The newly-branded Eve Systems today opened up pre-orders for the second generation of its Eve Room climate and air quality sensor, ahead of a launch on September 12. The new device was first revealed at CES in January and is compatible with Apple's HomeKit platform, measuring air quality, temperature, and humidity in whatever room it's placed.
The original Eve Room was a square white box that launched in 2015, also providing data about indoor air quality, temperature and humidity, which you had to view on a connected smartphone or through Siri inquiries. The second generation makes viewing all of this information at a glance much easier thanks to a high-contrast 1.54-inch E-ink display, surrounded by an anodized aluminum body.
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Four different screen layouts are available to choose from, allowing users to pick "the most relevant room parameters" that can be viewed at a distance and changed via capacitive touch controls on the front panel. It also replaces AA batteries with a rechargeable internal battery that lasts for six weeks at a time. The unit includes an energy-saving mode that limits measurements until the next full charge when it's low on battery, but users can opt to plug Eve Room 2 in permanently to a power supply as well.
"After the first, highly successful generation of Eve Room, this new version raises the bar even higher," says Markus Fest, Managing Director of Eve Systems. "No other air quality sensor offers this level of accuracy, design quality, and energy efficiency."
Of course, you can also still view readings on the company's app or by asking Siri questions like, "How's the air quality in the living room?" With HomeKit support, Eve Room 2 can talk to other HomeKit products, for example flashing Hue bulbs when the air quality drops below a certain threshold or adjusting an Ecobee thermostat if the indoor temperature rises above a certain level.
No bridge is required to operate Eve Room 2, and it connects to a smartphone via Bluetooth when you're home. To operate it via remote access, you'll need a HomeKit hub like HomePod or Apple TV to connect to the sensor while you're away from home.
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Eve Systems rebranded itself from Elgato in June, announcing it would shift its focus "exclusively" to HomeKit-compatible devices and making the Eve Room 2 one of the first products to debut from the restructured company. Eve Systems previously said a few product announcements would be coming out of IFA Berlin this week, joining existing HomeKit devices like Elgato Eve Degree Connected Weather Station, Light Switch, Wireless Motion Sensor, Room Sensor, Energy Smart Plug, Button, and more.
Those interested will be able to pre-order Eve Room 2 at the Eve Online Store and on Amazon for $99.95, ahead of a launch on September 12.
Top Rated Comments
Meanwhile I don't care about HomeKit and Siri. My first intention was to control everything with HomeKit and Siri, but I don't have my iPhone anytime with me to control my smart home with my voice and I don't have the money to put a HomePod in every room, but I have the money for an Echo Dot in every room. Now I can ask Alexa to turn my lights on and off, to start my coffee machine in the morning when I'm still in bed, control my TV with a Harmony Hub and ask Netatmo how the temperature is in- and outside and how the air quality inside is, also I get notifications, if the air quality is bad. All this works with Alexa, how about Siri?
I don't think the HomePod is useful enough to justify the price. Maybe someday, or if they come out with a cheaper version. For now I don't trust Amazon enough with being able to listen to me all day long. Also I have little kids who would mess with voice controls. It would be a nightmare, lol. I always have my iPhone in my pocket or on my desk in my studio, and it only listens for my voice, so that's why I prefer using that.Depending on the accuracy of this, a handful of these scattered about may be a cheap way to quickly monitor several areas of our machining & composites shop with overlapping environmental req's. Handy.
If you don't need live data, TinyTag environmental dataloggers are very reliable and robust enough for a manufacturing environment.https://www.geminidataloggers.com/
They also make wireless systems that cost a bit more.