Gentex announces home automation integration into your car’s rearview mirror

Usually when you think home automation, your car’s rearview mirror doesn’t come to mind. Most cars these days use a Gentex unit that features a combination of auto dimming, a HomeLink garage door opener, and maybe a compass. Some are even frameless, with glass spanning the entire front. But smart they are not.

Gentex, the supplier of these mirrors for pretty much every car manufacturer, has taken to CES 2020 to announce a new smart rearview mirror with support for home automation. It features a Bluetooth connection that allows you to program the three HomeLink buttons using the HomeLink Connect app to do things like control your thermostat, door lock, lights, and more. So when you close your garage door with one button, you can use the second to turn off all the lights in the house and set the thermostat lower. After all, who has three garage door buttons programmed at the same time?

The benefit to this Bluetooth connection is also that programming your garage door is much easier. Anyone who has purchased a fairly recent car knows that HomeLink can be fiddly, especially with some gates. The new programming method using the HomeLink connect app makes this much easier.

This smart mirror is available as an aftermarket addition to any car, though it should be a direct swap for a lot of modern cars. But even with older cars, you can adapt it to work. You can pick up this frameless mirror for $299.99 from Voxx with a year of free service. After that, it will cost $1.99 a year.

Source: Voxx