Wink changed the game two years ago when they integrated all your smart devices from a single control panel, allowing you to manage your smart lights, smart locks, and everything else in a considerably simpler manner. Its successor, the Wink Hub 2, makes things even better, coming in a more compact frame while being easier to use.
Billed as “faster, more reliable, and more secure,” the new hub boasts a faster processor and eight times more memory than the original, allowing it to run more complex local processes than ever before. At a 25 percent slimmer frame, it’s quite the good-looking device, too, so you don’t have to hide it in a corner of the shelf around the house.
Like its predecessor, the Wink Hub 2 supports all the major home automation platforms, including Kidde, Lutron Clear Connect, Wi-Fi, Z-Wave, and ZigBee, so it can interface with, pretty much, any established brand of connected home devices. This time around, they’re throwing full Bluetooth LE connectivity, so it should handle even the most niche connected gadgets, too. It also gets a new Wi-Fi radio that supports both 2.4GHz and 5GHz networks, as well as an Ethernet port to ensure faster and uninterrupted connectivity.
Other features include new cryptographic verification for enhanced security, an easier and more intuitive setup process, and auto-discovery (no more adding devices one by one). And, yes, you can easily transfer all definitions, settings, and macros from an old hub to the new one in minutes.
Slated for availability next month, the Wink Hub 2 is priced at $99.