There is something about smart homes that everyone is getting fascinated. When everything is going smart in your home then why your windows get behind. . . Now you can have a fully customized yet sophisticated motorized shading solution. Whether you are looking to improve the lighting of your room or just want more privacy there is an option available for you. Two of the biggest brands for auto blinds openers are Axis Gear and MySmartBlinds. Both these brands have a well-established reputation in the market.

In this post, I’m going to compare both so that you find it easier to get your hands on a suitable one.

So let’s get on with it!

MySmartBlinds vs. Axis Gear – Which one is better

As the industry is still in its developing phases not many brands are out there who have served customers for years. For this reason, in terms of experience, both these brands are fairly new. MySmartBlinds is all about putting you in control. The brand’s intuitive automation kit can convert any blinds into auto blinds opener that you can control using your smartphone. This auto blinds opener from MySmartBlinds doesn’t require any tools for installation.

Moreover, you can easily control your weekly or daily schedules for your blinds. Of course, you can also go for manual control if you like and switch back to your phone when needed. The auto blinds opener from this brand also comes with energy saving mode as well as temperature sensors. Furthermore, you can also link with various smart home hubs like Google Home and Amazon Alexa.

On the other hand, Axis Gear is powered by solar energy. This auto blinds opener system allows you to take control of the temperature as well as glare as per the amount of natural light entering your room. This auto blinds opener comes with Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) feature along with ZigBee connectivity. Therefore, it can establish communication and integrate with all smart hubs compatible with ZigBee. Of course, you can use your smartphone to control this auto blinds opener from Axis Gear as well.

Now the primary difference between the two is the versatility. MySmartBlinds is more versatile as compared to the Axis Gear. Axis Gear is more targeted towards providing the connectivity features and turning your regular blinds into auto blinds opener. Contrary to this, MySmartBlinds provides you with complete auto blinds opener solutions. These include blinds, smart switch, solar panel, automation kit, and a bridge.

Power Source 

The Automation Kit by MySmartBlinds

This Automation Kit from MySmartBlinds works very well as your auto blinds opener. The kit includes two solar panels as well. This auto blinds opener kit will transform your regular blinds into automatic ones. The best part is that the unit can charge itself using the solar panel.

DIY Automation by Axis Gear

It runs on its own battery but you can use a solar panel to charge it. So there are two different power sources that you can utilize with this auto blinds opener from Axis Gear. It just makes sure that your DIY automation kit doesn’t run out of juice.

Winner:

Axis Gear with its auto blinds opener takes a lead over MySmartBlinds in the power department with its additional battery as a power source in addition to the solar panel.

Smart Automation Hub

The Automation Kit by MySmartBlinds

The automation kit from MySmartBlinds will directly link your shades with your smartphone. In addition to that, it will connect with any of your smart home hubs including Google Home or Amazon Alexa over Wi-Fi. With the smart home connectivity feature, you don’t need to have your phone to activate the auto blinds opener.

DIY Automation by Axis Gear

The device is fully compatible with ZigBee powered smart hubs. ZigBee works differently from Wi-Fi because it transfers a small amount of data over short ranges. It is a mesh network where each node is connected with each other within the network. It also means that you can use it with your smartphone using the Bluetooth feature.

Winner:

Both of these devices work with your smartphone but MySmartBlinds will be faster than Axis Gear because it uses Wi-Fi feature and you will experience far better speeds and response rates of your blinds.

Compatible Window Sizes

The Automation Kit by MySmartBlinds

If you have horizontal blinds in your home with size ranging between 2-inch and 2.5-inch then this kit will prove to be very beneficial for you. It is more of a specialist auto blinds opener for this sized windows and it will work great.

DIY Automation by Axis Gear

The best feature of this auto blinds opener is that it is compatible with any window or blind with a beaded chain or cord loop either of plastic or metal. The weight and size don’t matter either. Once you install it, you are in complete control of your blinds. You just need to download the Axis Gear app for the controls or you can also use the TouchStrip settings of this device.

Winner:

The winner turns out to be Axis Gear due to its compatibility with all sized windows. With MySmartBlinds you are restricted to a specific size of windows which varies between 2-inch and 2.5-inch.

Voice Activation

The Automation Kit by MySmartBlinds

The automation kit from MySmartBlinds enables you to use voice commands. This means that blind controlling for you never gets easier than this. However, you have to separately purchase the smart bridge as well if you want to enjoy the benefits of voice activation.

DIY Automation by Axis Gear

Due to the fact that Axis Gear uses ZigBee technology that can only transfer small packets of data within a network, voice commands are not available with Axis Gear. This also means that you have to be in close range and also be with your smartphone if you want to give a command to this auto blinds opener.

Winner:

The clear winner here is MySmartBlinds because this auto blinds opener allows you to use its voice activation feature very effectively.

Auto-Scheduling

The Automation Kit by MySmartBlinds

The automation kit from MySmartBlinds boasts a feature that allows you to set weekly or daily schedules. There is an inbuilt memory that can store and recall all the schedules and preferences. With these features, your blinds will continue their operation even if you are outside the range of Bluetooth.

DIY Automation by Axis Gear

Axis Gear auto blinds opener also comes with the auto-scheduling feature. Just install it and leave the rest on your auto blinds opener from Axis Gear. Set your customized schedules for the entire day or week and your auto blinds opener will stick to them for your convenience.

Winner:

There is a tie. Both the auto blinds openers from MySmartBlinds and Axis Gear come with the auto-scheduling feature that you can either set for a day or an entire week.

Sensors 

The Automation Kit by MySmartBlinds

MySmartBlinds auto blinds opener not only saves your time but also saves money and energy. There are inbuilt sensors for temperature monitoring. With these sensors, your MySmartBlinds auto blinds opener will control the lighting and temperature. You won’t have to decide anything because your auto blinds opener will do that for you.

DIY Automation by Axis Gear

Axis Gear’s DIY automation kit also has its own set of sensors that can not only save you time but will also effectively manage the temperature and light in your room. You can either install it in your home or at your office. These sensors will automatically optimize the operation of these blinds openers.

Winner:

The winner here will be MySmartBlinds because its sensors use Wi-Fi technology and their response rate will be far better as compared to the ZigBee technology of Axis Gear that can only transmit small amounts of data at one time.

Easy Installation

The Automation Kit by MySmartBlinds

MySmartBlinds provides its users with different tutorials to guide them about the installation process of this auto blinds opener. If this is your first install then you need to familiarize yourself with the process and then go for installation. It’s not that complicated.

DIY Automation by Axis Gear

Axis Gear here provides a very simple solution to your auto blinds opener problem. You don’t need any additional devices to run this little gadget here. Just install it with your blinds and start enjoying the automation straight away. There is a reason why it is called DIY automation. You don’t need anything to install it. The entire installation process only takes 5-minutes and you are good to go.

Winner:

The winner here by a small margin is Axis Gear because you don’t need anything (even the tutorials) to set it up. The installation process for MySmartBlinds is just a tad bit difficult only if it is your first time. Otherwise, that device is not difficult to install either. But with Axis Gear even if you are working with an auto blinds opener for the first time it will only take a few minutes to get it all done.

User-friendly

The Automation Kit by MySmartBlinds

The auto blinds opener from MySmartBlinds is very user-friendly because you can operate it with your smartphone. Almost anything that you can do with your smartphone is pretty simple and similar is the case with this blinds opener. All the settings are very easily accessible and the voice command feature just puts the cherry on the top.

DIY Automation by Axis Gear

You can also run your DIY automation kit using your smartphone. The voice activation feature is not there but the smartphone application makes things easy for you. As it runs on ZigBee, the response rate will be slow, but you can get the job done using your phone.

Winner:

MySmartBlinds takes over the lead purely because of voice activation and Wi-Fi features. This auto blinds opener will operate more conveniently as compared to Axis Gear.

Pros & Cons

The Automation Kit by MySmartBlinds

Pros

• The auto blinds opener from MySmartBlinds can harness energy from the solar panel that comes with it.
• You can control your auto blinds opener using your smartphone.
• Compatible with smart home hubs.
• You can set weekly or even daily schedules according to your requirements or preferences.
• You can transform any of your regular blinds into automated one without any issues.
• This auto blinds opener is very easy to install.

Cons

• Some users have complained that it is slightly noisy.
• You need to have a smart bridge if you want to go for voice-activated commands.

DIY Automation by Axis Gear

Pros

• You can set automatic schedules with the help of this auto blinds opener from Axis Gear.
• The installation is very simple and it will only take you about 5 minutes to get things on the way.
• It can either run on battery or use solar energy with a separate solar panel.
• It can easily work with any type of shades or blinds either metal or plastic.
• This device can save a lot of your time and money and can also conserve energy for you.
• The auto blinds opener is fully compatible with ZigBee smart home hubs.

Cons

• Some users have reported that this auto blinds opener is pretty slow. The shades take more than a minute to open and close.
• The connector beads tend to snap occasionally.

The Verdict

After going through the reviews of both the products it is pretty clear that the auto blinds opener from MySmartBlinds is the better product. It not only comes at almost the half price as compared to the Axis Gear but it also provides you with a tad bit of more features.

The auto blinds opener from MySmartBlinds provides you with more connectivity options. But the downside of that is you have to buy a separate Smart Bridge Device if you really want to go for that voice command feature. It sure does provide you with extra convenience, that you can still automate your blinds even if you don’t have your phone nearby. It is also compatible with Google Home and Amazon Alexa which are far more established products as compared to ZigBee.

Contrary to this, you don’t have to buy anything separately in the case of Axis Gear. It is compatible with ZigBee and the device can run on both solar power and battery.

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