Logitech's 'Pop Home Switch' Aims to Simplify Smart Device Control

Thursday August 11, 2016 1:50 AM PDT by Tim Hardwick
Logitech today announced a new single-button device called the Pop Home Switch, designed to simplify the control of multiple smart home products.

The interactive accessory company says the idea behind the Pop is to free up control of smart devices so that anyone in the home can operate them regardless of whether they have a smartphone and the associated app for each device.

Logitech Pop Switch
The palm-sized, wall-mounted switch connects wirelessly to a Bluetooth hub that plugs into a power outlet, and enables users to activate up to three pre-programmed moods with a single, double, or triple press.

A companion mobile app scans local Wi-Fi networks for compatible devices and allows users to create a recipe for each. For example, a recipe called "morning" could be programmed to open the drapes and begin a particular music playlist with a single click of the button.

The Pop supports a range of smart home devices, like Phillips Hue lights, Sonos speakers, LIFX connected bulbs, August locks, and Lutron smart drapes.

Logitech's Starter Pack comes with two wall-mounted buttons and a single hub, and additional Pops can be bought to increase the flexibility of the system.

The Pop Home Switch Starter Pack costs $99.99 and additional switches cost $39.99. The device works with both iOS and Android; pre-orders begin today and the product will start shipping later this month.

Tag: Logitech
14 comments


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MacFan23
23 months ago
Rating: 6 Votes
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Madmic23
23 months ago
Finally! A switch I can put on the wall to turn my lights on and off!
Rating: 4 Votes
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Craiger
23 months ago

But can it trigger HomeKit scenes?

I don't understand how this wasn't addressed in the original post..
Rating: 4 Votes
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tuckerjj
23 months ago
But can it trigger HomeKit scenes?
Rating: 2 Votes
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CarlJ
23 months ago

No need to be rude. I agree with tuckerjj and others: they don't mention HomeKit support, neither in the press releases nor the technical specifications, and certainly at least the latter would lead one to believe that it's simply not supported--and they'd be foolish not to brag about it in the former if it were supported. ("Scenes" is not a HomeKit-specific term. It is the primary method of driving light changes in the v1 Philips Hue app, for example.)

I didn't take the question to be the slightest bit rude - this is a website about Apple and their products, HomeKit is Apple's entry into the home automation arena, one might reasonably expect an article on some new home automation product on an Apple-oriented website to mention whether or not it plays well with Apple's implementation.

If it tied into the HomeKit ecosystem, it might be more interesting. As it is, I think I'm happier with Hue's dimmer wall switches, which have a nice interface - they're limited to Hue lights, but that's all I'm looking to control so far.

(FWIW, I've also got a couple of iDevices' Switches, controlling a couple of much brighter lights, which I love, except for the fact that they're only controllable via HomeKit - the Hue Bridge offers a nice simple RESTful interface that I can control from a Raspberry Pi, but I've not found a way to have the Pi control an iDevices Switch.)
Rating: 1 Votes
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Carmenia83
23 months ago

Finally! A switch I can put on the wall to turn my lights on and off!

Not sure if this is sarcasm, but in all seriousness, if your lights are Hue, they make a great wall switch already. I had several rooms in my house without outlets controlled by wall switches. The Hue setup is way better than turning on each lamp separately or rewiring the rooms.
Rating: 1 Votes
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Carmenia83
23 months ago

But can it trigger HomeKit scenes?

I don't understand how this wasn't addressed in the original post..


Original post or the Logitech website says nothing about HomeKit anywhere, so I would assume it's not compatible. If they paid into the HomeKit program and jumped through Apple's hoops, I'm sure they would be advertising it.
Rating: 1 Votes
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