Eve’s new gadget turns retro rollers into smart blinds

The purpose of Eve’s MotionBlinds Upgrade Kit for Roller Blinds is clear from its name. This is a device that aims to make regular old shades smarter by adding a motor and a way to communicate with your existing smart home setup. That means you can add automation to open and close the blinds to save energy, or ask your phone or voice assistant to let the light in.

The company says the device is “easily installed without any wiring or technical know-how,” but must be charged via the built-in USB-C port. According to Eve spokesperson Daniel Turk, the battery should last “up to a year with normal use,” and the kit includes several adapters, which the company says “varies It is suitable for all roller blind tubes.” ”

Initially, it can be controlled via the Apple Home app or Eve’s app (not available for Android, but coming soon) and connects to your home network via Thread. That means you should get the most out of a Thread border router like the HomePod Mini. (The upgrade kit will also be available for Matter updates, and will be available for all major smart home platforms. More on that later.) The kit will be available from March 28th at he’s $199.95. Available.

It’s certainly not cheap, especially considering how many windows you have in your home, but it’s not like there’s a lot of competition on Eve. The Bargesmart-home expert Jennifer Pattison Tuohy, a resident of . says.

Note, however, that the $259 Tilt kit comes with solar charging. Depending on where you live, you may not need to recharge the battery. But with Eve, you get a pull-her chain for manual control when you don’t want to pull out your phone or talk to your assistant.

The company is also rolling out new options for those looking to purchase custom blinds that incorporate the company’s technology. In addition to the already available roller blinds.

The bigger announcement, however, is that these (and “all Eve MotionBlinds products”) will support Matter via a firmware update “in late Q1.” Similarly, the company will also start shipping its Eve Door and Window, Eve Energy, and Eve Motion devices with Matter right out of the box, making it a cumbersome process to update them before using the standard. No need to go through. For a company that was previously HomeKit only, this is a big change. If you want to update your device to support Matter, you must use an Apple device.

According to the company’s press release, Matter means that Eve’s devices will “work with all four major smart home platforms, including Apple Home, Google Home, Amazon Alexa and Samsung SmartThings.” The company’s Matter Certified devices will be available starting March 28th.