Leviton is one of the more well-known makers of Alexa and HomeKit-enabled smart home accessories. A selection of in-wall dimmers and light switches headline its Decora products. But now for its latest release, the company is debuting a new device that’s not mounted in-wall, the Mini Plug-in Outlet. Head below for all the details.
Smart plugs are one of the most fought over home automation accessories on the market. These days, almost every single manufacturer in the space, big or small, has their own version. Smart plugs are, for the most part, all based around their own first party apps, further fragmenting the already segmented smart home ecosystems. Leviton is now debuting its latest Decora-compatible device, the Mini Plug-in Outlet.
Leviton’s Decora series of smart home products have nearly all been of the in-wall variety. We’re talking smart dimmers and light switches along with two-port outlets and more. All of these accessories are based around hub-less designs, which allow the devices to work independently of additional hardware.
Now the company is refreshing the design of its existing smart plug with a more compact form-factor and extra functionality. Voice control just about always headlines any smart home device’s feature set. That’s no exception here, as Alexa and Assistant support are baked right in. There’s also Nest and IFTTT integration, which is a pretty standard these days as well. Unfortunately, you won’t find HomeKit compatibility anywhere on its list of features.
Those already invested in Leviton’s Decora ecosystem will appreciate the Mini Plug-in Outlet. It means one less app to download and fuss with, which is always something to be desired. But for just about everyone else, there’s nothing here that another smart plug doesn’t do.
The lack of HomeKit support really holds the new smart outlet back in my opinion. Given that other devices in the Decora line come imbued with Siri integration, it’s entirely possible that it could have been included. Though to keep pricing down, I suspect it was nixed.
Speaking of pricing, so far no details on that or availability have been announced. We’ve reached out for clarification on this, but have yet to hear back. Leviton’s current smart plug sells for $35, meaning we’re likely to see the mini version enter in a similar price range. If the Mini Plug-in Outlet can enter at a sub-$30 price tag, I think it’ll be a big hit. Otherwise it’ll be competing with more full-featured alternatives from the likes of Wemo.
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