Really good review, and it's exciting to see more Matter devices out in the market. And really excited about that IR blaster. Again, great job Craig, keep up the good work!
Thank you very much Vin. I am with you about more Matter devices. I am excited to see SwitchBot jump on it early. Thank you for checking out the video.
The lock can work with HomeKit when they open that up with the hub. I don’t believe the lock has the necessary hardware or certification for HomeKey support. Other HomeKit locks aren’t seeing that kind of update over software. It would be nice.
At 3:13 we can see the hub on a table at the middle of the room, I Wonder where is it plugged on such scenario (unless I am wrong it does not have battery) ?
Yeah, I see what you mean. It does show the cord with the sensor going off the table. The hub is not battery powered. My best guess is that the people in the picture had an outlet installed under the coffee table. But for the rest of us, the center of the room might not work well. 😀
Great video, thank you, Does the IR blaster works with the HomeKit? If yes, it would be great since I could not find any good IR blaster work with HomeKit like the Broadlink, if not, which IR blaster do you recommend for HomeKit?
Hello Sarmad, My apologies for the delayed response. You can't control the IR blaster within HomeKit. But in the SwitchBot app there is Siri Shortcuts Beta for the IR. It wiill allow you to write the command into shortcuts. You are writing a shortcut with a command for each function. Then those individual shortcuts can be triggered from another shortcut. I have not seen any other IR blasters that HomeKit can control the functions of. I think the Shortcuts is about as close as you get with HomeKit.
Matter has disappointed me thus far. And the only matter devices I've gotten are this very SwitchBot Hub 2 and four, SwitchBot Blind Tilts. First off, setting them up was as difficult as any HomeKit compatible device I've used other than Aqara! It took multiple tries and lots of resets before getting the hub and all the devices into Homekit. And I followed the SwitchBot instructions exactly along with a few online demos after encountering problems. Second, like any other app that claims HomeKit compatibility, that doesn't mean full functionality. In HK, we're limited to opening the blinds to a horizontal position and closing them in a down position. The native SwitchBot app offers much more functionality. And, in Homekit, the status on the Home or Room Views is often out of wack with were the blinds actually are. With the most frequent error being "no response"....even though the blinds have actually responded and are in motion. 😞 At least that's my experience so far. And, it's little different than most other so called HomeKit compatible devices I've set up in my homes.
As always, excellent review Craig. Paul Hibbert and Brian from Automate Your Life did beat you to the punch, yet I always value your opinion. Of course you are going to point out things the other guys pointed out. It would be impossible not to. However, I do appreciate the different perspectives all three of y'all have.
Thank you very much. We all have different release schedules. Especially with some sponsored videos. I haven't seen there videos, but I would hope we talk about the same things. I know both of those guys cover everything about a product. But like you said, we all have different perspectives and values. Especially when it comes to the Apple side of things.
The hype with the Matter standard I’d just that. Don’t ever buy anything when they add that little caveat that, in the future, other Switchbot devices will get upgraded to the Matter protocol!
I would say yes if you think you can take advantage of the new features or aren't getting good coverage. Being bluetooth, I like having multiple hubs so one doesn't have to work as hard. I have a total of 3 hub 1 and 1 hub 2. The hub 2 is nice for having the buttons to open and close my curtains.
Can you have multiple SwitchBot hubs connected to the same Apple Home? My house layout is such that with bluetooth connectivity to the hub and with need for IR blasting in separate rooms, having more than one SBHub2 could be useful (or perhaps even necessary..
Yes you can. It is good to have more then one for maximum coverage. The Humidity and temperature sensors will show up in the room you assign them to in HomeKit
First fantastic video again the SwitchBot hub 2 is rubbish I have the hub 2 in my child room because off the curtains on HomeKit it always says no response and the hub 2 not that far from the curtains in the UK 🇬🇧 the price is £79.99 it’s cheaper buying in the US 🇺🇸
Thank you very much. That is nice of you to say. I am sorry to hear the hub hasn't worked out well for you. Have you made the change to the new HomeKit architecture. I know i have had more no responses in homekit than I have in the past. Thanks for sharing your experience.
Really good review, and it's exciting to see more Matter devices out in the market. And really excited about that IR blaster. Again, great job Craig, keep up the good work!
Thank you very much Vin. I am with you about more Matter devices. I am excited to see SwitchBot jump on it early. Thank you for checking out the video.
Quick question. As the new hub now supporting the Apple Home Kit, does that mean once the Smart Lock is updated it will support Apple Home Key?
The lock can work with HomeKit when they open that up with the hub. I don’t believe the lock has the necessary hardware or certification for HomeKey support. Other HomeKit locks aren’t seeing that kind of update over software. It would be nice.
@@CraigsTechTalk Better wait for the smart lock then. Thanks anyways!
Yeah, you might want to. There are a lot of great ones. I like the Aqara u100 that i am testing. Works with all assistants and has HomeKey
@@CraigsTechTalk I’ll check it out
I will have a video on it sometime in June.
At 3:13 we can see the hub on a table at the middle of the room, I Wonder where is it plugged on such scenario (unless I am wrong it does not have battery) ?
Yeah, I see what you mean. It does show the cord with the sensor going off the table. The hub is not battery powered. My best guess is that the people in the picture had an outlet installed under the coffee table. But for the rest of us, the center of the room might not work well. 😀
I enjoyed your review but I will only purchase the hub if or when it triggers Alexa routines.
I can understand that. That is something Amazon would have to make happen. THAnks for watching.
Great video, thank you, Does the IR blaster works with the HomeKit? If yes, it would be great since I could not find any good IR blaster work with HomeKit like the Broadlink, if not, which IR blaster do you recommend for HomeKit?
Your reply, please 🙏.
Hello Sarmad, My apologies for the delayed response. You can't control the IR blaster within HomeKit. But in the SwitchBot app there is Siri Shortcuts Beta for the IR. It wiill allow you to write the command into shortcuts. You are writing a shortcut with a command for each function. Then those individual shortcuts can be triggered from another shortcut. I have not seen any other IR blasters that HomeKit can control the functions of. I think the Shortcuts is about as close as you get with HomeKit.
Thanks a lot for your detailed reply 🙏
I really want the new hub
Matter has disappointed me thus far. And the only matter devices I've gotten are this very SwitchBot Hub 2 and four, SwitchBot Blind Tilts.
First off, setting them up was as difficult as any HomeKit compatible device I've used other than Aqara! It took multiple tries and lots of resets before getting the hub and all the devices into Homekit. And I followed the SwitchBot instructions exactly along with a few online demos after encountering problems.
Second, like any other app that claims HomeKit compatibility, that doesn't mean full functionality. In HK, we're limited to opening the blinds to a horizontal position and closing them in a down position. The native SwitchBot app offers much more functionality.
And, in Homekit, the status on the Home or Room Views is often out of wack with were the blinds actually are. With the most frequent error being "no response"....even though the blinds have actually responded and are in motion. 😞
At least that's my experience so far. And, it's little different than most other so called HomeKit compatible devices I've set up in my homes.
As always, excellent review Craig. Paul Hibbert and Brian from Automate Your Life did beat you to the punch, yet I always value your opinion. Of course you are going to point out things the other guys pointed out. It would be impossible not to. However, I do appreciate the different perspectives all three of y'all have.
Thank you very much. We all have different release schedules. Especially with some sponsored videos. I haven't seen there videos, but I would hope we talk about the same things. I know both of those guys cover everything about a product. But like you said, we all have different perspectives and values. Especially when it comes to the Apple side of things.
The hype with the Matter standard I’d just that. Don’t ever buy anything when they add that little caveat that, in the future, other Switchbot devices will get upgraded to the Matter protocol!
Big update but huge price. 😂
I’m not down with the Amazon sidewalk stuff. I threw all of my smart home stuff out.
I am not a fan of sidewalk either and turned it off. Thanks for watching
Can’t you just turn it off? Do I have to throw them away?
Code not working at SwitchBot.com nor at Amazon
Hello Brainguynyc, I responded to your other comment and this code should be good on both SJ15HUB2
I have the hub 1 should I upgrade to the hub 2 ???
I would say yes if you think you can take advantage of the new features or aren't getting good coverage. Being bluetooth, I like having multiple hubs so one doesn't have to work as hard. I have a total of 3 hub 1 and 1 hub 2. The hub 2 is nice for having the buttons to open and close my curtains.
Can you have multiple SwitchBot hubs connected to the same Apple Home? My house layout is such that with bluetooth connectivity to the hub and with need for IR blasting in separate rooms, having more than one SBHub2 could be useful (or perhaps even necessary..
Yes you can. It is good to have more then one for maximum coverage. The Humidity and temperature sensors will show up in the room you assign them to in HomeKit
Great stuff~ Does the 15% code still work?
Hello Wayne, there was a problem with the code. It has been corrected now. It is SJ15HUB2. Thank you for watching. My apologies for that.
@@CraigsTechTalk Thanks Craig!
Awesome video! Thank you, Craig!
Thank you very much Larry. I hope you are doing well.
First fantastic video again the SwitchBot hub 2 is rubbish I have the hub 2 in my child room because off the curtains on HomeKit it always says no response and the hub 2 not that far from the curtains in the UK 🇬🇧 the price is £79.99 it’s cheaper buying in the US 🇺🇸
Thank you very much. That is nice of you to say. I am sorry to hear the hub hasn't worked out well for you. Have you made the change to the new HomeKit architecture. I know i have had more no responses in homekit than I have in the past. Thanks for sharing your experience.