Gabe Turner: Hey, folks. This is Gabe at Security Baron. Do you want to have remote control
of the power that goes to your devices no matter where you happen to be in the world?
Well, we may have just the solution for you today in our review of the Amazon Smart Plug.
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Gabe: In today's review of the Amazon Smart Plug, I'm going to go over some pros and cons,
its design, its feature set, the installation process before diving into its mobile application
-- the Amazon Alexa app -- to make sure you have all the information you need to know
to make the right decision.
If you want to see a list of our favorite smart plugs, google "Security Baron best smart
plugs." If you have a question about today's review, leave us a comment and I'll get back
to you.
Let's kick off today's review of the Amazon Smart Plug going over a few pros and cons,
beginning with the pros. It is immediately integrated into your Amazon Alexa, so you'll
be able to use your voice and that virtual assistant to control it from a minute in.
So that's a really important element.
Another one is that you can actually stack these smart plugs. If you have a traditional
outlet with those two three-pronged spaces, you should be able to stack both of your Amazon
Smart Plugs on top of one another and use it.
When it comes to cons, while Amazon Alexa does give you a lot of capabilities, it is
not the most intuitive app in my opinion when it comes to the Amazon Smart Plug because
there are so many things one can do in the app. Generally, it doesn't make for the quickest
and most convenient experience of setting up schedules or things of that nature right
inside of the app.
Now that we've gone over the pros and cons for the Amazon Smart Plug, let's check out
its design. It has a clean, white aesthetic. You see at the top, it has this Amazon logo,
which is pretty subtle. On the front, you have the ability to put in both two and three-pronged
devices and you have this indicator light that will be blue when in use or when being
set up.
On the side of the device, you have this physical button. This allows you to control it manually
in case something's going wrong with your mobile device or you can't control it with
your voice, anything of that nature, which is something really useful to have. On the
back, you have three prongs which would go into your traditional outlets.
Generally, you have two spaces for three-pronged devices and, fortunately, this device is stackable.
It's thin enough that you can place two of these Amazon Smart Plugs on top of one another
without having to worry about sacrificing space. Overall, I have to state that I do
appreciate the design on Amazon's first foray into the smart plug market.
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Gabe: Whoa, hold on. I hope you're enjoying today's review of the Amazon Smart Plug. If
you want to be kept up to date on the newest in smart plugs, smart home security, cyber
security, and more, subscribe to our channel, Security Baron. We're dropping new, hot content
weekly. All right, let's get back to the video.
Now that we've gone over the pros and cons and the design on the Amazon Smart Plug, let's
talk about its feature set, with a primary functionality being, of course, that remote
ability to control it. I can be anywhere in the world as long as I have access to my Amazon
Alexa app, I can turn things on and off.
Any appliance I have connected to this smart plug will turn off at the tap of a button.
It's really useful when you're wondering, "Did I actually turn off my iron this morning
after I ironed my shirt to go to work? I'm not certain. Don't want to burn the house
down." Well, boom, I tap. I know it's off. No electric current going to that device.
The second element people are looking for when it comes to a smart plug is that voice
control. Sometimes you just want to walk into a room and be able to control things. We all
like that sense of power. In terms of the Amazon Smart Plug, you get it when it comes
to Amazon Alexa.
You immediately integrate it into your Amazon Alexa app, which means that any Amazon Echo
Show, Echo Dot, this Alexa-enabled speaker in your home can help you control the smart
plug. You can say, "Turn off Amazon Smart Plug. Turn it on." Regardless, you're going
to have that control in being able to make sure things are working the way you want to
without even going into your mobile device.
Another element of Amazon Alexa app that really brings out the capabilities of the Amazon
Smart Plug is Routines. With Routines, you have the ability to get a lot more out of
your Amazon Smart Plug and that works in two functions. You can set up a schedule in Routines
that has your Amazon Smart Plug turn off, for example, every night at 10 o'clock to
help remind you to go to bed.
Additionally, when it comes to home automation, you can actually place your smart plug in
a group. If you place it in that group, it will turn on or off as designated. If I have
a room in which I want everything to come on at the same time, I place that Amazon Smart
Plug in that group and then I can just hit for that group to turn on and then that entire
process will begin.
I can have it all turn on or turn off based on grouping. When it comes to schedules and
groups, you're really able to get a lot more when it comes to home automation with your
Amazon Smart Plug and the Amazon Alexa app. Overall, I do think you get some solid features
out of your Amazon Smart Plug.
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Gabe: Now let's talk about the installation process for your Amazon Smart Plug and it
could not be easier. In terms of setting it up, it's straight forward. You're going to
take out your smart plug, plug it into an outlet, go into your Amazon Alexa app, go
to "Add Device."
When you hit "Add Device" it's going to ask you, "What type?" You're going to say, "A
plug." Then it'll say, "From who?" and you say, "From Amazon." And then it'll ask you
to scan the 2D barcode that comes in your box. You'll scan that barcode. It'll look
for it for a moment, then boom. You're set up. You're ready to go.
You can rename your smart plug. You can decide which groups to put it in. Overall, it's going
to take you no time at all to have it set up.
Now that we have our Amazon Smart Plug installed, let's go ahead and check out its mobile application,
the Amazon Alexa app. This is where you're going to be interfacing with your device,
setting up your device, and just turning things on and off. Fortunately, people seem to be
enjoying that experience.
In the Google Play store, it has a 3.9 out of 5-star rating and, in the Apple app store,
it has a 4.5 out of 5-star rating. Let's go ahead and check it out on my iPhone 7 Plus.
Here I am checking out the Amazon Smart Plug in the Amazon Alexa app. Let's go in and check
out that primary function of being able to turn this plug on and off from wherever I
am in the world. I go to "Plugs" at the top. I tap on "Off" where it says "First Plug,"
which I've named my "Amazon Alexa," or rather my "Amazon Smart Plug," and boom.
There it's turned off. I've removed the current. The bulb is done for. You heard the mechanical
click letting me know that that's gone down. I can go ahead and tap again, and boom, we're
back at it.
It's pretty great that I have the ability to control the Amazon Smart Plug from anywhere
in the world with just the tap of my finger. Of course, a great pull, a great draw for
the Amazon Smart Plug is the fact that it integrates with so many Amazon virtual assistant-enabled
devices. I can just use my voice to control them like so. Turn off first plug.
[click]
Gabe: Voila. Here now you heard the mechanical click. I was able to turn it off and, therefore,
turn off my bulb just using my voice. I can use that same voice, that same voice assistant
technology to turn it back on. I can say, "Turn on first plug."
[click]
Gabe: Let there be light. So that's a really cool and easy feature for the Amazon Smart
Plug, but let's check out some of the other capabilities like grouping.
You'll note here that I have just named a room "Amazon Room" and there I have my plug.
I go into "Amazon Room." Right now, there's just one plug. I can decide to turn them all
on or all off. If I hit "All Off," you'll see it turns off. Or "All On."
The thing is I can add a number of different Amazon devices to this group. I can have multiple
plugs. I can have first, second, third, fourth Amazon plugs, plug them up around my house,
and have them work in conjunction. Or I can just name separate groups for separate Amazon
Smart Plugs and use them in that fashion.
It really gives you the ability to control a number of devices with just one button or
just one command using that voice assistant technology. Let's go ahead and check out some
of the other capabilities like scheduling.
If I go into the upper left-hand corner in the Amazon Alexa app, you'll note that you
get a number of options like "Add Device," "Reminders" and "Alarms," but we want to go
to "Routines." In Routines, you'll note that I already have a few established, like weekdays
at 7:50, Sunday at 10:07. These are just times at which I've decided I want my Amazon Smart
Plug to come on or off.
The way I set that up is I go to plus sign in the upper right-hand corner. Then I go
to "When this happens." Let's say I go to "Schedule" in the upper right-hand corner
and then the time, let's say 10:00 PM or 10:35 PM. I need to start going to bed. I hit "Select"
and then I say, "Every weekday." I go to "Done" and then I hit "Next."
Now, what is the action that I want to take place? That's the next question they ask you
when you're setting up a routine. There are a lot of things you could set up. I'm using
the Amazon app, but we're going to go to "Smart Home," "All Devices," and we're going to find
that first plug which we've named our "Amazon Smart Plug." Here I wanted to turn off.
This means every weekday at 10:00 PM, it'll turn off. It'll be a visual reminder that
"Hey, you need to start your process for getting ready to go to bed. I hit "Next" and boom.
Now, I've created this routine. Now, you see this routine for weekdays at 10:35. My first
plug will go off.
You can do the same thing for a number of devices in one group and that's a really useful
element of the Amazon app as it pertains to the Amazon Smart Plug. That's our look at
the Amazon Smart Plug in the Amazon Alexa mobile application.
You'll note that we get some pretty important core functionality out of the mobile application
but because it is such a broad app that covers thousands of devices, it may not be the most
intuitive and convenient when it comes to a relatively simple device like a smart plug.
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Gabe: We've come a long way with our Amazon Smart Plug and you're saying, "Hey, Gabe,
come on, be real with me. Is this the right one for me?"
I'll say this, if you're looking for a smart plug that is easy to set up, a smart plug
that's going to integrate really well with your Amazon ecosystem in terms of controlling
it remotely or controlling it with your voice, then look no further than the Amazon Smart
Plug.
However, if you're someone looking for the most affordable smart plug option or one that's
going to be super intuitive in terms of scheduling, then you may want to look somewhere else.
Overall, I personally think that at $24.99 the Amazon Smart Plug is a solid contender
for anyone trying to get into the smart plug game.
That concludes our review of the Amazon Smart Plug. If you appreciated today's video, give
us a like and hit that "Subscribe" button. As always, this is Gabe at Security Baron.
Be secure.
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