Update For Switchbot Hub 2 Brings More Devices into Matter
Last year Switchbot launched it’s first Matter enabled hub, the Switchbot Hub 2, which allowed a limited amount of the company’s own products to be exposed to Matter. this included their curtain and blinds motors, as well as a couple of other smaller devices. It also gave users the option to not only access their IR controlled AC units, but also exposed them to HomeKit as well. Due to this IR functionality, this would also allow users to control – albeit in a basic way – almost any other IR based device, including TVs, set top boxes, gaming consoles, and even fans. The Switchbot Hub 2 is available for purchase on Amazon.com for US$69.99.
Now the company has announced a new firmware update for this hub that exposes virtually all of their products to Matter (and therefore HomeKit) via the hub, which excitingly, also exposes their own range of robot vacuums, although in only a limited way for now, according to reports. This includes the SwitchBot K10+ and S10, the latter of which are available for preorder at US$1,199.99, whilst the smaller K10+ can be purchased on Amazon.com for a much more budget-friendly US$399.99. The Matter update to achieve this was made available on April 8th, so if you already have a Hub 2, you should update now, even if you don’t have one of their vacuums.
This news follows developments with Roborock, who announced the launch of a new G series of robot vacuums, two of which are Matter enabled out of the box. The G20S comes in two variants, but at present is only available for preorder, and only currently in China. However, their previous announcement for the S8 Series has now launched in Europe that its claimed will also have Matter compatibility.