GE’s smart home brand expands beyond lighting with a security camera
GE sold its lighting business to smart home veteran Savant this spring, and that’s about to have a significant impact on the devices you can buy. The newly owned GE Lighting is ditching the slightly awkward C by GE branding in favor of the Cync name in the months ahead. More importantly, it’s expanding beyond lights — Cync will cover a whole range of smart home gadgets both indoors and out.
The centerpiece is a Cync Indoor Camera that promises more control over your data than rival cameras. A privacy shutter covers the lens and mutes audio when you’d rather not capture footage. And while there will be a cloud video service, you can record footage to microSD cards if you’re not comfortable storing video online. There’s no mention of pricing, but the Indoor Camera should ship in May.
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A thermostat is also in the works, GE Lighting said, although it didn’t provide further details.
The first product is more modest. The Cync Outdoor Smart Plug lets you remotely control two outlets (say, for your patio lights or a fountain) using either the Cync app or voice helpers like Alexa and Google Assistant. There’s no pricing available here, either, but the plug will be available in March.
A Cync Fan Speed Smart Switch will help you control fans without the need for a dedicated smart home hub, including scheduling and grouping with other devices. It’s due to arrive in June.
The C by GE app won’t transition to the Cync name until March, although it will include a feature that previews lighting changes based on a photo of your room. You won’t have to blind yourself or plunge into darkness just to see if a settings change works, in other words. It’s safe to say the old name could be a distant memory within the next several months, though, and Cync may be a viable alternative if you’re looking to outfit your whole home with gear from one company.
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