Logitech announced its next generation programmable button for simple smart home control - the POP Smart Button. The new POP Smart Button will work with Apple HomeKit, expanding the ability to control even more connected devices and provide all of the features and functionality offered in the first generation. With just a push, you can turn off the lights, lock the door, turn up the heat, and more without ever moving from your couch.

The Logitech POP Smart Button Kit includes one smart button with three gestures to customize your control plus the POP bridge needed to connect the button onto a WiFi network. Users can then extend control throughout their home with additional POP Add-on Smart Buttons, available in four colours—White, Alloy, Coral, and Teal. Each POP bridge can connect to an unlimited number of buttons.

Using POP Smart Button with Apple HomeKit is easy when paired with Apple’s Home app—POP already comes pre-paired, so discovering the device with the Home app is simple and secure. Just configure the scenes you want and let POP do the rest. Whether turning down the lights to get ready for bed or opening your smart blinds to expose some daylight, POP gives easy control to the whole family.

POP Smart Button can also be used with non-HomeKit devices such as Sonos wireless music systems, or Logitech Harmony hub-based remote controls by using the companion Logitech POP app. In addition to compatibility with Apple HomeKit, the Logitech POP Smart Button now offers the ability to control Osram lighting, Hunter Douglas and Lutron blinds, and more, extending interoperability beyond existing integrations including August Home, Philips Hue, and Logitech Harmony.

Availability

The Logitech POP Smart Button Kit (£119.99) and POP Add-on Smart Button (£34.99) will be available exclusively at Apple stores and Apple.com starting June 13. Availability in other retailers will come later this year. If you own the first generation POP Home Switch, you can update your software to take advantage of new non-HomeKit integrations. For more information, please visit Logitech.com, our blog or connect with us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

About Logitech

Logitech designs products that have an everyday place in people's lives, connecting them to the digital experiences they care about. Over 30 years ago, Logitech started connecting people through computers, and now it’s designing products that bring people together through music, gaming, video and computing. Founded in 1981, Logitech International is a Swiss public company listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange and on the Nasdaq Global Select Market. Find Logitech at www.logitech.com, the company blog or @Logitech.

Logitech announced the UK availability of its new Amazon Alexa skill that enables voice control of your entertainment experience using a Logitech Harmony Hub through Alexa-enabled devices such as the Amazon Echo or Echo Dot.

With this new skill, you can start and stop Harmony Activities, control your volume, pause and resume your movies, or even directly tune your channels, hands free, using only your voice. Harmony users can simply say “Alexa, tell Harmony to turn on the TV,” or “Alexa, tell Harmony to turn on Netflix” to control the TV as well as other entertainment and smart home devices, and Harmony makes it happen. As new skills continue to be added, users can also control media playback by simply telling Alexa to play, pause, stop, eject or record.

“We are thrilled to extend voice control capabilities to more Harmony users worldwide,” said Renee Niemi, vice president general manager of the smart home business at Logitech. “After receiving a lot of positive feedback on the Amazon Alexa integration in the U.S., this move is our next step in the process of bringing more control of the living room entertainment experience to the world.”

With Harmony Activities, different actions and more than 270,000 devices can be combined to bring an entire scene to life. For example, with a Good Morning activity, you can turn on the lights, bring up the blinds and turn your TV to BBC One - all with one voice command to Alexa.

“Controlling your home entertainment system with your voice takes convenience to a whole new level,” said Rob Pulciani, Director, Amazon Alexa. “Alexa integration with Harmony makes home entertainment easier than ever, enabling customers to change channel, switch content services, control playback, adjust their volume, and more, across different inputs—all without lifting a finger.”

Logitech continually adds new features and functionality to Harmony remotes, so people always have access to the latest home entertainment and control experiences. These updates are delivered for free and over the air to our remotes, so our users can rest assured that a purchase today will also deliver the key features they will want tomorrow.

Availability

The Logitech Harmony Alexa skill will be available to users in the UK now. To take advantage of this new capability, launch the Alexa app on your smartphone, select Skills from the left-hand navigation menu, and search for ‘Harmony.’ A Logitech hub-based remote, such as the Logitech Harmony Elite or Logitech Harmony Companion, and an Alexa-enabled device such as the Amazon Echo or Echo Dot, are required. For additional information on using Logitech Harmony remotes with Amazon Alexa, please visit myharmony.com/alexa, our blog or connect with us on Facebook.

About Logitech

Logitech designs products that have an everyday place in people's lives, connecting them to the digital experiences they care about. Over 30 years ago, Logitech started connecting people through computers, and now it’s designing products that bring people together through music, gaming, video and computing. Founded in 1981, Logitech International is a Swiss public company listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (LOGN) and on the Nasdaq Global Select Market (LOGI). Find Logitech at www.logitech.com, the company blog or @Logitech.

2016 Logitech, Logicool, Logi and other Logitech marks are owned by Logitech and may be registered. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. For more information about Logitech and its products, visit the company’s website at www.logitech.com.

Today Logitech introduced the Logitech Pop Home Switch Starter Pack and Pop Add-On Home Switch, putting smart home control at your fingertips. After initial set-up, with the push of a button, everyone in the home can control smart home devices to set the scene with lighting presets, Sonos® playlists and more.

“Sometimes you just want to set the mood for movie night without opening multiple apps to turn down the lights, turn on the TV and the sound bar and draw the blinds.” said Renee Niemi, head of the Smart Home business at Logitech. “With Pop, you can do all that with a press of the switch. It makes the smart home simple and accessible for everyone — not just the person with the smartphone.”

Logitech Pop Home Switch is compatible with a wide range of lighting and smart home products including lighting, door locks, and blinds from companies like LIFX, Phillips Hue™, Lutron, and INSTEON®, and you can mix and match product controls on an individual switch.

Each switch can trigger three actions using different presses – a single press, a double press, and a long press. For example, you can set individual switches to turn smart products on/off, adjust brightness and scene presets, or quickly access your favourite Sonos music playlists and stations.

Setup is simple. The Pop app (available for Android® and iPhone®) scans your Wi-Fi network for compatible devices in the home. Then, you can assign individual devices to a switch or combine multiple devices into a single trigger using Recipes -- simple combinations of product controls you can set up using the Pop app. So, if you want to set the mood with lighting and the music turned up for date night, you can do that easily with a single press of Pop. Or if your kids want the music tuned to a specific playlist or the lights bright to help them concentrate when they’re studying, they can easily do that with another press.

Plus, pairing your Pop Home Switch with a Logitech Harmony hub-based remote expands the types of devices that Pop can control exponentially with the addition of every entertainment product Harmony can control. The Pop Home Switch can be used to trigger one-touch Harmony Activities, such as “Watch TV” or “Listen to Music”, combining both home entertainment and smart home devices like lights, locks, blinds, and more.

Availability

The Logitech Pop Home Switch Starter Pack and the Logitech Pop Add-on Home Switch are available in the UK e on October 25^th from Amazon and John Lewis. The suggested retail price of the Pop Home Switch Starter Pack is £119.99 and £34.99 for the Pop Add-On Home Switch. The Pop app, will be free for both Android and iPhone users, and is expected to be available in the coming weeks. For more information, please visit Logitech.com, our blog or connect with us on Facebook.

About Logitech

Logitech designs products that have an everyday place in people's lives, connecting them to the digital experiences they care about. Over 30 years ago, Logitech started connecting people through computers, and now it’s designing products that bring people together through music, gaming, video and computing. Founded in 1981, Logitech International is a Swiss public company listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (LOGN) and on the Nasdaq Global Select Market (LOGI). Find Logitech at www.logitech.com, the company blog or @Logitech.

Today Logitech introduced the Logi Circle Portable Home Connection Camera, a camera and companion app that brings your home happenings to your smartphone, and allows you to instantly engage with whomever is at home, so you’ll never miss another moment.

“There’s a new movement in home monitoring,” said Vincent Borel, director of new ventures at Logitech. “The nature of today’s connected world is changing the way people interact with cameras in the home. Video surveillance is no longer just about security, it’s about staying connected with our homes and loved ones. Planned or unplanned, magic moments happen in our homes every day and we designed the Logi Circle as your destination for capturing and discovering them no matter where you are or what you’re doing. Now you can watch your kids playing or catch your dog chasing its tail even if you’re running errands, traveling for business or at the office.”

Experience your home as it happens. Through the free iOS® or Android™ app you can stream Live HD Video with 2-Way Talk & Listen over Wi-Fi®. Smart filtering of all video happens with our Scene Intuition™ technology, so you see what matters most at home. It learns your home life patterns and filters the footage to send alerts only on interesting activity, so you don’t need to sift through spam footage. And, when you want to see what action has taken place in your home, Day Briefs™ provide an auto-generated, 30-second video summary of the best moments from that day. You can see this daily summary with one touch of the app.

Because life doesn’t stay still, the Logi Circle is portable and rechargeable. Take the camera room to room with you, and when you need to recharge it simply place on the included magnetic charging ring. The rechargeable battery can stream for up to three hours, and lasts up to 12 hours in power save mode.

Availability

The Logi Circle is the second product introduced under the new Logi label. The Logi Circle is available now for pre-order in the U.S. and in select countries in Europe for a suggested retail price of £159, and is expected to begin shipping in October 2015. For more information, please visit Logitech.com, our blog or connect with us on Facebook.

“Harmony is the accepted leader in home entertainment control, and now we’ve expanded that same experience throughout the smart home,” said Bruce Lancaster, general manager of Logitech Harmony. “As more connected devices make their way into consumer homes, the need for a centralized way to control them – and make them work in concert – becomes exponentially greater. Our new lineup does just that.”

With just a few easy steps your remote, tablet or smartphone can now control your TV, set-top box, speakers, lighting, thermostat, door locks, window shades and other popular devices. Plus, with Harmony Activities, you can easily create one-touch control of multiple products, letting you power on your TV, dim your lights, adjust the temperature and open your window shades—all at the same time. You can start or end an Activity with either a touch of your remote or mobile app, according to customizable schedules, or in response to sensors. And if you’re away from home, you can check the status and adjust devices from the Harmony mobile app.

Highlights of the new lineup include:

Logitech Harmony® Hub

The Harmony Hub turns your iOS or Android smartphone or tablet into a universal home remote. With the Hub and app, you can control movies, music, and TV, plus connected lights, locks, thermostats, and more. You can start and control devices in groups or individually, either directly with one touch or on customizable schedules.

Logitech Harmony® Companion

By combining a simple remote control with the Harmony Hub, Logitech Harmony Companion provides convenient control for connected lights, locks, blinds, thermostats, sensors, home entertainment devices, and more. This gives you the freedom to control devices via the mobile app either around the house or when you’re away, and the convenience of a dedicated remote control that stays in easy reach for use by family, friends, and guests.

Logitech Harmony® 950

Logitech Harmony 950 is the best Harmony infrared universal remote yet for control of TV, movies, music, and games. Its color touchscreen provides powerful, intuitive control of up to 15 devices. The all-new design has a color touchscreen that uses gestures including swipes and taps to change channels, fast-forward or rewind, and adjust the volume. The motion sensing, backlit buttons and improved button layout make it easy to find the right button, even in the dark. The replaceable, rechargeable battery offers 20% greater capacity over its predecessor, and set up is quick and simple.

Logitech Harmony® Elite

Logitech Harmony Elite delivers the same great feature set as the Harmony 950, paired with the power of the Harmony Hub. Whether using the mobile app or advanced touchscreen remote, Harmony Elite offers seamless control of your entertainment—and your connected home. With the Harmony Elite, you can replace remotes for up to 15 entertainment devices, and combine that with control popular smart home products including lights, locks, and thermostats, either directly with one touch, on customizable schedules, or even when away from home.

Device Compatibility and Availability

LIFX, Insteon, QIVICON, August, the Nest Learning Thermostat, Philips hue and SONOS are among the brands and platforms joining the Harmony library of more than 270,000 compatible devices. For the most up-to-date list of compatible devices, please visit myharmony.com/compatibility. The new Logitech Harmony lineup is expected to be available in EMEA beginning in September 2015. For more information on the Harmony remote control lineup, please visit www.logitech.com.