SwitchBot 3 Curtain 3 assessment: Overcomplicated

I am as a lot a fan of the internet of things (IoT) as the subsequent tech geek, which, to be clear, is a membership I proudly take into account myself a member of, however the web of issues and the race to automate and connect something and the whole lot (I am taking a look at you, smart toaster) has spawned merchandise whose use circumstances are extra area of interest than common. The SwitchBot Curtain Opener 3 is one such product, and on this assessment I will be going over my impressions putting in, testing, and utilizing it, in addition to the area of interest use circumstances I may see this product addressing.

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Value, availability, and specs

The SwitchBot Curtain 3 retails for $90 for one unit, although take into account that any center cut up curtains that open from the center out would require two models to work correctly. This automated curtain opener may be discovered on Amazon and instantly from the SwitchBot web site. The SwitchBot Curtain 3 is mainly a small motor on rollers that attaches to your curtain rod. It’s out there in three types that embody your fundamental curtain rod, U-shape curtain rods, and I-shape curtain rods. The system costs through USB-C and as soon as charged SwitchBot says the battery ought to final months relying on frequency of use.

What I preferred concerning the SwitchBot Curtain 3

It capabilities precisely as described

It would sound like faint reward, however the redeeming high quality that caught out essentially the most to me was that the SwitchBot Curtain 3 labored precisely as described. I used to be a bit skeptical if I am being sincere, as area of interest dwelling automation units just like the Curtain 3 are typically extra gimmick than perform. After connecting the system to the SwitchBot app (extra on this later), the software program walked me via the calibration course of, which as soon as accomplished, allowed me to open and shut my curtains from the app.

Talking of the app, it permits for a good stage of automation, largely via the usage of schedules. I used to be capable of set the curtains to open within the morning after I usually start working after which to shut every night as soon as the solar goes down. The app additionally permits actually high-quality management of the open and shut course of. I used to be capable of open the curtains as a lot or as little as I needed, measured in % closed inside the app’s UI.

What I did not like concerning the SwitchBot Curtain 3

The juice wasn’t well worth the squeeze

SwitchBot claims that the set up of Curtain 3 ought to take as little as 30 seconds, however the actuality for me was starkly completely different. I like to think about myself a usually succesful individual, and tech-savvy at that, however putting in this factor took me nearly an hour. I can see how as soon as you have finished it earlier than, subsequent installations would take a fraction of the time, however the directions are unclear, the handbook’s photographs barely useful, and the set up unintuitive at greatest. As soon as the system is put in on the far finish of your curtain rod, maneuvering the rod itself turns into extraordinarily cumbersome as the load steadiness is totally tilted to 1 facet.

If this catches you off-guard because it did me, you would possibly find yourself scraping your wall and ceiling as I did, so be careful for this or set up it with some assist. Set up directions range wildly by fashion of curtain, and should embody the usage of stand-alone clips, or clips related by beads to perform correctly, all of which is defined in little element with photographs that may be exhausting to decipher at first look.

After a cumbersome set up, I lastly acquired to begin testing the bot. Because it started opening my curtains for the primary time, I used to be met with a whiny, rickety, and customarily noisy operation. Within the promoting supplies for this product, SwitchBot exhibits a setup the place you utilize the Curtain 3 to open your curtains within the morning, peacfully waking you up as daylight is step by step let into the room. In actuality, the noise of the operation would wake you up quicker and extra aggressively than the mild morning gentle. As well as, the sound instantly conjured issues about whether or not the SwitchBot Curtain 3 would injury a high-end picket curtain rod or whether or not it was going to wreck my window shutters over time by rubbing towards the wooden end when shifting.

Finally, I could not see how, for me personally, this might ever be price it. I measured that it might take me 5 seconds to rise up and open or shut the curtain manually, whereas the set up alone took me about 45 minutes. Even when I generously dropped that right down to Half-hour, it might take 360 open or shut cycles simply to interrupt even on my set up time, and in my eyes, the purpose of automation is to avoid wasting me time and vitality, not price me extra.

Must you purchase the SwitchBot Curtain 3?

Even with my very own expertise being removed from supreme, I can undoubtedly see how the SwitchBot Curtain 3 may show helpful in some area of interest circumstances. Firstly, this might be a tremendous product for enhancements in accessibility for any customers who’re in any other case unable to simply open and shut their curtains. It additionally is likely to be well worth the set up on extraordinarily tall or lengthy curtains which might be in any other case a slog to open and shut, although keep in mind you will have to rise up there to take the centerpiece of the Curtain 3 down for charging a few times a 12 months, relying on use. Consideration also needs to be given to how you want your curtains set when open, as a result of in the event you safe them with a tie or hook, the SwitchBot Curtain 3 can’t try this for you, and handbook interplay along with your curtains will nonetheless be wanted ultimately.

If the curtain scenario in your house is pretty common, that means you open and shut them occasionally, and it takes you 5-10 seconds to take action, then I wrestle to see how a $90 expense, 15-Half-hour of set up, plus charging when wanted, all to exchange such a easy process is justifiable. If, nonetheless, you could have a really area of interest scenario that is likely to be served by the SwitchBot Curtain 3, then by all means, decide one up, as a result of it definitely does what it is designed to do, and I by no means skilled a malfunction.

Helpful however area of interest

SwitchBot Curtain 3