CES 2018: Elgato Debuts New 'Eve Room' and 'Eve Button' HomeKit-Enabled Accessories

Sunday January 7, 2018 3:05 PM PST by Juli Clover
At this year's Consumer Electronics Show, Elgato is adding to its HomeKit accessory lineup with two new Bluetooth HomeKit-enabled devices, which include an upgraded Eve Room and a new Eve Button.

The second-generation Eve Room, a followup to the original released in 2015, uses the latest sensor technology from Sensirion to track air quality, temperature, and humidity. Eve Room has a new aluminum enclosure, an update over the original plastic enclosure.


A new e-ink display allows you to see the Eve Room measurements when a smartphone isn't available, and it now features a built-in battery that can be charged using any USB power source.

Like the original, the updated Eve Room is able to determine indoor air quality by measuring volatile organic compounds (VOC), plus it tracks the humidity and temperature of an indoor room. While the data can be read on the e-ink display, it's also available in the Eve app, Apple's dedicated Home app, and from Siri thanks to HomeKit integration.


Eve Button, Elgato's first remote-style device, is designed to allow users to activate up to three HomeKit scenes without the need for a smartphone. Eve Button fits right in with the Eve lineup, with a sleek aluminum enclosure and a single button.


A single press, a double press, and a long press are each able to trigger a different HomeKit scene. Comparatively, the Eve Button isn't offering as many physical buttons as some other options, but it is a simple, standalone device that's works with all other HomeKit products and is priced affordably at $49.95.

Eve Room will be available in March of 2018 for $99.95, while Eve Button will be available starting later this month from the Elgato website and from Apple Stores.

Tags: HomeKit, Elgato, Eve, CES 2018
20 comments


Top Rated Comments

(View all)
Avatar
OldSchoolMacGuy
8 months ago
A $50 button for those too lazy to use Siri to activate HomeKit or unlock their phone and do it from the HomeKit app.
Rating: 2 Votes
Avatar
wesley96
8 months ago

It's a shame that Elgato used to be a good company, but since they were bought out by the Chinese firm Geniatech, they're support has completely evaporated. I used to like everything Elgato did, and now I wouldn't buy any of it and trust it to work one day past the warranty coverage.

You are confusing Geniatech’s acquisition of EyeTV with the entire company of Elgato.
https://help.elgato.com/customer/en/portal/articles/2341617-information-about-eyetv-s-transfer-of-ownership-to-geniatech

As you can see, Geniatech only acquired EyeTV and related product lines from Elgato. Other products like Eve are not affected and are still maintained by Elgato itself, which is independent from Geniatech.
Rating: 2 Votes
Avatar
Relentless Power
8 months ago

A $50 button for those too lazy to use Siri to activate HomeKit or unlock their phone and do it from the HomeKit app.


The convenience factor is having multiple of these devices in the house if you didn't have your iPhone with you at all times. For some, depending on where they spend their time, I could see why this would be beneficial if the iPhone was left behind.
Rating: 2 Votes
Avatar
Relentless Power
8 months ago

Yeah, I sure need to adjust my furnace and air conditioning at moments notice. A thermostat control in each room is really what's been missing from homes since the beginning.


Not really the point in the sense of a "Moments notice". As stated prior, It's the convenience of having access in the bedroom, basement, different levels where the user doesn't need or have their iPhone tethered to them . Perhaps for those who are disabled might have an appreciation for a product like this for reasons as such, which clearly this Product offers this advantage if someone wanted to utilize this. Aside from being dismissive, Just because you not see the utilization of multiple devices, doesn't mean someone else won't with their own investment with HomeKit.
Rating: 1 Votes
Avatar
wesley96
8 months ago
The new version of Eve Room does address the inconveniences of the first version, and I'm glad that it did. Having to look at the smartphone to check the status did reduce the usefulness somewhat, especially as HomeKit still lacks any notification options for air quality status changes. Also, Eve Room is the most power-hungry of the battery-operated Eve devices, needing to replace three AA batteries every 3 months or so when other ones last 1 year or more on 2 AA or smaller batteries.

But I'm still left to wonder how long the rechargeable battery lasts on the new one. I hope it does at least as well as the first version. Also, the price hike ($80 -> $100) is a little disappointing. Maybe I'll upgrade mine if it's on discount and has acceptable battery life.

As for the Eve Button... I suppose it's the first hub/bridge-less HomeKit button, which is good, I guess? I hope it's more stable than Logitech Pop. However, if you're already invested into Philips Hue, it could be better to just use the dimmer switch. While it doesn't support multiple press or long press for HomeKit (works only within Hue ecosystem) it does have four buttons (one more action than Eve Button) and is half the price at $25.
Rating: 1 Votes
[ Read All Comments ]