This affordable control panel will centralise your entire smart home setup – I need it

One of the biggest things that puts people considering a smart home setup is just how fiddly it can be to control everything. Unless you’ve got one of the best smart speakers handling voice commands, you often end up juggling multiple apps and devices just to make it all work together. That’s where a smart home hub or control panel really makes a difference – and one new release has caught my attention.

Shelly has just launched the Wall Display XL, a smart home control panel with a 10.1-inch HD colour touchscreen. It’s designed to slot neatly into a standard EU wall box, so it blends into your home without taking up extra space. It also comes in two finishes – black with a grey frame or black with black frame.

It’s available now through Shelly’s online store for €289 or around £250, and there’s no word yet on a US release. As of now, it's exclusively compatible with European homes, but UK availability could be on the horizon.

The Shelly Wall Display XL features four customisable buttons for quick actions or scenes, and it doubles up as an energy monitor when paired with Shelly PM devices. Shelly has also added two built-in 2W stereo speakers for notifications and alarms, with the option to connect to Sonos or other Bluetooth speakers.

Other handy touches include an integrated proximity sensor that wakes the display when you walk by, plus a manual on/off switch for when you want it dark. It also supports Bluetooth 5.4, dual-band Wi-Fi 6, the Shelly Smart Control app, MQTT and Home Assistant.

However, it doesn’t integrate with Amazon Alexa, Google Home or Samsung SmartThings. If that’s a dealbreaker, the Aqara Panel Hub S1 Plus might be a better fit, since it’s Matter-compatible.