GE Lighting seems to be bucking a trend with its all-new GE Cync Keypad Dimmer Smart Switch. Most new-to-the-market smart lighting controls do their best to not look like smart lighting controls. This is typically accomplished by limiting the number of buttons on the device, making it less intimidating to the user and eliminating confusion as to which button performs which function.
Festooned with no fewer than five buttons, two of which can be programmed, the Cync Keypad Dimmer makes Lutron’s Caséta family of geeky smart dimmers look tame. The equally new GE Cync Smart Paddle Dimmer, on the other hand, hews closer to Lutron’s Diva smart dimmer, with a vertical slider on its right-hand side for controlling the brightness of a connected light. Both dimmers have 7-element LEDs to report the current brightness level.
The top two buttons on the GE Cync Keypad Dimmer Smart Switch are user-programmable.
GE Lighting
GE Lighting, a division of Savant Systems, announced both new devices during CES last January and now they’re finally available for sale. The GE Cync Keypad Dimmer Smart Switch is priced at $44.99 and the GE Cync Paddle Dimmer Switch costs $25.99.
These new smart lighting controls support Matter-over-Wi-Fi, enabling users to configure them in Amazon Alexa, Apple Home, Google Home, and SmartThings ecosystems, with or without a smart home hub. Both switches also have onboard Wi-Fi adapters, but both also depend on the presence of a neutral wire in the box where they’ll be installed.
The GE Sync Paddle Dimmer looks much more conventional than its button-festooned stablemate.
GE Lighting
GE tells us a single Cync switch can render the entire circuit smart, eliminating the need for a companion switch in 3- and 4-way installations where another switch in the room or in another part of the house controls the same load (both switches come with traveler wires for this purpose).
The company also tells us that when paired with Cync smart bulbs, pre-programmed schedules will continue to run and voice commands will remain available even if the switches are in the off position.
Look for our hands-on reviews of both devices soon.
This news story is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best smart dimmers and switches.
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