The Matter smart home connectivity standard holds huge promise, with many device manufacturers lining up to work with a theoretically more open and less server-dependent future. And yet, so far, I haven’t been forced to write about any individual products launching with Matter support. Most of them are just familiar products – light bulbs, rotary door locks, wall switches – that can now be configured differently, cross-platform (albeit painfully). Most of them would not force those who already have a working version to update or extend their settings.
That’s the first thing I really pay attention to, and this is, first of all, the center. The SwitchBot Hub 2 (also on Amazon) makes sense if you already have some SwitchBot products in your home and might want to take them outside of the standard Wi-Fi-connected Bluetooth range. But I think it can also be attractive to those who are looking for entry into a small, controllable and useful smart home.
First, Hub 2 is not just a plastic puck that does nothing but coordinate traffic for a subset of devices. I have two of these taking up space in my home, from Phillips Hue and Samsung SmartThings. They hang out an ethernet distance from my router, consuming trickle power and creating a small heat pocket on that shelf. They are quiet, mostly useless roommates who will be evicted in a future upgrade.
By comparison, the Hub 2 is something you need to keep out of sight. It has a built-in thermometer and hygrometer as well as an ambient light sensor and can display all of this on its LED screen that brightens and dims according to the ambient light. It has two buttons that you use to trigger scenes or actions on your other SwitchBots. And if you place it within range (15-30 meters) of any infrared devices that you normally control with a remote control, such as air conditioners or TVs, it can learn that remote and allow you to control that device from your phone.
On its own, a Matter-ready thermo/hygrometer/light meter that is also an infrared relay would be a neat, albeit limited, gadget. But tying the Hub 2 to one particular ecosystem is not a disadvantage, because that ecosystem is SwitchBot. If you haven’t checked out the SwitchBot lineup yet, the Hub 2 is a great place to start. You can automate tilting blinds, curtain rods, door locks, and most importantly, just about any physical button.
With a Hub in your home, you can automate these physical objects from Google Assistant/Home, Amazon Alexa, Apple Siri/HomeKit, and IFTTT, and link Hub 2’s sensors to HVAC, fans, and other systems. If you’re the home assistant type, you can go even further and probably use the Hub 2’s buttons and sensors for just about anything you can think of.
Matter compatibility for the SwitchBot Hub 2 gives it some future-proofing, ensuring it can still be useful even if you change assistant or lose interest in other SwitchBot products. This is the first product I’ve seen touting the Matter logo that seems to truly embrace the unspoken ideal: your devices, your system, your control, now and in the future.