CES 2020 lineup from electronics giant revealed
CES doesn’t officially kick off until next week but that hasn’t stopped C by GE unveiling its new 2020 smart home lineup, and the most notable new entrants are a range of smart switches that don’t need an additional hub to work with Alexa and Google Assistant.
GE is saying this is an industry first but we’re not sure that’s quite right as there are plenty of smart switches out there that work without smart home hubs. But, hey-ho, the range is labelled Hubless… so the company clearly wants to make a big deal out of it.
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HomeKit support is also on board, but you do need to use the C-Reach Smart Bridge to integrate into an Apple smart home setup.
What is pretty unique, and useful for people living in houses where the wiring is different to modern standards, is the switches do not require a neutral wire. The new switches connect to your smart bulbs over Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. There are five designs to choose from, depending on how complex you want the controls to be.
Aside from the new smart switches, GE is also launching a pair of Remote Dimmer switches at the big Vegas expo. Like Hue’s remote, these don’t need to be wired up – you can just stick them to the wall and program them to control your C by GE smart bulbs, using Bluetooth.
Finally, there’s also a new Motion Sensor in the new range, which is also wire-free.
Here’s the full list of everything, smart switch and button-wise, that’s new from C by GE and that all important price and release date info.
- Hubless Three-Wire Smart Switch (toggle) – Q1 2020, $40
- Hubless Three-Wire Smart Switch (paddle) – Q1 2020, $40
- Hubless Three-Wire Smart Switch (push-button) – Q1 2020, $45
- Hubless Three-Wire Smart Switch (push-button with dimmer and motion sensor) — Q2 2020, $60
- Hubless Three-Wire Smart Switch (push-button with dimmer) – Q2 2020, $50
- Wire-Free Remote Dimmer with Color Control – Q1 2020, $25
- Wire-Free Remote Dimmer – Q1 2020, $23
- Wire-Free Motion Sensor – Q1 2020, $30
