Smart sensor will blast you with backyard weather data [Reviews]

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Like my own personal weather station for the backyard.
Like my own personal weather station for the backyard.
Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac

Best List: Eve Weather by Elgato

Sure, I can check the weather using any number of built-in or third-party apps on my iPhone, but what if I want to know what the humidity is in my own backyard?

Weather nerds rejoice — we now have a way to access and track the weather from anywhere this simple, easy to use white box and associated app is placed. The Eve Weather outdoor weather sensor melds right in with Elgato’s other HomeKit-compatible products, too, letting me check the details of my local microclimate with ease.

I can also ask Siri what the temperature is in the backyard, which is all kinds of cool.

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Eve Weather is a squarish white box that lives outside and can even handle a bit of rain with its IPX3 rating. It’s powered by two easily-replaceable AA batteries and keeps a continuous watch on the temperature, air pressure and humidity wherever it’s placed (I stuck it on a nail on my home’s backyard wall.)

Get the weather from your own backyard.
Track everything in one free app.
Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac
Setup is super simple. Just like other Eve devices, I connect to the Eve Weather with Bluetooth, taking a picture of the HomeKit code on the side of the device to loop it in with my freely downloadable Eve app.

The app is easy to use, too, letting me see the weather data at a glance, but also letting me dig deep to see each of its data points over time, with highs and lows color-coded in for temperature, humidity and air pressure.

I can even get Siri in on the act, asking “What’s the air pressure like in the backyard?” I’ll name the “room” I put the Eve Weather in so that Siri can identify it when asked.

Asking Siri for my hyperlocal weather report is a killer side benefit, sure, but figuring out how cold it is outside is a big deal here in Anchorage, and the temperature can fluctuate from area to area. It’s fantastic being able to pull up the Eve app and find out whether I need to wear a heavier coat, or if I can get away with a hoodie and a down vest when I leave the house each day.

Buy from: Amazon, Elgato

Elgato provided Cult of Mac with a review unit for this article. Learn about more lust-worthy products.

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