If there’s one thing I’ve learned living in a house with pets and the pollen in the southern US, it’s that indoor air quality matters more than we think.Air purifiers help lessen the problem, but when you can automate them, even better.SwitchBot recently updated the SwitchBot air purifier, and it now supports Matter and works natively with HomeKit without needing an extra hub.
Some of my favorite gear Aqara Smart Lock U50 Upgrade your doors with Apple Home Key and the Aqara U50.Before this new release, getting SwitchBot’s air purifiers into Matter (and HomeKit) required pairing them with one of the company’s Matter-enabled hubs like the Hub 2.That was always a bit confusing since the device already connect over Wi-Fi and don’t actually need a hub to function.
Now, the air purifiers now show up in your Matter ecosystem directly and therefore can work natively in HomeKit.Benefits of the Switchbot air purifier The big win on the Switchbot air purifier is the HEPA filtration system.It claims to 99.97 percent of particles, so everything from pet dander to pollen gets pulled out of the air.
If you’ve got pets or spring allergies, you should see a noticeable difference.There’s also a built-in odor remover, and it actually works fairly well.I ran it after I cooked some bacon, and it seemed to drive the smell away faster.
Not that you’d want to get rid of the bacon smell, but you know.It’s also surprisingly quiet.Even on higher settings, the noise level stays low enough that it won’t be a distraction during a video call or while watching TV.
With a night setting, the Switchbot air purifier drops to a 20 dB sleep mode, which is barely audible.Another nice add-on is the built-in ambient lighting and optional fragrance capsules.There is also an option to buy one with a built in table, which can be a great option for a dorm room or studio apartment Some of my favorite gear Abode Home Security System Abode is the best home security system and includes compatibility with HomeKit.
Use cases for HomeKit automation Once the SwitchBot air purifier is in HomeKit, it opens the door to some simple but useful HomeKit automations.One of the easiest is setting it to run when no one is home.Pair it with a HomeKit motion sensor or use your iPhone’s location to turn it on automatically when no one is home.
That way, you come back to cleaner air without running it while you’re there.You can also link it to a HomeKit air quality sensor if you have something.When quality levels go down, the Switchbot air purifier can turn on automatically.
At night, you could create a HomeKit that lowers the lights, locks the doors, and drops the purifier into sleep mode.It keeps running quietly without keeping you away All of these are easy to build in the Home app with no third-party apps or accounts needed.Wrap up The theme of this release is Matter.
When a device gets Matter support, it comes natively to HomeKit.If you’re building out a HomeKit setup and care about indoor air quality, the SwitchBot air purifier is an easy choice to add.It’s quiet, effective, and now that it supports Matter directly, it fits right into the Home app .
It’s a solid pickup whether you’re trying to fight off allergy season or just want cleaner air with less effort.For those times when you don’t want to deal with a smart home, I love the fact that it includes buttons on the device with a child lock, timers, etc.You can buy it from Amazon or directly from Switchbot You’re reading 9to5Mac — experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day.
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