Elgato sent over their latest product for Apple’s HomeKit platform, which just happens to be the first of it’s kind, the Eve Motion. So how does it fare compared to other products by the popular brand?
After testing the Eve Motion over the course of the past few weeks, I’ll have to admit, outside of the fact it sits in my living room to actually detects motion, it’s virtually something I’ve set-up and completely forgotten about. In a perfect world, this motion sensor would go great, especially seeing as though Legato’s other products, including the Eve Room and Window work almost flawlessly, the Motion is hit or miss.
In the packaging, you simply get the Elgato Eve Motion itself, and the two AA batteries that it includes. Setup is as simple as other Apple HomeKit products, needing to just scan the barcode on the back of the device, or the included card packaged, and it works. You can do this through Apple’s official “Home” app, or you can even do it through the “Eve” app by Elgato which is free in the app store.
Essentially a motion sensor that you can set up anywhere, a countertop, a windowsill, or even a bookshelf, the Eve Motion is made with one goal in mind: to trigger a host of events to happen when there is motion detected. Now this could be mainly due to Apple’s limited accessories that actually work with HomeKit, and the ones that do serve their own purposes, but the Elgato Eve Motion takes a backseat due to its need to run with its own app.
After reviewing the Room, and the Eve Power outlet, I just knew that the Motion Sensor would get the job done. And it does, to a certain extend, but 3 out of every 10 times it will fail, and honestly, that’s a lot.
I have a scene set up where if the Eve Motion detects that “I’m Home”, meaning that my phone actually enters wherever the room, the Living Room light turns on, and the power switch that is used to charge my devices is automatically turned on. Not only will this cut down on a bill drastically, but it’s quite helpful knowing your phone won’t somehow draw unnecessary power. And this scene setup works absolutely flawlessly, no really I love it. It’s just when I’m not home, and the dog is, that can be a major problem.
For the majority of the day, my crate trained puppy is laying down, sleep. Sure he moves around to readjust and keep himself comfortable in his personal space, but this shouldn’t instantly trigger anything right? Wrong. It triggers virtually every movement he makes which means if you have pets, whatever scene you have written for a pet will trigger it, and unfortunately after you’ve left your home a certain distance and you’re at work or out and about, you can’t really do anything until you’ve returned. Which means if you have your home triggered to turn the lights on when you are “Home”, expect to pull into your driveway with the lights already on as you pull up, which could be quite alarming.
This could be a mere sensitivity issue that can be fixed within the apps triggers and conditions, or even setting up the motion in individual bedrooms, but in open spaces, the Eve Motion actually picks up EVERY motion, human or pet, so be mindful of that fact when going to purchase.
Other that this, the Eve Motion can be a blessing to have to automate home items like getting your coffee pot to turn on once you’ve walked into the kitchen in the morning, just be mindful that when in Motion, especially when connection with HomeKit, your appliances will function according to what the Elgato Eve Motion detects. Unlike most motion detectors on the market, the included batteries will give the Eve Motion about a year’s worth of battery life, similar to the Eve Room. Like the bulk of Elgato’s products, they do run on Bluetooth, so when you pair via Bluetooth, the accessory recognizes up until your smartphone or device is out of range.
Overall, at $49.95, it’s on par with the rest of Elgato’s products, and if you set it up accordingly, could be a great device for your home, if used effectively.
For more information about the Elgato Eve Motion, head over to Legato’s Site Today.
Source: Manufacturer supplied review unit
What I Like: Is good at detecting all motion, at tall heights, or even on a coffee table
What Needs Improvement: Folks with Pets will get alerts often