SwitchBot launches rechargeable Bot with USB-C battery, same button-pressing design

SwitchBot’s latest home gadget keeps the same job it has always done, but drops the disposable battery. The new Bot Rechargeable uses a built-in 370mAh lithium battery, charges over USB-C and, SwitchBot says, can run for up to six months on a single charge if it is pressed once a day. It went on sale at $33.99 in the U.S., up from $29.99 for the original Bot.

The device is still built around the same idea that made the first version a cult favorite: a compact, tool-free adhesive robot that physically presses rocker switches and one-way buttons. SwitchBot said the new model works with many everyday devices, including coffee machines, air conditioners, garage doors, heaters and elevator buttons. It is available through the company’s online store and Amazon stores.

That same retrofit logic is what gave SwitchBot its start. The original Bot launched on Kickstarter in late 2016 after co-founder Connery Lee said he built it to solve a personal problem while renting. He wanted to control a light switch from his phone without replacing the wall switch. The result was a tiny piece of automation that let people add smart control without tearing into walls, rewiring rooms or swapping out appliances.

The rechargeable version extends that formula into a broader smart-home ecosystem. Paired with a SwitchBot hub, the Bot can be controlled through an app or by voice. With a Matter-enabled hub, it can work with Alexa, Google Assistant and Apple Home. That makes it useful for households that want a cheaper path into home automation, but it also ties the simplest functions of a home to apps, hubs and platform compatibility.

SwitchBot’s pitch lands at a moment when convenience is increasingly measured against maintenance and control. A rechargeable battery lowers one small burden, but the bigger tradeoff remains the same: consumers get remote access and automation without replacing hardware, while accepting another layer of software, connectivity and ecosystem dependence around ordinary appliances.

The product also fits the company’s larger trajectory. A 2025 filing said SwitchBot was founded in 2015, operated across seven categories and 42 SKUs, and sold in more than 90 countries and regions. The new Bot Rechargeable is both a nod to the product that launched the company and a signal that low-friction retrofit automation remains at the center of its business.