Smart home

2020-12-01 -

Amazon Echo Show 8 £70 / stuff.tv/echoshow8

The Echo Show 10 has arrived – see p14 – but until we’ve had a chance to give it a proper test, the Echo Show 8 is still a bargain smart display big enough for easy video chatting and loud enough to fill rooms. Its display may not be the most refined, and the sound won’t worry Sonos, but you can’t complain at this price. Amazon has even ironed out some politics, meaning Netflix is now available alongside Prime Video. Stuff says ★★★★★

The Alexa home invasion continues apace with this superb smart display

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Neato Botvac Connected D7

Say “Alexa, do the vacuuming” and Neato’s latest robo-vac will clean up all your dead skin cells. £799 / neatorobotics.com

Amazon Echo Dot with Clock £35 / stuff.tv/echodotclock

A radical redesign (it’s now more of a sphere than a puck) means the new Echo Dot with Clock on p15 looks dramatically different to this one, but that doesn’t stop the 3rd Gen model being one of the finest bargains in tech… until we’ve tested its replacement, that is.

Stuff says ★★★★★

This brainy little puck sets a mighty high bar for the new Echo Dot

Amazon Echo (3rd Gen) £65 / stuff.tv/amazonecho

The Amazon Echo has just had a spruce-up with a zippy neural processor – as you may have noticed on p15 – but for now the 3rd Gen Echo remains a fine listener and a fine speaker. In fact, it’s effectively an Echo Plus minus the Zigbee connectivity.

Stuff says ★★★★★

For a smart speaker under the £100 mark, you can’t argue with this Echo

Google Nest Mini

★★★★★ £49 / stuff.tv/nestmini

Louder and cleverer than ever… and it’ll only improve over time with updates.

Tado Smart Thermostat

★★★★★ from £180 / stuff.tv/tadov3plus

This heating system roasts the competition with its blend of simplicity and smarts.

Ring Indoor Cam

★★★★★ £49 / stuff.tv/ringindoor

This cute little spy-cam is a bona fide bargain for anyone with security worries.

Nest Learning Thermostat (3rd gen)