We are in the process of rolling out software version 2.2 (including 2.1 which was paused) which will be delivered in stages over the coming week. The update will include some exciting new features across the Scenes Screen, audio control and a Settings Screen access.
Scenes Screen icons, for smart lighting and audio control
A highly requested visual update, users are now able to add icons to the Scenes screens helping to visually navigate the Scenes Screen for smart lighting and audio control with ease. And, there are several icon sizing options to choose from! Icons will automatically scale depending on how many scene buttons you are using, with icons being smaller the more buttons on the screen.
We have rolled-out icons to support some of the most popular Scenes, but if there’s a specific icon you would like to see head to our forum post and tell us why.
Audio Scenes for smart speaker control
For Sonos and BluOS, users can now add Scene buttons for four common audio functions, allowing for quick media control without needing to navigate to the media screen.
- Party Mode – Groups all zones to allowing users to play the same media across all smart speakers. The current selected zone or zone master will become the zone master of the party group, so if you already have audio playing in the selected zone, it will expand to all of your zones.
- Ungroup All – Does exactly what it says and ungroups all zones. Audio will continue playing in the master zone and the sub-zones will revert to their prior selection but will not play.
- Pause/Stop All – Also does exactly what it says, regardless of your grouping it will Pause/Stop whatever is playing throughout your system.
- Play All – You guessed it, this will play in all zones/groups
Climate control: Rithum Stat heat actions & integration expansion
Previously limited to Philips Hue for heating zone actuation, it is now possible to select a scene in any of our Scene Provider integrations (e.g. Rako, Fibaro, Lutron, Homey, etc.) to be triggered when heating is required (Heat On Action) or satisfied (Heat Off Action).
By splitting the “Endpoint” setting into “Heat On Action” and “Heat Off Action”, it provides flexibility in relay state/selection (e.g. NO or NC). Also, the use of scenes (which in Homey’s case trigger flows) means that more complex logic can be configured in the third party system for switching multiple heating system components, if required.
BluOS (Pro Plugin) audio filtering
To restrict which audio zones a switch can access, users running the Pro version of the BluOS plugin can now select which zones are available using our zone filter. Great for providing additional control throughout the home, or in a commercial hospitality setting to create different ambiances through the venue. For any sub zones of a group, the logic is such:
Any zone that is visible can be selected regardless of grouping and volume of that zone can always be controlled.
In the event that NOT ALL zones in a group are available to that switch, then the group MASTER will not be available for selection and therefore it will not be possible to change the source or use the transport controls for the group. It will only be possible to adjust the volume of the available sub zones. For example, if zones A, B and C are in a group but a switch can only access zones B & C, it can only control each of the volumes for those two zones and not anything else. If a switch has access to all three zones A, B and C of the group, then the master is visible (e.g. “Zone A +2”) and therefore the full control is available.
Settings Screen access
The settings screen now has a 3 second hold button prior to revealing the settings to help avoid any accidental settings changes. The settings screen will stay open until it is explicitly closed, i.e. navigating to the Scenes screen with the settings open and back to the settings screen will not require a hold unless the back button is used on the settings screen itself.
Other minor features
- Lutron RA2 Select integration is now fully launched – there is an update forthcoming to enhance the plugin to work with the hold gesture so watch this space
- Bug fixes and performance enhancements
- Rako active scene feedback – any currently active scene will be shown as depressed on the scenes screen, giving a visual cue as to which scene is active.
Release notes can be found Here
