Apple HomeKit functionality is not yet available and is "coming soon," so you can't use Siri to control hose. If you're the type who would rather control your garden hose with your voice than your phone, you'll be pleased to know that this smart hose timer works with Alexa and Google Assistant. You can water the grass with smart assistants Alexa and Google Assistant In the app, the information can also be filtered by watering program (the device can handle up to four simultaneous schedules in addition to the automated Smart Watering option) or by zone, which is more useful for those using multiple hose timers. The app shows other helpful insights like watering totals broken out by day, week, month, or year, with side-by-side comparisons illustrating cycle-over-cycle changes using bar graphs alongside the raw data. I found this feature helpful because it makes it easy to go back and see how frequently I’ve been watering and how much water I’ve been using in the process. The B-hyve Smart Hose Faucet Timer and the companion app work together to track your watering history. The Orbit B-Hyve app offers a variety of ways to manage the hose timer from anywhere. So if you want to, well, get in the weeds, there are plenty of ways to do it. There are more than a dozen settings ranging from soil type (sand, clay, loam, etc.) and plant type (cool turf, warm turf, annual flowers, trees, desert plants, etc.) to typical sunlight totals and the slope of your property-and each serves a unique purpose relative to your watering plan.Īdditional categories including sprinkler types and quantities, rainfall and catch-cup readings, seasonal schedule adjustments, and drought settings. Perhaps the most impressive aspect of the Smart Watering features is the depth to which you can specify exactly what your sprinklers are watering. It’s quite convenient, and I’d imagine there are lots of situations beyond everyday use where it could come in handy-even on vacation when you’re probably not paying much attention to the weather patterns back home. Make sure to position the sprinkle exactly where you want it before starting a cycle.įor most, Smart Watering will be the way to go, as B-hyve's smart hose timer adjusts in real-time to weather predictions and environmental characteristics in the area, taking the brainpower out of watering the grass. The model I tried included just one nozzle-it runs on two AA batteries, not included. You can also connect directly to the device via Bluetooth. The device comes with the Orbit B-Hyve Wi-Fi hub, which you need to operate the sprinkler. Additional sizes in two-zone and four-zone editions are also available for purchase. It also offers a better Bluetooth range over the inaugural model. Unlike the first-generation hose timer, the second-generation features a display. The remote control functionality puts the control in your pocket, helping to save you money on water bills by watering your lawn and garden more efficiently than a typical hose-and-sprinkler setup. The hose timer turns any outdoor faucet into a smart faucet, giving you the ability to control hoses and manage watering schedules from anywhere using the companion app. The second-generation smart hose timer is the latest smart watering device in the B-hyve line, which is manufactured by Orbit. Still, I would recommend finding a different focus timer app.The Orbit B-hyve Smart Hose Faucet Timer has a Bluetooth range of up to 500 feet. I’m giving Pomodoro 2 stars instead of 1 because the ambient sounds are nice, and it works okay if you use only the basic features and are careful to always leave Pomodoro open when you’re using it. Without premium, you can’t create additional timers, so I wasn’t able to check this before going premium. You can go through the itemized history to see which timer you used for which focus session, but the visualizations combine all timers into one. ![]() ![]() Unfortunately, the statistics tab does not break down focus time by timer as I had hoped it would. I wanted to create a “Work” timer and rename the default timer to “Study”, but I had to create two new timers to accomplish the same. ![]() That’s a big enough drawback by itself to cause me to look for a different focus timer app.Īdditionally, you can’t rename the default timer from “this app”. I had a few sessions today that felt suspiciously long, so I checked the timer and saw that only a couple of seconds had elapsed. Most importantly, the focus timer appears to stop counting down if you switch apps or lock your phone. Unfortunately, it was only after that point that I started noticing some serious shortcomings. I used Pomodoro for a few days with just the free features, and I liked it so much that I bought premium for life.
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