News

Ambi Labs Launch Siri Compatible ‘Ambi Climate Mini’ AC Controller

Hong Kong-based Ambi Labs, manufacturers of the Ambi Climate and Ambi Climate 2 (read our review HERE) have launched their latest product, the Ambi Climate Mini, and as you can probably guess by the nomenclature, this new model is small. Before you start reading on, however, we should state this product is not officially HomeKit compatible, as is also the case with the previous models. The good news is, that as with their previous models, this is compatible with HomeBridge/HOOBS, Home Assistant, Siri Shortcuts, as well as being officially compatible with Amazon Alexa, and Hey Google. When it comes to HomeKit, we’ve been using the Ambi Climate 2 for over a year now, using either HOOBS, or via a macOS app called AmbiBridge, that allows HomeKit integration, as long as your computer is on of course.

The Mini and the Ambi Climate 2, both work by replacing your AC’s IR remote control, to control your AC units in a smart way, via voice assistants, automations, via AI learning, or via the Ambi Labs app, or even the Home app, if you use the previously mentioned options.

the new ‘mini’ model is just that, looking similar in design to the previous gen, but a lot smaller – or shorter, in fact, measuring only 24mm high, compared to 108mm for the 2nd gen, and is also less than half the weight, at only 50g/1.75oz/0.11lb. The Mini uses 2.4GHz WiFi for connectivity and comes with all the same sensors and features of the 2nd gen.

Another major difference is that while the Ambi Climate 2 is designed to sit on a flat surface, while the Mini can also be placed that way, it can also be mounted to a wall with a provided bracket. The Mini comes with temperature, humidity, visible light, and infrared light sensors, which all help to make the Ambi Climate range stick out from normal AC controllers, in that they take the combined data from all of these sensors to finely tune the AC to your needs. Your preferences are learned over a period of time with initial input via the company’s app, where you tell the company if you’re too hot or cold, or even slightly less warm or cooler than you’d prefer so that it builds up a profile of your preferences, whilst also taking into account variables that can change the temperature including sunlight and humidity.

The one possible downside to what the company calls ‘Comfort AI Assistant’ is that while the previous-gen includes this functionality for free, Ambi Labs will charge US$2.99 per month, after an initial 2-month trial, which can be cancelled at any time. Without this function, you can still control pretty much all aspects of your AC, including the temperature range and fan speed, as well as create schedules based on time or geolocation, although if you plan to use this with HomeKit (via the previously mentioned options), then you can control all of these functions via automations within the Home app too.

You can find more information on the Ambi Climate Mini on the company’s website, in addition to checking out our overview video above, of the Ambi Climate 2.

The Editor

Editor - Musician, graphic designer and HomeKit aficionado.