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The smart home market grew tremendously in 2016, and we only see the number of smart home products growing significantly in 2017. In fact, we can’t wait for CES 2017 to see exactly what new products are coming. But with all of the numerous wifi-connected devices and doohickies available already, controlling them all requires various different apps. You need a specific app for your Philips Hue lights, a specific Nest app, Roku remote, Apple TV remote, smart TV remote and app, and that’s just the start. But one of the coolest gadgets to surface in 2016 is the new Logitech Harmony Hub.
The Harmony Hub works with over 270,000 smart home and entertainment devices to make controlling them incredibly easy. Its best feature is that it not only controls your TV and entertainment devices, but it can also control smart lights, locks, thermostats, and virtually any other smart home device. What’s more, you’re able to create an unlimited number of activities that allows you to control numerous devices with just the tap of a single button.
Ready to finally binge watch Stranger Things? Watch Netflix will dim the lights, lock the door, turn the TV on and open up Netflix for your viewing pleasure. Time to pwn noobs in Overwatch on your PS4? You can tap a button to turn the TV and PS4 on. Heading to bed? Tap the “Good Night” button to lock the doors, turn the lights off, and lower the temperature (smart thermostat required, of course). But you get the idea, right? You can create an unlimited number of custom activities to provide universal control for your home. And what’s more, if you have an Amazon Echo (of course we do), you can set it to control the hub, using your voice to do everything.
Finally, you can control all of these devices away from home thanks to the Harmony app, allowing you to turn on the coffee pot on your way home, unlock the door for your neighbor, or turn the air conditioning off so it’s nice and cool when you arrive after a long day of work.
I’ll also note that the hub is slightly smaller than a Roku 4, and it’s a well-designed device that belongs right alongside your other entertainment devices.
