Smart plugs have become most people’s first step towards the conveniences that come with living in a smart home. With voice control and energy monitoring included as some of the things that you get to enjoy by having a Wi-Fi smart plug connected to your appliance, it’s no wonder that smart outlets like the Teckin Smart Plug Mini continue to become a lot more popular among people. This particular smart Wi-Fi plug is a great pick because it doesn’t take up all the space in your wall socket, and it won’t need to be connected to a hub to work. Could it be the best smart outlet for you? Well, lets see.
Why We Like It – Teckin Smart Plug
As the race to produce the smallest smart plug continues, the Teckin Smart Plug Mini seems to be enjoying a very comfortable lead. The plug comes with support for both Amazon Alexa and Google Home, though users of the Apple Homekit may have to look for another alternative.
- Alexa Google Assistant both supported
- Small compact size
- IFTTT support & energy use monitoring
- No Apple Homekit support
Performance
The most popular app to use with the Mini Teckin Smart plug is the Smart Life App. This isn’t to say that the smart outlet won’t work with others, but Smart Life just so happens to be the most preferred. Once you plug it into your socket, you’ll need to connect it to your home Wi-Fi network, and you’ll be all set. For those who are conscious about power consumption in their homes, this plug allows you to monitor the energy usage of your lights and appliances, giving you an idea of just how much electricity it takes to keep your stuff running. Remote control of your devices is also possible through the app, as is scheduling different devices to turn on or off at different times.
Design
Turning your appliances into smart devices doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll have to hog all the space on your wall socket. The Tekin Mini Smart Plug measures 2.1 x 2.1 x 2.1 inches, and is much smaller than both the Kasa Smart Wi-Fi plug and the Wemo Mini Smart Plug. It’s round shape is also much preferable compared to the rectangular Kasa Smart plug, though this only matters if you have a lot of devices to connect and not that many sockets.
Value
Most smart home devices that cost as little as the Tekin Mini does aren’t really capable of advanced features like energy monitoring, and the Amazon Smart Plug is one example. The fact that this affordable Teckin Smart Plug Mini can integrate with a voice assistant like Google Assistant, or get set up through the Alexa app makes it one of the best smart plugs we could vouch for. You get to control it through a free app, and its size (which is similar to that of the Gosund Mini Smart Plug) is small enough not to block out two outlets on your wall socket or power strip. A wireless smart power strip that you can use to control your home or office appliances is described in our Monoprice wireless smart power strip review.
Teckin Smart Plug Wrap Up
The only issue we have with the Teckin Mini Smart Wi-Fi plug is that it works for both Amazon Alexa Google Assistant, but it leaves out users of the Apple Homekit. This might be the only thing that keeps it from being the best smart plug in our opinion. Otherwise, if you use either Alexa Google Home, then you shouldn’t have a problem with it.
