You’d think two smart-home brands from the same manufacturer would use the same app, but that’s not happened when TP-Link brought its Tapo product line to the U.S. market two years ago. If you had previously purchased any of TP-Link’s Kasa Smart smart-home devices, and then bought a Tapo product, you would have quickly discovered each had its own app. While this didn’t affect newer Matter-certified devices, it must have been annoying to need to switch between two apps to control your smart home.
TP-Link announced at CES this week that that situation has come to an end: Both product families can now be controlled with the Tapo App 3.0. TP-Link also showed a raft of new Tapo smart home products at the show, but it has nothing new in the Kasa Smart line. Not to worry, the company says, both brands remain viable.
The Tapo H500 Smart HomeBase is a Matter-compatible hub for IP-based security devices.
TP-LInk
The new Tapo H500 Smart HomeBase is a Matter-compatible hub that also supports the ONVIF standard for IP-based physical security products; cameras most typically. The Tapo hub can support up to 16 cameras and 64 sensors, and it comes with 16GB of eMMC storage. That capacity can be expanded up to 16TB using hard drives or SSDs. AI technology inside the hub can recognize human faces, pets, and vehicles.
With the equally new Tapo for Pad App, you’ll be able to manage your smart home devices on a tablet, with a 3D control panel that mirrors your home’s layout and where your smart home devices are located within in it.
The Tapo Smart Video Door Lock features an integrated doorbell and video camera.
TP-LInk
TP-Link also announced a new Tapo-branded smart lock, the Smart Video Door Lock, which embeds a doorbell-style security camera in the lock, and a the Tapo D225 Video Doorbell Camera. The smart lock can be opened seven ways: With a fingerprint reader, a PIN code, an RFID, voice commands (Alexa, Google Home, or Apple Home), the Tapo app, or a physical key. Temporary passcodes are the seventh option.
The Tapo D225 video doorbell features a 2K 5MP camera that has a 180-degree diagonal field of view to capture a head-to-toe view of your visitors. It comes with a 10,000mAh battery or it can also be hardwired.
TP-Link also announced Tapo-brand indoor and outdoor security cameras, Wi-Fi smart light bulbs and light strips, indoor and out outdoor smart plugs, motion and contact sensors, a temperature and humidity monitor, and two new robot vacuum cleaners. We counted more than a dozen new products, with ship dates throughout the coming year.
