Smart home products are very popular currently with more of us using a smart assistant to create routines to switch your lights on and even open your curtains. You may recall we reviewed the SwitchBot Curtain 2 last year which turns a normal set of curtains into a key part of your smart home infrastructure.

The SwitchBot Curtain 3 has improved in areas where the last model lacked for example better battery life, improved solar panels, and auto-calibration which all result in a smoother operation. All are available for the cost of £74 with the solar panel charger costing £20 each.

Design

The SwitchBot curtain 3 comes in three versions depending on the type of curtain pole you have such as the Rod, U rail & I-Rail versions. The SwitchBot Curtain 3 works as an individual product but is normally bought as a pair where you have a set of curtains that meet in the middle.

The SwitchBot Curtin 3 is slightly bigger than the previous model mainly due to the more powerful motor which is a real bonus as the Curtain 3 will deal with curtains that are heavier to move.  The device is now powered by a Lithium-ion 18650 battery that has a capacity of 3350mAh.

Unboxing them they come in a branded box containing the main unit, a pair of hooks, a beads chain, some clips, a USB-C cable and magnet attachment for positioning and a user manual.

Installation

Installing the Curtain 3 is very much like the previous model with the device coming in 3 parts two arms and the main motor itself.

The arms should be installed first with the main motor clipped between them. The arms now have springs inside them so the system auto-tensions itself which is an improvement on the previous model.

You are advised to clean your curtain pole before setup to ensure they allow the SwitchBot Curtain 3 to get a good grip. In the box, you are also provided with various clips if required. In this review, I tested these in the spare room that has top-ring curtains so we did not need any clips but they were useful if I were to move home and wanted to fit them on a different curtain pole. You are also provided with magnetic stickers which are placed at the point where the curtain is fully closed and this improves the auto-calibration routine.

 

Finally, they are charged by a USB-C port and when at full battery they should last around the eight-month mark. We were also provided with solar panels which removes the need to ever charge these yourself. The solar panels clip into the bottom of the robot can supply unlimited power to the curtain 3 as long as the solar panel gets 3 hours of sunlight per day. The Curtain 3 bot carries the solar panel whenever it moves keeping it always charged.

The solar panels are only useful for windows with direct sunlight otherwise you will have to stick with charging the main device via the main device. Something to consider is if your curtain rod is telescopic this creates a bump that the curtain 3 cannot go over and gets stuck. SwitchBot provides you with something called the Rod Connector.

 

This is a piece of thick aluminium and shaped like a comb and all wrapped in adhesive tape. This enables the bot to move over the connection point. You simply wrap it around the rod with the comb facing the thinner piece and even out the sticky tape. If you need to use this you will need to recalibrate the bot which takes a few minutes to do.

Features

Once you have set up the SwitchBot Curtain 3 you need to link it to Bluetooth via the app. You won’t have any issues in doing this it’s a quick process and then you need to follow the app instructions to run through the auto-calibration routine. What this does is automatically work out where the open and close positions are using the magnets as a guide. This process takes a few minutes to complete.

 

Once completed there are two options you can use the app in range to create shortcut buttons to open and close the curtains fully. The detailed controls let you set a curtain to any position something I did not find very useful as I only ever wanted my curtains open or closed. You can also give the curtain a little tug and then the SwitchBot takes over and will automatically open/close them.

Want to add them to your smart home setup you would need to purchase the SwitchBot Hub 2 as this has the advantage of making the robots compatible so that you can get direct control from your smart home setup such as Amazon Alexa or Google Home. You will also be pleased to know it’s completable with Apple Home.

The benefit of connecting them to your smart home set-up is you gain remote control meaning you can open/close the curtains no matter where you are but you could struggle if your app tries to switch from Bluetooth to Wi-Fi which can prove a tad unreliable. If this is the case, you might have to restart the app.

Connecting them to your smart home setup also allows you to set up scenes and allows you to control multiple curtains in different rooms so they all open/close at once. Additional features of the Hub 2 allow you to automatically close the curtains at certain temperatures. These automations can also be restricted so that my curtains do not open in the middle of the night.

Performance

We have been testing the SwitchBot Curtain 3 for a few weeks now and I have to say compared to the previous model they are faster taking the curtains at some speed. This allowed the curtains to open/close quickly without any real noise when in operation.

If you set up a schedule the SwitchBot Curtain 3 can operate in what is called QuietDrift mode which is where the robot’s edge slowly opens or closes making zero noise.

Verdict

The SwitchBot Curtain 3 has taken all the criticism and made some real improvements which has provided an improved performance and made installation even easier.

I was impressed with the increased speed and power making these even better for opening and closing my curtains. They still can not handle my downstairs curtains, but they are very heavy, for the bedrooms they tick the boxes and the improved connection to my smart home set-up allows me to set up routines throughout the day.

Overall, the SwitchBot Curtain 3 is the quietest curtain motor on the market and the QuietDrift mode makes next to no noise but at the expense of battery life and speed. I would just stick with the normal mode as you barely hear anything on this mode.  The Curtain 3 is a premium device and is an improvement over the Curtain 2 but if you already own the Curtain 2 I would question if you would need to make the upgrade.

If this is your first time purchasing a device like this to control your curtains smartly then there is no better choice than the Curtain 3 currently on the market.

 

Product Rating    

Design: 4.0 out of 5.0 stars

Features: 5.0 out of 5.0 stars5.0

Setup/Performance: 5.0 out of 5.0 stars5.0

Value for Money: 5.0 out of 5.0 stars5.0

 

Overall ranking: 4.8 out of 5.0 stars – 4.75 stars

The SwitchBot Curtain 3 is available for £89 via Amazon

 

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