Logitech's Pop button controls your entire smart home

As slick as smart home technology may be, you lose some ease of use. With certain exceptions, you can't just flick a switch to set everything in motion. Logitech thinks it can change that. It's introducing the Pop Home Switch, a button (yes, the name is a bit misleading) that can control multiple devices at once. It not only talks to typical smart home tech like lighting (including Philips Hue bulbs) and door locks, but also Logitech's own Harmony hubs. If your remote can control it, the switch can too. It'll even access Sonos playlists (in case you need some relaxing music to go with your mood lighting), and you can assign up to three actions per switch thanks to single, double and long button presses.

The Pop Home Switch arrives in the US later in August, with prices varying depending on how much you like the idea of hardware control. A Starter Pack bundle with everything you need to get going will cost $100, while an add-on switch will set you back $40. That's not trivial when some smart home devices can cost about as much, but the cost may be easy to justify if you're tired of wading through smartphone apps to perform simple tasks.