SMART HOME
TIPS & TRICKS
• The Echo’s built-in Zigbee hub can hook up hundreds of smart home devices without a bridge.
• Pair a compatible thermostat and the Echo’s temperature sensor can activate the heating.
• Alexa Flash Briefings deliver bursts of news or trivia; choose from 5000 sources in the app.
1 HOT BUY Amazon Echo (4th Gen) £90 / stuff.tv/echo
Having morphed from a cylinder to a sphere, the latest Echo is an excellent newsreader, weather forecaster, personal assistant and intercom straight out of the box; but it’s now also a capable speaker and a very accessible smart home hub. It doesn’t sound as good as the Sonos One or Apple Homepod for listening to music, but it’s significantly smarter than both and considerably cheaper too.
Stuff says ★★★★★
An all-round upgrade that makes the Echo a smarter speaker than ever