Rolli Shades review: These motorized smart shades have evolved—for the better

Almost exactly one year ago we turned our attention to a new smart shade purveyor by the name of Rolli Shades. We reviewed their product in early in the company’s life, and we weren’t shy about calling out some of the faults we observed, including loud operation, an expensive smart hub, and a frustrating installation marred by inaccurate instructions that nearly had us tossing the thing to the curb.

A year later, Rolli Shades is still in business, and the company says it has learned and grown in the time that’s passed, correcting a lot of its early missteps. We agreed to take a fresh look at its smart motorized roll-up shade product line, which are available with light-filtering (Rolli Privacy) or blackout (Rolli Sleep) fabrics. So, let’s start from the beginning.

Rolli’s new motor is considerably quieter, and it’s just as fast as the model it replaced.

First, the online experience and ordering process for Rolli shades has changed moderately. While last year Rolli had five fabric options, today it has twelve. It’s up to the user to measure their windows, after which Rolli’s website spits out a price. While previously all shades were priced at $549, pricing is now tiered based on size: $349 for the smallest size, up to $949 for the largest size (which is now 120 x 120 inches). The specific shades I ordered each time (42 inches wide x 50 inches tall, with a $50 valence) were priced at $599 last year, but have now dropped to $499.

Rolli’s remote control is still $49, while the Pulse2 Smart Hub has dropped from $300 to $199. You need at least the remote to use the shades, but the hub is required if you also want to schedule automations or control the shades with your smartphone. Rolli Shades were available at Amazon when my original review was published, but that’s no longer the case.

This review is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best smart shades.

Rolli now offers a free phone-based consultation to guide you through some of this process. Professional installation is available, but it’s no longer offered at checkout for a flat fee. Instead, you’ll need to arrange it separately through a Rolli salesperson. Pricing is variable based on location and the number of shades. Upon request, I was quoted $50 to install a single shade in my Austin, TX-area zip code.

The current installation process

To keep things as consistent as possible, I asked Rolli to send me the new version of a shade identical to the one that I received in 2023, so I could compare them side by side.

Upon unboxing, I immediately noticed the biggest difference between the 2024 shade and the 2023: It now comes pre-installed in the valence. While it’s easier to install an empty valence in the window frame because it’s much lighter, having the shade pre-loaded into the valence solves a huge problem I had last year, because Rolli’s installation instructions were incorrect about how to load the shade into the valence. Now, you needn’t load the shade into the valence at all, making today’s hardware installation really just a two-step process: Install the mounting brackets in the window frame, then clip the shade into them.

I had far fewer problems getting these shades installed, though I did hit one snag: One of the brackets in the kit was slightly bent, so the spring-loading mechanism that allows it to grip the valence would not operate. A little careful metal-bending with a pair of pliers in my workshop got it fixed, but if I’d had no prior experience with these types of clips, I would have had to request a replacement from Rolli. (It’s worth noting that I also encountered a broken bracket in my 2023 installation experience, so we’re 0 for 2 on that front.) But even with that hiccup, when compared to the nightmare of 2023’s installation, this time around things went quite smoothly.

The biggest changes

When I ordered the new shade, I requested the identical fabric, but I could tell that things were just a bit different today: The new shade had fewer crinkles and wrinkles in the open shade, and the valence looks smoother, too. The pattern is a touch lighter in color, though a casual observer probably wouldn’t notice. All told, the changes are difficult to detect, but they represent an improvement, however minute. One thing I did notice, however, is that the shade doesn’t hang perfectly level, listing just slightly to one side.

One big upgrade: Rolli has updated the motor to be much quieter than last year’s. I measured the volume of the old motor at 60dB and the new one at just 51dB, testing each with a sound monitor held at the same distance from the motor. The difference is very noticeable and quite welcome, as the old Rolli motor is deafening while it’s running. The good news is that while the new motor is quieter, it runs at the same speed: Both took 24 seconds to completely close the shade.

Control options

Rolli’s remote control hasn’t changed. It can still operate up to 15 shades, looks good, and is a snap to program. It remains my favorite part of the Rolli experience.

However, while Rolli originally suggested to me it would migrate to another tech stack for its smart hub, that never materialized. These shades still need the same Automate Pulse 2 hub to connect to your 2.4GHz Wi-Fi network, though as noted the price has dropped by just over $100. It’s still expensive at $199, and it’s still one of the roughest hubs I’ve encountered.

Though the hub hardware has not changed at all, I decided—against better judgment—to replace my old, fitfully operational Pulse 2 hub with the new one to see how the installation experience had been altered. This isn’t really on Rolli, as the Pulse 2 is a third-party device that’s also used by other shade manufacturers, but I’m pleased to report that, while it still isn’t great, it’s at least getting better.

The setup process began with a curious warning that the hub had detected an Apple TV or HomePod device in my home, and that it must be disconnected before proceeding. I have three Apple TVs, and for one of them, turning it off meant a trip up a ladder to where it’s mounted behind a TV to unplug it. That kind of quirkiness is par for the course for the Pulse 2, though I’m happy to report that the new hub was up and running within about 10 minutes of stepping through the setup instructions, in stark contrast to my experience last year.

Moving my shades over to the new hub, however, has resulted in a few bugs. Now, on the Pulse 2’s main page, a pair of phantom shades that don’t exist and seemingly can’t be deleted remain alongside the real shades. It’s more of a visual annoyance than anything, but just another indication about how rickety this platform is.

The Pulse 2 also still has terrible problems with range. One shade located just 12 feet from the hub always shows either “average” or “poor” signal strength, depending on the day. A shade located in a different room directly overhead is unreachable by the hub at all. (I’d need to use a second hub if I wanted to connect it to my smart home ecosystem.) Connectivity with HomeKit and Alexa still work fine, and Google Home is also still supported. My daily automation to open the shades just before sundown remains a game-changer in my office.

Should you buy Rolli Shades?

After two weeks with both old and new Rolli shades installed side by side, I can affirm that the manufacturer has made good on its promise to make much-needed improvements to its product.

It’s still not a perfect experience, but it’s light years ahead of where things started.