At $20, Zlink may be the cheapest way to turn your home into a smart home

By Lulu Chang Published December 18, 2017

ZLINK Smart Hub IndieGoGo Campaign

Equipping your home with a brain may seem like a costly and complicated process, but there is a new Indiegogo project hoping to prove otherwise. Meet Zlink, the Internet of Things team behind the Zlink Smart Home Hub, heralded as the “smallest, easiest to use, most affordable way” to turn your home into a smart home. The new hub will help home owners add voice control to their surroundings.

To begin, Zlink will operate exclusively with the Z-Wave protocol, calling it the “largest, most diverse, most stable ecosystem of products and manufacturers.” That said, should the first iteration of the new smart home hub prove successful, the team hopes to expand the device to include other technologies like Bluetooth, BLE, and Mesh. Amazon Alexa will be the first compatible Smart Home Assistant, given its widespread popularity, though Zlink also has plans to add Google Home, HomeKit, and others.

Recommended Videos

Hanging its hat on simplicity, the Zlink is but a fraction of the size of other smart home hubs, including Amazon’s Echo devices. About the size of a USB stick, the Zlink hub allows Amazon Alexa to communicate with an thereby control Z-Wave products. And while you may not be aware of the widespread utilization of this particular protocol, Zlink notes that Z-Wave offers more than 2,100 products from 600 companies, all of which you can now control with your voice.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

The low-cost hub (it’s less than $20) is entirely self-contained, and simply needs a USB power supply to grant you voice control of various smart home devices. Zlink is also offering a couple of plug-in smart home devices, including a dimmer and a switch, which will help turn even non-smart devices into easily voice-controlled appliances.

The Zlink team is hoping to raise $50,000 on Indiegogo, and they still have quite a ways to go with a month left in their campaign. Of course, given the saturation of the smart home market, it is no surprise that smaller projects like this one might have a bit of trouble catching on. That said, for folks interested in a tiny smart home hub, Zlink is available for preorder (assuming full funding) on Indiegogo beginning at $15.

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Fascinated by the effects of technology on human interaction, Lulu believes that if her parents can use your new app…

Smart Home

Make the most of your smart lights this holiday season with these expert tips

Nanoleaf Essentials Bulb on desk.

Daylight saving time has officially ended, bringing us darker (and colder) nights. The upcoming holidays certainly offer a bit of cheer during these chilly months. But a better way to combat winter fatigue is by optimizing your smart lights. Whether you have them installed inside or outside your home, now is the perfect time to tinker with their settings and create routines that keep you nice and cozy.

From changing the hue of your bulbs and installing motion sensors to creating schedules and setting up a vacation mode, here’s a look at powerful ways to optimize your smart lights.
Create a schedule or routine

Smart Home

This tiny smart puck can control your smart home without the need for mobile apps

The Linxura with four buttons on the screen.

My home is overrun with smart gadgets, and the main way I interact with them is through my smartphone. This is usually a robust way to control my gadgets, as my phone is never far from my side -- whether I need to toggle my smart lights, adjust my air purifier, or change the thermostat, my smartphone lets me tackle most of these tasks in a matter of seconds. However, having a physical button to perform these actions would certainly be preferred. Instead of diving into apps and wading through menus and automations, a physical controller would perform actions at the press of a button, much like a remote works for a TV.

That’s the idea behind the Linxura Smart Controller -- a disc-shaped object that lets you perform a long list of actions at the press of a button. After syncing it with your smart devices, you’ll no longer need your companion mobile apps. Just tap or double-tap its outer ring, and you can toggle hundreds of different products. I’ve been testing it out in my home, and while I think it’s a fun device, it falls short in a few areas. But if you’re craving a physical remote for your smart home, there’s good reason to take a closer look at the innovative gadget.
Simple, but tedious setup

Smart Home

Now is the perfect time to upgrade to smart water leak detectors

The D-Link Wi-Fi Water Leak Sensor and Alarm.

The winter months are just around the corner, with most of the country finally starting to experience cooler weather. And while the winter brings plenty of holiday cheer (not to mention the opening of ski resorts), it also brings about frozen pipes and water leaks. That makes this the perfect time to add smart water leak detectors to your home -- or to upgrade your old models to something more robust.
Why should you install smart water leak detectors?

Winter is the worst time of year for water pipes. Cold weather can cause them to freeze, then as the weather warms, they can burst and start leaking. And if you don’t have a water leak detector in your home, a small leak could turn into a serious problem.