Which smart blind technology should you choose?
Short answer
For most UK homes that already use a smart home app, Thread blinds are usually the best fit: low battery drain and often no new box. Wi-Fi suits mains-powered motors. A radio remote suits anyone who wants a simple button. A maker's bridge ties you to one maker's app.
What are the four ways a smart blind can connect?
Thread is a low-power mesh radio network. Battery blinds sleep between messages, and mains-powered Thread devices route traffic on behalf of the rest. To reach your phone, a Thread blind needs a Thread border router: the doorway between the Thread network and your home network. One is often already inside a smart speaker, a streamer or a router.
Thread is the road, and the traffic still needs a language. For a Thread blind to appear in a phone app, it must also speak a shared smart home language that Apple, Google, Amazon and Samsung all support. Without it, a Thread motor may only answer to its maker's own app.
You may already own a Thread border router
- Yes:HomePod mini
- Yes:HomePod (2nd generation)
- Yes:Apple TV 4K (2nd generation)
- Yes:Apple TV 4K (3rd generation) Wi-Fi + Ethernet model
- Yes:Google Nest Hub (2nd generation)
- Yes:A SmartThings hub with Thread support
No Thread border router inside
- No:The Wi-Fi-only Apple TV 4K (3rd generation)
Wi-Fi blinds join your home router directly, so there is no extra box and no separate radio to plan. The trade-off is power. Wi-Fi generally uses more power than Thread, so check how a Wi-Fi blind is powered before you buy: this radio suits mains-powered motors better than batteries.
A radio remote, often called RF, is a one-way handset that talks straight to the motor. There is no network behind it, no app, and no position feedback or history. It is simple and reliable, and a one-way radio remote generally keeps battery drain low. Remotes are not interchangeable: some systems use 433 MHz, others 868 MHz, so check which radio system a blind uses before you buy.
A maker's own bridge is a small box from the blind maker that links its blinds to a phone app, and often to voice control. It is the usual way to bring radio remote blinds into an app. The cost is dependence: the bridge, the app and its updates all come from one company. Some remotes include a built-in timer for simple daily schedules, which works without a bridge.
How do the four options compare?
Here is the short version, option by option.
| Option | Extra box? | Phone app? | Battery and what to watch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thread | Often none | Yes, in the home app | Low drain; needs mains-powered routers nearby |
| Wi-Fi | No | Yes, usually the maker's app | Higher drain; check the power supply |
| Radio remote | No | No, not without a bridge | Generally low drain; remotes vary in frequency |
| Maker's bridge | The bridge itself | The maker's app only | Varies; tied to one maker's updates |
One line deserves a note of its own. To use one Thread blind in two apps — Apple Home and Google Home, for example — you generate a temporary pairing code or QR code in the first app and enter it in the second, and each app needs its own hub. If you run Home Assistant, it can be the controller for its own app in the same way. Sharing works, and each extra app repeats the same steps.
Which option fits your home?
If your household mixes Apple and Android phones, Thread blinds are the calm choice: one set of blinds that the major home apps can control, with no loyalty to a single maker. If everyone is on Apple and your home already has a HomePod mini, a 2nd-generation HomePod or a suitable Apple TV, you may not need a new hub; check the list above.
If a blind will be mains powered anyway — a large blind over glass doors, for example — Wi-Fi's higher power use is less of a drawback, and it needs no extra box. For battery blinds, Thread is the better fit.
If you rent, or you want a simple button for a relative who has no smartphone, a radio remote does that job without any setup. Add a maker's bridge only if you are happy to depend on that one app and its updates.
Where does Stilba fit?
Stilba is developing motorised blinds for Thread smart homes. Nothing about the product is final, and no Stilba blind is on sale. We have not published battery figures or motor details, because we have not tested a finished product, and we would rather say that plainly than quote numbers we have not measured.
What does not work yet, or is not known?
Not everything carries across apps. What each app shows beyond opening and closing — tilt, for example, or battery level — depends on the blind and the app version, and no platform publishes a side-by-side comparison, so the differences are not documented in one place.
Battery-powered Thread blinds do not relay messages for other devices; they rely on mains-powered Thread routers. A Thread network built only from battery devices can be fragile, so it helps when mains-powered Thread devices share the house.
Some existing smart blinds that already connect over Wi-Fi or Thread can be updated to work in the major home apps, but only if the maker offers an update. Blinds on other mesh radios used by some hubs usually join through a bridge rather than by updating the device itself, so check with the manufacturer.
Radio remote blinds do not reach Apple Home or Google Home directly; they need a maker's bridge, and what the app can show or do depends on that bridge.
Frequently asked questions
Do Thread blinds need a hub?
They need a Thread border router, which you may already own, such as a HomePod mini; our hub guide lists the others. The Wi-Fi-only 3rd-generation Apple TV 4K does not have one.
Does the word Thread on the box guarantee app control?
No. Thread is the radio network; the blind must also speak the same smart home language as your app, or come with its maker's own app, before your phone can control it.
Can I add radio remote blinds to Apple Home later?
Not directly. It is only possible if the maker sells a compatible bridge, and what the app can do then depends on that bridge.
Which option drains the battery fastest?
Wi-Fi generally uses the most power, so check how a Wi-Fi blind is powered before you buy. Thread and one-way radio remotes keep drain low.
Are Wi-Fi blinds a poor choice?
No. Where a blind is mains powered anyway, the higher power use is less of a drawback and no extra box is needed. For battery blinds, Thread suits better.
Are Stilba blinds available now?
No. They are in development, and we will publish tested figures when they exist.