![]() The individual hubs still all need to be plugged in in order for the Elite to control everything. Oh, and if you were thinking that the Elite replaced all those IoT hubs you have knocking about, think again. The Hive heating system I use-which is far more prevalent in the UK than Nest-doesn't currently work. The selection of IoT devices the Elite works with is also limited to a few big names at the moment, which includes the likes of Google's Nest, Samsung's Smart Things, and Lifx and Philips Hue Smart Bulbs. For Philips Hue, I had to manually push the sync button on top of the Hue hub, and it took a few attempts before the Elite recognised the Hue system and connected to it. IoT devices are also more complicated to set up. Thanks to Sony not allowing third-party devices to toggle power on the PS4, you still have to manually power it on before your can use it with the Elite. With the Sonos you can only do things like play/pause, skip through tracks, and adjust the volume music browsing is limited to things you've saved to your Sonos favourites from within the dedicated Sonos app. But by running the two extenders out from the main unit inside the cupboard, I'm still able to control those devices without the need for any line-of-sight communication from the hub or the remote. Obviously, when the cupboard door is shut, IR signals can't get in or out. Some devices like the Shield Android TV and PlayStation 4 live inside a cupboard, while my Sky+ HD satellite TV box lives underneath it, and my AV amplifier lives on top. My setup, however, is a little more complicated. The hub has its own crazy-powerful IR blaster inside that reflects the IR signal off other surfaces, so if if all your devices are located in the same place it works perfectly on its own. Whether you need these or not will depend on your setup. Aside from the power jack on the back, there are two inputs for the separate IR blasters included in the box. The hub is a small hockey puck-sized blob of glossy black plastic that, while a complete magnet for dust and fingerprints, is largely inoffensive. Logitech sells the remote separately for £199 in the UK, as well as range of cheaper models, but none feature the Wi-Fi/Bluetooth IoT wizardry that makes the Elite bundle so appealing. The hub-which you can purchase separately for £99 ($99)-is the where the magic happens. The £279 ($350) Harmony Elite bridges the gap with a fancy touchscreen remote, charging dock, smartphone app, and a wireless hub, letting you control most infrared, Bluetooth, and IoT devices from either the included remote, or a smartphone app. The problem has always been standards: the Internet of Things (IoT) has lots of them, but few of them play nicely together. You know, the one where you enter the house, all the lights flick on, and the entertainment system boots up to your favourite channel while the heating system asks if the temperature is cosy enough for you-that sort of thing. Other commands include, "Okay Google, ask Harmony to turn on the Discovery Channel" or "Okay Google, ask Harmony to turn up the volume." You can even say, "Okay Google, ask Harmony to turn on my ‘Good Morning' activity," and have the system tweak Philips Hue lights, turn up the heat on a Nest thermostat, and play music from compatible speakers in the kitchen.Logitech's Harmony Elite is the closest I've got to achieving the smart home dream. This means you can adjust volume levels, change channels, dim lights, and control all sorts of other devices, all using voice commands. You can access Actions on Google with any Harmony hub-based product and a Google Home just by saying something like, "Okay Google, ask Harmony to turn on my TV." Logitech Harmony products work with more than 270,000 devices, including audio and video components, as well as lighting, thermostats, and more. And now they're doing something similar for Google Assistant. Last year, Logitech added the Harmony skill for Amazon Alexa, so users could integrate voice control with these same products and Alexa via the Amazon Echo, the Amazon Tap, and/or the Echo Dot. Logitech's hub-based products include the Harmony Elite, Harmony Companion, and Harmony Hub. All Logitech hub-based products now work with the voice assistant, allowing you to control anything that's connected using the sound of your voice. Logitech Harmony just announced support for Google Assistant on Google Home. Now you can talk to even more devices around the house.
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