Xiaomi turns the humble power strip into a sliding, app-controlled smart rail
Xiaomi just proved that nothing is too boring for a silicon brain. The Track Socket Set T1 replaces the dusty under-desk strip with a 3.2-inch touch screen, presence sensors and modular outlets that glide along an 80 cm rail like subway cars.
The rail is the circuit
Each module snaps on anywhere, no screws, no fixed holes. Slide it left, right, pop it off. Need USB-C at 33 W for a laptop? Swap a module. Running a 3 D printer and a microwave? The rail feeds 2 500 W per block and 8 000 W total—enough to cook dinner while slicing plastic.
Twist a socket clockwise and it goes dark; twist back for juice. No plastic switches, no standby LEDs screaming at night. The 3.2-inch panel in the centre shows live wattage, weather and a child-lock toggle. Walk into the room and an infrared sensor wakes the rail; leave and it cuts idle loads after a user-set delay.
Price starts at the cost of two pizzas
The 50 cm three-socket starter kit ships in China this week for ¥249—about 35 euros. Stretch to 80 cm with four sockets and the tag climbs to ¥429, still below the price of a single smart light from certain European brands. Extra USB-A or USB-C modules sell for ¥39 apiece, turning the rail into a daisy-chain GaN charger.
All intelligence routes through Xiaomi Home, the same app that talks to robot vacuums, air purifiers and the company’s newly launched EV. Schedule a socket to kill the TV standby at 02:00, or ping the rail on vacation to reboot a frozen router. Firmware updates arrive over Wi-Fi; no subscription, no cloud lock-in.
Why this matters beyond the geek desk
China’s national grid is bracing for 100 million new air-conditioners this decade. Modular strips that nix vampire loads won’t solve the crunch, but they shave single-digit watts in every apartment—multiplied by tens of millions that is a power plant spared. Expect landlords to spec the T1 in new builds the same way they once mandated USB wall plates.
Meanwhile, the EU’s 2025 standby-power rules tighten to 0.5 W per port. A rail that physically disconnects transformers beats any red-sticker compliance hack. If Xiaomi licences the rail standard, furniture makers could embed it straight into desks, kitchen islands, even bed frames—outlets only when you want them, invisible when you don’t.
Bottom line: the power strip, that plastic caterpillar we’ve kicked under tables for forty years, just grew a brain and a skeleton of aluminum. Next time the lights flicker, remember someone in Shenzhen is turning the humble multi-plug into a grid node—and charging pizza-money for the privilege.