This article is part of TechRadar’s Smart Home Week 2025. From lighting and switches to robot vacuums and smart thermostats, we’re here to help you pick the right devices to make your life easier, and get the most out of them.
If you’re redecorating a room, you might be wondering whether it’s worth investing in a set of smart blinds rather than a regular window covering, so you can control them with an app, voice commands, or as part of a larger smart home ecosystem. Imagine having blinds that open automatically when it’s time to get up, for example, or ones that go down when you turn on your home entertainment system.
I recently reviewed the SmartWings Motorized Smart Shades and loved them. I have traditional blinds around the rest of my home, and have used many different kinds of traditional blinds over the years. If you’re considering upgrading to smart blinds in your home, read on for a detailed comparison.
(Image credit: Karen Freeman / Future)
Benefits of smart blinds
The primary benefit of smart blinds is that you have so much more control over their opening and closing than you do with traditional blinds. You can set up a schedule on your smartphone so they open and close at certain times. For example, I have mine set up to open at sunrise and close at sunset. You could also set them to open and close at specific times. Perhaps set them to open a few minutes before your morning alarm for a gentle wakeup and have them close at the time you usually wind down for bed. You could also have them open and close in association with other events, such as having them close when you leave the house and open when you come home.
