Alexa, Google or HomeKit: setting up smart curtains

Our motors speak to Amazon Alexa, Google Home, Apple HomeKit and SmartThings, and every system ships with a handheld remote that works on day one whether or not you have any of them. So the question is not whether your curtains will work — it is which app you will actually open.

Alexa

The easiest to set up and the best at voice. "Alexa, close the living room curtains" works as soon as the hub is paired, and grouping windows by room takes about a minute. If your household already has Echo speakers, stop reading and pick this one.

Google Home

The best at schedules and at understanding a half-finished sentence. "Hey Google, set the curtains to 50%" does what you expect. It is also the one most likely to be already running on an Android household's phones.

Apple HomeKit

The strictest about privacy and the best at scenes that cross devices — curtains, lights and a thermostat moving together on one trigger. If the house is already Apple, this is the tidy answer.

SmartThings

Worth it if you have sensors. A contact sensor on a door or a temperature reading can drive the curtains without you asking, which none of the others do as well.

Motorized Smart Curtainsfrom $479→

What we do on installation day

We connect the curtains to your Wi-Fi, link them to whichever system you use, set your open and close times, and build the first two scenes with you. Then we watch you use it once, because the part people forget is not the app — it is which room is called what.

You can add any of this later. The motor does not change.