Best Smart Plugs That Work With HomeKit
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Best Smart Plugs That Work With HomeKit
In this post we cover the best smart plugs for Apple HomeKit and how you can get the most out of smart plugs that work with Apple HomeKit and Siri voice control.
If you have an iPhone and want to to control your lamps, smart lighting, fans, coffeemakers or other plug in devices with though Apple HomeKit or using Siri voice commands you can do so with a smart plugs compatible with HomeKit.
Related Post: Best Smart Light Switches That Work With Apple Home Kit
Apple Homekit is a little different from other smart home services like Alexa and Google home in that it is primarily designed around using your smart phone with Siri for voice control rather than using smart speaker assistants placed around your house for voice control. Apple HomeKit does have fewer devices that are designed for native integration with Siri but all of the devices that are compatible and that we recommend work great with HomeKit.
You should also know that you can have hybrid control of your smart home devices with HomeKit and Alexa. You can add your smart plug smart home devices such into HomeKit to allow for smart voice control with Siri and you can simultaneously add them as Alexa devices for smart home control with Alexa voice control.
They are not mutually exclusive and will not interfere with each other so if you want to use your phone with Siri the majority of the time to control your smart home you can or if you are not near your phone you can use an Alexa speaker to control your smart home devices with your voice and Alexa commands. One of my favorite Alexa devices is the Echo Show with it’s 10” touch screen.
What is a Smart Plug?
Smart Plugs allow you to control devices that plug into the wall through wifi. All you need to do is plug in your new smart plug, set it up on the app and plug in the device you want to control and you’re ready to start controlling the smart plug through your phone. You can control almost any device that plugs into a regular outlet using a smart plug including lamps, fans, and even coffeemakers.
With smart phone control of your smart plug you can turn on and off your smart plug from your phone. With some smart plugs you can even dim them and change the brightness settings when connected to a compatible lamp and bulb that allow dimming.
Once you set up the smart plug through the manufacturers app you will connect the smart plug to HomeKit to enable Siri voice control.
What can you do with Smart Plugs That Work With HomeKit?
With standard smart plug configurations you can control your smart plug through your smart phone. Connecting your smart plug to HomeKit and Siri opens up a whole new world of smart home and smart plug control because it allows you to control your smart plugs and devices connected to them using voice commands with Siri.
You can control your smart plugs with Siri HomeKit voice commands by saying:
“Siri, turn off bedside lamp.”
“Siri, turn on fan.”
“Siri, turn on family room.”
“Siri, set living room to 50%.”
“Siri, turn on coffeemaker.”
Adding Siri HomeKit voice control to your home is a true luxury and will take your smart home to the next level. I’ve lived with smart plug and smart home control for 5 years and there’s nothing like laying in bed at the end of a long day and telling your house to turn off the lights with smart plugs for HomeKit. To control your Smart Plugs with HomeKit all you need is an iPhone and Siri compatible Smart Plugs.
Sometimes I like to sleep with a small fan on at night to block out the noise of the city, and it’s perfect to have the smart plug connected to the fan so I can turn it on and off with my voice without getting out of bed. It’s great if I feel like I’m having a hard time sleeping or their is a lot of unexpected noise I can quickly turn it on without even getting out from underneath the covers.
Another neat feature in the morning is laying in bed and asking Siri to turn on the “Coffee” so that I have fresh pot of coffee ready before I even get out of bed.
Most coffee pots will allow you to set a schedule but I’ve found I don’t always wake up at the same time and often forget to adjust the schedule forwards or backwards which can lead to the coffee not being ready when I’m about to go out the door if I wake up early. With the smart plug combined with a coffee maker I just say “Siri, turn on coffee.” and it’s ready by the time I make it downstairs.
If you’re a coffee drinker you know how awesome it is to have a fresh pot of coffee waiting for you each morning.
What is HomeKit? How Do HomeKit Smart Plugs Work?
HomeKit is Apples home automation standard that directly interfaces smart home devices with Siri. This means if you have a HomeKit compatible device it can typically be controlled with your voice using Siri. HomeKit also provides custom integrations, and settings that you can use to control your smart home through the HomeKit interface.
Once the smart plug is plugged in, it connects to wifi and is then set up on the manufacturers app. Once set up on the manufacturers app they can be connected to HomeKit for Siri voice control of the smart plug. After the initial setup of the smart plug it will remain connected to your wifi network for remote control both inside and outside of your home.
Best Smart Plugs For HomeKit
Wemo has been a reliable smart home brand for years and was one of the first adopters of wifi smart home technology. They have come along way since their original Wemo smart plug that was one of the first wifi smart plugs ever available to the US market.
To install the Wemo smart plugs I plugged them in, setup them up on the Wemo app and they flawlessly responded to the touch commands on my phone. Setting these light bulbs up with Apple HomeKit was a breeze. Once fully installed on the I had no problems controlling these using Siri or HomeKit. One important thing to note that is if they don’t come with the firmware update you will need to let both the app and the smart plugs install the update so that they will function properly with HomeKit.
You should also follow the instructions and set these up first on the Wemo App manually and then add them to HomeKit. It seems like people who have issues with the HomeKit integration try to skip setting up the devices on the Wemo and run into issues. But if you follow the instructions and set up first on the Wemo App and then HomeKit you should have no issues installing these smart plugs with HomeKit integration.
What I like about these smart plugs is that they have a slim profile that allows you to plug in two smart plugs right next to each other on the wall outlet and don’t block the other outlet when plugged into the wall. Not all smart plugs have the slim profile that the Wemo switches offer, and the thinner profile looks better on the wall than some of the larger smart plugs.
Wemo is manufactured by Belkin which is a well known wifi router brand, so you know that they are designed to reliably work with wifi routers and systems. Even though they are made by Belkin they are compatible with most newer wifi routers.
The Wemo smart plug interface is easy to navigate and is easy to learn, and will allow you to turn on and off the lights remotely, set schedules, use away mode to turn on the lights at random times when you are on vacation. Wemo smart plugs will work with Siri voice commands to turn your devices on and off through HomeKit.
These smart plugs offer the similar slim profile as the Wemo smart plugs and they also work with HomeKit and Siri voice commands. These smart plugs will work with not only HomeKit, but also work with Alexa and Google Home Voice assistants. They offer an exceptional value for a 2 or 4 pack of smart plugs that work with HomeKit.
The Vocolinc plugs offer easy plug in setup and installation through the manufacturer app and allow control of the smart plugs through either the manufacturer app or HomeKit. The integration with HomeKit was simple and you can be using Siri voice commands and HomeKit to control these smart plugs in just a few minutes.
Vocolinc is a smaller brand than Wemo but they seem to have great build quality, connect reliably and offer the majority of the same features as the Wemo smart plugs. The smart plugs connect directly to your wifi network and allow both control in your home or remotely when you are away from your home.
What I like about these switches is the less is more approach with the Vocolinc manufacturer app. If you are getting these smart plugs it is most likely because you want to control them with HomeKit, and Siri voice commands. So it seems like the manufacturer focused on making the connection to HomeKit simple, reliable and robust rather than building out a ton of extra features in it’s app.
I think they made the right choice focusing on making a strong connection to HomeKit because most HomeKit users will end up using Siri and HomeKit to control the smart plugs more often than not.
These smart plugs from Koogeek work with HomeKit and are one of the more popular smart plugs that works with HomeKit on the market. They reliably connect to wifi and HomeKit but they have one drawback in my opinion. They are more square shaped than the thinner profile of the WeMo and Vocolinc smart plugs which can lead to outlet crowding with these devices.
From a standpoint of installation, reliability and compatibility these smart plugs will work with HomeKit just like the other smart plugs we have listed it’s really just the form factor that places them lower than the other options ranked higher.
To install these smart plugs, you power them up, follow the instructions in the app, connect them to wifi then add them to HomeKit once they are set up on the Koogeek App. A nifty feature of these smart plugs is that they will track energy usage and load on the manufacturer app. If you want to survey how much power a device is using in your home these smart plugs could be helpful.
These smart plugs are compatible with HomeKit, Alexa and Google Home covering the most popular smart voice assistants on the market.
These smart plugs from iDevices work with HomeKit and offer a unique slim profile for plugging into your existing outlets. Most other smart plugs have the plugs centered inline on the front face of the smart plug. This can sometimes lead to overcrowding the outlets if you have a large plug or transformer that needs to be placed in the plug.
The iDevices have the outlet placed on the end of the device which frees up space for plugs below and can make it easier to run cords without interfering with other devices.
The iDevices smart plugs offer easy setup, plug them in, follow the instructions on the manufacturer app and then connect the smart plug to HomeKit. These smart plugs offer scheduling, energy monitoring and can be controlled within the home or remotely.
The iDevices smart plugs support HomeKit integration and work with Siri voice commands like “Siri, turn of the lights.” They have a good form factor, and the end mounted outlet does offer a unique solution to outlet and cord overcrowding.
Summary: Best Smart Plugs That Work With HomeKit
Each one of the smart plugs we have listed will work with HomeKit. In deciding which smart plug is right for you it really comes down to which form factor you like and how you will be using the smart plugs. In general the slimmer profile smart plugs will make it easier to install multiple smart plugs in one location or connect other devices that require permanent power.
Overall adding smart plugs to your home helps integrate non smart devices into your smart home ecosystem. Adding smart plugs to bedside lamps is a game changer and I can almost guarantee you will be satisfied when you’re laying in bed and turn off your bedside lamp for the first time using your voice.
I never realized how much I use the voice commands to control my smart home lighting until I found myself in a hotel at the end of a long day of travel and realized I couldn’t use my voice to turn off the hotel lights. Needless I dragged myself out of bed only too trip on my shoes I had kicked off on the way in. In that moment it was cemented in my mind just how great HomeKit integration is with smart plugs like the ones we’ve listed above.
