TP-Link unveils smart dimmers, light switches, Wi-Fi systems, and doorbells at CES 2021
At CES 2021, TP-Link announced the release of two new networking and smart home offerings that will be available this year.
The company released a bevy of home-based products including the Motion-Activated Kasa Smart Dimmer Switch, the Kasa Smart Wi-Fi Light Switch with three-Way Dimmer Kit, the Kasa Smart Doorbell, the Kasa Spot Pan Tilt with 24/7 Recording, the Kasa Cam Outdoor with 24/7 Recording, and the Kasa Smart Wi-Fi Outdoor Plug.
“We are extremely proud of our new suite of smart home products that make life easier, safer and more productive for our users,” said Jeff Barney, COO of TP-Link USA, said in a statement. “These new products can effortlessly turn any home into a smart home, while providing a new level of convenience, comfort, and peace of mind for our customers.”
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Kasa Products
In a release, the company said the dimmer switch came with a Smart Motion Detection feature that allows users to set a time based on motion when lights could be set to automatically turn off. And thanks to the Ambient Light Sensor, the lights will never turn on automatically during the daytime.
The dimmer also comes with a feature that allows you to fade the lights in and out at night and in the morning, so there is a seamless transition into both the early mornings and evenings.
Similarly, the Kasa Smart Wi-Fi Light Switch with 3-Way Dimmer Kit gives you easy control over your home lighting. The Wi-Fi switch allows users to turn the typical three-way lighting to smart wireless Wi-Fi lights, and with the Smart Dimming feature, you can automatically change how bright your home lights are.
It even comes with a voice control feature, allowing you to turn your lights on and off whenever you need to, all through the power of your words. You can even tie your voice-controlled lights to an Alexa, Google Assistant, and Samsung SmartThings device.
The company also announced the release of the Kasa Smart Doorbell, which comes with 1080p Full HD video, an AI-backed Person Detection feature, and local as well as cloud storage that allows you to save any footage on a 128 GB microSD card.
The interactive doorbell also comes with protection against both rain and dust thanks to IP64 weatherproofing, as well as a number of different Indoor chimes. The Kasa Spot Pan Tilt with 24/7 Recording has built-in 2K HD Video with 4 MP high resolution that gives users vivid video capture as well as colorful videos even in low-light environments thanks to the Starlight Night Vision feature.
There are a number of features that come with the Kasa Spot Pan Tilt, including motion tracking features that track and follow objects within its view and a Patrol Mode where different viewpoints can be set and programmed so that the camera can track multiple regions at selected intervals. Thanks to local storage features, you can save up to 256 GB of footage on a microSD card. The Kasa Cam Outdoor with 24/7 Recording similarly allows for the capture of high-quality video, night vision, starlight sensors, and comes with IP65 weatherproofing.
TP-Link also unveiled the long-range Kasa Smart Wi-Fi Outdoor Plug that comes with a power amplifier and can automatically turn plugged-in devices on and off no matter where you are. It also allows users to remotely control your smart plug through the Kasa Smart app via your phone or tablet with the Control from Anywhere feature.
Deco Products
At CES 2021, TP-Link announced a new line of Deco products, including the Deco Mesh Wi-Fi 6E and Archer router. TP-Link is also offering a 10G router and switch as well as the 5G Wi-Fi gateway Deco X80 and the HomeShield premium security service for both home networking and businesses.
According to TP-Link, Deco Voice X20 comes with a Mesh Wi-Fi system with smart speakers that allow for full voice control. The Deco Voice X20 works with TP-Link Mesh technology and allows users to create a unified network that covers up to 4,000 square feet and seamless connectivity throughout a home.
If combined with Alexa, users can manage their entire home with voice control and can sort through calls, messages, announcements, and more.
An entirely new line of Wi-Fi 6E products was also unveiled at CES, including AX7800 Whole Home Mesh Wi-Fi 6E System (Deco X96), AX5400 Whole Home Mesh Wi-Fi 6E System with Smart Hub (Deco X76 Plus), AX7800 Tri-Band Wi-Fi 6E Router (Archer AX96), and AX11000 Tri-Band Wi-Fi 6E Router with 10G Ports (Archer AX206).
The AX7800 Whole Home Mesh WiFi 6E System—Deco X96 gives users access to the 6 GHz band, which has only recently been opened and provides more bandwidth and lower latency.
TP-Link said it was able to boost speeds to 7800 Mbps and used AI to provide Wi-Fi networks that are specific to your home.
“Archer AX206 also features a pure 6 GHz band for dedicated Wi-Fi 6E, enabling a cleaner, broader 6 GHz band for unstoppable transmission. The advanced OFDMA and UL/DL MU-MIMO technology eradicates latency and makes it easy to transfer data to and from multiple devices simultaneously, reducing wait times drastically,” the company said in a release.
“Plus, it comes with HomeShield Security, which provides comprehensive network protection, robust parental controls, and real-time IoT protection.”
The company also announced TP-Link HomeShield, a security service designed to protect home networks and IoT devices with scanners that automatically monitors any device on the network and sends out alerts in case of problems.
“Robust networking protection blocks malicious URLs or other potential threats, and fixes network vulnerabilities,” the company said. “It also prevents DDoS attacks by recording abnormal incoming traffic and refusing requests from enlisted IPs. In addition, HomeShield provides more comprehensive reports to help you get a complete understanding of your home network activities such as online time analysis and threat reports.”
For certain international markets, users will have access to the Deco X80-5G Whole Home Wi-Fi 6 Gateway, which provides download speeds up to 5.0 Gbps, or 33-times faster than 4G.
Enterprise customers will also have access to new Wi-Fi 6 devices as part of the Omada SDN solution, making setup for IT departments a bit simpler.
“Finally, TP-Link is introducing the Deco ISP Cloud management system, a more efficient and simple ISP solution. The Deco ISP Cloud is an integrated, cloud-based network solution for ISP remote management,” the company added. “It allows WISPs, SIs, and small businesses to monitor and manage all Deco products with a centralized management platform via the cloud.”
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