Wi-Fi router maker TP-Link is finally combining its two smart home brands under one app, Tapo. The company has been making smart gadgets since 2019, but confusingly they are developed under two different brands: Tapo and Kasa.
After a recent update (Tapo 3.0), TP-Link now allows users to port their Kasa devices to the Tapo app. This allows you to control all your devices from one app and integrate them into your routines and automations within the Tapo app.
TP-Link notes that some devices cannot yet be migrated and migration is only one-way from Kasa to Tapo, not vice versa. It’s also unclear whether the Kasa app will still be able to access the device after the move. We asked TP-Link for clarification.
TP-Link has published a guide on porting devices. This guide shows that all the groups and smart actions you set up in Kasa will be reflected in the Tapo app. However, the Kasa subscriptions he has, such as Kasa Care for cloud storage of camera footage, are only valid within the Kasa app, and TP-Link has confirmed that this will not be discontinued.
Also, once you put your device in the Tapo app, you’ll need to relink it to third-party services like Google Home or Amazon Alexa.
Kasa and Tapo will continue as separate, independent brands
“The Tapo app now serves as a unified platform for managing both Kasa and Tapo devices, leveraging a comprehensive ecosystem across more categories than Kasa and allowing users to move back and forth between individual applications. There will be no need to do so,” Zhao said in a statement. The Verge. “It is important to clarify that despite this consolidation, Kasa and Tapo will remain separate and independent brands.”
While the Kasa brand still exists, with this change it appears TP-Link will focus its efforts on the Tapo brand. This year saw a number of Tapo launches, including several new categories (robot vacuums) and some new outdoor cameras. All of this has made the Tapo brand the more robust of his two brands in terms of compatible device types.
Whatever the corporate strategy, having to use just one app to control gadgets from the same company is definitely an improvement and really should have been an option from the beginning.