Shelly Plug Gen4 may be the most compatible smart plug ever

The Shelly Plug Gen4 is a highly compatible smart plug that works with Zigbee, is Matter-certified, and supports Alexa, Home Assistant, app controls, and much more. It’s also packed to the brim with incredible features like advanced control options, an ambient light sensor for automation, and power metering.

One of the worst things about smart home technology — and I know you know this already — is that when a brand decides to stop supporting tech you can lose a lot of functionality. I use to own a Wink hub, and yeah, let’s not go there. Google did the same with old Nest devices. MyQ has gone downhill quite a bit. It sucks, but more open protocols like Matter and Zigbee are supposed to change that. All that aside, I think I just found one of the most widely supported and highly compatible smart plugs I’ve ever seen. The Shelly Plug Gen4 supports several protocols, including Matter (it’s Matter-certified), Apple HomeKit, Zigbee, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and it works with a bevy of apps and services, like Alexa, Home Assistant, Siri, and even Shelly’s own Smart Control app. Basically, there are a ton of ways to use the plug.

It also supports some incredibly advanced control options through scripting, webhooks, MQTT, WebSocket, HTTPS, UDP, TLS and custom certificates. That allows you to really dig into the automations and create your own scenarios if you have the knowledge. You can also use the tried-and-true smart app controls to do that if you’re not a super coder, so don’t worry. It even has power metering to help you precisely monitor how much power its consuming, and devices connected to it.

Why is a highly compatible smart plug so great?

Matter is an interoperability protocol that makes smart home and compatible devices work together seamlessly. But Matter can also work locally, which means you can still access and control your devices over your local network even if the internet is out. A lot of smart devices are effectively crippled and severely limited with no internet access. Most Matter-enabled devices, are not. Which brings us back, full circle, to the Shelly Plug Gen4.

It has a shit ton of functionality, like a multi-color LED indicator, power metering, a built-in ambient light sensor for responsive automation, custom scheduling and local automation, advanced control options, and it supports appliances up to 1800-watts (15 amps). And all of that works, with full customization, across the protocol of your choosing.

Now, you’d also think all of this comes at a hefty cost. I sure did. But guess what. Nope! Shelly Plug Gen4 is only $20 and it comes in all-black or all-white. They also have a ton of other excellent smart home products with the same feature-rich and multi-functional options.