Custom Smart Blinds With MATTER & THREAD! What More Could You Want?

we’re well and truly at the start of Matter becoming more commonplace now, and whilst today’s product review - Smartwings smart roller blinds - is in beta, this features what you could consider the best of both worlds - Matter for local control over all four (and more) ecosystems, along with Thread connectivity to both take the strain off your wifi network, whilst also providing fast and efficient communication without a hub.
These are the first (as far as we’re aware) custom roller blinds with Matter over Thread, and they work as well as expected, although due to not all ecosystems being exactly up to speed when it comes to Matter, Amazon, in this case, is lagging, as it has yet to provide support for window covering. That doesn’t really ‘Matter’ as we’re all about HomeKit here, so enjoy!
👉 Here's a link to the HomePass app mentioned in the video - homepass.app
👉 You can also read the in-depth written review - homekitnews.com/2023/06/26/sm...
You can purchase Smartwings custom blinds directly (currently only with HomeKit over Thread) from the company's website below; This link is NOT an affiliate link, so we make no commission on any potential sales. Matter over Thread models will be available in the next month or so, according to Smartwings.
👉 www.smartwingshome.com
Check out our website for all the latest HomeKit related News, Reviews, Listings, Tutorials and more - homekitnews.com
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Timestamps:
0:00 intro
0:12 Product introduction
0:37 What's in the box?
1:12 A closer look
2:42 Installation
3:26 Initial test via remote
3:50 Smart Home integration
4:56 Reaction times
5:32 Speed and noise tests
6:07 Comparison - Smartwings v. MotionBlinds
6:52 Pros vs. Cons
8:21 Outro
#homekit #smarthome #googlehome #homeautomation #amazonalexa #matter #thread

[@myHomeKithome]

It's nice to see a HomeKit manufacturer coming out of my hometown, especially one that makes such incredible custom window coverings. Good on SmartWings for bringing Matter, but great on them for Thread! Love it!

[@homekitnews]

Couldn't agree more!

[@Dr_Cole]

Another fantastic review. Love your work - keep them coming.

[@homekitnews]

Thanks very much. Plenty more to come!

[@selfhealer1]

Is it possible to use one screw per bracket do you think? My Ikea blinds were put up with one per bracket even though they have 2 screw holes. Had real trouble putting them up because of the window lintels so used one per bracket in the end.

[@homekitnews]

I think it depends on the weight of the blinds ultimately. The blinds in the video are very light, so I imagine it could easily withstand just using one screw per bracket, but it’s hard for me to give you a definitive answer without knowing what blinds you would use and what material you’d be screwing the brackets into.

[@jstevison]

Hopefully they are better than the previous HomeKit version. Mine sometimes open when asked in the HomeKit app and sometimes not. Good luck.

[@homekitnews]

So far, so good. Did you get the Bluetooth ones, or the Thread ones?

[@jstevison]

@@homekitnewsBluetooth. They offered a discount to upgrade the shades, but they are less than a year old and I’m not giving them more money. I wish I had gotten the Lutron shades.

[@homekitnews]

Bluetooth is notoriously slow, which is why I declined to review their shades a couple of years back.

[@8Arachne8]

Is there a quiet mode? I know some products offer the option to slow speeds to make the motors more quiet.

[@homekitnews]

Hi, you can adjust the speed of the roller blind motor via the remote itself, so I guess the slowest speed would be equivalent to quiet mode. There’s no option to switch speeds via automations, however, as there’s no app specific to the device, because it’s designed to work directly with Matter ecosystems.

[@aadkszcn]

Is it possible to hardwire it? If you keep the usb plugged will it work?

[@homekitnews]

As long as there’s power going to the USB-C port the battery will never drain. They sell a sole panel that can plug into the port and fix to your window.

[@alexyang5956]

yes, they have hardwire one

[@noggodtv]

$350 per shade?! What a steal, I didn’t know they were Austin based

[@rhomboidman]

As always, best HomeKit review online.

[@homekitnews]

Thanks very much!

[@looper6120]

I have a quick question, for such thread only devices, will they ever get firmware update?

[@homekitnews]

It depends on the manufacturer, but Thread devices - whether Matter over Thread or HomeKit over Thread - can receive updates. These would be done through the main ecosystem app if the product manufacturer doesn’t have its own app.

[@looper6120]

@@homekitnews Oh I see, Thank you for the reply. So like this case, SmartWings doesn't have an App, and their blinds only connects to thread not wifi, manufacturer will need to push the update to Apple, and let homekit handles the update then? BTW, have you experienced that the SmartWings thread blinds just don't show up in the EVE app thread network? I try to visualize the thread network, but these SmartWing devices don't show there. Also the battery level doesn't update in HomeKit by themselves. Curious if you have experience such issues after these months. Thanks again.

[@homekitnews]

@@looper6120 yes, any updates would be shown in the Apple Home app. I assume this would also be the case with other Matter platforms too (Google, Amazon etc). Bear in mind updates would take a while to install due to the limited bandwidth of Thread - as is the case with Zigbee or Bluetooth. As regards them showing up in the Eve app Thread network page, I believe this is the case with all Matter devices, as none of my Matter products show up by name their either. They may show up as an ‘endpoint’ which are listed at the bottom with HomePods etc. but it’s hard to know which are which. I haven’t paid much attention to the battery levels for this product, but the levels do change. Mine are currently at 83%.

[@looper6120]

@@homekitnews thanks! I have confirmed with SmartWings and they won’t have any firmware update ever. oh I see, I don’t see the thread devices anywhere on Eve app, looks like it’s not just me. And I haven’t figured out why the battery level won’t change for me, but it happens to two out of my five blinds. The other three work just fine. I do have google nest hub as part of the thread network, the two happen to be a bit closer to the google hub. It sounds silly but I really don’t know why it’s like this tbh.

[@homekitnews]

@@looper6120 to see more details for HomeKit over Thread devices, you do need at least one powered Eve device (eg Eve Energy). Once you do, there’s more details for Thread devices, but much less if they’re Matter over Thread.

[@colel6678]

Wait, you're in New Taipei? Me too! Is it expensive to ship here? Update - 6:14 Oh very good!!!

[@homekitnews]

Hi, good to hear from a neighbour - New Taipei is pretty big though! I'm near to Nangang.

[@colel6678]

@@homekitnews Xizhi

[@homekitnews]

@@colel6678 that’s exactly where I am. Small world.

[@colel6678]

@@homekitnews Small world for sure! It's not the easiest place to build a smart home due to lack of infrastructure and support, so I was surprised to see you are located here. Currently trying to install smart switches but there's no neutral wire nor ground wire, and the size of the switch is completely different. I can't find a single dimmer switch locally. I guess they never use them. A bit of a nightmare sometimes but the ball is rolling.

[@homekitnews]

@colel6678 I use Aqara smart switches here for simple on/off, but I also have a Wemo Dimmer switch. Neither of these require a neutral or Earth. You can buy the Aqara switches online here via Shopee, although the Wemo is only available on Amazon. Amazon do ship to Taiwan though, depending on the product, and even provide free shipping over a certain amount.