When you think of a typical smart home, it maybe includes asmart lockon the front door, asmart thermostatfor managing the environment, and a smart hub to connect everything together. But have you gotten around to smartening up your window coverings yet? SwitchBot has been developing smart curtain add-ons for years now, letting you add automation to your windows. Now the company is just about to release its next-gen Curtain 3, with promises of quieter operation, more powerful motors, and more.
TheSwitchBot Curtain 3is the company’s latest smart curtain controller, allowing you to open and close your curtains automatically, manually, or by using voice commands (viaTheVerge). This new generation is designed for a thrust capability of 16kg — double what the Curtain 2 could handle. SwitchBot swears that it’s able to pull that off without making the Curtain 3 annoying loud, and it supposedly glides smoothly along at a constant speed of 5mm/s while barely making a peep at 25 dB.
While a rechargeable battery can last for up to eight months on a charge, there’s also an optional solar panel for $25 that is getting some upgrades of its own for this new generation, and paired with the Curtain 3 you should enjoy basically unlimited battery life. The Solar Panel 3 attaches up top, where it collects sunlight and uses that to charge the battery. What’s cool is that it collects light from artificial sources like streetlights and indoor lighting in addition to the sun, so even less well-lit areas can benefit.
Curtain 3 sales begin on August 25 for $90. The unit can be controlled using smart devices, like Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, Siri, and the SwitchBot Hub. Once installed, SwitchBot can be controlled using the SwitchBot app,Switchbot Hub, or schedules.
