Okay, so I finally caved and got the Philips Hue Smart Plug... and WOW, why did I wait so long?! This little white box is magic.
First off - setup took like 2 minutes. Plug it in, connect via Bluetooth (or use the Hue Bridge if you're fancy), and bam - my dumb lamp became a smart lamp. The app walkthrough was actually helpful for once.
The compact design is perfect - doesn't block my other outlets at all. And it just... disappears into the wall? Like you wouldn't even notice it's there unless you're looking for it.
Voice control works flawlessly with Alexa. "Alexa, turn on my reading light" feels like living in the future. Also love that I can schedule lights to turn on/off automatically when I'm away.
Pro tip: If you get multiple, label them in the app! I didn't at first and kept turning on the wrong lights from bed. Rookie mistake.
Only complaint? Now I want to replace ALL my outlets with these. My wallet is crying but my inner tech nerd is thrilled.