Comparison

Smart Shades vs Authenticate Luxe

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

Authenticate Luxe

Instantly authenticate and value luxury items like handbags, watches, and jewelry using your phone's camera. Get brand and product identification, authenticity assessments, and resale market values. Ideal for buying, selling, or simply identifying luxury goods.

Highlights
  • AI-powered authentication
  • Brand and product identification
  • Resale value estimation
  • Verifiable authenticity reports
  • Resale listing generator
  • Collection value tracking
Features
Read full description

Is it real? Find out in seconds. Authentic Luxe turns your camera into a luxury authentication and identification tool. Point it at a handbag, watch, sneaker, or piece of jewelry and get an instant read: the brand, the exact product, an authenticity assessment, and what it's actually worth on the resale market. Whether you're buying secondhand, selling a piece, or just curious about something you spotted, you'll know what you're looking at before money changes hands. WHAT YOU GET • Authenticate — a guided multi-angle read on whether an item looks authentic, with the specific signals it picked up (stitching, hardware, logo, materials). It reads hallmarks, decodes date codes and serials, tells you which extra photo would raise confidence, and generates a shareable Authenticity Report. Built for the resale world where fakes are everywhere. • Verifiable reports — every shared report carries a QR code buyers can scan to confirm it's genuine, not a doctored screenshot. • Spot a fake — brand-specific inspection checklists and serial/date-code format checks, so you know exactly what to look for. • Compare to genuine — put your item next to a reference photo and let the AI flag the differences. • Resale listing generator — turn any item into a ready-to-post marketplace listing (title, description, suggested price, hashtags) in one tap. • Instant brand + product ID — one photo names the brand and the exact model. • Real resale prices — live pre-owned and retail values so you never overpay or undersell. • Vault & collection value — keep receipts and proof of purchase with each piece, and see what your collection is worth. • Item story — the history, lineage, and notable records behind collectible pieces. • Barcode & model-number lookup — identify by code when there's no clear shot. • Watchlist — track pieces you're hunting and get alerted on price movement. TRY IT FREE Your first 3 scans unlock the full app — authentication included. After that, Pro keeps everything unlimited. PRO • Unlimited scans and authentication • Unlimited item stories and barcode/text lookup • Monthly or yearly No account required to start. Just point and scan. SUBSCRIPTION DETAILS Authentic Luxe Pro unlocks unlimited scans and authentication. • Authentic Luxe Pro (Monthly) — auto-renewable subscription, billed monthly • Authentic Luxe Pro (Yearly) — auto-renewable subscription, billed yearly Prices are shown in the app and on the purchase screen in your local currency. Payment is charged to your Apple ID at confirmation of purchase. The subscription automatically renews unless it is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel anytime in Settings → Apple ID → Subscriptions. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://ppeltriaux.github.io/find-the-brand-docs/legal/privacy.html — Authentication is an AI assessment of a single photo and is not a guarantee. For high-value transactions, confirm with a professional authentication service.

Screenshots

Smart Shades4 screens
Authenticate Luxe4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Smart Shades at 2.1 against Authenticate Luxe's 1.0. Smart Shades also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 2) and ratings volume (62 vs 1). Authenticate Luxe's advantage is update cadence (every 5 days vs every 2 months). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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. Authenticate Luxe sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Smart Shades asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Smart Shades holds the better App Store score, 2.1 against 1.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Smart Shades has 62 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Smart Shades ships an update every 2 months, Authenticate Luxe every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 5, 2026 and October 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Smart Shades versus Authenticate Luxe: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSmart ShadesAuthenticate Luxe
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.1 (62 ratings) — better1.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews25.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings62 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.0 — better15.1
Further details — not scored
Size47 MB47 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperWazombiPascal Peltriaux

Customer experience

Smart Shades

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

Authenticate Luxe

All ratings1 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

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

Authenticate Luxe

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Smart Shades

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Authenticate Luxe

Subscriptions2
  • Pro Monthly$4.991 Month
  • Pro Yearly$39.991 Year

Questions

Is Smart Shades free?
Smart Shades is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Authenticate Luxe free?
Authenticate Luxe is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Smart Shades or Authenticate Luxe?
Smart Shades is rated higher. Smart Shades averages 2.1 out of 5 from 62 ratings, while Authenticate Luxe averages 1.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Smart Shades or Authenticate Luxe have ads?
Neither Smart Shades nor Authenticate Luxe shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Smart Shades or Authenticate Luxe?
Smart Shades ships an update every 2 months, and Authenticate Luxe every 5 days. Most recently, Smart Shades was updated on October 5, 2026 and Authenticate Luxe on October 2, 2026.

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