CES 2016: iHome Announces HomeKit-Compatible SmartPlug With Power Monitoring and Remote Control

Tuesday January 5, 2016 10:35 AM PST by Juli Clover
iHome was one of the first companies to come out with a HomeKit-compatible product, debuting its iSP5 SmartPlug in the summer of 2015. At this year's Consumer Electronics Show, iHome is announcing the successor to the iSP5 SmartPlug, the iSP8 SmartPlug.

While the Wi-Fi-connected iSP5 simply turned a dumb appliance into a smart appliance and allowed it to be turned on and off with Siri, the iSP8 is a more advanced product that adds power consumption monitoring. In addition to functioning as a smart outlet like the original iSP5, the iSP8 SmartPlug will collect data on how much power an appliance is using, aggregating the information in the accompanying iHome Control app.

ihomesmartplug
The iSP8 also ships with a remote control that's able to control the SmartPlug without requiring access to an iPhone or iPad. The iSP8 SmartPlug will be available later in the year for $49.99.

Tags: HomeKit Guide, iHome, CES 2016, iSP8 SmartPlug
15 comments


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PhoenixDown
49 months ago
At $50 per plug, I am likely spending more money on plugs than I would save by reviewing the energy used.
Rating: 3 Votes
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justperry
49 months ago

Separate remote is not so smart. App?


There is an App, it can be controlled by Siri so it is smart, the remote is just an on/off switch.
Rating: 3 Votes
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ArtOfWarfare
49 months ago

Yes, but that's what it means to be a geek. We spend hours to get performance increases that can only be measured in nanoseconds and a fortune to quantify our expenditures.


I review this chart before undertaking any automation tasks:
https://xkcd.com/1205/
Rating: 2 Votes
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Chuck Kostalnick
49 months ago
Only a single plug... Should've put two or three that are able to be controlled by HomeKit. Something like a Red, Green, or Blue indicator around them so you can identify them via the App.

At $50 per plug, this is probably the largest thing slowing HomeKit's growth.
Rating: 2 Votes
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Fabian90
49 months ago
Separate remote is not so smart. App?
Rating: 1 Votes
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tasset
49 months ago

Only a single plug... Should've put two or three that are able to be controlled by HomeKit. Something like a Red, Green, or Blue indicator around them so you can identify them via the App.

At $50 per plug, this is probably the largest thing slowing HomeKit's growth.

Exactly. I had an iDevices Switch until this morning, worked great for Xmas lights but it being a one-trick pony I didn't have any use after that to justify keeping. CES 2015 Incipio had some more affordable HomeKit devices but turned out to be vaporware. When they get down to the $20-$30 range then I can see replacing throughout the house.
Rating: 1 Votes
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tuckerjj
49 months ago
Hmm, HomeKit could really do with logging and dashboards, a bit like the health app for HealthKit, so that information about your house like this could be logged centrally rather than spread across separate apps.
Rating: 1 Votes
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