Logitech hasn’t exactly been a big player in the connected home space in the past, but it’s making moves to change that. Earlier today, the company announced not one, but four new smart home devices.
The lineup includes a central access point called the Logitech Harmony Home Hub, a range/protocol extender for the hub, and most notably, a pair of smart remotes (Logitech Harmony Ultimate Home, and Logitech Harmony Home Control) that can control anything connected to the hub. All four (save for the extender) will be available later this month
Under the hood, the Harmony Home Hub is equipped with RF, IR, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi radios — so it can speak to a wide range of different devices. The extender hub, which will be available later this year, will add Z-Wave and ZigBee compatibility, making it possible to connect and control an absolutely range of different smart home devices. Logitech has established partnerships with companies like Honeywell, Kwikset, Nest, SmartThings, Philips, and dozens of others, so the Harmony Home setup will reportedly be compatible with over 270,000 different devices right out of the box. The company has also introduced the Harmony Developer Program, so the list of compatible devices will undoubtedly continue to change and grow over time.
Related: What the heck are ZigBee, Z-Wave, and Insteon? Home automation standards explained
With this extensive compatibility, the Harmony system will allow you to set highly customized presets, and activate them at the touch of a button. Want the lights to dim, the shades to close, the heat to turn up, and Barry White’s Greatest Hits to play through your speaker system when your significant other gets home from work? With Logitech’s configurable “Harmony Activities”, you can link preset functions together and make them all happen on a schedule, with a single button press, or in response to a trigger. The sky’s the limit.
Though the first units won’t ship until the next week, you can currently preorder the Logitech Harmony Home Hub ($100), the Harmony Ultimate Home remote ($350), and the Harmony Home Control remote/app ($150) through Logitech’s website. The ZigBee/Z-Wave extender isn’t available quite yet, but is slated for release sometime in early 2015. In the meantime, you can find more details on specs, features, and availability here.
