CES 2016: iHome Announces HomeKit-Compatible SmartPlug With Power Monitoring and Remote Control - MacRumorsOpen MenuShow RoundupsShow Forums menuVisit ForumsOpen Sidebar
Skip to Content

CES 2016: iHome Announces HomeKit-Compatible SmartPlug With Power Monitoring and Remote Control

by

iHome was one of the first companies to come out with a HomeKit-compatible product, debuting its iSP5 SmartPlug in the summer of 2015. At this year's Consumer Electronics Show, iHome is announcing the successor to the iSP5 SmartPlug, the iSP8 SmartPlug.

While the Wi-Fi-connected iSP5 simply turned a dumb appliance into a smart appliance and allowed it to be turned on and off with Siri, the iSP8 is a more advanced product that adds power consumption monitoring. In addition to functioning as a smart outlet like the original iSP5, the iSP8 SmartPlug will collect data on how much power an appliance is using, aggregating the information in the accompanying iHome Control app.

ihomesmartplug
The iSP8 also ships with a remote control that's able to control the SmartPlug without requiring access to an iPhone or iPad. The iSP8 SmartPlug will be available later in the year for $49.99.

Top Rated Comments

133 months ago
At $50 per plug, I am likely spending more money on plugs than I would save by reviewing the energy used.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
justperry Avatar
133 months ago
Separate remote is not so smart. App?
There is an App, it can be controlled by Siri so it is smart, the remote is just an on/off switch.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ArtOfWarfare Avatar
133 months ago
Yes, but that's what it means to be a geek. We spend hours to get performance increases that can only be measured in nanoseconds and a fortune to quantify our expenditures.
I review this chart before undertaking any automation tasks:
https://xkcd.com/1205/
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Chuck Kostalnick Avatar
133 months ago
Only a single plug... Should've put two or three that are able to be controlled by HomeKit. Something like a Red, Green, or Blue indicator around them so you can identify them via the App.

At $50 per plug, this is probably the largest thing slowing HomeKit's growth.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
133 months ago
Hmm, HomeKit could really do with logging and dashboards, a bit like the health app for HealthKit, so that information about your house like this could be logged centrally rather than spread across separate apps.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
133 months ago
Only a single plug... Should've put two or three that are able to be controlled by HomeKit. Something like a Red, Green, or Blue indicator around them so you can identify them via the App.

At $50 per plug, this is probably the largest thing slowing HomeKit's growth.
Exactly. I had an iDevices Switch until this morning, worked great for Xmas lights but it being a one-trick pony I didn't have any use after that to justify keeping. CES 2015 Incipio had some more affordable HomeKit devices but turned out to be vaporware. When they get down to the $20-$30 range then I can see replacing throughout the house.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

imac video apple feature

Apple Released Yet Another New Product Today

Friday March 20, 2026 2:39 pm PDT by
Apple has unveiled a whopping nine new products so far this March, including an iPhone 17e, iPad Air models with the M4 chip, MacBook Air models with the M5 chip, MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, the all-new MacBook Neo, an updated Studio Display, a higher-end Studio Display XDR, AirPods Max 2, and now the Nike Powerbeats Pro 2. iPhone 17e features the same overall design as...
ios 26 4 pastel

iOS 26.4: Top 10 New Features Coming to Your iPhone

Friday March 20, 2026 2:44 pm PDT by
iOS 26.4 isn't the major update with new Siri features that we hoped for, but there are some useful quality of life improvements, and a little bit of fun with an AI playlist generator and new emoji characters. Playlist Playground - Apple Music has a Playlist Playground option that lets you generate playlists from text-based descriptions. You can include moods, feelings, activities, or...
iPhone 18 Pro Deep Red Feature

iPhone 18 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 12 New Features

Wednesday March 18, 2026 7:39 am PDT by
While the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are not expected to launch for another six months or so, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. It was initially reported that the iPhone 18 Pro models would have fully under-screen Face ID, with only a front camera visible in the top-left corner of the screen. However, the latest rumors indicate that only one Face ID component...
Related Apple News: Iphone | Halide | Bird Buddy | Add Airtag To Find My Iphone | Use Text Shortcuts On Apple Devices