Once upon a time, the idea of a smart home meant building brand-new houses with wired connections throughout. Nowadays though, thanks to the advent of fast local Wi-Fi connections and capable smartphones, we can all enjoy the benefits of increased appliance connectivity, no matter the age of our home. The X10 is ASRock’s attempt to facilitate that while being a core component of it.
The ASRock X10 features support for 802.11AC wireless networking and has a pair of high-gain antennas to offer good signal coverage. It also supports both MU-MIMO and beamforming. It has four Gigabit Ethernet ports and a single USB 3.0 connection. It also comes with additional features like parental controls and the ability to operate a private VPN server.
Although it’s described as an IoT router, the ASRock X10 actually stands apart through its smartphone application connectivity. Available on iOS and Android, you can use the official app to control aspects of your internet connection and local network, as well as the devices that connect to it. Whether smart locks, smart lighting, or smart home sensors or cameras, you can control them all through the X10’s own application.
The control doesn’t have to be manual, either. You can set up what ASRock describes as “scenes,” that automate certain functions. You can have the lights turn off when you go to bed, or turn on your TV when you get up in the morning. You can even have the curtains close and set some mood lighting when you want to watch a movie.
Combine that ability with the X10’s support for geofencing and you can have cameras and security systems turn on when you leave your house, or turn on your lights when you return.
Although none of these features are unique in their own right, in combination, they allow the X10 does offer a comprehensive connectivity platform, and ASRock is hoping that for many people, it will be their window to a new world of interconnected devices, with its router at the center of it all.
You can buy the ASRock X10 now for $140.
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