If you are eager to increase the range of your home’s devices that are compatible with Apple’s HomeKit, inexpensive help could soon be at hand in the form of a new smart plug. IKEA appears to have leaked details of a new, HomeKit-supporting smart plug reportedly set for an October release.
The Swedish tech blog Teknikveckan claims that the plug will be an addition to IKEA’s TRÅDFRI line of smart products. Other details provided by the site’s anonymous sources include that the plug alone will cost the equivalent of $10, with this price increased to $15 for a bundle including a remote.
The power button will feature a back-plated magnet which can easily be attached to metal surfaces such as the supplied wall bracket. The button itself will have a 10-meter range.
Teknikveckan has also shared a screenshot, posted in part above, of what looks like the plug featured in IKEA’s internal product database. The plug’s design is, perhaps unsurprisingly given the product’s supposed budget pricing, reminiscent of many other smart plugs already commercially available.
Sadly, it doesn’t bode well for this smart plug that the reliability of other products in the TRÅDFRI range has come under question. It is also unknown when the plug will launch in the US, if at all, as the mentioned October release date could pertain only to the Swedish market.