Goood morning amigos!
We are BACK! Yep – 2 weeks off and no server talk, API events, Bugs, Apps, Cloud, FW, HW, maintenance, updates, storage etc blah blah. Truth be told, we’ve actually missed it, but the good news is we can talk about it all year until next Xmas!
We’ve got some GREAT news!
We got into Techstars – the biggest accelerator for startups on the planet, so we must be doing something right and we are as it goes! (more news next month)
We’ve built a fully functioning, scalable Internet of Things cloud, meaning that after spending over 40,000 hours building to work great with smart plugs, we can now leverage the entire build and help other companies connect their ‘dumb’ stuff to our cloud and make it smart. These can literally be anything, a smart wallet, a smart cupboard, garage doors, radiators, dishwashers – it doesn’t need a plug, although, if it did, we would be the guys to do it!
The reason we get so much attention isn’t really our smart home offering, even though it’s cool as hell and still the only UK plug to work with Siri, Alexa, Google, Cortana and IFTT out of the box. it’s down to out Open API platform which is in our DNA, no other smart home product on the planet offers it, meaning cloud connections and connecting to other companies is super straight forward.
(1) Energy consumption analytics only available on select WIFIPLUG models.
(2) Overload event pending WIFIPLUG HOME 1.1.6+ firmware update (release date TBC).
Well if truth be told it’s taken about 2 months to get our new site down to 2 seconds, but as we all know, every second
We dread to think how many good soldiers we lost on the way as they waited for our old site to load up.
Check out the before and after!
That shows an 88% decrease in load times!
If you have a website check out GTmetrix, this has been our bible as we aim to build the fastest website out there.
Happy shopping!
Luckily the guys over at Apple saved us a pretty big job – we get so many requests from customers wanting to control their plugs from their Macs and with Apples latest software update, launching on 24th September you can do just that!
Download MacOS Mojave and control from your desktop!
It’s all too easy to forget about the puns we come up with on a daily basis, I’m sure there awards for this kind of thing!
OK, OK, let me tell you what we have been up to this month – There is going to be a huge update on our API with a fully overhauled billing platform for hobbyists (free) and our B2B customers (not free).
Here is a sneak preview. It’s Launching July 2018
In our office, we have been testing what’s on offer from the latest voice assistants: the Amazon Echo, Apple HomePod and the Google Home. It’s undeniable that the sound quality from the HomePod wipes the floor with the competition. The noise it can generate really is simply tremendous and it doesn’t deteriorate when you want to turn it up; believe us when we say: it goes LOUD! You can also talk to Siri more naturally than you can Alexa or Google Assistant. You don’t have to say: “Hey Siri” and then take a gigantic pause while it registers you want something from it. Despite all the mixed PR the HomePod’s had, we love it! That said, we also think the Echo and Google Home have many redeeming features: Alexa is undeniably the smartest AI engine and has the most ‘skills’ meaning integration with third-party apps is a breeze. She is also more intuitive and seems to be able to use her ‘initiative’ more when you ask her to execute commands. The Google Assistant’s most useful feature is the fact it leverages Google’s search engine and can answer all manner of questions on just about any topic.
Most online articles that discuss the functionality of voice assistant hardware present features as a kind of choice but in a modern household, with different preferences and gadget loyalty, we think it’s about to become more of an ‘and’ issue than an ‘or’ one…
Over the next year, we don’t think it will be uncommon for a typical family to be a multi-assistant household. After all, it’s not unusual to see a mixture of Android and Apple phones all under one roof.
But that’s where the complications begin – there are a number of devices that work with two of the three voice platforms and a few that work with one. Devices that respond to voice commands from all voice assistance are few and far between. This can somewhat tedious for the end user who wants to be able to control everything from everywhere.
Introducing WIFIPLUG: In just a few minutes, you can be using your Android phone or Apple HomePod to control your electrical appliances and that control will be absolutely seamless. Turn your lamp on with Siri and then back off With Google Assistant. It couldn’t be easier!
It was no mean feat teaching WIFIPLUG to speak all languages but we did it and not to sound like a playground show-off, but we’re pretty sure we did it first! We’ve worked tirelessly and relentlessly to make our product top notch and multilingual, all in one smart (in fact, the SMARTest) little plug.
Clearly we love our gadgets here at WIFIPLUG. Our office frequently resembles the inside of a Millennium Falcon with all the research and development work we have going on. That said, we are determined to make technology as practical as possible and bring some great solutions to our end users this year.
With that in mind, we are in the process of diversifying our brand to incorporate either energy-saving or security solutions. This blog will focus on the latter – our aim is to make you more secure in your home using your WIFIPLUG and some revolutionary technology that’s coming your way!
WIFIPLUG is making connections with forward-thinking insurance companies who want to help protect their customers using SMART technology. Imagine if your home insurance could be reduced because your home is capable of letting you know something doesn’t look right; whether it’s that someone has opened a door, there’s a water leak, motion has been detected or your appliances or lights have been switched on, the ability to monitor and act on this quickly makes policy holders a lower risk than those who don’t have the ability to monitor their home.
We want to take advantage of this kind of technology in order to make you safer, whether you’re home or not. We want our app to recognise the heartbeat of your home and recognise if something looks out of place. We’re working on creating some clever AI algorithms that will learn the day-to-day activity in your house and let you know if something unexpected happens.
We are in the process of working with a number of other SMART companies: those concerned with security, those concerned with leak detection and even those concerned with other elements of SMART home. We want to create a consortium of companies who will be able to work together and bring security solutions to you so watch this space.
If you are interested in working with us, please get in touch.
Hello Pluggers! It’s been another busy month for us. We’ve launched a new firmware, a new iOS and Android app, and made significant changes to our cloud services. We are confident you will benefit from these updates and enjoy a great end-user experience. We’re still the only plug to work with all voice platforms without the need for any additional hardware and we’re pretty proud of that!
We’ve written a couple of blogs on IFTTT this month too. We really don’t want to go on about it too much but we are sure that if you check it out, you will absolutely love it! IFTTT is a great way to get your apps and devices talking to each other. For a number of people, the prospect of integrating WIFIPLUG with another app might seem pretty daunting but it’s honestly a piece of cake and you can find out how to do it here. We’ll even help you to get set up if you’re struggling! Once you get up and running, you can do things like set your lamp to come on when the sun goes down. IFTTT automatically updates the timers for you according to daylight changes and simply put, it’s brilliant! There are thousands of possibilities – in our office, we have the lights flashing every time the International Space Station goes by – but we appreciate that’s not for everyone (even though it’s probably the coolest thing we’ve ever heard of). We have put together a ‘Fun Things to Try’ page for our users so they can take advantage of some of the great uses for WIFIPLUG.
On that note, we’ve also started hearing about our customers’ positive experiences of WIFIPLUG. Last week, we heard from a customer who had integrated WIFIPLUG with a motion sensor in order to turn a light on when motion was detected, as well as sending a notification to the their phone. We thought this was a great integration (and again, wouldn’t be possible without IFTTT). Whether you are using your WIFIPLUG to operate a lamp or to set up a complex rule-based system, we hope you love the experience. We would love to hear about any other ingenious or inventive ways you are using your WIFIPLUG – get in touch on Twitter @wifiplug
So what’s the future looking like? Pretty good actually! We are developing some very cool features with Alexa, Siri and Google so watch this space for some combined functionality! We always like to dedicate some text to thanking our early adopter customers and acknowledge that without you, none of this would be possible.
As we’ve previously said, we’re a small company with big dreams and your commitment to us makes those dreams a reality – so once again, from the bottom of our hearts, thank you.
Happy plugging!
We’re always curious to know what our customers use our products for. It’s really interesting to hear where their needs stem from and how they have integrated WIFIPLUG into their home or SMART home. We think we’re pretty inventive but some of our customers have some absolutely fantastic uses for their plugs.
For instance, we spoke to a customer this week who had paired his WIFIPLUG up with a D-Link motion sensor in order to not only turn a light on but also, to notify him of the movement when it was detected. This was achieved by using IFTTT’s functionality. If you haven’t used IFTTT before, then we must urge you to stop reading this and check it out right away! We’ve previously written about our love for IFTTT so it’s excellent that we now have customers telling us how they’re using it! We partnered with IFTTT a few years ago and we genuinely can’t get enough of it!
Likewise, another customer uses their WIFIPLUGs as a way to check in on the movements of an elderly relative. They have two devices: one plugged into a lamp and the other plugged into the TV. Using the energy monitoring functionality of our app, they are able to see the family member is up and about without needing to take away their independence by constantly checking in.
Another customer we spoke to last week told us about how he has integrated WIFIPLUG with his solar power in his house. He has set up a timer (using IFTTT again of course!) so that when the sun comes out, his lithium-powered vacuum cleaner can go on charge. This means he is essentially charging his device for free without having to manually operate switches when the sun is out.
Whether you are using your WIFIPLUG to operate a lamp or to set up a complex rule-based system, we hope you love the experience. We would love to hear about any other ingenious or inventive ways you are using your WIFIPLUG – get in touch on twitter @wifiplug
Happy Plugging!
The Best SMART Plug for HomePodThis week, the Apple HomePod’s launch was finally announced and we cannot contain our excitement! We are absolutely desperate to get our hands on one!
As always, Apple has been predictably secretive about the launch of the HomePod, pre-order date of the HomePod, functionality of the HomePod – in fact, they’ve kept shtum about everything. They’ve got a real knack of creating hype by remaining quiet; it’s certainly worked with us! We couldn’t be keener!
The thing we’re most excited about here at WIFIPLUG is HomePod’s Siri intelligence. WIFIPLUG is HomeKit enabled, which means it will talk to Siri as a friend. So, if you fancy turning the lamp on, it’s a simple case of asking Siri to make it happen. For us, it’s the whole reason we decided to run with HomeKit hardware and we are hopeful (in fact we’re certain!) that the Apple’s offering will rival the other SMART assistants already on the market. We’re the only SMART Plug able to speak all languages so in theory, you could tell Siri to turn a lamp on and then get Alexa to turn it back off. And in a normal family home, with a variety of technology, preferences for manufacturers and a love for new gadgets, that’s something that our users are likely to want to do.
What’s more, HomePod will also act as a HomeKit hub, allowing users to control their devices from outside of the home. For WIFIPLUG users, this isn’t an issue as you can already use our app but if you prefer to use the Home app for particular tasks, now you can!
All in all, we are super excited about HomePod and will update everyone in due course when we’ve got some cool videos to share.