The Inspelning (transl. recording) smart plug looks pretty much like many of today’s offerings, which at its core ensures that it’ll plug into one socket without blocking the other. It has a  power button on the side, along with a small indicator LED and reset button.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, this new smart plug, which uses Zigbee to connect to both Ikea’s own smart platform and others, will only work with the company’s latest hub – the Dirigera. So if you’re still using the original Trådfri smart hub with your Ikea products, this plug is either a pass or you’ll need to upgrade.

On the assumption you do have the Dirigera hub, you can then expose it to Apple Home, Amazon Alexa, and Google Home, although not via Matter officially yet. A Matter firmware update is available for beta testing if you want to try it out. A firmware update from Sept. 2nd states;

• DIRIGERA Hub version 2.615.8
  • Maintenance release, plus extended support of device types via Matter Bridge for:• Lights, including Drivers
    • Smart plugs/outlets
    • Connected blinds
    • Remotes
    • Motion sensors
    • Open/close sensors
    • Air purifiers and Air quality sensors

If you don’t want to use this beta option, adding the hub to the latter two platforms requires the legacy connection method that ties your Ikea smart home account to Google/Amazon.

Energy monitoring is only available via the Ikea Home Smart app (not the old app, named Home Smart 1). Currently it’s listed on Ikea’s US website for US$11.99, although it may be available in your nearest Ikea store.

The post Ikea Release Smart Plug with Energy Monitoring appeared first on Homekit News and Reviews.

As might be clear from the images above, the main difference, at least externally, is the form factor. The Original model was of a design that didn’t allow two of them to be placed together in a dual wall outlet, which even then was odd, given that prior to this, Meross did have a smart plug like the ‘Mini’ variant above. Now the new model reverts to this slimmer design, whilst removing the LED lit power button with a simpler blank one. Whilst this improvement is a welcome one, the two things that could stifle sales is the lack of Thread, which many clamour for in a smart home device. It’s also worth noting that this form factor already exists for a Matter over WiFi smart plug, from a company called Linkind, who also make smart bulbs, and more.

The insides have also taken on an update, with the new model supporting energy monitoring. Whilst this is good news in these energy-conscious times, this feature is not currently supported in Matter, and so it falls upon the Meross app to show these details. If and when energy monitoring becomes part of the spec for Matter 1.3, Meross has stated they’ll expose this feature to Matter.

Never the less, this should solve a problem that came with the original model being a tad bulky. It’s just a shame we’re still not seeing any indication that Meross are willing to take the plunge into Thread, which Onvis has already done with the three variants (EU, UK, US) of their smart plug.

You can find more details on the new Meross Smart Plug Mini on Meross’ own website, and you should be able to pick one up once they becomes available in Meross’ own online shop, with stock coming to Amazon.com soon after.

The post Meross Releases Slimmer, Updated Matter Smart Plug appeared first on Homekit News and Reviews.

As this uses Thread, you don’t have to worry about burdening a possibly already overloaded WiFi network, as this will connect to any Thread Border Router. So, if you’re all in on Apple Home, the HomePod Mini, HomePod (2nd gen), and Apple TV4K (2nd gen or 3rd gen w/ 128GB) all contain the necessary hardware. Thread also provides a better all-around connection experience, as well as fast response times compared to Bluetooth, which is still deployed as a setup and backup function.

Onvis is also planning to release the S4 smart plug suitable for Europe, and one designed for the UK in the next month or so, which is great news for British smart home users, who have been left out when it comes to products of this type in the past. We’ll be reporting on these as soon as they become available, but in the meantime, for US users, the S4 is available on Amazon to preorder now, with shipping commencing July 24th (Monday).

The post Onvis US Matter over Thread Smart Plug Available on Amazon appeared first on Homekit News and Reviews.

*Amazon has yet to officially activate Thread Border router functionality across all relevant devices.

Onvis is offering a massive 40% off the regular retail price for consumers buying the S4EU in advance, so you can get a 2-pack for €27.99 (MSRP EU€45.99), making each smart plug just €14.00. If you want to stretch to a 4-pack, you can buy a set for just €48.99 (EU€79.99), which brings each smart plug to a very attractive €12.25. By comparison, a single Eve EU smart plug using Matter over Thread is currently selling on Amazon.de for €39.95, more than three times the price of Onvis’ offering. In fairness, it should be noted that the Eve Smart Plug offers energy monitoring, which the equivalent Onvis plug doesn’t offer.

Onvis is also offering free shipping for the S4EU to the following countries – Germany, France, Italy, Spain, The Netherlands, and Poland – via the Onvis web shop.

THREAD | MATTER

If you’re not familiar with Thread, it’s a relatively new wireless protocol that takes the best features of Bluetooth and Zigbee, creating a new and more effective wireless network specifically designed for the smart home; low power use for battery-powered devices, faster response times, and permanently powered devices (light bulbs, wired switches, smart plugs etc) can create a Thread mesh network that helps spreads the signal from a (required) Thread Border Router, which can be found in devices like Apple’s HomePod Mini, HomePod (2nd Gen), Apple TV(2nd Gen), Apple TV (3rd Gen w/ Ethernet). Google offers Thread Border Router functionality in some of its devices, like the Nest Hub Max and more, whilst Samsung offers Thread Border Router functionality in its new SmartThings Station.

As regards Matter, this is described as a new smart home ‘standard’ which in the first instance makes things simpler for consumers purchasing smart home products. So if you see the Matter logo on product packaging, you can be assured that it’ll work with any of the main smart home platforms. On the manufacturer side of things, instead of companies having to choose which platform(s) to invest in, in terms of testing and certification (each platform requires separate certification) etc. developers/manufacturers can now just apply for Matter certification to cover all Matter compatible platforms. This should, in theory, then reduce development costs overall.

The second large selling point for Matter is that it’s designed to be entirely local. Whilst Apple HomeKit is largely already local when it comes to control and automations etc, for Amazon and Google, for example, users are required to create an account with the manufacturer of the product in question, which is then tied to the Google Home and Amazon Alexa platforms. This, in turn, means that whenever you ask Alexa or Google to do something, these instructions are relayed via the ‘Cloud’, between Google/Amazon and the manufacturers’ servers, so if you lose your connection to the internet, there’s no way to control your devices on these platforms. With Matter, this is no longer a requirement, making cloud-based control a thing of the past, which will not only allow you to control your devices regardless of an internet connection (when you’re in the home and connected to your network) but keep things local, private whilst also offering consistently faster response times.

The post Onvis Launch Matter Over Thread EU Smart Plug Presale appeared first on Homekit News and Reviews.

With Matter, you can now add this plug to Apple Home, Amazon Alexa, Google Home, and Samsung SmartThings, and although you might be saying to yourself, “Well this was already possible before”, the difference here, at least concerning the platforms except for HomeKit, there’s no longer a need to bind a Kasa account to these platforms in order to use it, and as there’s no need for this cloud-based connectivity, it means control is entirely local, which is a central feature of Matter.

Of course, this has pretty much always been the case with HomeKit, but if you live in a mixed ecosystem smart home, with HomePods, Google Nest displays, or Alexa speakers, this should improve the overall performance of this and other Matter-enabled devices.

The KP125M uses standard 2.4GHz WiFi, which for me is its only downside now that Thread is more readily available in smart plugs from Eve and Wemo*, along with forthcoming plugs from Onvis for the EU, UK, and US, but it’s worth bearing in mind that at the time of writing this article, Matter over Thread devices currently only work with HomeKit, Google, and possibly SmartThings, so if you’re an Alexa user, WiFi is a better option for now.

The KP125M offers 15A/1800W, offers power monitoring via the Kasa app, and is available as a 2-pack, for US$39.99, or a 4-pack for US$69.99, giving you a saving of roughly US$2.50 per smart plug.

The post Kasa Smart Plug With Matter Now Available appeared first on Homekit News and Reviews.

The EU smart plug will come with Matter ‘out of the box’, so no update will be required to make it Matter compatible. In addition to the MSS315 being designed for European outlets and appliances, it also comes complete with energy monitoring (via the Meross app), which not only shows real-time power consumption but also historical usage. Like their existing smart plugs, the MSS315 will use standard 2.4GHz WiFi for connection, as opposed to Thread, which seems to be the standard some companies are directing their focus on these days, like Eve, Nanoleaf, and Onvis, amongst others. Both the US and EU models are different to the current models available, with the US version more square than oblong shaped.

Meross will be amongst the first companies to actually release their first Matter branded products, with a whole host of other companies either gearing up for Matter updates to existing products, or planning releases of new products for later this year. This includes brands including Belkin, Schlage, SmartThings, and Tapo (TP-Link).

If you are in the market for a new smart plug with Matter, Meross is offering presales of the EU version for 50% off to the first 500 customers via their website, with a special offer of a 2-pack for US$24.99 starting today via the Meross store, with the product shipping around the early March.

The post Meross Announce Preorders For EU Matter Smart Plug appeared first on Homekit News and Reviews.

The Smart Plug Mini already exists, albeit as a non-HomeKit model, but a version designed to work with HomeKit, as well as the other usual platforms, is now out. Like many of the recent smart plugs that have come to market – which include the Eve Energy and the Wemo Mini – the Switchbot offering is of the compact type, which ensures that only one outlet is taken up, not blocking the other outlet. However, the Switchbot version uses standard 2.4GHz WiFi, not Thread, like the Eve or Wemo options, although interestingly, it also has the option to connect via Bluetooth (possible update to Thread later on perhaps?). This isn’t such a surprise given that most other platforms are still in the early stages when it comes to Thread support, with Apple leading the way at this point.

What the Switchbot model does offer is energy monitoring and usage, which is accessible via the company’s own app. This is something that the Eve Energy plugs have offered via their own app since the beginning, but it’s still good to see Switchbot taking energy conservation into account, especially in times where prices for all utilities are going up globally.

Having spoken to Switchbot support briefly, we couldn’t get any firm information on when or even whether the current non-HomeKit smart plugs will get a firmware update for HomeKit, or, for that matter, whether there are plans to update other products in the company’s catalogue lineup.

Currently, the non-HomeKit Switchbot Smart plug Mini retails for US$11.99, or just US$29.99 for a 4-pack, with the new HomeKit models now on Amazon.com for US$14.99.

The post Switchbot Release First HomeKit Enabled Device (U) appeared first on Homekit News and Reviews.

The new plug, priced at US$39.95 on Amazon.com seems to have already sold out* of its initial stock, such is the pull of Thread devices, of which currently there are still relatively few, with the lions share being by Eve themselves. Currently, the company offer Thread in the following products;

• Eve Aqua (2nd gen)
• Eve Door & Window (3rd gen)
• Eve Energy EU (4th gen)
• Eve Energy US (4th gen)
• Eve Energy UK (3rd gen)
• Eve Light Switch EU (2nd gen)
• Eve Thermo (4th gen)
• Eve Weather (2nd gen)

Nanoleaf are currently the only other company that have Thread enabled devices that work with HomeKit, the Essentials Light Bulb and Essentials Light Strip.

Thanks to Michael Thompson for the information on the UK plug.

The post UK & US Eve Energy With Thread Now Available* appeared first on Homekit News and Reviews.

Given that the display and stock only feature Aqara products, it’s fair to assume this can be nothing other than an Aqara plug, although we haven’t been able to confirm this with absolute certainty. The plug’s overall shape also matches the US Aqara smart plug, which further pushes the possibility that this is indeed an Aqara product and not some random device added to the display.

WK Soo, also stated that stores selling Aqara hubs with the type G pins have actually been available since December of 2019, so it looks like the UK, whilst still awaiting their hubs, will eventually be able to buy them.

Thanks to WK Soo for the images and the tip-off.

The post Aqara Smart Plug Suitable For UK, Spotted in Malaysian Store? appeared first on Homekit News and Reviews.

News of this plug originally surfaced on now-defunct website HomeKit Hero, that reported that the device and even the accompanying app bore similarities to the Vocolinc SmartBar and LinkWise app, respectively, although this isn’t as unusual as it might sound, with many companies being supplied by the same factories in China.

That aside, the new plug is visually slightly different from the Vocolinc SmartBar, even though the word ‘Smartbar’ is used in the details for the smart plug itself. Strange! The Amazon listing has a few details, including;

• Widely Compatible: Works with HomeKit, Alexa and Google Assistant. Supports both iOS and Android.
• Compact Design: Small enough that the second socket never gets blocked off
• Hub-Free & Remote Access: control from nearly anywhere via an Apple TV/HomPod/iPad (iOS) or Alloy App (Android)
• Set Schedules: Schedule to switch on/off your electronic(s) automatically
• Note: SmartBar requires iOS 12+ or Android 4.3+ and a secured 2.4GHz Wi-Fi network; make sure your mobile device is connected stable to the internet while pairing. Feel free to contact support_popa@yeah.net if there are any questions.

the Popa app is already available on the Apple App store, although a quick search of the Google Play store turned up nothing at the time.

If you’re looking for a cheap smart plug (or even two) the new device is available on amazon.com now as a 2-pack for only US$24.99

Thanks to Bing Feng Yeh for the tip off

The post New Popa Smart Plug Emerges on Amazon appeared first on Homekit News and Reviews.