If I have a device registered as a "Generic Z-Wave Outlet" the HomeKit app shows it as an outlet (complete with cute plug icon etc), however, if the same device is "Generic Z-Wave Plus Outlet" it shows up as a switch in HomeKit.
I have no idea what the difference between "switch" and "outlet" is besides icon, but is seems odd to have different behavior. I also don't know if there's any functional difference by defining my outlet as "Z-Wave Outlet" vs "Z-Wave Plus Outlet" in Hubitat.
The only difference I can tell is the UX in homekit.
Good news is inside of Homekit on your iOS device you can also switch between those, so depending on how visually you want them represented and matched.
I think it is mostly for UI appearance and how Siri responds to controlling devices. I have noticed that once set up correctly, Siri has been spot on with controlling lights and fans in rooms just using turn on the lights (or fans), which has never been the case with Alexa. I would imagine that the same holds true for switches and outlets. Alexa will just turn everything on, whether it’s defined as a light, switch, or outlet, when I say “turn on the lights”.
I’m pretty sure that is only reflecting what driver was automatically assigned to the device when it was joined. Z-wave plus of course would configure it to be able to send updates back to the hub when it turns on and off.
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