Editor’s letter

It’s never been easier to get into smart home tech, now there’s so much choice. But that raises the question of where you start.

You could get a whole automated install going if you’re getting your house renovated, but that’s not exactly something you do all the time. For the most part, people want to buy one thing – a smart bulb so they can have more control over lighting, or a smart smoke detector when their old one runs out. That’s what our main feature on p32 is all about – finding you the easy home gadget upgrades that can be first buys for a lot of people.

That said, the real strength of smart home gear is when it’s all working together, so that same feature also runs through what your next steps should be once you’ve got the stuff, and how you can control it through the likes of Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant or Apple’s Home app.

Elsewhere, we’ve got a guide to watching 4K (p80), for those who’ve picked up a killer Ultra HD TV but are struggling to find great stuff to put on it. And, speaking of 4K, the new iMac is a bit of alright (p90). Plus, there’s loads more to love – phone fans should be sure to check out the HTC U11 review on p96.

Oh, and we sent a copy of to space. Well, near space. But it was one hell of a view. See for yourself in Man vs Tech on p58.