The Good:
Let’s start off with the good stuff first. Physically, this smart plug is a good size. It’s not overly big. The manual button on the front is large and easy to press. I’ve never had a failure using the physical button. It has worked every time and is an instantaneous power on. There is a white LED light that turns on when the outlet is on, so there is a visual indicator that you can see from across the room. It is pretty plain though. The outlet is a very standard rectangular shape with rounded edges. Nothing wrong with the design, but knowing that it could be out in the open in your home, it just doesn’t scream smart outlet. If you are going for a minimalist approach this outlet will be more up your alley. This plug does work with pretty much every smart home hub that you may come across. It will work with Google Home, which is what I use it with, Apple Home Kit, Alexa, and will even pair with your Nest home system. It isn’t made for very heavy voltage pull from appliances like refrigerators or heaters, but will work with just about any small appliance or lamp that you have. It’s very versatile. If you only use the Wemo app, there are schedules you can set for each device to turn on and off at certain times. You can even have it on a timer so once it turns on it will turn itself off. There is also an away mode that will randomly turn your lights on and off to mimic you being home.
Using the plug once it is set up is very easy and I haven’t had any issues using it via the Google Home app or through the Samsung Smartthings app. The stock app is laid out OK. You don’t have to create an account to get the plug connected to the WIFI either and that is actually nice. Most smart home devices make you create an account.
Now for the bad. I’ll start with the app, since if you plan to move this plug around you will be using it a lot. Every time that you unplug it or if you happen to lose power, it loses its settings and you have to pair it to the app and connect it to the WIFI again. Unless you go into the app and have the plug save the settings for your WIFI. It doesn't save it by default! The main background is pretty plain and the icons are fairly small. It does make using them a little harder if you have larger hands since you have to be more precise with your touch. You can check the screen shots above to see what I mean. Other than that it is fairly straight forward to use. I didn’t have a whole lot of difficulty setting up the plug.
The other issue is the width of the plug itself. If you are using it on a normal two plug outlet, it really won’t be too much of an issue. If you are planning on using it in a 4 plug outlet, you will block one outlet with this plug. It is also somewhat thick. It will come out about 1 ½” from the wall not counting the plug and cable that you are plugging into it. When finding a place for this plug, have it in an open area or make sure you have at least 6” from the wall.
If I was grading this smart outlet, I would give it overall a B. Getting it set up was OK, but it was a bit of a hassle. The fact that it loses the settings by default is kind of a nagging factor, but if change the setting in the app, it will help a lot. I would have liked the app or the outlet itself to save the settings automatically once it was set up and not have to go into the app settings to save it. It almost feels like that was an afterthought and this was just a quick fix. Design wise, I would have liked to see a little more. Possibly a led light showing the WIFI being connected would be a nice touch. The light blinks during setup and then goes off when it connects, so you have to trust the app. It is not a bad smart plug by any means. Once its set up it works well and I haven’t had any issues other than when I moved it around and had to connect it again. If you are just getting into the smart home stuff, or just want a quick addition to what you already have, this is a good option. The price is pretty much in the mid-range of what most of the smart plugs are. Overall, I would say this outlet is worth giving it a try.