Just like my Elgato Eve Energy review, I also had the opportunity to review Elgato’s Avea Flare mood lamp, and like most of Elgato’s products, not only does it work as it should, it’s pretty awesome.
One thing that is worth notice before I start off is the Avea Flare is NOT compatible with Apple’s HomeKit like it’s Eve Energy sibling, and the only way you can possibly get it to work in such a fashion is to actually plug it into the Eve Energy itself.
The packaging for the Elgato Avea Flare mood lamp ($99) is actually pretty simple. The egg-shaped lamp comes as the highlight, with the dock at the bottom that connects to the included AC adapter which plugs into the wall. There are also three other international outlets as well included which I thought was nice.
At the bottom of the device you’ll notice two buttons at the bottom, “Power” and “Mode” the former actually powering the machine on, and the latter being mode which will actually function to fade the lamp if it’s too bright for you.
It stands about 9″ tall and is about 5″ wide. For its size, you’re hoping that a lot comes from it, especially compared to other products on the market, more specifically the Phillips Hue which is pretty much of the same price tag. But what’s so different about the Avea Flare that would make you spend $100 on it?
Well for one, Elgato promises that the Avea Flare without being plugged in can last a solid eight hours on its own internal battery which is pretty neat. Seeing as this is certainly a mood lamp, it’s a great setter of moods when you are planning a Netflix & Chill, or simply just in the house solo watching a movie but still want to keep the lights down low. Courtesy of the Avea app, you can actually set the mood right in a sense by choosing particular scenes according to your mood. Varying from “Mountain Breeze” to “Northern Glow”, each of the ten individual scenes can actually be manipulated in terms of brightness, and vividness, down to a scheduled time and sound if you like to wake up in a particular mood. This is actually a pretty nifty feature, especially if you have a deck or patio and just want enough light for you and a spouse to eat a dinner outdoors, you can actual take the Avea Flare off of its charging base and place it on any flat surface. While the lamp does have IP65 water resistance, this isn’t the type of lamp that will hold up in a heavy rain shower.
While the Avea Flare is an awesome lamp for your home, more specifically a room that doesn’t need a LOT of light like a bedroom or den. The lack of compatibility with HomeKit hurts its value to those of you who are attempting to illuminate your “smart home” from wherever you are. This would’ve been a great touch but it’s not anything that you’ll miss if you obviously have the companion app, as well as the Avea Flare plugged into the Eve Energy. It does manage to be compatible with an Apple Watch if you have one of those, so you can change settings without having to unlock your phone which works marvelously when you’re on the couch and want to give the room a red or blue glow to it.
Overall, the Avea Flare is a pretty neat looking lamp and will certainly attract a glance in your home, regardless if it’s on or off. For $100 though, for a lamp you’d expect to get just a little bit more, more specifically one thing Elgato does well, which is HomeKit.
Source: manufacturer supplied review unit
What I Like: Setting up scenes is very simple, and the portability of the lamp is great
What Needs Improvement: Would be nice to have HomeKit integration