Summary
Smart lighting manufacturer Deako just announced its latest smart light switch, which features a built-in light bar, magic pairing, and a redesigned app. The new 2nd Gen Smart Switch promises to be easy to configure, use, and see.
If you’re unfamiliar with Deako, its products come packaged with thousands of new homes from popular builders like D.R. Horton, KB Homes, Lennar, and others. It’s a smart lighting company that employs a unique modular system that’s extremely easy to use. Once a Deako backplate is hardwired to your home’s electrical system, swapping out regular switches or moving between smart switches takes about 30 seconds.
Each Deako light and fan switch is hot-swappable. All you do is pop off the faceplate, pull on the blue tabs to slide out the module, and throw a new switch inside. You don’t have to turn off the power or deal with any wires. However, that modularity and ease-of-use come with a steep price point, as they’re far more expensive than most of the regular competition.
This week, Deako launched its next-generation Smart Switch and a redesigned version of its companion app. The all-newDeako Smart Switch Gen2looks like the original, but there’s a bunch of stuff going on inside.
For starters, a dual-feature LED light bar on the bottom shines a soft glow at night to help you see or find the switch. In Status Mode, the second-gen switch emits a tiny bit of light to let you know whether the lights or fan it controls are on or off.
While the built-in Beacon light bar sounds nice, Deako is most proud of its new “Magic Linking” technology. Magic Linking eliminates guesswork, frustration, and the entire setup and syncing process, making setting up a new switch a breeze.
Deako says it is the first of its kind in the smart lighting space. Once you slide a new smart switch into the backplate, it’ll search for and find others in your home and configure itself automatically. This works over Bluetooth Mesh or Wi-Fi and is incredibly quick. For anyone (like me) who bought several older models and had to configure each one manually, it’s a painstakingly slow process. The new second-generation switch avoids that mess and does everything for you.
Hardware aside, the company also announced a new and improved Deako app with a complete overhaul to make the initial setup easier. I’m talking about upgraded Bluetooth mesh performance for the app and switches, faster device discovery, and more. It is also easier to configure light groups and set schedules.
Deako products work with Google Home, Alexa, Samsung SmartThings, or bundled apps like Alarm.com. As I said earlier, Deako’s modular switches are pricey. The newSmart Switch Gen2 is $100and available today.
Deako Smart Switch (Gen 2)
Meet the next-generation Smart Switch that does it all—control your lights from your phone, voice assistant, or the switch itself. With Magic Linking, multi-way setup is faster and easier than ever. Add style and function with the Beacon light bar and enjoy flexible scheduling and automation for every space.
