Onvis has released a new outdoor smart plug that checks all the boxes you’d want in an outdoor smart plug: Matter over Thread, real-time energy monitoring, and IP65 weather resistance. If you’ve been looking for an outdoor plug that works natively with Apple Home without a hub of its own, this is a great option as you think outdoor lighting for Christmas, etc.
HomeKit Weekly is a series focused on smart home accessories, automation tips and tricks, and everything to do with Apple’s smart home framework.
Most of your outdoor smart plugs that work with Apple HomeKit over Wi-Fi depend on your router’s signal reaching outside, which depending on what your house is made out of (mine is brick for example, so Wi-Fi outdoors can be rough). Thread is a mesh protocol in which devices route traffic through one another, making it more reliable for outdoor locations that might be on the edge of your Wi-Fi coverage.
Onvis built this plug on top Matter over Thread, so it works with Apple Home, Amazon Alexa, Google Home, and SmartThings without being locked into any single smart home platform. You do need a HomePod, HomePod mini, or Apple TV 4K to take full advantage of it, though.
Energy monitoring
A really nice feature for this plug is that it tracks real-time power usage and energy consumption through your Matter-compatible smart home system, so you can see exactly how much electricity your landscape lighting, pool pump, or outdoor heater is using. That data appears directly in Apple Home’s energy view without requiring a separate app as well.
Onvis’s outdoor smart plug is rated IP65, which means that it’s protected against dust and low-pressure water jets (from sprinklers or rain). It handles up to 1800 watts, which is enough for landscape lighting, holiday decorations, outdoor fans, etc.
Schedules and automations work natively inside of Apple Home, so you can set landscape lights to turn on at sunset and off at a specific time without building anything complicated.
Wrap up
Onvis is filling a nice product gap at a good price point with its new outdoor plug that has Matter over Thread, energy monitoring, etc. If you’ve been waiting to buy an outdoor plug that has all the modern smart home tech built in, this is a great pickup. They’ve been a solid vendor for Apple Home for years as well.
The Onvis Outdoor Smart Plug is available now on Amazon.