Xiamen, China, Sep. 27, 2023 - Akuvox’s smart home brand—akubela, has received three Featured Finalist awards for its HyPanel Series at the International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA) 2023, one of the world’s top design awards.

IDEA is hosted by the esteemed Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA) which stands as one of the oldest and largest industrial design associations. Since its inception in 1980, IDEA has been celebrating exceptional accomplishments in industrial design. After four decades, IDEA has proudly held its position as the gold standard for design excellence. This year, IDEA received 2,000 entries from 32 countries, recognizing only the top 10% for their exceptional design excellence.

akubela earned three IDEA Featured Finalists for the following products:

- HyPanel Lite

- HyPanel Lux

- HyPanel Series

With the addition of the IDEA award, the company has secured all three of the top-tier global design accolades, with the other two being Germany’s Red Dot Design Awards and iF Design Awards. Additionally, the company has garnered acclaim from Japan's GOOD DESIGN Awards.

The akubela HyPanel series clinched these awards for its remarkable achievements in design innovation, user benefits, client/brand advantages, societal impact, and aesthetic appropriateness after a rigorous judgement process. As an integrated control center for whole-house smart home equipment, it not only facilitates eco-friendly living but also ensures extensive compatibility with a wide range of third-party products.

The HyPanel Lite prioritizes human-centric design, catering to a broad range of age groups. It features four user-intuitive metal buttons for simplicity, and a 3.27-inch touchscreen for more tech-savvy individuals. Beyond its intuitive interface, it is crafted to foster family connections in addition to delivering intelligence and convenience. For example, with akubela HyPanel products installed in each room, family members can engage in seamless communication across rooms, leave voice messages and access a digital family album for shared memories. It’s a smart control panel that incorporates the smart intercom, advanced security features, home automation capabilities, switches, etc. within a compact frame.

The HyPanel Lux embodies the convergence of advanced inter-connectivity and a design aesthetic of “luxury.” It presents a range of interaction options, encompassing a touch screen, physical buttons, a metal knob, and an integrated voice assistant. Specifically, the product stands out with its distinctive design for the two modes of the rotary knob—one with tactile feedback that induces an engaging haptic pleasure and the other operating silently to deliver an enjoyable user experience. As for the front pane, it adopts anti-glare (AG) glass that can minimize unwanted glare and diminish reflections and even stains on the screen.

In the era of Smart Home 2.0, modern homes can be impersonal with complex devices that boast intelligence and automation. But as akubela prioritizes and dedicates its efforts to fostering family connections and personal interactions within smart homes, the HyPanel series serves as a catalyst for strengthening these bonds. In a departure from conventional tech-centric smart home systems, the HyPanel series places the human experience at the forefront of its design philosophy. Instead of merely focusing on making homes “smarter” and data-driven, akubela’s HyPanel series is a testament to the belief that technology should enhance and adapt to individual lifestyles. The HyPanel series empowers users to customize their home environment to suit their unique preferences and needs. While embracing technology, it also facilitates quality family time.

About akubela

akubela is a smart home brand of the Akuvox Company, a global leading provider of smart intercom and smart home products and solutions. The company is committed to unleashing the power of technologies to improve people’s lives with better communication, greater security, and more convenience. akubela, as an innovative smart home brand, is committed to create smarter and sweeter homes for every family via whole-home intelligence.

Media Contact:

Jennifer Cai

press@akuvox.com