Elgato is launching a new HomeKit accessory designed for the warmer weather: a small box that connects to an outdoor faucet to let you remotely control a hose. It’s called the Eve Aqua, and it’ll be available for $100 starting June 25th.
Elgato made a HomeKit-connected smart hose controller
Image: Elgato
is The Verge’s executive editor. He has covered tech, policy, and online creators for over a decade.
The Eve Aqua basically just turns a hose on and off. It’s pretty simple, and it seems like there’s no way to adjust the strength of the water flow. But using a connected app, you can remotely turn the hose on and off and, more usefully, set schedules for the hose.
So presumably, you hook the Aqua up to a sprinkler, then set the sprinkler on a schedule so you don’t have to deal with it yourself. While you might not want to leave a hose snaking around your house indefinitely, this could still be helpful if you just want to keep some plants watered while you’re away for a week.
Like all of Elgato’s Eve line, the Aqua connects to HomeKit, Apple’s smart home system. That means it can be controlled through Siri and Apple’s Home app; you’ll also be able to easily synchronize it with other HomeKit gadgets.
Elgato is one of the first with a HomeKit-enabled hose controller, but we’ve been starting to see more and more smart water control devices. Several companies have made house-wide water monitors, while Rachio makes a device that adds smart features to entire sprinkler systems.
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