As working from home has become the norm for many people, it’s important to upgrade your home office space to enhance your productivity. But let’s face it – sitting on an office chair hunched over a laptop for several hours a day isn’t the most comfortable thing in the world.

That’s why we’d encourage you to upgrade your home office with a standing desk. While standing desks aren’t exactly a new concept, they only really became popular during the COVID-19 pandemic as more and more people started working from home. But that was a few years ago now, so if you haven’t got a standing desk, here’s a handful of reasons why you should get one.

A standing desk can work wonders for your productivity and comfort levels. Instead of sitting at a desk all day, using one standing up changes your position which can reduce neck and back pain. It also boosts circulation, and can improve your focus and energy levels. If you put a folding treadmill under your standing desk, you can even get extra steps in to keep yourself active.

So, now that you know how beneficial a standing desk can be, here are five standing desks you should consider adding to your home office.

P.S. Still not sure if a standing desk is for you? Check out the 5 signs you need a standing desk.

Best standing desk overall

1. FlexiSpot E7 Pro Standing Desk

The best standing desk we’ve tried is the FlexiSpot E7 Pro. With plenty of material options and frame colours to choose from, the FlexiSpot E7 Pro will comfortably fit into your home office, and support up to 180kg of your working essentials.

Powered by refined, self-locking motors, the FlexiSpot E7 Pro can be adjusted to multiple heights in as little as six seconds. The construction is solid and stable, and it’s extremely easy to operate. We gave it five stars in our FlexiSpot E7 Pro Standing Desk review, and haven’t found anything to beat it so it gets top spot in this list.

Best budget standing desk

2. IKEA Trotten Sit/Stand Desk

If you’re on a tight budget, head down to your local IKEA and pick up the Trotten Sit/Stand Desk. At just £179 / $249, the IKEA Trotten is the one of the cheapest options on the market, but its low price shouldn’t be discounted as the desk ticks a lot of boxes.

Compared to other standing desks, the IKEA Trotten is manually operated, so you’ll have to adjust it via the crank handle on the side. During assembly, the handle can be mounted on either side of the desk so both left and right handed people can use it. The desk can also be adjusted between 70cm and 120cm, keeping you comfortable when you’re sitting or standing.

Best luxury standing desk

3. Desktronic HomeMax Desk

On the other end of the price spectrum, the Desktronic HomeMax Desk may cost an arm and a leg at £1,099 / $1,299 but it’s the ultimate standing desk set-up. Its four-leg design is powered by four motors, and it has a rising speed of 32mm/s, all while lifting at a surprisingly quiet noise level.

The Desktronic HomeMax Desk has a minimum height of 74cm and maximum height of 119cm but it’s much more than just a standing desk. It has a built-in LED strip for customisable lighting, and hooks and channels underneath to hang items and feed through cables. It also has USB ports and comes in a range of colours and materials.

Best laptop-only standing desk

4. Yo-Yo Desk Lite

If you don’t want to spend too much, and just want something that raises your laptop, the Yo-Yo Desk Lite is a great option. Instead of replacing your entire desk, the Yo-Yo Desk Lite is a portable sit-stand desk converter which you can sit atop your current desk and adjust in height for just your laptop.

Lightweight and space-efficient, the Yo-Yo Desk Lite can be carried with you from room to room, so you can set it up in your office, living room and more. It has a gas-assisted lift system and easy controls to adjust its height so you can take full advantage of a standing desk in a smaller, more budget-friendly way.

Best full workstation standing desk

5. VonHaus Sit Stand Rising Workstation

If you’re a full-time home office worker, it’s likely you have a comprehensive set-up, featuring multiple monitors, keyboards and more. If that’s the case, you’ll want to check out the VonHaus Sit Stand Rising Workstation which comes with an ergonomic, adjustable design with a huge amount of space.

The VonHaus Sit Stand Rising Workstation is gas-assisted and can sit between 11.5cm and 51cm. It can support two screens, or a laptop and monitor, plus it has a phone slot for easy use and charging. It has a sturdy steel frame and comes in multiple colours, plus at just £79.99, it’s an absolute steal.

As temperatures remain high across much of the UK, many gardeners are still feeling the effects of the ongoing hosepipe bans. The restrictions are designed to protect water supplies, but they can make it difficult to keep gardens looking their best during prolonged spells of hot weather. That said, with a few simple changes, you can still help your plants survive without reaching for the hose.

We've already shared advice on how to revive your lawn during a heatwave and how to protect your decking from hot weather, and now we're looking at three practical ways to keep the rest of your garden healthy whilst making every drop of water count.

1. Use a watering can

You should check your local water company's rules, but a hosepipe ban doesn't usually stop you from using a watering can filled from a water butt or indoor tap.

The key is to water efficiently so every drop counts. Water your plants early in the morning or later in the evening, when temperatures are cooler and less water is lost to evaporation. Always aim the water directly at the base of the plant, where the roots can absorb it, rather than spraying the leaves. It's also better to give plants a deep soak every few days instead of a light sprinkle every day, as deep watering encourages roots to grow further into the soil, making plants more resilient during dry weather.

2. Mulch to lock in moisture

Adding a layer of mulch is one of the easiest and most effective ways to help your garden cope with hot weather. Spread a 5-8cm layer around the base of your plants using materials such as bark chips, compost, straw, leaf mould or a thin layer of grass clippings.

Mulch acts like a protective blanket for the soil, helping to lock in moisture and keep it shielded from the sun. As an added bonus, it also suppresses weeds, which compete with your plants for valuable water and nutrients.

3. Prioritise your plants

During a hosepipe ban, it's unlikely you'll have enough water to keep every part of your garden looking perfect, so it's important to prioritise.

Focus your efforts on newly planted trees and shrubs, as their roots haven't yet established, along with vegetables, fruit plants and anything growing in pots or hanging baskets, which dry out much faster than plants in the ground.

Don't worry too much about your lawn. Although established grass may turn brown and look dry during prolonged hot weather, it's usually only dormant rather than dead. Once cooler weather and rain return, most lawns will recover naturally, so it's better to save your water for the plants that actually need it.

Around six months ago, I got my hands on an electric pizza oven (the Pizzaiolo, from Sage), and it's been a thrilling game-changer in terms of how I've made pizza at home. The only real downside to getting one of the very few pizza ovens that can work indoors is that it still takes up a massive chunk of storage in my not particularly huge top-floor London flat.

So, it's been with some trepidation that I've also been looking out for a stand mixer, a notoriously sizeable part of any chef's lineup of appliances, to help upgrade my dough-making. After graduating past store-bought dough a while ago, my hands were getting tired of self-kneading everything.

It was this storage issue that made the Morphy Richards MixStar so attractive, and after my first batch of dough-making, I'm really pleased with how it's slotted into my cooking and my cupboards.

This stand mixer doesn't look like many others on the market. Rather than a bowl with a large arm over it, Morphy Richards has put the mixing circulator into the bowl itself, more like the inside of a food processor.

Crucially, it's also designed so that when you're not using it, all the attachments and parts nest within that bowl, giving you a far less bulky overall device to hide away in your cupboards. It's hard to convey how much of a boon that is, but as someone whose kitchen can only accommodate an under-counter fridge, for instance, it's quite a major point.

The MixStar comes with attachments for whisking, frothing and more, but I've so far only used the dough mixer, and it's performed ably – although I did immediately run up against an obvious limitation. The instructions are quite clear that my standard batch of dough, enough for four pizzas, would overload the advised weight limits for the bowl.

So, I did two batches instead, and that hardly added much time to my process. Still, it's possibly a reminder that this compact design does come with some compromises compared to something weightier like a KitchenAid Artisan, which has a way higher maximum weight for dough.

That said, a KitchenAid Artisan is also about twice as expensive, way heavier and more awkward to store, so the comparison doesn't bear too much weight. If I had a bigger kitchen, I'd probably pine after a higher-capacity mixer, but in my situation the MixStar is quite clearly a sensible option.

The other thing I was interested to assess was whether its lighter weight and interesting design made the MixStar more liable to move around in use. Suction cups underneath the main body have seen to it that it's stable enough in my experience, but I might be cheeky and overload it at some point to see how it fares on both the mixing and moving front.

The last check from my end was cleaning up after my mixing, something that's a big part of why I wanted a mixer in the first place. Scraping lost dough bits and flour off my kitchen surface got old quickly, whereas the MixStar was easy to scrub thanks to its stainless steel bowl.

I'm thoroughly impressed, basically, and looking forward to seeing what other baking options it's going to unlock. Pizza might have been the reason I needed it, but who knows what creations I'll be baking up in the months to come?

I thought I’d seen it all, but it turns out I was wrong – you can now get a toaster which displays your family photos as you wait for it to toast your bread. The new Revolution R180 Connect Plus Toaster is the brand’s most advanced model yet, featuring multiple bread types and a touchscreen that acts as a photo frame and calendar.

Almost every appliance has some type of smart features nowadays, including the humble toaster. Most smart toasters on the market have sensors that track the colour of your bread to avoid burning, while others have a touchscreen display which allows you to customise your toast’s brownness.

Kitchen appliance company, Revolution Cooking has taken this to the next level with the Revolution R180 Connect Plus Toaster. At the front of the toaster is a full-colour 7-inch LCD touchscreen which displays toast types and your most-used settings, as well as a countdown timer to let you know when your toast is ready.

But where the screen really stands out is when the toaster is idle. When this happens, the Revolution R180 Connect Plus Toaster turns into a digital photo frame which displays a slideshow of up to 24 family photos. With its Wi-Fi connectivity, it also shows the time, date and weather forecast so you can check key details about each day while you wait for your toast.

Using Revolution's InstaGLO heating technology and built-in sensors, the Revolution R180 Connect Plus Toaster adjusts its heat depending on bread type and moisture levels. It also ‘sears’ toast to crisp up the edges and reduce burning.

The Revolution R180 Connect Plus Toaster has 38 bread types to choose from, including white, brown and multi-grain bread, sourdough, bagels, waffles, pastries, English muffins, and more. It also comes with gluten-free settings, seven brownness levels and you can select if your bread is fresh, frozen or needs reheating.

As a two-slice stainless steel toaster, the Revolution R180 Connect Plus Toaster has been given extra-wide slots to cater to thicker bread types. Another handy feature is its Toastie Press mode, an additional accessory which allows you to make toasties, paninis and quesadillas in the toaster – although you’ll have to buy it separately.

The Revolution R180 Connect Plus Toaster is available to buy for $449.95 at Revolution. It’s not cheap by any means, mainly due to the technology involved in the construction, but this is almost quadruple the cost of what you’d expect to pay for a regular toaster.

Personally, I’ll stick to a normal toaster and use my phone to look through photos. Having your toaster display your photos is slightly ridiculous but I can’t deny that the Revolution R180 Connect Plus Toaster is pretty fun to look at, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it makes its way into many people’s homes.

Dyson has expanded its Airwrap Coanda 2x multi-styler lineup with four new attachments, all designed to make styling quicker, easier and more versatile. According to the brand, the new accessories benefit from improved airflow engineering and updated designs to deliver better control, faster wrapping and smoother results across a variety of hair types.

The new lineup includes the Conical Coanda 2x Curling Barrel, Large Round Volumising Brush 2x, 40mm Coanda 2x Curling Barrel (Long) and an updated Air Straightener 2x attachment.

Prices start from £34.90, with all four accessories available now from Dyson and John Lewis.

The Dyson Airwrap Coanda 2x originally launched in July 2025, introducing Dyson's second-generation motor alongside a brand new straightening attachment – the AirSmooth 2x. Now, the upgraded Air Straightener 2x (£39.90) is designed to take hair from wet to dry in as little as one pass, whilst continuing to avoid extreme heat.

Elsewhere, the new Conical Coanda 2x Curling Barrel (£34.90) has been designed for those who prefer softer curls. Its tapered shape creates tighter curls at the roots that gradually loosen towards the ends, giving hair a more effortless finish whilst making it easier to style close to the scalp.

The Large Round Volumising Brush 2x (£34.90) features a larger brush head that's designed to create bouncier blow-dries with added lift, whilst the 40mm Coanda 2x Curling Barrel – Long (£34.90) has been built with longer and thicker hair in mind. Dyson says the upgraded barrel offers 30% more power than the previous Airwrap i.d., allowing it to wrap hair faster and produce more consistent curls.

Passenger has launched a new travel backpack for people who pack light on the way out but somehow return home with twice as much stuff (guilty as charged here).

The Boondocker Expandable Travel Pack begins as a relatively compact 20-litre backpack before expanding to 26 litres using a zippered panel that adds 5cm of depth.

That should make it particularly useful for shorter trips, everyday commuting and weekends when you need a little more flexibility than a conventional daypack can offer.

Passenger occupies an increasingly popular space between technical outdoor gear and everyday lifestyle clothing.

Its products are made for people who enjoy camping, road trips and time outside, but may not need the expedition-ready equipment associated with more premium (and hardcore) mountain brands such as Rab or Arc'teryx.

The new Boondocker looks outdoorsy without being overly technical, while the Pistachio and Misty Grey colourway gives it considerably more personality than the usual black business-travel backpack.

Built for the trip home

The bag measures 44 x 30 x 16cm in its standard configuration, which Passenger describes as cabin-size friendly for many airlines.

(You will still need to check the exact allowance for your carrier, particularly when using the expanded compartment.)

Inside is one large zipped compartment with compression straps to prevent clothes and other contents from shifting around.

Two zipped mesh pockets built into the lid provide storage for smaller essentials, while a padded rear sleeve protects your laptop.

There is also a front zipped pocket, an upper tricot-lined pocket with a key clip, elasticated bottle pockets and a sleeve that slides over a suitcase handle.

The shoulder straps can be tucked into a dedicated harness sleeve when the bag is being carried by its top handle or placed in an overhead compartment.

A quilted rear panel should make it more comfortable to carry than a basic suitcase-style pack, while four external compression straps help keep its boxy profile under control.

The Boondocker is made from recycled 600D polyester with a nylon lining.

Passenger has also used YKK zips and Duraflex buckles, which should provide greater reassurance than the unbranded hardware commonly found on cheaper travel bags.

The Boondocker Expandable Travel Pack is available now for £84.95 / €99 / AU$165 (~$114) directly from Passenger UK, Passenger EU and Passenger AU. Every order also contributes towards the planting of a tree.

I’ve tried many TikTok sleep hacks over the years in the quest to achieve the best night’s sleep possible. But the most recent TikTok sleep hack to go viral is dividing opinions, and even doctors and sleep experts have weighed in on whether you should do it or not. One thing’s for sure – I’m never going to try it, and here’s why.

There’s no better feeling than waking up in the middle of the night, checking the time and realising you still have a few more hours to sleep before your alarm goes off. Well, it turns out that a new TikTok sleep hack is actually trying to simulate this feeling by setting multiple alarms in the night.

As shown in multiple TikTok videos, creators set alarms between 2am to 5am so they can get the satisfaction of turning off their alarms and going back to sleep. Many users have said it makes them feel like they’re having a lie in and getting extra hours of sleep.

But this sleep ‘hack’ isn’t actually as beneficial as some might think. Firstly, alarm clocks or phone alarms can have a negative effect on your body, mainly due to the loud noise that jolts you out of your sleep. This can put a major strain on your body, which can result in increased stress levels, a low mood, and an elevated heart rate and blood pressure.

Having multiple alarms going off throughout the night can scare you, which makes it harder for you to fall back asleep. It’s also incredibly disruptive to your sleep cycle which is the main reason why Dr Jeff Foster, Director of Men’s Health at Voy and an NHS GP Partner is warning people against this viral trend.

As Dr Foster explains, ““Although the feeling of going back to sleep may feel satisfying, deliberately waking yourself up in the middle of the night is unlikely to improve the quality of your sleep. Sleep is made up of different stages, and if it is broken, it can affect how rested you feel.”

Each sleep stage is important in ensuring your sleep is restful and restorative. With the majority of adults needing up to 8.5 hours of sleep per night, this totals to around five sleep cycles, so you should be experiencing multiple phases of light, deep and REM sleep.

As Dr Foster explains, “deep, restorative sleep is important for many processes in the body, including hormone production and other health conditions.” Essentially, using an alarm to disrupt your sleep cycle multiple times in the night can negatively affect many aspects of your brain and body, leaving you feeling tired, irritable and stressed the next day.

Purposely interrupting your sleep goes against everything I know about sleep, regardless of whether it feels satisfying or not at the time. Instead, it’s important to stick to the rules for good sleep hygiene, which include creating and sticking to a regular bedtime routine, avoiding screens late at night and making your environment as comfortable as possible.

We've already spent months guessing what Sir Jony Ive's first hardware collaboration with OpenAI might turn out to be, but the latest leak has landed on something quite different from what we've previously thought. It's now claimed to be a smart speaker that sounds like it could be roughly the same size and shape as an (old) Amazon Echo Dot.

According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman (via The Verge), OpenAI is preparing to launch its debut consumer gadget as a screen-less, doughnut-shaped speaker that’s around the size of a hockey puck.

If that all sounds a little familiar, wait till you hear about the rumoured price.

Apparently, it will be priced over $300, which is some way north of Amazon's own Echo lineup, which starts as low as $40.

What will be different about OpenAI's smart speaker?

The suggested pricing puts the device firmly in HomePod territory instead, although the report also notes that it could “have a unique look, complete with moving parts”.. Some elements could move to show when the device is interacting with the user.

Sources also described it as a “battery-powered” unit designed to be picked up and easily carried from room to room “with one hand”.

It's said to include a camera system too, plus several microphones and ambient sensors – all wrapped in Ive's signature high-end industrial design language.

According to Gurman, the device will “work similarly to the company’s ChatGPT voice mode on smartphone apps, but with more advanced models for humanlike interactivity”.

It's a pretty dramatic pivot from the wearable and earbud rumours that have swirled since OpenAI folded Ive's io startup into its hardware division back in May 2025.

As we’ve covered before, court filings have already suggested the device won't reach customers before the end of February 2027, so anyone hoping to get their hands on ChatGPT's answer to Alexa (with a twist, maybe even literally if this latest report is anything to go by) will need some patience.

Watch out, Eufy – Narwal has just announced its most advanced robot vacuum cleaner and mop yet. Expanding its Freo series, the new Narwal Freo 20 is the first model from the brand to feature a ‘world’s first’ flattened roller mop which self-cleans using hot water mid cycle.

The launch of the Narwal Freo 20 marks many firsts for the brand, including it being the first Freo model to be equipped with Narwal’s FlowWash Mopping System. Rather than having to return to the dock for cleaning, the Narwal Freo 20 continuously washes its mop during a cycle to prevent water marks and cross-contamination.

Most robot vac-mops feature drag, sonic or dual-spinning pads to mop your floors. Where the Narwal Freo 20 differs is it uses a flattened roller or track mop which has a wider contact area to cover more ground as it cleans. As it cleans, the Narwal Freo 20 sprays 140°F of hot, fresh water through its 16 nozzles for an expert clean.

The mop of the Narwal Freo 20 automatically delivers 12N of downward pressure, and rotates in all directions to remove stubborn stains. It also has a built-in scraper and air pump which removes leftover dirt and separates it into another tank so it’s not spreading dirty water on your floors.

As a robot vacuum, the Narwal Freo 20 has 31,000 Pa suction power that’s ideal for all floor types, including carpets and hardwood floors. It also uses DualFlow Tangle-Free system to avoid blockages from human or pet hair, and its EdgeReach technology allows the robot to get into tight corners and right up to the edges of your floor.

For mapping, the Narwal Freo 20 has an incredible advanced camera and AI system which comes with multiple modes that cater to different detections. It uses dual RGB cameras and AI processing to identify over 300 objects, and manoeuver around them using TwinAI Doge technology.

For homes with pets and children, the Narwal Freo 20 has a Pet Care Mode which adjusts the robot to clean around places your pet sleeps or sits. The cameras offer video monitoring so the robot vacuum can double as a security camera so you can check on your pet while you’re away from home.

For children, the Narwal Freo 20 has a Baby Care Mode which allows it to recognise places with cribs and toys. When this happens, the robot vacuum switches to a quieter cleaning mode so it doesn’t disturb your child.

The Narwal Freo 20 comes with its all-in-one dock which has a new woven fabric design to blend into your home and furniture. While the Narwal Freo 20 cleans itself on the go, the dock also has a four-stage cleaning system which washes and dries the mop, and auto-empties the bin.

The Narwal Freo 20 is available via early access with the official launch expected on 20th August. Its full price is $1,099.99 but there’s a launch discount where you can get it for $899.99. As of writing, UK pricing and availability has yet to be announced.

Smart homes are meant to make life easier, right up until the internet connection drops and Alexa suddenly stops listening. The drawbacks then become obvious fast: smart lights may disappear from their apps, and security cameras can lose their live feeds.

The good news is that an internet outage does not necessarily bring the whole house to a halt. Many devices retain basic controls or physical fallbacks, while others lose only their remote features.

What keeps working depends largely on how each product connects and whether it can process commands locally.

To help you make sense of this under-discussed topic, I'm taking a look at how an internet outage can affect your smart home setup and what contingencies to put in place.

What kind of outage is it?

An internet outage is different from losing Wi-Fi altogether. Your router may still be running and keeping devices connected to one another, even if it can no longer reach the wider internet. In that situation, products with local controls or automations may carry on largely as normal.

A router failure is more disruptive, as Wi-Fi devices can no longer talk to your phone or one another. Some hub-based systems may still function over Zigbee or Thread, although their apps could remain unavailable.

A power cut is the toughest test. Routers, Wi-Fi bridges, smart speakers, security cameras, and most devices will all shut down unless they have battery backup.

Anything battery-powered, including locks, sensors, and alarms, may keep working, but only through whatever controls are stored on the device.

What will probably keep working?

Basic controls are usually the most dependable. Smart bulbs should still respond to wall switches, thermostats can often be adjusted manually, and smart locks should retain a key, keypad, or thumb-turn.

Some local features may survive too. Bluetooth locks should still connect directly to a phone, while hub-based lights may continue following schedules stored inside the home. Smoke alarms and security systems should also keep their core safety functions, even if app alerts disappear.

Larger appliances like a connected washing machine or robot vacuum will usually remain usable from their physical controls, although remote access and notifications may stop until the connection returns.

What becomes less smart?

Cloud-based features are usually the first to disappear: Voice assistants may stop answering you and remote app access can fail.

Security cameras with local storage may continue saving footage, although you probably will not be able to check it from outside the home.

Automations are less predictable. A schedule stored on a hub may keep running, while a routine handled by Alexa or Google Home could stop completely.

Basically, anything that relies on outside information – such as your location, the weather, a command sent while you are away, and so on – will also need an internet connection.

Phone alerts are another common casualty. A smoke alarm may still sound inside the house and a security system can still trigger its siren, but neither may be able to notify you remotely until the connection returns.

Why hubs and Matter can help

A dedicated smart home hub can make your setup more resilient by storing controls and automations inside the home.

Systems such as Philips Hue, Homey, and some Tapo or Aqara hubs, can keep devices talking locally, even when the wider internet is unavailable.

Matter can help here too, as compatible devices are designed to communicate over the local network rather than sending every command to the cloud.

How to prepare your smart home

The easiest way to find the weak spots is to test them. Disconnect the internet while leaving your router powered on, then see what you can and can't still control.

Ultimately, it's far better to discover an overly cloud-dependent smart device on a quiet afternoon than during a real outage.

Future purchases deserve the same test: Look for local control, physical buttons, onboard storage, and clear information about what happens when the cloud is unavailable for whatever reason.

Beyond the occasional wobble, offline support can also signal whether a product remains useful years later, once its manufacturer stops updating the app or closes the service behind it.

From 27th August, plug-in solar panels will officially be available in the UK, offering a simpler and more affordable way to generate your own electricity. The new UK standard allows systems of up to 800W – typically made up of two 400W solar panels – making them suitable for balconies, gardens and smaller homes.

Like conventional solar panels, plug-in systems generate electricity from sunlight. The key difference is that instead of powering your entire home, they're designed to offset your home's base load – the electricity you constantly use to keep appliances such as your fridge, Wi-Fi router, TV and other smart devices running.

So, how much could an 800W plug-in solar system actually save you on your energy bills? I dug into the numbers to find out, and here's what you need to know..

How do plug-in solar panels save money?

How much you can save depends on several factors, including where you live, how much sunshine your home gets, which direction your panels face, and how much of the electricity you use whilst it's being generated.

I've put together a rough guide to the savings you can realistically expect. These estimates are based on the new 800W plug-in solar systems, which is also the maximum output currently permitted under the new regulations.

Are they as good as rooftop solar panels?

In short, no.

A traditional rooftop solar installation is typically several kilowatts in size, meaning it can generate significantly more electricity and cover a much larger proportion of your household's annual energy use.

Plug-in solar panels are best thought of as a more affordable and accessible alternative. They won't replace a full rooftop system, but they can help reduce your electricity bills without the high upfront cost or disruption of a professional installation.

Are the savings worth it?

An 800W plug-in solar system isn't going to halve your electricity bill, but it can make a noticeable dent in it. For households with a steady daytime electricity demand, annual savings of around £70 to £110 are achievable, especially if the panels are installed in a sunny spot and most of the electricity generated is used as it's produced.

The biggest advantage is the relatively low upfront cost. Whilst a traditional rooftop solar installation can cost several thousand pounds, plug-in systems are expected to be available for a few hundred pounds. That makes them a much more affordable way to start generating your own electricity and reducing your reliance on the grid.

The UK has been experiencing one of the hottest summers on record. While the sun has been scorching, the humidity has been quite intense, especially inside the house which gets increasingly uncomfortable, especially at night.

As reported by The Guardian, the June heatwave saw dew point temperatures – which indicate how much moisture is in the air – reach the low 20s. When air contains a high amount of moisture like this, it causes the body to get hotter and find it harder to cool itself, so to stay cool, it’s recommended to reduce the humidity in your room as much as possible.

One of the best ways to remove humidity from your home is to use a dehumidifier. Dehumidifiers are primarily used to remove damp and mould from houses, as well as speed up your laundry drying, but they can also help rooms feel less clammy and humid during the hotter weather.

To find out how to use your dehumidifier more efficiently, I spoke to Chris Michael, air treatment expert and co-founder of Meaco who gave five ways to use your dehumidifier to deal with summer humidity.

1. Run your dehumidifier before bed

High humidity can leave rooms feeling hot and sticky, but especially bedrooms. Having a hot bedroom and bedding can make it harder to settle comfortably at night which can disrupt your sleep, so running a dehumidifier in the evening can help.

To reduce the moisture level in your home before bedtime, Michael recommends to “keep the bedroom door and windows closed while it operates so that it can work on the air inside the room… position the dehumidifier where air can circulate freely around it and follow the manufacturer’s guidance on placement and operation. It can also be left on overnight to remove excess moisture from sweating and breathing.”

2. Use your dehumidifier with a fan

While fans create a cooling breeze and move air around the room, they don’t remove moisture, so to reduce humidity, try using your dehumidifier with your fan. “A dehumidifier can reduce the humidity while the fan provides airflow,” Michael explains. “Drier air can also help sweat evaporate more readily, which may make the fan feel more effective. The appliances can operate together, or the dehumidifier can be used first to prepare the room before the fan is switched on.”

3. Use your dehumidifier to capture allergens

Dehumidifiers are surprisingly effective for many different heatwave factors, especially if the higher temperatures are causing seasonal allergies to flare up. High humidity can actually cause pollen grains to become heavier which drop and cling to the floor of your home. The hot air can also trap allergens like mould and dust.

Using a dehumidifier “with dual HEPA air purification modes adds another benefit by capturing airborne particles such as pollen, dust and pet dander. This can help improve indoor air quality when windows are kept closed during hot weather or colder periods,” says Michael.

4. Make tweaks to your shower and cooking routines

Humidity can be increased by activities like showering and cooking, so to reduce this during the hotter weather, make small tweaks when doing these tasks. When showering, try to “keep the bathroom door closed during and after to stop moisture spreading into nearby rooms. Use an extractor fan where available and run a dehumidifier afterwards to treat the humid air.”

Similarly when cooking, “cover pans and use the cooker hood or extractor fan to limit the amount of steam released into the home.”

5. Look for signs of excess humidity

High humidity can affect your home without you realising it, as it doesn’t always show obvious signs. The reason for this is “warm air can continue to hold the moisture rather than forming condensation on windows or walls,” Michael explains. But if your bedding is clammy, or your room feels sticky and smells musty, this means the moisture level is too high.

To find non-visible signs of excess humidity, Michael recommends using a dehumidifier with a “built-in humidity display that can help households monitor conditions and identify when moisture is building up”.

Is Samsung finally releasing its Ballie AI home companion robot? While Samsung has kept very quiet about Ballie, a leak was recently spotted that showed a potential app UI design for a Ballie app – here’s what we know so far.

As always, Samsung has had a big year. In July, Samsung held its Unpacked event where it launched the new Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8, and throughout 2026, the brand has debuted new home appliances, including upgraded smart fridges and robot vacuums.

But one thing that Samsung has been pretty silent about is Ballie. Samsung originally announced Ballie back in 2020, dubbing it as an autonomous, spherical AI companion robot. Since then, Ballie has remained a concept, with Samsung announcing it had delayed Ballie yet again in late 2025, saying it was still working on the technology.

But visuals of Samsung Ballie software was recently spotted by Sammy Guru. While nothing has officially been confirmed or denied, many are speculating that the illustrations show what a Ballie app could look like, although an app name is still unknown.

The illustrations don’t directly state that the app would be for the Ballie robot. However, there are clear sketches of a spherical ball-like device which look a lot like the Ballie concept pictures that have been released over the years, and the ‘app’ refers to it as the Home Robot.

As the visuals show, a main dashboard has the Ballie or Home Robot at front and centre. Icons surround it, showing battery percentage, location, and status, including Ready or Error, and Streaming text sits just below the Ballie illustration. Further down the page is Home Monitor and Greeting cards and a main bar sits at the bottom showing Media and Robot.

These visuals have circulated but nothing has really been made clear about what anything of it means. Many have guessed that Streaming refers to users being able to view the Ballie onboard camera live and remotely, so it can potentially double as a security camera.

Others have speculated that the Greetings section could allow Ballie to detect people and offer personalised greetings when they get home. This has also been shown in Ballie promotion videos that Samsung previously produced when it first announced it.

In general, we don’t really know what the future looks like for Ballie. AI home robots are still new, with brands like LG and SwitchBot having announced their own full-sized models, although neither seem to have come into fruition just yet.

The Samsung Ballie could change this, and offer an easier, more compact way to use this type of technology, as it’s significantly smaller than other home robot concepts. But as always with Ballie, we’ll just have to wait and see what happens.

I recently attended Panasonic’s Cooking Masterclass where I got to see its new microwave-air fryer hybrid in action. With 19 programmes to choose from, the 4-in-1 appliance can be used as an air fryer, convection oven, quartz grill and inverter microwave, and it cooks chicken insanely quickly.

At the event, I also got to see more of Panasonic’s new and upcoming launches, and its latest bread and ice cream maker hybrid has quickly become my new favourite appliance of the year – here’s why.

As Panasonic – and other brands like Ninja – have proven is that hybrid appliances which do more than one thing have become increasingly popular. Aside from offering two or more cooking functions in one, this hybrid make-up means you save money as you’re only buying one device, while also saving a huge amount of countertop and cupboard space.

Panasonic’s latest hybrid appliance, the new Panasonic Mini Bread and Ice Cream Maker is the perfect example of this. When I first heard that there was a device that combined these two actions, I was initially skeptical. Bread and ice cream sounds like a weird mix, but you’d be surprised how logical it actually is.

Bread machines and ice cream makers work in an almost identical way. Making bread and ice cream both require a certain amount of time and mixing – for bread, it’s kneading and for ice cream, it’s churning – so it’s a surprisingly similar action.

Ice cream makers have also surged in popularity over the years. However, unless you eat ice cream on a weekly basis, having a dedicated machine just for ice cream seems a little pointless for some, especially if they only intend to use it for a few months out of the year. Doubling this action with a bread maker means you’re more likely to use the appliance more often – at least that’s the case for me.

The Panasonic Mini Bread and Ice Cream Maker has three auto ice cream programs, and 12 dessert programs, including ice cream, sorbet, frozen yoghurt and even mochi. With the machine, you get a dedicated ice cream container which you need to pre-freeze for up to eight hours before you can use it in the machine.

Once the bowl is frozen and you’ve removed the bread tin, you can slot the ice cream container into the Panasonic Mini Bread and Ice Cream Maker. From there, you simply pour in your pre-made mixture which doesn’t need to be pre-frozen, and you select your option on the machine – very simple!

While I love ice cream as much as the next person, what caught my attention the most with the Panasonic Mini Bread and Ice Cream Maker was its bread functions. It fits up to 500g loaf sizes, and has 34 programmes to play with, including French and Italian breads, basic and whole wheat breads, gluten free options, and even pizza dough.

My favourite part of the Panasonic Mini Bread and Ice Cream Maker is its yeast and raisin/nut dispenser which sits separately within the lid of the machine. I love my bread maker but I’m always cautious about adding in yeast and salt too close to one another as the latter can dehydrate the former, which can cause yeast to act slower, resulting in flat loaves.

To counteract this problem, you can add your main ingredients to the machine’s bread tin and add yeast into the dispenser at the top. As a fully automatic machine, the Panasonic Mini Bread and Ice Cream Maker kneads, rises and bakes bread in one, and dispenses the yeast at the right time. If you’re adding seeds, nuts or raisins to your loaves, it’ll also add this later in the process to avoid over kneading or crushing.

I found the Panasonic Mini Bread and Ice Cream Maker extremely easy to use. While I didn’t get to see my bread as the event was shorter than the bread-making process, the pre-made bread I tried was delicious. Sadly as a lactose intolerant person, I didn’t get to try the ice cream but the other people at the event loved it and many went back for seconds – a high endorsement indeed!

I can’t wait to get my hands on the Panasonic Mini Bread and Ice Cream Maker, so stay tuned for when I finally get to test it.

If the recent hot weather has left your lawn looking more like straw than grass, don't panic just yet. In many cases, a brown lawn isn't dead at all – it's simply dormant and waiting for better conditions.

Whilst we've already covered three ways to stop your lawn turning brown during a heatwave, it may be a little too late if the damage has already been done. Thankfully, all hope isn't lost, and with a little patience and the right care, your lawn should spring back to life.

Here are three simple steps to help it recover and turn green again.

1. Water deeply – not little and often

If your lawn has turned brown, resist the temptation to give it a quick sprinkle every day. Instead, water deeply once or twice a week, preferably early in the morning or late in the evening when temperatures are cooler.

This step obviously replies on whether you have a hosepipe ban or not, but a deep soak encourages the grass roots to grow further into the soil, making them more resilient to future dry spells.

If your lawn is dormant rather than dead, this consistent watering approach will help it recover naturally once temperatures begin to drop.

2. Resist mowing

It might seem like giving your lawn a close cut will tidy it up, but doing so during hot, dry weather can actually make things worse.

If your lawn is already brown, it's best to avoid using your best lawn mower altogether until it begins to recover. This reduces further stress and gives the grass the best chance of bouncing back when conditions improve

However, if it's only slightly brown and still growing, set your mower to its highest setting and leave the grass slightly longer than usual. Taller grass blades provide shade for the soil beneath, helping it retain moisture whilst protecting the roots from intense sunlight.

3. Wait before feeding your lawn

Contrary to some belief, lawn feed is best applied once the weather cools and your grass starts actively growing again. Applying fertiliser during extreme heat can place unnecessary stress on already struggling grass and may scorch it further.

Instead, continue watering where appropriate and wait for cooler temperatures or rainfall to kickstart growth. Once you begin to see green shoots returning, use a quality lawn feed to replenish lost nutrients and encourage thicker and healthier grass.

Xiaomi has unveiled a new smart home appliance that combines an air purifier and humidifier into a single device. Officially called the Mijia Smart Air Purifier with Humidification Pro, it not only cleans the air but also helps maintain healthy humidity levels indoors.

Measuring 32 x 32 x 81cm, the purifier is also designed for quieter environments, featuring an ultra-quiet Sleep Mode that operates at just 14.6dBA. The unit also features an integrated UV sterilisation system, designed to prevent standing water from breeding bacteria or releasing microbes back into your home.

The device first launched through a crowdfunding campaign in China, where it was priced at around $255 or £220. Xiaomi has yet to confirm whether it will be released in other countries, but it has appeared on the brand's global website, so there's a good chance it will do.

Xiaomi claims the device delivers a clean air delivery rate of up to 422m³/h and can remove 99.99% of fine particulate matter within an hour, along with airborne allergens and certain pathogens.

The Mijia Smart Air Purifier with Humidification Pro joins a growing number of dual-function air care devices, including Blueair's 2-in-1 Purify + Humidify, which also combines air purification with humidity control. However, with a launch price of around £220, Xiaomi's model could prove to be a much more affordable alternative – particularly for those already invested in the brand's smart ecosystem.

Ozlo has released its next generation of sleep headphones, the Ozlo Sleepbuds 2. An advancement on the original, the Ozlo Sleepbuds 2 come with better sound quality, a smaller, more comfortable design and up to 14 hours of battery life – although the price may still come as a shock.

Made by Bose engineers, the original Ozlo Sleepbuds came out in 2024 to much acclaim, thanks to its advanced sleep and audio technology. While it won many points for its design, sound variety and comfortability, the price and app needed a bit of work, as I discovered in my Ozlo Sleepbuds review.

Ozlo has clearly taken these factors into consideration with the new Ozlo Sleepbuds 2. With the same design as its predecessor, the Ozlo Sleepbuds 2 have a smaller size, making them the world’s smallest sleep earbuds to date. Made from silicone, the Ozlo Sleepbuds 2 fit snugly in the ear and are designed for all-night comfort, especially for side sleepers.

Rather than completely block out noise, the Ozlo Sleepbuds 2 use noise masking technology to reduce disruptions like snoring or external noise. The earbuds have also had its audio system redesigned with a built-in amplifier, so the sound quality is richer and masking is stronger. Users also have more volume options.

To help you sleep better, the Ozlo Sleepbuds 2 come with a library of soundscapes and masking sleep sounds. The earbuds can be used to play music, podcasts and audiobooks, and they have a private in-ear alarm to wake you up in the morning.

The Ozlo Sleepbuds 2 have five customisable sleep modes to choose from, so you can decide how your audio runs through the night. For example, you can play music or an audiobook before bed and set the Ozlo Sleepbuds 2 to transition to noise masking sounds when you fall asleep or after a certain time.

When the Ozlo Sleepbuds were launched a couple years ago, the earbuds didn’t have sleep tracking, but that has now changed. The Ozlo Sleepbuds 2 and its Smart Charging Case track sleep and environmental conditions through the night, like breathing, movement, sound, light and temperature, and offer personalised insights in the app.

The real standout feature, though, is the improved battery life. The Ozlo Sleepbuds 2 now has up to 14 hours of battery life, which Ozlo claims to be the “longest battery life in the sleep earbuds category”. The case also stores battery for up to three sleeps per charge.

Other features include improved Bluetooth connectivity, and a Sleep Shield which blocks disruptions, like calls and notifications.

The Ozlo Sleepbuds 2 are available to buy for $279 at Ozlo. Compared to other sleep headphones, the Ozlo Sleepbuds 2 are definitely high-end, although with this purchase, you get the earbuds, travel case and the Ozlo Sleep Mask as a limited time gift bundle. As of writing, the Ozlo Sleepbuds 2 aren’t yet available in the UK and Europe.

Philips Hue appears to have accidentally leaked an unannounced product on its own website. The discovery was first spotted by Fabian at Hueblog, who noticed the phrase: "Check out Philips Hue Play Gradient Strip Lights and Play Gradient Lightstrip Pro."

The mention is notable because Philips Hue doesn't currently sell a Play Gradient Lightstrip Pro, suggesting the company may have inadvertently confirmed a new addition to its Play lineup ahead of an official announcement.

In recent weeks, various other leaks have pointed to a Hue Screen Sync Camera, whilst another hinted at an unexpected smart lounge table. Together, they suggest Philips Hue is preparing for a significant product showcase at IFA, which kicks off in just a few weeks. If so, the Play Gradient Lightstrip Pro could be one of the headline announcements.

Whilst details remain scarce, the 'Pro' branding suggests it could sit above the existing Play Gradient Lightstrip range, potentially offering enhanced features or performance. That could also mean a higher price tag, especially given Philips Hue recently expanded its more affordable Essentials range.

As part of the Play family, the new lightstrip would almost certainly be designed for TV entertainment. Philips Hue's Play products synchronise your smart lights with what's happening on screen, extending colours from films, TV shows and games beyond the edges of your television and onto the surrounding walls for a more immersive viewing experience.

We'll update this story as soon as Philips Hue confirms more details.

If you want to track your sleep but don’t want to wear anything on your wrist or finger to do it, Hatch just solved this problem. The new Hatch Sleep Clock is a contactless sleep tracker that sits on your bedside table rather than in your bed or on your body, and it offers a full sleep experience to help you sleep better.

The Hatch Sleep Clock looks similar to its range of wake up lights, and it actually has a similar design and features so you can use it as a tracker and wake up light in one device. Where it excels is its sleep tracking which uses ultra-low-power radio signals to detect breathing and movement without being invasive.

Unlike traditional sleep trackers, the Hatch Sleep Clock isn’t a wearable, and it doesn’t use microphones or cameras. Instead, its radio signals and bedside technology can detect sleep with a 97% accuracy rating which allows the Hatch Sleep Clock to learn your sleep patterns, deliver insights and create personalised bedtime routines.

Sleep tracking is like marmite – some people love it while others hate it. What Hatch noticed when making its Sleep Clock is that there was a disconnect between understanding and improving sleep which is why it added light and sound features to the Hatch Sleep Clock to bridge this gap.

When in action, the Hatch Sleep Clock tracks when you go to bed, fall asleep, different sleep stages, and if you wake up during the night. From there, the Hatch Sleep Clock uses this information to offer personalised guidance like when you should go to bed and wake up each night, and customise nightly routines by recommending sleep stories, meditations and alarms.

The Hatch Sleep Clock looks similar to the brand’s wake up lights. Like the Hatch Restore 3, it has a semi-circle shape with a button on the top to turn off your alarms and music, and adjust lighting, plus it can be used as a sunrise and sunset alarm clock.

I use a wake up light every morning and it’s changed my morning routine for the better. Instead of a loud, beeping alarm, I wake up to natural light and the sound of birds chirping, which is an option you can choose with the Hatch Sleep Clock. It has circadian-backed light and premium sleep audio which can wake you gradually and naturally, and send you to sleep.

The nighttime cues are my favourite feature of the new Hatch Sleep Clock. I love listening to calming music when I wind down for the night, and the Hatch Sleep Clock has this in handfuls, including sound baths, sleep stories, ASMR, podcasts, audiobooks and a full sleep music library.

The Hatch Sleep Clock is available to buy for $249.99 at Hatch. As of writing, UK pricing and availability has yet to be announced.

Few brands have influenced modern travel bags quite like Matador. The company has built its reputation on ultralight, highly packable gear that appeals to frequent travellers, hikers and one-bag enthusiasts.

I’m one of these people and have been using the company’s bags for years. One of my favourite travel bags is the Matador SEG30 Segmented Backpack, which has a compartmentalised approach that lets you keep your stuff separate while travelling. I’ve also been a huge fan of the packable and lightweight Freerain28 backpack.

Rather than resting on the success of its existing range, Matador has gone back to the drawing board and redesigned its entire lineup, creating a more cohesive ecosystem while retaining the minimalist philosophy that made the brand popular in the first place.

The bag I’ve been using for the last few months is the successor to one of Matador’s newer bags, the GlobeRider35 Travel Backpack. Called the 35L Global Travel Pack, Matador says it’s the best option for those who “jump time zones with everything on their back.“ It’s a carry-on-friendly model with smart organisation, comfortable shoulder and hip straps and classic Matador design.

The brand sent me the pack a few months ago, allowing me to put it through its paces properly. I’m used to only being able to test things for a couple of weeks, so it was a nice change of pace to actually use the Global Travel Pack on multiple occasions. My latest trip with it was to Tokyo, where it functioned as a large carry-on.

Travelling light, carrying more

As the name suggests, the 35L Global Travel Pack offers 35 litres of storage while remaining carry-on friendly. It measures 53 x 36 x 25cm, weighs 1,673g and uses a dual-access design that lets you either load it from the top or unzip the entire front in a clamshell configuration.

There's also a large external laptop compartment with room for virtually any laptop, a separate padded tablet sleeve (in the same compartment), an admin pocket with integrated key tether, plus internal mesh dividers and high-visibility lining to make smaller items easier to find.

The backpack features a breathable padded back panel, cushioned shoulder straps and a removable hip belt, all supported by a lightweight composite frame to help spread heavier loads.

The weatherproof construction combines recycled 420D Bluesign-approved nylon with waterproof fabrics and sealing zippers, while anti-theft zipper loops, a hidden RFID-blocking pocket and a dedicated tracker compartment add extra peace of mind when travelling.

Other thoughtful touches include stowable shoulder straps for overhead lockers, external water bottle pockets, a removable shock cord stash system, luggage handle pass-through and grab handles on every side of the bag. Long story short, if you can think of a travel bag feature, the 35L Global Travel Pack probably has it.

Tokyo stress test

I was genuinely surprised how spacious the bag felt. On my most recent trip to Tokyo, I did the classic thing of taking nothing with me on the way out and having full bags on the way back, which is probably the only reason I managed to bring so much back from Japan.

The main compartment swallowed two pairs of headphones, my Fujifilm camera, the Insta360 Luna Ultra, DJI Osmo Pocket 4P, books, notebooks, snacks, a water bottle, a hat and various smaller bits besides, and it still wasn't full.

I also travelled with a surprisingly bulky lumbar support pillow (see first picture) to help keep my sciatica at bay during the 14-hour flight, which I managed to tuck neatly beneath the removable front shock cord instead of it eating into the main compartment.

There is a handle on the back panel which can also be used to attach the bag to your suitcase. I took my large Db Ramverk Pro suitcase with me, and the two worked together perfectly. The fact that I could tuck away the shoulder straps made it all the easier to pop the backpack on the suitcase.

There's always a trade-off

If there's one compromise, it's that the Global Travel Pack doesn't compress down when partially loaded. That's fine when you're moving between airports and hotels, but once I've reached my destination, I generally switch to something much smaller.

If I were on a proper backpacking trip, going from one location to another and needing to have all my kit with me, it would be different. But generally speaking, I prefer to take a smaller backpack or a tote bag with me when I’m out and about, as something like the 35L Global Travel Pack feels like overkill.

One minor gripe concerns the zip pulls. I expected them to work with Matador's own BetaLock travel carabiner, but the loops on the main compartment aren't quite large enough. It's a surprising oversight given how security-focused the rest of the design is.

The 35L Global Travel Pack won't replace every bag I own, but I don't think it's trying to. It's designed for travellers who want to carry everything on their backs without compromising organisation or comfort, and in that role it excels. After months of use, I genuinely think it's the best travel backpack Matador has ever made.

As mentioned above, the bag is best suited for those who prefer to have their gear on them at all times or those who prefer a backpack over a carry-on suitcase.

I love the bag, even though I don’t think I will be using it on all my trips. I can see it being a good choice for journeys when I need a smaller duffle, which sounds exactly like the kind of adventure travel the 35L Global Travel Pack was designed for.

It was back in June that Ninja launched a smaller version of its bestselling coffee machine, the Ninja Luxe Café Mini Plus. Despite being 30% more compact than the original, it still includes many of the same features, including a built-in grinder, precision scale, assisted tamper and steam wand.

Naturally, that raises the question of what has actually changed apart from the size and the £50 price difference. More importantly, are the extra features on the original worth paying for, or is the Mini Plus the smarter buy?

To find out, I compared the Ninja Luxe Café Premier and the Ninja Luxe Café Mini Plus. These are the two middle models in Ninja's Luxe Café lineup, sitting between the entry-level Luxe Café Mini and the flagship Luxe Café Pro, making them the closest rivals in terms of features and price

1. Drinks choice

When it comes to drink options, it's probably no surprise that the Luxe Café Premier is the more versatile of the two. It offers 19 drink presets, including Espresso, Americano, Cold Pressed Espresso, Classic Coffee, Rich Coffee, Over Ice Coffee and Cold Brew.

The Mini Plus drops the Cold Brew and Cold Pressed Espresso functions, instead focusing on Espresso, Classic Coffee, Rich Coffee and Over Ice Coffee. If you're someone who regularly enjoys cold brew or chilled espresso drinks, the Premier is the clear winner.

2. Milk frothing

The same applies to milk frothing. Thankfully, both machines include Ninja's excellent assisted milk frothing system, but the Mini Plus comes with fewer presets. The Premier offers Steamed Milk, Thin Froth, Thick Froth and Cold Froth, whereas the Mini Plus misses out on the Cold Froth setting.

It's not a huge omission, but it does make the Premier more versatile if you prefer iced coffees.

3. Brewing capacity

Another difference is brewing capacity, as the Mini Plus is aimed more at solo coffee drinkers, brewing single and double espressos alongside smaller coffee servings.

The Premier can also brew larger filter coffees and travel mug-sized drinks, making it a better fit for busy households or anyone who gets through several coffees a day.

What are the similarities?

That said, the similarities between the two machines are what really stand out. Both machines include a built-in conical burr grinder, Barista Assist Technology, automatic grind recommendations, an assisted tamper and an integrated precision scale. They also both use the same 1650W heating system, so the core coffee-making performance should be very similar.

Which one should you choose?

Personally, I'd still lean towards the Luxe Café Premier, especially if you have the space on your worktop. The extra £50 feels like money well spent for the additional drink presets, larger serving sizes and extra milk frothing options, particularly if you enjoy cold coffee.

However, if you're tight on space and don't think you'll miss cold brew or cold foam, the Mini Plus remains an excellent alternative.

Hoover has unveiled its new Pro Wash washing machine range, introducing three models focused on better cleaning performance, lower running costs and easier maintenance. The launch comes less than a year after the brand revealed its Multi-Wash, a washing machine with three separate drums that can run three different loads at the same time.

The range is topped by the flagship Series 7, followed by the mid-range Series 5. For those looking to spend less, the Series 3 delivers reliable everyday cleaning performance whilst retaining many of the range's core technologies.

The Series 3 starts at £379, whilst the Series 7 is priced at £599. All three models are available now from Hoover's website, with several introductory discounts currently on offer.

One of the standout additions on the Series 3 and Series 5 is Hoover Clean Shield, which helps protect the rubber door seal against mould and bacteria. It's paired with Smart Spray, which automatically rinses detergent residue from the door glass after every wash to help prevent build-up.

Both models also feature a dedicated 60°C Drum Care programme to keep the inside of the machine fresh, alongside ProActive Wash technology. Rather than simply filling the drum with water, ProActive Wash injects water directly into the load to provide a faster and improved cleaning performance across every cycle.

The Series 7 takes a slightly different approach, focusing on intelligent automation and fabric care. It replaces ProActive Wash with AirPro Wash, which Hoover claims uses 37% less energy whilst caring for fabrics 34% better than its standard Rapid 39-minute cycle.

Combined with AutoDose, which automatically dispenses the ideal amount of detergent for every load, and the premium TFT touchscreen, it's the most advanced model in the new Pro Wash range.

The handheld fan market has changed dramatically over the past year. What was once a £10 impulse buy has evolved into a category filled with premium gadgets, led by the Shark ChillPill (£130) and Dyson HushJet Mini Cool (£99).

There's no denying these models are clever, but they're also a significant investment for something you'll probably only use during the warmer months. If you're simply looking for a quick and effective way to beat the heat, there are plenty of excellent alternatives that cost a fraction of the price.

After doing some digging, I've found three handheld fans that deliver exactly that, and you'll find each of them below.

1. Blueair AlwaysCool Portable Handheld Fan

Blueair is best known for the best air purifiers, but it recently entered the handheld fan market with the launch of the AlwaysCool Portable Handheld Fan. Using the brand's AeroSilent Technology, the fan delivers airflow of more than 17mph, allowing users to cool down within seconds.

It has a lay-flat design and a tilting head that adjusts between 0 and 75 degrees, allowing it to be used comfortably as either a handheld fan or a tabletop model. Controls are handled via an intuitive scroll wheel and a premium LCD display that shows the current fan speed, whilst a coloured light ring provides a quick visual indication of the remaining battery level.

Blueair also claims the AlwaysCool can run for more than 32 hours on a single charge, making it one of the longest-lasting handheld fans currently available. It also comes in two colour options – Cloud Linen and Night Charcoal.

£59, blueair.co.uk

2. JisuLife Handheld Fan 5 Plus

JisuLife is known for making some of the best affordable handheld fans on the market, and the Handheld Fan 5 Plus is one of our favourites. It features turbocharged airflow for fast, powerful cooling, but thanks to its built-in noise reduction, it remains impressively quiet at the same time. That's an area where some users have found Dyson's HushJet Mini Cool falls a little short.

The fan offers five speed settings and is powered by a 4,000mAh rechargeable battery, delivering anywhere between 3-16 hours of runtime depending on the speed you choose. It then recharges fully in around three hours via USB-C.

Like Dyson's latest handheld fan, the JisuLife also includes a lanyard, making it easy to wear around your neck for hands-free cooling. It comes in two colours – green and white.

£20, currys.co.uk

3. Muji Rechargeable Handheld Fan

If you're looking to spend even less, the Muji Rechargeable Handheld Fan is an excellent choice. The latest version improves on its predecessor with four fan speeds and a foldable design, making it even more portable than before.

Its battery life isn't quite as impressive as the Blueair or JisuLife models, lasting between 2-10 hours depending on the speed setting, but that's still more than enough for commuting, travelling or keeping cool on warmer days. It's also available in four stylish colours.

£18, uk.muji.eu

Eco modes on household appliances can seem a little too good to be true, especially for budget-conscious households like mine.

A dishwasher that runs for four hours hardly sounds cheaper than one that finishes in 60 minutes, while a tumble dryer’s eco setting may keep turning long after the standard cycle would have stopped.

Longer running times do not necessarily mean higher bills, though. Many eco programmes save energy by using less heat or water, then giving themselves more time to do the same job.

The savings can be worthwhile – but some appliances, like the best dishwashers, benefit far more than others.

Why can a longer eco cycle cost less?

Mainly because running time is only part of the picture. Heating water or air usually takes far more electricity than turning a drum or pumping water around a dishwasher. An eco programme can therefore run for longer while still using less energy overall.

On a dishwasher or washing machine, that usually means cooler water and more time spent soaking or moving the load around. Other appliances may reduce suction or heat output instead.

The important point is that “eco” does not describe one standardised setting across manufacturers – it depends on what the appliance is designed to do.

Dishwashers: where eco mode is best

Dishwashers are one of the clearest examples of an eco mode doing what it promises. The programme heats less water and gives dishes longer to soak, so it can use less electricity even though the cycle takes much longer.

In a Which? snapshot test based on five washes per week, eco programmes cost around 30% less to run than the machines’ main settings. You are most likely to see that benefit with a reasonably full load of normally soiled dishes.

Of course, loading still matters. Large food scraps should be removed, spray arms need room to turn, and the filter should be kept clean, or else you may end up washing the same plates twice and wiping out the saving.

Washing machines: why eco mode and low-temperature are not the same

Washing machines save most of their energy by heating less water, but there are two slightly different ways to do that.

Eco 40–60 is a standardised programme for normally soiled cotton items labelled as washable at 40°C or 60°C. It is also the cycle used to calculate the machine’s energy-label performance, although the water does not necessarily stay at either temperature throughout the wash.

Choosing a normal 30°C or 20°C cycle is a separate option. Lower temperatures need less electricity and are usually enough for everyday clothes. For routine loads, eco mode or a cooler wash should work well, and this is certainly the case in my experience.

Tumble dryers: the important exception

Perhaps unsurprisingly, tumble dryer eco modes are less convincing. They usually lower the heat and extend the cycle, but the saving can be fairly small.

Which? found an average energy reduction of just 3.7% across the models it tested, while some eco programmes left clothes noticeably wetter than the standard setting. Any second cycle would quickly wipe out that energy saving.

You can often make a bigger difference by using a fast spin in the washing machine first or avoiding an overloaded drum.

The dryer itself matters more than the button, too. A heat-pump model will generally use far less energy than a traditional vented or condenser dryer. The Hoover H-Dry 350, which we loved when we tested it, is a useful example of how that tech works in practice.

Eco modes on other appliances

Elsewhere, the eco label can be much less precise. A cordless vacuum may reduce suction, while a heater could lower its power output or adjust the thermostat more cautiously.

Both can use less electricity, but only if the reduced performance still does the job. Vacuuming the same carpet twice or running a weak heating setting for much longer is unlikely to save anything overall.

Should you use eco mode?

For dishwashers and washing machines, eco mode is most often the best default for full, normally soiled loads.

Tumble dryers deserve more caution, especially when the programme leaves clothes damp enough to need another cycle, defeating the purpose of trying to save some energy.

In practice, the cheapest option is usually the one that cuts heat or water without making you run the appliance twice.

There's nothing I find more satisfying than using one of the best pressure washers, so if you're the same and enjoy giving your outdoor space a proper refresh, I've found a model that deserves your attention.

The Mac Allister M2 Pressure Washer is part of B&Q's own range, and after seeing it in action during an event a few months ago, I couldn't wait to put it to the test on my own patio. Since then, I've deliberately let the grime, mud and debris build up to give it a proper challenge, and it's safe to say it didn't disappoint.

Price and availability

The Mac Allister M2 costs £99 from B&Q, although Club members can currently get 15% off when spending £75 or more, bringing the price down to just £84.15.

It's positioned towards the more affordable end of Mac Allister's pressure washer range, sitting between the M1 (£59) and the more powerful M5 (£199), making it a great middle-ground option.

Unboxing and set up

The Mac Allister M2 arrives mostly assembled, although you'll need to attach the suspension bracket and pressure hose holder so you have somewhere to store the 5-metre power cable and 8-metre high-pressure hose. This only requires a Phillips screwdriver (which you'll need to supply yourself) and the included screws.

Once that's done, it's simply a case of choosing your preferred nozzle, attaching it to the spray lance and connecting your garden hose using a standard hose coupling. From opening the box to being ready to clean took me around 15 minutes, which felt perfectly reasonable.

Design and features

The Mac Allister M2 has an upright, trolley-style design with two large rear wheels and an retractable telescopic handle, making it easy to wheel around the garden rather than carry. The whole unit feels surprisingly compact and lightweight, whilst the durable plastic housing gives it a hard-wearing finish.

Power comes from a 1.8kW air-cooled motor, capable of delivering up to 145 bar of pressure and a water flow rate of around 450 litres per hour. It also features an automatic start/stop system, meaning the motor only runs when you squeeze the trigger, helping reduce unnecessary noise, energy use and wear on the machine.

The pressure washer is supplied with a high-pressure trigger gun and metal spray lance, alongside an excellent selection of accessories. These include an adjustable spray nozzle for general cleaning, a rotary spray nozzle for tackling stubborn dirt, and a 28cm pressure-adjustable patio cleaner, which is ideal for large paved areas. There's also an attachable 500ml detergent bottle that mixes cleaning solution directly into the water stream, making it especially useful for washing cars, bikes or filthy surfaces.

Mac Allister has also included a number of thoughtful features, including a quick-connect hose system that allows both the garden hose and high-pressure hose to be attached in seconds without any tools. The 8-metre high-pressure hose also gives you plenty of reach before needing to move the machine.

Finally, an integrated water inlet filter helps stop dirt and debris entering the pump, protecting the internal components and helping improve the washer's long-term reliability.

Performance

I was really impressed by the Mac Allister M2 Pressure Washer during testing, and I'd comfortably rank it among the best pressure washers I've used at this price point. The range of included attachments means it's well-equipped for almost any cleaning job around the home, and the pressure is excellent. It was powerful enough to tackle stubborn dirt without ever feeling difficult to control.

For patios, the patio cleaner attachment is undoubtedly the star of the show, and I'd recommend skipping the standard spray nozzles altogether and reaching straight for it. It cleaned each patio slab in around 5-10 seconds, meaning I finished my entire patio in well under an hour. It also left no swirl marks whatsoever, which is something cheaper patio cleaners often struggle with.

I also really enjoyed using the rotary spray nozzle, which proved really useful for washing walls and fences. I did have to keep my distance to avoid any damage or paint flaking, but that just shows how powerful it was.

The generous power cable and long high-pressure hose also made a real difference in day-to-day use. I rarely had to stop to reposition the machine, and thanks to its large wheels and telescopic handle, it was easy to pull around the garden without feeling awkward.

After longer cleaning sessions, I did find the trigger gun started to make my fingers feel a little sore from holding it continuously. I also found that when using the rotary spray nozzle, the garden hose occasionally came loose from the rear connection, meaning I had to stop and push it back in. Neither issue was a deal-breaker, but they were noticeable during extended use.

Verdict

At under £100, the Mac Allister M2 Pressure Washer delivers the sort of performance I'd normally expect from a far more expensive machine. The standout feature is undoubtedly the patio cleaner, which transformed my outdoor space in well under an hour. There are a couple of minor annoyances, namely the trigger becoming uncomfortable during extended use and the occasional hose connection issue, but neither came close to spoiling the results. When you combine its powerful cleaning performance, thoughtful design and impressive value for money, the Mac Allister M2 becomes an easy recommendation.

Alternatives to consider

A very similar alternative to the Mac Allister M2 is the Titan TTB2200PRW 145 Bar Electric Pressure Washer. It offers the same maximum pressure and flow rate, alongside a comparable selection of accessories including a patio cleaner, all for around the same price.

If you'd prefer something smaller and cordless, I'd recommend the Bosch Fontus 18V. It's brilliant for washing bikes, cars and outdoor furniture, but if your main priority is tackling patios or driveways, the Mac Allister M2 is the much stronger choice.

Laifen has expanded its grooming range with the new P3 electric shaver, bringing the brand's precision-focused technology to a more accessible model. It follows the Laifen P3 Pro, which earned four stars in our full review earlier this year.

The Laifen P3 introduces a new self-developed twin high-speed linear motor system, delivering 12,000 x 2 cuts per minute. Laifen says this helps reduce vibrations against the skin, addressing one of the biggest complaints many users have with even the best electric shavers.

Priced at £139.99/$159.99, the Laifen P3 is available to buy from Amazon and selected retailers from today.

Available in black, white and blue, the P3 uses a durable PC body with a ceramic-like Monocoat finish, which provides a more secure grip. It also features a stainless steel blade net and an ultra-thin 0.55mm hypoallergenic foil with low nickel, helping deliver a smoother, gentler shave.

The built-in battery provides up to 100 minutes of use from a full charge. If you're in a rush, a quick three-minute charge provides around seven minutes of shaving time. There's also a dedicated travel lock mode, activated by holding the power button for two seconds.

Need to freshen up your outfit before heading into a meeting or out for dinner? A new concept device called Elide could make crumpled clothes a thing of the past.

Created by designer Safaa Fojdar, the handheld gadget is designed to smooth out wrinkles quickly, without the bulk of an iron or clothes steamer.

Elide uses two gently heated rollers that glide over fabric while applying light tension. As the material passes between the rollers, creases are smoothed out. This makes for a simple way to refresh shirts, dresses and other clothes without the need for an ironing board.

The compact design is intended to be portable enough to slip into a bag or suitcase. That makes this useful for commuting, business trips or holidays – where ironing kit isn't always available.

It's also designed to be easier to use than a conventional iron, allowing people to quickly remove wrinkles while clothes remain on a hanger or laid flat.

While Elide is currently a concept rather than a commercial product, it highlights how everyday chores could become a lot less time consuming through smarter design.

Whether you're someone who irons every shirt before wearing it or you want to look a little more presentable after pulling clothes from a suitcase, the idea certainly has appeal.

A handheld gadget that takes the hassle out of removing creases is exactly the sort of product that I would happily splash out on, especially if it means the ironing board can stay tucked away a little longer.

This latest heatwave got you dreaming of climbing into the fridge? Well, this unusual invention might be the next best thing. Japanese companies SDRS and TRUSCO Nakayama have unveiled the Do Hiemon Box. This is a personal cooling booth designed to rapidly lower body temperature during extreme summer conditions.

The human-sized unit looks more like a vending machine than a refrigerator, complete with a glass front panel and enough room for one person to sit inside. Once the door is closed, the booth maintains an internal temperature of around 15°C while directing 5°C air towards your head, neck, shoulders and back.

According to its creators, people start to feel cooler in around five minutes, while a 10-minute session may help relieve the effects of heat exhaustion. To avoid overcooling, the unit automatically switches off after 20 minutes.

This isn't built for homes though. The Do Hiemon Box has been designed for businesses, factories, construction sites and outdoor events where people may be exposed to high temperatures for long periods.

It sits on wheels so it can be moved where needed and is claimed to be relatively energy efficient, costing around 16 yen per hour (7p/9c) to run despite its industrial appearance.

The downside is the price. A single unit costs around 1.5 million yen (roughly £6,900 / $10,000), making it an investment for organisations rather than individuals.

Even so, as heatwaves become more common across the globe, inventions like this could become a more familiar sight.

Whether you'd happily step inside what is essentially a human-sized fridge is another matter, but when temperatures are pushing past 30°C, it really doesn't sound quite so strange.

Nespresso has launched a deal that gives customers 50 free coffee pods and a travel mug when buying a qualifying machine. The offer applies to a selection of Vertuo models, including the recently launched Vertuo Up.

Nespresso is known for running generous promotions, but this is certainly one of the better offers I've seen from the brand in a while. It's also available directly via Nespresso, so you'll have access to the usual benefits of buying from the brand, including its membership portal, warranty support and other services.

The offer is valid until 1st September, so there's still around four weeks to take advantage of it.

The free pods include a choice of Mild or Intense coffee assortments, with the available options shown below. All you need to do is select your qualifying machine on the Nespresso website, add it to your basket and choose which pod assortment you'd like.

You'll also receive the usual 12 Vertuo Pod Discovery Box at checkout, meaning you're actually getting 62 pods for free in total. Depending on the selection, that's potentially around £40 worth of coffee in total.

The only part of the offer you don't get to choose is the travel mug, as the model and colour will vary depending on availability and stock levels. It also won't necessarily appear during checkout, so don't worry if you don't see it listed alongside your other freebies. Nespresso says the mug will be shipped with your order, subject to availability.

This week, I jumped on the train to London to attend a Panasonic Cooking Masterclass. It was the perfect event for a hot summer’s day – thankfully, the AC was blasting – and I got to see Panasonic’s new line-up of kitchen appliances and try them out for myself.

Before I put on my apron and started cooking, I got to have a tour of the new range from Panasonic, which included air fryers, multi-cookers, breadmakers and more. The product that caught my eye the most was its new air fryer microwave hybrid which has a traditional microwave design with air fryer-inspired settings.

Many brands are combining air fryers and microwaves together to add both appliance’s functions in one space-saving design. Brands like Smeg and Ninja have had success with this style of product, and since Panasonic invented the microwave, it only seems right that it would introduce its own model.

The Panasonic NN-CT55RW is a 4-in-1 appliance that has air fry, convection oven, inverter microwave and quartz grill functionalities. With 19 auto programmes to choose from, it’s easy to use both manually and automatically, and it gets up to an impressively high heat.

As a microwave, the Panasonic NN-CT55RW uses 1000W with seven power levels, and it has the same traditional microwave design that we all know and have in our kitchens. Inside, it has a 34cm turntable and 27 litres of space, and can reach temperatures between 30°C to 220°C.

The air fryer setting on the Panasonic NN-CT55RW is the most exciting part. Unlike a traditional microwave which has a fan at the back, the Panasonic NN-CT55RW has a top fan which circulates hot air around the appliance, just like how an air fryer works.

Instead of using a drawer, the Panasonic NN-CT55RW comes with its own version of an air fryer basket and an enamel tray which slots into the microwave on top of the turntable. The basket measures 31.6cm wide and can hold up to 800g of fries, or in my case when I tested it, a surprising amount of chicken!

During the cooking class, we made crispy chicken – a recipe I’ll definitely be trying again – as well as cheesecake bars. I was most impressed by the chicken as after coating them in crushed up cornflakes, I popped them in the Panasonic NN-CT55RW and set it to the Microwave Combi 5 setting.

To my surprise, the chef running the demonstration said it should only take six minutes to cook the chicken. Even though I cook all the time, I always get nervous about cooking chicken so I didn’t believe this timing one bit.

But I was proven wrong as the Panasonic NN-CT55RW cooked the chicken in just six minutes, and it came out fully cooked and really crispy.

I’m a very recent air fryer convert – despite having tested many and being T3’s resident air fryer expert – but I think the Panasonic NN-CT55RW has convinced me to get an air fryer microwave hybrid. I use both my air fryer and microwave on a daily basis, so having one appliance to take care of everything is a game changer.

After years of reviewing tech, it's easy to get distracted by the latest launches and biggest specifications, but travelling has a way of quickly showing you what actually matters.

Between April and May, I found myself travelling across four countries for a mix of events, product launches and work trips. I headed to Milan for EuroCucina, then visited Berlin and see Anker's new Solix Solarbank 4 E5000 Pro, before travelling to Singapore for a visit to Dyson's headquarters and finally Shenzhen to attend GCS.

So, I thought it'd be a good idea to roundup the travel tech essentials that proved their worth across four countries in five weeks, and the ones I'd happily pack again for my next adventure.

1. Best e-Sim

Airalo

This was something I put a lot of thought into, especially as my last trip was to China, where staying connected is a little more complicated than usual. In the end, I decided to go with Airalo, and it couldn't have been easier.

The app is simple to navigate, and each package clearly explains how much data you get and how long it lasts. I opted for a five-day package costing £15, although there are options ranging from three days all the way up to a full month depending on your trip.

The installation process was just as straightforward, with the app walking you through every step and, importantly, making it clear when to install the eSIM so you don't accidentally activate it too early. This is something I've done before, so I'm always cautious, especially because it's an easy mistake to make.

For destinations like China, some packages are marketed as "unlimited", but there is usually a limit on how much high-speed data you can use before speeds are reduced. That's fairly common across eSIM providers, but I was impressed that Airalo's service still remained usable even after reaching that point. My connection slowed slightly, but it was never enough to become an issue.

However, the standout feature for me was Airalo's built-in VPN. This meant I didn't need to purchase a separate VPN service and could still access apps such as Instagram and TikTok, which I otherwise wouldn't have been able to use in China.

2. Best power bank

Anker Nano Power Bank (5K, MagGo, Slim)

I've tested many of the best power banks for T3, so I've tried plenty of different options over the years. However, when travelling, it's finding the right balance between capacity and portability, as nobody wants to carry around a heavy power bank all day.

I actually took a few options with me across my trips (although not to China due to the regulations around power banks there), but the one I kept reaching for was the Anker Nano Power Bank (5K, MagGo, Slim). It's officially Anker's slimmest model to date and weighs just over 100g, which made it incredibly easy to keep in my bag without thinking about it.

Despite its compact size, it still has a 5,000mAh battery and supports both wired and wireless charging. During testing, I managed around two and a half iPhone 14 charges when using a cable, and around two charges using the MagSafe connection.

As it's so lightweight, I could continue taking photos and using my phone whilst it was attached to the back, which made it much more practical than larger power banks I've used in the past.

3. Best VPN

Norton VPN

A few parts of my trip also required me to keep working, including my visit to EuroCucina in Berlin. For that, having a secure VPN was essential so I could continue accessing the platforms I use for writing articles back home.

For this, I relied on Norton VPN, and it was exactly what I needed. I opted for the standard plan, which covers up to five devices, more than enough for a solo traveller carrying a phone, laptop and tablet.

Useful features include automatically securing your connection when using open or shared Wi-Fi networks, as well as a kill switch that blocks your internet connection if the VPN drops, ensuring your data remains protected.

The app itself is excellent too, making it simple to switch between locations when needed. The pricing is also impressive, with the first year available for £29.99, which works out at around £2.50 per month. Compared with services such as ExpressVPN, which can cost around £10 per month, I think it's excellent value.

4. Best Travel Adaptor

Epicka TA-105 Max World Travel Adapter

Surprisingly, there aren't that many excellent travel adaptors on the market, which is frustrating considering how important safety is when choosing one. There are plenty of cheap options available, but this is one area where paying attention to build quality and safety features really matters.

For me, a universal travel adaptor is the only way to go, especially when you're visiting multiple countries. I've used the Epicka TA-105 Max World Travel Adapter for years now, and I wouldn't leave home without it.

It comes with four interchangeable plug types: Type A (USA, Canada, Mexico and Japan), Type C (Europe), Type G (UK and Ireland), and Type I (Australia and New Zealand). This makes it compatible with more than 200 countries and regions, although it doesn't support Type D (India) or Type M (South Africa), so it's worth checking before travelling.

One of my favourite features is how many devices it can charge at once. It supports up to six devices simultaneously through three USB-C ports, two USB-A ports and the main plug socket. This makes it much easier to keep everything charged, and when travelling with my partner, it also means we're not fighting over who gets to use it first.

The only downside is that Epicka is a US company, so UK buyers may need to pay international shipping unless it appears on Amazon. Personally, I think it's completely worth it.

5. Best carry-on

Antler Cabin with Pocket Suitcase

Finding the right carry-on is something I know all too well, and just like every other item on this list, it's important to get it right. You want something that's easy to transport, has enough storage, and won't let you down when you're pulling it from an airport overhead locker.

For me, that means Antler. Not only are the brand's bags incredibly durable and reliable, but they also look great. I've reviewed several options, including the Discovery Wheeled Duffel and Icon Overnight Bag, but the Antler Cabin with Pocket Suitcase remains my favourite for airports and flights.

The main reason is the practical front pocket, which gives you easy access to essentials without sacrificing the suitcase's main storage area. It meant I could keep my laptop safely stored away and grab it when needed without having to open the entire suitcase and rearrange everything.

The hard-wearing polycarbonate shell also helps protect your belongings, whilst double-zip pockets and compression straps make it easier to maximise space. The Silent Glide 360 spinner wheels and comfort-grip handle are another highlight, making it effortless to move around busy airports.

After years of waiting, the Google Home Speaker finally launched in June 2026 – but was it worth the wait?

Google’s long awaited smart speaker is a serious advancement on its previous Nest speaker and display devices. Not only has it undergone a full design transformation, but the Google Home Speaker comes with Gemini instead of Google Assistant, offering a more natural and conversational way to interact with your speaker

But aside from its made-over looks and new voice assistant, how does the Google Home Speaker measure up? I spent a few weeks using it to find out.

Google Home Speaker review: price and availability

The Google Home Speaker is available to buy for £99.99 / $99.99 at Google Store and select retailers, like Currys, Argos and John Lewis. Alternatively, you can buy the Google Home Speaker in instalments for £33.33 with three monthly instalments.

The Google Home Speaker comes in two colours – hazel or porcelain. At launch, it was announced that it would come in more colours which could arrive later in the year.

To use the Google Home Speaker, it’s recommended to have a Google Home Premium subscription. When you install the speaker in the app, you should be offered a six month free trial before there’s a monthly cost of £8 / $10 or annual fee of £80 / $100 for the standard plan. The advanced plan is £16 / $20 a month or £160 / $200 a year.

Google Home Speaker review: set up and app

The Google Home Speaker arrived with just the speaker and a charging cable – nice and simple. Once I’d plugged it into my room of choice, I downloaded the Google Home app and scanned the barcode on the bottom of the speaker. From there, I connected to my Wi-Fi so I could add the Google Home Speaker to my list of devices.

The Google Home app is straightforward and has three sections – home, activity and automations. The homepage has all your devices listed so you can access them quickly, while activity shows everything you’ve asked the Google Home Speaker to do. Finally, automations is where you can set up schedules.

Once I had the Google Home Speaker on my app, I connected it to other devices like my Philips Hue light bulb and Spotify account, and set up an evening wind down routine and a few reminders. I also had to select a voice for Gemini which had a surprising amount of options available.

Google Home Speaker review: design and features

The Google Home Speaker is the first smart speaker to be built on Gemini for Home. While you still have to say ‘Hey Google’ like you did with Google’s previous speakers, Gemini is much more conversational and can continue chats if you have any follow-up questions. You can also interrupt it if you need to adjust things without having to constantly say ‘Hey Google’ to get its attention.

In terms of design, the Google Home Speaker is quite different from Google’s Nest devices, like the Nest Mini and Nest Audio. In fact, it looks more like an Amazon Echo Dot. It has a round 360-degree design with a flat top and base and it has a fabric-like material.

When you speak to Gemini, the base of the Google Home Speaker lights up in different colours via its light ring. It has a microphone built-in which you can mute via the toggle switch at the back. It’s quite petite, although it has an extra-long cable and plug so you can position it easily.

As a speaker, the Google Home Speaker has 360-degree sound for powerful, balanced audio from every direction. It can also be used to ask questions, play music, create invites and reminders, set timers, trigger automations and detect unusual events and send you notifications. However, a lot of these features require a Google Home Premium subscription.

If you’re an existing Nest user, the Google Home Speaker is compatible with older Nest speakers, displays and Google Cast-enabled devices.

Google Home Speaker review: performance

I’ve tested a few smart speakers in my time as T3’s Home Editor, and the Google Home Speaker has my favourite looks by far. Its rounded shape takes up minimal space, and its light bar emits pretty colours. The Google Home Speaker also has built-in sensors which are extremely responsive as the light bar would eliminate if I or anyone else would approach it.

Audio is where I found the Google Home Speaker to excel the most. Its sound is powerful, and Gemini is crisp and clear. Compared to other voice assistants I’ve tried, Gemini is nice and conversational, and it’s very handy to simply ask follow-up questions rather than having to say the wake up word over and over again.

But Gemini is also where I found the Google Home Speaker to have faults. Many users have experienced problems with Gemini, like minute-long lags and even just ignoring requests. Sadly, I am one of those users. While Gemini did respond smoothly most of the time, I did find it to have some serious delays.

I also experienced an issue with Gemini setting timers. Most of the time, my timers and reminders went off perfectly. But recently, I set a timer for 20 minutes and I’d checked the time before I requested the timer so I knew it’d hit the time limit. I wasn’t notified and when I asked how long was left on the timer, it said 12 minutes, so I’m not sure what time Gemini actually set the timer for – not ideal when you’re cooking, let me tell you.

The initial set up process was easy and I liked the usability of the app. It responded quickly and was extremely self-explanatory, and when I wasn’t sure how to do something, I was always given an explanation or taken to a support page. At times, though, I found that the app didn’t always correspond to the speaker, so while I set a reminder in the app, the Google Home Speaker didn’t notify me when I’d requested.

Google Home Speaker review: verdict

Is the Google Home Speaker a good smart speaker? My answer is both yes and no. For the former, I can’t deny how attractive the Google Home Speaker is, and I appreciate its sensors and audio. However, the ‘no’ part of my answer is all down to Gemini.

I think the Google Home Speaker maybe needed a few more months of work before it was released. I found Gemini to be very conversational, easy to talk to and most of the time, extremely helpful. However, I also experienced a few bugs and faults that were hard to overlook.

Personally, I’d use the Google Home Speaker for listening to music and setting the occasional timer – just not when I’m cooking – but for automations, I’d look for a different brand.

Google Home Speaker review: alternatives to consider

Since the Google Home Speaker’s launch, the Google Nest Mini and Audio have been discontinued so you won’t be able to buy one of these anymore. However, if you have an existing one, I’d recommend holding on to them as you can still use them, and Google has stated it’ll still undergo necessary updates on them.

I’m a fan of Amazon Echo devices, and the Echo Dot is hard to beat. The Echo Dot Max is its latest launch and I rated it highly in my review. It's got the looks, has both manual and voice controls, and it’s a great device to have as part of your smart home ecosystem.

Dreame’s robot vacuums have consistently impressed me, so I was delighted when I had the opportunity to test out the latest flagship model, the Dreame X60 Pro Ultra, which is geared towards pet owners.

While the brand might not be as well known as the likes of Dyson or Shark, it does offer incredible value for money. The best robot vacuums are notoriously more expensive than their corded or cordless counterparts, but they also provide an almost hands-off experience, which in my opinion, is well worth paying for.

This is especially the case when you get something like the X60 Pro Ultra Complete vacuum, that not only performs fabulously as a robot but can also compete with the best cordless vacuums too. You'll find my full thoughts below.

Price and availbility

The Dreame X60 Pro Ultra Complete is priced at £1,300, although a current launch offer has knocked £150 off.

This includes a fully loaded accessories kit, which features an additional main and side brush, two dust box filters, two dust bags, three pairs of mop pads and a 1-litre bottle of cleaning solution. Enough extras on top of the pre-installed brushes and pads to keep you going for at least a year, if not longer depending on the size of your home.

It’s currently available to buy at Currys, Very and the Dreame website.

Unboxing and setup

Easy unboxing and setup is something I really value as someone who spends a lot of their waking hours testing products. Thankfully, the X60 Pro Ultra Complete is one of the easiest machines I’ve ever set up. Not only was it surprisingly lightweight, despite the box itself being incredibly heavy, but it took just a few minutes to get started.

Most of the brushes come preinstalled, you just need to attach the mop pads manually and from there, it’s a case of downloading the app to connect to the WiFi and setting up a quick map of your home. This model talks you through everything as you go along and even gives you time estimates for how long certain tasks will take.

Adding water for mopping is quick and easy, and the X60 Pro Ultra Complete even has an automatic dispenser for the cleaning solution, so you don't have to think about mixing up ratios. At the end of its cycle, the robot will automatically empty its onboard bin into a larger bin in the base, which can store up to 100 days worth of dirt and dust.

Design and features

The Dreame X60 Pro Ultra Complete comes with quite a few notable design features, with the first being its incredible power. At 42,000pa, it has one of the most powerful advertised suction speeds available at the time of writing. It has also improved its downward mopping pressure compared to previous models, which adjusts based on your needs.

Vacuuming can be heavily customised based on your needs, with a particular emphasis on heavy stain detection and pet areas. Dreame’s new X60 range can now also recognise over 300 unique objects including litter trays, other cleaning appliances, socks, shoes and more.

The robot’s ‘Pet Area’ auto detection and cleaning is a godsend if, like me, you have a messy cat that enjoys tipping copious amounts of litter outside of the tray every time they use it. It will automatically note areas where there’s lots of pet activity – for example, litter trays – and mark these on the map. You can then either choose to avoid these areas completely or have the robot do a deeper clean around them.

LIke previous models, the X60 Pro Ultra uses two spinning mopping pads that clean with hot 40°C water and exert downward pressure to scrub away stains. As part of the X60’s upgrade, the base can now also clean the mopping pads with 100°C water and dry them with hot air for more hygienic cleaning.

The X60 Pro Ultra also has two extendable arms: one for mopping, with an 18in reach and one side brush, with a 12cm reach. This is the first time Dreame has included two extendable arms on its robots, and it's ideal if you have a home with a lot of hard to reach corners.

Those with awkward steps in their home will also be pleased to know that Dreame has improved climbing capabilities with the X60 Pro Ultra. This model can mount a single step up to 8.8cm tall, or cover two 5cm steps in succession, meaning that even homes with awkward thresholds can enjoy the benefits of a robot vacuum.

When it comes to design, the X60 Pro Ultra Complete is a surprisingly manageable size, especially given how much it does. The actual robot itself is just 8.9cm tall, meaning it will fit in most hard to reach areas, meanwhile the dock is 39cm x 45.6cm x 49.9cm. Like any robot with mopping, vacuum and self emptying capabilities it’s not small, but Dreame does a good job of keeping bulk to a minimum.

App

The Dreame home app is, for the most part, enjoyable to use. All of your cleaning, maintenance and scheduling tasks can be done from here and there’s a lot to play around with. While you do occasionally have to do some digging to find the settings you want, once you’ve got your head around where everything is, it’s a lot of fun customising your cleaning routine – I actually got a bit carried away and spent far too long changing around all the settings.

In-app customisation includes all the important bits you’d expect from a premium robot like this – such as multi level mapping, creating no-go zones, scheduling and power adjustments. However the X60 Pro Ultra goes one step further, allowing you to schedule at specific times, such as after dinner or during the night using a quiet mode.

There’s also a strong emphasis on pets here. Within the app, there’s a section dedicated to live viewing and two way sound, so you can speak to your furry friend. You even have the option to capture and store gifs of your pet on the app – I’m not kidding. Dreame also assures you that there’s no cloud stored data and the live view requires an activation code, so there's less of a worry about safety issues.

It’s worth noting that during testing, I did find the app to be a little cumbersome and slow at times. However, it didn’t happen enough for me to get frustrated or mean that I had to cancel my cleaning plans.

Performance

I was seriously impressed with Dreame’s performance across my hard floors and carpets. I have mostly hard floors at home, so robot vacuums have always been my go to, but the powerful suction really got to work on the carpet I do have, pulling up trapped dust and dirt that the cheaper robots I’ve previously used haven’t done.

I really put the X60 Pro Ultra to the test with copious amounts of litter, pet hair and human hair, none of which it really struggled with. Litter is notoriously difficult to pick up and while it did take a couple of passes to be fully cleared, I don’t think it’s a major issue, as it doesn’t add a great deal of extra time to the overall cleaning cycle. To test the mopping capabilities I also let some sauce dry on my kitchen floor and the X60 Pro Ultra made light work of this too, cleaning it in a single pass without leaving a smeary mess in its wake.

This model is also particularly good at recognising spots that need additional cleaning thanks to its upgraded lights and dual AI cameras. It’ll even tell you when it’s detected a particularly tough stain or high particle area and is doing an additional deep clean.

Verdict

The Dreame X60 Pro Ultra Complete might be a bit of a mouthful, but there’s very little else to complain about. It’s an incredibly capable robot vacuum, and you can tell a lot of thought has gone into the features and, more importantly, what consumers actually need. From its impressive pet detection to the dual-arm extension and upgraded mopping system, it feels like the complete package for a flagship robot vacuum.

Performance was fantastic throughout my testing, and I’d go as far as saying it does just as good a job as I do with a manual vacuum, albeit at a slightly slower pace. That’s pretty impressive for something that can get on with the job entirely by itself.

Of course, there’s no getting around the hefty price tag. While you get a lot of technology for your money, it’s still difficult to justify spending this much on a vacuum, particularly when Dreame has plenty of other capable models available for less. However, if you’re looking at the flagship end of the market, this is the sort of price you can expect to pay for genuinely advanced features and automation.

Alternative to consider

If your budget can’t quite stretch to the dizzying heights of £1,300, you might want to consider one of Dreame’s more affordable premium models, such as the recently released Dreame Matrix10 Pro. Priced at £849, this model follows on from the popular Dreame Matrix10, which we reviewed in 2025.

The Matrix10 Pro comes with hot mop cleaning, 30,000pa suction and, of course, self-emptying and self-cleaning. As it’s one of Dreame’s latest models, it also features dual extending arms, similar to the X60 Pro Ultra Complete. There's just a few compromises that mean the Matrix10 isn’t as quite as well rounded as the X60 and I’d personally still stretch for the X60 if you have a large home and pets.

Ever since Jony Ive and Sam Altman announced that they were working together, speculation has been rife about what the result might be.

Jony Ive is best known for his design work at Apple - he's a hardware guy - while Sam Altman is the CEO of OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT. That hardware and AI software puzzle might have something of a solution, thanks to a recent interview from Joanna Stern.

Stern talks to Greg Brockman, OpenAI's company president about a wide range of things, but focuses in on hardware at one point during the interview. Brockman responds that "we are building a family of devices".

When asked whether this device "needs a screen", the response is "we'll just have to see". That's neither a confirmation nor a denial, but the emphasis on not being limited to voice suggests that it's more than just a microphone and speaker pairing.

Brockman was keen to emphasise that this isn't about one device, it's about delivering experience across a range of devices because that's how they get value out of their own silicon that they are developing. The company previously-announced Jalapeño, developed with Broadcom, which is aimed at data centres, with the hardware for personal devices still to be revealed.

So the best guess that we can take out of the interview follows current speculation that Jony Ive is designing a family of speakers and that might include a screen on one of them, which sounds like an Echo Show running ChatGPT.

Brockman wouldn't be drawn on a date, only saying "you should expect them soon". That "soon" timeline from Brockman could see an announcement in 2026, although we've previously heard that shipping wouldn't happen until February 2027. The discussion starts at around 6:30 in the video.

We've previously seen speculation that the first OpenAI device would basically be a wearable device, like the Humane AI Pin. The fate of Humane might have caused a pause for thought, as the device was discontinued. It was also speculated that OpenAI might launch earbuds, but that was shot down by Tang Tan from Open AI.

A phone with no apps has been suggested, but everything is rounding on a device that might fit in your pocket or have on your desk, with a report saying it is a speaker, lamp and glasses are coming.

If nothing else, OpenAI is revelling in the fact that no one knows what the result might be. From the outset there's been talk of a completely new type of device, so there's no shortage of expectation.

With Apple expected to unveil a screen-based HomePod soon, it might be that we'll see Ive and Altman make the big reveal in the not too distant future.

Ever wanted to talk to your washing machine? Well, with the new 7i Series Laundry Collection from Hisense, you can – and for an actually helpful reason. Within the 7i Series Laundry collection is a KitchenFit washing machine and matching tumble dryer, both of which have handy AI features, and have surprisingly good looks.

Designed to save space in your home, Hisense 7i Series washing machine and tumble dryer seamlessly fit into your kitchen or utility room. I never thought laundry appliances could look good, but these gadgets have sleek lines, easy controls and a touchscreen display which makes doing your laundry much simpler.

The KitchenFit washing machine is the main standout from the Hisense 7i Series Laundry Collection and is packed with plenty of handy features. It has a reduced depth so it’s more compact to fit under countertops, yet it still has a Max Drum with a full height and width. So, while it’s smaller in size, it can still fit up to 12kg loads as it hasn’t decreased in capacity.

In terms of AI, the KitchenFit washing machine uses AI Super Wash that analyses each load and automatically selects the right cycle. Not only does this ensure your clothes are getting the appropriate treatment, but this can also reduce your overall water usage and energy consumption.

For the KitchenFit tumble dryer, users can select AI Super Dry which does a similar thing to AI Super Wash but for drying up to 10kg of laundry. It’ll select the right drying cycle according to your clothes and fabrics which it assesses using AI.

Both the washing machine and tumble dryer can be used together with Cross Screen Control. This allows you to control both appliances via one interface. They also come with a FlashCare 89’ feature which combines a quick wash and quick dry so you can get up to 4kg of clean and dry clothes in as little as 89 minutes.

Where the Hisense 7i Series is most impressive is its AI Laundry Companion. Both machines work to learn your habits so they can anticipate your next wash and dry cycles. Users can also select programmes and schedules using voice controls so you can do your laundry almost completely hands-free.

The Hisense 7i Series is available to buy at select retailers like Currys and AO.com. The washing machine is priced at £999 while the tumble dryer costs £1,099.

With the rise of smart home technology, almost every room in the house has some sort of smart gadget to make daily life easier. But one area where smart technology hasn’t quite caught on is the bedroom, with sleep tech still being a rare commodity.

The term ‘sleep tech’ is very broad as it actually covers quite a lot of areas. The most common sleep tech you’ll find is in the form of wearables, including fitness trackers that also track sleep, smart rings, and even headbands that measure brain activity.

Other areas that sleep tech falls under are relaxation gadgets, like sleep headphones that play relaxing music, eye masks that emit vibrations and wake up lights that wake you up more naturally and gently in the morning.

This type of sleep tech is extremely popular, as many people already have gadgets like trackers and rings for other daily activities. But a place where it hasn’t quite caught on is when the technology is in the mattress itself.

There are a few smart mattresses on the market, but not as many as you’d expect. Models from the likes of Eight Sleep, Sleep.8 and Bryte feature a full sleep system consisting of a bed base or mattress and other accessories that feature sensors and tracking technology to monitor sleep patterns and make adjustments through the night, like bed height and temperature.

While these gadgets are designed to improve your sleep quality and quantity, they’re still not quite as popular as many of us thought they’d be – and I’ve identified three reasons why.

Why hasn’t sleep tech caught on?

1. Cost

The main – and arguably the most important – reason why this type of sleep tech hasn’t caught on is the cost. In general, mattresses are quite a big expense so completely replacing your mattress, bed base and buying additional accessories and apps can get expensive. On average, you’re looking to pay upwards of £2,000.

Some smart mattress brands come with a monthly app subscription to unlock specific tracking features, so you’re also paying an ongoing fee on your mattress. Not everyone has the means to pay for this which makes sleep tech quite inaccessible.

2. Comfort

Picking a mattress that suits your sleep style and other needs is very important. Mattresses tend to last up to 10 years so if you pick one that isn’t comfortable or supportive, you could be looking at 10 years of bad sleep.

If you have a mattress which is already serving you well, you might be hesitant to replace it with a smart or non-smart one in case it’s uncomfortable. Of course, there are guarantees and returns in place for all types of mattresses, including smart ones, but for some, it might not seem worth the risk.

Moving away from mattresses, some sleep trackers can be uncomfortable to wear at night. Whether it’s a bulky fitness tracker, a heavy headband or a smart ring’s flashy sensors, these things can disturb your sleep. There are also smaller, less invasive sleep tech products that can sit in your bed, either under your pillow or sheets, but they aren’t particularly comfortable either.

3. Accuracy

Despite the huge advancements in sleep tech, not everything is perfect. Many people have reported inaccurate results from sleep tech, including trackers and smart mattresses.

Many sleep products are sold as wellness gadgets rather than certified medical tools, so they don’t always come with rigorous testing or sign off. This is a concern if you’re using something that comes into contact with your body and of course, if you’re paying for something that you want to give you health insights, it can feel like a waste if findings are inconsistent.

Depending on your device’s charge, connection and other external factors, some sleep wearables can miss details or overinflate them which results in incomplete data. A good example of this is I was once testing a smart ring that noted I’d had a 20 minute nap when in fact, I’d been reading and my heart rate had lowered because I was relaxed.

With such a focus on getting the perfect sleep, sleep tech can also contribute to orthosomnia which has the opposite effect of improving your sleep. A few months ago, I got addicted to achieving the perfect sleep score and found that I was jolting awake multiple times in the night and not sleeping properly because of it.

If you don’t achieve the perfect sleep score, some trackers don’t always tell you how to fix it. Instead, they’ll give you a compilation of data which can leave some users frustrated as they haven’t got the answers.

As a sleep expert, I really don’t know how sleep tech needs to improve for more people to start using it. It’d be easy to say the costs need to come down and devices need to be tested more, but seeing this come into fruition is another story.

The Philips Hue Play Table Lamp is now available to buy after being unveiled last month. It launches alongside several other new Hue products, including two additional Play lamps, new candle smart bulbs and smart switches.

The Play Table Lamp looks like a mini version of the original Philips Hue Signe Floor Lamp, standing at 60cm tall. It's designed to sit neatly beside your TV, monitor or gaming setup, and is fully compatible with the Philips Hue entertainment system.

Priced at £69.99/$79.99, the Play Table Lamp is available now from the Philips Hue online store. The brand is also currently running a Member Days promotion, where signing up gives you a 20% discount code when you add two or more Hue products to your basket.

The Play Table Lamp features RGBWWIC gradient lighting alongside Chromasync precision colour matching, creating smooth lighting effects. As with the rest of the Hue Play range, it can synchronise with your TV using either the Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box or the Hue Sync TV app on compatible televisions.

Early impressions have been overwhelmingly positive, with one customer writing: "I have two of these either side of my desk monitor, having previously used the old Play Bars. They look fabulous and the gradient effect is stunning. The price is good, too."

If you're looking to expand your smart lighting setup, it's well worth checking out the other best Philips Hue lights, especially whilst the current promotion is running.

Cuisinart has expanded its kitchen appliance range with the new 10-in-1 Digital Air Fryer Toaster Oven. Arriving just a few months after the Cuisinart ClearView Air Fryer, the new model is designed to combine multiple appliances into one countertop unit.

The new air fryer offers six core cooking functions – Air Fry, Roast, Toast, Bake, Broil and Keep Warm – alongside four presets for fries, wings, vegetables and nuggets, all with no preheating required.

For now, it's exclusive to the US, where it's available for $249.95 from Amazon and Cuisinart's website. However, given that many of Cuisinart's best air fryers launch in the UK too, we'd expect this one to follow in the near future.

The air fryer can fit a whole chicken, six slices of toast or a 9 x 13-inch baking pan, making it suitable for large families. Other features include a touchscreen control panel, a stainless steel interior, a hidden handle, an integrated cooking guide and a large viewing window with an interior light.

Commenting on the launch, Spencer Helmrich, Product Marketing Manager at Cuisinart, said: "The 10-in-1 Digital Air Fryer Toaster Oven expands our lineup with a versatile combination of capacity, functionality and modern design, giving consumers even more ways to enjoy the performance and reliability they expect from Cuisinart."

An essential part of the coffee-making process which is often overlooked is a good coffee grinder. Whether you have one built into your bean to cup coffee machine or you prefer to buy pre-ground coffee, not many people think they need a coffee grinder – but I’m here to tell you why that’s wrong.

Grinding your own coffee enhances the flavour as whole beans tend to hold onto their natural aroma and oils for longer than pre-ground. As you’re grinding them fresh, these grounds will tend to last longer, and you also have more control over the grind size so you can customise each cup of joe that you make.

But which coffee grinder should you buy? I’ve listed five of our favourite coffee grinders that should be part of your set-up to turn you from a beginner to a barista.

Best coffee grinder overall

1. Smeg Coffee Grinder

Starting off strong, the Smeg Coffee Grinder has 15 grind levels and three precision settings to choose from, to cater to all types of coffees. Using conical burrs crafted from stainless steel, the Smeg Coffee Grinder delivers a consistent grind size throughout the entire process.

While it can be used to grind any coffee bean you like, the Smeg Coffee Grinder is best suited for espresso and even cold brew. At £199.95, it’s on the higher end of the price spectrum, but it’s from a good quality, reliable brand so you know you’re getting something good. Plus, the Smeg Coffee Grinder comes in multiple retro-inspired colours to suit any kitchen style.

Best premium coffee grinder

2. Baratza Encore ESP Pro

Baratza’s Encore collection is full of premium at-home coffee grinders, and the newest Baratza Encore ESP Pro offers its most precise grind yet. Using Baratza’s M2 precision steel burrs, the Baratza Encore ESP Pro comes with a stepless grind adjustment mechanism which gives you more consistent control over your grind style.

The Baratza Encore ESP Pro looks the part and has a hopper at the top so you can store beans before you grind them. It has a dial and display on the front which shows your grind’s fine or coarseness, setting, time and dose method. It’s our premium pick so unsurprisingly, it’s not cheap at £249.95 / $299.95.

Best budget coffee grinder

3. Bosch Coffee Grinder

Coffee grinders don’t have to cost an arm and a leg, and the Bosch Coffee Grinder proves that. At just £29.99, the Bosch Coffee Grinder doesn’t have a lot of bells and whistles, but it does a great job and it’s exceedingly easy to use.

The Bosch Coffee Grinder uses a powerful motor and stainless steel chopping blades to blend fine and coarse coffee beans. It’s best used for espresso or filter coffee, and it has a one-touch operation so you can’t really go wrong with it.

Best smart coffee grinder

4. Sage Smart Grinder Pro

Smart technology has been added to almost anything in the kitchen, so why not a coffee grinder?! The Sage Smart Grinder Pro has 60 settings to choose from and has an LCD display which lets you choose different cup and shot sizes for espresso, filter, french press and more.

What makes the Sage Smart Grinder Pro smart is its Dosing IQ technology which automatically adjusts the grind time when you change your cup or grind size amount in 0.2 second increments. This gives you total control over your coffee, while also giving you some additional help so there’s no guesswork involved.

Best travel coffee grinder

5. AeroPress Manual Coffee Grinder

If you’re off on a trip and want to make coffee on the go, you can now get a travel coffee grinder in the form of the AeroPress Manual Coffee Grinder. Designed to go with its AeroPress portable coffee makers, the AeroPress Manual Coffee Grinder is a 3-in-1 coffee press with 60 adjustable settings and a portable, lightweight design.

The AeroPress Manual Coffee Grinder has an Easy-Grind magnetic handle with dual bearings that turn the internal conic burrs to grind your coffee beans. It acts like a hand crank and comes with a Power Drill Adapter for quicker grinding times. It comes with a medium-fine grind pre-set for your first use, and is best for drip, pour-over, French Press and cold brew coffees.

SwitchBot has just launched its new Battery Circulator Fan 2 Pro in the US, and it claims to be the world’s first battery-powered air circulator fan with Matter over Wi-Fi. This new fan from SwitchBot offers powerful cooling at impressively quiet noise levels, and its connectivity means you can make it part of your smart home ecosystem.

Looking at the SwitchBot Battery Circulator Fan 2 Pro, you wouldn’t expect it to have so much smarts up its sleeve – or blades. With similar looks to Meaco’s Sefte range, it’s a small, compact fan with a touch display and screen at its base. It’s easy to carry around your home with a handle at the back, and it even has an aroma cartridge to pump out relaxing scents while you cool down.

As a cordless fan, the SwitchBot Battery Circulator Fan 2 Pro has a built-in rechargeable battery that offers up to 70 hours of cordless use. It can be used both indoors and outdoors, and the entire fan, including the blades, filter and front and rear covers can be taken apart for cleaning.

In terms of cooling, the SwitchBot Battery Circulator Fan 2 Pro is powered by a DC brushless motor that circulates cool air around your home. It has multiple speeds to choose from and it oscillates at 90° both horizontally and vertically. The SwitchBot Battery Circulator Fan 2 Pro also has a Turbo Mode for quick cooling, and it expels cool air by 110ft and up to 6.5m/s wind speed.

Despite all this power, the SwitchBot Battery Circulator Fan 2 Pro is surprisingly quiet when in action. It uses SilenTech technology to reduce noise to 21dB when in sleep mode, so you can use it throughout the night without being disturbed. Its display also has a light bar which lowers its brightness at night, too.

The SwitchBot Battery Circulator Fan 2 Pro can double as an air purifier, thanks to its pre-filter. Its filter catches dust, hair and other bacteria before they enter the fan, so you’re not spreading allergens around your home.

While the SwitchBot Battery Circulator Fan 2 Pro comes with display and remote controls, the SwitchBot Battery Circulator Fan 2 Pro is compatible with Matter over Wi-Fi, Alexa, Google Assistant, Apple Home, Homey and more. This connectivity allows the SwitchBot Battery Circulator Fan 2 Pro to work alongside your other smart devices by using your chosen smart platform.

The SwitchBot Battery Circulator Fan 2 Pro can also be used via the SwitchBot app where you can adjust its speed, modes and schedules. It’s also available in black or white colours to suit your home aesthetic.

The SwitchBot Battery Circulator Fan 2 Pro is available to buy for $119.99 at SwitchBot. As of writing, UK and EU availability has yet to be announced. However, SwitchBot has launched the Standing Circulator Fan in the UK and US which has a similar design but it’s more portable and adjustable.

Apple is thought to be working on a new operating system that's going to power the anticipated Home Hub, which is expected to launch in late 2026 or 2027.

The move could see a long-awaited push in smart home from Apple, having originally struggled to gain traction through early HomeKit efforts, with slow evolution of devices like the Apple HomePod.

Rumours point to Apple launching a device with a screen - like the Echo Show - which will run the new operating system, thought to be called homeOS.

The details were revealed by Mark Gurman at Bloomberg, laying weight to their probability. Accordingly, the interface will use a grid of icons, apps and widgets, with customisable clock faces.

It's expected that Apple's revamped Siri AI will be integrated into the system, bringing a welcome boost to the intelligence offered, and better competition with Alexa+ on Echo devices or Gemini on the new Google Home Speaker.

Additional details of the Apple Home Hub suggest that it will have a 7-inch display (which sounds rather small), while the size of the content will scale up or down depending how far you are from the screen. Amazon calls that Adaptive Content, pulling a similar trick on the Echo Show.

Another element that seems to be inspired by the Amazon Echo is facial recognition to personalise the content. Amazon has a Visual ID system that will see who is looking at the Echo Show and make adjustments for them - for example giving access to their personal calendar.

That at least suggests that there will be multi-user support, something that Apple hasn't always been good at in the past.

The new homeOS is expected on the Apple Home Hub, which is expected to launch alongside refreshed HomePod and Apple TV models, looking like a complete repositioning of Apple's smart home offering.

With Apple it's always difficult to pin down a launch date, but it's being suggested that Apple will target an event after the September launch of the iPhone, perhaps in October. We're also expecting to see a wide update of Mac models at the same time.

I can’t quite believe we’re already saying goodbye to July! The past month has been scorching hot and full of smart home launches, despite this time of year being quite slow for new products.

Amongst July’s smart home releases are new and improved security cameras from the likes of Ring, Reolink and SwitchBot, and colourful smart lights to illuminate your outdoors and enhance your streaming.

Below, I’ve rounded up the seven best smart home launches from July 2026 in case you’ve missed them.

1. Ring Outdoor Camera (2nd Gen) and Ring Peephole Camera 2K

Not a month goes by without Ring launching something new, and for July, it announced two new outdoor cameras. Starting with the Ring Outdoor Camera (2nd Gen) has 2K video resolution, up to 6x Enhanced Zoom and true colour low light vision.

The star of the launch is the Ring Peephole Camera 2K, an outdoor camera that also acts as a video doorbell. It replaces your existing peephole without any major installation required, and it has wide views and motion detection so you don’t miss anything. Pre-orders are open for both the Ring Outdoor Camera (2nd Gen) and the Ring Peephole Camera 2K at Amazon with shipping expected in early-mid August.

2. Reolink Video Doorbell (2nd Gen)

Reolink also had a busy July, launching security cameras and video doorbells, like the new Reolink Video Doorbell (2nd Gen). Reolink’s second generation video doorbell has 2K 4MP resolution, head-to-toe views and smart detection that identifies people, pets, vehicles and packages.

The most impressive feature of the Reolink Video Doorbell (2nd Gen) is its battery life. It uses Qualcomm's QCC730 micro-power Wi-Fi technology, which Reolink claims extends the doorbell’s runtime by up to 50% and delivers up to 10 months of battery life.

3. SwitchBot Outdoor Pan/Tilt Cam 3K

The SwitchBot Outdoor Pan/Tilt Cam 3K is seriously impressive, as it doesn’t just detect intruders but it also reacts to them. Using AI, the SwitchBot Outdoor Pan/Tilt Cam 3K summarises events in natural language to tell you exactly what’s happening.

Not only does the SwitchBot Outdoor Pan/Tilt Cam 3K make it easier to understand what’s going on at your property, but it also makes going through footage easier as you can use natural language prompts like "show me when the car was scratched”. It also has 360° horizontal rotation, 90° vertical movement and a 110° wide-angle lens so you won’t miss a thing.

4. Tapo C575D 4K Outdoor Security Camera

A new trend in outdoor cameras is having two lenses instead of one to maximise coverage. The Tapo C575D 4K is a perfect example of this, as it has two 4K dual lenses, with one larger camera sitting on top of a smaller one.

Able to monitor two separate areas at one time, the Tapo C575D 4K’s top camera has 170° views while the bottom telephoto lens camera has a motorised pan/tilt movement. As the top camera stays in a fixed position to give you an overview of your home, the bottom camera moves side to side and up and down, and when the top detects events, the bottom follows the action.

5. Govee Outdoor Wall Floodlight

Designed for gardens, patios and driveways, the Govee Outdoor Wall Floodlight is one of the brightest outdoor lights on the market with 3000 lumen of white light. It also comes with up to 16 million colours thanks to its RGBWW technology, and colour temperature can be adjusted between 1,000K - 10,000K.

The Govee Outdoor Wall Floodlight has a surprising amount of tech under its hood. It comes with a built-in PIR motion sensor with a 120° field of view which allows it to detect movement and switch on the light when someone approaches your home. It’s also incredibly easy to install and affordably priced at £99.99/€99.99/$99.99.

6. Nanoleaf Smart LED Monitor Stand

Heading inside, the Nanoleaf Smart LED Monitor Stand combines customisable smart lighting with desk organisation. Created in partnership with Fantaqi, the stand is a solid wood base that measures 100cm x 22.5cm x 12.1cm and supports between 28kg - 70kg – the latter is with a central support column.

To illuminate your desk set-up, the Nanoleaf Smart LED Monitor Stand has dual flux RGB lighting with up to 550 lumens and plenty of colour options. The stand has a front-facing task light and ambient rear light so the desk is illuminated all the way around. It also comes with voice and touch controls, and is compatible with Matter.

7. Shelly Wall Display X1i

The Shelly Wall Display X1i is similar to the Echo Hub but it comes in a smaller, more streamlined package. Measuring just 4 inches, the Shelly Wall Display X1i can sit easily on your wall, and even replace your light switch.

For easy smart home control, the Shelly Wall Display X1i connects your devices together in one centralised location. It has proximity, gesture and luminosity sensors so the hub responds naturally to what’s happening around your home. It also has an ultra-fast quad-core processor for quick and smooth responses.

Donald Trump has introduced a ban on the import of advanced robotic devices into the US, which includes many of today's best robot vacuum cleaners. The move forms part of the Trump administration's AI Action Plan, which aims to encourage more technology manufacturing within the United States.

Whilst the original announcement was fairly broad, the FCC has now published a document clarifying exactly what the ban covers. Under the new definition, robots that can move autonomously, are equipped with sensors, connect to a network and weigh more than 4.4lb (2kg), including any docking stations, can no longer be imported into the US.

That means the ruling applies to most robot vacuum and mop combinations, robot lawn mowers and even certain transport, pool-cleaning and industrial robots.

There is some good news for anyone who already owns one of these devices. Robots that have already received FCC certification can continue to be sold, and products that are already in homes will continue to work as normal. The ban only affects the import of future products that fall under the new rules.

Whilst it's impossible to know exactly which brands will be impacted, upcoming robot vacuums from the likes of Roborock, Dreame, Ecovacs, Narwal and Xiaomi could be delayed in the US or miss out on a launch entirely if they don't receive the necessary approvals or exemptions.

It's also worth reiterating that this is US-specific legislation, so there's currently little reason for buyers in the UK or elsewhere to worry about similar restrictions. For now, the biggest impact is likely to be on the timing and availability of future robot vacuum releases in the American market.

AI is still one of those words that sparks a strong mix of excitement and hesitation, and that's largely because it's increasingly finding its way into our homes. It almost feels expected to be woven into the latest gadgets, to the point where every new product seems to need an AI feature to be considered worthwhile.

However, as someone whose job is to cover, review and test the latest smart home tech, I don't think that's what makes this area truly useful.

I've come to realise that the best smart home gadgets are often the ones that make the annoying tasks disappear. It might be controversial to say, but none of that necessarily needs AI – it just needs technology that solves a problem you actually have.

There's always going to be a temptation to focus on the flashy side of smart home technology, and whether that comes from childhood fantasies about being a spy or living on a spaceship is another question entirely. Most launches these days can certainly make it feel that way, but some of the most useful gadgets are also the least exciting.

One of the best smart plugs isn't going to be the most impressive gadget in your home, and it's certainly not going to be the most attractive, but it can automatically turn a lamp on before you arrive or switch off an appliance when you don't need it. The same goes for smart lighting. You don't need an AI-powered bulb that understands your mood if all you want is for the hallway light to turn on when you walk through the door. All you need is a simple schedule or perhaps a motion sensor to trigger it automatically.

A robot vacuum is another good example. As a smart home reviewer, my attention naturally goes to things like suction power, mopping capabilities and the quality of its navigation and cameras. AI features such as automatic carpet detection and smart object recognition are impressive, but if the robot doesn't actually clean my home to a good standard, then I don't really care how clever it is.

That's not to say AI doesn't have a role to play. In fact, a lot of the time, it's quietly ticking away in the background without us even noticing. It can help security cameras better recognise people and pets, allow voice assistants to understand more complicated requests and even help your home adapt to your routines automatically.

However, the latest AI features shouldn't be the benchmark for deciding whether a smart home product is useful. You shouldn't have to think about whether your lights will turn off or whether you've left the heating running. When smart home tech works properly, these things just happen.

Outdoor kitchens have had a serious boom over the past few years, so much so, that some people don’t even cook inside anymore. But if you have a small outdoor space or you’re on a tight budget, you might not want to clutter your garden or balcony with too many appliances.

I’m lucky to have both a barbecue and pizza oven in my garden, but they do take up a lot of room. While I use both consistently throughout the year, I tend to use my pizza oven for a lot more than just pizza, so being able to combine a barbecue and pizza oven together is something that would save me space while offering multiple ways of cooking outside.

If you have a Masterbuilt barbecue, I just found a handy accessory that can convert your existing grill into a pizza oven – and it’s pretty affordable, too. The Masterbuilt Pizza Oven Attachment is a grill insert with a pizza stone that slots into your barbecue so you can make pizzas on the grill.

The Masterbuilt Pizza Oven Attachment looks like most pizza ovens on the market, except it doesn’t have any controls. Instead, you use your barbecue’s controls to fire up the pizza stone so you can cook pizzas in as little as five minutes while still getting that authentic flavour.

You don’t just have to use the Masterbuilt Pizza Oven Attachment for pizzas, either. It can also cook bread, steak, cookies and even lasagne – see 9 surprising foods you can cook in a pizza oven for more details. The mouth of the pizza oven is wide and spacious, so it can fit up to 12-inch pizzas inside.

When used with a Masterbuilt barbecue, the Masterbuilt Pizza Oven Attachment has 360° airflow so it whips around your food while it’s cooking to give you a consistent cook without you having to rotate it. It’s made from stainless steel and porcelain that looks premium, and matches Masterbuilt’s line-up of barbecues.

The Masterbuilt Pizza Oven Attachment is compatible with most of its gas, pellet and charcoal barbecues, including its Gravity Series. The bad news is if you have the Masterbuilt Gravity Series 560 – which we gave five stars in our review – you won’t be able to use the pizza oven accessory.

The Masterbuilt Pizza Oven Attachment is available to buy for £179 at Masterbuilt and select retailers like BBQ Land and Pro Smoke. Barbecues and pizza ovens come with a pretty hefty price, so if you’re on a tight budget, a pizza stone accessory like this one from Masterbuilt means you get two exciting ways to cook outdoors in an affordable and convenient way.

Much to many people’s dismay – including my own – AI is slowly but surely becoming the norm in many households. AI features come in many forms, including the voice assistant in your smart speaker or mapping and navigation in your robot vacuum cleaner.

More recently, AI has expanded into kitchen appliances, including fridges, ovens, air fryers and coffee machines. Depending on the brand or device you’re using, this can be as simple as an appliance with app control so you can use your machine remotely, to more advanced where AI can adjust your settings to chill or cook food more accurately.

While AI appliances are still considered a luxury for many, more and more brands are introducing AI to their range of kitchen gadgets. Personally, I think AI appliances are just making us lazier, despite these features offering some value around the home.

How AI appliances add value to your home

How AI is used in appliances varies from product to product. In most cases, AI is integrated in the appliances’ hardware or software, and is designed to take care of household tasks for you so you can get on with other things.

AI laundry appliances are a great example of this, but it’s still a ‘newer’ way to use AI that’s only really been explored by the likes of LG and Samsung, two brands that are way ahead in the AI game. AI is used in washing machines and tumble dryers via sensors that weigh your laundry and its soil level before adjusting the machine’s cycle and dispensing the right amount of detergent.

Not only does this ensure you’re washing your clothes efficiently, but it keeps your energy and water usage down to help you save money in the long term. This is another handy use case for AI appliances, especially for laundry and fridges, as AI tracks your habits and makes changes in accordance with your usage.

Speaking of fridges, a smart fridge with AI features is the only appliance I’d actually consider adding to my home. Most smart fridges have built-in cameras that recognise food and monitor your fridge’s contents.

Whether it's via the fridges’ accompanying app or the fridge door’s touchscreen, the AI works to track your food’s expiration dates and will warn you when something is going off. It can have some failings – pre-made meals in tupperware are trickier to monitor than other foods – but AI smart fridges cut down food waste, give you recipe ideas, and can adjust your fridge’s cooling during peak usage.

Are AI appliances actually needed?

With a lot of kitchen appliances, there’s a certain amount of manual operation that still needs to be done, like putting food on a baking tray to put in your oven or selecting a pre-set programme on your air fryer.

Simply put, not every appliance needs a Wi-Fi connection, a voice assistant or AI features. Where I think AI has truly lost the plot is in ovens. As mentioned, there’s still some manual intervention needed to use your oven, but there are some newer models which use internal cameras to scan your food and adjust the oven’s timing and temperatures.

Unless you’re cooking something very simple, I worry about how accurate your cooking will come out. What’s more, by the time you’ve prepped your food and put it into the oven, how much more taxing is it to switch your oven on and set the temperature? It’s hardly saving you very much time, and feels like something that won’t be used very often once the initial appeal has worn off.

Many AI appliances are luxury upgrades. As you can imagine, a smart AI fridge freezer is going to set you back at least £2,000, if not more. In my opinion, if your current appliances are still doing a job well done, you don’t need an AI version, and it’ll set you back a fair amount of money anyway, despite their ongoing financial savings.

Lidl is bringing a number of household cleaning products to its middle aisle this week, including a 2-in-1 vacuum from Beldray. It arrives in stores this Sunday and will cost just £29.99, making it a very tempting middle-aisle find.

Beldray is a reliable yet affordable household brand, with several of its models earning strong reviews. In fact, the Beldray Airfinity earned four stars in our full review last year and subsequently made our shortlist for the T3 Awards 2026.

The model arriving at Lidl features cyclonic technology and can quickly convert into a handheld vacuum, which isn't bad at all for a vacuum costing just £30. I've also had a look around, and the same model is priced at £39.99 at Robert Dyas and Amazon, so you're getting a lower price than normal too.

Now, I want to be clear that you shouldn't expect the same performance you'd get from one of the best vacuum cleaners. There are a few compromises here, including a relatively small 600ml dustbin and the fact it's corded. The build also looks a little on the cheaper side, which isn't exactly surprising given the price.

However, one thing that really stands out to me is its 600W power, which is impressive for any vacuum, let alone one that costs just £30. You also get a spare washable filter, as well as a crevice tool and brush tool for more versatile cleaning.

Again, don't expect this to deliver the same experience as a premium vacuum. However, coming from someone who spends a lot of time reviewing vacuum cleaners, I think this is worth a trip to your nearest Lidl if you're after an affordable everyday cleaner.

Braun has introduced its newest electric shaver series, and it includes its ‘finest engineering achievement to date’. The new Braun Nevo 15000C Electric Shaver features AeroTouch and Smart Processor technology to take your grooming to the next level while taking care of your skin – but be warned, it’ll cost you a fair few bob.

Braun’s latest shaver, the Braun Nevo 15000C Electric Shaver ticks off many firsts for the brand. The shaver has a first-of-its-kind ultra-gliding foil head that works alongside AeroTouch technology which makes the Nevo the first of Braun’s shavers to use this technology.

What AeroTouch technology does is it allows the shaver to come into close contact with the skin lightly and while minimising friction. The shaver gives a close, professional shave that takes care of the skin underneath your facial hair.

I’ve covered grooming tools for a while now, but as you can probably tell from my author bio, I don’t have much experience using electric shavers (since I’m not able to grow facial hair!). But one of the most impressive features I’ve learnt about since expanding my knowledge on electric shavers is its sensors.

As smart tech has advanced over the years, most electric shavers come with sensors that allow the shaver to adapt better to your facial hair. The Braun Nevo 15000C Electric Shaver does this via its Smart Processor which automatically changes its power output to better suit your beard’s density.

Aside from adapting to your beard, the Braun Nevo 15000C Electric Shaver has an adaptive head and a built-in Long Hair Trimmer, so you can shape your beard and sideburns, while also getting into hard-to-reach areas, like around your jaw and under your chin. These settings and real-time insights show on the shaver’s smart display.

Another first for Braun, the Braun Nevo 15000C Electric Shaver has been dubbed the only shaver in the world that has a surgical stainless steel unibody. It comes with 250 diamond sharp blades, is 100% waterproof and has a 60 minute battery life.

To make your grooming maintenance even easier, the Braun Nevo 15000C Electric Shaver comes with its Nevo Care 7-in-1 system which automatically cleans and charges your shaver while prolonging the life of the blades. The shaver also comes with a travel case, shaver cleaning cartridge, cleaning brush and charging cable.

The Braun Nevo 15000C Electric Shaver has an RRP of £739.99 but at Braun, you can get it for £369.99. It’s also available at select retailers, like Boots.

Over £700 for an electric shaver is pretty expensive but this tends to be the case with Braun shavers – its Braun Series 9 Pro+ which is one of its most advanced and popular models is around the same price. The good news, however, is it’s fairly unlikely you’ll ever have to pay full price as Braun shavers are often on sale.

Homey has received Matter 1.5 certification for the Homey Pro, Homey Pro mini and Homey Self-Hosted Server, making it one of the most advanced Matter-compatible smart home platforms available today.

The update means supported devices already connected to Homey can now be exposed to other major smart home platforms, including Apple Home, Google Home, Amazon Alexa, Samsung SmartThings and Home Assistant, through Homey's Matter Bridge app.

The certification is effective immediately, so Homey users can start taking advantage of the latest Matter 1.5 capabilities from today.

Matter 1.5 arrived last November as one of the more significant updates to the smart home standard in recent years. The new version introduced support for several long-requested device types, whilst also giving manufacturers more tools to build and certify new Matter-compatible products.

Homey's certification now puts it among a relatively small number of smart home systems running on the latest version of the standard. For comparison, Amazon Alexa currently supports Matter 1.0, whilst Apple and Google are on Matter 1.4 and Home Assistant is on Matter 1.3.

Philips has launched its first-ever LED face mask, featuring a clever 3-in-1 design that lets you treat the full face, eye area or neck individually. The Philips ReAura LED Mask also has a lightweight design that adapts comfortably to different face shapes, whilst soft eye cushions provide gentle support during each treatment.

It uses a combination of red, blue and near-infrared LED wavelengths, designed to support the visible reduction of fine lines, wrinkles, blemishes and redness. There are three targeted modes to choose from – Age Care, Blemish Care and Daily Glow Age Care – making it easy to select the treatment that best suits your skincare needs.

The Philips ReAura LED Mask will be available to buy from 1st August in the UK, Germany and France through the Philips online store and exclusively via Amazon. It's priced at £349.99/€399.99.

Many of the best LED masks launched with a single use design, particularly in their earlier generations. Brands such as Silk'n and CurrentBody have since started introducing more flexible models with features such as neck and chin coverage, so it's impressive to see Philips entering the market with a such a versatile design.

The ReAura also has a portable design, allowing you to enjoy up to eight sessions per battery charge, with each treatment lasting around 10 minutes.

I'll be reviewing the mask in due course, so keep an eye out for my full thoughts coming soon.