Aqara’s new smart outlet can lock the door when your phone starts charging

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The Wall Outlet H2 can trigger a scene based on real-time energy usage. Arrives in Europe next week.

By Thomas Ricker, a deputy editor and Verge co-founder with a passion for human-centric cities, e-bikes, and life as a digital nomad. He’s been a tech journalist for almost 20 years.

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The Aqara app showing current energy usage superimposed upon a home living room plugged into the new H2 outlet.

The Aqara Wall Outlet H2 can trigger scenes based upon real-time power usage.
Image: Aqara

Aqara just announced the €39.99 Wall Outlet H2, which offers a one-for-one smart replacement for standard 16A wall sockets used in Europe. Its party trick is the ability to monitor the real-time power usage of connected devices and appliances to initiate automations around the home.

For example, if you charge your phone when going to sleep you could automatically activate a nighttime scene — arm motion detectors, lock the door, close blinds, and turn off lights — just as soon as the H2 begins pulling more than 10W of power. Or, it can detect when the laundry cycle ends to shut the machine off and send you a notification — that way you don’t have to listen to it beep incessantly until you finally walk upstairs with heavy regret for having bought the cheap entry-level Bosch you’ve grown to hate (yes: this is me).

Wall Outlet H2 is built on Zigbee 3.0, not Thread like Eve’s smart outlet, but can be integrated into Matter-compliant homes if you have a compatible Aqara hub like the new M3 installed. Even without Matter, Aqara’s hubs ensure compatibility with Apple Home, Alexa, Google Home, Samsung SmartThings, Home Assistant, and other smart home solutions.

The Aqara H2 fits standard 55mm wall plates.

The Aqara H2 fits standard 55mm wall plates.
The Aqara H2 fits standard 55mm wall plates.
Image: Aqara

The H2 can automatically deactivate power at defined thresholds up to 3840W. It can also turn off the jack as soon as power dips below a user-defined load of 0W to 2W for over 30 minutes — something that can improve battery charging safety and the lifespan of some battery cells. It’s designed to fit standard 55mm wall plates in single or multi-outlet configurations. An LED light on the unit itself can be configured to show the current state or be shut off entirely.

Aqara’s approach to energy management is similar to Ikea’s recently announced Energy Insights feature and Inspelning energy-monitoring smart plug, in that it’s currently taking a proprietary approach. Hopefully they’ll both work with Matter’s new energy monitoring capabilities somewhere down the road. Intelligent control over home energy consumption holds the potential to not only make homes smarter, but to reduce energy use and save money.

The €39.99 (roughly $43) Aqara Wall Outlet H2 will be available starting May 30th in select European countries.

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