Although it is becoming increasingly rare with the sheer number of Matter-compatible devices hitting the market daily, every once in a while a smart home product comes along that makes you wonder why nobody thought of it sooner. One of the more recent examples of this can be found with Linkind's clever Matter Smart Plug with Night Light—a fully featured outlet with an integrated LED, turning a fairly typical smart home offering into something inherently more useful.
Instead of sacrificing an outlet or adding yet another gadget to the wall, Linkind's plug provides smart home automation capabilities and gentle illumination all in one compact device. This innovative design choice truly sets it apart from the crowd, so it should come as no surprise when I say that it's one of the best Matter devices that I have tested to date.
Unboxing, design, and specs
Linkind Smart Plug with Light
Best Price
Even with its dual-purpose design, the Linkind Matter Smart Plug with Night Light remains competitively priced. It's currently available in two and four-pack bundles, with the larger package bringing the per-unit cost down to just over $8—a bargain in my eyes.
Inside the box, you'll find just an operation manual and the respective number of plugs for your bundle (four in my case). Removing a plug reveals a clean all-white plastic frame with soft-rounded corners and minimal branding, with the company's logo only appearing on the top side.
The front of the plug features a small ambient light sensor near its bottom-right corner, while the right side is home to a large circular on-device button used for toggling its state (single press for the outlet, double for the light). Underneath is its defining feature—a flush, fully dimmable LED light bar that projects up to 30 lumens of 2,700K warm white light down to surfaces below, which I found to be excellent for lighting up pathways around the home.
As previously mentioned, measuring just 1.3 inches tall, 2.7 inches wide, and 1.5 inches deep, the plug's compact design keeps it from blocking adjacent outlets. Linkind's plug is rated for up to 15 amps at 120V and can handle resistive loads up to 1,800 watts, making it suitable for controlling a wide range of household devices, from lamps and fans to small appliances.
On the safety front, it's important to note that the plug is rated for indoor use only and is not UL-listed; however, it does bear ETL certification markings, which means that it has been independently tested to meet certain safety and quality standards. Linkind's plug also features built-in short-circuit and overload protection, and it is constructed of materials rated to withstand temperatures up to 750°C—all of which are fairly common for smart plugs in its price range.
My primary criticisms of the plug's feature set are its lack of energy monitoring capabilities and its dependence on a 2.4GHz Wi-Fi connection for smart home integration. While I appreciate that it operates without requiring a dedicated hub, I generally prefer Matter-over-Thread devices for their efficiency and reliability, and I would welcome seeing AiDot expand its product lineup to include support for the emerging wireless protocol.
Pairing and Matter smart home controls through Apple Home
Pairing the Linkind plug to my preferred ecosystem—Apple Home—was quite simple, with the process following your standard Matter device setup workflow. After scanning the on-device QR code (located on the left side), the plug connected to my network within just a few seconds, and after giving it a name and assigning a room, it was ready to go.
By default, the plug is displayed as a grouped tile, but like other multi-functional devices in the Apple Home app, this arrangement can be switched to independent tiles in settings. Opening the grouped tile reveals two separate power toggle switches, exposing one of the plug's flaws—the night light portion cannot be dimmed through Apple Home.
At a peak brightness of just 30 lumens, the absence isn’t a dealbreaker, since changes at such a low level are barely noticeable. Still, it’s frustrating that it isn’t available in Apple’s Home app, especially considering the same option can be accessed through the AiDot mobile app—more on that shortly.
Moving on, tapping either of the plug’s power controls results in almost instantaneous state changes with the outlet side engaging with a subtle relay click, while the integrated light operates silently. Performance has been excellent overall, with fast response times and dependable Wi-Fi connectivity that has remained stable and trouble-free throughout my testing.
Advanced features are found only within the AiDot app
As I alluded to earlier, the AiDot mobile app is home to several advanced features and vital settings that are missing through Apple Home. I usually try to steer clear of third-party vendor apps and creating additional accounts in general, but in cases like Linkind's plug, they can sometimes be necessary.
One feature is the aforementioned slider for dimming, which allows full 1–100% adjustments of the integrated night light. Another lets you disable the on-device status indicator—a crucial option if you plan to use the plug in a bedroom at night without the light.
Other notable features in the AiDot app include Light Switch Mode, which enables or disables the built-in ambient light sensor, and User Mode—a somewhat unintuitive label for setting the plug’s default state after a power outage. The app also provides an activity history log, firmware updates, and smart home staples such as scheduling, timers, device sharing, and routines.
Navigating the app was straightforward for the most part, with a clean layout that made functions easy to locate once you got familiar with their names. My only issue was having to unpair the device from Apple Home before adding it to the AiDot app, since I couldn't find a way to manually enter a secondary Matter pairing code when using Multi-Admin functionality.
Should you buy the Linkind Matter Smart Plug with Night Light?
If you're shopping for a smart plug, the Linkind Smart Plug with Night Light offers something genuinely different from a market flooded with nearly identical options. Sure, having Matter onboard ensures broad compatibility with all the major smart home ecosystems, but it's the built-in light that elevates the experience to a whole new level.
If you just want a simple Matter-compatible smart plug, there are plenty of alternatives that fit almost any budget. However, if you appreciate thoughtful design and are looking for practical features to make your home a little more convenient, Linkind's plug stands out as an easy recommendation.
(Images: Matter Alpha/Christopher Close)
