Comparison

Smart Shades vs Smart Shade Control

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Smart Shades

Transform your existing window shades into smart devices with this solar-powered, wireless gadget. Control your blinds remotely via a smartphone app, setting custom schedules and automated movements for enhanced convenience.

Highlights
  • Turns regular shades into smart shades
  • Solar-powered operation
  • Wireless and easy installation
  • Smartphone app control
  • Automated patterns and schedules
  • Bluetooth Low Energy communication
Features
Read full description

SOMA Smart Shades is an easy to install, solar-powered device that turns your regular window shades into smart shades. It is extremely simple to operate via your smartphone. It is also easy to install since it is wireless. All the movements of SOMA Smart Shades are controlled by the application which communicates with SOMA Smart Shades via Bluetooth Low Energy. You can move blinds in your rooms up and down whenever you like or create automated patterns and schedules for different rooms to make your life even more convenient.

About

Smart Shade Control

Effortlessly manage your smart window shades with direct local control. Automate opening and closing based on schedules, sunrise/sunset, or your location. Integrate with Siri and Shortcuts for hands-free operation and create custom scenes.

Highlights
  • Direct Matter/Thread pairing
  • Local cloud-free operation
  • Sunrise/sunset automation
  • Geofence triggers
  • Siri and Shortcuts integration
  • Customizable scenes
  • Usage analytics
Features
Read full description

Take complete control of your window shades. No cloud account, no subscription, no third-party login required. Smart Shade Control pairs directly with your shades over Matter and Thread using Apple's native HomeKit framework, keeping everything private and local on your device. Simple, Secure Pairing: Add your shades in seconds by scanning the QR code on each motor. Smart Shade Control uses Apple's native HomeKit commissioning over your local Thread network. Your shades are never routed through the cloud. Compatible with Canisteo, Eve, Aqara, Zemismart, and other window covering brands that support Matter over Thread. Powerful Automation: Set your shades on a schedule, or let the sun decide. Smart Shade Control calculates local sunrise and sunset times without any internet connection, so your shades can open with the morning light and close at dusk automatically, every day. Fine-tune each event with a custom offset up to two hours before or after sunrise or sunset. Location-Based Triggers: Arriving home? Your shades can be waiting at your preferred position before you walk through the door. Leaving? Close everything automatically. Geofence automations run quietly in the background with no manual interaction required. Siri and Shortcuts: Control your shades hands-free. Say things like "Open all shades in Smart Shade Control" or "Close the Living Room shade" using Siri. Build multi-step automations in the Shortcuts app using any Smart Shade Control action including open, close, set position, and activate a scene. Scenes: Save your favorite shade configurations as named scenes such as Morning, Movie Night, or Working From Home, and activate them with a single tap or a Siri command. Usage Analytics: See exactly how your shades have been used with beautiful charts. Track position history over time, daily activity patterns, and a breakdown of what triggered each operation including manual, schedule, scene, automation, or Siri. Home Screen and Lock Screen Widgets: Glance at your shade positions without opening the app. The home screen widget shows up to three shades at once, while the lock screen widget displays a position gauge right on your Lock Screen. Designed for Privacy: Everything runs on your device and your local home network. No account creation, no data collection, no analytics sent anywhere. Your home stays yours. What You Need: iPhone running iOS 17 or later Window shades with Matter over Thread support, such as Canisteo (Deyi Smart), Eve MotionBlinds, Aqara Roller Shade Driver E1, Zemismart, or ZINGREE A Thread Border Router on your home network such as a HomePod mini, HomePod 2nd gen, or Apple TV 4K 2nd or 3rd gen Apple Home app set up on your iPhone.

Screenshots

Smart Shades4 screens
Smart Shade Control4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Smart Shade Control at 100% against Smart Shades's 25%. Smart Shade Control also leads on rating (5.0 vs 2.1). Smart Shades's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and ratings volume (65 vs 2). On price, update cadence, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Smart Shade Control sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Smart Shades asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Smart Shade Control holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 2.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Smart Shades has 65 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 25% of Smart Shades's written reviews are positive against 100% of Smart Shade Control's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Smart Shades ships an update every 2 months, Smart Shade Control monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 22, 2026 and October 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Smart Shades versus Smart Shade Control: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSmart ShadesSmart Shade Control
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.1 (65 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews25.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings65 — better2
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.6
Further details — not scored
Size47 MB12 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperWazombiGary Cox

Customer experience

Smart Shades

All ratings62 ratings
Positive17.7%
Neutral14.5%
Negative67.7%
Written reviews80 reviews
Positive25.0%
Neutral16.3%
Negative58.8%

Smart Shade Control

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Smart Shades

Reported bugs

32 issues
  • App crashes with Smart Shades 3
  • App crashes after update
  • App crashes instantly
  • App closes itself right away
  • App won't open at all
Show 27 more
  • App crashes before it even opens
  • Sunset function stopped working
  • Sunset trigger doesn't work
  • Bluetooth stopped working
  • Not responding to Alexa
  • Soma Connect not working
  • Soma Connect shows WiFi numbers, not names
  • Soma Connect connection failed
  • Shade control only works on Android
  • Next button missing during calibration
  • Calibration deviation over time
  • Blind drifts out of calibrated position
  • Cog works its way off spindle
  • Battery status inaccurate
  • Motor is slow
  • Units open at different speeds
  • Blinds lose their position
  • Hub setup programmed poorly
  • Voice commands limited
  • App not updated for over a year
  • Easy to interrupt movement
  • Device forgets min/max heights
  • Pairing Soma Connect is almost impossible
  • Blinds slip and need reconfiguring
  • Motor is slow to respond
  • Ripped the gear cog to shreds
  • App crashes halfway through firmware update

Requested features

24 requests
  • Matter support
  • Change app language
  • Change highest/lowest position
  • Recalibrate function
  • Simple up and down buttons
Show 19 more
  • Dusk to dawn automation
  • Sunrise/sunset schedule
  • Siri Shortcut integration
  • Group triggers
  • Confirmation dialog when cancelling setup
  • Manual adjustment offset
  • Notification for low battery
  • Single screen for all battery levels
  • Support for iPhone X screen size
  • Rename groups/individual units
  • Speed control for motors
  • Temperature setting (Fahrenheit)
  • Dusk/dawn open and close
  • Edit shade name
  • Continuous open/close feature
  • Update for iOS 11 group creation
  • iPad version
  • Live power meter for solar panel
  • Secure version of product

Smart Shade Control

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Smart Shades

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Smart Shade Control

One-time1
  • Lifetime Pro Access$4.99

Questions

Is Smart Shades free?
Smart Shades is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Smart Shade Control free?
Smart Shade Control is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Smart Shades or Smart Shade Control?
Smart Shade Control is rated higher. Smart Shades averages 2.1 out of 5 from 65 ratings, while Smart Shade Control averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do Smart Shades or Smart Shade Control have ads?
Neither Smart Shades nor Smart Shade Control shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Smart Shades or Smart Shade Control?
Smart Shades ships an update every 2 months, and Smart Shade Control monthly. Most recently, Smart Shades was updated on October 22, 2026 and Smart Shade Control on October 6, 2026.

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