Australian T3 - May 2018

(C. Jardin) #1

GREATER RANGE LOADS OF BUTTONS


Discover more at techradar.com/au WINTER 2018T3 61

Smart home buttons


LOGITECH POP
$195.87 (starter kit), amazon.com.au

The Logitech Pop comes as a starter kit, which seems pricey,
but you get two buttons plus the bridge required to connect
them up. This system gives the buttons a greater range than
Bluetoothoptions,soyouhavemorefreedomtoplacethem
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pressinarush.Setuptakesafewminutes;youneedtoinstall
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press. Adding commands in the app is easy, though you have
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areon/offwiththesamepress,thoughanadvancedmode
allowsyoutosetonandoffactionswithdifferentpresses,
andyoucanalsosetmultipleactionstoeachofthem.Pop
supports many smart home devices within its own app,
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TURN TOUCH
US$59 ($77.52), turntouch.com

WelovethelookoftheTurnTouch,withitsluxurious
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some.Whatisn’tupfordebateisitscapabilities–unlikethe
other buttons here, you can’t carry out different actions with
different button presses; instead you get a whopping four
buttonstostabat.Oneachbuttonyoucanassignadifferent
device, and each device gets four commands, giving you up to
16 individual commands at your disposal. This is great if you
want more control over single devices or ecosystems. Turn
Touch works with most major smart home services, such as
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set up and automatically scans for smart home stuff. The
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confusing remembering which buttons control what.

T3 SAYSheLogitechPopisahighlycapablesmart
home button,thoughyou’llhavetopayextra in the
first instance to start using it.

T3 SAYSAuniquespinonthesmarthomebutton
theme,TurnTouchgivesyougreatercontrolover
devices and looks stunning (if you like wood).

VERDICT VERDICT


PUTINITSPLACE
Ifyou’regoingtobeusingyourbutton
tocontrolaspecificareaofthehouse
mostofthetime,itmakessensetoplace
itwhereit’llattractthemosttraffic.
If not, either place it somewhere
central, or carry it in your pocket.

CREATE A SCENE
IfabuttonisAppleHomeKitcompatible,
youcancreatescenes,allowingyouto
performmultipleactionswithabutton
press.Ifnot,youcansimplyaddmore
actions to a single button press within
an app to achieve the same effect.

GET MORE BUTTONS
Wa nt to ma ke you r sma r t home rea l ly
easy to control? he answer might seem
obvious, but you just need more smart
homebuttons.Popisagoodchoicefor
whole-home coverage, and individual
buttons are almost as cheap as the Flic.

HOW TO GET MORE FROM SMART HOME BUTTONS


THE
DESIGN
AWARD

PLATINUM
AWARD
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