Eve Energy (Matter) Review
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The sample device was purchased for this review.
Tested with scoring system 1.0
What do these scores mean?
Learn about our data-driven scoring system.
Pros
✔ Well built with good fit and finish✔ Responsive and reliable operation
✔ Polished energy montoring features
Cons
✔ Non-US versions are bulky✔ Only single-rate energy costing
The Verdict
Eve has built a reputation for fast, reliable Apple HomeKit devices, albeit at a price. With the shift to Matter over Thread this new model works with any smart home ecosystem that supports the new standard and delivers even faster performance than its predecessors. Even better, these new models are more price competitive as well.
I found the setup process to be fast and problem free, and once up and running my tests found the Eve Energy to be lightning quick for both manual and automation-based operation. I’ve been using these for some time now in a variety of fairly extreme settings and they just keep on truckin’.
The Eve app provides a slick visual energy monitoring experience, with fluid and intuitive exploration of the saved data up to a year, easy access to configuration controls, and quality support documentation. You can find options supporting the all the most common socket types around the world, the only downside is that the non-US models are a bit on the bulky side which will most likely block adjacent sockets.
If multiple sockets is not an issue for you, the Eve Energy is a very robust choice for your smart plug needs.
Plug Types: EU, UK, AU, US, CN
Connectivity: Thread
Price Segment: $$$$$
Test Results
Each smart plug I review is put through a series of repeated test cycles over a 30-day period. These tests give me 11 data points that make up the 7 overall category scores above. These scores rate each smart plugs key performance requirements like responsiveness, reliability, energy monitoring and the overall user experience.
Here’s how this smart plug ranks compared to the average of others I’ve tested:
| Data Point | This Model | Average Score |
|---|---|---|
| Setup Experience | 8.7 | 7.1 |
| Response Time | 9.4 | 9.3 |
| Native App | ||
| Third-party | ||
| Voice Control | ||
| Automation | ||
| Energy Monitoring | 8.8 | 6.8 |
| Reliability | 10.0 | 9.9 |
| Retries | ||
| Reboots | ||
| Full Reset | ||
| Privacy and Security | 8.3 | 6.7 |
| Internet Usage | 10.0 | 9.8 |
| 28 day download | ||
| 28 day upload | ||
| App Experience | 7.8 | 5.9 |
The Basics
Tech Specs
Connectivity: ThreadLoad Rating 120V: 15A
Load Rating 220V: 10A
App Account Required: No
Energy Monitoring: Yes
Overload Protection: No
Outdoor Rated: No
Compatibility: Apple, Alexa, Google, SmartThings
Footprint (WxH): Varies by model
Notable Features:
- Schedules
- Child Lock
- LED toggle
Eve has always been a global brand, and this is no better exemplified than with their smart plug product. The Eve Energy comes in more socket formats than any other smart plug, covering all the major socket types for excellent global compatibility. Obviously, some of the smaller market formats are still left out, but the majority of the smart home market is covered.
The US version of the Eve Energy has moved to the more common rectangular slim line format which leaves adjacent sockets free to use. Unfortunately, the other models still use a fairly bulky square-ish design which is fine for single socket uses, but is almost guaranteed to block other spaces in multiple socket set ups.
This latest iteration uses Matter for control and Thread for connectivity. This gives it very broad compatibility with smart homes with official support for Apple Home, Alexa, Google Home, SamrtThings, and Home Assistant. Other platforms that support Matter and Thread will likely also work fine.
In spite of the open standard, functionality is still a bit varied due to platforms adopting lagging on their supported version of the Matter protocol. Energy monitoring is a particular bugbear here, with only SmarThings and Home Assistant exposing this natively. Other platforms can still access this feature uses the excellent Eve app.
Setup Experience
Using Matter makes the setup process very straight forward. You need only scan the Matter QR code with your smart home app of choice and allow the auto discovery service to find it. So long as you have a Thread border router in your smart home the Eve Energy will join the Thread network and become available in the system within seconds.
I did this initially in Home Assistant and experienced no issues. I then used Home Assistant to enable pairing with another controller and set it up again in Apple Home. Everything went quickly and without issue in both cases. Indeed, there is no need to use the Eve app at all for this process, you can just jump right into your smart home app and do it there.
Responsiveness
One of the big advantages of Thread in the smart home is its performance. Being a dedicated, self-healing, low power protocol, it’s extremely responsive. This bears out as expected with the Eve Energy with commands send from the Eve app being virtually instant. Using one of the smart home apps I paired it with was almost as fast, with only a barely perceptible delay between button push and response.
Using Siri for the voice command test introduced some delay, but response was nonetheless consistent and reliable.
Energy Monitoring
The Eve app has a very good set of intuitive and flexible energy monitoring features with data stored out to a year. Graphs are available for all data and status values, and these can be hidden, shown and expanded as you need in the interface. These include on/off duration, consumption, cost, as well as projections for both of the latter.
By tapping the information button on a graph, you can enter a full screen version for more detail. This version gives you access to the individual data points in list form as well, which can be exported to the destination of your choice. Data can also be reset from here if you need to clean house. Graphs on the main page or the full screen view can be easily scrolled through and individual data points can be examined with ease. This process fells intuitive, smooth and responsive - something often lacking in other apps.
Cost projections are based on a single energy cost value in the app settings. This is a common approach I’ve seen with other smart plugs, but obviously doesn’t work well in situations where you have time-of-use charging differences. As I’m yet to see smart plug that does this better, it’s not included in the scoring, but is worth noting here.
Device page is clear and easy to use
Electricity rate is a bit simplistic
Graphs are all zoomable and exportable
Reliability
Eve has built a solid reputation for reliability and performance since their early days of building HomeKit devices. The Eve Energy in its Matter form lives up to that reputation. Not only was setup very smooth and trouble-free, but regular usage of the device for several months has yielded absolutely no performance or responsiveness issues whatsoever. It’s been rock solid and dependable.
Internet Usage
The purpose of this test is to measure how ‘chatty’ a smart device is when phoning home to the manufacturer’s servers. Some devices are particularly bad in this regard, but thankfully it’s not something we have to worry about here.
Thread is a totally local communications protocol, and the fact that Matter doesn’t require any third-party app or accoun to work means that the Eve Energy has nowhere to phone home to. It works completely locally and securely without and need for internet connection at all. Naturally this gets Eve a perfect score here.
Privacy and Security
Using Thread gives the Eve Energy a huge boost in this category as it’s a secure, local communication protocol. While Eve does use their own app for configuration of ceertain features and to access energy monitoring reports, they actually don’t require any third-party account. Eve devices communicate directly with the app over the local network, and Eve runs no cloud services at all. This gets them maximum points for account management since they go one better by not needing one.
But this test is about more than account security. I’m also looking at how the device is managed over time. Firmware updates are an important protection against unauthorized access and abuse. While much less of an issue with Matter and Thread, updates are still required to resolve issues with the device that arise over time. Eve notifies you of updates in the app, but leaves installation up to the user. This requires periodically checking for and running these updates. A more push-based approach would be preferable from a security standpoint.
App Experience
The Eve app has been a stalwart for HomeKit users by providing not just a handy configuration app for Eve devices, but a full featured HomeKit client as well. This has been a key reason why Eve has not required any account for using the app as it simply integrates with the Apple Home ecosystem natively. The move to Matter has seen the Eve app updated to support Matter devices across other smart home ecosystems as well, and it still enjoys that account-free integration.
The app itself has evolved steadily for years now, and is a polished and easy-to-use client app designed to support a full smart home experience. Accessing the Eve Energy’s device page specifically provides a simple layout of the various data graphs and options, with a settings menu at the top right to change the less common controls like the child lock.
Everything is clearly labelled, easy to understand, and very smooth and responsive to use. There’s easy access to a quick start guide provided from the device settings, and a wider support section from the app’s overall settings section reached from the menu bar at the bottom. These help articles are well written and easy to read and cover a wide range of common issues and questions.
While some features have brief descriptions, these are the exception. Eve could use some more explanatory content with contextual links to common support questions to lift the score in this category. That said, I’ve encountered no software issues while using the app over a prolonged period of time which is a testament to its maturity and attention to detail where it counts.
Additional configuration page for the Eve Energy
Eve app support resources
Explanations for most features are thin
Alternatives
Fast Wi-Fi
Meross MSS310
7.2 Overall Score
Meross has established itself as a reliable, low-cost smart home brand with a wide selection of smart products in the market now. The new MSS310 smart plug ipmroves on the pervious generation by enabling local Wi-Fi communication to improve responsiveness. This tweak pays off with impressive performance numbers coing close to a Thread-based smart plug, but with the wider compatiblity of Wi-Fi.
Awkward Spaces
EVVR Smart Plug
7.7 Overall Score
An unusual design for a smart plug, the EVVR Smart Plug has a short tail on each end that allows for placement both in tight situations behind furniture, or where you don't want to block an adjacent socket. The enrgy monitoring is very basic, but the convenience might win the day for some.
Common Questions
Is Eve a Chinese company?
There can be some confusion between Eve Systems (the smart home company) and Eve Energy (the battery company). The Eve Energy smart plug is made by Eve Systems, the smart home brand of Elgato, based in Germany, whereas the battery company is indeed Chinese. I actually use Eve Energy as my go to for ER14250 batteries in my Eve sensors.
Does Apple own Eve Systems?
No, while Eve Systems was an exclusive Apple HomeKit device maker for many years and worked closely with Apple, they were never owned by Apple in any capacity. They were an early adopter of Thread and Matter, enabling them to expand their customer base beyond Apple users. Eve Systems was acquired by Swiss technology company ABB in 2023.
Can I use Eve Energy without Thread?
While there is Bluetooth on board, this is primarily used for discovery during setup and won’t provide a reliable experience for actual operation. It can provide backup functionality after setting up on a Thread network in the event Thread is unavailable, but you’ll experience sluggish performance at best.
