Andrew Heinzman
The Matter standard promises to make all smart home platforms interoperable, regardless of their branding. And although the Matter rollout is a bit frustrating, we’re happy that SwitchBot is doing things right—announced at CES 2023, the SwitchBot Hub 2 offers a straightforward Matter upgrade for existing SwitchBot Bluetooth devices.
Here’s the idea; the SwitchBot Hub 2 connects to all of your SwitchBot Bluetooth products, adding robust Wi-Fi smart home controls and Matter compatibility. The SwitchBot Curtain is the first device to support Matter through the Hub 2, though other devices will gain this capability in the coming months. (Matter should dramatically improve HomeKit compatibility in SwitchBot devices, hence the images below.)
Along with its Matter functionality, the Hub 2 acts as a thermo-hygrometer. It displays a room’s temperature and humidity in bold letters. It also offers an IR control function (so it can control any IR-enabled device), and it has two Scene Keys (buttons) that can trigger Scenes or automations.
The SwitchBot Hub 2 will launch after Matter certification is complete—probably sometime in late February. Pricing for the Hub 2 is unknown, though it probably costs more than the SwitchBot Hub Mini, which performs similar functions but lacks support for Matter.
Source: SwitchBot
