AC Controllers Air Control Ductech Matter reviews Taruie Thread

Taruie Smart AC Controller w/ Matter over Thread (review)

18th August 2025 The Editor 10 min read

Whilst Afrika Bambaataa may have been “looking for the perfect beat” (Google it…), I have always been looking for the perfect AC controller, and I may have finally found it. Smart AC controllers were not especially common in Apple Home at first, but they have gradually become more available, with options from Tado, Sensibo, and Mysa among others. A shared drawback with these devices is that they rely on a power cable to stay running, which can look unsightly when left hanging against a wall. It never particularly bothered me, but it does also mean the controller has to be placed within reach of a socket, which is not always convenient. Add to this the fact that battery powered models are not really practical if they use WiFi, which almost all of them do, since WiFi is ‘always-on’ and would drain the batteries within weeks, if not days.

The Taruie Smart AC Controller from DucTech, a company based in Taiwan, appears to have solved both of these problems with a battery powered controller that uses Matter over Thread instead of WiFi, keeping power consumption to a minimum. This means no wires or cables to contend with. What makes this device particularly interesting is that it does not rely on a third party app, nor does it need to connect to a server to access IR remote codes, as its entire library is stored on the device itself. Sound great right? Well it is, but it wasn’t without its issues, which I’ll touch upon. Read on…

PACKAGING | CONTENTS

As this product comes from a Taiwanese company and is manufactured locally, the packaging is, unsurprisingly, in Traditional Chinese. Should it be released internationally, it is likely that the packaging will feature English text and details. There are also indications that a Japanese company may have contributed to the design, although information on this is limited. Interestingly, the product already appears on Amazon Japan, even though it is not yet available for purchase there, whilst pre-orders are currently available through the company’s own website.

The back of the packaging highlights the main features already mentioned – battery powered, Matter over Thread, no network or cloud connection, and on-device IR libraries. It also notes that 90% of AC remotes are supported. At first glance, this may sound concerning if you think your remote could fall into the remaining 10%, but in reality it would be near impossible to cover every single model. In most cases, those that are not supported are unlikely to be compatible in the first place, as almost all AC controllers require the remote being emulated to have a screen that displays modes, fan speeds, and other functions. It may also simply refer to older remotes for AC units that are no longer in production. You can check if your AC remote make and model is currently supported via this support page.

There’s not much included in the box – the AC controller itself, a square double-sided sticker, a half-AA battery (ER14250), and a quick start guide. The guide outlines four steps: insert the battery, press the reset button for two seconds, point your original AC remote at the IR receiver on the controller, and once recognised, add the device to your Matter platform of choice using the Matter code provided on the card. A second copy of the QR code is located inside the device itself, in case the card is misplaced.

THE AC CONTROLLER

At only 60mm wide and tall, and 25mm deep, the Taruie is certainly one of the smallest AC controllers available, although that title still belongs to the Nature Remo Nano, which measures just 47mm across and 12.5mm deep (video HERE, review HERE). The advantage of the Remo Nano is that it’s not limited to AC control, as it can also manage other IR devices and expose them to Apple Home as on/off switches. However, it only supports up to three devices in total and lacks built-in sensors that would enhance AC control. In addition, it is a Matter over WiFi device, meaning it requires power via a USB-C cable – precisely the limitation the Taruie avoids.

The Taruie is fairly plain from the front, with only a red LED in the corner and the logo near the bottom. The front panel, which is easily removed, doubles as the cover for the battery compartment and houses a reset button along with a second copy of the Matter QR code. It’s not entirely clear what the red LED is for, other than perhaps indicating that the device is active, as it flashes at intervals. This could become irritating at night in a bedroom for some, so it’s something the company may need to reconsider for future versions.

The top and bottom edges contain IR transceivers, concealed behind small grilles. These handle the transmission of signals to your AC once configured, and are also used to receive signals from the original remote during the initial setup.

INITIAL SETUP (INITIAL FAILURE)

The initial setup, as outlined earlier, involves four basic steps: (1) insert the battery, (2) hold the reset button for two seconds, (3) point your original AC remote at the controller’s IR receiver, and (4) add the device to Apple Home using the Matter code. In theory, this all sounds straightforward, but in practice my first attempt didn’t go as planned, though your own experience may be smoother. One important detail missing from the quick start guide is that these steps need to be completed promptly. When the controller enters setup mode to receive a signal from your remote, it will eventually time out to conserve battery power. The same applies when pairing with Matter, and since the steps must be completed in order, any delay means starting over. Even then, the process doesn’t always work as expected.

In my case, the Taruie simply wouldn’t recognise the signal from my AC remote, regardless of how near or far I held it. After contacting the company, I was advised to place my hand directly over the point where the remote and the device’s transceiver meet, to block out any light pollution. I found this rather unusual, as I’ve never encountered such a requirement with any other IR device I’ve tested – ever.

After several failed attempts, I informed the company that I couldn’t get it to work and intended to return the unit. The return was delayed due to other commitments, but in the meantime, someone I know was also sent the device and managed to get it working. When I explained my difficulties, he confirmed that while he did succeed, he too was told to cover the remote and device in the same way.

I tried again, and unsurprisingly the outcome was the same. However, the AC remote I was attempting to pair had already been successfully set up with my Aqara Hub M3, which I now use to control another AC unit of the same make and model. This gave me an idea: what if I sent the signal from the Hub M3 to the Taruie? To my surprise, it worked immediately, and even more interestingly, I didn’t need to hold the two devices close together. I then quickly added it to Apple Home, and at last, everything worked as expected.

IN APPLE HOME

There are no real surprises when using the device in Apple Home. It appears as a straightforward AC controller, much like many others I’ve tested over the years. You get a main tile that displays both the current and target temperature, although I noticed it showed 31ºC while the Tado controller above it displayed 24ºC, which suggests something isn’t right from the outset.

Control is provided through the standard rotary dial, with the two basic modes plus an off option. Auto mode isn’t available here, although it does appear when using certain third-party HomeKit-compatible apps, such as Eve for HomeKit and Matter.

The settings page doesn’t reveal anything unusual either, aside from listing two ‘accessories’, which are actually the AC itself and the humidity sensor. In short, it does largely what it sets out to do, although without any extras as such.

IN AQARA HOME

Since this is a Matter over Thread device, I was able to add it to Aqara Home via my Hub M3. If you’ve used one of Aqara’s hubs with a built-in IR blaster for AC control, you’ll know the controls are normally more extensive than what Apple Home offers. You’d usually see options for fan speed, louvre adjustment, and additional modes like Dry, Fan, and Auto. Here, only Auto mode is available in addition to the existing basic modes, which is a pity but not entirely surprising.

You do get access to device logs, although their usefulness will depend on your needs. More importantly, the Taruie can be tied into Aqara’s wider ecosystem, taking advantage of their stronger automation options.

PLACEMENT

Placement of the Taruie is more critical than with other AC controllers, as its IR signal isn’t as strong. I’m told this is another step taken to reduce battery consumption. With that in mind, you can’t simply mount it on a wall opposite the AC, as it’s unlikely the signal will reach. This is made trickier by the fact that the IR beams are sent from the top and bottom of the device, rather than the front. Taruie recommends positioning it as close to the AC as possible. In my setup, I’ve placed it about 25cm below the unit it controls, as shown in the picture above.

If space allows, you could position it directly on the AC unit itself, although I wasn’t keen on how it looked attached in that way. I found that anything more than 25cm away reduced the reliability of it triggering the AC, so it’s worth experimenting to find the sweet spot before fixing it in place with the supplied double-sided sticker.

IN USE

So far, so good, aside from the initial issues I had to work through. If you don’t have it fixed in place, you may find that moving it too far from the Thread Border Router it’s connected to results in a ‘no response’. That said, I’ve noticed the same behaviour with other battery-powered Thread devices, so it isn’t unique to this one. There’s usually a two-second delay between switching the AC on and it responding, but since this isn’t a time-critical device like a motion or contact sensor, it’s not really a problem.

In terms of design, it’s not especially attractive, but it’s small enough that it shouldn’t be something you’d notice. If it had on-device controls, appearance might be more of an issue, but as it doesn’t, it’s easy to overlook.

The main selling points are clear – it runs on battery power, so there are no trailing USB cables, it has on-device codes, so there’s no reliance on a server or cloud service, and it supports Matter over Thread for a more futureproof setup. That puts it in a category of its own for now, at least until companies like Tado bring out a Matter over Thread version of their V3+, which I’d been using reliably for years until recently.

Availability is an issue at present, as it appears it’s only available for pre-order in Taiwan, although the company has told me they fully intend to sell this device internationally. We’ll see if that comes to pass but for now, if the selling points are a pull for you, and you’re confident you won’t encounter the issues I had to deal with, then it’s a winner. In all honesty I’m still on the fence, simply due to the setup problems.