Savant might just be the Rolex of home automation hubs. Case in point? It’s the brand that made the home automation software for Bono’s castle (or home, for him) and Steve Jobs’ yacht. Now, Savant has branched out and is bringing home automation to the masses. Well, maybe not to the masses. More like the 1%. While Savant is now entering the home automation market, it is quickly defining itself as the luxury option with its $500 home automation hub.
From Smart Things to WeMo, most home automation hubs cost anywhere between $100 and $250. Savant is double that. And that’s a lower end price point for the brand. Typically, their home automation products start at $1,000 per room and are designed for wealthier homes. However, the $500 option is still a luxury item. While the hub includes everything you need to hook up your entire living room, the standout item (and Savant’s reasoning for the price) is the remote. It seems like no matter how advanced televisions and speaker systems get, we still end up needing multiple remotes – one to turn on the TV, one to access the DVR, another to control the speaker system. With Savant’s versatile remote, you can actually control it all.
On the top half of the remote, which is a touchscreen, you can access your favorite stations, as well as Roku, Apple TV, game consoles, and more. Forget having to use your Playstation remote or Roku remote to access Netflix. You can just use the single Savant remote.
Beyond these “basic” abilities, the remote goes beyond anything remotes have done before. First of all, you can control the room’s lighting and music. Turn on and off lamps with a push of a button. Say “good morning” or “goodnight” and the remote will perform a combination of TV, music, and lighting schemes based on what you programmed it to do. The remote even knows when you’re holding it and will wake up when you pick it up.
Second of all, the remote can actually look up a map of channels so you never have to remember what channel CBS is. Simply tell your remote your provider and zip code and it will memorize your channel lineup. From then on, you can use the voice command feature to ask the remote to change the channel to ESPN or HGTV.
So, is the Savant home automation hub worth the $500 pricetag? If you have the money to spend on it, then yes. However, it’s not something you should break the bank for, especially since there are other less expensive options. They may not be as cool as Savant’s remote, but they do allow you to enter the world of home automation without credit card debt.
Photo by: Emily May
