Big Data

Smart device maker Wink demands customers pay up or lose features


Smart home startup Wink today announced it would require customers to subscribe to a monthly service plan in order to access their devices from the Wink app, with voice control, or through the Wink API. Opting not to subscribe right away will disable all automations and settings, the company said, though they’ll be reactivated upon subscription at a later date

The subscription plan — which will cost $4.99 per month — is scheduled to launch on May 13. It’ll apply both to individual users and enterprise customers with which Wink has active partnerships.

“Since 2014, Wink has relied solely on the one-time fee derived from hardware sales to cover ongoing cloud costs, development, and customer support. Providing users with local and remote access to their devices will always come at a cost for Wink, and over the years we have made great progress toward reducing these costs so that we can maintain that feature,” wrote Wink in a blog post. “However, long-term costs and recent economic events have caused additional strain on our business … Your support will enable us to continue providing you with the functionality that you’ve come to rely on, and focus on accelerating new integrations and app features.”

Wink connects with third-party smart home devices such as thermostats, door locks, ceiling fans, and Wi-Fi-enabled lights and provides controls via the app or a wall-mounted display called Relay. The Wink device family integrates with software from brands like Canary, which markets an app-controlled home system, and it’s compatible with third-party apps and services like Uber, Fitbit, and IFTTT.

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Wink says that over 4 million devices are connected to its network.

Wink’s most recent smart hub — the second-generation Wink Hub — supports most smart home devices with Zigbee, Z-Wave, Lutron Clear Connect, Bluetooth Low Energy, 5GHZ Wi-Fi, and Kidde protocols. In October 2017, Wink introduced its newest product lineup in the Wink Lookout home security system, which consists of open and close sensors, motion sensors, a siren, and the aforementioned home hub.

Wink — which was originally created as part of a collaboration with General Electric to control co-branded products like air-conditioners, was founded at startup incubator program Quicky. After raising $20 million in funding, Wink was acquired by Flextronics (now Flex) for $15 million, who became Wink’s primary supplier for firmware and hardware. It later sold its interest in Wink for $59 million to performer Will.i.am’s technology firm, i.am+.



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