keep the circuit constantly closed by connecting the two switch wires together with a wire nut. Remove the switch and cover the electrical box with a blank wall plate so nobody can turn it off. This way the power to the light bulbs is on demand with his phone. Remembering to turn off the power at the breaker before beginning the job. Longest part of this job is walking up and down the stairs to turn the breaker off and then on lol. I’m no electrician. Just a DIYer.

That's actually the exact opposite of what is needed.

The wall outlet is far more convenient for on/off -- especially if you don't have access to the phone that has access to Homekit or the LifX app.

Using those apps for difference lighting effects is reasonable and fairly easy. But nobody would be happy eliminating the wall switch for simple on and off -- except for the 14 year old who would happily leave them on 24x7.

The next best option is using Siri through the HomePods: But even that is less convenient than the wall switch.

itinj24 · March 31, 2021 10:31PM

GeorgeBMac said:

itinj24 said:

GeorgeBMac said:

Andrew_OSU said:

iOS_Guy80 said:

Hue lighting system still the best. No extra hardware on the wall, no extra hardware in sockets, no adhesive needed to stick anything onto the wall.

Hue is definitely great, but there are definite drawbacks that don’t make it ideal for everyone. The biggest of which is that the switches on the wall can’t be used to turn the bulbs on or off. There are workarounds, like the Aura, but that doesn’t make sense to everyone. If you have kids or older family members, you need a physical way to control the lights. Hue has the Dimmer and Tap and those need affixed to your wall with adhesives as well.

There’s no right or wrong solution here, but in-wall switches are great because it has a physical button, smart control, need to replace one switch rather than several bulbs, and no hub.

Totally agree.   I put some LifX floods in the overhead sockets in my grandson's room and they work great! He can control their color, brightness and even how they dance to his music from his phone.   But he or anybody can easily turn them on or off as they enter & leave the room at the wall switch.

I would like to add some strip lighting, but that would not be controlled by the wall switch and could only be controlled by his phone -- and that would be a pain.   They would either stay on all the time or off all the time.

You can bypass the wall switch to keep the circuit constantly closed by connecting the two switch wires together with a wire nut. Remove the switch and cover the electrical box with a blank wall plate so nobody can turn it off. This way the power to the light bulbs is on demand with his phone. Remembering to turn off the power at the breaker before beginning the job. Longest part of this job is walking up and down the stairs to turn the breaker off and then on lol. I’m no electrician. Just a DIYer.

That's actually the exact opposite of what is needed.
The wall outlet is far more convenient for on/off -- especially if you don't have access to the phone that has access to Homekit or the LifX app.

Using those apps for difference lighting effects is reasonable and fairly easy.   But nobody would be happy eliminating the wall switch for simple on and off -- except for the 14 year old who would happily leave them on 24x7.

The next best option is using Siri through the HomePods:   But even that is less convenient than the wall switch.

Ah ok, gotchya. Misunderstood. Usually, the biggest complaint of smart bulbs is that when you cut power to the wall switch, the bulbs become useless. Thought you wanted to eliminate that.

Leviton announces second-gen Decora hubless HomeKit switches and plugs

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