Switchmate Light Switch Review - Installs quickly but not so smart.

Buy it on Amazon - (affiliate link) - The Switchmate installs over existing light switches and allows for remote toggling via an app. But it doesn't work with smart homehubs. See more IOT Devices: and subscribe!
UPDATE from Switchmate - they wrote in to say that they are working on bringing smart hub functionality to the device.
This one I found tough to decide between a three or four star review. But because it functions as described I am going to give it four. It easily sticks to a light switch via magnet (in my case a rocker switch) and it will turn off and on lights on command from a paired mobile phone via an app. There's also a timer that can be programmed from the app to have the light turn on and off at specific times. Installation really is as simple as described.
But don't call this smart - it really is just a remote control and timer for a light switch, nothing more. It does not connect to any of the popular automation services like IFTTT, etc. like the Belkin WeMo and other similar products do. Nor is it compatible with any of the emerging connected home hubs like Apple HomeKit or whatever it is that Google is putting together. It also doesn't work when outside of the home - the paired phone needs to be in bluetooth range of the switch for it to work.
So from the standpoint of the product being smart it's not. It's relatively dumb because the hardware doesn't support any of the standards emerging in the iOT marketplace. Maybe it can be made compatible in the future with firmware updates, but for now you won't be asking Siri, Alexa or Google to turn your lights on or off with it just yet.
And that of course brings us to price. At $40 each it's prohibitively expensive to outfit a home with a bunch of these. $20 maybe, but $40 feels a bit much for something that's very limited in its current capabilities. This is especially noteworthy as there are products from Belkin and others that, while requiring more installation, are standards compliant and a bit smarter than this device is currently.
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