an impressive smart plug for the masses

The smart home realm of 2018 is a confusing world for a consumer. But Belkin WeMo is here with an outlet that works with many ecosystems, and we’ll take all the help we can get.

WeMo’s Mini smart plug can turn a basic electric outlet into a smart one for just $34.99. Better yet, the veteran brand is reliably good about frequent software updates. The latest update brings Apple HomeKit support without the need for a “bridge,” (that clunky hunk of hardware that’s needed to connect with different smart homes and can be a hassle to maintain).

WeMo wants to attract new and old customers to adapt to this smart plug, which is smaller than competitors, but at $34.99 cheaper options are abound on Amazon from lesser known brands.

That said, does the WeMo Mini smart plug pack a punch with a small, nearly $35-package?

A simple design

There’s not much to the smart plug, physically speaking. It weighs 3.2-ounces and measures 3.8 inches wide x 1.4 inches tall x 2.4 inches thick. The design team went with a short, rectangular shape to allow space for two units to plug into the same outlet, which is an improvement upon previous models that were too big to share the use of other outlets.

WeMo opted for an all-white colorway, likely to blend easily into your room; the front features a faint WeMo logo, standard power port, and a power button. There’s also a small LED light for status. The back has the serial number, some model information, and a plug. In all, super minimal.

The WeMo app is a mixed bag

The companion app, however, is a different story. In order to setup with WeMo Mini smart plug, you’ll have to use a proprietary WeMo app for iOS and Android. If you already have other WeMo devices or plan on getting more in the future, this will be home base for all of them. Updating them, naming them, and keeping them in check all happens in the app. 

While the app’s aesthetics leave much to be desired, and it also lacks in features, the setup process is relatively simple, and WeMo makes it easy to connect to external smart home platforms. 

The setup process begins automatically as soon as you plug the WeMo Mini into an outlet for the first time and open the app. Rather than pair via Bluetooth, Z-Wave, or ZigBee, it connects through a WiFi account named “WEMO.”

The setup process takes a few minutes, which is frustrating, and I ended up quitting out of the app, reopening it, and giving it a few minutes before it finally connected.

But once connected, it’s easy to turn your WeMo unit on or off, set a schedule, and customize actions, all right from the app’s screen, and if you connect it through HomeKit, you open up the option of control via Siri on any iOS device, Apple TV, or a HomePod.

HomeKit joins the WeMo compatibility party

Since HomeKit support was added in July, your WeMo Mini might have been packed prior and come to you without that update out of the box; it took about five minutes after I updated the unit before it appeared on my Home app, but once I saw it, the connection was easy. 

The WeMo Mini is the only WeMo product with HomeKit compatibility out of the box (otherwise you’ll need the aforementioned WeMo Bridge), but the company says it plans to release updates that add support to other devices. 

It’s also really easy to add compatibility with IFTTT, the Google Assistant, Nest, and Amazon Alexa.

Keeping cool with the WeMo Mini

It’s been a hot, humid summer where I live in New Jersey, so I wanted to see how the WeMo Mini could handle a non-smart device (my wall-mounted AC unit) and turn it into a smart one. The integration with HomeKit and Alexa was quite useful here.

Even better, the WeMo Mini remembers the WiFi network unless you restore it, which allowed me to move the plug around my house efficiently. 

Using the app, I was able to turn my AC on while still commuting home, and shut it off when I got cold in the middle of the night. Super convenient, but while some smart plugs offer ways to monitor your energy consumption, the WeMo Mini unfortunately does not have this feature.

An easy way to make a dumb outlet smart

Bottom line, at $34.99, the WeMo Mini is an affordable smart outlet that works with a plethora of smart home platforms. Without spending a chunk of change, you’re buying into a flexible system from a veteran brand that has a good chance of staying around for quite some time.