Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

As a lover of gadgets, home automation and other things that most people roll their eyes at, the Hue Dimmer Switch stands out as tool that will allow home automation to cross from a limited audience to the general population - in other words, to all those people who have rolled their eyes as I've demonstrated my home's automation. The reason for this is that the Hue Dimmer Switch: - Is very easy to integrate into the Hue ecosystem, as is the case with all the other Philips Hue products I've installed - Allows you, once you've set the Switch up (i.e., which lights you want it to control) to completely avoid the app - Looks fantastic on the wall. I've got two, one in the living room and the other in bedroom. Please see the pictures I've added. They look like they "belong" there. They don't scream "nerd." This last point is critical. While there have been other products such as the Philips 452532 Personal Wireless Lighting, Hue Tap Switch, Frustration Free which serve more or less the same function, this is the first one for the Hue system that blends in to any decor and will not require you to explain "what the heck is that." Visitors won't know that you have your lights hooked up to some hub which is connected to the internet, unless you tell them. There are other benefits of this switch: - It is Apple HomeKit ready. - It is attached the the wall plate via magnets, so you can take the switch off and it become a small remote control you can take with you. I take the bedroom one to me and keep on my side table at night. - It has both on and off buttons, as well as ones that increase/decrease brightness. On the other hand, things to note: - Battery life: I haven't used these long enough to evaluate how long the battery will last. Clearly, it will be annoying if I have to change too often, or if at a critical moment I can't dim the lights. I will update this review as necessary. - When dimming, the time between pressing a button on the remote and the lights changing is very quick, but its not instantaneous. I would think that the reaction time is based on local circumstances, such as which ZigBee channel your Hue is on. I'd be curious to hear what other users have noted. But, the bottom line is that its quick enough for me. - There is no back-lighting on the switch, which means that if you use it as a remote control you use to turn off the lights at night, the remote can be hard to see and find if you want to turn the lights back on. Of course, the "on" button is at the top and the "off" button is at the bottom, so you have a 50/50 chance either way. Related, if you are touching the remote, there are no tactical clues as to which button is on and which button is off. - Scenes: once you set up the scene associated with the Dimmer Switch, if you want to change the scene, you need to do so in the app. In sum, I really love this switch. I now use it more than I used the hard wired switches in my house, and just as important, I rarely use the app anymore. I'm really glad to get to that point. I'm buying a couple more of these. I've got over 30 lights and lamps in my Hue system, so two isn't enough for me.