SwitchBot Pledges Matter Support, Unveils SwitchBot Hub 2 to Bring Bluetooth Products Into the Fold
SwitchBot's Bluetooth devices will gain Matter compatibility through the new hub, while Wi-Fi gadgets will be upgraded directly.
Home automation specialist SwitchBot has become the latest company to pledge support for the Matter connectivity standard, announcing its first Matter-compatible hub and initial support in its SwitchBot Curtain product with more to follow.
Originally known as Project Connected Home over IP, Matter — developed by a consortium formed of Amazon, Apple, Google, Samsung, and what was known at the time as the ZigBee Alliance — Matter aims to address the fragmentation of the smart home connectivity sector. Any Matter device can be connected to any Matter network and controlled with any Matter-compliant software — regardless of the manufacturer of the device, hub, or app.
Late last year Google began rolling out its own update to bring Matter support to its existing products, with Amazon following shortly behind. Now, SwitchBot has made its own announcement: The impending launch of the SwitchBot Hub 2, a Wi-Fi-connected Matter-compliant smart home hub to which its existing Bluetooth products can connect.
The SwitchBot Hub 2 connects to the company's line of home automation gadgets via Bluetooth, them provides a connection to a home Wi-Fi network and any compatible Matter controllers and devices therein. The company demonstrated the new hub at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas last week, complete with control of its SwitchBot Curtain motorized curtain-puller over both Apple Home and Google Home via Matter.
The SwitchBot Curtain, unsurprisingly given its use in the CES demo, will be the first product to receive Matter support via the SwitchBot Hub 2 — with the company promising that its other Bluetooth products, including SwitchBot Bot and SwitchBot Lock, will follow in the near future. Beyond that, the company has pledged to add Matter support to its Wi-Fi products directly — meaning they won't need a SwitchBot Hub 2 to make use of Matter connectivity.
The SwitchBot Hub 2 hardware itself includes both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth radios plus an integrated temperature and humidity sensor, readings from which can be shown on an LED display with automatic brightness adjustment via a light sensor. Two "Scene Keys" on the front provide the ability to trigger scene changes set in the SwitchBot App, and it doubles as an infrared blaster — with, the company claims, double the coverage of its earlier SwitchBot Hub Mini.
While SwitchBot's Matter support is ready to demo, though, the company isn't rolling it out quite yet: The SwitchBot Hub 2 won't be available to order until "late February," SwitchBot has confirmed, with Matter certification for the SwitchBot Curtain to follow in early March.