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Graywind Smart Blinds: one-minute review
Graywind offers a wide variety of smart blinds, including zebra, panel track, vertical, Ventian, and wood blinds. They also have a variety of smart shades, including roller, Roman, cellular, dual, and more. They even have smart curtains. Within each category, you can choose from selection of sizes, fabrics, and colors.
Then you choose your motor from five options: Eve Apple HomeKit Motor, Rechargeable BLE RF Motor, Zigbee Alexa Motor, Matter Smart Motor, or Hardwired WiFi Motor. I selected the zebra blinds and the Eve Apple HomeKit motor, since I’d be using my iPhone and HomePod to control the blinds.
I can’t say that getting the Graywind Smart Blinds up and running was easy. The screws that were included for installation were not great quality, which meant that they stripped easily. Setup was also a little tricky. Still, I managed to get everything up and running. Once completed, the blinds work exactly as expected. You can set up scenes or automations which allow you to set opening and closing to a schedule or situation of your choosing. You can also control the blinds using your smartphone, voice, or just your hands.
Graywind Smart Blinds: price & availability
- Starting price is relatively inexpensive
- Can get pricey with upcharges
- Custom fit to many sizes
You can order Graywind Smart Shades, Curtains, and Blinds directly from the Graywind website or you can buy them from Amazon. Prices start at $109.99 (£82.04/169.88 AUD.) I selected the zebra blinds in the charcoal blackout fabric and the Eve Apple HomeKit motor. I also added a solar panel and an extra-long wall charging cable. Blinds in the size and style you see in my photos go for $276.99(£206.59/427.97 AUD) each. It’s important to measure your windows carefully if you want the blinds to fit correctly. I chose the outside mount style and made my measurements accordingly.
Graywind Smart Blinds: design
- Tricky installation and setup
- Goes up and down smoothly and quietly
- Blinds can get caught in solar panel charging cable
You’ll need to be pretty handy and have access to a drill in order to install the Graywind Smart Blinds. You’ll also need to be patient and careful, since the included screws are soft and strip quite easily.
Note that if you’re charging the blinds via the solar charger, the blinds can get tangled with the charging cord pretty easily. I’ve gotten around that issue by not opening the blinds 100%. But I shouldn’t have to do that.
Once you get the blinds installed and charged via solar panel or wall charger, you’re ready to set them up with your smartphone. I ordered two sets of identical blinds for windows right next to each other; I was able to set up the first one using only the Home app on my iPhone.
For some reason, I wasn’t able to set up the second set that way. I had to download the Eve app on my iPhone and set it up there. Once that was done, I was able to control both sets of blinds via either the Home or Eve app.
There is also a pull cord that you can use for manual operation, if you wish. One tug on on the pull cord gets the blinds moving in one direction, a second tug stops them, and a third tug gets them moving in the other direction.
Are these the most beautiful blinds I’ve ever seen? No, and the ‘fabric’ is plastic. But they look fine, and they do what they are supposed to do.
Graywind Smart Blinds: performance
- Can be controlled so many different ways
- Use with Google, Amazon, or Apple
- Opening and closing mechanism works beautifully
As mentioned above, there are five different types of motors, so you’ll want to make your selection carefully. I chose the Eve Apple HomeKit motor, since I have both an iPhone and a HomePod. But you can also choose BLE RF Motor (works directly with the Graywind app via Bluetooth, no bridge needed), Hardwired WiFi Motor (no bridge needed), Zigbee Alexa Motor, or a Matter Smart Motor (which allows use of Alexa, Google, HomeKit or SmartThings). A detailed guide on the site can help you choose the right one for your home if you’re not sure.
As mentioned above, I was only able to set up one of the blinds using the Apple Home app; to set up the other one I had to use the Eve app. Another little blip was that one of the blinds wanted to roll the wrong way initially, but I was able to fix that by troubleshooting with the owner’s manual.
Once your blinds are all set up, it’s easy to control them. You can use your smartphone and tap to select how far open you want them, down to an exact percentage. You can also use the cord to control them. If you don’t like the look of the cord and you’re not going to use it, you can easily remove it.
You can also set up scenes and automations, so that your blinds open and close at specific times or in specific situations of your choosing. For example, you could have the blinds open at sunrise and close at sunset. Or, you can set your blinds to open when you say, “Good morning!” and close when you say, “Good night!” Or have them them close automatically when you leave the house and open when you arrive home. I just set mine to open and close to a specific percentage at a specific time. But there are endless ways you can set them up. I tried several different ways and they all worked great.
Should you buy the Graywind Smart Blinds?
|
Attribute |
Notes |
Score |
|---|---|---|
|
Value |
They start pretty inexpensively for custom smart blinds |
4.5/5 |
|
Design |
Design is fine but there are some minor yet annoying flaws |
3.5/5 |
|
Performance |
Once you get everything set up, the blinds are simple to use and perform beautifully |
4.5/5 |
Buy it if
Don’t buy it if
Graywind Smart Blinds: also consider
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How I tested the Graywind Smart Blinds
I placed Graywind Smart Blinds in two bedroom windows. I tested out the blinds in a number of different ways. I tapped them open and closed using the Apple Home app, Eve app, and Control Center on my iPhone, both at home and away from home using a HomePod mini as a hub. I told Siri to open and close the blinds. I set up an automation to open the blinds a certain percentage 8:00 a.m. and close them at 9:00 p.m. each day. I also used the manual cord to open and close the blinds.
First reviewed July 2025
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