Soma Introduce Updated Smart Shades 2
Soma has revealed an update to their Soma Smart Shades with a new model simply called ‘Smart Shades 2’. If you’re not aware of Soma, or their products, they manufacture a motorised unit that connects to your Roller or Venetian blinds, via the pull-cord, which then feeds the cord either up or down, by way of a cog system inside the said unit. The new model, which is due to ship in March, does look identical to the current model (which has incidentally sold out anyway) but has a few new features.
First of all, it has to be stated that the original model, whilst able to work with Apple HomeKit via the company’s Soma Connect bridge, wasn’t actually officially certified as HomeKit compatible. Although we have yet to ascertain whether the updated model has been officially certified or not, the lack of a ‘Work with Apple HomeKit’ badge on their website seems to suggest it isn’t certified.
The new model features a faster motor – up to four times faster in fact – a ‘Quiet Morning’ mode, which “enables slowly opening the shades and keeps the noise level inaudible”. Like the previous model, it comes with a built-in, solar-powered lithium battery, with a battery life of up to 30 days between charges. Smart Shades 2 also comes with a new Light Sense AI feature, which can lower or raise the blinds according to the amount of ambient light, as well as a new Sunrise and Sunset mode, although this is easily achievable in the Apple Home app.
The Smart Shades 2 retails on the company’s website for the same price as the original model, at a special price of US$119.00 (the usual price is stated as US$149.00). For the price, you get the device itself, along with a solar panel to charge the lithium battery, and a USB charging cable. You don’t get the Soma Connect bridge, however, which is listed as US$49.00, down from US$99.00, which as already stated, is required for HomeKit (as well as Google and Alexa) integration.
More info can be found on Soma’s website – somasmarthome.com
Thanks to Zuri for the tip-off!
Disappointingly they have no plans to do curtains or as Americans call them ‘drapes’.
On their web site, under the “Voice Commands” feature heading it says “Works with Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit, Google Home & Home Assistant”. Further down the page it does say the integration with voice assistants needs the SOMA Connect hub.
SOMA Connect hub is needed because the devices themselves have only Bluetooth Low Energy for communications. The Connect hub is just a piece of code running on a Raspberry Pi and it can be downloaded for free and flashed yourself. It basically acts as a bridge to bring more connectivity to the devices.
This is a great device; I have read that it can be added to the voice assistance. I was looking for more information on this, thank you for sharing this detailed information. I really loved your blog, keep updating more.
Thanks for the support!
Ordered two weeks ago and haven’t even sent it. I’m starting to think it’s scam.
Hi Benjamin, I can’t speak directly for the company, but I know they have only just begun to send out units, so hopefully you’ll get your order delivered soon.
Hey,
I’m one of the founders of SOMA. We are really sorry for constantly pushing back the delivery dates.This crisis is really hitting the shipping industry hard and our contract manufacturer is having trouble getting some parts delivered. We are working with them to find substitute parts and alternative ways of making the product but some of these substitutions have caused issues in the first batch already. Our current delivery date is May 4 (heh – Star Wars reference) and as soon as we do get product we will ship out all the orders in the order they came in. The factory has promised us enough units to at least cover our current orders. So hopefully in about a week everyone waiting should get an update.
Again I’m really sorry and I hope we can ramp up production enough to make sure that this situation doesn’t get as bad again even as the crisis continues.