Voice control your dump appliances with just a plug. Yup, you can make your appliances smart with the new product from Amazon. The e-commerce giant has launched Amazon Smart Plug in India.
The Amazon Smart Plug essentially act as the middle man between the power socket and your appliances. Once connected, it will work with Alexa to add voice control to any socket. Thus you could use the Alexa app or any Alexa-enabled smart speakers like Echo devices, to essentially switch on or off the connected appliance.
First, to the pricing, the Amazon Smart Plug is priced at Rs 1,999 in India. You only get a single white colour option of the device. Amazon is currently offering a discount for the device when paring with Echo Dot and Echo Dot with Clock.
Amazon Smart Plug Features and Specifications
Installation is pretty easy for Amazon Smart Plug, as we said earlier just plug the device in your power socket and connect the appliance to the Smart Plug. The smart plug has a 3-pin socket design and can take up to a maximum load of 6A. It’s been rated for 220V to 240 V, 50/60 Hz and at a maximum 6A for both input and output.
As for connectivity, the Amazon Smart Plug uses 2.4 GHz 802.11 b/g/n WiFi network. However, it does not support 5 GHz networks or connecting to ad-hoc (or peer-to-peer) WiFi networks. There is a, on and off switch on the side of the device to physically switch-off the connection. It also has an LED indicator on the front.
Once you have plugged-in your appliance to Amazon Smart Plug and connected it to your home WiFi network, you can start using it with Alexa. It’s compatible with Echo, Fire TV or any Alexa device including the Alexa app in Android or iOS devices. You can use voice command to control any connected appliances like lamps, table fans, electric kettles, TVs and more.
You could say like “Alexa turn on the lights”, to switch on your lamp light connected to the power socket with Amazon Smart Plug. You can also use the Alexa app to create schedules to automate your day-to-day activities with the device. For example, you can create a morning routine that turns on the electric kettle at a prescribed time in the morning with a single request.
Amazon Smart Plug can work with devices that take a maximum load of 6A, like your TV, mobile charger, lamps, kettle and other appliances. It won’t work with heavy appliances such as AC, Geyser or Water Heater. There is a fair bit of warning from the company, as connecting heavy appliances would result in the appliance and Plug failure.