The Eve Room ($99.95), one of several components that make up the company's ecosystem of HomeKit-enabled smart home devices, is a pricey little gadget packed with a Bluetooth radio, sensors for air quality, temperature, and humidity, and an E Ink monochrome display. It's easy to install, supports Siri voice commands, and performs as advertised, but it doesn't work with Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant voice commands, or Android devices.
Design and Features
At 2.1 by 2.1 by 0.5 inches (HWD), the Eve Room is small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, and has a sleek black-and-silver finish. The front face holds a small 1.54-inch E Ink display that, despite its diminutive size, is easy to read from across the room. Arrow buttons on the left and right bezels let you toggle between four screen layouts: a large temperature readout with smaller air quality and humidity readouts, a large humidity readout with smaller air quality and temperature readouts, a large air quality readout with smaller temperature and humidity readouts, or a screen where all readings are the same size.
Air quality is displayed as stars, with five illuminated stars indicating excellent air quality. Stars will go dark as the air quality becomes less stable. Temperature is displayed as a number in either Fahrenheit or Celsius, and humidity is displayed as a percentage.
The Eve Room has sensors that measure VOC (Volatile Organic Components) levels, room temperature, and room humidity levels. It uses a rechargeable internal battery that will power the device for up to six weeks, or you can keep it plugged into a USB source using the included charging cable.
As with all Eve home devices, the Room only works with Apple's HomeKit, which means it only works on iOS devices. It supports Siri voice commands, but not Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa voice commands, and it doesn't work with IFTTT applets. It has a Bluetooth radio that connects to your iPhone or iPad, but lacks Wi-Fi. If you want to access the device remotely, you'll have to use an Apple TV, a HomePod, or an iPad configured as a hub.
The Room uses the same mobile app as other Eve home devices. When you open the app you see a list of all of your HomeKit rooms. Tap the room where the device is installed (mine was in the Den) and tap the device name. This opens a screen with Air Quality, Temperature, and Humidity tabs. Each tab shows the current reading. Tap any tab to see an hourly chart of measurements, and tap the blue circle to see an expanded chart that lets you view hourly, daily, weekly, or monthly readings. Tap the Measurements tab to see a detailed list of measurements with time stamps.
At the bottom of the screen are five buttons. The At a Glance button takes you to a screen where you can see and access your most-used devices, and the Rooms button takes you back to the screen with all of your HomeKit rooms. The Types button opens a screen with a list of all devices by category, and the Scenes button opens a screen where you can execute automation Scenes, configure Timers, and create automation Rules. For example, you can plug a dehumidifier into an iDevices smart switch and have it turn on when the Room reports a specific humidity level, or have a Philips Hue light turn a certain color when the air quality drops to a dangerous level. You have to have one of the above-mentioned hub configurations to use the Timer and Rules features, however.
Lastly, the Settings button takes you to a screen that displays a list of all HomeKit devices by room assignment. Here you can do things like change the name and icon of each device, and add new devices to your home.
Installation and Performance
To install the Eve Room, simply download the app, go to Settings, and tap the plus button in the upper-right corner. In my testing, the device was recognized immediately. I tapped the Room icon and followed the on-screen instructions to scan the HomeKit code located on the bottom edge of the device. After 10 seconds the device was paired and I was instructed to select a room and give each sensor a name. The instructions also directed me to place the Room device upright, leave it connected to a power source for two hours for a full charge, and wait a full day for it to calibrate itself. I updated the firmware and was done.
The Room sensors worked well. Thankfully, my home air quality measurement garnered five stars, meaning it is free and clear of VOC elements. However, when I put the device in my garage, which is where I keep lawnmowers, spare gas cans, paint thinner, and other solvents, I immediately saw an increase in the VOC graph in the app, and one of the five stars displayed by the Room device was dimmer than the other four. I then placed it next to an open gas can and within ten minutes the stars in the app had turned amber and only three of the stars on the device were illuminated, indicating a moderate presence of VOCs.
The temperature and humidity sensors also worked flawlessly, coming within one degree of the temperature and two percentage points of the humidity readings displayed on my Honeywell thermostat. Siri voice commands asking for temperature, humidity, and air quality readings were answered promptly and accurately.
Conclusions
If you're using Apple's HomeKit platform to control your smart home devices, the Eve Room is a solid, albeit pricey, choice for an indoor environmental monitor. It's a snap to install and uses accurate sensors to give you real-time air quality, room temperature, and humidity readings. The small E Ink display is easy to read and the mobile app lets you track changes in your environment with graphical charts. You can create rules to have it trigger other HomeKit devices, but you'll have to use a Wi-Fi bridge such as an Apple TV or HomePod. Android users are out of luck as this device, and other Eve Home devices, will only work with HomeKit. If the lack of Android and Alexa support is a deal breaker, consider the Canary All-In-One Home Security Device. It costs a bit more, but it also monitors air quality, temperature, and humidity, and it has a 1080p camera, a motion sensor, and a Wi-Fi radio.
The Eve Room is a tiny environmental monitor that measures indoor air quality, temperature, and humidity, but it doesn't support Android and lacks Wi-Fi connectivity.
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