Belkin is introducing two new smart home products at CES 2017 this week, including the WeMo Mini smart plug and WeMo Dimmer light switch.
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The WeMo Mini is a compact smart plug that is half the size of the older WeMo Switch smart plug, allowing homeowners to stack two of them in a single wall outlet. The smart plug enables homeowners to wirelessly control lamps, heaters, fans, and more over Wi-Fi using the free WeMo app for iPhone [Direct Link].
The WeMo Mini can be controlled remotely as well with an iPhone or iPad connected to a cellular network, with no hub or subscription required. The smart plug also supports Amazon Echo and Google Home for control via voice commands, and IFTTT and "home" and "away" modes on Nest thermostats.
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The WeMo Dimmer, a CES 2017 Innovations Award Honoree, is Belkin's next-generation smart dimming light switch with new features such as Night Mode, which prevents harsh lights at night, and a customized bulb calibration.
Current dimmer products have a single dimming range for all bulb types, which tends to create flickering and noise issues, but Wemo Dimmer uses the Wemo app to custom calibrate for any bulb type including incandescents (up to 400 watts), CFLs or LEDs, to eliminate those annoyances. In addition, Night Mode enables users to set a specific level of brightness during a set period of time, which is ideal for middle-of-the-night bathroom trips or checking on the kids when they are asleep.
The WeMo Dimmer, like the Mini Smart Plug, is compatible with Amazon Echo and Google Home for dimming and on/off control via voice commands, as well as the Nest thermostat's "home" and "away" modes.
WeMo Mini is available now for pre-order on Belkin's website for $34.99, and will be in stores later in January. The WeMo Dimmer will be available in the spring, but pricing has not been finalized. WeMo products do not support HomeKit, as Belkin placed plans to support the Apple platform on hold last year.
Top Rated Comments
Essentially if you have Google Home or the Amazon Echo, it already can turn on/off lights, a dimmer seems convenient, but only for specific lights. I'm not sure what the comparability would be.
main reason is to control multiple standard lights with a single smart switch. The alternative would be something like Hue or other zigbee lights, where you need to replace all your bulbs with expensive smart bulbs. Depending on how many lights you have in your rooms, it can be much more cost effective to have the smarts at the switch rather than in each bulb