Eve is launching Thread support for more of her smart home line

Eve Systems, a maker of smart home products that work with Apple’s HomeKit platform, is announcing an expanded range of devices that support the Intelligent Thread protocol. The news consists of updated versions of its existing smart plug, an upcoming firmware update for the company’s smart sprinkler and a new external weather station.

Thread is a wireless communication standard that was developed from the beginning for smart home purposes and is designed to replace legacy technologies such as Z-Wave and Zigbee. The benefits of Thread include more reliable connections between devices, faster response times and longer battery life.

Although Thread support has been around for a handful of devices for some time, Apple’s mini HomePod is the first to really make Thread a viable option in a smart home. It can act as a bridge between Thread-enabled accessories and connect them to the Internet, which they cannot do on their own. Thread is also one of the pillar technologies of the Connected Home over IP (CHIP) project, a cooperation between all major smart home platforms and device providers to standardize around an interoperable wireless protocol.

It is with this in mind that Eve is updating and expanding her device portfolio. The new Eve Energy, which will be available in the US or UK versions, is an updated version of Eve’s smart plug. It will support Thread and Bluetooth and will be available in the US from April 6 and in the UK from may 4th. Energy is the only one that can act as a repeater for the Thread network, allowing you to extend the signal to devices even if they are out of reach of a mini HomePod. In the US, energy will cost $ 39.95.

Image: Eva

An upcoming firmware update will add Thread support for the $ 99.95 Eve Aqua, the company’s smart sprinkler system. Thanks to Thread’s greater reach, the updated Aqua can keep your connection to the network better than it would with just Bluetooth. Eve says support for Thread will be released in April.

Finally, the all-new Eve Weather is a wireless outdoor weather station that allows you to monitor the exact outside temperature, humidity and barometric pressure in your home. It is a replacement for Eve Degree, a similar product that relied exclusively on Bluetooth for its connectivity. Eve Weather has a monochrome display that shows the current temperature, humidity and climatic conditions; the Eve app provides access to trends over time and more specific data. Weather also has Siri integration for voice queries.

Eve claims that Weather is IPX3 water resistant and was specifically designed for outdoor use. It works with a coin-cell battery that should last between six and 12 months before it needs to be replaced. Eve Weather will be available starting March 25 for $ 69.95.

Image: Eva

These are not the only products in Eve’s portfolio that support Thread. The company has already issued firmware updates with Thread support for its European-spec door and window sensors and smart power plug, and says that everything it has released since June 2020 has the necessary hardware to work with Thread. It is one of the first companies to really launch its hat on the Thread ring in a meaningful way.

Eve is a unique company in the smart home market, as its products only work with Apple’s HomeKit platform and are not compatible with Amazon Alexa, Google Home or any of the other existing platforms. This is different from most other smart home companies, which try to reach the widest possible audience by supporting the most popular platforms, which usually means Amazon Alexa and Google Home. The ecosystem of HomeKit devices is much smaller in comparison, largely thanks to an expensive hardware certification that Apple used to require and has since reversed. HomeKit is also completely inaccessible from outside the Apple ecosystem, so if you have an Android phone, you can’t control Eve devices.

Eve Systems CEO Jerome Gackel told me that the company’s goal is not just to be a manufacturer of HomeKit accessories. It turns out that Apple’s platform is the only one that allows Eve to focus her efforts on her devices and applications without having to maintain a cloud service to allow them to connect to the internet. All Eve device processing takes place locally on your home network or between your own devices, without sending data to the cloud, which helps the company achieve its goal of a smart home with a priority for privacy. (You can still remotely control Eve devices through the Apple Home app, as long as you have a HomeKit hub, such as an Apple TV, HomePod, or iPad running at home.)

Gackel hopes that support for Thread and its key role in the CHIP project will open the door to working with other smart home platforms in the future. But Eve will not work with Alexa or Google Home as long as they continue to require a cloud connection for their platforms.

Eve’s bet on HomeKit has been a success so far – the company already has 18 products in its line and claims sales of more than 1 million units by 2019, with two-thirds of its customer base in Germany and the rest in the States United. Its 2021 line will make it the largest supplier of HomeKit accessories, with Thread support being a recurring theme throughout the product.