Andrew Orr
Smart home vendor Meross has announced its first HomeKit smart mini plug with Matter support, and the first 500 sold will see a special launch price of $25 for a pair.
Smart plugs like the one Meross offers let people set schedules and timers to automatically control power to anything plugged into them, even "dumb" products. People can use a smart plug to track energy consumption, for example.
The new plug from Meross supports Matter, a new networking standard for smart home devices. It works with nearly any product ecosystem to let accessories work together.
Danny Xia, product manager of Meross Matter program, says that the company "entered into the development of Matter" at an early stage. "We will keep contribute to creating a more open ecosystem for the global smart home market with all others," continued Xia.
Meross is taking orders for its twin pack of smart plugs now. Orders will begin shipping from December 31, 2022.
Using the plug requires a 2.4GHz or better Wi-Fi network and an iPhone running iOS 16.1 or later.
Pricing & Availability
The Meross smart plug is available for limited preorder for $24.99 as a two-pack. After the first 500 orders, the price will rise to $44.99.
Marko Zivkovic
Wesley Hilliard
Christine McKee
Malcolm Owen
William Gallagher
Andrew O'Hara
5 Comments
Requires WiFi? No thanks. WiFi consumes a hundred times more power and it makes no sense to waste so much energy when Thread is up to a thousand times more power efficient. Also, unlike Wifi plugs, Thread plugs (like Eve) function as a router for all Thread products and increases the resiliency of Thread networks and can extend the network. Why do we need WiFi if it's just transmitting small data packets? Meross makes great products but the combo of energy efficiency, Matter, and robust network connectivity such as Thread (when large data bandwidth is not necessary) are very crucial for my purchase decisions. That's why I only get Thread devices from Eve and hope to see more competition for Thread-enabled devices. WiFi is best for devices that need large data transfers (security videos) and thankfully, ultra low power WiFi technology exists but I am not seeing widespread adoption yet.
I agree. I can’t believe it is wifi only. All it needs is a signal to turn it off or on which is where thread comes in.
"Requires 2.4GHz WiFi network or better" Does this mean it will work on 5GHz network? Because to date smart plugs are not compatible with 5 GHz WiFi networks.