MacRumors

Elgato's Eve lineup of smart home devices is one of the largest contributors to the HomeKit ecosystem, with a variety of sensors and switches for inside and out, including five more products announced a couple of months ago.

We reviewed a set of the early Eve products two years ago, when we found a solid set of sensors that were hampered by bugs in the early days of HomeKit. HomeKit has come a long way since that time, making it much more stable and useful, so many of our early qualms have been resolved and we were impressed by the new Eve Degree temperature monitor released earlier this year.

Two of the other products in the Eve lineup are the Eve Light Switch, a rather typical smart light switch, and Eve Motion, a battery-operated motion sensor. I've been using both of these for a few months, and I've found them to be quite useful in automating my home.

Eve Light Switch

There are a number of HomeKit-compatible smart switches on the market, including one from iDevices that I looked at earlier this year. The Eve Light Switch was, however, the first entrant into this category late last year, and it remains a worthy competitor.

Installation and Setup

If you've ever swapped out a light switch, it's a pretty straightforward process, and installing the Eve Light Switch isn't much different. As always, make sure you turn off power at the circuit breaker for safety before getting inside the junction box.

The Eve Light Switch is a lot bulkier than a traditional switch in order to accommodate all of the electronics, so you'll need to make sure you have enough room in your junction box, and you'll also need to have a neutral wire present at the switch location in order to provide continuous power to the switch. If you don't have one, you'll have to run some new wiring to the switch (which may not be a do-it-yourself job) or else select another location.

Unlike the iDevices Wall Switch, the Eve Light Switch can only be used in single-pole configurations. So if you've got a three-way circuit where a single light is controlled from two different switches, for example, you won't be able to use the Eve Light Switch.

Once you've determined the switch you want to replace is an appropriate location for the Eve Light Switch, it's just a matter or removing the old switch, transferring the wires over to the Eve Light Switch using the included wire nuts, shoving everything back into the wall, and screwing it all together.

From there, you have a decision to make. Elgato includes a two-piece face plate for a clean look, which requires that you screw on a snap plate over the switch and then snap on the face plate. Alternatively, you can skip those two pieces and put your own face plate on. Metal face plates may decrease the Bluetooth range of the switch, but I haven't experienced any issues with mine.

With everything put back together, it's time to turn the circuit breaker back on and make sure tapping the switch properly turns your light on and off. From there, head to the Eve app to get finish setting up the switch and getting it registered with your HomeKit network.

When you're done with setup on your device, you'll be all set to control the Eve Light Switch using the Eve app, the built-in Home app on iOS, or Siri. And as always, you can set up scenes to control the switch in conjunction with other HomeKit accessories, such as a "Good night" scene that turns off the lights, locks the doors, and adjusts the thermostat when heading to bed.

Usage

One thing my whole family loves about the Eve Light Switch is that the switch is actually just one big capacitive touch sensor. Tapping anywhere on the switch will turn the light on or off, and a green light in the center of the switch when it's off helps make it easy to find and hit in the dark.

The sensor makes for a big target, and it's easy to activate it when carrying things, even if you have to use an elbow. That's in contrast to the iDevices Wall Switch, which is a more traditional paddle design that requires you to physically press the top or bottom half of the switch to turn it on or off.

The Eve Motion communicates via Bluetooth, which conserves energy but somewhat limits its range. It can connect directly to your phone via Bluetooth, but if you have an Apple TV or iPad set up as a hub for your HomeKit setup, it'll ensure that all notifications and scenes function properly even when your phone isn't in range. Bluetooth range is much shorter than Wi-Fi, however, so you could run into some difficulty if your hub is located far from the switch.

Eve App

Once you've set up your light switch in the Eve app, you'll find that it's also a very full-featured HomeKit control app, showing all of your HomeKit devices around the house with options to set scenes, timers, rules (triggers), rooms, and zones (groups of rooms).

I won't go into too much detail on the app, as we've covered it fairly extensively in previous reviews such as the Eve Degree, but it's definitely a high-quality app for managing not just Eve products but a variety of HomeKit-compatible accessories.

The Eve app keeps a log of events such as when the light switch is turned on and off, which you can view in graph or table form. The various rules and scenes also make it easy to set up products to work together in scenarios such as activating multiple products at once or using an event on one accessory to automatically trigger a change in the state of another one.

Eve Motion

The Eve Motion is a simple product designed to do only one thing: sense motion in a room. Its 120º field of view and 30-foot detection range help it recognize whenever someone enters a room, and the fact that it's powered by a pair of AA batteries means you can put it almost anywhere. The Eve Motion is also IPX3 water resistant, meaning it can withstand splashes and sprays, and with an operating temperature range of 0º to 130º F, it can be used outdoors as well as inside.

Setup is straightforward, and once you insert the batteries and set the Eve Motion in an appropriate location, the Eve app walks you through step-by-step to allow you to pair with the Eve Motion, set sensitivity for the motion sensing, and set a Siri name for the sensor. If you'd like to integrate with other Eve or HomeKit products, you can set up scenes by specifying triggers and conditions.

As with the Eve Light Switch, the Eve Motion connects to your iOS device over Bluetooth, and if you have an Apple TV or iPad set up as a HomeKit hub, it'll be able to integrate with all of your other smart home devices at all times.

On its own, the Eve Motion is rather limited, basically restricted to pushing notifications whenever motion is sensed. This can come in handy if you want to mount it on your front porch, inside your front door, or in a seldom-used room if you want to be alerted whenever anyone's presence is detected. Within the HomeKit ecosystem, you can restrict notifications to only certain times of the day or, using geofencing, to only times when you either are or are not home.

The real power of the Eve Motion, however, is its wireless connectivity that integrates with the rest of the Eve platform and HomeKit, which lets you use the Eve Motion to trigger actions by other smart home components. For example, you could automatically turn on a light when motion is detected. Rules can also use multiple criteria, so you could set up an "I'm home" scene that turns on lights if it detects motion at your front door but only if it's after sunset. Or you could arrange to have a fan turn on when you enter a room, but only if the temperature is above 72º F.

One of the setups I tried with the Eve Motion was inside a pantry in my kitchen, pairing it with an iDevices Switch to try to automatically turn on a light in the pantry when the door was opened. The setup worked, but it's not instantaneous, sometimes taking as much as five seconds for the Eve Motion to recognize the motion of the door opening and me moving around in front of it, passing the event to HomeKit for processing the trigger, and sending a signal to the iDevices Switch to turn the light on it.

It wasn't ideal, considering I am frequently spending less time popping my head into the pantry than it takes for the light to come on, but it was an interesting test to push the limits of how HomeKit products can work together.

(November 2017 Update: Elgato has released updated firmware for the Eve Motion and Eve Light Switch that greatly improves response time in automations like this by leveraging updated Bluetooth architecture for HomeKit that was introduced in iOS 11.)

Other less time-sensitive setups worked better, such as triggering lights to come on when motion was detected on my front porch. The slight lag in response for the scene to activate once motion is detected isn't really significant in these contexts.

Wrap-up

The Eve Light Switch carries a list price of $49.95, and a few third-party sellers at Amazon are even knocking a few dollars off of that, which makes for a pretty decent deal in the world of connected light switches where many are closer to $100. It's a lot more than the buck or two you can spend on a traditional toggle switch at the low end, but there's obviously a lot more technology packed in and it comes with much more functionality. Your cash outlay will add up quickly if you want to use any of these smart switches throughout your home, so at least for now most users will want to be fairly selective about where they choose to install them.

The Eve Motion is priced at $49.95, and it's available through a number of retailers including Amazon or directly from Elgato. As a simple motion sensor without any other Eve or HomeKit products, it's not really worth investing in, but as part of a larger smart home setup, it can be a handy addition to help your other accessories do more.

Note: Elgato provided the Eve Light Switch and Eve Motion to MacRumors free of charge for the purposes of this review. No other compensation was received. MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon and may earn commissions on purchases made through links in this article.

Most MacRumors readers are likely planning to order their iPhone X models directly from Apple because Apple typically offers the smoothest, most streamlined pre-order process, but multiple carriers and retailers will also be offering October 27 pre-orders.

With iPhone X supplies expected to be heavily constrained, it may be worth having a backup plan in case Apple sells out right away. Some customers may also prefer to try their luck with a third-party store with the hope of less order congestion, or may need to use a gift card. We've confirmed the retailers and carriers below will be offering pre-orders in the United States.

Carriers

T-Mobile has confirmed it will be accepting iPhone X pre-orders at 12:01 Pacific Time on October 27, and customers can elect to sign up for a reminder email on the T-Mobile site. Customers can also download the T-Mobile app to receive a push notification the second that T-Mobile's iPhone X pre-orders go live.

T-Mobile is offering a deal for $300 off the iPhone X with an eligible trade-in, but one of T-Mobile's installment purchase plans is required to get the deal. T-Mobile is allowing customers to buy the iPhone X outright or make a purchase using the JUMP! On Demand program or the Equipment Installment Plan.

For the Equipment Installment Plan, T-Mobile requires $279.99 down for the 64GB iPhone X, followed by 24 monthly payments of $30. For the 256GB model, T-Mobile requires $429.99 down, followed by 24 monthly payments of $30.

Under the JUMP! On Demand program, the 64GB iPhone X costs $41.56 per month while the 256GB iPhone X costs $24 per month and requires a $429.99 down payment. With JUMP! On Demand, customers can upgrade yearly.

T-Mobile customers will need to order from either Apple or T-Mobile as other retailers are not offering T-Mobile devices as a pre-order option.

AT&T is accepting iPhone X pre-orders on October 27 starting at 12:01 a.m. Pacific Time.

Like other carriers, AT&T is offering up to $300 in credits with the trade in of an iPhone 7 Plus, or up to $200 with the trade in of other devices.

Pricing on AT&T's 24-month Installment Program starts at $41.63 for the 64GB iPhone X and $47.88 per month for the 256GB model, but AT&T offers several plans, including AT&T Next and AT&T Next Every Year, so pricing may vary depending on what you choose.

Verizon's website isn't listing a specific time for the iPhone X, but Verizon support says pre-orders will be accepted starting at 12:01 a.m. Pacific Time on October 27.

Verizon is offering up to $300 off the iPhone X with an eligible smartphone trade-in, with the credit applied over a 24 month period. A device payment plan is required to get the deal.

Verizon's 24-month Device Payment Program requires customers to pay $41.62 per month for the 64GB iPhone X and $47.87 per month for the 256GB iPhone X. Verizon is also allowing customers to pay full price for the iPhone X.

Sprint's website says iPhone X pre-orders begin on October 27th at 2:00 a.m. CST, aka 12:00 a.m. Pacific Time, the same as every other carrier.

With Sprint's 18 month Flex Lease, customers will need to pay $41.67 per month for the 64GB iPhone X. The 256GB iPhone X is also priced at $41.67 per month, but it requires a $150 downpayment. Sprint is also offering outright purchases.

With a Sprint Flex Lease and a trade-in of an eligible device, Sprint is discounting the iPhone X by $350, with the discount applied over the course of 18 months.

Virgin Mobile is not accepting pre-orders for the iPhone X on its website, but customers can go to an Apple Store on Friday, October 27 to pre-order and take advantage of an in-store offer that will let customers get six months of Virgin Mobile service for $1.

Customers will need to ask for the Inner Circle promotional deal at the Apple Store.

The iPhone X will be available for pre-order through Comcast's Xfinity Mobile starting on October 27. Xfinity Mobile, available only to Comcast customers, allows users to pay $12 per 1GB of data usage or $45 per line for unlimited data that's throttled after 20GB.

Customers who buy an iPhone X through Xfinity Mobile and also sign up for Xfinity Internet, TV, and mobile service can get a $500 gift card.

Retailers

Best Buy has confirmed that it will begin accepting iPhone X pre-orders on October 27 at 12:01 a.m. Pacific Time.

Best Buy will have Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint models available for purchase.

Target will be offering iPhone X pre-orders starting on October 27, and while the website does not list a specific time, it's likely pre-orders will kick off at 12:01 a.m. Pacific Time.

Target will have Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint models available for purchase.

Wrap Up

There's no word on how many iPhone X devices these retailers have available for launch day delivery, but oftentimes carriers and major retailers have at least some limited amount of stock available to fulfill online pre-orders on launch day.

Did we miss a retailer that's offering iPhone X pre-orders? Let us know and we'll add it to the list.

Update: US Cellular is also offering October 27 pre-orders for the iPhone X.

Instagram for iOS was today updated to add a new "Superzoom" camera feature that's designed to let users record videos that have a dramatic zooming effect.

After opening the camera, Superzoom can be accessed next to the Boomerang option under the record button. Tapping Superzoom will cause the camera to automatically zoom in with suspenseful music.

You can make a Superzoom of anything -- your selfie, your friend's goofy face or even your half-eaten sandwich. As always, you can send your video to your friends on Instagram Direct or add it to your story.

In addition to Superzoom, Instagram is also gaining five new Halloween-related face filters and Halloween stickers, both of which will be available through November 1.

Filters can transform you into a vampire, zombie, ghost, and more, while there are a range of stickers that include pumpkins, candy corn, and other spooky things.

Instagram can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

When the iPhone X becomes available for pre-order this Friday, it will be available to purchase in 55 first-wave launch countries and territories around the world. Pre-orders kick off at 12:01 a.m. Pacific Time, aka Cupertino time, but because Apple is doing a simultaneous launch, pre-order times will vary by country.

Below we've created a list of all of the first wave launch countries and the time when pre-orders will go live in those countries to make it easy for MacRumors readers to set alarms and reminders to be ready to place an order right when pre-orders kick off.

We haven't listed every time zone for every country, such as in Canada, Russia, and the US, so make sure to double check your specific time zone so you're certain you know the exact time that pre-orders will kick off. A time zone converting website is a useful tool for confirming the accurate pre-order time.

The iPhone X is expected to be severely constrained, and rumors have suggested Apple's not going to be able to reach supply/demand balance on the device until the first months of 2018. For that reason, customers hoping to get an iPhone X on launch day will need to place an order right when pre-orders go live, as available supply could sell out within minutes.

Just over six weeks after the iPhone X was unveiled, pre-orders for the highly-anticipated device will finally begin on Friday at 12:01 a.m. Pacific Time.

Of the nearly 2,500 readers who responded to our Twitter poll, 45 percent said they plan to pre-order the iPhone X as soon as Apple flips the switch. The remaining 55 percent of users indicated they will not be pre-ordering at this time.

iPhone X can be pre-ordered through Apple.com, but we recommend using the Apple Store app to complete the process as quickly as possible.

Apple's first batch of iPhone X inventory will likely sell out very quickly, so time is of the essence. Given consistent reports about the iPhone X being in tight supply due to production issues, waiting even five minutes to place your pre-order could result in your order being shipped several weeks or months later.

MacRumors has a live countdown on our front page that indicates exactly when iPhone X pre-orders begin around the world.

iPhone X will go on sale in more than 55 countries and territories on Friday, November 3. Apple confirmed that stores will have stock available for walk-in customers on launch day, but availability will likely be extremely limited. On the same day, the first pre-orders should begin arriving to customers.

In a separate Twitter poll earlier this week, the iPhone X in Space Gray with 256GB of storage proved to be the most popular pre-order choice among over 6,500 readers who voted. The least popular configuration was Silver/64GB.

iPhone X starts at $999 in the United States with 64GB of storage, while the 256GB model is available for $1,149.

Apple today announced its all-new retail store at Westfield Century City in Los Angeles, California opens Friday, November 3 at 8:00 a.m. local time.

The grand opening date coincides with iPhone X launch day. Apple said the device will be available for walk-in customers to purchase on a first come, first served basis, although in-store quantities are likely to be extremely limited.

Apple's plans to open a more spacious store at Century City were first revealed by MacRumors last month, as part of the company's ongoing efforts to modernize its chain of nearly 500 retail stores around the world.

Apple will be in a prime location at the center of the shopping mall, which has undergone a $1 billion expansion and modernization. The new store will be opposite an upcoming Rolex watch store, according to a source familiar with the matter.

Apple's current store at Century City opened in June 2005 and will permanently close after November 2. The new, larger store will provide the space needed to accommodate increased customer traffic and Today at Apple sessions.

The new store should also be based on Apple's latest retail design, including large glass doors, sequoia wood tables and shelves, a large video screen for Today at Apple sessions, and light boxes spanning the length of the ceiling.

All new Apple retail stores opened since September 2015 have been based on the updated design, including Apple's flagship Union Square location in San Francisco. Apple has also renovated over 40 existing stores with the newer look.

(Thanks, Storeteller!)

Following an announcement earlier in the summer, eBay this week launched an "Image Search" feature in its iOS application. Image Search uses computer vision technology powered by AI to let you search the popular auctioning site by snapping a picture -- or uploading one from your Camera Roll -- and receive similar results based on image recognition abilities.

Live now in the eBay iOS app, you can tap the camera icon in the search bar at the top of the home screen, choose "Image Search," then take a picture or upload one from Photos. You'll have to grant eBay access to both your iOS Camera and Photos apps for the feature to work properly.

After you take a picture or choose one, you can crop it so it focuses on the item you want to search, and then tap "Search." eBay will then show you listings for items that are a "close match" or "visually similar" to the product in your picture. Image Search takes into account all of eBay's over one billion listings, according to the company.

Leveraging the latest advances in two core parts of artificial intelligence -- computer vision and deep learning -- these new features make it easier to find and buy the things that inspire you. When you upload images to run Find It On eBay and Image Search, we use a deep learning model called a convolutional neural network to process the images.

The output of the model gives us a representation of your image that we can use to compare to the images of the live listings on eBay. Then, we rank the items based on visual similarity and use our open-source Kubernetes platform to quickly bring these results to you, wherever you are in the world.

eBay also launched "Find It On eBay" for Android smartphones only, which lets users start an image search on another social platform, like Facebook. Using a share extension on an image, Android users can tap eBay and the retailer's app will open to show similar listings.

We've performed a few quick Image Searches today and found mostly solid results for some items (an Apple Watch and band), although other products stumped the software so much we got an error (Nintendo Amiibo, Apple Watch dock). eBay still hasn't said if some products are more reliable than others, but it did mention that Image Search will gain intelligence as customers use it more, as is typical with machine learning technology.

Image Search is live now on iOS and Android, and Find It On eBay has also launched on Android this week. The eBay app on iOS doesn't require an update for Image Search, so it appears the company is rolling out the feature through over-the-air installs.

LG Innotek recently finished constructing a manufacturing plant in Vietnam, where it will produce single-lens and dual-lens camera modules for several iPhone models, according to South Korea's ETNews.

LG Innotek reportedly built the factory to expand its production capacity due to Apple's increasing demand for iPhone camera modules. Production costs are also lower in Vietnam, as workers are often paid less than in South Korea.

LG Innotek is said to be planning a production capacity of 100,000 modules per day by the end of this year, and it should start supplying them to Apple on a full-scale basis in 2018. Orders are expected to continue through at least 2019.

"It is heard that LG Innotek's plant in Vietnam is built in order to match increased orders from Apple," an industry representative told ETNews. "It is likely that there is already an outlook for 2018 from Apple."

LG Innotek already has production lines exclusively for Apple, its largest customer, at its factory in Gumi, South Korea. It extends these lines whenever there is a large increase in the number of orders, according to the report.

Facebook has teamed up with auto car dealers to introduce a new Marketplace section for vehicles on its flagship social media app (via TechCrunch).

The new section features search filters to find a vehicle of a specific type, maker, transmission, color, and more, offered by members of the public as well as car dealerships including Edmunds, Auction123, Cars.com, CDK Global, and SocialDealer.

The automobile Marketplace includes a price checking function that uses the industry standard Kelly's Blue Book, and integrates with Messenger bots to allow users to communicate with dealers in real-time.

Today's announcement comes following an apparent upsurge in car listings, with the social media platform already featuring a dedicated vehicles category that lets users search by make, year, milage, and price.

Facebook doesn't receive a fee for any Marketplace transactions, but it has recently started testing ads within Marketplace to promote certain products. The company said the new car inventory will populate and new features will start rolling out over the next few weeks.

Apple is offering users of its official Apple Store app free redeem codes to download Plotagraph+ Photo Animator from the App Store. Usually $4.99, the iOS app allows users to animate any still photo into a seamlessly looping video or animated PNG.

Users create a Plotagraph by selecting or taking a photo, creating an animation track to indicate the direction of movement, and masking areas of the image they don't want to animate. It's then possible to adjust the animation speed and save the final result to the Camera Roll or share it as a video, GIF, or animated PNG using custom presets.

The editing interface features a range of tools for manipulating images, including an animation tool, selection tool, instant playback, mask, eraser, crop presets, anchor points, pinch zoom, Apple Pencil pressure sensitivity, real-time animation speed control, and multiple export options.

To get the app from the App Store, first download the free Apple Store app [Direct Link]. Then simply open the app, and the Plotagraph+ offer can be found further down in the Discover section on the main store screen. The offer looks like it's working for users in the U.S. and U.K. at the time of writing. Apple has extended its redeem codes to other countries in the past, so it's still worth checking for the offer if you're based elsewhere – let us know in the comments below if you have any success. Offer ends January 15, 2018.

As was announced back in July, Apple partnered with Australian company Cochlear to develop the Nucleus 7, the first made for iPhone Cochlear implant, which is able to stream audio from a compatible iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch directly to a surgically embedded sound processor.

Cochlear's new Nucleus 7 Sound Processor is launching in Australia this week, and should soon also be available in other countries for customers who have profound hearing loss that can't be alleviated with traditional hearing aids and requires implant technology.

Apple's accessibility engineering team worked with Cochlear to create a new form of Bluetooth low-energy audio that allows the implant to connect to the iPhone without draining significant amounts of battery life. Through an iPhone connection, patients who adopt the Nucleus 7 implant will be able to watch movies, listen to music, make calls, and more.

In a comment to The Australian about the launch of the Nucleus 7 from Cochlear, Apple director of accessibility Sarah Herrlinger said the Cochlear project is something Apple is "passionate about." Creating the Bluetooth improvements and developing integrations across multiple companies with hearing aid products took two to three years to complete, says Herrlinger.

"It's something that we are really passionate about as a company," she said. "We consider it one of our core corporate values, an area where we put significant amount of time and energy ensuring our products work for everyone.

"We started looking at this program around the concept of Bluetooth LE and how it would be a beneficial tool in this specific circumstance. The work we have done is applicable both to hearing aids and sound processors."

The Nucleus 7 Sound Processor is compatible with a wide range of Apple devices, including the iPhone 5 and later, all iPad Pro models, the iPad mini and later, and the fourth-generation iPad and later.

iPhone X pre-orders begin this Friday, October 27 at 12:01 a.m. Pacific Time on a first come, first served basis, and customers that want any chance of receiving the smartphone on launch day will need a combination of speed and luck.

The quickest way to pre-order the iPhone X is to use the Apple Store app on iPhone. Prospective buyers that want any chance of receiving the iPhone X when it launches Friday, November 3 should follow the steps below to be ready.

Note that these steps are for customers paying full price for the iPhone X upfront, and may not apply to those who owe money towards a previously carrier financed device.

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