Review it – The Eve Flare is a lightweight, battery-operated, round plastic lighting unit that can be controlled by Apple HomeKit to change the brightness and color of the lamp. Still want to control this flashlight using non-Apple devices? The lamp can also be upgraded to work with Matter over Thread. Read on to see what I think!
What is it?
The Eve Flare is a white plastic with a lamp inside that makes the shell glow and provides 90 degrees of light. The bottom of the lamp has rubber feet. In the center of the base, there is a power button to turn the light on and off and a mode button to change the color of the light. The bottom also has gold contacts to attach the pogo feet to the mounting bracket to connect to the metal ring that can be used to support the lamp from above. The lamp’s battery can work for 6 hours and the lamp has IP65 ingress protection. The lamp must be integrated with Apple HomeKit or a hub compatible with Matter in order to change the brightness of the lamp and change its color.
What’s in the box?
- Eve Flare smart LED lamp
- based on the background
- Universal plug adapters
- instructions
- contact form
Hardware specifications
- Light – Built in 90 lm LED
- Operating Range – 0° – 40°C / 32° – 104°F, 0% – 80% Humidity
- IP65 Water Resistance
- Built-in Battery: 6+ hours
- Input: AC 100-240 V, 50/60 Hz
- Communication method – Bluetooth Low Energy, Thread
- Dimensions – Ø 25 cm
Design and appearance
Unboxing
The Eve Flare smart LED lamp comes in a full color box with Eve Flare graphics on the front, back and top with the Eve Flare graphic applied in two separate locations on the sides. The details of the lamp are printed on both sides.
Inside the box the Eve Flare is held in place by cardboard sections and under the lamp there are separate boxes for the base and the charger.
Sit down
Installing Eve Flare involves installing hardware and software.
Hardware configuration is simple. The power adapter comes with universal adapters; there are no adapters for the type of plug used in Libya, Namibia, and South Africa. The adapter can be used without a power adapter.
The lamp is lit by a base that has two pogos that complete the circle with circles on the base. The instructions and commercials call this wireless charging. I think in the United States wireless charging almost always means that something is powered by electromagnetic induction. Although “no wires” are required for this to be controlled and charged, be warned that this is not compatible with the Qi standard and similar devices. The power adapter goes into the base of the base and then the power cord just fits into the space created by the foot length of the base.
Once the charger is installed, the Eve Flare smart LED light usually adapts to connect to the base without much effort. If the light is on then it will be off for one second when the light is on initially. If the light is off there will be no indication that the light is on.
Without disabling the lamp with Apple Home, the lamp can be controlled with two buttons on the bottom of the lamp. The power button can turn the light on and off and the color button cycles through a selection of preset colors: orange, red, cherry (magenta), capri (blue), jade, and green.
When you use the mode button, the brightness is 100%, even if the brightness of the previous mode was low. I think it would make sense to long press the power button to change the output (change it from 0% to 100% until the button is released) and long press on the display to change the color while sweeping. options available.
Programming is easy. The Eve Flare smart LED lamp is designed to work with Apple Home out of the box. To add a lamp to Home, all that is needed is to scan the QR code located under the lamp or inside the box. Once added to Apple Home the app can be used to adjust color, brightness, and saturation. The interface also has a wheel to change the white temperature point. The software can also be used to set up screens and automations to quickly adjust and adjust lighting settings based on the settings of the software,
Installing a lamp on the Eva app is easy. Eva software is the way the firmware on the flash can be upgraded. While I was looking there is a lift pushed to the lamp. I haven’t noticed any changes and I’m not sure there is a change log. The Eve app is also a way that HomeKit Flare can be adapted to work with Matter over Thread.
Eve Flare is also designed to work with Matter via the Thread Bluetooth interface. The Thread interface doesn’t work until the Thread network is understood and that’s when Eve can be changed to work with Matter. Devices with Matter controllers that also have Thread border routers include the HomePod Mini, the Google Nest Hub Max, and the Aeotec SmartThings hub. Unfortunately, I don’t have any of these things so I don’t have a chance to control this lamp with anything other than the Apple Home app and The Eve.
The Eve app is focused on supporting the entire ecosystem of Apple Homekit devices. I only have one light so the app looks great with just one device added and it seems like there are many ways to change and install just one device. I think the app has a lot of options buried in menus and sub-menus and setting gears, etc.
Creation
To appreciate the design of the Eve Flare smart LED lamp it is important to understand how the lamp is designed for use. Most lamps are designed to provide light so that things can be seen better, or so that things can be appreciated with a different kind of light. For example, stage lighting can illuminate the performer in multiple colors or brightness, and desk lamps illuminate the desk. Stage lighting is not directly visible to the audience and people rarely look at desk lamps. Eve Flare is different because it is designed to be seen. The lamp is for lighting but it is also designed as an object to be admired. The closest analog is a campfire or fireplace that has burned down to a bed of coals. The function of this lamp can be to provide a look at a party or gathering, a night light, or to provide light when movement is needed.
The Eve light has a brightness of over 90 lumens. This is very low by the standard of most lamps, but any bright and it can be difficult to detect the light of the lamp directly. The brightness can be dimmed up to 1% using HomeKit, but the lamp is not dimmed by 15%. In another engineering innovation, when Eve Flare is at 15% the light reaches one candle power. This is an accurate description from my perspective.
The outer plastic cover has an orange lining that protects the lamp from glare from other light sources and possibly hides scuffs or scratches should they occur. However, the exterior finish makes it easy to see the weld seam where the two parts of the lamp are joined during manufacturing. This is minor and doesn’t affect how the lamp works, but it would be nice if they could make this so that the finish is free of beads and scratches.
The Eve Flare smart LED lamp is designed with IP65 water resistance so it can withstand low water jets for 15 minutes. Users should feel free to place it outdoors as long as it is not submerged. Because it’s shiny, round, and light, I wouldn’t be surprised if it rocked at a party. However, I don’t believe that the plastic exterior or the lamp housings will survive being dropped on any hard surface.
Procedure
The Eve Flare lamp lasted 6:20 on the brightest setting and experienced a full battery life of 6 hours. Using the Eve at about 30% I was able to run the lamp for over 24 hours.
When you press the power button on the bottom it feels like the button on top of the back button and it seems logical that it should work the same way. However, the button registers the press even with the slightest pressure so it takes some getting used to to know if the light is on or off.
When the lamp is turned off using the button on the bottom it cannot be controlled by HomeKit. When HomeKit turns off the Eve Flare (by setting the output to 0%) and then the lamp is turned off and on, the lamp will flash for one second and output the desired output (0%).
Which I like
What I would change
- choose the type of hardware and light
Final thoughts
It may sound disrespectful from a contributor to The Gadgeteer, but first, I ask, “Why does this need to be smart?” After thinking about it for a bit (while being bathed in the magenta light from the lamp) I realized that while integrating with HomeKit, the Eve Flare smart LED lamp can be adjusted to change the output to match the mood of a particular event. For example, a lamp can emit a bright blue light in the morning when the alarm goes off at a certain time. The color blue promotes alertness and helps you wake up. At the end of the day, depending on the time, the lamp can be set to produce a dark yellow-orange. The warm color mimics the setting sun to enter your personal clock and can promote your body’s natural sleep and melatonin release when used at the end of the day.
However, I see this product mainly helping to stabilize and the person using it to make a decision on how to set it up. Does it need to be automated? I don’t think so, but using a color scanner is easier than pressing buttons. This is a quality product and it is not exactly cheap, but if after reading this review you feel the bright side calling you, go to Eve and get yourself a Flare. If you’re looking for a smaller, waterproof version of this lamp, check it out Loftek LED Floating Pool Light Ball.
Price:
Where to buy: Eve and Amazon
Source: An example of this drug was given by Eve.