FabianA few months ago, I was able to give you the first details about the Violet SmartSwitch. In the meantime, the project has progressed further and on the website of the British manufacturer, pre-orders for an EU version (round switch boxes) of the Violet SmartSwitch can already be placed.
Unfortunately, the whole thing is not quite cheap, but in return you get a rather unique control option. Including taxes and shipping, you will end up with around 190 euros. Customs duties are also included, according to the manufacturer. If there is enough interest in the EU version, delivery should start in July.
The Violet SmartSwitch will find its home in a single switch box that ideally has a neutral conductor to supply power to the display. The previously switched lamp – in your case, of course, Hue lamps are installed – will be permanently supplied with power and smart controlled after installation.
Violet SmartSwitch communicates directly with the Hue Bridge
The smart light switch with display will connect to the Hue Bridge to do this. Immediately afterwards, you can select the desired room and a number of scenes in the menu of the Violet SmartSwitch, which are to be displayed directly on the interface of the switch.
In normal operation, the display of the Violet SmartSwitch switches off after a few seconds. However, control is still possible then: a simple, short finger tap on the switch is sufficient to turn the lights in the room on and off. If you hold your finger down for a short moment, the user interface with all the scenes is displayed.
In addition to the Hue system, you will also be able to control Sonos speakers with the Violet SmartSwitch. In this way, you can also access your favourite music and control the current playback without having to resort to an app.
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I’m still not convinced this is anything but vaporware.
The company is registered to a mail forwarding address and was previously based out of what appeared to be a small computer education centre.
I would advise caution.