TP-Link is bringing its ‘Tapo’ smart home brand to the US, and adding HomeKit support

Accessory maker TP-Link is expanding its lineup of smart home gadgets at CES 2022 to include an array of new HomeKit options. The company has announced multiple new HomeKit options under its Tapo brand, including smart lights, smart plugs, and a smart switch.

If the TP-Link Tapo brand doesn’t sound familiar to you, it’s because it was previously only available in Europe. As part of today’s announcement, the company is bringing the Tapo smart home brand to the United States for the first time. This also marks the first time that any Tapo accessories have sported HomeKit connectivity.

The three Tapo accessories that will work with HomeKit include the Mini Plug, which is slated to launch sometime in Q1. The Tapo Power Strip, Dimmer Switch, and Light Strip will also work with HomeKit and will be released in Q2. Finally, the Color Light Bulb with HomeKit support will come sometime in Q3, according to The Verge.

Some more details on the accessories:

Three such Apple Homekit ready products include the new Tapo P125 Mini Smart Plug, Tapo S500D Smart Dimmer Switch and Tapo P306 Wall Power Strip. The Tapo P125 features a compact design to save space and extra safety features, including a flame-resistant design. The Tapo S500D lets users freely dim the light between one and 100 percent and freely control with voice or in app. Lastly, the Tapo P306 dramatically expands outlets with three smart outlets, three always on outlets, one USB Type-C and two USB Type-A charging ports.

The flagship Tapo L930-5 Smart Multicolor Light Strip is compatible with Apple HomeKit and includes advanced features such as individual colors for each segment, syncing to sound for elaborate music-based light-shows, and vibrant color with 150 RGB+W LEDs. The Tapo L535 Multicolor Smart WiFi Light Bulb is compatible with Apple HomeKit and comes with adjustable 1100 lumen brightness, light temperature and millions of color possibilities. It also includes convenient features such as a schedule, timer functions and energy monitoring.

In addition to the new HomeKit accessories, TP-Link also announced a new router that automatically moves its antennas for the best Wi-Fi.

9to5Mac’s Take

All of these new HomeKit-compatible accessories work without a hub, but there is no word on Matter support as of yet. And more importantly, let us not forget that TP-Link abandoned its plans to roll out HomeKit support to its popular Kasa Smart Plug Mini, instead opting to release a new version of the accessory altogether.

CES 2022 will bring an array of new HomeKit gadgets, many of them without pricing information and without release dates. It’s important to view all of these announcements with some skepticism until the products are actually available for purchase, and confirmed to actually feature HomeKit support.

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