We're now into July, which means we've done six full months of testing here at Tom's Guide in 2026. From coffee machines, through to vacuums, gaming handhelds, laptops and phones — not only is it our job to put tech through its paces, it's what our journalists, editors and contributors love to do.

I'm Pete, Senior Reviews Editor here at Tom's Guide, and I head up our reviews coverage on site. My team of dedicated reviews writers alone have lab tested and reviewed hundreds of products already this year, with the wider Tom's Guide editorial team having testing dozens more. If you've not had your finger precisely on the pulse of the latest tech this year, well, I don't blame you — it's hard to keep tabs on everything. That's why we exist.

To help, I've gathered the Tom's Guide team's favorite products from 2026 so far. Obviously, I can't fit everything into a single article, so I asked our subject experts across the site to give me their top picks, too. I've also curated the top five highest scorers, which stand above the rest. Every product on here has been tested by us, hands-on, as part of a full, extensive review.

Read on to see the tech Tom's Guide loved in the first half of 2026.

Tom's Guide's Top 5

Every product on this list has scored at least four stars, earning our TG Recommended or Editor's Choice badges. But there are five products on this list that scored our full five stars after testing. These are the best of the best so far this year. To save you some time, here are the links to our reviews.

• DJI Osmo Pocket 4 review ★★★★★
• 007 First Light review ★★★★★
• KitchenAid Artisan Plus review ★★★★★
• Gozney Dome XL Gen 2 review ★★★★★
• Samsung S95H OLED review ★★★★★

Keep reading to see the rest of our top tested picks for 2026.

AI

Rokid Glasses

After 5,000 miles in the Rokids, we were seriously impressed
Score: ★★★★☆

The best smart glasses without a display are cool and all, but their features are usually rather limited to just asking questions about what you see. The Rokid Glasses proved to me that adding a screen turns that superpower into an ambient computing platform — offering features only when you need them and disappearing into the background in some stylish specs.

With that display, you get real-time conversation translation with text subtitles so you’re not having to try to listen to your smart glasses talk over the person in front of you. And the multi-modality unlocked by asking a question and just getting answers you can see makes them much more subtle. Not to say they’re perfect — the camera quality for snapping pictures suffers in low light and some features are very China-specific (like Alipay). But arm these with Google Gemini in setup, and they’re a genuinely helpful companion on your face for a decent price.

Jason England, Managing Editor, Core Tech
Read Jason's full Rokid Glasses review

Cameras & drones

GoPro Mission 1 Pro

GoPro's return to form in the action camera game
Score: ★★★★½

After years essentially re-releasing the same Hero cameras with minor tweaks, GoPro has finally pushed itself. The Mission 1 Pro is pricey, but it’s the first GoPro I’ve been excited about in a while. It seriously impressed me with its powerful and versatile video credentials in testing, namely open gate 8K and a wealth of shooting features that make it ideal for its target market: professionals. Thanks to revised processor architecture and a shiny new battery, I managed to extract unparalleled battery life and thermals versus other action cameras in my standardized battery tests. GoPro is back!

Pete Wolinski, Senior Reviews & Cameras Editor
Read Pete’s full GoPro Mission 1 Pro review

DJI Osmo Pocket 4

The best all-around tool for content creation
Score: ★★★★★

I awarded the DJI Osmo Pocket 4 our full five stars in my review, and that’s because I literally couldn’t find anything wrong with it. Aside from the fact that it’s not available in America (yet?) due to tariffs and DJI’s ongoing feud with the U.S. government. The Osmo Pocket 4 improved on its predecessor in every single way that mattered: video, stabilization, storage, thermals, battery life, and more. If you’re after a single tool for professional-looking content creation, I really can’t think of anything better to recommend.

Pete Wolinski, Senior Reviews & Cameras Editor
Read Pete’s full DJI Osmo Pocket 4 review

DJI Avata 360

Although a little late to the 360 party, DJI absolutely smashed it
Score: ★★★★½

The DJI Avata 360 does exactly what you want a drone to do: make flying fun. It stakes its claim as the best 360° drone around (granted, there are only two at the time of writing, but still!) and its twin lenses capture every single angle in 8K at 60fps. 120MP hi-res stills, user-friendly editing software, and exceptional build quality make it the drone to buy today. It also undercuts its main competitor, the Antigravity A1, and with dual ways to fly (FPV and with a standard controller), the Avata 360 is versatile and oh-so-powerful. Every day I still think about it — and as someone who’s tested many, many quadcopters, that’s saying a lot.

Nikita Achanta, Senior Reviews Writer
Read Nikita’s full DJI Avata 360 review

Computing & gaming

MacBook Neo

Our favorite budget laptop, literally ever
Score: ★★★★½

Value for money in laptops has become a bit of a running joke this year (thanks, RAMageddon). But of all the companies building notebooks, I didn’t anticipate it would be Apple to deliver the goods and give you an honest-to-god well-priced system. Yes, there’s been a $100 increase recently, but even with that, the premium aluminum build quality, great display, tactile keyboard and zippy performance of that A18 Pro makes for a great system for the day-to-day essentials.

I must admit, to see Apple actually having fun with colors in its MacBooks is a refreshing change from the blacks and silvers of its more expensive lineage. All of this comes together into a laptop that has terrified the budget Windows laptop market, and the best ultra portable we’ve tested this year.

Jason England, Managing Editor, Core Tech
Read our full MacBook Neo review

Asus Zenbook Duo (2026)

Dual OLED panels = chef's kiss
Score: ★★★★½

Yes, this is a dual-screen OLED beauty of a premium laptop; Asus has really paid attention to the design and ergonomics of a system like this. But the real superpower is what lies inside that shell. Intel Core Ultra Series 3 (codenamed Panther Lake) has been a truly generational moment for Team Blue in its Windows laptops, and it comes down to huge updates to both the performance and power efficiency.

Those new CPU cores and efficiency architecture they’re built onto gives this a gargantuan battery life that would make a MacBook blush, while the superpowered GPU (alongside XeSS 3) gives this some serious gaming laptop chops too. Usually, you had to be considerate of just what you wanted to do with your Windows laptop and decide on the strengths and compromises around that. With anything that sports an X9 chip like this, though, that’s no longer a compromise you have to make.

Jason England, Managing Editor, Core Tech
Read Jason's full Asus Zenbook Duo (2026) review

MSI Claw 8 EX AI+

A true next-gen gaming handheld
Score: ★★★★☆

The MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ delivers the performance jump I’ve been waiting years for. With Intel’s new Arc G3 Extreme chip, games are pulling a 20 to 30+ FPS advantage over AMD Z2 Extreme handhelds. Battery life gets a big boost too. I could hit the same performance as the Z2 Extreme at half the power consumption. Combine that with its major redesign bringing more Xbox-like controls, better haptics, and its large 8-inch 16:10 display, and you’re getting, in my opinion, one of the best handheld gaming consoles of 2026.

Paul Antill, Video Producer
Read our full MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ review

007 First Light

Forget GoldenEye: this is the best Bond game ever
Score: ★★★★★

Gamers are being treated to a licensed games renaissance right now. The days of cheap cash-ins launched to coincide with a new blockbuster movie are over. But even in this golden era for video games based on popular media franchises, 007 First Light surpasses expectations.

Forget GoldenEye, First Light is the best James Bond game ever. With its ludicrously cinematic gameplay, compelling narrative that focuses on a younger Bond (played by Patrick Gibson), and deep commitment to authenticity, 007 First Light is easily the best thing to come out of this long-running spy series in 20 years, movies included. There’s a reason it was only the second video game I’ve given the full five stars. Whether you’re a longtime Bond fan or a newcomer, 007 First Light is quite simply unmissable.

Rory Mellon, Senior Entertainment Editor
Read Rory's full 007 First Light review

Epomaker Glyph

Nikita's dream keyboard
Score: ★★★★½

I’ve tested close to 100 keyboards in my time as a reviews writer, and it isn’t often that I get to proclaim, “I’ve found my dream keyboard.” Ever since I tested the Epomaker Glyph, it hasn’t left my desk, and it’s my daily driver when I’m at the office. Typewriter-like aesthetics, a return lever that acts as an Enter or Backspace key, beautiful RGB lighting, a creamy sound profile, and a typing experience that’s nothing short of stunning — all of these characteristics come together to deliver what’s probably the best mechanical keyboard I’ve used for typing. I’m a speed demon when I’m bashing out 109 words per minute of this thing.

Nikita Achanta, Senior Reviews Writer
Read Nikita’s full Epomaker Glyph review

(A note from Nikita's editor, Pete: "I can confirm, the Glyph genuinely hasn't left her desk!")

MSI MPG 341CQR QD-OLED X36

Pro performance for under $1,000
Score: ★★★★½

It’s no secret that MSI knows how to make a great gaming monitor, and its MPG 341CQR QD-OLED X36 is one of the most beautiful displays I’ve ever tested. Blistering 360Hz refresh rate and 0.03ms response time for buttery smooth gameplay? Check. Ridiculously accurate colors and wide color coverage? Yep. AI sleep and wake features that are actually useful and not just a gimmick? Oh yeah. And all of this is packed into a sleek design with plenty of ports. Not much to complain about here, really.

Nikita Achanta, Senior Reviews Writer
Read Nikita’s full MSI MPG 341CQR QD-OLED X36 review

Viture Beast AR glasses

Beast by name, beast by nature
Score: ★★★★½

I’ve traveled the world testing all of this year’s biggest AR glasses releases, and Viture Beast stands head and shoulders above the pack as the best I’ve used this year (so far). There’s three reasons why: picture quality, comfort and features. Viture’s color science and fidelity really shines in those micro-OLED displays with a massive 58-degree field of view. There’s a little edge fringing on the sides, but given the massive vision field, it’s unlikely you’ll notice it. And this is packed into a nice-feeling pair of glasses with a soft-touch coating that sits gently on your ears with optimal weight balance. Cap it all off with plenty of customization built in, plus the SpaceWalker app for multi-monitor home office setups, and the Beast are…well…pretty beastly for work and play.

Jason England, Managing Editor, Core Tech
Read Jason's full Viture Beast review

Fitness

Fitbit Air

The best Whoop alternative, and subscription-free
Score: ★★★★☆

The Fitbit Air is my fitness tracker of the year so far. Discreet and distraction-free (no screen), this is a fitness tracker that's easy to use, lightweight, and oh-so-comfortable. Just $99 and subscription-free for core features, it offers a week of battery life and covers all the holistic metrics you'd expect from a modern device, like heart health, sleep quality, daily movement, and workouts. For most people, this is the best screen-free fitness tracker you can buy, and the new Google Health companion app makes viewing all your health data a dream.

Jane McGuire, Managing Editor, Fitness
Read our full Fitbit Air review

Salomon XT-6

Hike, shop or relax in comfort and style
Score: ★★★★½

The Salomon XT-6 shoes have become a staple in my closet. Whether I’m heading to the store or hitting up a challenging trail on the weekend, I know I’ll be supported. I wore these hiking sneakers on a city break, where I clocked over 93,000 steps and didn’t have a single complaint. Not only that, the multidirectional lugs kept me stable on even the trickiest terrain, as I hiked in mud, over rocks, and through water.

On top of their technical ability, the XT-6s are a fashion statement, worn all over New York by fashion-forward celebs; these shoes have earned a coveted spot in my daily rotation — although you’ll find me cleaning the mud off them after each adventure.

Ashley Thieme, Staff Writer
Read Ashley’s full Salomon XT-6 review

Homes

Dyson V16 Piston Animal Cordless

A powerful cordless Dyson that's perfect for pet owners
Score: ★★★★☆

I’ve tested my fair share of Dyson vacuum cleaners in my time, but I must say that the V16 combines all of my favorite features in one cleaner. First, its upgraded ‘Fluffy Cones’ head is designed to be used on both carpets and hard flooring without the need to swap over attachments. This is a great time-saver, and lets me quickly zip around my home without pausing. Perhaps my favorite feature is the dust-detecting green light which reveals those hidden dustballs lurking underneath furniture and in corners. Plus, it’s lightweight and easy to store, which is why it’s now my go-to for daily maintenance, and why I awarded our Editor’s Choice badge.

Cynthia Lawrence, Homes Editor
Read Cynthia’s full Dyson V16 Piston Animal Cordless review

KitchenAid Artisan Plus

The latest version of KitchenAid's legendary mixer, and the best one yet
Score: ★★★★★

I got to test KitchenAid’s newest stand mixer, the Artisan Plus, and it’s even better than I imagined. I’d been happily using KitchenAid’s Artisan stand mixer as my go-to appliance for a good few years, and I really didn’t see how it could be improved, but it has. It may only seem like a few tweaks, but they have made a big difference. From the sliding speed control that just glides, to the in-bowl light, which illuminates the mix — and let's not forget the double-edge flex beater that cleans the bowl as it sweeps past— I loved it so much during testing that I gave it a 5-star rating.

Camilla Sharman, Staff Writer
Read Camilla’s full KitchenAid Artisan Plus review

Gozney Dome XL (Gen 2)

The undisputed king of pizza ovens
Score: ★★★★★

If you’re a dedicated — and I mean dedicated — at-home pizza maker, the Gozney Dome XL (Gen 2) is the closest you’ll come to actually building a pizza oven from scratch. It can run on either gas, wood, or charcoal, has dual temperature probes, and is big enough to fit a 16-inch pie with room to spare. I loved its easy-to-ready displays, and the design of the oven is just gorgeous, too. Yes, it’s huge and it’s expensive (I’ve made equally good pizzas in much cheaper ovens), but this is the oven that’ll signal you’re the real pizzaiolo in your neighborhood.

Mike Prospero, U.S. Editor-in-chief
Read Mike’s full Gozney Dome XL (Gen 2) review

Fellow Espresso Series 1

Beginners or pros, coffee snobs or otherwise — this one is for everyone
Score: ★★★★½

When Fellow designed the Espresso Series 1, it looked at the other espresso machines out there and thought, “I’m going to do something different.” And different the Espresso Series 1 is. When I tested this machine, I loved that it provided coffee-snob-approved features while still being usable for complete beginners. On top of having a litany of customization options on the machine itself, I loved having the app, which walked me through how to make every type of coffee ever invented. You may think this is too ambitious, but for me, the Espresso Series 1 hits all its marks and comes out victorious.

Erin Bashford, Senior Reviews Writer
Read Erin’s full Fellow Espresso Series 1 review

Phones

Apple iPhone 17

A surprisingly solid update over the previous generation
Score: ★★★★½

Apple launched more new phones than in any previous year, but the iPhone 17 remains my favorite for several reasons. One thing that makes it stand out is that it finally got a long-overdue upgrade to a 120Hz refresh rate, making its screen look even more fluid than before in testing. On top of that, I really love how it didn’t get a price hike and still managed to get double the starting storage.

John Velasco, Senior Phones Editor
Read John's full iPhone 17 review

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra

The phone that'll get better over time
Score: ★★★★½

When it comes to Android phones, nothing caught my eye more than the Galaxy S26 Ultra. Samsung’s flagship received all the iterative updates it deserved, but one particular new feature stood out most: the Privacy Display. It works like magic, making the screen look dark when someone tries to peek at it from the side. You can even customize it to block out specific parts of the display — like when you’re messaging someone. This exclusive feature is what sets it apart from everything else.

John Velasco, Senior Phones Editor
Read our full Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra review

Sleep

Saatva Zenhaven Mattress

What you should be sleeping on in 2026
Score: ★★★★½

The Saatva Zenhaven latex mattress blew our socks off during testing, thanks to its naturally cooling and supportive sleep feel for eco-conscious shoppers. Handcrafted in the US from (mostly) organic materials, the Zenhaven boasts a flippable design with a different tension on each side: Luxury Plush and Gentle Firm. We appreciated how one side boasted more cushioning for side sleepers, while the unyielding feel of the firmer side best-suited back and stomach sleepers. At $3,549 at full MSRP it’s a splurge, but cheaper during Saatva mattress sales. However, it’s worth noting that latex mattresses can last up to 20 years, so we think it’s worth the investment.

Nicola Appleton, Sleep Editor
Read our full Saatva Zenhaven Mattress review

Fitnexa SomniPods 3

If you struggle sleeping, these earbuds are for you
Score: ★★★★☆

The Fitnexa SomniPods 3 are compact sleep earbuds that helped me sleep better in even the most disruptive environments (like my neighbor's son playing basketball at unsociable hours). Fitted with built-in white noise, excellent active noise cancelation, plus sleep tracking features, they’re an easy recommendation for any troubled sleepers. But the real stand-out feature for me is the Fitnexa app. Here, your own AI coach waits for you, ready to provide personalized advice based on your sleep tracking data, activity logs and food diaries. The info isn’t quite on par with a qualified sleep professional but thanks to the wealth of data to draw from, it was pretty spot on in testing, helping take the SomniPods from sleep earbud to all-round sleep enhancer.

Ruth Jones, Senior Sleep Writer
Read Ruth's full Fitnexa SomniPods 3 review

Smart home & security

Blink Battery Doorbell 2K+

A fantastic way to improve security on a budget
Score: ★★★★☆

Blink has long been one of our favorite budget smart home brands, and its newest battery-powered video doorbell furthers its reputation as a value leader. The Battery Doorbell 2K+ delivered very good 2K video in our testing — not the tops, but for a sub-$100 device it was more than acceptable. And, while it runs on AA batteries, they’ll last up to two years on a charge. You can also use this video doorbell without a subscription (you’ll need to purchase a separate adapter), but Blink’s subscription price is relatively affordable.

Mike Prospero, U.S. Editor-in-chief
Read our full Blink Battery Doorbell 2K+ review

TV & Audio

Samsung S95H OLED

Supreme picture quality, even in bright rooms
Score: ★★★★★

I’ve tested countless TVs, but the Samsung S95H is the first unit in several years that truly surpassed all my expectations. It completely shatters the familiar rules of OLED, obliterating ambient glare and delivering an unprecedented, jaw-dropping brightness in the self-emissive category. Even the floating metal bezel (a design choice I fully assumed I'd hate) adds a striking, premium presence I grew to love. Between its breathtaking performance and how seamlessly it transitions into a decor piece via Samsung Art Store support, this is a flagship that stands as a definitive standard-bearer.

Kate Kozuch, Managing Editor
Read Kate's full Samsung S95H OLED review

AirPods Max 2

Everything is dialed up to 11
Score: ★★★★½

It’s impossible to be a tech lover and not have strong opinions about Apple’s new AirPods Max 2. Some people love them, some people hate them, but I’m firmly in the first camp. The AirPods Max 2 are headphones that know what they’re about, and they’re not apologizing for it. With gorgeous anodized aluminum ear cups and an all-metal headband, they’re not the lightest cans in the world, but the sound more than makes up for it.

Every detail is clear, mids are melodic and vivacious, and the bass is balanced, rich, and warm. Of course, you’ve also got industry-leading smart tech features like Live Translation and integrated Siri, but Apple users looking for the best headphones need look no further than Apple’s own.

Erin Bashford, Senior Reviews Writer
Read Erin’s full Apple AirPods Max 2 review

Beyerdynamic Amiron ZERO

Open earbuds that make no sacrifices
Score: ★★★★½

The Beyerdynamic Amiron ZERO have completely changed the way I think about open-earbuds (and I’ve tested a lot). Up until testing the ZEROs, I’d accepted that if I wanted ambient awareness, comfort and stability while working out, I’d need to sacrifice sound quality — but they prove that’s not the case. They provided me with the detailed listening experience I love from Beyerdynamic’s other headphones, without compromising bass performance, delivering perfectly balanced sound. I wear them when I’m working, running, or hiking in the rain (thanks to IP54 durability). They’re the only open earbuds I’ve tested with no compromises.

Ashley Thieme, Staff Writer
Read Ashley’s full Beyerdynamic Amiron ZERO review

JBL Xtreme 5

The party speaker for summer 2026
Score: ★★★★½

The JBL Xtreme 5 came, it saw, and it conquered. JBL really understood the assignment with the surprise follow-up to 2024’s Xtreme 4. Everything about the Xtreme 5 oozes confidence: the deft, controlled bass that’ll have your floorboards shaking and your bones quaking; the literally unbeatable IP68 rating that protects it against rain, sand, and drops; the gorpcore, utilitarian design; and of course the rugged 24-hour battery life. This is the party speaker of 2026. I’ve tested hundreds of audio products and Bluetooth speakers, but the Xtreme 5 is a special one.

Erin Bashford, Senior Reviews Writer
Read Erin’s full JBL Xtreme 5 review

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This summer has been hot, with record-breaking temperatures all across the globe. Europe was baking with 100-plus-degree heat, while back here in the U.S., we weren't doing much better. At least we have air conditioning!

Unless we're suddenly plunged into another ice age, summers are only going to get hotter — and our bills will continue to rise — so we need to find better, and more efficient ways of keeping our homes cool without emptying our 401(k)s.

Over the past few years, I've tested a number of smart air conditioners, smart thermostats, and fans, so I've found a few things that really help to keeping myself, my family, and my house at a comfortable temperature.

In the house

Keeping cool for the summer

My house doesn't have central air, so we rely on window air conditioners to keep things cool during the summer. It offers me an excellent opportunity to test the best smart air conditioners; I've been using the LG Dual Inverter window air conditioner for about seven years now, and it's shown no signs of stopping.

Even though I don't have central air, I do have an Ecobee Premium smart thermostat, which controls the heat in the winter. However, during the summer months, I can still put it — and its remote sensors — to use, by creating a smart home routine to activate my window air conditioners if things get too hot.

For example, my attic doubles as my office, so there's a lot of electronics up there. If I'm not around, I want to make sure things don't overheat, but I don't want to use a ton of energy cooling it to what I would consider comfortable. So, I created a smart home routine that will cool my attic to around 85 degrees F, but only if no one is up there.

Of course, you can use lots of different devices to act as remote temperature sensors, such as the Amazon Echo Dot. My colleague, Anthony Spadafora, has even used one to monitor the temperature in his garage to keep it cool.

You can also use a less expensive sensor, like the $9 IKEA Timmerflotte. The latter is even Matter-compatible, and while others have had difficulty in connecting IKEA's new smart home devices, I was able to add them pretty easily to my Apple Home setup. I tried all of IKEA's smart home devices, and two really stood out to me.

Wife check

The biggest issue with the LG air conditioner? It's super-heavy (around 90 pounds), so I need my wife's help to put it in the window, and then take it out in the fall. To ease her (and my) burden), I decided to test the Dreo 740S portable air conditioner — the first portable model I've tested.

I've had it installed since early June, and it's seen us through a couple of heat waves, where the outside temperature was in the upper 90s. But while I've been pleased with its performance (and the fact that I can simply wheel it around), my wife pointed out that its hoses not only take up a ton of space, but they don't really look great, either.

Yes, it's far easier to install, and it's one of the most efficient portable air conditioners, but aesthetics do matter. It's not something I might have noticed on my own, which is why it's been great to have a second opinion.

Making your yard work

What about staying cool outdoors? Last summer, I put two smart coolers to the test, and the Anker Solix Everfrost 2.0 came out on top for its rollable design and much longer battery life.

I'm still using it this summer; I recently hosted an outdoor watch party for a World Cup soccer match, and filled the cooler with beer and other beverages for my neighbors. Just make sure not to leave it out in the rain; I did that once, and messed up one of the charging ports. Fortunately, the rest of the cooler was unaffected, but I do wish it was a little more weather resistant, given its price.

Kid-tested

My kid doesn't always like her air conditioner on — she says it makes too much noise — but what she does like is a small portable fan right by her bed. She's been using the Switchbot Circulator fan, which is surprisingly silent, even at its maximum speed. The fan can oscillate and tilt, be set on a timer, and even has a nightlight.

The fan can be plugged in or run on battery power depending on the model that you get, and can be controlled either by pressing buttons on the fan's base, using the remote, or via Switchbot's app (she's already lost the remote).

And, because it's a connected device, I can also use it in smart home routines to turn on automatically if the temperature in a room gets too hot. Just note that to use the smart features, you also have to buy a Switchbot hub, which will run you an extra $50.

Pet corner

Keeping the pets cool

As the owners of 2.75 pets — two cats and a dog with a missing leg — we like to find ways to keep them happy and healthy, while making less work for us.

I've been using the Petsafe Drinkwell water fountain now for six years, and it's mostly held up. Both the cats and the dogs have been using it with no complaints, though I have had to make some modifications to it over the years.

Inside the fountain, there's a pump at the bottom which connects to a filter, and then to a pipe which pumps the water up to the top of the fountain. After a few years, the connection between the filter and the pipe loosened a bit, which meant that water did not flow upwards as easily.

As a result, the water did not flow out the top of the fountain with as much force, so the waterfall was more like a dribble, and when it landed below, it didn't hit the diffuser. Instead, it hit the water in the basin, which makes a ton of noise — it's like when your kid leaves the faucet running.

I tried a few things to fix this. First, I hot-glued the connection between the pipe and the filter, but that only worked temporarily. I ultimately just cut a piece of a plastic milk carton and taped it to the top of the fountain, so that the water would hit the right spot. It's not pretty, but it works.

Petsafe no longer makes the fountain I tested, but the Petsafe Oasys looks to be the closest successor. It comes in multiple sizes; the 2-gallon model works for both cats and dogs.

Have your say

Do you have any questions about what devices you should get, or how to best use them in your home? Are there any topics you'd like to see me cover? Let me know by dropping me a line.

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The best smart locks have long been a useful tool, but one of the biggest issues hampering their adoption has been battery life. Unlike most other smart home devices, smart locks have to operate without being plugged in, which means you have to change or recharge their batteries on a regular basis.

Now it seems that issue is being solved. I recently tested two smart locks that have solar panels built right into them. That means you never have to worry about your lock running out of juice and having to find an external power bank or the physical keys in order to do something as simple as get inside your own home.

The Desloc V150 Plus and Lockin Veno Solar offer some similar features, but actually vary more than you might expect. Here's a look at both of them, and what makes one better than the other.

Desloc V150 Plus vs. Lockin Veno Solar: Price and availability

The first major difference between these two locks is their price, and it's a pretty dramatic difference. While the Desloc V150 Plus has a Kickstarter price starting at $169. Its retail price is as high as $399.99. It will be available through retail channels starting in August, so if you want one it may be worth seeing if it's still available at a discount through Kickstarter.

The Lockin Veno Solar, by contrast, is available now, and it's dramatically cheaper when it comes to the retail price. There are actually two models available: one which has a face scanner and the other a palm vein scanner. I tested the face scanner, which put it on a more level playing field with the Desloc V150 Plus. Both models, however, cost $199 or around half the retail price of the Desloc. There's also a bundle with a door handle for $259.99.

Winner: Lockin Veno Solar

Specs

Desloc V150 Plus vs. Lockin Veno Solar: Design and setup

While the two locks don't look exactly the same, I wouldn't necessarily say that one of them looks much better than the other. Both of them definitely look like smart home gadgets, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but is worth noting for those who might want something more that leans more towards luxury.

The exterior portion of both of these blocks is a relatively bulky black rectangle made of metal and plastic. The Desloc V150 Plus has a large rectangular solar panel which sits in between the face scanner and a fingerprint scanner. It does not have a PIN pad.

By contrast, the Lockin Veno Solar does have a PIN pad, but there is no fingerprint scanner. Both locks have an interior portion that houses the battery and has a thumb latch for manual locking and unlocking.

The build quality is pretty similar, but the Desloc does feel slightly more durable. It has an IP65 rating for weather resistance, which is better than the IP53 rating offered by the Lockin Veno Solar. I suspect both of them will be able to withstand most weather events, but if you're worried about damage, then the Desloc is probably the more durable option. They both have BHMA Grade 3 deadbolt certification.

Installation of the two locks is pretty similar. Both of them require that you completely remove your existing deadbolt and locking mechanism. Once that's done, you'll install the included deadbolt, then thread the exterior portion of the lock through the deadbolt and attach it to a base plate. Finally, you'll screw the interior portion of the lock into the base plate. Then you'll download the lock's respective apps, create an account, and add the lock to your account.

Winner: Desloc V150 Plus

Desloc V150 Plus vs. Lockin Veno Solar: App and smart home

Software support is another area in which the two locks diverge. The V150 Plus runs on Desloc's existing app and connects to Wi-Fi and Bluetooth without needing a hub. I found the app decently easy to use. Adding fingerprints and faces was straightforward, I could remotely lock and unlock the door, and I got real-time access logs and battery information, including a chart showing how much battery the device has gained through solar power. Hopefully, of course, you won't need to worry much about battery at all.

The Lockin Smart app, similarly, covers the basics well. You can generate one-time PINs, enroll new faces and codes, configure auto-lock, and so on. I would have liked an overview of how much battery the lock gains over time, the way Desloc offers, but its absence isn't a big deal. With the Desloc, I found that I checked the battery gain once or twice over the first few days, then mostly forgot about it.

The big area where the Lockin Veno Solar pulls ahead is in smart home support. The Desloc V150 Plus supports Google Home and Amazon Alexa, but Lockin goes much further with Matter support. That essentially means that you can add the Veno Solar to any modern smart home ecosystem, including Google Home, Amazon Alexa, Apple Home, and more.

Sure, for those who use Google Home or Alexa, that difference may not be a very big deal. But what if you want to change ecosystems down the line? Or what if your partner uses an iPhone while you use an Android device? Matter support solves all of these issues, and it's kind of becoming table stakes for smart home devices, at least when the Matter spec supports them like it does locks.

Winner: Lockin Veno Solar

Desloc V150 Plus vs. Lockin Veno Solar: Performance

When it comes to speed and reliability of unlocking, neither of these smart locks is incredibly impressive. However, each has one feature that the other doesn't. The Desloc V150 Plus doesn't have a PIN pad, which is kind of a major omission, and means that you can't easily assign guest codes. What it does have is a fingerprint sensor, and that can come in handy given the fact that the face scanner is pretty slow. Much of the time I found that it was faster to scan my fingerprint to unlock the door than wait the few seconds for the lock to scan my face.

The Lockin Veno Solar doesn't have a fingerprint scanner but does have a PIN pad. It was actually faster to just wait for the lock to scan my face, even though it did take a few seconds. I'm not sure either of these two locks was faster at face scanning than the other. That's not a good thing; they were both slow. If you're deciding between these two locks, you'll have to determine whether you prefer to have a PIN pad or a fingerprint scanner.

It's also worth quickly noting that the Lockin Veno Solar had much more reliable Wi-Fi connectivity. Both of these locks were installed on a garden shed in my backyard, which can sometimes have spotty reception. The Desloc V150 Plus struggled a fair bit to retain a Wi-Fi connection, but the Lockin Veno Solar had no such issue. That will really only be an issue for you if you plan on putting your smart lock in an area where Wi-Fi reception isn't all that good. For most people who install the lock on their front door, both locks will retain connectivity perfectly fine.

Winner: Lockin Veno Solar

Desloc V150 Plus vs. Lockin Veno Solar: Battery life and recharging

Given the fact that these are both solar-powered locks, perhaps one of the more important questions is whether or not you'll need to worry about battery and charging. Thankfully, they both charged perfectly fine, and while they don't charge very quickly, that doesn't really matter. Basically, you'll never have to worry about whether or not your lock is charged up.

Again, don't expect them to fully charge overnight. When I first installed the Desloc V150 Plus, it had around 12% battery. A week later, it had 34%. When I installed the Lockin Veno Solar, it arrived with around 83%, and a week later, it had 90%. The actual charging speed, of course, doesn't really matter all that much. What matters is that they're not losing power over time. And if you fully charge your lock when you first get it, I expect both of these locks will remain around 100% at all times.

Winner: Tie

Desloc V150 Plus vs. Lockin Veno Solar: Verdict

For now, if you're looking for a smart lock with a solar charger, it's probably worth buying the Lockin Veno Solar. It may not have a fingerprint reader, but it does have a pin pad, plus it's around half the price of the Desloc V150 Plus.

That said, if a fingerprint reader really is important to you and you find a solar panel important, then you'll still like what's offered by the Desloc V150 Plus. You'll just have to stomach the additional cost or try to snag one from the Kickstarter campaign.

The alternative, of course, is to wait a little for solar panels to become more common on smart locks. The first few smart locks with solar panels feel a bit more like proofs-of-concept rather than the complete package.

I would have liked to see a lock with both a fingerprint scanner and a pin pad. That's not to mention support for Matter and even tech like Apple's Home Key and Ultra Wideband. I expect eventually we'll get these features in solar-powered locks, but for now, we'll have to wait.

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Of all the annual chores I have to perform around my house, one of my least favorite is installing window AC units in the early summer, and taking them out in the fall. While most of the ones in my house are fairly small, the one we use to cool the first floor — the LG Dual Inverter window air conditioner — is a monster. I always feel like I’m going to either throw my back out or somehow drop the entire unit out the window.

That’s why Dreo’s new 740S Portable Air Conditioner looked so intriguing to me — I wasn’t going to risk a herniated disc trying to keep my house cool. And, because this unit uses inverter technology, it’s a lot more efficient than older portable ACs.

So, I set up the Dreo 740S in my house to see how it compared to the best smart air conditioners, and if it could genuinely replace my trusted — but heavy — window unit.

Price and availability

Dreo has six portable air conditioners in its lineup; The 740S, which went on sale in the late spring of 2026, costs $699, and is the most expensive model. However, some of the other models in Dreo’s lineup are more powerful, have many of the same features, yet cost less. So why is that?

It’s because the 740S uses an inverter to cool air, whereas all of Dreo’s other models use older compressor technology. As a result, the 740S is far more efficient than Dreo’s other portable air conditioners.

While the 740S isn’t as efficient as, say, the Midea U or the LG Dual Inverter (15 and 14.7 EER, respectively), it’s pretty close.

Design

The Dreo 740S air conditioner itself looks rather sleek. It’s about the size of a mini fridge and has curved edges that taper gently towards the top which has two louvers. The front of the AC is clean, except for a large circular display and some touch controls beneath. The controls were easy to read and use, as was the display.

Even more clever: On the top of the unit, just behind the louvers, is a small flat surface that’s magnetized; here, you can place the Dreo’s remote, which will remain securely in place.

As someone who’s heaved their share of air conditioners in and out of windows, I really appreciated the casters on the bottom of the Dreo, which let me roll it wherever I wanted, as well as the handles on the side of the unit.

It’s around the back of the Dreo where things get a little messy. There are two large circular vents — one for exhaust air intake, and one to expel the hot air. To these vents, you connect large accordion-style hoses, which attach to a plastic insert that goes in your window. The insert can expand or retract to fit windows from 20 to 53 inches wide, and can be mounted either vertically or horizontally. Each hose is about six inches in diameter.

If I lived in a modern house with windows that extended all the way to the floor, it would be easy to conceal these hoses and have the AC sit closer to the window. However, because my window sits about two feet above the floor, I have to extend the hoses up and out. Not only is it far less attractive, but it also means that the air conditioner sits about two feet into the room.

Of course, this is a problem endemic to all portable air conditioners, so perhaps I might be knocking Dreo a bit too hard, but it's still a major consideration if you're choosing

By comparison, the window unit I’ve used for the past few years extends less than a foot into the room, making it far less obtrusive.

Like most air conditioners, the Dreo also needs to expel condensation; it has a built-in evaporator, so it should be able to handle most water on its own, but it does have two drain plugs on the back: one at the bottom, and one in the middle of the unit. The company includes a small drain hose, so if you’re in a high humidity environment, you can let the Dreo drain itself.

However, as with the vent hoses, I had no easy way to route the drain hose outside of my house. Fortunately, even though I live in a pretty humid area, I have yet to need to drain the air conditioner myself.

Performance

The 740S did nearly as good a job cooling the bottom floor of my house as the 14,000-BTU LG Dual Inverter air conditioner that I’ve been using for nearly eight years. It was able to bring the temperature down on the ground level of my house in a relatively short amount of time, and keep it there. It took slightly longer than the LG unit, but that's to be expected given its smaller capacity.

At full power, I recorded a noise level of 54 dB from 10 feet away from the air conditioner; the ambient room noise was 33 dB. That’s a bit louder than I’d like, but once the temperature hit the right level, the AC ramped down, and was much quieter.

On one of the hotter days of the year, when the temperature reached the upper 90s, the Dreo kept the temperature on the ground floor of my house (a few hundred square feet) at around 79 degrees F. Over the course of seven and a half hours, it used 3.54 kWh of electricity, according to the Dreo app.

I also like that you can adjust the angle of the Dreo’s louvers (using either the app or the remote control) so you can better direct airflow throughout your room.

Smart Home and app

Dreo’s app is well-designed and easy to use. Devices are grouped by rooms, which gives you a quick overview of its status; a tap then brings you into the settings for that device. For example, tapping on the AC’s temperature opens a screen where you can adjust its temperature, cooling mode, fan speed, and more.

I also like that Dreo lets you turn off the AC’s display and sounds, so that it’s not distracting if you’re using it in the same room as the one in which you’re sleeping.

The Dreo works with both Alexa and Google Home, but surprisingly, is not Matter-compatible, which was a bit of a disappointment, considering some of Dreo’s other smart home devices use this new universal standard. Still, I was able to easily create a smart home routine that turned the Dreo on to a set temperature if another sensor noted that things were getting too hot.

Verdict

As far as portable air conditioners go, the Dreo does a good job at keeping things cool. I also liked that I could easily roll it around, and didn’t have to worry about draining it. However, the aesthetics of having two large tubes extending out your window isn’t great, nor is the fact that it takes up a lot more space than a window air conditioner.

And while it’s far more efficient than other portable air conditioners, you’ll pay for the privilege. A comparable LG 10,000 BTU dual-inverter window AC unit (with a higher SEER rating of 15) costs $499 at Amazon. Yes, it weighs 62 pounds, but my spouse is game to help me.

If you happen to have a window whose openings are closer to the floor, then you can better hide the Dreo’s large exhaust vents, and make the whole thing look more aesthetically pleasing — and take up less space in the process. Until I can remodel my house, though, I’ll have to remember to lift with my legs.

Unlocking your smart lock from your phone is cool, but the real challenge now is ironing out the practical issues that come with making your lock smart — like having to keep it powered when you never had to worry about that before. A few newer locks are trying to solve this, and the Desloc V150 Plus might be the most interesting attempt.

The V150 Plus has a solar panel built right into it, designed to charge the lock so you never have to think about whether it has enough juice to let you in. It doesn't skimp on other features either -- you get fingerprint and facial recognition unlocking, so it's easy to get through your door without pulling out your phone.

So how well does that solar panel actually perform, and is this one of the best smart locks outside of that? I've been using the Desloc V150 to find out.

Price and availability

The Desloc V150 Plus is now available through a Kickstarter campaign, and Desloc says that it will be available from retailers starting in August. The Kickstarter lists the lock as being around $169 though, so if you know you want it, it may be worth buying through the Kickstarter.

Design and setup

For the most part, the Desloc V150 Plus looks much like other smart locks — until you look a little closer. Like other smart locks, the exterior portion is rectangular and made of a combination of black metal and plastic. But unlike many other smart locks, when you approach it, a pin pad won't illuminate for you to punch in a code. That's because the surface on the front of the lock isn't a pin pad at all — it's a solar panel that charges the built-in battery.

Apart from the 4.8-inch solar panel, the lock also has a fingerprint sensor towards the bottom and two cameras towards the top that are used for facial recognition. In other words, while there's no pin pad, there are still multiple ways to unlock the door.

The interior portion looks even more like other smart locks. There's a thumb latch to manually lock and unlock the door, along with a cover for the main battery, which hopefully you'll never have to actually open.

The lock should be able to survive most weather with its IP65 rating. Plus, it has BHMA Grade 3 certification for deadbolt strength.

This is a full deadbolt replacement, not a retrofit overlay. You'll remove your door's original deadbolt, align the new tailpiece with the latch, and mount the exterior and interior assemblies. Once it's powered, the lock runs a calibration routine to learn the bolt travel and ensure smooth locking, after which you can test the interior thumb-turn. None of that is unusual, and Desloc's installation process on previous locks has been straightforward enough.

Once you've physically set up the lock, you'll download the Desloc app and create an account, or sign in if you don't already have one. From there, you'll be able to add your face for facial recognition and add your fingerprint for the fingerprint scanner.

App and smart home

The V150 Plus runs on Desloc's existing app, and it connects to Wi-Fi and Bluetooth without the need for additional hubs.

For the most part, I found the app easy to use. I was able to add fingerprints and faces without issue. Plus, I could remotely lock or unlock the door with it. You'll also get real-time access logs and battery information, which, again, hopefully you'll never really need to see.

Another thing that the app shows, which is only really interesting for a solar-powered model like this, is how much power it gets each day. The app also includes a "Landlord mode" for rental scheduling and access-profile management, built around a calendar-style interface for organizing tenant codes and monitoring usage.

Combined with the self-charging design, that could make the V150 Plus genuinely appealing to small landlords, since the solar system would cut down on site visits just to swap batteries — though of course that might introduce complications around accounts and unlocking methods; since there's no keypad, each new tenant would have to register either their fingerprints or face.

Auto-lock, meanwhile, ties into a door-closure sensor so the lock only engages once the door is fully latched -- a subtle detail, but an important one, because it prevents the false sense of security you get from a lock that fires before the door has actually closed.

On the smart-home side, the lock integrates with Amazon Alexa and Google Home for voice control, but that's it, which is pretty disappointing. Unlike cameras, locks have been supported in the Matter spec for some time now. And at this point, there's really no good excuse for smart locks not to support Matter. Without Matter support, you won't be able to use the Desloc V150 Plus with Apple HomeKit or other smart home standards beyond Alexa and Google Home.

Performance and battery life

Perhaps the most important aspect of this lock, of course, is how its battery and charging system works. I found it to work perfectly well. When I first set up the lock, I skipped the instructions to fully charge the battery, and the app reported that the battery had 12% left.

After around a week, it was at 34%. In other words, it doesn't charge all that quickly, but if I had fully charged the battery when I first set up the lock, I would never really need to worry about the lock running out of juice, and would expect that it would retain near 100% of its battery at all times. I had the lock set up in a location that doesn't get tons of direct sunlight, but it does get a few hours per day. It also has a USB-C port for emergency power if, for example, the battery stops working.

I did find, unfortunately, that the fingerprint scanner and face scanner were somewhat slow, but they did work the majority of the time. It usually took a few seconds for the face scanner to recognize me, and I actually found that it was faster to use the fingerprint scanner. What that means is that while the face scanner is a nice feature, it's perhaps likely to be treated as a backup for when you're carrying something, rather than as the primary way to unlock the door.

Verdict

The Desloc V150 Plus is a perfectly fine lock, but needs a bit of refinement before it can compete with the best smart locks. Obviously, the fact that you'll never have to manually replace the batteries or charge it is a nice feature. But without Matter support, it's limited in the smart home ecosystems that it works in.

Plus, it unlocks relatively slowly, especially compared to plenty of other smart locks out there. Again, it's not a bad product. For the right person, it might be the way to go, especially for those in the Google or Amazon ecosystems, or who don't mind using the dedicated app.

If you're looking for a lock with a built-in solar panel, the Lockin Veno Solar is Matter-compatible, comes with either face or palm unlocking, and has both a keypad and a physical key slot, making it feel like a more complete product.

Mowing my yard is one chore I never look forward to. Well, at least not as I get older. I used to love mowing the grass for the workout, but now it does nothing but trigger my allergies.

I've experimented with robot lawnmowers in the past. I've paid $175 a month — even during the winter, when they weren't in use — to rent a couple of Husqvarna mowers from a landscaping company. Eventually, I realized it wasn't a wise investment, so I canceled the contract. Later on, I tested the EcoFlow Blade for a while, but its wheels loved to dig holes in my yard with each and every turn, so eventually I stopped using it.

For the last month, I've been testing the Sunseeker S4, a robot lawnmower that leverages AI and LiDAR for mapping and navigation. I don't want to spoil the review, but I'm smitten.

Sunseeker S4 review: Price and availability

The Sunseeker S4 is currently available directly from Sunseeker with a regular price of $1,799 but a sale price of $1,299, but Amazon has it on sale right now for just $984. That includes the robot lawnmower, a docking station, extra blades, and a cleaning brush for the LiDAR sensor.

If you're reading this and the S4 has returned to its normal price, I'd wait for a sale.

Sunseeker S4 review: Design

The S4 doesn't break the mold when it comes to the robot lawnmower's overall design. It's compact, measuring 25.12 x 16.61 x 10.79 inches, and weighs 26 pounds. In the event the robot gets stuck somewhere and you need to lift it, there's a handle built into the rear of the housing that makes it a breeze to pick up.

On the front of the S4 is a monocular camera with a 360-degree LiDAR sensor on top. It's tucked into a bumper that slightly moves in when the lawnmower presses against a hard object, The sensor is easy to spot due to its black bubble-like housing.

Behind the LiDAR bubble is a flip-up cover that hides an LCD display and a few buttons you can use to interact with the S4 — although I rarely had a need to do so — and a manual dial you use to adjust the cutting height, which ranges from 1.6 to 3.2 inches. There's a giant red STOP button that you can press to immediately stop the S4 in case of an emergency.

Underneath the stop button is the handle I previously mentioned. The S4 is rear-wheel driven with two trolley wheels that spin and move wherever the two rear wheels push the robot. Sunseeker's specs put the max gradient at 22 degrees — a stat that didn't apply to my mostly flat backyard. However, there's a slight slope to my front yard (I've never measured it), but the S4 didn't have any issues with slipping, even if the grass was wet.

When you flip the S4 over, you'll see six blades attached to a disc. It always amazes me when I test a robot lawnmower how small the blades are; they often look like razor blades you'd find in a box cutter.

Sunseeker S4 review: Installation and mapping

Setting up the S4 was a breeze. You'll first need to decide where you want to — and can — install the charging station. It measures 30 x 19 x 14.5 inches and can be placed at the edge of your yard, or even outside of it if you'd rather. You'll need a weatherproof electrical outlet nearby.

I already had a section of my yard that'd been killed by previous robot lawnmower docks, so it was an easy choice for me. I swapped out the old broken station and replaced it with the Sunseeker S4 in about 10 minutes. After sliding the S4 into the charging station, I created an account in the Sunseeker app, connected the S4 to my account and waited for the battery to fully charge.

The app walked me through the initial mapping of my yard, which required me to drive the S4 to a starting point along the edge of my grass. At that point, I could either continue to use my phone as a Bluetooth remote control and manually map my yard, or I could let the S4 automatically roam around the edge and create a map on its own. I stood by, ready to take over if needed, but the S4 slowly and judiciously creeped along the edge of my grass.

The S4 is the first robot lawnmower I've used that maps on its own, and I was impressed. There were a few areas I had to go back and manually drive the S4 over, adding to the existing map, but it was a much easier and streamlined process than I'd experienced with the EcoFlow Blade.

After mapping my backyard, I created a second zone, consisting of my front yard and let the S4 work its magic with mapping. There are a couple of trees in that yard, along with more corners and angled sections — unlike my backyard that has three flat edges. The S4 needed a little more help with correcting the front yard's map, but overall the process was simple.

So simple, in fact, I deleted both maps in the app and went through the process multiple times with similar results. You can save maps in the Sunseeker app and easily switch between them, which is also a nice touch.

My favorite part of mapping my yard, however, wasn't how easy it was, but instead it was the 3D map the LiDAR sensor created that I could view in the app.

It's one thing to read that a device has LiDAR and assume it'll help with object identification, navigation and mapping — but it's another to actually see what the S4 sees, down to the batting cage in the back corner of my yard along with the power and cable lines that run above my yard.

As far as object detection and avoidance goes, the S4 routinely routed itself around objects as big as my English Bulldog who walks in front of it daily, or as small as a Wiffle ball my kids leave in the yard. I didn’t expect it to see the latter at all and run it over instead, but once it gets within a few inches, it stops, slightly turns and goes around it.

Sunseeker S4 review: Performance

With two zones created, I used the Sunseeker app to create a path between them. I then set a schedule for Zone 1, the backyard, to be mowed Monday-Friday between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. There's a gate between my yards, so I couldn't set a schedule for Zone 2 as I have to manually open and close the gate when the robot needs to get through.

According to the Sunseeker app, Zone 1 is 3,184.96 square feet and Zone 2 is 2,690 square feet, for a total of 5,874.96 square feet between the two.

The initial pass over my backyard with grass — which was longer than I'd like to admit — required a couple of trips to the charging station. The S4 ran for around 90 minutes each time, and then took a couple of hours to charge before heading back out to complete the task.

The same can be said about mowing the front yard, which I asked it to do the following day. That process was tedious, only because I had to monitor the battery status in the app to let the S4 into the backyard so it could charge, and then let it back out once the battery was full. In total, it was two trips back and forth.

However, after that initial cut, the S4's cut time has dropped significantly. The backyard does require a return trip to charge for a little over an hour, then it heads back out for 20 minutes to finish the job. In total, it takes just under 2 hours of cutting time to mow the backyard — or just over 3 hours if you include charging time.

If I'm paying attention, I can catch it right after it finishes the backyard and manually redirect it to the front yard. From there, it tackles the rest of the lawn and returns to the dock on its own, completely finished in roughly an hour and forty-five minutes.

As for how good of a job it does at cutting grass, for the first few sessions it'd leave little rows of grass between each pass with the default cutting direction setting. However, after switching the cutting direction to traceless, which means each time the S4 cuts it changes direction, those missed rows have disappeared. If you’d prefer to have patterns cut in your yard, you can set the S4 to create items like a heart, a trophy, a star, or a soccer ball. It can also cut a pattern to represent numbers.

My lone complaint about the cutting performance of the S4 can be said about any of the robot lawnmowers I've owned — none of them can cut the edge of the yard. For the S4, it has a cutting width of 7 inches, but there's 4.3 inches between the edge of the lawnmower's housing and the blades. So, no matter how close you get the map to the edge of your grass, there's always going to be a small section of grass it just can't cut.

It's a fair trade, I guess. Instead of having to bribe my son to mow the yard maybe once every two weeks, my yards are mowed multiple times a week.

Sunseeker S4 review: Storage & maintenance

The S4's charging station serves as the main storage area for the robot when not in use. Along with charging it, there's an overhang to protect the top of the S4, complete with a brush to keep the LiDAR bubble clean. If you want more protection, Sunseeker sells a Sunproof Garage that extends the protection to the entire lawnmower.

During the winter months — and for that matter if you're expecting a lot of rain — I'd recommend removing the S4 from the dock and moving it indoors. During my testing, I had a rainstorm come through that dumped two inches of rain on us in an hour. It took me a couple of days to notice the S4 hadn't run on its set schedule, and upon further inspection I realized it wasn't even turning on.

I turned it upside down, removed the battery and let it dry out for a day, after which it came back to life. I have no idea how high the water got in my yard, but I do know there was standing water most of the night.

It's a good reminder that even though the S4 has an IPX6 waterproof rating, it's still susceptible to the elements.

As for routine maintenance on the S4, the Sunseeker app has a device maintenance menu that tracks when you should replace the blades (after 120 hours of use) and when you should wash the cutting disc (after 60 hours of use).

Otherwise, keeping the front camera and the LiDAR bubble clean are the only things you need to worry about.

Sunseeker S4 review: Verdict

This was my first time using a Sunseeker robot lawnmower, and it did not disappoint. My yard hasn't consistently looked this good in years. The Sunseeker S4 was easy to set up, forgoing the need to install a dedicated GPS antenna like the EcoFlow Blade, or bury a guide wire like previous Husqvarna mowers I've used.

Battery life is good enough for its 0.25-acre limit, and after fine-tuning the settings you'll get a clean cut every time.

Well, except for the edges. Make sure to keep a trimmer handy.

One of the biggest drawbacks of smart locks is that, unlike traditional locks, they’ll eventually run out of power, which means replacing or recharging their batteries at least once a year.

The best smart locks try to lengthen this time as much as possible, but the Lockin Veno Solar could eliminate that inconvenience entirely. It has a solar panel on the exterior portion that very slowly charges up the lock's battery, so that you never have to worry about recharging it or replacing the batteries.

The Lockin Veno Solar is actually available in two variants -- one has a facial unlock feature, and the other has a palm vein unlocking feature. I’ve been testing the Face model to find out if it does enough beyond simply taking care of power for you to be worth buying.

Lockin Veno Solar review: Price and availability

The Veno Solar series went on sale in mid- 2026, with both the Palm and Face models starting at $199 (you can pay $259.99 for a model that bundles a door handle). I'm reviewing the Face variant.

You can get the Lockin Veno Solar series for yourself straight from the Lockin website or from Amazon.

Design and setup

Installing the Lockin Veno Solar is very similar to installing any other smart lock that replaces your deadbolt. This is not a retrofit lock, so you will need to replace the interior thumb latch, the deadbolt in the door, and the exterior portion of the lock.

Essentially, you'll unscrew your existing lock and deadbolt, then fit the included lock and deadbolt and thread the exterior portion of the lock through to the inside. Then screw the base plate into that exterior part of the lock and fit the thumb latch portion onto the base plate. The whole process should only take 15 to 20 minutes.

After you're done physically installing the lock, you'll need to add it to the Lockin app. I also found this process to be quite easy. You'll download the app, then either sign in to your account or create a new one if you don't have one already. Then simply follow the on-screen instructions to add a new lock. I found it was recognized immediately. In this process, you'll be walked through the face scan.

On the outside of your door, there's a keypad with either the palm vein scanner or the face scanner, depending on the model you go for. There's no fingerprint sensor on either of them, but there is a solar panel on the bottom third or so, and you might not be able to tell that's what it is if you didn't already know. The lock also has a physical key slot, which can come in handy if something stops working or a guest needs to enter.

On the inside, there's a thumb latch along with a button to mechanically lock or unlock the door. There's also a cover for the battery compartment which, hopefully, you'll never have to open after you install it.

The lock seems to be durable enough, but it's not quite as weather resistant as some other smart locks. It has an IP53 rating, which is fine for some water spray. It held up during my testing, but to be fair, the weather has been pretty nice where I live. The lock also has an ANSI Grade 3 certification.

Performance

The Face model that I reviewed captures depth-sensing 3D face recognition that Lockin rates at under one second. In practice it was generally fast enough, though I wouldn't call it instant -- and it didn't feel like it was under one second. It usually took a second or two for the lock to realize there was someone outside the door and start scanning in the first place. Once the scanning started, it took less than a second, but there was still that initial lag.

This isn't a dealbreaker, and to be clear, face scanning is still convenient — but it would be even more convenient if the lock supported a feature like Ultra Wide Band (UWB) or Aliro, which allows the lock to sense your phone or watch, and unlock based on that signal.

I did find that the lock's Wi-Fi connectivity was quite good. I placed the lock on the door to my garden shed, which has historically had limited reception -- plenty of other smart locks I've tested struggle to hold a connection out there. This one stayed reliably online throughout.

As for the solar charging, it's slow. The lock arrived at 83% out of the box, and a week later it had crept up to 90%. That sounds underwhelming, but it's worth remembering what the point isn't fast charging — it's that the battery doesn't drain over time. And it didn't. It slowly gained power instead of losing it, which is exactly the behavior you want from a solar lock.

App and smart home

The Lockin Smart app is how you'll control the lock's settings and features. You can create one-time PINs, enroll new faces and PIN codes, set up auto-lock settings, and so on. One thing I would have liked to see is an overview of how much battery the device gets over time, but not having it isn't a huge deal.

Unlike the Desloc V150 Plus, which is the other solar-powered smart lock that I've reviewed recently, the Lockin Veno Solar supports Matter, which means you can integrate it into a variety of smart home ecosystems. You have to set the lock up in the Lockin app, but you don't have to control it there. Instead, you can control it through apps like Google Home or Apple Home and integrate it into automations and other cross-product systems. Matter support is kind of table stakes for smart locks these days, so it's nice to see it here.

Verdict

The Lockin Veno Solar is a solid smart lock, and for what it offers, it's perhaps the best option. That's to say, the lock has solar charging, so you never have to worry about manually charging or replacing the batteries. But it goes beyond that with a decently convenient unlocking method and, perhaps even more importantly, Matter support, so it'll work with a wide array of modern smart home ecosystems.

There are some limitations. For example, if you routinely get torrential rain, you might be slightly concerned about the IP53 water resistance. And it's worth keeping in mind that it's going to take a second or two to unlock your door if you rely on the face scanner. But, if you like the idea of not having to worry about charging your lock, for now, this one is the way to go.

Introducing the winners of the Tom’s Guide Smart Home Awards 2026. From robot vacuum (and pool) cleaners and air purifiers to security cameras and large home appliances, these are the gadgets, tools and accessories worth celebrating for making our homes the best they can be.

Whether it’s a smarter outdoor product to make yard maintenance easier or an appliance that automates a daily chore, these awards represent the best in smart living because they are practical, powerful, and ready to use right now.

The winners of the Tom’s Guide Smart Home Awards 2026 are the tools and devices that solve real problems, from the kitchen to the bedroom and beyond. Some help you save time without adding complexity, while others offer ingenuity that makes them stand out from the rest. Most importantly, they’re ready to fit into your daily routine right now.

Smart home

BLUETTI FridgePower Ultra-Slim Battery Backup for Refrigerators

Even in 2026, a power outage can occur at any moment, and if you do suddenly find yourself in a blackout, you’ll be infinitely glad to have the BLUETTI FridgePower in your home. This sleek and simple device is an easy-to-install battery system that keeps appliances like your fridge running via two standard AC outlets.

Thanks to the ultra-slim 75mm (2.95-inch) profile, you can place it vertically or horizontally for discreet installation behind refrigerators or anywhere within your kitchen. The system delivers 2,016Wh capacity — expandable up to 8,064Wh — paired with a low 4W idle drain to maximize efficiency during extended outages.

The system features a 10ms UPS switchover for near-instant protection of perishables and medicine. What we love so much about the BLUETTI FridgePower is how it solves a single, simple problem very well with the minimum of fuss.

Lockin Veno Solar smart lock

Smart locks can be power-hungry additions to your home, but the Lockin Veno Solar smart lock rewrites the script somewhat with an integrated solar panel. This means it can harvest ambient light even in heavily shaded entryways and eliminate the hassle of battery swaps and recharges. .

Beyond its eco-friendly aspirations, the Veno Solar can unlock your door using either your palm, face recognition, a pin code, or a traditional manual key. We also like the fact that it's Matter-compatible, so it'll work with pretty much any smart home system.

Best of all, this lock costs less than $200, making it not only functional, but affordable, too.

Zafro Auro Dual Window Air Conditioner

Summer heat is no joke without an A/C unit and the Zafro Auro Dual Window Air Conditioner is both an efficient and feature-rich way of cooling down your house. It’s a cinch to install as well as doubling up as a heat pump in the wintertime.

Instead of a traditional window air conditioner design that hangs the heavy compressor and condenser outside the window frame and risks falling during the installation or afterwards, Zafro’s Auro AC is balanced on the windowsill, in an inverted U-shape.

This design keeps the unit’s center of gravity firmly on the sill with less chance of it falling. You can power it via its remote control, its app or just with your voice thanks to Alexa and Google Home integration.

Tapo C675D Kit

TP-Link’s latest home security camera, the Tapo C675D Kit, includes not one but two 4K cameras in a single housing. One lens is stationary while the other can rotate a full 360 degrees. There's also a spotlight, a microSD card slot for local storage, and local AI for basic object detection, all of which are powered by the included solar panel. The C675D includes a 10,000 mAh battery that should last up to three months on a charge

This kit checks nearly every box of what you could want in a modern outdoor security system. It boasts 4K video, two independent cameras in a single housing, local AI combined with local storage, bright spotlights and night vision.

Video quality is superb, the lights are bright, and the motion detection range will make sure nothing gets past it undetected.

Dreame Aero Ultra Steam

Cleaning up after pets or kids usually requires an entire closet full of vacuums, mops, and chemical sprays. The Dreame Aero Ultra Steam solves that chaos by combining everything into one incredibly powerful machine.

We’ve seen plenty of wet-dry vacs, but Dreame takes it to a new level by blasting stuck-on grime with 200°C steam and 90°C hot water mopping, eliminating the need for harsh chemicals. It also packs a massive 30kPa of suction power and TangleCut 2.0 tech to prevent annoying hair wraps, while a front-facing foam spray neutralizes pet odors at the source.

What impresses us most is the smart sensor array, which automatically adjusts suction based on the mess it detects, alongside an ultra-slim lie-flat design that easily slides under low furniture. Add in an epic 80-minute cordless runtime and a self-cleaning base, and your chore list just got a lot shorter. The Dreame Aero Ultra Steam is set to launch on July 15, 2026.

Eufy Omni S2

Eufy's latest flagship robot vacuum passes the smell test — literally. Not only is it a strong cleaner, but it can also make your house smell better in the process. That's because the Omni S2 has a built-in aromatherapy system, which diffuses pleasant scents as it cleans via a cartridge that lasts up to 120 hours. It left our house smelling fresh and pleasant.

The Omni S2 proved to be a capable cleaner in our tests, thanks to 30,000 pa of suction power, and its mopping system also kept our hardwood floors shiny. Its 3D vision system, which can detect over 200 objects, successfully avoided obstacles, too.

After a built-in scent diffuser, who nose what will come next?

Home appliances

GoveeLife Smart Nugget Ice Maker Pro

Whether you’re hosting a party or simply want unlimited ice (without the long wait) in your household, GoveeLife's portable Smart Nugget Ice Maker Pro is a great option. What’s more, this countertop ice maker can be remotely controlled via the app — even when away from home.

The machine can produce up to 60 pounds of nugget ice per day — enough to get the party started and keep it going well into the night. It also features a dual water tank system that can hold up to 15.6 pounds of ice in a single session, which caters to around 60 drinks (impressive). It also comes with a handy app and voice activation, which is smart enough to notify you and stop making ice once the basket is full or out of water.

Beyond its high-quality performance, this gadget operates whisper-quietly and boasts impressive energy efficiency — making it perfect for frequent daily use and the ideal summer gadget.

Hisense TopLift Smart Dehumidifier

Having one of the top dehumidifiers is essential if you want to instantly reduce moisture in the air — but one major gripe is emptying (and carrying it without spillage) the collected water in the tank. This is why the smart Hisense TopLift stands out by solving a common problem with its more ergonomic design.

Designed with an internal pump, it quickly extracts collected water upward into an 18-pint top-mounted cartridge, which can be easily removed and carried around the home fuss-free. This eliminates the typical mess and heavy lifting associated with traditional tanks.

This is convenient, especially since it can remove up to 50-pints of moisture a day with a coverage of 4,500 sq ft — making it ideal for any room. Additionally, we know the perils of having a noisy dehumidifier, but the Hisense top-lift comes in at a low 46 dB, which is quiet enough to watch your favorite Netflix show in peace.

What’s more, connect via Hisense's ConnectLife app to monitor real-time humidity levels, adjust settings and schedules, and receive alerts from anywhere. It's also fully Matter-certified and compatible with Apple HomeKit, Google Home and Alexa.

Cosori Iconic Stainless Steel 6.5-Quart Smart Air Fryer

The Cosori Iconic is one of our favorite air fryers right now, mainly for its quick results at cooking up tasty treats, ease of use, and eye-catching design.

Alongside its impressive power, it comes with six cooking modes, five fan speeds, and temperature settings ranging from 90 degrees to 450 degrees. It also has a decent capacity of 6.5 quarts (serves 3-5 people), which is ideal for a family. Perhaps its winning feature is the stainless steel exterior and tempered top glass, which gives it that premium look. Plus, all the touch-sensitive controls live beneath that glass.

You can also control the Iconic using Cosori’s VeSync app, which is very easy to use. For instance, you can send the cooking time, temperature, and settings straight to the unit and monitor cooking progress from your phone.

LG Signature Smart Induction Slide-In Range

Whether you’re a pro cook, enjoy cooking up feasts, or run a large family, you’ll want the best range that can do it all. And if you want to monitor how well your food is cooking in real-time, without leaving your seat, this smart LG Signature Induction range is impressive.

Built with an AI Gourmet camera inside, it allows you to take pictures of your tasty treats that you can even show off to your family or friends via the app. What’s more, the app provides a host of recipes that are tailored to your specific ingredients at home to help you decide what to cook for dinner.

Besides its impressive tech, the range comes with a ceramic induction cooktop for faster and more responsive heating, and its Dynamic ProBake Convection, which allows for evenly cooked and tasty food. It also comes with an air fry, sous vide and pizza mode — to suit everyone’s tastes.

Plus, with its sleek 6.8-inch LCD color touch display and premium Flex Control knobs, it certainly looks the part and will bring premium style to any kitchen.

Blueair CoolDrift Air Circulator Fan

Typically, powerful fans are noisy, especially when cranked up during a heatwave. But this Blueair CoolDrift circulator fan offers an ‘ultra-quiet’ operation, designed to help you sleep peacefully.

Despite its compact size, the CoolDrift does exactly what it says — its powerful whole-room circulation can quickly cool down a space and maintain a consistent temperature. This is thanks to its wide horizontal and vertical oscillation, which reduces hot and cold spots.

It also features a smart Night Mode with auto-dimming that adjusts to the temperature over an 8-hour cycle to keep you cool and comfortable throughout the night. This is also ideal for a home office or even a nursery room where comfort is key. Plus, we like that you can customize your settings and schedules through the handy app, anywhere in the home — to tailor to everyone’s needs.

Home Office

LiberNovo Omni

Spending time at your desk feels more like taking control of a starfighter when you're sitting on the LiberNovo Omni, thanks to its sleek, sci-fi styling and extremely comfy cushioning. While other chairs have adjustable lumbar depth mechanisms, the Omni’s is motorized and will change position with just the press of the button inside the left armrest. What’s more, it leans back to a full 160 degrees.

But what makes this truly stand out is the OmniStretch feature that uses the motorized actuator to slowly lift and lower your spine repeatedly for five minutes. It helps relieve tension and straightens things just like you’d expect from a trip to the chiropractor.

Secretlab MAGNUS Pro

The Secretlab Magnus Pro may be a gamer-focused piece of furniture, but even if you’ve not picked up a controller since high school, you should be consider this for your office. It’s got a sturdy steel build with an integrated power supply column and full-length cable management tray.

What’s more, there’s a robust set of accessories available to help you get even more from this desk, including a bespoke mat that protects the entirety of the Magnus Pro’s surface. You can also pick up a magnetic cable anchors to keep loose wires in position. Whether or not you’re a gamer, this is one of the best electric standing desks you can get.

Simple Furniture Height Adjustable Desk

As you might have guessed from the name, the Simple Furniture Height Adjustable Desk is all about nailing the basics and not charging you a premium for it. This electric sit-stand desk marries minimalist aesthetics with solid durability with a scratch-resistant, UV-stable Thermally Fused Laminate top. It won’t be defeated by an early morning coffee spill.

The intuitive LED handset features four programmable memory presets that make switching postures effortless and you’ve also got integrated cable management and a 5-year warranty. If it’s a clutter-free powerhouse built for lasting productivity.

Satechi ChargeView 140W Desktop Charger

Considering the myriad of devices we always need to keep charged up these days, every home office needs an integrated charging solution and they don’t come much sleeker than the Satechi ChargeView 140W Desktop Charger.

You can position it either horizontally or vertically to fit with your desk setup and the live per-port digital LCD display shows real-time power distribution across all four of its USB-C ports. Powered by advanced GaN technology and supporting USB PD 3.2 AVS for the fastest iPhone charging, it’s an efficient, clutter-free solution built to keep your entire workspace fully charged.

UPLIFT V3 Standing Desk

The Uplift V3 is a further refinement of what made its predecessor such a great standing desk. The assembly is more straightforward and the cable management tray is wider and even more adjustable. This desk’s real value also lies in its ecosystem You have the option to start with the base model first and upgrade it later on piece by piece (like adding different power grommets), turning it into a truly long-term investment.

If you're looking for a smooth, stable, and highly customizable standing desk you can use reliably for years to come, look no further. Its ability to grow and change with your setup makes it a true long-term investment and a worthy prize winner this year.

Garden and Outdoor

Yarbo Y Series

What we love about the Yarbo Y Series is that it combines lawn mowing with clearing leaves and snow, making it our first snow-removing robot. This all-season robot lawn mower is designed for large yards and challenging terrain. In fact, it can operate on slopes up to a 70% grade.

The gearbox-free design also reduces mechanical noise, lowering operating sound from ≤75 dB to ≤60 dB, making the Y Series better suited for early-morning or late-night yard care without disturbing the neighborhood.

Yarbo's latest offering has also undergone a core upgrade and now features a dual-hub-motor drive system, improving mobility, torque, speed and acoustic performance. What’s more, its maximum travel speed has increased, enabling faster, smoother operation across larger sites.

Aiper Scuba V3 Ultra pool cleaner

Aiper’s Scuba V3 Ultra lets you get the most out of your swimming pool without getting your hands dirty. What we love is that it’s an all-in-one system with six functions that covers your pool's maintenance.

Designed with homeowners in mind, it cleans the floor, walls, waterline, surface and shallow sun shelves, while dispensing chlorine to keep it hygienic without manual intervention. Using cognitive AI and a dual-camera system alongside ultrasonic sensors it can identify over 20 types of debris, and use learned behavior, weather patterns, and pool conditions to optimize when and how it cleans.

It delivers up to 8,500 GPH suction and a multi-layer MicroMesh system that filters particles down to 3 microns without clogging. It also employs BioClaw robotic arms to guide floating debris, such as leaves and insects, into the intake, and WaveLine™ technology to ensure the waterline is scrubbed clean. Battery life stands at up to 4 hours of floor cleaning and 8 hours for surface cleaning.

Induction Hardware 36" Outdoor Built-In Induction Griddle

Induction Hardware has introduced the first outdoor induction griddle, allowing you to enjoy the benefits of precision cooking outdoors. It delivers the performance chefs expect from induction, while eliminating the fire hazards of cooking with a traditional gas griddle outside.

Apart from looking sleek, the 36” grill features a removable carbon-steel griddle that unlocks four oversized square induction coils, while offering single-zone, dual-zone, and bridge functions for even, full-surface heating.

We’re impressed by its functionality and by the fact that, once the griddle is removed, it reveals a full induction cooktop. It’s not designed for your everyday budget BBQ, but we’re impressed with how it could take center stage in a modern outdoor kitchen and deliver anything from seared steaks to hearty pasta.

Thermacell LIV 2.0 On-Demand Mosquito+ Repellent System

The LIV is a mosquito-repellent system that emits a vapor mosquitoes hate, and it’s controlled by a Smart Hub that communicates with up to 10 satellite-based repellers. It works by creating a large, scent-free zone of protection against mosquitoes, no-see-ums, and biting midges, covering up to 3,000 sq ft.

The user can activate, schedule and monitor the system through app control, while it’s also compatible with voice control via Amazon Alexa and Google Home. It’s not a cheap setup and will need to be installed, but the technology provides on-demand protection season after season, offering a smart outdoor living solution for pest control.

Birdfy Feeder Metal 2 4K

If you love watching birds in your yard, the Birdfy Feeder Metal 2 4K AI-powered smart bird feeder is designed to bring them within range without disturbing them. The sharp camera brings the birds to life, capturing their fine details and subtle movements often missed by the naked eye. What’s more, the AI tech identifies each species and offers you real-time alerts through the app. It’s a real plus for those not quite sure of the feathered creatures that come to visit and want to track all visits without being present.

We’re impressed by how the bird feeder invites nature into your backyard and wildlife into your home. And during testing, we appreciated its durability, the multiple ways it can be installed, and how easy it is to fill.

Bedroom and sleep

Amerisleep AS3

The popular Amerisleep AS3 is available as either a hybrid or all-foam mattress and is a great option for both side sleepers and light-average weight back sleepers, too. The Bio-Pur memory foam molded to the body better than you might expect and offers good support at the same time.

The edge support and motion isolation on this mattress are also excellent. If you share your bed with a restless partner or are a light sleeper, you're unlikely to be disturbed by the AS3 as the Bio-Pur foam absorbs motion successfully. It also does a great job of temperature regulation throughout the year.

Blueair Mini Restful Sunrise Alarm Clock Air Purifier

BlueAir’s Mini Restful Sunrise Clock Air Purifier can lay claim to being your ultimate bedside companion by marrying air filtration with routine-enabling sleep tech. It comes in a soothing Coastal Beige colorway and boats a compact footprint that won't clutter your nightstand.

We especially love how it reinvents the morning routine by eschewing jarring alarms for customizable sunrise lighting and gentle sounds to wake you naturally. All while Blueair’s signature HEPASilent filtration works away under the hood to clears 99.97% of dust, dander, and allergens from a 140-square-foot room in just 12.5 minutes.

You can manage the Mini Restful Sunrise Clock Air Purifier through a companion app for custom schedules to personalize this all-in-one sleep sanctuary.

ComfortNext Lux

If you’re looking to level up your mattress game, then the ComfortNext Lux is the way to do it. This is one of five new smart mattresses from Sleep Number and promises better pressure relief, cooling and support. There are 100 different firmness levels controlled by the internal air chamber that you can select from the accompanying app.

The thick top layer of foam makes this a soft mattress but, providing you have an adjustable base, you can enjoy a range of motion from the bed’s top and bottom sections. And finally, you’ll get personalized sleep insights delivered to your phone every morning. This is the future of sleep.

RENPHO x Headspace Eyeris Zen Eye Massager

The RENPHO x Headspace Eyeris Zen Eye Massager is a calming way to shut the world out and get a few moments of valuable relaxation time. Wrapped in an exclusive soft-matte purple finish, its feather-light build won’t weigh you down while you unwind. We especially love its phone-free approach to relaxation: right out of the box, it comes pre-loaded with nine guided Headspace meditations targeting sleep, anxiety, and daily mindfulness, allowing you to completely disconnect from digital noise.

Under the hood, the newly engineered ZenTech motor operates at a near-silent 40 dB, ensuring your tranquility remains entirely undisturbed. It delivers highly customizable comfort, offering three dynamic compression modes and three soothing heat levels to melt away screen fatigue and temple tension.

If you're planning to take a vacation this summer, you want to make sure your house is protected against any eventuality, but some of the best smart home devices can get a little pricey, especially if you buy them all together.

Fortunately, Prime Day is a good opportunity to stock up on these devices, as many are on sale, often for a good discount. I've tested dozens of smart home gadgets, and have edited reviews of dozens more, so I've scoured Amazon, Best Buy, and other retailers for the best deals on products that actually work. So, before you pack your bags, make sure that you have these smart home devices looking after things while you're gone.

Security cameras

You'll find plenty of deals on Amazon for all sorts of security cameras and video doorbells, but I'd recommend a camera that doesn't require a subscription, so you don't have to pay a monthly or annual fee just to see the video it recorded.

Smart locks

If you're leaving pets at home or need someone to water your plants, then one of the best smart locks will let you monitor and manage who gets into your house. Smart locks can be programmed with specific codes for specific people, so you'll know when someone types in a code into the keypad.

Water leak detectors

There's nothing worse than coming home to a flooded basement. There's the massive cleanup expense, you'll have to throw out thousands of dollars of waterlogged items you stored in the basement, and there's a potentially huge water bill, too.

At the very least, the best water leak detectors can alert you when something's amiss; these sensors are relatively cheap, so you can place them all around the home, under every sink or anywhere else. Other, more expensive models can automatically shut off your water, saving you even more hassle. Better yet: they may even decrease your insurance bill.

Electricity monitor

Power surges and outages are also something you'll want to keep tabs on. If there's a blackout, you'll want to know if all the food in your fridge will need to be tossed. Or, if there's a power surge, you'll also want to get an alert.

The Ting is a small plug-in device that monitors all the circuits in your home, and measures the voltage and current running through your house. If anything is out of the norm, it will send you a message to your phone. It can also let you know if anything you've plugged into an outlet has faulty wiring.

Smart light, plug or switch

How to you make it look like someone's home when you're not? With a smart light, smart light switch, or a smart plug. They all work pretty much the same these days, but look for ones with specific "vacation modes." This setting will have your lights turn on and off randomly during specific times, to give the appearance that your house is occupied.

If you have floor lamps, a smart plug or smart light will do the trick; if you have a lot of ceiling lights, a smart light switch might be the better choice.

Smart thermostat

Did you know the best temperature to set your AC during the summer is 78º F? Yeah, that may seem a bit high, but whatever your preference, one of the best smart thermostats can manage your home's climate more efficiently, so you're using less energy while still keeping your house cool.

The best smart thermostats can take into account not just the temperature inside your house, but also look at weather reports and other data to recommend proactively cooling your home, so you're using less energy during peak hours.

And, as they're linked to your phone, you can program them so that you're not cooling your house excessively while you're away, but you can still return home to a comfortable environment.

Even better: Many utility companies offer some excellent rebates on smart thermostats, so you can often find them for very little money.

More from Tom's Guide

• I always put a coin in my freezer before I go on vacation — here's why
• I’m a frequent traveler and these are the 15 Amazon travel essentials I swear by — starting at just $6
• 5 tech travel hacks I learned after 2 months backpacking in Asia — don't make the same mistakes as me

Some of the most popular Prime Day deals are smart home devices, such as security cameras, video doorbells, and smart speakers. But while you'll often see deep discounts on a lot of these gadgets — upwards of 40% off — many come with a hidden fee: subscriptions.

You see, these companies realized that they can create a recurring revenue stream by charging you a monthly fee for something as simple as being able to record and save video from your security cameras.

Don't be lured into these cheap deals, only to realize later that it wasn't the bargain it seemed. To help you, I've put together a list of deals on the best security cameras and video doorbells from companies that don't charge a subscription. That way, your mind — and your wallet — can rest easy.

Quick links

• Blink Mini 2K+: was $39 now $17 @ Amazon
• Blink Outdoor 2K+: was $89 now $30 @ Amazon
• Tapo 4K 8MP Wired Pan/Tilt Outdoor Security Camera: was $99 now $79 @ Amazon
• Eufy SoloCam E42: was $179 now $113 @ Amazon
• Wyze Duo Cam Pan: was $69 now $53 @ Amazon
• Blink Battery Doorbell 2K+: was $69 now $34 @ Amazon
• Wyze Wireless Duo Cam Video Doorbell: was $119 now $94 @ Amazon
• Eufy E340 Video Doorbell: was $149 now $99 @ Amazon
• Tapo 2K Wireless Smart Video Doorbell: was $49 now $34 @ Amazon

Security cameras

Video doorbells

At long last, Google has refreshed its smart speaker lineup with the new Google Home Speaker; first announced in the fall of 2025, it took nearly nine months for the device to come to market, and replaces the six-year-old Google Nest Audio as the top-shelf smart speaker in the company’s portfolio.

Things have changed a lot since Google last released a smart speaker. During that time, AI got real big, so now the assistant powering the Google Home speaker can do a lot more than just turn on your lights.

So how does the Google Home Speaker stack up against the best smart speakers? I’ve used it for a few days and compared it against its main rivals, the Apple HomePod mini and the Amazon Echo Dot Max, to find out.

Google Home Speaker review: Price and availability

The Google Home Speaker went on sale on June 24, 2026 for $99. You can get it in one of four colors: Jade (green), Berry (red), Porcelain (white) and Hazel (grayish black). However, the Jade and Berry colors are exclusive to the U.S.

The Google Home Speaker replaces the Google Nest Audio, and, for the moment, the Google Nest Mini, both of which are no longer for sale at Google’s online store.

Google Home Speaker review: Design

The Google Home Speaker looks a bit like someone took the Apple HomePod mini and smushed it a little

There are two touch-sensitive buttons on the top of the speaker to control the volume. You can’t see the buttons, as they’re hidden by the fabric, but if you tap the top of the speaker, two LEDs turn on to show you their location. You can’t tell which is volume up or volume down by sight; you’ll have to tap them to find out which is which. Tapping the top of the speaker will also play/pause your music.

Google had similar hidden touch-sensitive buttons on its previous smart speakers with an equally mixed reception; the Mini’s buttons had to be deactivated because of their finicky nature. I just find it annoying that you have to give the speaker an extra tap.

Similar to the Echo Dot Max, the Google Home Speaker has a circular ring of LEDs which changes color based on the circumstance; for example, it turns white when Gemini is listening, multiple colors when it’s thinking, and orange when the microphone is off.

Also on the base of the speaker is a physical switch to disable its microphones, which is a commendable feature. Less so is the nonremovable power cord; break it, and you’ll have to replace the whole device.

Google Home Speaker review: Sustainability

As with most companies’ claims, Google throws out some numbers which are ultimately a little vague. Google says the speaker and its adapter is “Made with at least 37% recycled materials based on product weight.” Whether that means the metal or plastic parts is unclear.

By comparison, Amazon says the Echo Dot Max is made from 23% recycled materials; the fabric parts are made from 98% post-consumer recycled fabric, while the plastic is made from 41% post consumer recycled plastic.

The Apple HomePod mini uses 99% recycled rare earth elements, and 35% or more recycled plastic in multiple components.

Google Home Speaker review: Audio performance

Where the Nest Audio had a 75mm woofer and a 19mm tweeter, the Google Home Speaker has a single 58mm driver. I didn’t have the older Nest to compare the two side-by-side, but the tl;dr is that the Google Home Speaker performs well for its size.

I played a variety of tracks on the Google Home Speaker, as well as the HomePod mini and Echo Dot Max, and though there were some subtle differences between them, they weren’t all that disparate.

I might give a slight edge to the Echo Dot Max; it’s the only device that has two speakers (an 0.8-inch tweeter and 2.5-inch woofer) which helped midtones stand out a bit more than the Google Home and the HomePod mini, which has a single 2-inch driver

Mids sounded a bit compressed, such as Billy Joel’s voice in “Movin’ Out.” Joel’s voice sounded better and warmer on the Echo Dot Max, and there was also better bass. However, the HomePod mini sounded the best of the three.

Olivia Rodrigo’s “Drop Dead” sounded best on the Echo Dot Max, as it was able to better separate the mids and highs; the Google Home Speaker and HomePod mini mushed things a bit.

Not surprisingly, bass was just ok, I threw on some old-school Snoop Dog “Who am I (What’s My Name)?” and the groove was much better on the Echo Dot Max and the HomePod than Google’s speaker.

Google Home Speaker review: Google Gemini

The hardware may be new, but the bigger upgrade inside the Google Play Speaker is Gemini, which is far more capable and powerful than Google Assistant.

Gemini for Home works with all of Google’s smart speakers and displays, but only the newer ones — Nest Audio, Nest mini (2nd Gen), Nest Hub Max and Nest Hub (2nd Gen) — will support the full Gemini for Home experience, as well as Gemini Live, where you can have a more natural, free-flowing conversation.

To test out Gemini on the Google Home Speaker, I asked it a series of questions, which it answered correctly, and was much more engaging than the old Assistant. For example, when I asked “Hey Google, what’s a good recipe for chicken wings?”, Gemini responded with a wide range of options, as well as certain things that it thought were popular.

I then asked Gemini to save the recipe, and it told me it created a note, but not where it was saved. I was able to find it in my Google Keep folder.

I also tested Gemini on sports, and here, it was a bit slower on the uptake. I asked ““Hey Google, did France win today?” and received the response “No, France did not play today,” although they had just defeated Iraq in the World Cup.

I then followed up with “Are you sure France didn’t play today?” and Gemini quickly corrected itself, gave me a summary of the game, and told me that Les Bleus secured a spot in the round of 32.

Google Home Speaker review: Subscription costs

You get Gemini for Home for free with the Google Home Speaker, but to make the most out of Gemini (and the speaker), you’ll need to sign up for a Google Home Premium subscription. Otherwise, you won’t get conversational Gemini, among other things.

If you sign up for Google Home Premium Standard ($10/month or $100/year), you get the following:

• Gemini Live (Get expert help, brainstorm ideas, and learn new topics)
• Help me create (lets you describe to Gemini the smart home routine you want to create)
• Sound detection (Smoke/carbon monoxide alarm and Glass breaking)
• 30 days of video event history

If you sign up for Google Home Premium Advanced ($20/month, $200/year), you get those features as well as these:

• Search video history - Quickly search your camera history by just asking
• Daily summaries - Ask about what you missed when you were away
• 60 days of video history
• 10 days of 24/7 video history
• Descriptive notifications
• Event descriptions

If you’re more invested in Gemini, you can also get the Standard plan as part of a Google AI Pro subscription ($20/month), and the Advanced plan with Google AI Ultra ($99/month).

Google Home Speaker review: Home theater features

Similar to its rival smart speakers, the Google Home Speaker works well with the Google TV Streamer to create a home theater experience. You can pair either a single speaker or two to the streaming device; if you pair two, you can also set up spatial audio. Dolby Atmos is supported, and the Google TV Streamer can also convert HD audio into a proprietary spatial audio format.

Amazon takes things a step further with its Echo Dot Max and Echo Studio speakers, as you can create a full surround sound experience with up to five speakers.

Google Home Speaker review: Smart Home functionality

As a smart home device, the Google Home Speaker is less capable than its Apple and Amazon rivals. For example, the HomePod mini has temperature and humidity sensors; the Amazon Echo Dot Max can act as an eero mesh router extender and has ambient light and temperature sensors, as well as presence detection.

Those other sensors make the other smart speakers far more functional. For example, you can create an Apple Home or Alexa routine to turn on your air conditioner if the temperature as measured by a speaker rises above a certain level, or if it senses someone entering the room.

Google Home Speaker review: Bottom line

Smart speakers aren’t quite the commodity they once were; Like Amazon, Google has gone from releasing a new model every year to waiting more than half a decade between the Nest Audio and the Google Home Speaker.

And that’s fine. There’s only so much you can do, though both Amazon and Apple have done more with their smart speakers than Google in terms of embedding additional sensors to make their devices more integral to a smart home ecosystem.

As smart home assistants, both Alexa and Google are very capable, especially now that they’ve gained extra AI abilities. If you’ve already started using either smart assistant, it’s unlikely that you’re going to switch your smart home from Alexa to Google or vice versa.

At this point, a smart speaker is more or less a delivery mechanism for the smart assistant of your choice. If you already own a Google smart speaker and it’s working well, there’s no real reason to upgrade, unless you want to create a Google-centric home theater system.

Imagine the scene: it's down to the final minutes of a grueling World Cup match. Your team (in my case, England) steps up to take a penalty. Because with England, it's always a penalty. You're leaning so far forward you're practically pressed against the television screen, and suddenly, the ball flies past the goalkeeper and smashes into the back of the net.

Naturally, the room erupts into celebration, and with you, your Philips Hue lights start to flash red and white. Suddenly, your tense watch party has turned into a festival.

Well, I can't promise any penalty success, but if you're wondering how to set up your Hue lights to pair with the World Cup, all you need is a Bridge and a couple of minutes on your Hue app. I set it up myself, and now I'll be parked firmly in front of my smart lights for the next month.

Here's how to turn on the "Sports Live" setting on your Philips Hue app, and the one crucial step you need to follow to make your viewing party spoiler-free.

How "Sports Live" works

I first used Sports Live setting during an entertaining but goal-free viewing of Spain v Cape Verde. The more action-packed the game, the more you'll get out of this setting.

The full list of tailored responses are as follows:

• Start of match: Lights blink for five seconds
• Goal scored: Five second flashes in the scoring team's colors
• Penalty: Blue flashing lights for five seconds
• Yellow card: Yellow flashing
• Second yellow card: Alternating red and yellow lights
• Red card: Red flashing
• Match resumes: Five seconds of flashing lights
• End of match: 15 seconds of flasing in the winning team's colors

How it looks

"Sounds cool," I hear you say, "but what does it look like?"

Well, I put this to the test with my Philips Hue Play Wall Washers and the Hue bulb in my ceiling lights. Both enhance the viewing experience, but if you've got a washer or a Play Lamp, which casts multi-colored lights up against your walls, it'll transform your viewing experience.

As you can see in the video above, I was streaming the match a split-second behind the live game, which resulted in some very slightly premature (but still welcome) red and white flashing lights. If you don't take the time to sync your display to the game, it could result in some major spoilers.

While I think the viewing experience is unmatched when you've got Hue wall washers, I still enjoyed the vibrant celebrations coming from my Hue bulb. Albeit slightly less, because those are the Croatian colors.

How to set it up

Setup is simple. You just need a Philips Hue Bridge or Bridge Pro, and at least one compatible light (although I have four, two of which conveniently sit either side of my TV!)

The Blink Battery Doorbell 2K+ is the company's first video doorbell capable of capturing 2K video, with battery life that lasts up to 22 months. That's almost unheard of when it comes to security cameras, let alone one that watches your door. And it does it all starting at $69.99. Blink's lineup keeps getting better, while also maintaining an affordable price.

So, how does the Battery Doorbell 2K+ compare to the best video doorbells? I tested it over the course of two weeks, using it to monitor activity on my back porch, including during a graduation party that triggered nearly 900 activity alerts in one afternoon. During that time, I also learned what the true meaning of 2K+ is.

Blink Battery Doorbell 2K+ review: Price and availability

The Blink Battery Doorbell 2K+ is available through Amazon for $79.99, including the required Sync Module. However, if you already have a module, the price drops to $69.99. There are two color options: black or white. The Blink Chime, an add-on doorbell chime, is available for $29.99 in matching colors. Or if you want to buy everything in a bundle and save $10, you can buy the entire kit for $109.98.

Blink Battery Doorbell 2K+ review: Design and installation

Blink didn't try to break the mold or set a new design standard with the Battery Doorbell 2K+; it looks like most video doorbells on the market, only slightly more refined. It's minimal, with curved edges instead of a box-like shape with hard edges.

It measures 5.19 x 1.89 x 1.34 inches, with a rounded square button below a similarly sized camera lens. As mentioned, it's available in black or white. I was sent the white model. It has a matte finish that makes it not overly bright — I rather like it.

Included in the box are the doorbell, three AA Energizer batteries, a template and all of the mounting hardware you need to install the doorbell. There's also a small tool to remove the doorbell from the mounting plate when it comes time to change the batteries. If you lose the tool, which is likely given that the batteries can last up to 22 months (more on that below), I imagine you can just use a flat-head screwdriver to pop the doorbell off the mounting plate.

In order to connect the Battery Doorbell 2K+ to the internet, you'll need one of Blink's Sync modules. I was sent a bundle which included the Sync Module Core, which lacks support for local storage or clip backup.

Initial setup and installation are straightforward. You'll need a drill to attach the mounting plate with the included hardware. If you're replacing an existing wired doorbell with a mechanical chime, just make sure to turn off the power before messing with the wiring.

With the doorbell installed, you'll need to set up the Sync module first, followed by the doorbell. The app does a good job of walking you through the entire process.

Blink Battery Doorbell 2K+ review: Video quality and features

The Battery Doorbell 2K+ (1920 x 1920) has a 1:1 aspect ratio, which means the field of view is square, measuring 140 degrees by 140 degrees. That's more than enough to see a nearly complete picture of what's at your door. It's not quite tall enough to see what's directly below the doorbell, which would be helpful for those times when a delivery person leaves a package close to your door, but it's close.

In comparison, Wyze's Battery Video Doorbell has a slightly larger field of view at 150-degrees square, giving you just a smidge more coverage.

During the day, video clips are recorded at 24 frames-per-second, and 15 frames-per-second at night. The Amazon page for the doorbell says you'll get color video in low-light situations, after which it'll switch to infrared black-and-white video.

My experience has been mixed, with nearly all video I've captured at night having the same level of light from inside the house plus a floodlight covering the yard, and in only one or two instances did I see a color video clip recorded. Instead, the majority of clips at night were captured using the infrared sensor. That's not necessarily a bad thing — but to say that the Blink Battery Doorbell 2K+ has color video at night hasn't been my experience.

Overall, video quality is good enough. Clips during the day are sharp, but suffer from some pixelation whenever an object is moving. The moment the movement stops, it goes back to being really clear. This means that as someone walks up to your door you'll see some blurring as they move, but when they stop to ring the doorbell the video sharpens That's not to say you can't see who is walking to your door — you can definitely do that.

At night, when the infrared sensor is in use, there's some pixelation around all objects, even when there's little motion. The clips are clear enough to see what triggered the alert and, if needed, who is at your door, but you can definitely see it's captured at a low frame rate.

By default, the doorbell will record 10-second clips whenever it detects an event. You can set it to record longer clips, and even toggle whether or not you want it to stop recording when motion stops.

I've left it at the default 10-second setting and haven't had any issues with a clip being cut off too soon. In situations when a clip is cut short, and as long as you have a paid subscription, Blink will create a Moment by combining multiple events into one video so you can get a full picture of what happened.

The doorbell's 2K+ name would make you think that there's something more to it than 2K video, or maybe better than 2K video, and you'd be right. Well, not when it comes to video, but on the box it says "2K clarity plus enhanced audio" thanks to noise cancellation. The audio did sound clear during testing, and will surely help with those awkward video doorbell conversations when both parties can't quite make out what the other is saying.

Blink Battery Doorbell 2K+ review: Battery life

The Blink app doesn't measure the current battery level with a percentage. Instead, when I look in the Blink app right now, I see "Battery Level OK." I have no idea if over the last two weeks I've used 10% or 50% of the charge on the included AA batteries.

Blink's battery life estimates for the doorbell range from 16 to 22 months, depending on your video quality setting. At the 2K (1920 x 1920) max, you can expect up to 16 months before the batteries will need to be replaced. If you drop the video quality down to 1440 x 1440, you can expect up to 19 months. At the lowest setting of 960 x 960, you'll get up to 22 months.

Personally, I have zero issues leaving the quality setting at max and replacing the batteries every 16 months. Of course, that estimate could be drastically overstated as battery life is impacted by things like temperature and number of motion events.

Blink Battery Doorbell 2K+ review: AI features

After installing the doorbell and signing up for the free 30-day Blink Plus AI trial, I started getting activity alerts, complete with descriptions. Sometimes it'd be as straightforward as "a dog is on the grass" or more complex like "a person is feeding a child." (I found that one particularly funny, because my kids are all teenagers and we often eat on our patio, but we're definitely not feeding them as you would a toddler.)

As I've tested security cameras and video doorbells in the new era of everything must use AI to be relevant, I've grown fond of the detailed alerts they bring. Instead of getting a simple alert stating a person has been detected at the door, I can (usually) gather whether that person is carrying a box — Blink will even let you know if they're carrying an Amazon box, naturally — or if a dog is the cause of an alert.

I do wish Blink's alerts were more descriptive pertaining to what a person is wearing, or I'll even go one step further, that Blink offered the ability to security identify familiar faces so you know if the person is a stranger or someone who should be there without even opening the alert.

When we tested Blink vs. Ring, Nest, Arlo and other security camera AIs, it didn't fare as well as the competition.

Ring and Tapo both do a good job of being very descriptive with their respective AI video descriptions, and I'm sure Blink is working on adding similar capabilities. I've been spoiled, I guess. But there is true value added by AI video descriptions.

One feature I wish the Blink app had is the ability to search its AI video descriptions for a keyword or two. For example, I know at various points during my testing I saw alerts that properly called out a bulldog walking on my patio. Other times, the alerts stuck with a basic "dog" description. I want to open the app and search for clips where a bulldog was detected instead of scrolling through the nearly 2,000 clips the app has recently saved.

Since we tested the Blink Battery Doorbell 2K+, Blink has added a new AI feature, which groups related motion events together to provide a summary of the entire event.

Blink Battery Doorbell 2K+: Video storage and plans

Blink has several subscription plans, each with its own list of features. There are the standard Basic and Plus plans, which start at $3.99/month or $39.99/year for Basic and $11.99/month or $119.99/year for Plus. Both plans include 60-day video cloud storage, extended live view, person and vehicle detection, and the ability to snooze notifications, among other features. The Basic plan covers a single Blink camera, while Plus covers unlimited Blink devices.

Blink also offers AI versions of both plans, with Basic AI and Plus AI. The former is $6.99/month or $69.99/year, after an introductory price of $49.99 for the first year. Plus AI is $19.99/month or $199.99/year after paying $149.99 for the first year.

The main difference between the standard and AI plans is AI-created video descriptions, both in alerts and in your video clip history.

Blink's approach to subscription plans differs from Ring, another Amazon-owned company, and even Wyze. Instead of offering core plans with and without AI, both competitors include AI-based features like video descriptions in their high-end plans, without an option to pay slightly more to add it to the base plans.

This Amazon page breaks down the differences between all of Blink's plans.

Alternatively, if you pair the Battery Doorbell 2K+ with a Sync Module or Sync Module XR, you can forgo cloud storage and store video clips locally on either a USB drive or microSD card (depending on which module you have). However, you'll be limited to motion-activated alerts and live view without an active Blink subscription.

Blink Battery Doorbell 2K+: Verdict

The Blink Battery Doorbell 2K+ checks a lot of boxes when it comes to affordable, battery-powered video doorbells. It has 2K video, long battery life, local storage option and affordable subscription plans. The AI video description features could be more helpful, but they're better than the more traditional generalized alerts.

Compared to the Wyze Battery Video Doorbell, the Blink Battery Doorbell 2K+ offers stiff competition. Both cameras give you long battery life, clear video and wide field of view. Wyze's subscription plans are slightly less expensive, starting at $3.99/month or $29.99/year, and there's only one AI-bundled plan that's the same price as Blink's Plus AI plan. But Wyze offers AI video search.

The Blink Battery Doorbell 2K+ has a higher resolution, but smaller field of view. Blink requires a sync module, while Wyze does not. You're going to pay more over time if you opt for Blink, but not by much.

So which one should you get? I don't think you can go wrong with either.

Palm vein recognition technology has been around for a while, but it's typically been reserved for relatively expensive smart locks. Wyze is changing that with its Palm Lock, bringing biometric palm scanning to a price point that undercuts most alternatives. The lock promises to let you unlock your door with just your palm, along with traditional methods like PIN codes and physical keys.

At $129, the Wyze Palm Lock isn't the first palm vein model on the market, but it's certainly one of the most affordable. The question is whether Wyze has managed to deliver reliable palm recognition without cutting too many corners. I tested the Palm Lock for several weeks to see if this budget-friendly biometric lock is worth considering, and how it compares to the best smart locks.

Wyze Palm Lock review: Price and availability

The Wyze Palm Lock comes in at $129.98 and is available directly from Wyze's website, Amazon, and select other retailers. It comes in a single black finish, which should look fine on most doors – though I still would have liked more options.

Wyze Palm Lock review: Design and installation

The Wyze Palm Lock has a decent build quality that exceeds what you might expect from its budget price point. While it doesn't feel quite as premium as locks from August or Yale, it certainly doesn't feel cheap either. The lock comes with an ANSI/BHMA Grade 3 rating.

The lock is notably bulky, with the exterior portion measuring 6.1 × 2.9 × 1.3 inches and the interior portion measuring 7.2 × 2.9 × 1.2 inches. Both the interior and exterior portions are noticeable on your door, and while it doesn't look ugly, it's also not subtle. The interior section has the thumb latch for manual operation and a compartment for the batteries, while the exterior features the PIN pad and palm reader positioned above it. On the bottom of the exterior portion of the lock is a USB-C port, which is uncovered. A rubber cover would have been a good idea, but considering it's on the bottom, it seems unlikely much moisture will get trapped inside.

Installation is straightforward, though to be fair I've installed dozens at this point. Still, the included paper instructions are clear and comprehensive, and the app also provides a step-by-step installation guide, so most beginners should have no problem with it. The one minor issue is that you wouldn't necessarily know about the app-based installation guide unless you start the setup process in the app first, which the initial documentation doesn't explicitly direct you to do.

The lock includes a backlit keypad that's easy to see, along with a discrete manual key slot for emergency access. It also has a dual battery system, which is handy. There's a main battery pack that lasts approximately six months, and a backup battery that provides an additional two weeks of power when the main battery needs charging or if it runs out of juice. If both batteries die, there's a USB-C port that can provide temporary power from a power bank.

The IP53 weather resistance rating isn't particularly impressive on paper, but during my testing period, the lock survived several reasonable heavy rainstorms without any issues. I expect it will do just fine in the vast majority of weather conditions.

Wyze Palm Lock review: Locking features and performance

The headline feature is palm vein recognition, which unlocks the door in about one second and can store up to 50 different palm profiles. The technology reads the unique vein patterns in your palm, which are supposedly more secure than fingerprints since they're internal and harder to replicate.

In practice, I found the palm scanner worked reliably, and it almost never failed after I got the hang of proper positioning, which barely took a few tries. While some reviews have reported hit-or-miss performance with the palm reader, I didn't experience significant issues during my testing.

The palm scanner only unlocks the door – it doesn't lock it. This isn't really an issue though. There's a built-in gyroscope-based auto-lock feature, which worked exceptionally well, plus you can just press the lock button on the PIN pad if you prefer to disable auto-locking. You'll also get an alert if the door is left ajar.

The keypad supports up to 50 user codes and includes anti-peep technology, allowing you to enter random digits before and after your actual code to prevent onlookers from determining your PIN. Both the keypad and palm scanner performed accurately in my testing.

The lock also includes mmWave radar that detects human presence within 2 to 3 feet, supposedly distinguishing between humans and other moving objects to conserve battery life. While this is difficult to test thoroughly, it seemed to work perfectly well.

Security features include local encryption of palm data and passcodes stored on the device itself, not in the cloud. After five failed entry attempts, an alarm sounds and the lock enters a five-minute lockout period. The lock also has a traditional key slot for backup access or for giving temporary access to guests.

Wyze Palm Lock review: App and smart home

The Wyze app is well-designed and integrates seamlessly with other Wyze devices if you're already in that ecosystem. Navigation is generally intuitive, though I wish you could control the lock directly from the home screen. Instead, you need to tap on the device first, then tap a button to lock or unlock the door.

There are a few settings you can tweak relating to the lock. You'll be able to control auto-lock settings, one-time guest codes, and calibration options. There's also an event history, so you can see usage. All of this can be accessed remotely, as the lock has Wi-Fi built in.

Smart home integration is unfortunately limited to Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, with no support for Apple HomeKit or Matter. This is disappointing, as wider smart home compatibility would make the lock more versatile. To unlock the door using voice commands, you need to speak your PIN code aloud, which is an obvious security concern. I understand the need for some form of authentication, though.

The lock is designed to work in tandem with Wyze video doorbells, allowing you to lock or unlock the door directly from the doorbell's interface in the app. It would be interesting if Wyze could leverage their doorbell's face recognition capabilities for automatic unlocking in the future, but that's not an option just yet, and perhaps wouldn't be secure enough anyway (various doorbells regularly confuse our local FedEx guy with me).

Wyze Palm Lock review: Verdict

The Wyze Palm Lock is a solid entry point for anyone interested in palm vein recognition technology without breaking the bank. It's not perfect – the lack of wider smart home support is frustrating, and the bulky design won't win any aesthetic awards. But, it delivers on its core promise of reliable biometric unlocking at an accessible price point.

For the right buyer, particularly someone already invested in the Wyze ecosystem or simply looking for an affordable smart lock with palm scanning capabilities, the Palm Lock represents good value at $129.98. The palm scanning technology works well once you get the hang of it, and features like the dual-battery system and gyroscope-based auto-lock add genuine convenience. Just don't expect the refinement or universal compatibility of locks that cost twice as much.

There’s no doubt in my mind that the best robot vacuum cleaners are getting closer in performance to their non-autonomous cousins every year, and I've tested my fair share.

Narwal might be a less familiar brand to some of you, but it’s one of five big Chinese brands that’s made a huge impact on the robot vacuum market. Narwal in particular has been focused on robots that mop as well as vacuum, and that's exactly what I tested here.

Over two months, the Narwal Flow primarily lived in the hallway adjoining my dining room and sitting room. With a busy period falling right in the middle of our testing window, it saw a fair bit of action in cleaning up after visitors. That included vacuuming our guest bedroom's low-pile carpet, and mopping our tiled kitchen and downstairs loo, and the vinyl in our bathroom. That's a lot of social pressure, so how did it fare?

Narwal Flow Robot Vacuum & Mop Review: Price and availability

The Narwal Flow has an official RRP of $1,599.99 and is currently available on the US Narwal site for $1,399.99and at Amazon for $1,499

UK users can purchase this on Amazon or on the Narwal UK website for £1,330.

Narwal Flow Robot Vacuum & Mop Review: Design

The first thing that strikes you when the Flow arrives is its heft. It comes in a huge box that is marked as heavy – I'd suggest you heed the warning and have two people lift it.

Open the box from the top and there is a cardboard sleeve containing the rather sparse instruction manual (there are just five pages of instructions in English) and the two spinning brushes that clip into the base of the vacuum.

Lift this off and the vacuum and its docking station are held in place with a cardboard support. The vacuum is already housed in its base (with some polystyrene for good measure), and both are wrapped in a plastic bag.

Open the lid of the dock and you'll find two water tanks – one housing some pleasant surprises. First there's a spare dust bag (one was already fitted inside the dock), as well as a bottle of detergent, a spare vacuum filter (again, one is already fitted) and a spare 'insert bin' – the small bin that sits inside the vacuum itself and is emptied after every visit to the docking station.

It's nice to have these replaceable parts included, especially as it's probably the first time most of us will have bought a Narwal product. New dustbags will set you back $19.99 for two on Narwal's website, while a new filter costs $35.99, again for two. Narwal says a dustbag will typically last 120 before it needs replacing.

I was, however, a little disappointed that there were no spare side brushes at this price point. In my experience of robot vacuums, I've found these need replacing reasonably frequently. That said, Narwal's have survived two months of testing very well.

The Flow's vacuum design is pleasantly simple. It has an all-over white, slightly glossy finish, which I preferred over black – I find the latter tends to show up even the tiniest amount of settled dust quite badly.

Underneath, there's a mop pad that lifts by 0.47in/1.2cm when not in use so that you won't get carpets or wood floors damp, and shuffles left and right to get tight up against edges.

There are also those two side brushes that easily clip into place and can shift from a V formation to a "II" one and reverse direction so that nothing gets tangled in them.

Finally, there is a tangle-free roller brush, which rather ingeniously connects on one side only. This is meant to help hair to flow cleanly into the dustbin – and as I'll explain, worked brilliantly.

Initially, setting everything up seemed straightforward. The only extra bits I needed to attach were the two spinning brushes, which clipped into place easily. Everything else – the mop pad, the filter tray in the base of the docking station, dust bag, mini vac bin and water tanks were already in position.

As explained, I popped the the vacuum in my narrow hallway. Now, Narwal recommends leaving a 0.45m long space in front of dock so that the Flow can easily manoeuvre in and out. I only had a 34in/88cm-wide space to play with, but the robot seemed to take this in its stride. It is a bulky unit though, so you will need to think carefully about where it might live without it becoming a nuisance. Also, the 1.4m power cable will limit you in terms of nearby power sockets.

As the five-page instruction manual wasn't much help, I was eager to download the app and pair my robot to WiFi. Both processes were easy, I entered my router password, and the Flow was online in a handful of seconds. So far, so good — but then I had to deal with the app.

Narwal Flow Robot Vacuum & Mop Review: App Experience

When you first open the app, you'll be asked to select your model of Narwal, agree to terms and conditions, and then you'll be prompted to link to your WIFI.

Then, you'll be directed to set up an initial map for your robot. I did this without really thinking, assuming it would be easy to change later. But I suggest you pay close attention and prepare your main cleaning area beforehand. Otherwise, it gets a bit fiddly to change things, and the vacuum might take a while to respond.

Clear the floor of obstacles, open doors where you want the vacuum to travel between rooms and close doors to doors you don't want it to clean. Also, be sure that the cleaning cycle is set to vacuum only. Otherwise you risk it mopping carpets, wood floors and other things that really shouldn't be wet.

I made the mistake of not properly clearing my floor, and it took a few days for the vacuum to realise where it was allowed to go.

Unlike the far less expensive Roborock Q7 M5 vacuum, the Narwal also didn't pick up on my kitchen in its initial mapping. While it mapped the dining room, hallway, and living room area reasonably successfully (albeit not picking up the correct position of the sofa), it didn't seem to 'see' the kitchen beyond, even though I took a risk and left the door to it open.

On the first pass it simply ignored the space. Then, on the second clean, it actually threw itself down the kitchen step in a dramatic move that left it upended and crying for help. So I wouldn't put total faith in its edge detection.

But one thing I did love about the Narwal Flow was its smarts when it came to detecting the surface below. It doesn't clean during its initial mapping so there's no danger of it trying to mop a rug, for example. But it was quick to spot surface materials (wood, tiles, rugs, carpet) and committed them to memory almost immediately. And while I have seen other reviews saying that the Narwal accidentally mopped carpet on occasion, I had no issues.

Scheduling cleaning in the app

Scheduled cleaning is also relatively easy to add and set up. You'll first need to select whether you want the Narwal Flow to Vacuum and Mop, Vacuum then Mop, Vacuum or Mop Next, you hit schedule (bottom left) and pick the next date you want it to clean. From here, you'll be able to set the time, date and frequency of when it cleans (you have options of every 1-6 days or 1-4 weeks), as well as the rooms to clean.

While you can't set it to do different tasks in different parts of the house on one schedule, you can set multiple schedules focused on different tasks.

I found this all really easy to do, and the Narwal Flow loyally followed my instructions each time.

Other app features

There's also a 'history' section where you can see how much cleaning your robot has done in the past day, week or year, including the area cleaned and time taken. To be honest, I'm not sure how useful people will generally find this, bar resolving a family dispute about whether the housework has been done!

There are two other key areas of the app worth pointing out. The 'Dock' icon on the bar to the left of the map will take you to a handy screen that lets you know if your dust bag needs emptying. And the hexagon on the bar to the top right takes you to various settings such as the language, voice (male or female) and volume of the voice, or pet-friendly mode, which you can activate to make sure the robot is extra-cautious in case it runs into any furry friends. This also does clever things like enable a 'pet cleaning zone' that will up the intensity of cleaning in certain areas.

My general feelings about the app were that it was a little slow, with some lag. A lot of functions were hard to find, such us the child lock (under general), and I found the map management quite fiddly. I did get used to it after a couple of months. But its worth spending some time to familiarise yourself with all the settings.

Narwal Flow Robot Vacuum & Mop Review: Performance

What's it like to use on hard floors?

Initially, I gave the Narwal Flow access to our hallway, dining room, and living room, leaving the door to the kitchen open to see if it would acknowledge the step down to this area. All three have solid wooden floors.

I also used the vacuum regularly on my tiled kitchen floor and in my lino-covered bathroom. The robot worked in a logical way, first working its way around the perimeter of the room, before crossing up and down. It felt that no spot was missed, and lots of dirt and debris was captured. I did leave a sprinkling of small debris along with things I didn't want it to pick up – including a Lego Minifigure. Impressively, my Lego friend was avoided while other scraps of paper were collected.

However, on close inspection, the edge cleaning wasn't exceptional. The Narwal Flow struggled to clean the dust that gathered under my radiators, and also when picking up dirt along the kitchen skirting boards. It wasn't just an issue of tight corners – it wasn't great along long edges either. On more than one occasion, I manually used a dustpan brush to sweep out debris from tighter corners to the main floor, where it was then successfully picked up.

I did like, however, how it avoided obstacles. As you are cleaning, if it encounters any, it will take a picture of what its seen. This then appears as an icon on the cleaning map, and if you click through, you'll see what it avoided.

And unlike other robot vacuums I tried, the Narwal Flow has less of a tendency to get stuck, thanks to its low profile and impressive navigation. Unlike the Roborock Q7 M5 it was able to glide under my sofa and TV bench with ease, and tucked under radiators, even if it didn't actually clean those edges very well.

Next, let's focus on the noises it makes. I've come to realise that most robot vacuum cleaners like to talk, and the Narwal Flow is no exception. As soon as 'she' (there is an option for a male voice if you prefer, but the default is female) is prompted to clean via the app or the button on the top of the dock, she will tell you 'vacuuming starting'. When she's done, she returns to base and says 'self cleaning started', then 'charging started'. There's lots of other chat in her repertoire, too, depending on whether she's mopping, or just plain stuck.

One thing the Narwal Flow has over some other robots though, is that it responds to voice commands. Say "Hey Nawa, start cleaning the living room" and it will. I also asked it to "stop cleaning", "go back to base" and "adjust suction power to super powerful" and all instructions were obeyed. It also reassuringly says 'I'm here' whenever you command it, so you know it's listening.

There is a little trial and error involved. If you haven't set room names in the Map Editing area, it's not automatically going to know what you mean by 'vacuum the kitchen'. And it didn't respond to 'return to dock' or 'reduce suction' – you do need to be quite specific. But once you've mastered the specific commands, the voice control is really useful. Especially if you have your hands full and want to clean a spill quickly without reaching for your phone.

As more of a scientific test of its cleaning abilities, we cleared a 5ft x 5ft area of both a tiled and carpeted floor, and asked the Narwal Flow to pick up 20g each of Cheerios, kitty litter and a mix of dog and human hair. The results were as follows

In general, the Narwal Flow seems great at picking up ground-in dirt, but seemed to struggle with larger pieces of debris.

I was quite surprised that when I weighed things out, it actually picked up a larger volume of kitty litter than it did Cheerios on both carpet and hard floors. Instead, it seemed to push these items towards the edges of the room, where they weren't always collected. Increasing the suction to 'super powerful' did help, but cereal was still left behind.

The same went for the small clumps of hair (a mix of human, pet and artificial), that I littered the floor with. The Narwal didn't always do the best job of picking them up. At one point it did wonder if it was actively avoiding them! However, the hair it did pick up generally got sucked into the dust bin and little got caught in the brush roller which I was super impressed with.

Noise levels

Using a sound meter app, I measured the average volume of the Narwal Flow while standing around 1m away in these different scenarios:

Cleaning wood floors: 55dB (Quiet) to 74dB (Super powerful)
Cleaning carpet: 49dB (Quiet) to 68dB (Super powerful)
Cleaning ceramic floor tiles: 55dB (Quiet) to 71.5dB (Super powerful)

The moral is, when the Narwal is quiet, it's very quiet, and when it's loud, you don't really want to be in the same room. That said, the noise really does convince you of its suction power!

What is it like to use on carpet?

Anyone that read my review of the Roborock Q7 M5 will know that I was pleasantly surprised regarding its performance on carpet, but the Narwal Flow took things to another level when it came to extracting dirt and dust.

The picture below shows the nastiness extracted from the same bedroom carpet that had been vacuumed two weeks before (yikes). I was in equal parts impressed and horrified...

As the Cheerios/kitty litter/hair testing data shows, it was marginally better at picking up hair on carpet compared to hard floors. Otherwise, the vacuum performed better on hard floors when it came to picking up cereal and grit.

This was good news in a way, as hair tends to collect on my bedroom carpet, as it's where I blow-dry and style my 'do. I don't tend to eat or wear shoes in the carpeted parts of our home, so I wasn't too concerned about its performance in the other tests and would still highly recommend it based on the dirt I saw it remove.

What is it like to use as a mop?

If there is one good reason to buy the Narwal Flow, it's that it is brilliant at cleaning floors. I was actually amazed at the job it did – in fact, it actually beat out a plug-in Bissell steam cleaner when it came to cleaning up dried-on ketchup.

The only suitable floor to test the Narwal's mopping ability on was our kitchen, which meant relocating the dock down a step to the kitchen floor. This is because the Narwal will periodically return to the dock to empty any dirty water and pick up some fresh water-detergent mix. As a task, this was cumbersome, but if your hard floors are all on one level, it won't be an issue.

The Narwal's base station has two water tanks – one purple, for your clean water and detergent, and one for dirty water. Narwal recommends adding one to three capfuls of detergent for every full tank of water, which I measured to be approx 4.6 litres using a jug. In our tests, we decided to go for two capfuls – I'd imagine the bottle would last as long as 6-8 tankfuls of water, and given I'd use less than half a tank for each wash, that's at least 12-16 cleans of my kitchen.

Narwal does recommend you only use its own cleaning solution in the tank 'otherwise the device may become faulty', according to the instruction manual.

Once you have added the water and detergent you simply reload the clean water tank, and command the robot to mop. It takes a few minutes for the tank to heat up the water, and you'll hear a lot of gurgling as it does so. It then works around the room, again starting at the perimeters and then working back and forth, up and down.

The water that comes out of the mop steams hot, and leaves the floor reassuringly warm and slightly damp. I was impressed that there were never any puddles of water on the floor, which can often be left by the Bissell cleaner I'm currently testing, and that this careful release of water cleaner effectively yet dried quickly.

The Narwal Flow will repeatedly run the mopping cycle until it deems the floor to be totally clean. In the case of the kitchen, it ran four cycles, going back to the base each time to reload with fresh water. My kitchen measures approximately 6 sq m (2 x 3m), and the whole process took 27 minutes.

Beforehand, I deliberately left some ketchup to dry overnight on the tiles, and you can see the results below. The Narwal cleaned the mess almost instantly – going over the area twice. But I was impressed at how quickly the ketchup lifted from the surface.

You can also see the dirty water collected by the Narwal at the end of the cleaning cycle.

Narwal Flow Robot Vacuum & Mop Review: Ease of cleaning and maintenance

In the main, the Narwal Flow is very easy to look after. The large water tanks are very easy to wipe clean, with few awkward nooks and crannies, and the dust mag is extremely simple to unclip and replace.

Usually the bane of my life when it comes to vacuums, the brush roller on the Narwal is one of the best I've ever encountered. To remove it, you simply press down on a purple catch and push in and up to unclip the cover. As the roller is only secured to one side of the main body of the vacuum, it's then just a case of pulling it out. As the roller is slightly tapered, any hair naturally works its way down the roller and gets sucked into the dust cavity. I would occasionally have to remove hair that had been tightly wrapped, but this happened rarely and was easy to pull free without scissors due to the design.

My one major bugbear is the two side brushes. Once clipped in, there is no obvious way to remove them. For now, that's not an issue, but if you did want to replace them down the line, I'm not sure how you'd do so.

Narwal Flow Robot Vacuum & Mop Review: Comparisons

As mentioned, I have recently tested the more basic spec Roborock Q7 M5, which doesn't have the self-emptying function, and costs a fraction of the price. In my opinion, the Roborock is superior to the Narwal Flow in its suction power and ability to pick up larger pieces of debris, and I also found its app and mapping easier to use and navigate. And the fact the Q7 M5 takes up a lot less space will be a boon to many.

However, if you are looking for a vacuum-mop hybrid, the Narwal Flow wins hands down. Its mopping ability is simply superb. And the Narwal is also more suited to allergy sufferers, since all the dust is collected up into a bag – as long as you're happy to pay extra for the dust bags.

I will also give the Narwal some credit for its voice control feature, which works well once you've mastered the commands. And I did like certain aspects of the app – for example, that it takes pictures of any obstacles it encounters so you can see what's causing issues from your phone. It's one of those little details that might no be particularly necessary, but is still clever. And imagine if you have pets you'll really appreciate it!

Narwal Flow Robot Vacuum & Mop Review: Verdict

There is a lot to like about the Narwal Flow. Top of the list are its exceptional mopping capabilities and easy maintenance. It's also on the quiet side for a robot vacuum, particularly on carpet, where its powerful suction pulls out deep-seated dirt with ease. And while it sometimes struggles with larger clumps of hair, it's unlikely you'll find them tangled in the brush roller for once!

I found the Flow less successful at edge cleaning and picking up very large particles such as cereal. My other main bugbear is that if you want to use it in other rooms that aren't on the same level as the base station, it can be temperamental or unwilling to co-operate.

Be aware that replacement dustbins and cleaning solution are quite pricey, so ongoing usage may be more costly. And the app take some getting used to. I did like the easy scheduling though, and was impressed by its AI smarts, such as floor material detection.

However, I'd recommend the Narwal Flow for homes with large living areas on one level and for those that prize good mopping skills. It's definitely worth considering.

As expected, the all-new Siri AI and Apple Intelligence took up the bulk of the announcements during the WWDC 2026 keynote. From improved camera editing tools, better awareness of everything happening on your iPhone, and even a dedicated app, there's a lot to unpack as Apple plays catch-up with Google and Samsung.

As someone who covers smart home products a lot, one Apple Intelligence feature really stood out for me, and it's something that could make Apple Home far more attractive than Ring and Google Nest for those looking to purchase one of the best home security cameras or video doorbells for their house.

When the new-and-improved Apple Intelligence rolls out, those who use Apple Home Secure Video will now be able to get detailed video descriptions of what's happening in not just individual videos, but across all stored video.

In addition, you'll also be able to use natural language search to more easily look for specific events.

Also of note: You'll now be able to store 4K video; until now, HomeKit Secure Video has been limited to 1080p, a serious restriction.

What's notable is not the features themselves — Ring, Google, and plenty of other companies already offer AI-generated search results — but the price at which Apple is offering these features.

Apple iCloud vs. Google Home Premium vs. Ring Pro

If you want to use Apple Home Secure Video — and these new features — you'll need an iCloud 2TB plan, which costs $9.99 per month and covers an unlimited number of cameras. (Apple offers higher-capacity plans, but we'll set them aside for now).

While I wish that Apple had extended these features to its base iCloud+ accounts ($0.99 per month for 50GB of storage and one camera, $2.99/month for 200GB and up to five cameras), that's still half the price as what its major competitors offer.

By comparison, if you wanted those same features from Ring or Google, you'd have to spend $20/month for Ring Pro and Google Home Premium Advanced.

The two caveats

I should note two things here. The first is that Apple's iCloud+ storage is not just for security camera footage; it's used for everything else, so if your cameras are recording a lot of video, you might run out of room a lot faster for your iPhone backups.

The second caveat is that there are comparatively fewer cameras and doorbells that are compatible with Apple HomeKit Secure Video than with Ring and Google Nest. Apple's own page only lists six cameras and video doorbells that work with HomeKit Secure Video, though we've reviewed others, such as the EufyCam 2C Pro.

The fact that HomeKit Secure Video was, until now, limited to 1080p has also put a damper on our enthusiasm for it, but its upgrade to 4K — plus these new AI-assisted features for much less than the competition — make it a much more compelling option.

I'm also curious to see how Apple Intelligence compares to other security cameras with AI, when it comes to delivering actionable messages and more.

Apple is doing for AI security video what it did with the MacBook Neo: offering a very competitive product for a lower price than the competition. Now, we just need more cameras.

More from Tom's Guide

• Apple just completely rebuilt Siri AI — here are the 7 biggest upgrades coming to your iPhone
• Apple Intelligence just got its biggest upgrade yet — here are all the new features announced at WWDC 2026
• Apple Time Allowance adds more parental controls to its devices in iOS 27 — here's what's new

Everyone knows that solar panels work best when the weather is sunny and the skies are clear, but what actually happens when that doesn't happen? Contrary to what your conspiracy-loving uncle may believe, solar panels do still work when it's cloudy. To be sure, they don't work as well as when the sun is out, but as long as there's daylight, those panels are converting what they can into electricity.

I bring this up because last week was the hottest week of the year so far in the U.K., and where I live, outdoor temperatures peaked at around 91 degrees F. Needless to say, the skies were about as clear as they could be, and I took the opportunity to crunch some numbers and see just how much money I was saving by offsetting my electric bill with solar.

The past seven days have been a totally different story, though. It's mostly been cloudy and raining, with the sun only making itself known at rare intervals. This got me thinking: how much of a difference has that made in my solar generation, in terms of both power generated and money saved.

How solar helped me during the heatwave

During the recent U.K. heatwave, I was able to generate 145.01 kWh of solar energy over the course of seven days — 59.88 kWh of which was exported back to the grid. My total energy consumption was recorded at 83.02 kWh, 18.5 kWh of which was imported from the grid. Those imports either happened overnight or when my electricity usage exceeded that of my solar generation.

Considering my 12-panel array rarely produces more than 2500W of power at any given moment, consumption can overtake generation pretty easily. Usually, all it takes is for a couple of kitchen appliances to be switched on at the same time.

Had I imported all of my energy from the grid, my bill for the week would have been £21.30 (roughly $28.61). This hypothetical figure includes £18.41 ($24.73) for energy imports and £2.90 ($3.89) for a standing charge. This is a daily fee every home pays to cover the cost of maintaining an active grid connection. But, because my solar panels covered the lion's share of my energy usage, my bill amounted to £7 ($9.40) — £4.10 ($5.51) of which was for imported grid energy.

Having those panels effectively saved me £14.31 ($19.22) over the course of the week, alongside an additional payment of £8.63 ($11.63) for the electricity I sold back to the power company. In the end, so long as you ignore my gas bill, I ended up making £1.63 ($2.20) of profit over the course of those seven days.

You can argue that the energy I generated isn't free, because my panels are still several years away from paying for themselves. I have only had them for six years, and I don't live in an area known for its annual sunshine. You could think about it as having paid for my energy bills in advance, but no matter what your perspective is, it doesn't change the fact that these panels are reducing my monthly energy bills — especially in summer.

What happens when the clouds roll in?

I'll admit, there hasn't been a complete absence of sunshine over the past seven days. But compared to the heatwave, the weather has been positively dreary. Looking over the data, and it's clear that the weather has made a huge impact on how much energy my solar panels were able to produce. But at the same time, the cooler temperatures mean I don't have to worry about running the AC to cool myself and my house down. So my overall usage has been noticeably lower too. Take a look.

As you can see, my total consumption for the week was 63.68 kWh, which is 19.34 kWh lower than the 83.02 kWh I used up during the heatwave. Running multiple fans and a portable air conditioner can really do a number on your finances if you're too liberal with their use.

Solar generation took a huge hit too, with the panels producing 103.37 kWh of power over the course of seven days. That's a loss of 41.64 kWh compared to the heatwave week, where they managed to generate 145.01 kWh. Naturally, that meant my total export was lower, selling 49.65 kWh versus 71.88 kWh — a 22.23 kWh difference.

Less generation also meant I had to import more energy, though not quite as much as you might think. During the heatwave, I had to import 18.5 kWh, while the cloudy weather only required 19.06 kWh — a 0.56 kWh difference.

Reduced energy consumption definitely played a part in this, but I also have to consider that my own usage will generally fluctuate over time and no two weeks will be the same. At the very least, it's clear that I was either using less energy at night or limiting how many appliances I had switched on at any given moment.

What does this mean financially?

Seeing energy figures in kilowatt hours is pretty meaningless if you can't visualize them in a way that matters for you. So I crunched the numbers again to see exactly how much of a difference was made.

If I had been completely solar-free, my total energy consumption would have cost me roughly £14.12 ($18.90), which is noticeably lower than the £18.41 ($24.73) I would have paid during the heatwave. Taking the standing charge into account would mean my total bill should have been £17.01 ($22.77)

Of course, my actual grid usage was higher this week, costing £4.23 ($5.66) compared to £4.10 ($5.51) last week. Meaning my actual energy usage cost me £7.13 ($9.55) once the standing charge was taken into account. This means having solar panels saved me a total of £9.89 ($13.24), which is quite the difference from my £14.31 ($19.22) savings while the sun was shining all week-long.

The reduced amount of generation also affected the export, limiting the amount of available energy I could sell back to the grid. In total, I managed to earn £5.96 ($7.98), compared to £8.63 ($11.63) last week. In other words, costs are higher, rebates are lower, and it means I have to pay the energy company more money.

My total bill during the heatwave should have been £21.30 ($28.61), but thanks to a combination of solar savings and export, the energy company actually owed me £1.63 ($2.20) at the end of the week. This week, my solar-free bill would have been £17.01 ($22.77), but solar savings and export income reduced that by £15.85 ($21.22) — meaning my bill is £1.16 ($1.55). It's not a huge overall difference, but it is a little disappointing to have to owe money when I ended last week on such a high note.

Bottom line

It's no huge surprise that solar panels are not as effective when there's less direct sunlight. Generation is totally reliant on converting light into energy, and without as much light you end up with significantly less power coming out of your panels. Which means the amount of money you end up saving starts falling.

That said, there are still savings to be had even in pretty miserable weather. So even if they aren't operating at maximum efficiency, they're still generating some energy to help reduce the cost of your electric bill. Either earning you some profit, or helping pay off the initial cost of actually installing them.

There is a point where generation completely stops, and I've noticed that happen during abnormally heavy rainstorms. But just because the sun isn't own threatening to burn your lawn to a crisp doesn't mean your panels are sitting there completely useless.

More from Tom's Guide

• Expert reveals the one solar panel mistake costing you money — and how to fix it
• I tested this portable solar generator and it managed to bring power to places my home solar system couldn't reach
• 9 ways to get more out of your solar panels this winter

When I first looked into IKEA's affordable smart home devices, I realized I could now give my home a futuristic makeover without having to part with a load of cash. Smart home gadgets have always felt a little out of my price range or a little overwhelming, so inviting a few of these into my home to try out on a budget has been a fun endeavor.

Then, when the hot weather hit, I realized one of these devices was going to be a game changer for the rest of summer – the TIMMERFLOTTE tempereature/humidity sensor.

Why? Well, it's actually pretty simple. With a constant digital readout of the temperature or humidity, it helps me keep a check on what's happening inside my home. Not only that, but you can hook it up to anything else in the IKEA Matter Compatible System, or other devices linked up to the Matter hub. Then, you can link it up so when the weather's hot, it'll connect to other products like the MYGGBETT door/window sensor to tell you if you need to go and shut or open up to let some fresh air in.

How to use it

The IKEA TIMMERFLOTTE temperature and humidity sensor is a simple device used to keep a check on the climate inside your home, which is a super helpful tool especially when it's getting hot outside.

When we reviewed some of IKEA's new smart home devices, we noted that the TIMMERFLOTTE's all-white face shows a readout of either the temperature or humidity and to swap between the two, you simply press it. We also added: "Since the LEDs are white, it can be a bit hard to read if you're in direct sunlight."

As long as you attach it to the wall, as per the assembly instructions, out of any immediate sunlight, it'll be easier to read and a big help when you want to know how hot your home s getting.

But why it's really great for tackling the heatwave is that it's part of IKEA's smart home range. This device is built on the open standard Matter, compatible with smart systems like Amazon, Google and Samsung.

Specifically, it uses Matter over Thread, which means you need a Thread Border Router to control it through your phone, like IKEA's DIRIGERA hub. Link it up to a Matter-compatible fan or AC unit and you've got yourself a handy tool to track the temperature and then do something about it.

More from Tom's Guide

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The security camera market is crowded, and most of the big companies want you to pay a monthly fee to actually get the most out of your hardware. There are some exceptions to that rule though. One of the latest of those is Baseus, which launched the new X1 Pro dual camera system.

The system offers two independent 3K cameras into a single unit, each capable of tracking its own subject or working together for panoramic coverage. It even has a built-in solar panel, which itself isn't all that unique -- but on this system, the solar panel is attached to a motor and designed to follow the position of the sun over the day, something we haven’t seen from the best home security cameras.

But, it's not necessarily the ultimate system that you might think it could be. To find out why, you’ll have to read the rest of our Baseus Security X1 Pro review.

Baseus Security X1 Pro review: Price and availability

The Baseus Security X1 Pro launched in early 2026. It comes in at $269.99, which gets you the dual-camera unit, the built-in solar panel, and the mounting hardware you'll need to install it. Baseus also runs promotional pricing that drops the cost to $179.99 and includes a microSD card.

What you won't pay is a monthly fee. All of the features are included out of the box, with no subscription required to unlock them later.

Baseus Security X1 Pro review: Design and setup

The X1 Pro isn't small, but it's not overly large given what it comes with either. It's IP65 rated for water resistance, so it should handle whatever weather you throw at it.

The build quality of the X1 Pro is fine, but not exactly premium. Some of the plastic parts feel a little cheap, though nothing broke during my testing and everything felt solid enough once mounted. Sure, the camera doesn't necessarily need to look like a piece of jewelry on the side of your house, and its overall look is pretty similar to other outdoor security systems.

The system combines a solar panel with a relatively large built-in battery. Baseus says the 7,800 mAh battery will last up to 150 days on a charge, and the 3W solar panel on top is self-adjusting, with a 120° coverage angle (60° left and 60° right).

The ability for the solar panel to rotate is a pretty smart idea, but I'm not sure it's really all that necessary. I've never had problems with static solar panels keeping a security camera powered. I have a EufyCam 2C Pro (which I use for its HomeKit Secure Video support) in my backyard that never dips below 90% battery with its static panel. The rotating design could be more useful in areas with spotty sun coverage, but even then, with a 150-day battery, your sun coverage would have to be pretty rough for it to make much of a difference.

Setup is straightforward. You physically install the mount to a wall, then attach the solar panel and camera assembly to the mount. From there, you open the Baseus app and follow the on-screen instructions to add the camera. It's no different than setting up any other security camera — the app walked me through the whole process without any major hiccups.

As a whole, the Baseus X1 Pro's design is...fine. It doesn't stand out all that much, and it could be built a little better, but most will be perfectly happy with it.

Baseus Security X1 Pro review: Video and audio quality

The X1 Pro captures video at 3K (3072 x 1536) per camera, with F2.0 lens apertures. In good lighting, the footage is solid. Details are crisp, colors are vibrant enough, and dynamic range is good enough that you'll get detail in both shadows and highlights, within reason.

The two cameras can work either independently or together. When independent, they can track up to two subjects at once — useful if you've got a large area with multiple potential points of interest. When stitched together, they provide a 300° horizontal field of view, which covered my entire backyard on its own. Baseus will "stitch" the two feeds into a single panoramic view, but it's not great at this — there's a noticeable seam between the two camera feeds where they join. It's not a huge deal, but it's not invisible either.

The camera supports up to 8x digital zoom, but there's no optical zoom. In other words, while the reasonable resolution means you can zoom a little when you need to, you'll lose detail the more you zoom in.

Night vision is handled by 12 IR LEDs plus two 100-lumen LED spotlights for full-color night vision. Infrared night vision worked pretty well in my testing, and the camera actually did a better job triggering on motion at night than the Eufy camera I have installed in the same backyard. It captured three kittens walking through my yard one night that I'd never seen before.

The spotlights are there for color night vision, but their reach doesn't match the use-case of the camera itself — the camera's designed to be able to see large areas, but the spotlights won't illuminate areas anywhere near as large. If you do use the cameras to cover more than a small area, you'll need to rely on external lighting or the infrared night vision.

Motion detection and audio

Motion detection is a mixed bag. Motion detection itself seemed to be fine -- even smaller movements, like the aforementioned kittens triggered recording. But, it took some time for recording to actually begin. The camera could see my entire backyard, including around 100 feet from my back door to a garden shed.

However, in recordings of me walking from the door to the shed, I was already mere steps from the shed before the beginning of the recording. That represents a good three or four seconds of movement before recording, which could be the difference between catching a significant event or missing it.

The camera supports two-way audio, but it's not great at actually picking up that audio. The microphone is sensitive enough to pick up audio near it, but not super consistently, and you can forget about audio that's further away -- again, representing a mismatch between the purpose of the camera and its actual tech.

Baseus Security X1 Pro review: App

The Baseus app is available on both iOS and Android, and it covers the basics you'd expect. You get a live view of the camera, an Events tab for captured recordings (including being able to see a split view or a stitched view), and settings for the alarms and night recordings.

It's not the slickest security camera app I've used, but I could find what I needed without much hunting. There are also some handy features, like an automatic patrol mode that has the two cameras rotate out and back at a pre-set time interval -- though unfortunately you can't use this feature when you've set the footage to be stitched. I don't see why -- there's no reason the footage from patrol mode can't just be un-stitched, and have other footage stitched.

The object detection is where the app, and system as a whole, falls down. In theory, it differentiates between people, pets, and vehicles. In practice, it's not super accurate. Several times when motion was triggered by an animal, it just registered as generic "motion" with no classification. One time, it registered a cat as a person.

Facial recognition was also inconsistent, and a pain to use. Unlike other security cameras that automatically record faces and have you classify them as you go, you have to manually add familiar faces using either the camera itself or by uploading an image. Even after you do that, it often doesn't properly recognize the face you uploaded.

In other words, while the camera can record footage when it detects motion, it's not very good at actually classifying that motion or differentiating between people and other movement.

The camera is heavily marketed as a no-cloud option, but there's actually a 30-day cloud storage backup feature in the app, offered for free. It's disabled by default, and even after I enabled it, I couldn't access clips that were marked as being backed up in the cloud. I could only play back clips stored locally. I'm not sure why, and it's possible this is a bug or something that'll get ironed out in a firmware update — but as of now, cloud backup exists but doesn't really work, at least in my testing.

Baseus Security X1 Pro review: Smart home compatibility

Smart home support is limited to Google Home and Amazon Alexa. That's it. No Apple HomeKit, no Matter, no SmartThings. If you live in the Apple ecosystem, you'll be stuck using the Baseus app exclusively.

The other connectivity limitation is Wi-Fi. The X1 Pro only supports 2.4 GHz — no 5 GHz option. In practice, this means streaming can lag if your signal is weak or if you're in a congested area with lots of 2.4 GHz interference. I found that footage streamed through the Baseus app regularly needed a second to load, which isn't a dealbreaker but is noticeable.

Baseus Security X1 Pro review: Storage and subscription plans

The Baseus X1 Pro is designed to be completely subscription-free. In other words, even with a 30-day cloud backup (supposedly), you won't need to pay anything to use the system after actually buying it. That's a double-edged sword, of course -- what if you want a cloud system instead of local recording. If that's you, it's worth looking elsewhere.

Local storage supports up to a 512 GB microSD card, which is plenty of capacity for weeks or months of footage depending on your settings.

As mentioned, there's also a free 30-day cloud storage backup option — but it's meant to supplement local storage, not replace it. You'll still need a microSD card to get the most out of the camera. And in my testing, I couldn't actually access video events stored in the cloud even after enabling the feature, so I wouldn't factor cloud backup into your buying decision at this point. The X1 Pro also works with Baseus' own hub, if you happen to own one, though you don't need one to use the camera. I didn't test the hub integration.

Baseus Security X1 Pro review: Verdict

The Baseus Security X1 Pro is a solid camera overall, but it falls short in a few key areas. Image quality is good, the dual-camera design gives you genuinely wide field-of-view coverage from a single unit, and the no-subscription model is always helpful. For basic security monitoring, it does what you need it to.

Where it falls short is on the smart features. Don't expect to rely on the AI-powered classification — motion detection can be delayed, facial recognition is unreliable, and the app will sometimes misidentify what it's looking at. Zoom clarity isn't great past a few times magnification, and the 2.4 GHz-only Wi-Fi can cause occasional stream lag.

If you're looking for a wide-angle dual-camera setup without recurring fees and can live without elite AI smarts, the X1 Pro is a compelling option. But, it's worth considering subscription-free security cameras from the likes of Reolink and TP-Link. For example, the TP-Link Tapo C246D is another dual camera system with a slightly lower resolution, though it doesn’t have the ability to track two subjects at once. But, it can track one subject faster.

Solar panels are easily the best home upgrade I've ever paid for, and over the past six years, I've saved thousands of dollars on my energy bill because of them. Naturally, the amount of benefit I get from my 12-panel system depends on a bunch of factors, the most important of which is the weather. The more sun there is, the more energy you can generate, which means a better return on investment.

I live in the U.K., which just endured a pretty big heatwave, which meant this week was the hottest week of the year so far. That coincided with some of the clearest skies I've seen for several months, and it sent my solar panels into production overdrive. Hotter temperatures mean my energy usage skyrocketed, and that had me wondering just how effective my panels were at keeping my energy bills down.

So I decided to do the math to figure out what was going on — and calculate just how much money my solar panels saved me over a seven-day heatwave (May 22 to May 28).

For the sake of my own convenience, I'll be doing all my math in Pounds Sterling (£) and pence (p), and will convert the totals to dollars at the end.

The solar situation at my home

I don't have a particularly large house, but the roof space is almost completely uninterrupted — meaning I had room for quite a few solar panels. My system is made up of twelve 345 watt solar panels, with a maximum production capacity of 4.14 kilowatts. While I could theoretically generate 4.14kW from this setup at any given moment, I've never actually seen my panels generate more than 3.5kW at a time — and that's a rarity.

Eight of my panels are at the front of the house, facing the south when most of the energy is generated, while the other four are in the back room facing north. I also have a 3.3 kWh home battery, but it doesn't really factor into these calculations since all the energy it stores either gets used up or exported at some point throughout the day.

My current electric plan means that I pay 22.17p for every kWh of electricity I import from the grid, plus a 41.35p daily standing charge — which is kind of like a rental fee for maintaining a connection to the national power grid. That standing charge doesn't change, and means my weekly electricity bill will always be at least £2.90 ($3.86) even if I don't use any electricity. My provider also pays me 12p for every kWh of electricity I export to the grid, which ensures I get some money back for any excess solar power that I don't personally use or store.

It's also worth mentioning that I don't have any HVAC installed that would drive up my electricity usage. My heating and hot water is powered by a gas boiler, rather than a heat pump, and any air conditioning I get to enjoy comes from a vented portable unit rather than a central air system.

My energy usage over the past week

Let's get down to the math of it all, starting with my own electricity usage over the course of the week-long heatwave.

As you can see in the table below, you can see a breakdown of my electricity usage for each day — based on the stats in Levelise — the app I use to monitor and manage my solar system. You can see my total energy usage, how much my panels generated, as well as how much energy flowed between my house and the grid.

As you can see the generated energy exceeded my total usage every single day, and by a considerable amount. I consumed 83.02 kWh of energy throughout the week, while generating 145.01 kWh — 59.88 kWh of which was exported back to the grid in exchange for cold hard cash.

Sadly, this wasn't enough for me to be completely off grid. Part of this is because my energy use is stretched out over a 24-hour period, while solar generation is limited to 12 or 13 hours of the day. The other factor to consider is that there's a limit to how much power my panels can generate at any given time. If my usage exceeds that number, power from the grid flows in to keep everything switched on.

Sadly, the relative cost of grid energy versus exports (22.17p vs 12p) means that any imported power makes a dent in my overall savings. However, I was still able to save a considerable amount compared to not having solar panels at all.

The actual monetary savings

Knowing about energy usage and generation in kilowatt hours is one thing, but it's harder to visualize in terms of actual monetary value. So I crunched the numbers and figured out exactly what all this energy was costing me, as seen in the table below.

If I had no solar panels installed and was importing all my energy from the grid, this entire week would have cost me roughly £18.41 ($24.73), plus an additional £2.90 for the standing charge, making my total for the week £21.30 ($28.61). As much as I would like to marvel at the nice round number, it's still a lot of money to spend on electricity — and I pin most of the blame on my portable air conditioner.

But thankfully, I did have solar panels, which made a huge dent in the amount of grid energy I needed to import. Thanks to those 12-sheets of metal and glass, I only had to pay roughly £4.10 ($5.51) for all the additional electricity I needed — or £7 ($9.40) when you add the standing charge on top.

If you just look at the total cost of electricity itself, this means my panels saved me roughly £14.31 ($19.22) over the course of this seven-day heatwave. Then you have to take export earnings into account, with my 59.88 kWh of exported energy earning me an additional £8.63 ($11.63) of credit that is applied to my energy account.

This means that my energy provider actually owes me around £1.63 ($2.20) after everything is taken into consideration.

That's a pretty weak amount of profit, especially when you consider the fact that I also have to pay my gas bill. But it doesn't change the fact that I would have had to pay considerably more money if I didn't have a rooftop solar system subsidizing my electricity usage.

Bottom line

I will admit that a heatwave is not a particularly normal occurrence where I live, even in summer. Normally, the weather throughout the summer months is peppered by periods of cloud and rain, both of which have a noticeable impact on solar generation. It is true that the summer months are generally rather fruitful from a power generation perspective, which means the pricier winter energy bills don't seem quite so extreme.

When it comes to solar generation on your own home, the amount you can save is going to be totally dependent on your circumstances. More expensive electricity means fewer savings, but having a large roof means you can get more panels installed and boost your generation capacity. Likewise, panels installed in states like Arizona or Nevada, which get more sunlight on average, are going to reap the benefits more than they would in Alaska or Vermont.

But in the end, it doesn't matter whether you're a tried-and-tested tree-hugger or a diehard proponent of fossil fuels; there are real monetary benefits to being able to generate your own electricity at home. The number may not be huge in isolation, but they do add up over the course of months and years — which could help offset the cost of running your home.

More from Tom's Guide

• Expert reveals the one solar panel mistake costing you money — and how to fix it
• I tested this portable solar generator and it managed to bring power to places my home solar system couldn't reach
• 9 ways to get more out of your solar panels this winter

As the weather warms up, it’s time to get outdoors and tackle lawn care. Lymow is a relative newcomer to the mower market, and the One Plus is only its second-generation robotic mower. But Lymow has packed in the updates, including dual rotary blades and a cyclone airflow system designed to achieve consistent cutting across different types of grass. But does it live up to the hype?

I put it to the test in my 6,800-ish-square-foot backyard, complete with obstacles like a shed, playset, and random items my kids and dog leave out there. I wanted to see whether the Lymow One Plus could replace my current gas-powered riding mower, which I bought about six years ago. Read on to see how it fared during my testing over two weeks in the Ohio spring.

Lymow One Plus robot mower review: Price and availability

The Lymow One Plus is available directly from Lymow’s U.S. website and retails for $2,999 (at the time of writing, it was on sale for $2,699). It’s not currently available on Amazon or from any big-box retailers.

You can pre-order the Lymow One Plus in the U.K. with shipments expected to begin at the end of May 2026. The robot costs £2,799 full price and is currently on sale for £2,499.

Lymow One Plus robot mower review: Design

The Lymow One Plus arrived in a large, heavy box that required two people to move safely. Inside was the robot unit, the charger, an RTK station, and various cables for charging and navigation.

The mower itself looks rugged, and my kids compared it to a tank. It has tracked treads rather than wheels, which helps it navigate rough terrain better than many of its competitors. Its dual rotary blades can cut long, thick grass, leaves, and other yard debris with ease. And its tracks allow it to conquer slopes up to 45°, making it a good fit for hilly yards.

The RTK station connects to the docking station via a cable, and Lymow provides an extension cable if the standard cable isn’t long enough. Additionally, the docking station must be installed within reach of a power outlet, but again, there’s an extension if you need it. I played around with the placement of the docking station and the RTK station until I found the right setup at the corner of my deck.

But if in doubt, Lymow provides clear instructions and instructional videos that show you how to set everything up properly.

Lymow One Plus robot mower review: App

The Lymow app is essentially the control panel for your mower. It lets you control the robot, set up maps, mark no-go areas, and set preferences. This is also where you can name your mower, which is arguably the best part. I let my kids name the mower, and they chose ‘Mow Willems’ after one of their favorite authors.

After you download the app, you’ll need to add the device and pair it via Bluetooth. Then you can connect it to your WiFi network and bind it to the RTK reference station. This part is crucial because it lets you create a map and ensures navigational accuracy. I set up the RTK station at the corner of my deck, next to where I set up the docking station. To bind it, all I had to do was scan a QR code on the station, tap bind, and voila!

Creating maps was a little time-consuming but easy enough, and I actually enjoyed the process. The app lets you control the mower with forward/backward and left/right controls, like a remote-control car. I drove the mower around the perimeter of my yard.

Then, I set up no-go zones around my shed, raised beds, kids’ playset, and trampoline. In total, this took me about 20 to 30 minutes. Plus, you can set up to 80 zones in the app. Finally, I set up the charging station just outside the map boundary, then created a “channel” for the mower to follow back to its home.

Then, it was time to mow (more on that below). I could monitor progress in the app and see the mower's exact location at any time. The mower stayed within the boundary and had no issues avoiding my preset no-go areas.

In the app, you can also:

• Start a mowing session
• Cancel an in-progress task
• Send the mower to the dock
• Set up a mowing schedule
• Change your preferences for mowing speed, cutting height, and blade speed
• Backup and restore maps
• Set up safety and permissions
• Update the mower’s software

For my second test, I set up a mowing schedule to repeat biweekly. It was easy to set a schedule in the app, and I could choose days, times, frequency, and mowing preferences. After setting up my first schedule, the mower started at the correct time with no input from me. This was one of my favorite features — I hate mowing and tend to be forgetful, so this took something off my plate and mental load.

Lymow One Plus robot mower review: Performance

I first tested the Lymow One Plus on my unmowed spring lawn. My grass grows unevenly, so there were thick, tufty patches and thinner patches with lots of dandelions. Lymow says the mower can handle tall and dense grass easily, so I wanted to put that to the test.

I set the cutting height to 4 inches for the first mow of the season. After a few false starts, we were off! The Lymow One Plus navigated my backyard easily, sticking to the map boundaries I’d set up and avoiding the obstacles I’d designated as “no-mow” zones. But it did struggle a little with the thickest, longest grass.

Although it could easily cross those patches thanks to its tank tracks, it left tufty areas behind. I noticed that the mower pushed the grass down, and because it was flattened, it didn’t get cut properly.

The Lymow struggled a little with dandelions. I’ll admit my lawn has more than the average number (gotta keep those pollinators happy), but I noticed the mower would flatten the stems as it went over them, leaving only the ends cut off. This was similar to the issue I noticed with the thick, long grass.

A mowing session took 104 minutes and used 124% of the battery, so it had to dock and recharge partway through. After the mowing session ended, my lawn looked professionally mowed, with even stripes throughout.

Lymow One Plus robot mower review: Verdict

I feel that Lymow designed the Lymow One Plus to replace, rather than supplement, their current mower. After a couple of weeks of regular use, I’m not sure I’ll be ditching my trusty riding mower completely.

The Lymow made it easier to maintain my lawn between mowing sessions, but it left enough patches in my yard that I do think I’d need to mow at least every few weeks. However, the Lymow is a great addition to decrease the number of times I need to mow, so it’ll remain a regular fixture in my backyard.

Before there were permanent outdoor lights you could leave up all year long, there were smart string lights that could adapt to whatever holiday or mood you needed them to. Now, Govee is back with a brand-new set of smart string lights that manage to cram an entire rainbow of color into every single bulb.

Over the years, I’ve tried out loads of different Govee smart lights. I've tested everything from its smart curtain lights that turn a wall into a customizable pixel art canvas, to its hardwired ceiling lights that can instantly transform a dark hallway. However, it was the company’s smart string lights that finally convinced me to ditch Philips Hue and its much more expensive ecosystem behind for good.

I used my first set of Govee smart string lights to decorate my porch year-round so I wouldn’t have to deal with the annual hassle of putting up and taking down holiday lights. Later, when we put up a fence to finally seal off our side yard from the street, I used a newer set of Govee string lights to decorate that, too.

After seeing Govee’s latest string light innovation back at CES, I knew I had to find a place for them in my yard. With a few poles mounted in the ground and some hooks screwed into the side of my porch, I managed to do just that and I’m incredibly glad I did. Govee’s Outdoor Chromatic String Lights are a sight to behold at night — but shockingly, they look equally stunning during the day.

Here’s why they’re worth the extra splurge, especially if you want to add some much-needed color to your next backyard gathering, be it day or night.

A more colorful redesign

Even though the unboxing experience was nearly identical to the Govee smart string lights I’ve checked out in the past, it was immediately clear I was dealing with something else entirely here. Govee’s Outdoor Chromatic String Lights aren’t trying to copy traditional backyard lights. Instead, with their dual-layer design, they’re trying to do something completely different.

In the box itself, you get either a 32-foot strand or a longer 65.6-foot version like I have here. Since these lights pack a total of 54 individual RGB LEDs inside every single bulb, they require some serious power. As a result, you cannot daisy-chain multiple strands together. You definitely want to measure your space carefully and map out your power outlets before deciding which kit to buy. Since I wanted these lights to cut across my yard in a zig-zag pattern, I went with the longer 65.6-foot option.

While the Outdoor Chromatic String Lights themselves carry an IP67 waterproof rating, the large included power brick is only rated IP44. If you plan on keeping these up year-round — or even for a single season — I strongly recommend picking up a waterproof outdoor enclosure for the power adapter. I already use two of these boxes for the smart string lights on my fence, so I was good to go. Still, it’s the exact kind of "pro tip" you won't find on the product page or the back of the box.

Just like with all of the best smart lights set up inside and around my home, I always make sure to test them before starting the actual install. When I plugged this set in, I was met with a literal rainbow of color that instantly showcased how those 54 individual LEDs can push out multiple shades and colors simultaneously.

Although Govee’s single-light rainbow system is the star of the show, I was equally impressed by the dual-layer aesthetic. All of those LEDs and the underlying tech are tucked behind a milky white inner shell, while a clear outer shell gives the capsule bulbs a reflective quality that really makes the colors pop.

With everything unboxed and tested, it was time to begin the install. One thing I love about Govee’s newer string lights is that they come with dedicated plastic clips for each bulb — a feature the very first set I bought years ago lacked. These clips attach securely onto the top of the sockets to ensure each bulb hangs down at the exact same distance while absorbing the physical tension off the main cables.

There’s also a loop at the top of each clip in case you want to thread a metal guide wire through them to prevent the line from sagging over longer runs. Since I was setting these up primarily for testing, I skipped the guide wire. However, if you are doing a permanent installation, those loops will certainly come in handy. With my lights safely hung from two freestanding yard poles, it was finally time to fire them up and see just how bright they could get during the day — and, of course, at night.

Afternoon ambiance

After recently reviewing Govee’s new Lightwall, I honestly wasn’t expecting much from the Outdoor Chromatic String Lights during the day. The Lightwall — which is a larger, portable version of the company's smart curtain lights — just wasn’t bright enough to show off its pixel art scenes or animated GIFs before the sun went down, even on a heavily overcast day. Much to my surprise, these string lights delivered the exact opposite experience.

As I cycled through the preset scenes I typically use on my other Govee gear, I couldn’t believe my eyes. Instead of making me squint to see their color-changing effects, the colors remained perfectly clear even with the sun shining bright overhead. Normally, I have to wait until at least dusk to turn on my backyard lighting, but that wasn’t the case here. I could easily picture leaving these on to add a vibrant pop of color during afternoon BBQs or family parties. You could easily pick a theme to match the occasion hours before sunset — like switching to a pastel palette for an afternoon Easter egg hunt or firing up a vibrant festival scene during a midday cookout.

Adding the lights to my smart home was as simple as tapping the plus icon in the Govee app. However, just like with most of the company’s outdoor gear, you are required to physically press the power button on the inline control box during the pairing process. This is exactly why I always recommend testing and setting them up before you start hanging.

Within the app, you get over 100 preset scenes ranging from holidays to nature. I particularly gravitated toward the "Universe" themes on these lights, as they do a phenomenal job of showcasing the fluid, single-bulb rainbow effects. If you can't find a preset that fits your vibe, you can use Govee’s AI Lighting Bot to generate a custom look via text prompts. You can also sync the strand to your music, but since the inline control unit features a built-in microphone, the lights can dynamically bounce along to the audio from one of the best Bluetooth speakers too.

You aren’t locked into Govee’s presets, either. When you drill down into the color settings for individual bulbs, you can choose from several pre-configured gradient mixes or tap into the manual color wheel to craft your own custom watercolor-like layouts.

I walked away incredibly impressed by how well Govee’s Chromatic Outdoor String Lights perform in broad daylight. As the sun finally began to dip below the fence line, it was time to see how well they could light up the night sky.

Still best at night

Just like with the other two sets of smart lights in my backyard, Govee’s Outdoor Chromatic String Lights work best at night, and this is to be expected. Although the picture above doesn’t do it justice, watching the lights shift from one color to another within each bulb definitely makes these smart string lights stand out. In fact, they remind me more of the Skyline Light Kit I mounted on the other side of the beam that runs across my living room than the other Govee string lights I’ve tested in the past. This makes sense because underneath that inner layer, the 54 RGB LEDs in each bulb almost look like a mini lightstrip wrapped in a circle.

At $299 for the 65.6-foot set Govee sent over for me to test out, these smart string lights are certainly an investment. However, since you’ll likely use them during the day too and not just at night, I’d say they’re worth spending a bit more on. Alternatively, if you go with the shorter 32.8-foot set, they only cost $169.

Now, I know this is still expensive for string lights. However, for the price, you’re getting smart ones you can control with your phone or your voice using one of the best smart speakers. Likewise, you don’t have to worry about changing bulbs, and you can switch up their color or lighting effects with a single tap. Personally, I really like this new design from Govee as the dual-layer aesthetic and overall look is a lot more futuristic than you see on most string lights, even smart ones.

Honestly, I don’t know where Govee will go from here, but its smart string lights are still a great way to add a splash of custom color to your yard. They’ve served me well for years now, and they’re a great alternative to permanent outdoor lights that you can install practically anywhere.

More from Tom's Guide

• I just installed Govee’s largest smart light yet and it turned my boring living room ceiling into a giant display
• I took my gameplay to the next level with AI-synced lighting and it's just what my desk setup was missing
• I bought a smart fan to beat the heat and I never thought I’d have this much fun controlling a fan from my phone

Not long ago, I hardwired a Ring Wired Doorbell Plus to my front door and enjoyed all the benefits that come with it, most notably the ability to wire the Ring unit to my existing chime. The 2K video it delivered was quite impressive. Now, the Ring Battery Doorbell Pro has landed on my doorstep, and it’s perfect for my garage, where I often operate my side photography business. And it’s got 4K video to wow me. That’s so many Ks!

There’s no existing chime or hard-wiring in my garage, so the battery-powered Ring Battery Doorbell Pro is ideal for the space, when paired with the Chime Plus ($60) that Ring included with my test unit.

From installation all the way through to using the app on a daily basis, the Battery Doorbell Pro couldn’t be easier to use. And the Retinal 4K footage is excellent in almost all conditions, though in the deep of night, footage does lose some detail unless you’re looking at objects close to the camera.

All told, the Battery Doorbell Pro is a great addition to any space that doesn’t already have a hardwired chime. Here’s how it compares to the best video doorbells.

Ring Battery Doorbell Pro (Retinal 4k): Price and Availability

The Battery Doorbell Pro came out in early 2026, and is available for purchase on Ring’s website for $250, as well as Amazon and other online retailers. You can split the purchase up into payments using Affirm at checkout. While Ring does offer the option to have the doorbell professionally installed, you shouldn’t need to do that with simple-to-install unit.

You can also purchase the Ring Doorbell Pro at other retailers like Best Buy, Home Depot, Walmart, and many more. Pricing and availability may vary.

Ring Battery Doorbell Pro (Retinal 4k): Design

The Battery Doorbell Pro keeps the aesthetics of the other doorbells in the Ring lineup, though the Battery Doorbell Pro does come in four different colors. It’s slightly taller than the Ring Battery Doorbell Plus, at almost six inches tall. That’s to give enough room for the long-lasting battery within.

The faceplate pops off using the included tool. Keep that tool in a safe place, since you’ll need it to remove the faceplate whenever you want to remove the battery for charging. You can use any small pry tool, but the plastic one included with purchase is a great way to easily remove the faceplate without it getting scratched or otherwise damaged.

The quick-release battery comes out easily simply by pressing the release button. You can then charge the battery using the included USB-C cable.

The Battery Doorbell Pro also comes with a mounting plate and an angle mount. You’ll want to use the angle mount if you need to position the doorbell inward or outward to capture the widest view of your space. Otherwise, you can simply install the regular mount and have the camera face directly outward. Be sure to screw in the security screw once you’ve installed the doorbell; this will secure the doorbell to the mounting plate to prevent theft.

You’ll set such alerts in the Ring app. That’s also where you’ll set up your unit and change various settings based on your specific needs. More on the app in a moment.

Finally, the Battery Doorbell Pro supports LiveTalk with Audio+, allowing you to talk to visitors from the safety of your living room and hear what they have to say back to you, all with enhanced sound quality.

Ring Battery Doorbell Pro (Retinal 4k): Video performance

I now have what you might call a doorbell ecosystem on my property. The front door, garage camera, front gate camera, and now the Ring Battery Doorbell Pro mounted on my garage all report straight to the Ring app, so I can see what’s going on around the house at any time, day or night.

Two of the doorbells — the Pro and the Plus mounted on my front gate — are paired to the Chime Plus in my garage. So when clients come to my house, I can have them ring either doorbell to activate the Chime in the garage. If I’m already with another client, I can use Live Talk to tell them not to come in just yet, or if I’m ready for them, tell them to come right in so we can get started. It’s super convenient; I don’t have to walk all the way to the front of my house to interact with clients.

But I can do a lot of that with other, less expensive doorbells in Ring’s lineup. What really sets the Battery Doorbell Pro apart from the others is the Retinal 4K video with 10x Enhanced Zoom. In bright sunlight, the footage is crystal clear, and I can zoom in quite far and read small text like license plates, provided they aren’t obscured by shadows and my internet speeds are sufficient.

That’s important to keep in mind: The best footage comes when your internet speeds are fast. Ring recommends speeds up to 15Mbps. My internet connection rarely, if ever, gets that fast, even on my 5g network; it tops out at 12Mbps, and is usually closer to the range of 7-9Mbps. So my video suffers slightly as a result. If you get consistently faster speeds, your images will be consistently sharper.

This is more apparent at night. In low light, I still get a fairly clear picture with true colors. But when the sun sets and there’s far less ambient light, it’s hard to get crystal clear footage. I can still make out people and objects close up to the camera, and even decently far away, but reading small text or license plates is probably out of the question.

The field of view is excellent and I love being able to see just about my entire yard in one image. It’s also great to get a head-to-toe image of anyone ringing my doorbell. Again, in broad daylight, this image is superlative. In low light, it’s still very good. At night, the image quality will suffer depending on your internet speeds. That said, it’s still pretty incredible that it’s possible to make out people and objects in complete darkness. The Doorbell Pro still allows me to make out faces clearly, especially if those faces are within a close range of the doorbell.

Ring Battery Doorbell Pro (Retinal 4k): Battery

The battery is USB-C rechargeable. Simply pop it out of the Doorbell and throw it on the charger. Since there’s no hardwiring, you can mount the Ring Battery Doorbell Pro just about anywhere you find it useful.

In my testing, the battery life has been exceptional. After two straight weeks of use, the battery has lost less than a quarter of its full charge.

It’s important to note that the Battery Doorbell Plus comes with the Quick Release Ultra Battery Pack, and this particular battery is only compatible with the Battery Doorbell Pro and Battery Doorbell Plus. So users may experience some compatibility issues if they have older-style batteries already at home.

I read a few reviews online about this doorbell, and users noted frustration that the Doorbell Pro isn’t compatible with the Ring Solar Panel and Charger. But I checked in with Ring and this isn’t the case; the Doorbell Pro is indeed compatible with the solar panel and charger, and if you use these accessories, your battery gets charged as it sits mounted in place, no need for you to plug it in.

Differences between the Battery Doorbell Pro and Battery Doorbell Plus

The Ring Battery Doorbell Plus costs $150, saving you $100 compared to the Ring Battery Doorbell Pro.You still get Live View, Two-Way Talk (without Audio+), Motion Detection, and Color Night Vision. But the resolution drops to 1536p HD+ video.

And while the Doorbell Plus also works with the quick release battery, you get a smaller battery pack, which means you’ll have to charge the battery more often if you’re not using a solar panel or plug-in adapter. Also, the Doorbell Pro accommodates 5GHz internet for faster speeds, but the Doorbell Plus only works with 2.4GHz Wi-Fi.

Ultimately, the Battery Doorbell Pro is the more powerful, capable, and faster doorbell. But if you want to save some money and don’t mind losing a few features (among them the super-sharp 4K video), the Battery Doorbell Plus is a great unit, too.

Ring Battery Doorbell Pro (Retinal 4k): App and subscription fees

Much of what you’ll end up using the most when it comes to your Battery Doorbell Pro lives in the app. The Ring app is your headquarters, so to speak, and you’ll be able to see all your footage here, use the Live View and Two-Way talk features, set your 3D motion zones, and much more.

It’s a pretty streamlined app, and it’s easy to use. Downloading clips takes seconds. Navigating through the various menus is quick and intuitive too.

You can set various types of notifications here as well. This is particularly handy if you have a regular cast of characters coming to your door; with AI facial recognition, the app can tell you who’s at your door and even if they’re carrying something or visiting with someone else — even if it’s their dog. The notifications are quite thorough, and usually pretty accurate.

One thing you may want to do at setup is set your 3D Motion Detection settings. If, for example, you want to only see notifications about things happening on your front steps, or in your driveway, but not on the sidewalk, you can set this up in the app. It doesn’t take much time or effort to do so, and it will cut down on the clutter in your notifications.

Of course, many of the great features in the Ring app get taken away from you if you don’t sign up for the Pro subscription, which starts at $5/month for a single camera, and $10/month for unlimited cameras at one location.

Familiar Faces, for example, is not included in the free version of the app, nor is the ability to save video at all. It’s frustrating to have to subscribe to an app after paying for a device, but you’ll get far more out of the Ring Battery Doorbell Pro if you subscribe to the app.

AI features

With Ring's premium tier (which costs $19/month), you also get its advanced AI features, which will let you use natural-language search to look through all your footage, and will deliver more descriptive results. We tested Ring's AI against other security cameras, and found it was good, but not the most comprehensive.

Ring Battery Doorbell Pro (Retinal 4k): Accessories

My test unit came with the Ring Chime Plus ($60), which plugs into any available wall outlet. It can sync with any and all of your ring devices, and you can even personalize your tones.

The Battery Doorbell Pro is compatible with the Ring Solar Panel ($60), which includes a 6-meter-long cable to help you position the panel wherever the sunlight comes through most clearly. There’s an adjustable mounting bracket to help with positioning too.

An extra Quick Release Ultra Battery Pack will cost you $50.

Ring Battery Doorbell Pro (Retinal 4k): The competition

Ring is perhaps the best-known name in the camera doorbell game, but it’s an increasingly crowded market. The Battery Doorbell Plus features 4K video and accommodates 5G networks in a battery-powered package, however, which is a tall order to compete with.

There aren't many other companies that offer 4K video doorbells, let alone battery-powered ones. Most of the competition currently tops out at around 2K, such as the Nest Doorbell (3rd gen).

Ring Battery Doorbell Pro (Retinal 4k): Verdict

The Ring Battery Doorbell Pro isn’t perfect, but it packs a ton of features into a small and price-conscious package. If your internet speeds are up to snuff, you’ll get crystal-clear 4K video, even in low light. If your internet speeds aren’t top-notch the video quality will suffer, unfortunately. In that case, you'll want to check out some of the best Ring Doorbells which better suit your needs.

Still, for the size, functionality, and price, the Doorbell Pro gives me all the features I want in a smart doorbell system. I can zoom in quite far to see small objects and text; I can get smart notifications about my visitors and even talk to them in real time without going to the door; I can go back and view footage in the app and download clips I want; and I don’t have to worry about charging the battery frequently because it has a long, long run time.

Longtime Ring users may find it frustrating that the batteries they have on hand may not work with the Doorbell Pro. But otherwise, the Doorbell Pro is a top unit that does everything you want a smart doorbell to do, without any complexities or maintenance.

As the first half of 2026 winds down, it feels as though Apple has been relatively quiet while we wait for the big Fall product releases. WWDC 2026 is right around the corner in June and as is often the case, it marks the shift between the barren Apple months and the fruitful ones.

With that in mind, based on rumors and leaks, I expect Apple to debut at least 15 new devices between now and the end of the year.

Some like the iPhone and Apple Watches are your typical annual updates (save the over-rumored iPhone Fold), and potential updates to the MacBook Pro lineup. Others, like Apple's long-awaited smart home lineup, all depend on whether Apple has finally figured out Siri 2.0.

All of these devices could give us an idea if the recently reported hardware shakeup is ready to bear fruit.

So, here are the 15 Apple devices we could see this year in order of potential release date.

iPhone 18 Pro models and iPhone Fold - September

On the whole, the iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max probably won't be a big divergence from the iPhone 17 versions. A new color, a better chip, possibly a revamped Camera Control button and a smaller Dynamic Island are all on the table. Decent updates, but not terribly exciting.

The iPhone 18 is, we expect, a gap year until 2027's 20th anniversary iPhone, which could truly shake up the iPhone design.

However, the bigger news is that Apple is expected to split the iPhone 18 release with the Pro models this year and the iPhone 18, 18 Plus, and 18e launching in the new spring window next year.

If it launches, and there is debate about that, the iPhone Fold (or Ultra) will be the headline stealer as Apple finally steps into the foldable phones market.

The allegedly crease-free foldable could feature a squat 7.7-inch inner display that is reminiscent of an iPad mini. Apple is reportedly developing iOS 27 to be tailored for the folding iPhone. We'll most likely hear more about that at WWDC 2026, depending on how coy Apple wants to be.

Apple Watches - September

Unlike the iPhone 18 family, there has been a dearth of rumors regarding the Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4. They typically launch in September alongside the iPhone.

Here's what we know so far.

The Series 12 could feature new holistic sensor tech on the bottom of the watch, including a new eight-sensor array. If true, this could indicate that new health metrics might be coming to the Series 12, or at the very least, more accurate ones. The big change might be an overhauled Health app featuring an AI-powered, personalized wellness concierge.

Otherwise, it should be largely the same as the Series 11, though it might feature Touch ID, which has been disputed.

The Apple Watch Ultra 4 may or may not launch this year, the rumors are unclear on this part. If not, we might see the Ultra 4 in 2027.

As for the design, rumors hint at a thinner case, fingerprint scanner and improved Hypertension Alerts. But that's about it for now.

iPads - September/October

The iPad mini is one of the best tablets available today and the eighth iteration could launch this year. Apple hasn't had a consistent release schedule for its tiny iPads, but most rumors suggest the iPad mini 8 could launch around October, maybe late September.

It's rumored to get the A20 Pro, the same chip as the iPhone 18 Pro series. It could also be the first iPad mini to feature an OLED display.

As for the larger entry-level iPad 12, it could launch this year with an A19 chipset. It's looking like it will be a simple refresh with Apple Intelligence features and possibly Apple's N1 wireless chip. Design-wise I expect it to look the same as its predecessor. Outside of that, I only have speculation on possible increases in RAM and storage but with the memory crisis, that may take a back seat.

OLED MacBook Pro M6 and other Macs - October

If they launch this year, I expect to see at least four Mac devices, most likely in October.

The most interesting one is the potential MacBook Pro M6 feature an OLED display.

• Mac Studio
• Mac mini
• iMac
• MacBook Pro M6

Beyond the MacBook, all of the other devices will likely just be chip upgrades going from their current versions to the M5 family.

The Pro model might get a new name the MacBook Ultra, which is meant to differentiate it from the MacBook Neo acting as an even higher-end counterpart to the Pro. It should feature an OLED display and the new M6 chipset.

The design should be similar to previous Pro models. The big upgrades will be the display with a touchscreen and the chipset.

Smart Home devices with a catch

Apple has been rumored to be developing its own suite of smart home devices, including the overhauled HomePod. This could come in the form of a new HomePod mini, a new HomePod 3 and the Home Hub.

The long-awaited Apple TV 4K set-top box update would be part of this update, with new features meant to connect it to your smart home. We're expecting Apple to kit out the next Apple TV with an upgraded chip, possibly an A17 Pro chip, though that rumor is nearly a year old now, so a potentially more powerful chip could be in the cards. The device could also get the N1 chip for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity.

Here's the thing, though, this all depends on whether Apple has finally figured out Apple Intelligence and Siri. Using AI to control your smart home with your voice and other tools is supposed to be a main part of the experience. That promise could finally arrive with the Gemini-powered version of Siri that is supposed to launch this year.

Additionally, Apple may have a smart security camera and Face ID doorbell in the works. Apple was reportedly in the early stages of development of those at the end of 2024, but it's not clear where Apple is regarding that now.

If Apple finally reveals the new HomePod and other smart home devices, it likely won't happen until after Siri 2.0 actually launches this fall.

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Even with rising airfares and gas prices, many of us are planning to take a vacation this summer. It could be just a few hours' drive away, or you could fly around the world. Regardless of where you'll end up, you'll want to make sure that your home remains safe and secure while you're away.

Over the years, I've tested dozens of smart home gadgets, and have edited reviews of dozens more — everything from smart lights to locks, water leak detectors, cameras, video doorbells, and much more. So, before you pack your bags, make sure that you have these smart home devices looking after things while you're gone.

Security camera

Whether you want to keep tabs on the inside or outside of your house, one of the best home security cameras will do the trick. Like the best video doorbells, they can track the comings and goings of anyone around your property; if you have a camera inside your house, you can also use it to check up on your pets.

To save yourself some money, I'd recommend a camera that doesn't require a subscription, so you don't have to pay a monthly or annual fee just to see the video it recorded.

Smart lock

If you're leaving pets at home or need someone to water your plants, then one of the best smart locks will let you monitor and manage who gets into your house. Smart locks can be programmed with specific codes for specific people, so you'll know when someone types in a code into the keypad.

Plus, you can set the codes to only work during certain days and hours, preventing someone from trying to get in when they shouldn't. Some newer locks can even use face and palm recognition, or even your Apple Watch to unlock your door. I still prefer a good ol' keycode, though.

Water leak detector

There's nothing worse than coming home to a flooded basement. There's the massive cleanup expense, you'll have to throw out thousands of dollars of waterlogged items you stored in the basement, and there's a potentially huge water bill, too.

At the very least, the best water leak detectors can alert you when something's amiss; these sensors are relatively cheap, so you can place them all around the home, under every sink or anywhere else. Other, more expensive models can automatically shut off your water, saving you even more hassle. Better yet: they may even decrease your insurance bill.

Electricity monitor

Power surges and outages are also something you'll want to keep tabs on. If there's a blackout, you'll want to know if all the food in your fridge will need to be tossed. Or, if there's a power surge, you'll also want to get an alert.

The Ting is a small plug-in device that monitors all the circuits in your home, and measures the voltage and current running through your house. If anything is out of the norm, it will send you a message to your phone. It can also let you know if anything you've plugged into an outlet has faulty wiring.

Smart smoke alarm

After water, a fire is the next most scary thing that could happen to your house. A smart smoke detector will let you know, wherever you are, if there's a problem in your home.

Some of the best smart smoke detectors can even work with 24/7 professional monitoring companies (for a fee, of course) so emergency responders can be dispatched to your home in the event of a fire.

Smart light, plug or switch

How to you make it look like someone's home when you're not? With a smart light, smart light switch, or a smart plug. They all work pretty much the same these days, but look for ones with specific "vacation modes." This setting will have your lights turn on and off randomly during specific times, to give the appearance that your house is occupied.

If you have floor lamps, a smart plug or smart light will do the trick; if you have a lot of ceiling lights, a smart light switch might be the better choice.

Smart thermostat

Did you know the best temperature to set your AC during the summer is 78º F? Yeah, that may seem a bit high, but whatever your preference, one of the best smart thermostats can manage your home's climate more efficiently, so you're using less energy while still keeping your house cool.

The best smart thermostats can take into account not just the temperature inside your house, but also look at weather reports and other data to recommend proactively cooling your home, so you're using less energy during peak hours.

And, as they're linked to your phone, you can program them so that you're not cooling your house excessively while you're away, but you can still return home to a comfortable environment.

Even better: Many utility companies offer some excellent rebates on smart thermostats, so you can often find them for very little money.

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Even with a massive 40-inch ultrawide monitor on my desk, one screen just never seems to be enough — at least for me, anyway. So instead of adding yet another monitor, I decided to up the ante to five displays as a final send-off to one of my favorite desk setups yet.

I wasn’t always like this. Years ago, I could get by with just one of the best monitors and be perfectly content. However, after joining the Tom’s Guide team, side-by-side windows for reading and writing just didn’t cut it anymore. I had to keep up with work chats, too.

If you’ve followed the evolution of my desk setups, you know the story: I added a smart display under my ultrawide, then swapped it for a portable monitor. While that was great for Windows and macOS, I missed having Alexa Plus and Gemini just a tap or a shout away.

As I prepare to break down my non-conventional triple-monitor setup, I’ve added two of the best smart displays for its final hurrah. Here’s how things spiraled out of control in the first place and what it was actually like to use a "screenmaxxed" desk setup for the past week.

The obvious conclusion

Back when I first built and reviewed the Uplift V3 standing desk, I only had a single monitor on my desk with the Framework Desktop next to it. At the time, I mainly used that desk to play PC games since Framework’s first mini PC is a surprisingly capable gaming machine despite not having a dedicated GPU.

As part of my work reviewing the best mini PCs though, I swap computers quite frequently and of course, a new machine warrants a new desk setup. I really tried to keep things simple with a single ultrawide monitor and the Geekom A9 Max front and center.

Then late one night though, I realized that if I turned a 16-inch portable monitor sideways, it was almost the exact dimensions of my ultrawide’s screen from top to bottom. Naturally, I had to try this out for myself and unsurprisingly, I absolutely loved it. As you can see in the picture above, I still had some unused desk space on the right side of my desk.

After meeting with Logitech at CES earlier this year, they sent over their entire MX Master Series line for me to check out. Instead of testing one device at a time, I built a whole Logitech-themed desk setup around those new accessories powered by the Khadas Mind 2S. In my mind, this was the perfect time to add another portable monitor on the right side of my desk.

Now if my desk was slightly smaller or my ultrawide monitor was slightly wider, I could have had those portable monitors flush with my main one. Instead, there’s a small gap between them but after using this desk setup for the past few months, it doesn’t bother me at all that they aren’t flush.

For my next upgrade, instead of swapping monitors or adding yet another one, I turbocharged the Mind 2S by adding Khadas’ Mind Graphics 2 dock underneath it. With the power of a desktop-style Nvidia 5060 TI with 16GB of VRAM, I really thought I was done with this desk setup. Then, I wanted to check the security camera in our driveway while working one Friday afternoon and…..

Just one more screen

Sure, you can always pull out your phone to bring up a live feed from one of the best home security cameras but where’s the fun in that? Plus, it’s easy to fall down a rabbit hole of notifications once you do so. That’s why I really like just asking Alexa or Gemini to do this for me. In fact, this was one of the main reasons I first put the Google Nest Hub Max underneath my main monitor to begin with.

Since my family was coming home soon and I wanted to open the garage when they arrived, I grabbed an Echo Show 8 and plugged it in on the left side of my desk. In a minute or so, my Alexa Plus-powered smart display came to life and I had a clear view of my driveway. Even if you’re not a smart home enthusiast like myself, being able to watch your cameras on a larger screen hands-free is one of the best reasons to invest in a smart display.

When configuring the Uplift V3, I specifically picked out a set of Uplift’s powered grommets just in case I needed to quickly plug in a new device without having to disturb everything else plugged in at my cable management tray underneath it. On the right side of my desk, I have a standard power grommet while on the left, I have a pop-up one where the outlets are hidden when not in use.

With just one smart display on the left, the other side of my desk setup felt off though. So I headed to my garage and got my Nest Hub Max to add it to my desk too. I initially wanted to have that Gemini-powered smart display on the left but its circular plug was a bit too big for me to use it with the pop-up grommet. I switched the two around but since the larger Nest Hub Max fit comfortably under all my monitors, I decided to swap the Echo Show 8 for the brand new Echo Show 11.

This actually worked in my favor since I’m right handed and prefer to touch Google’s smart display and talk with Amazon’s. This wasn’t always the case but once Alexa became Alexa Plus and Google Assistant became Gemini, I’ve found it a lot easier to converse with Amazon’s upgraded smart assistant. It also helps that I get access to Alexa Plus through my Amazon Prime membership. I’m still not sold on Google Home Premium for an extra $13 per month, so for now, I prefer using Gemini on my computer and my smartphone.

With dual smart displays under my triple monitors, it was time to see how well this screenmaxxed desk setup really worked in practice.

A true command center

Switching from a single monitor to two and then to three was quite the upgrade for my desk setup. However, having two smart displays with completely different user interfaces and functionality ended up being an even bigger one. I get it, something like this is certainly overkill for most people but then again, I’m not most people.

When I first showed this setup off to my coworkers, one of them told me “Anthony, you’re now Batman with that monitor setup.” Personally though, working day in and day out with my desk like this had me feeling like a budget Iron Man without Jarvis standing by at the ready. Instead, I had both Alexa and Gemini at my beck and call.

For the most part, I used both AI assistants just like I normally would, with Alexa controlling my smart home devices and Gemini providing quick info to short questions. When I wanted to brainstorm though, I switched to Alexa and if I wanted to go hands-on when controlling my smart home, I did so on the Nest Hub Max.

This got me thinking that if Microsoft hadn’t given up so quickly on Windows Phone, I might be able to do all this via Copilot on my PC. If Apple can relaunch Siri with Gemini’s smarts, who’s to say that Microsoft can’t do something similar down the line if ChatGPT ever gets the power to control smart home devices.

Now if I wanted to, I could streamline this setup slightly but I’d need to swap out my main monitor. For instance, I have a Samsung smart monitor that has Alexa integrated into it. However, I don’t think Samsung has made an ultrawide monitor with Alexa support yet but I could be wrong. Then again, I could opt for one smart assistant instead of having two inches from each other on my desk.

Back to basics

It’s always fun seeing what kind of desk setups I can put together and it’s one of the biggest perks of my job. However, as you’ve seen here, I can get carried away at times. That’s why for my next desk setup, I’m thinking about going back to a single monitor, though at this point, I reckon it has to be an ultrawide.

Just like with every other type of tech out there, no two desk setups are the same and what works for one person may not work for another. I know plenty of people who are content to do all their work from one of the best laptops and call it a day. Now if I had grown up with a laptop-first mindset instead of starting out on the family computer, maybe I’d be the same way too.

As for me, I’m going to break this whole desk setup down and start brainstorming what I should put together next. If there’s anything in particular you’d like to see me tackle, let me know in the comments down below.

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• The Echo Show 5 turned out to be the perfect tiny smart display for my desk after all
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Every Prime Day, Black Friday, or other holiday, you’ll often see some of the biggest discounts on security cameras from the likes of Ring, Google, Blink, Arlo, and other well-known companies. You’ll often be able to pick up one of the best home security cameras or video doorbells for half off their original price, or get a great deal on a bundle.

But that’s how they get you. You see, these companies can afford to practically give away their devices because they know they’ll be able to hook you into a long-term subscription — because without it, their cameras are practically useless.

When Savannah Guthrie’s mother was abducted, the FBI was only able to get footage from her Nest Doorbell by combing through Google’s servers. That’s because she no longer had a subscription that automatically saved her footage.

Once upon a time, companies offered some amount of cloud storage for free. Now, some of the biggest names, such as Arlo and Ring, won’t let you store any video in the cloud unless you pay up every month.

Those costs can add up. Even some of the least expensive plans start at around $5 per month, but I would venture to guess that the most popular plans cost around $10 per month, or around $100 a year.

That might not seem like a lot, but when you’re already paying subscriptions for the best streaming services, why pay for something you don’t have to?

Fortunately, there are a few companies that offer alternatives.

Blink

This Amazon-owned company makes some very good, and very affordable indoor and outdoor cameras. While its feature set isn’t as strong as others, its battery-powered cameras have excellent battery life.

They communicate with a small central hub called the Sync Module, which, depending on the model you get, has either a USB port or microSD card slot; plug in your storage medium of choice, and it will save your video.

Eufy

Eufy’s cameras and video doorbells have either storage built in, or come with a microSD card slot so you can save footage locally. However, its devices can also be paired with Eufy’s Homebase 3, which has 16GB of onboard storage, but lets you save up to 16TB of video (you’ll have to buy the extra drive yourself, though).

The Homebase creates its own Wi-Fi network to connect directly to other Eufy devices, so that if your main Wi-Fi network goes down, it will still be able to save video. In addition, the Homebase has AI built in, so it can recognize people, pets, and vehicles, as well as familiar faces.

Google Nest

The first is Google, which offers either three or six hours of cloud storage for free depending on the product, which isn’t a lot, but it’s something. The catch is that you have to be aware so that you can download that footage before it disappears. For instance , if something happens in the middle of the night and you don’t wake up, the video will be gone by the morning.

So, while this is a good option, it's not the best if you want to save video longer-term without paying an extra fee.

TP-Link

Similar to Eufy, TP-Link also offers both on-device storage with its security cameras as well as a central hub that sits in your house and communicates directly with its devices.

Like Eufy’s hub, adding the Tapo hub to your system gives you the ability for it to recognize familiar faces, so you can more easily filter out people you know. It has 16GB of built-in storage, as well as a 2.5-inch slot should you choose to expand it further. And, it has an HDMI-out port, should you want to view a live feed from your cameras on a TV.

Wyze

Some of the least expensive cameras and doorbells that we’ve tested come from Wyze; while the quality of the video isn't quite up to par with higher-end cameras, they offer just about everything else you could want.

Most of Wyze's devices have built-in microSD card slots, so you can save video locally. Wyze also offers a cloud subscription service, should you want a belt-and-suspenders approach.

How to save video without a subscription

The companies that I highlighted allow you to record video locally on the cameras themselves, or to a hub somewhere in your home. There are advantages and disadvantages to both approaches.

SD card slots

If you have a camera with an SD card slot, it can continue to record video even if the power or the internet goes out. The downside is that a savvy intruder can simply remove the card (or the camera).

Home hub

I personally like the hub approach. In this setup, the camera or doorbell connects wirelessly to a hub in your home, where the footage is saved. In many cases, it’s a direct link, so it won’t be affected by an internet outage, though you’ll need to have the hub on a backup battery if the power goes out.

This way, you can hide the hub in a safe location in your home, so even if an intruder destroys the camera, you’ll still have the footage.

The biggest downside to this approach, though, is the higher upfront cost. You not only have to pay for the camera, but for the hub as well. But, depending on your needs, it could pay for itself in as little as two years.

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Let’s hear it for the winners of the Tom’s Guide AI Awards 2026. Although AI is everywhere, these are the tools, appliances and gadgets worth celebrating for being useful, impactful and innovative.

Over the past few months, we’ve rigorously tested dozens of the latest AI tools and devices to find the ones that go beyond the hype and actually make your life easier. We’ve looked past the trends and "wow factor" to focus on the ones worth the recognition. Whether it’s a smarter home that anticipates your needs or a local solution that supercharges your creativity, these awards represent the best of AI because they are practical, powerful and ready to use right now.

The winners of the Tom’s Guide AI Awards 2026 are the tools and devices we couldn’t put down, use ourselves and keep coming back to, because they solve real problems. Some help you save time without adding complexity while others offer ingenuity that make them stand out from the rest. All deliver on the promise of AI that feels intuitive and practical. And more importantly, they’re ready to fit into your daily routine right now.

Personal Tech (Phones, PCs, & Wearables)

HP EliteBoard G1a

The HP EliteBoard G1a might look like a common office keyboard, but it’s actually a fully functional PC. This Commodore 64-like computer seems unusual, but this form factor could be ideal for certain users. According to HP, the EliteBoard is for workers who frequently move between workstations and often keep their laptops closed when connected to a monitor.

Inside, it packs a CPU, storage, RAM, and connectivity. All that’s required on your end is to connect it to a monitor. Before you ask, yes, it includes a mouse and a dongle with an Ethernet port, HDMI, and two USB-C ports. Thanks to Bluetooth support, you can connect additional peripherals.

While the HP EliteBoard G1a is a remarkably capable computer, it’s admittedly not for everyone. If you own a laptop, you’re probably better off with that. However, if you’re the kind of worker this machine was designed for, it could be very useful. It’s currently listed as “coming soon” on its official product page, but you can pick it up now for $1,499 on Adorama. — Tony Polanco

Oura Advisor

The AI-powered Oura Advisor feature — available in the Oura app for the latest Oura Ring 4 and older Oura Ring 3 — is one of the most actionable and insightful AI wellness coaches we’ve tested. While other wearables provide a laundry list of tracked metrics, the Oura Advisor actually makes sense of all the data, offering digestible trend observations and training tips based on your current goals and recent physical and mental performance.

Users can set Oura Advisor's voice and how often it checks in. You can also ask it questions anytime using the app. Designed to help you improve your overall well-being in any number of ways, the Advisor can do everything from guiding you to progressively wake up earlier for more productive mornings, to generating detailed training plans for an upcoming marathon/triathlon. Better yet, the more you interact with the Advisor, the better it gets to know you, ultimately leading to even more personalized insights and advice. — Dan Bracaglia

AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395

Great silicon for local AI isn’t just about raw horsepower, it’s about doing the job efficiently too — especially when it comes to a laptop chip. And for that reason, the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 manages to nail a pretty effective balance between performance and power efficiency.

And it all comes down to that monstrous internal GPU 40 cores, and support for up to 128GB of RAM allowing me to easily run gigantic 120 billion parameter models at zippy speeds, or even get agentic on all your daily to-dos with OpenClaw. The strength of local AI is security and versatility to have it do whatever you want it to do, and this is the best portable chip to run it. — Jason England

Even G2 Display Smart Glasses and R1 Smart Ring

As someone who’s tested smart glasses for over five years, AI has felt like the missing link to this category — unlocking so many more use cases on something so immediately wearable than the other crop of AI hardware form factors. And out of all of them, the Even Realities G2 finds a great balance of sensible, genuinely user friendly implementations across the board.

You’ve got your standard array of AI features like a chatbot and live translation (all great for on-the-go), but the biggest ones here come courtesy of Conversate and Even Hub — basically an app store for smart glasses.

The former not only listens to and transcripts conversations, but also gives you smart context and follow-up questions to ask (saving me from when my mind drifted away when on the phone with my fiancée), and the second is growing by the day with more and more AI capabilities. — Jason England

Napster View

Napster View deserves recognition for pushing AI beyond the flat chatbot interface and into a more human, spatial experience. By combining a glasses-free holographic display with AI companions, it reimagines how people interact with AI assistants, which makes collaboration feel more natural and engaging.

Instead of another app window, Napster View gives AI a physical presence on your desk, helping to manage tasks in a way that feels futuristic yet practical. In a crowded market of lookalike AI tools, Napster View stands out for bold innovation and fresh design highlighting what the next generation of human-AI interaction looks like. — Amanda Caswell

Fitnexa SomniPods

Good sleep is vital to your wellbeing and longevity so leaving it in the hands of an AI chatbot might be an unnerving prospect. However, the Fitnexa SomniPods 3 Sleep Earbuds impress with an integrated AI helper that uses your sleep tracking data (recorded directly from the earbuds) combined with the best advice sourced from the web to deliver personalized insight into your snooze. Don’t expect sleep doctor level insight, but you will get helpful pointers into taking your eight hours to the next level.

It helps that as a pair of sleep headphones, the SomniPods 3 rate among the best. The ANC is strong enough to muffle your snoring bed partner and while the sound quality won’t impress audiophiles, it delivers white noise with enough clarity to immerse you in a soothing cocoon. So the SomniPods not only help you sleep better, they can show you just how much good kip you got and give you advice to make the next night even better. — Ruth Jones

Rokid AI Glasses Style

Think the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, but cheaper, lighter and open to other AI models and that’s what you get with the Rokid AI Glasses Style. You can pick from ChatGPT or Gemini to drive the multi-modal capabilities of just asking questions, using image recognition to get answers to problems around you, take notes from meetings, and more.

And even better, all of this is packed into a sleek pair of shades that nobody will really notice is actually a pair of smart glasses (unless they’re looking really closely at those corners). No display to distract you, just a natural-feeling upgrade to your AI tech arsenal. — Jason England

Framework Desktop

The Framework Desktop completely flipped the idea of what a mini PC is on its head but it also did so for local AI. This DIY and repairable desktop proved that local AI power doesn’t have to come in a locked-down box. By pairing AMD’s AI Max processors with up to 128GB of unified memory, Framework created a mini PC that can run local LLMs just as well as it can handle demanding workloads and even gaming.

Instead of using a more expensive and power-hungry discrete GPU, the Framework Desktop combines the power of AMD’s Ryzen AI Max chips with unified memory to side-step VRAM limitations. Likewise, it does so in a small, portable case that you can customize to your workflow and even your workspace. It’s hard to find a machine that does it all at this size and price. However, the Framework Desktop delivers and then some with enough versatility that you can edit video and run local AI models during the day and then play games at night. — Anthony Spadafora

MSI Stealth 16 AI+

The MSI Stealth 16 AI+ is not just a great gaming laptop, it’s an AI powerhouse with its monstrous internals — a solid pairing of Intel’s Panther Lake chipset with the next-gen NPU for small local AI tasks, and up to an RTX 5080 for running gigantic models really brings it altogether.

Throw in Nvidia’s huge toolbox of AI models across agentic capabilities, creativity and more, and you’ve got a really impressive system that can do it all from crunching a massive LLM to creating your next coding masterpiece. And all of this is packed into what I’d call the Windows MacBook Pro aesthetic — an all aluminum shell with great ergonomics, a gorgeous 240Hz OLED panel and plenty of connectivity. — Jason England

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra

Smartphones are quickly becoming the ultimate AI hardware — embracing the raw power of that built-in silicon to deliver some nifty new features. Sometimes they’re gimmicks, but in the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra, they definitely are not.

It starts with fun moments of creativity like AI generative photo edits to move subjects and fill gaps left behind based on the context of everything around it, or Google’s classic circle to search image model.

But it rapidly gets more ambitious with the likes of Now Nudge giving you contextual multimodal actions based on your messages (setting up a calendar appointment if someone asks if you’re free at 11:30 for brunch), or just full automated app actions giving you full agentic AI across key apps like building a grocery cart in Instacart. — Jason England

Dnsys Z1 Exoskeleton

Improved mobility can be the difference between going somewhere new or staying home and for those with injuries, disabilities or long-term health conditions, the Dnsys’ exoskeletons are a game changer. This wearable, lower-body exoskeleton makes movements easier by providing strong support and assistance while reducing joint pain.

While we tested the original X1 Exoskeleton which targets the hips, Dnsys also released a Z1 Exoskeleton that focuses on your knees. Both devices use AI algorithms to predict muscle exertion so that they can provide adaptive assistance in real time. The X1 and Z1 learn your gait and from there, they can predict your movement and send power to your hips or knees right before you move your legs. Dnsys’ algorithms show how AI can often do its best work in the background. — Anthony Spadafora

Smart Home, Appliances & Security

Dyson Spot+Scrub AI

Dyson is a popular brand known for its incredible power, innovative technology and eye-catching designs. And so it comes as no surprise that its newest robot vacuum and mop should throw AI tech into the mix. The Spot + Scrub AI is a wet and dry robot vacuum that combines AI vision and ‘green light illumination’ to detect invisible stains and objects. Its capabilities can quickly identify and adapt to 190 types of household substances and objects, and navigate around them.

Other impressive features include an advanced dual-laser LiDAR, HD camera, fluffy optic tech and edge-to-edge cleaning to ensure spotless results. Unlike its predecessor, the Spot +Scrub AI uses a heated cleaning system to keep the roller clean and hygienic and dries it with a 113°F (45°C) hot air cycle to prevent lingering smells. — Cynthia Lawrence

Malwarebytes Scam Guard

Even when you think you’re up to date on the latest online scams, a new one comes around that’s a whole lot easier to fall for and many people do. That’s why scam protection has become such an essential cybersecurity tool. Malwarebytes’ Scam Guard provides real-time AI-powered protection against all manner of scams.

Available on both your computer and your phone, Scam Guard can check text messages, links, phone calls, emails and more with just a simple upload. From there, you get real-time answers on whether or not something is a scam with tips to help you avoid falling for similar scams in the future. Scam Guard is also fast and easy to use with a clean interface. The best part though, it doesn’t slow down your devices while keeping you safe. — Anthony Spadafora

SwitchBot AI Hub

It would be great if your smart home were actually, you know, smart. Switchbot’s AI Hub might actually get us there. This smart home hub has OpenClaw support, which not only allows it to work with the dozens of smart home systems on the market, but lets you communicate with it how you want — be it WhatsApp, iMessage, Discord, or pretty much any other messaging platform.

The AI Hub can look at connected video streams as well as inputs from other sensors around your home, and analyze what’s going on, predict trends, suggest smart home routines, and more. The Hub supports over 100 SwitchBot devices, offers Matter bridging for up to 30 devices, and integrates with Apple Home, Google Home, and Home Assistant. Best of all, the AI processing is done locally, which means a faster response — and better privacy for you. — Mike Prospero

Thermal Camera P3

Apple’s iPhones are known for taking exceptional photos, including my own iPhone 17 Pro, but there’s one thing they really can’t do — see in the dark. That’s why I’ve been augmenting my phone’s imaging capabilities with the Thermal Master P3. The great thing about this accessory is that it shows me, in real-time, the heat signatures of whatever I’m pointing it at, essentially giving me Predator-like vision to see through the darkness.

It specifically leans on an AI algorithm that helps tweak the thermal signature so that it lines up with the actual image. Other thermal cameras tend to have mushy-looking captures, dominated mostly by the colors of different temperatures. However, the AI analyzes the data from the thermal camera and aligns it with my iPhone’s camera, resulting in a sharp image where finer details are exposed. — John Velasco

SimpliSafe

Many of the best security cameras have AI to help you better determine what’s lurking inside or outside your house — is it an animal, a person, a vehicle, and what are they doing there? But SimpliSafe is combining that AI with its professional monitoring service, so they can more easily and quickly diagnose if there’s an actual threat.

Once SimpliSafe’s outdoor camera detects motion, its AI analyzes the video and, if it determines that it’s a threat, can alert an agent within 30 seconds, so that they can either warn the intruder via the camera’s built-in speakers or alert the police. And, the AI can identify familiar faces, so your teen won’t get arrested if they’re caught sneaking back home after curfew — but they’ll still be in trouble! — Mike Prospero

Eight Sleep The Pod 5 Ultra

Since we spend a third of our lives sleeping, why not do so smarter? Well, that’s exactly what Eight Sleep has done with its new Pod 5 Ultra AI-powered mattress cover and blanket system. With help from its Autopilot system, the Pod 5 can make automated changes to your sleep temperature, bed elevation and more in the background so you get the best rest possible.

Surprisingly, the Pod 5 is also able to predict illness using its AI sensors which recognize and report on any anomalies in your heart rate and respiration. Its AI can even detect snoring and automatically elevate your bed to improve breathing. Likewise, if you’re having trouble falling asleep, Eight Sleep’s personalized AI coach can analyze your sleep data and provide tailored advice to rectify any problems. The Pod 5 is another great example of AI working in the background to help improve your life. — Anthony Spadafora

Govee Lightwall

Govee’s new Lightwall isn’t the company’s first product to feature its conversational AI Lighting Bot but it does give you the largest canvas yet to work with. Right from within the Lightwall’s settings in the app, tapping “AI” brings up a chatbot that can make highly detailed lighting effects, pictures and even animated GIFs with just a short prompt.

With a 7.9 x 5.3 foot display, Govee’s Lightwall lets you bring any idea you can think of to life in 60 to 90 seconds. The Govee app already features hundreds of preset scenes but with its Lighting Bot 2.0, you can fill in the gaps and create bespoke scenes based on the occasion or even your mood. Govee’s chatbot isn’t just for its new Lightwall though and you can use it to customize smart bulbs, permanent outdoor lights or even Christmas lights. It’s intuitive AI you’ll actually use even if you don’t know the difference between ChatGPT and Google Gemini. — Anthony Spadafora

LG Alpha 11 Processor

At the heart of LG’s latest OLED TV lineup is the latest version of the Alpha 11 Processor. While LG has hyped many of the AI-based software features that this chipset powers (like chatbots and content-recommendation tools), its biggest contribution to LG’s best OLED TVs is the way in which it elevates the picture.

Ahead of the release of the LG C6 and G6 OLED TVs, we were given a demonstration of the third-generation Alpha 11 Processor in action at LG headquarters. In front of a row of four OLED TVs (the Samsung S95F, the Sony Bravia 8 II, the LG G6 and G5 OLED), an LG representative showcased how the newest picture processing algorithms work to improve a common issue on these TVs: color banding (otherwise known as posterization).

This pesky visual problem occurs across color gradients, rendering what should be seamless transitions into chunky, harshly separated bands of light. During the demo, a visually punishing sequence from “The Green Knight” — in which a person swims underwater in a vast, crimson-colored sea — was simultaneously shown across all of the flagship OLED TVs. On all but one of these sets (including the LG G5), the red-colored light illuminating the sea appeared unnaturally striped to varying degrees. Only the G6 was able to render this sequence without color banding.

This year, the third-generation Alpha 11 AI Processor power can be found in both the G6 and C6 OLED TVs, and while the ultimate success of these TVs depends on factors beyond just their processing power, this handy piece of hardware is already leaving its mark on some of the year’s best TVs. — Michael Desjardin

MOVA LiDAX Ultra AWD Series

Robot lawnmowers are getting smarter and smarter. MOVA’s new LiDAX Ultra AWD Series can not only keep your grass trimmed, but using a combination of 360° 3D LiDAR and an AI-enhanced 1080p HDR camera, can avoid all of your kids’ toys in the process — it can identify more than 300 different objects.

One of the neatest features of MOVA’s lawnmower is that, in addition to cutting straight patterns like diamonds or parallel lines, it can also cut shapes in your lawn — like hearts, stars, and moons. We can only imagine that the company will add more shapes as time goes on. And, when it’s not mowing your lawn, the MOVA can even act as a security guard, patrolling your yard and letting you view a live feed from its camera. Can your push mower do that? — Mike Prospero

Samsung Bespoke AI 4-Door Family Hub

What’s for dinner? That perennial question could be a thing of the past, thanks to the food recognition inside Samsung’s premium Bespoke AI 4-Door Family Hub fridge, which has just been given a real boost thanks to the addition of Google’s AI. Now, it uses a combination of Samsung’s own AI and Gemini to better identify everything you put in or take out. It can tag everything from avocados to zucchini, and even knows the difference between regular and diet Coke.

The fridge goes a step further, suggesting meals based on what you have on hand, adding things to grocery lists that you use often, and even letting you know if that milk in the back is starting to go bad. You might never let food go to waste again. — Mike Prospero

LG SIGNATURE Iconic Oven with Gourmet AI

Never overcook anything again! LG’s Signature Iconic Oven has a camera on the inside that, when combined with its Gourmet AI, can identify more than 85 dishes

Gourmet AI, powered by an intelligent AI camera inside the oven cavity that identifies more than 85 distinct dishes and automatically selects the ideal cooking settings to deliver flawless results — removing the complexity from gourmet cooking and placing perfection within effortless reach. Complementing this is the AI Browning feature, which monitors baked goods as they cook and sends a personalized notification through the ThinQ™ app the moment they reach a user's preset level of golden perfection. — Mike Prospero

Aqara FP400

“Help, I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!” Remember those commercials? If you’re caring for an elderly person and want to make sure they’re safe — without the intrusiveness of a security camera — the Aqara FP400 could be it. This wall- or ceiling-mounted device uses mmWave technology to sense the presence of up to 10 people in a room, but that’s just the start.

Using AI, it can detect if each person is walking, sitting, or lying down, and where they are in the room — and if they fell. From there, this Matter-enabled device can trigger all sorts of routines, be it turning on the lights, adjusting the thermostat, unlocking the door, or calling for help.

Its uses go beyond the elderly, too. Imagine if you could just sit down on your couch in the evening, and the FP400 could automatically dim the lights, close the blinds, and turn your TV on to your favorite streaming service — and then automatically pause the movie if you have to run to the bathroom. Now that’s a practical use for AI if we ever saw one. — Mike Prospero

Specialty & Future Tech

Xreal Real3D

Xreal’s Real3D mode debuted alongside the release of its Xreal 1S AR glasses. However, the company then brought this same functionality to the Xreal One and Xreal One Pro AR glasses via a firmware update. What sets Xreal’s implementation of real-time 2D to 3D content conversion apart is that it’s done entirely on the glasses themselves.

The X1 chip inside Xreal’s AR glasses does all the work which helps lower latency across the board. More importantly though, since this conversion is being done on device, you don’t have to worry about DRM getting in the way of watching your favorite shows and movies in 3D. Gaining access to this new dimension via a software update adds even more immersion and makes Xreal’s AR glasses an ideal choice for both productivity and entertainment. — Anthony Spadafora

Norton Neo

Norton is best known for its antivirus software but Neo is a fresh new take on a web browser. It’s built on Chromium so all of your favorite extensions and integrations still work as you’d expect but with useful AI features throughout. When you boot up Neo for the first time, you’re greeted with its calmer and clutter-free Magic Page. Then, instead of your standard address bar, its central command bar Magic Box combines that functionality with an AI chatbot interface. No more typing out URLs, you just tell Neo where you want to go or what you want to find and it intelligently handles the rest.

Norton Neo also includes a bunch of other useful features for a better browsing experience. From auto-organized horizontal and vertical tabs to its Link Peek feature which lets you preview sites in a lightweight overlay, Neo makes web browsing feel much more intentional. Then when you need some extra help, Norton’s Neo chatbot is just a click away and shows up in a sidebar on the right so you don’t have to navigate away from the page you’re on. Norton might be a household name for security but Neo is proof the company isn’t resting on its laurels. — Anthony Spadafora

Mixbook

The hardest part when creating a photo book is getting started. We have so many photos on our phones and in online photo albums, it’s difficult to know where to begin. That’s where Mixbook Studio comes in. A new feature from the company that makes some of the best photo books, MixBook Studio uses AI to help you organize your photos into a compelling narrative, generate captions from the photos, pick the best layouts and themes for your photo book, and even touch up photos that would otherwise be too low-resolution to print.

Mixbook Studio also lets you collaborate with others on your projects which helps ensure everyone’s contributions don’t get overwritten and that the overall feel of the book remains consistent. Most importantly, its AI is aimed at aiding your creativity, not replacing it. — Mike Prospero

I never thought I’d be able to look up in my game room and see a picture of Mona Lisa or the Great Pyramid recreated in pixel form on my ceiling. Thanks to Govee’s new Ceiling Light Ultra, though, I can. But this massive 21-inch smart light can do so much more.

I’ll admit, my smart home journey started small with a few smart bulbs here and there before I graduated to lightstrips. Then I redid my backyard with smart outdoor string lights and gave my son a massive pixelated canvas in his playroom with a smart curtain light — but I was just getting started.

It did take getting the breaker in my home completely redone, but I eventually moved on to hard-wired smart lights. Sure, I did have to cut the power and get comfortable with wiring, but it was absolutely worth it.

Back at CES 2026, I got to see Govee’s Ceiling Light Ultra in person. While impressive on the show floor, it wasn’t until I installed it in my own living room that I truly came to appreciate just how much brighter and bigger it was.

If you’re tired of sitting in a dim, boring room or just want to actually use ‘the big light’ for a change, here’s what it was like installing and using the Govee Ceiling Light Ultra to completely transform my living room.

A familiar yet massive smart light

Now this isn’t my first rodeo with Govee’s hard-wired ceiling lights. In fact, back in October of last year, I swapped out the dated and quite ugly boob lights in my main hallway for a pair of the company’s smart ceiling lights. As such, I wasn’t too surprised when I unboxed the Ceiling Light Ultra.

Inside its massive box, you get the light fixture itself, a mounting plate, and all the hardware you’ll need to install it. One thing I like about Govee’s approach to this is that, in addition to your standard wire nuts, you also get a pair of Wago-style connectors. That way, if you don’t have a lot of slack left on your wires, you can just push them into these connectors and clamp them shut.

Govee’s Ceiling Light Ultra is 21 inches in diameter, 3 inches tall, and is rated for 5,000 lumens. It has a color temperature range of 2700 to 6500 Kelvin, and this means that, in addition to more relaxed yellow light, it can also produce clean white light, which is great for reading, studying, or working. Unlike my smaller ceiling lights, this one has a silver edge to help give it that premium, ultra feel.

When you flip the Ceiling Light Ultra over, you can see the black (hot) and white (neutral) wires at the center. There’s also a clip with a cable to make installation slightly easier (more on that later), and the light’s base plate unscrews so that you can attach that to your ceiling first. Once again, I really like how Govee packages its hard-wired smart lights, as all of the extra hardware is actually tucked away neatly underneath this plate.

With the Govee Ceiling Light Ultra unboxed, it was time to go get my living room ready for the install.

Not quite a simple swap

Now, if you want to follow in my footsteps and swap out your own boob lights with Govee’s smart ceiling lights, it’s a fairly straightforward process. This is because those lights weigh just under three pounds, which means that they’re well under the six-pound limit for what a circular junction box can hold. The Ceiling Light Ultra is a different beast altogether at 11 pounds, and because of this, I had to install it slightly differently.

My living room used to have two separate three-light cluster fans on either side of the room. While I swapped out their traditional candle-style bulbs with smart ones, their uneven placement and dated look — just like with the boob lights — meant they had to go. So before I even started installing Govee’s Ceiling Light Ultra, I took them down, but instead of throwing them out, I relocated one to my office and the other to my son’s bedroom.

With a blank living room ceiling, it was time to start the install. Since my living room was originally a garage, it already had a power outlet on the ceiling, which worked in my favor. Instead of running new wires, I simply took that receptacle down and planned to use its wires for the Ceiling Light Ultra. There was just one problem, though: I needed to put in a new junction box.

Just like with a ceiling fan, your standard old work junction box just won’t be strong enough to hold the Ceiling Light Ultra in place. Instead, you need a fan brace. Since I can access the attic from the living room, I went with a new work fan brace instead of an old work one, as I’d be able to get up there and screw it in.

I cut out a hole in the center of my living room’s ceiling for the fan brace, then came the tricky part. I had to go up in the attic and screw it in between two joists to ensure the Ceiling Light Ultra was fully supported. It was tough, cramped, and challenging, but I got it done. Then I drilled five more smaller holes in the ceiling and inserted wall anchors into each of them to attach the light’s mounting plate.

Remember that clip I mentioned earlier? Well, when installing hard-wired lights — whether they’re traditional or smart — that clip lets you hold the light fixture in place while you wire everything up. Though I like how Govee includes Wago-style connectors, I went with tried and true wire nuts instead for peace of mind.

Once I had everything wired up, I just lined up the Ceiling Light Ultra with the cutouts on its mounting plate, gave it a twist, and voila, I now had a massive smart light right in the center of my living room.

Let there be light (and GIFs)

The previous smart lights I’ve installed around my home have really made a difference, but the Govee Ceiling Light Ultra completely transformed my living room. Instead of two fans with three candle bulbs each at the front and back of the room, I now had a massive light that fully lit up the space. And unlike with those fan lights, I actually wanted to turn this one on and keep it on.

Adding the Ceiling Light Ultra to the Govee app was a breeze, too. I just tapped the Plus icon in the right corner, selected it, connected it to my Wi-Fi, installed a quick update, and I was good to go. Once it was in the app, it was instantly added to Alexa and Google Home, so I could control it with one of the best smart speakers in addition to using my phone.

If you haven’t played around with one of Govee’s smart lights before, there’s quite a lot you can do with them. Of course, you can change their colors, switch between loads of preset scenes, or even sync them with your music. One thing I really like about the Ceiling Light Ultra and the Govee Lightwall I just reviewed is that you actually have several music sync modes to choose from.

As I was taking these pictures of the Ceiling Light Ultra in action, I had synced up to music playing from my Echo Dot smart speaker. There’s a microphone inside the light so it can hear what you’re playing, but you can also have the Govee app pick up what you’re playing right from your phone. It was quite impressive to see the Ceiling Light Ultra put on its own light show while my son jumped around on the couch to the soundtrack from K-Pop Demon Hunters played in the background.

The Ceiling Light Ultra has another more impressive trick up its sleeve that was previously only available on Govee’s curtain-style lights: it can display pictures and even animations. For instance, you can choose from a few popular works of art, like Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, seen above.

I did have to get slightly creative when taking this pic, as I didn’t line up the light with the front of my living room. Then again, my whole street was flooding during my install, and my son did venture up into the attic on his own using the drop-down ladder to check on me while I was installing that brace in the ceiling. To avoid this, you want to make sure that you align one side of the center square with where you’ll be looking at the light when installing its mounting plate. Maybe I’ll go back and fix this, but for my intents and purposes, I’m really happy with how the install turned out.

One other big difference between the Ceiling Light Ultra and my smaller Govee ceiling lights is that you can now easily control the ring of LEDs at its base separately. With those smaller lights, I have to manually select each LED zone to have just the inner edge lit up. The Ceiling Light Ultra adds a separate button for toggling the inner ring on or off. I find this to be quite useful at night when I want some light in my living room, but nothing nearly as bright as the 616 LEDs that make up the main part of the Ceiling Light Ultra.

A big light I haven’t turned off yet

It’s hard to believe it now, but when we first moved in, this room was navy blue with a black chalkboard wall. Last summer, we painted it white to brighten things up a bit and changed that accent wall to forest green, which really made a difference. However, with those old fans on the right side of the room and an unexplained power outlet on the ceiling, it was still far from finished.

Taking those fans down and putting the Govee Ceiling Light Ultra up in the center of the room was the finishing touch to last summer’s remodel. Even with ambient light coming in from the windows on the left, the Ceiling Light Ultra is still quite bright and easily visible. It’s even better at night, too.

Putting in that bracket did take some extra work, but if I decide to take down the Ceiling Light Ultra or put it in another room, I could easily install a large ceiling fan there instead. I’m using a Govee smart tower fan to keep things cool for now, so I don’t think I’ll have to.

It’s one thing screwing in smart bulbs or plugging in a smart lightstrip behind your TV, but hard-wired smart lights really are the endgame. You do have to be careful during the installation process, but Govee’s Ceiling Light Ultra does what no other smart light can do: it doesn’t just add some accent lighting, it actually lights up the entire room. In a 20-foot by 20-foot room like this one, that’s just as impressive as the animated GIFs it displays.

More from Tom's Guide

• I took my gameplay to the next level with AI-synced smart lighting and it's just what my desk setup was missing
• These are the best smart lights you can get right now
• I just installed Govee’s new outdoor Prism lights and they’re the ultimate one-time splurge for year-round holiday decorations

Our homes are now smarter than they've ever been, helping owners and renters alike keep their properties cleaner and more efficient with less effort. Now we're putting a spotlight on the most helpful products in a variety of categories. That could be robot vacuums that keep your carpet tidy or solar lights to make your yard glow.

The Tom's Guide Smart Home Awards 2026 are officially open for nominations. If your product is helping people organise their homes or get the most out of their yards, we want to hear about it.

Award categories

There's no single product that'll ever be the perfect one for every individual. So we're going to give out awards across a variety of categories within the home. Everything from robot vacuums and smart lights to cutting-edge grills and household accessories and gadgets that make your life easier. Below are the different categories for which you can enter; we reserve the right to modify these categories based on the submissions.

Garden and Outdoor

All the gear for keeping on top of yard care all year round, from lawnmowers and pressure washers to power tools that keep your hedges and trees trimmed perfectly. And we’re also celebrating the best of outdoor entertaining, from firepits to solar lights to grills and pizza ovens.

Home Office

For many of us, working from home has become a central part of life and so we want to put the spotlight on products prioritizing both comfort and productivity. Having an efficient and healthy workspace is what we all aspire to, so we’ll be highlighting both regular and standing desks, office chairs and space-saving organizational must-haves.

Sleep

Considering how crucial good sleep is to our lives, it’s vitally important that our homes support the best rest possible. Our awards will spotlight mattresses, pillows, bed frames and even the top gadgets to include on your nightstand to guarantee you a good night’s sleep.

Smart Home 

The best smart devices are those that let you get on with your life without being noticed. From security cameras and Wi-Fi locks to smart light bulbs, we’re celebrating the best gadgets on the market.

Home Appliances

We’re celebrating home appliances that work hard to keep your life running smoothly. From vacuums and air purifiers that keep your home clean and fresh to stand mixers and blenders that are kitchen essentials.

How to enter

Brands can submit products via our online entry form by selecting the appropriate category and following the “Enter Now” buttons on the awards site.

Entry fee: $250 per product, per category

No limit on submissions and products can be entered into multiple categories (additional $250 per category).

Deadline: May 22, 2026

Category winners will be announced at the end of June.

Spring cleaning usually means dusting shelves, organizing closets, and washing windows. But there's one area most people overlook: smart home devices.

With 85% of homeowners now using at least one smart device in their homes, these gadgets have become essential parts of daily life, but they require maintenance just like any other household equipment.

Melissa Mohr, Senior Vice President, at Vivint, a leading U.S. security and smart home company, recommends treating smart devices as part of your spring cleaning checklist to ensure they continue working reliably and securely.

Here are five essential maintenance tasks to refresh your smart home this spring.

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• Want Alexa to do more? Here's how to make your own skills
• Transform your space — 6 easy ways to create a smart home

Since at least 2024, Apple has been rumored to be building a suite of smart home devices that will be powered by an AI-boosted Siri. That line could start with at least seven new devices that could launch this year.

However, there is a big caveat to this list. It all depends on whether Apple can get Siri 2.0 out the door. Apple has promised the Siri overhaul is coming this year, and some of that might be powered by the Apple and Google Gemini partnership that kicks off later this year.

Assuming Siri 2.0 launches, here are seven devices we expect to see Apple release.

New Apple TV 4K

Apple last updated its Apple TV 4K streaming box in 2022, and fans have been waiting for a new one since at least 2024. After four years, it's become the longest gap between refreshes since Apple debuted the streaming device a decade ago.

We're expecting Apple to kit out the next Apple TV with an upgraded chip, possibly an A17 Pro chip, though that rumor is nearly a year old now, so a potentially more powerful chip could be in the cards. The device could also get the N1 chip for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity.

It's been suggested that Siri and Thread connectivity would allow you to use the new Apple TV as a sort of hub for smart devices. This connects with rumors that Apple might release a set-top box with a camera that would allow for FaceTime calls and gesture-based controls. As far back as 2022, it was rumored that Apple might combine the streaming device with a HomePod.

Unlike the rumored HomePod, it's never been clear if Apple is delaying a refresh because of Siri or for some reason, despite the growing gap between updates.

Four different HomePod devices

The HomePod 2 successor could feature a $1,000 robot arm, a wall-mounted touchpad, or maybe just be a new speaker. The rumors have gotten wild. The potential versions include the HomePad or HomePod Touch with a display, a HomePod 3 speaker and a new mini speaker.

The HomePod 3 could feature a 7-inch iPad-like display about the size of "two iPhones side by side." This new HomePod would act as a "command center" that lets you control other smart home devices and be about the same size as the Amazon Echo Hub.

It should have a FaceTime camera for video calls and presence sensors to initiate smart home routines.

All of this would be powered by the new Siri and Apple Intelligence.

It's also possible Apple could release a new HomePod mini. There's been more about the larger HomePod devices, but it has been rumored that a new mini speaker will feature a new chip and audio improvements.

If Apple finally reveals the new HomePod, it likely won't happen until after Siri 2.0 launches this fall with the iPhone 18 family. Apple could announce these devices alongside the iPhones. If not, we might not see an announcement until October or November.

Video Doorbell and Security Camera

On the whole, we haven't seen as many rumors about an Apple video doorbell or security camera, but some have popped up.

At the end of 2024, it was reported that Apple was in the early stages of development on a video doorbell. Allegedly, this doorbell would use Face ID as a way to unlock the door thanks to the Proxima chip.

Following in early 2025, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reported that it was working on a security camera. The camera would have infrared sensors and facial recognition.

"Apple believes users will place cameras throughout their home to help with automation," Gurman said at the time. "That could mean turning lights off when someone leaves a room or automatically playing music liked by a particular family member."

Both would be a big shift for Apple, which currently allows third-party manufacturers to create HomeKit-based accessories, including cameras.

More from Tom's Guide

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It's not even May, and already the New York area is facing temperatures upwards of 85 degrees, thanks to an early heat wave that's bound to break records. When I work from home, it's from my attic, which is insulated, but still gets super-hot and stuffy. Normally, I'd crank my window A/C, but I have yet to pull it out of storage.

Instead, I'm trying out Dreo's new TurboCool Misting Fan 765S, which goes on sale today for $199 at Amazon, and it's already providing me some relief. Here's my first impressions, as well as a look at some of the other products the company announced today.

It's not small

The Dreo TurboCool Misting Fan towers about three feet tall, and has a quasi-futuristic vibe. Towards the top is a circular display that shows fan speed and the status of other settings. You can change these by tapping the buttons on the top of the fan, or with the included remote.

At the bottom is a removable water reservoir; I like that it has a handle, which made it easy to carry after it had been filled with water.

Dreo says that, unlike other misting fans, the water droplets emitted by this fan are much smaller in size — 17μm — so you won't have an issue with water condensing on furniture or electronics. When I held my hand up to the mister, I certainly didn't feel any droplets.

It made me feel a little cooler — even if the room's temperature didn't drop

Dreo claims the fan can reduce temperatures by as much as 10º F; When I turned on the fan to its highest setting, the temperature in my attic was hovering around 84 degrees, as measured by a SwitchBot hub, an Apple HomePod 2, and the IKEA ALPSTUGA air quality monitor.

I immediately felt cooler thanks to the flowing air, but after 20 minutes, the temperature readings of all three devices hadn't budged. In fact, over the course of the afternoon, the temperature crept up by a few degrees. There's only so much a fan can do.

At its top speed, the fan noise was louder than my Midea U air conditioner, but quiet enough as to not be distracting.

I'm going to keep testing out the fan throughout the summer to see how it fares as the temperatures climb even higher.

Dreo's other new cooling products

Dreo TurboPoly Fan 765S

This will be Dreo's first Matter-supported product. It will oscillate 150° horizontally and 100° vertically, and provide up to 1,500 CFM of airflow and a reach of 120 feet. The company says that will operate at around 20dB, though we imagine that's at its lowest setting. This pedestal fan can be adjusted from 39 to 44 inches tall, or sit on a squatter base if you're using it on a tabletop. The fan will cost $159, and is expected to ship in the second quarter of this year.

Dreo Portable Air Conditioner 740S

This portable air conditioner will be the first from Dreo to use both inverter technology — far more efficient than older methods of cooling — as well as a dual-hose design that will help cool your home more efficiently. It has a 10,000 BTU capacity, which the company says is good for spaces of up to 400 square feet. It also has a CEER rating of 12, also very good compared to the best smart air conditioners we've tested. You'll also be able control it via app, Alexa, or Google Assistant — unfortunately, it does not support Matter. The air conditioner will go on sale in May; pricing has yet to be announced.

More from Tom's Guide

• Summer weather in April? 15 cooling products to beat the unexpected East Coast heat wave
• How to cool down your living room without AC — 7 simple layout changes
• 9 essential tips to stay cool during a heatwave

Govee’s new Lightwall takes the idea of smart curtain lights and flips it on its head. You still get a giant, customizable pixel-art tapestry, but it’s no longer tethered to a permanent installation in front of your windows or garage door. Instead, the Lightwall is a rugged, self-standing display built for backyards, parties, and events.

While I skipped Govee’s original curtain lights, I currently have the Govee Curtain Lights Pro installed in my son’s playroom. They’ve been a permanent fixture for months now, turning a static window into a customizable canvas of 960 LEDs with hundreds of preset scenes to choose from.

With the new Lightwall, Govee has upped the ante, jumping from 960 to a whopping 1,536 LEDs. Since these pixels are packed tighter together, animated GIFs appear significantly clearer. They’re smoother, too, thanks to a 35 frames-per-second refresh rate. But the best part is the versatility: in 10 to 15 minutes, I can set up the Lightwall and instantly transform my backyard or any outdoor space into a dynamic canvas of light.

I’ve really enjoyed testing the Lightwall and, just like with the Curtain Lights Pro, I’m impressed with all of the pictures, text, and animated GIFs it can display. However, at $449, this is Govee’s most expensive curtain light yet — and even with all those extra LEDs, you’re better off turning it on at night than during the day.

My Govee Lightwall review will help you decide if this is the best smart light for your backyard or if it makes more sense to spend less on a set of Govee’s more permanent curtain lights instead.

Govee Lightwall: Cheat Sheet

• What is it? A portable and customizable smart light curtain that can display text, images and even animated GIFs.
• Who is it for? Smart home enthusiasts with money to spend, renters that want a less permanent smart curtain light and small business owners that want to set it up at events.
• What does it cost? The Govee Lightwall costs $449 on Govee’s website and Amazon.
• What do we like? How easy and quick it is to set up and break down, the strong, sturdy frame, its higher pixel density, its large display area and the included carrying case.
• What don’t we like? Its higher price compared to Govee’s previous curtain lights and that the LEDs still aren’t bright enough to be seen in direct sunlight.

Govee Lightwall: Specs

Govee Lightwall: The ups

Although the Govee Lightwall is a brand new device, it builds on the company’s previous smart curtain lights by adding a portable twist. However, its larger size and just how easily everything fits into the included carrying case is what impressed me the most.

Perfectly portable

Unlike the other Govee smart lights I’ve tested in the past, the Lightwall comes in a plain brown box with a small picture on the front. After opening it, I slid a large black carrying case with a handle out of the box and immediately realized I was dealing with something else entirely.

The strands of LEDs and the aluminum tubes that make up the Lightwall’s frame were neatly packed away in black fabric sleeves. At the front of the case, zippered compartments hold the power adapter and all of the accessories needed to put the Lightwall together.

Govee always does a great job with its packaging, but the way this massive 8.5 x 6.2-foot smart light fits so perfectly into such a compact case completely took me by surprise.

An almost tool-free assembly

With everything out of the case, it was time to start putting the Lightwall together. I did have to refer to the large paper instruction manual a few times, but for the most part, the setup process was streamlined and easy enough that even a smart home newbie could manage.

I started by connecting the poles that form either end of the Lightwall’s frame, a process very similar to pitching a tent. I then used the included screwdriver and bolts to attach the metal base plates to the bottom of each pole.

From there, I placed the two end poles 8.5 feet apart and laid the long top pole across them. The Lightwall is made of three separate sections of LEDs, which are secured to the top pole using detachable brackets.

Once the Lightwall was standing, I connected each section of LEDs at their base and used the included clear plastic clips to perfectly align the strands.

I’ll admit I had a few things out of place the first time I set up the Lightwall inside my house. However, after breaking everything down and reassembling it in my backyard, the process was much smoother. After doing this a couple of times, I’m confident you could easily put up or take down the entire display in 10 minutes or less.

Now for the fun part: turning it on and bringing this massive pixel-art tapestry to life.

A customizable big-screen canvas

If you’ve never seen one of Govee’s curtain lights in person, they’re a real sight to behold. After the Govee logo flashed across the display, I was greeted with an animated series of hearts that showed off exactly what the Lightwall is capable of. From there, I tapped the "plus" button in the Govee app, which walked me through the rest of the pairing process.

Just like many of the company’s other smart lights, the Lightwall can be controlled via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. The latter is a great addition here; if you bring the Lightwall to a friend’s house or set it up at an event, you don’t have to worry about joining a local Wi-Fi network to have full control over its 1,536 LEDs.

Within the Govee app, there are over 200 preset scenes ranging from Animals and Art to emojis in the "Funny" category. With a single tap, you can switch between them, display a single color, or choose from 10 different music sync modes. You can also use Govee’s DreamView feature to sync the Lightwall with the rest of your indoor or outdoor smart lights for a more cohesive light show.

To test the Lightwall’s higher LED count and tighter pixel spacing, I started with a few of my favorite scenes from the Curtain Lights Pro. Van Gogh’s Starry Night looked noticeably better on this higher-resolution display, as did animated scenes like the spaceship flying through the stars.

I also tested the Display feature, which is one of my favorites on the Pro model. With a tap, the Lightwall transforms from a blank canvas into a giant digital clock, a weather station, or even a timer across its 7.9-foot screen. From Santa to pumpkins, holidays are where the Lightwall and the rest of Govee's curtain lights truly shine though.

With the preset scenes out of the way, it was time to move on to the DIY features and make the canvas my own.

Just a prompt away

Within the Govee app, you have full manual control over the Lightwall, with the ability to draw your own scenes or write out custom text. However, if you’re short on time or feeling less creative, you don’t have to do the heavy lifting yourself.

By tapping the “AI” section next to “Illumination,” you can pull up Govee’s AI Lighting Bot 2.0. This chatbot can generate entirely new scenes from scratch based on a simple prompt. I’ve used this in the past to create The Grinch for a holiday party, and it’s surprisingly good at rendering well-known characters.

While hanging out in the backyard with my son, I asked the AI Lighting Bot 2.0 to create a scene featuring Jack Skellington from The Nightmare Before Christmas — even though it’s spring, the holidays are always on my mind. In about 60 to 90 seconds, the scene was generated and ready to be applied to the Lightwall. The Pumpkin King was clearly visible with animated movements to boot.

If a creation doesn’t turn out exactly as you imagined, you can re-prompt the chatbot or ask it to tweak the initial design. If you’d rather skip the AI altogether, you can also upload your own images or GIFs and watch them come to life on the Lightwall’s high-density grid.

Govee Lightwall: The downs

The Govee Lightwall represents brand new territory for smart curtain lights, but this one-of-a-kind display isn’t without its downsides. Most notably, its images and animations only truly shine after the sun goes down, and at $449, this certainly isn't an impulse buy for your smart home.

Not quite daytime ready

Since Govee’s Lightwall has an IP65 weather-resistance rating, I felt comfortable leaving it out in my backyard overnight. When I turned it back on the following afternoon, it certainly lit up, but I found myself squinting to make out the colors across its LEDs.

As is the case with most smart lights, the Lightwall works best at dusk or at night when its LEDs aren’t competing with direct sunlight. While you can make out pictures, text, and GIFs if the display is in the shade or used indoors with the blinds drawn, this is a device designed for the dark. To see it in all its splendor, you'll want to time your setup for when the sun is going down.

More investment than upgrade

Govee’s original Curtain Lights were an instant hit, largely because they launched at a very affordable $129 price. While the price has increased gradually with subsequent models, even at $199, the Curtain Lights Pro are still within impulse-buy territory for many. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case with the Govee Lightwall.

At $449, the Lightwall is more of an investment than a simple upgrade. Given its portable nature, it’s almost an entirely different category of product. You often pay a premium for convenience, and that’s certainly true here. However, depending on your needs and living situation, the higher price could absolutely be worth it.

For starters, unlike the Curtain Lights 2 or the Pro, the Lightwall doesn’t require a permanent or semi-permanent installation. Instead, you can put it up for New Year’s and take it down right after the ball drops. This makes it an ideal choice for renters who want a high-end smart home experience without drilling holes in their walls or risking damage to their curtains.

The other more likely use case I envision for the Lightwall is for small business owners. If you’re a DJ, photographer, or event planner looking to add a touch of fun to your next gig, this is a game-changer. In 10 to 15 minutes, you can have a customizable backdrop or a pixel-art style digital display with your contact info that is not only clearly visible but will draw exactly the kind of attention you’re looking for.

For smart home enthusiasts like myself, you might still be better off getting another set of Govee’s standard curtain lights — or even multiple sets — to recreate the larger canvas you get with the Lightwall.

Govee Lightwall: Verdict

The Govee Lightwall is an impressive piece of hardware, thanks to its expansive, pixel-dense canvas and its uniquely portable design. While installing the Curtain Lights Pro took me most of an evening, I had the Lightwall unboxed and fully assembled in just 20 minutes — even while stopping to take pictures of the process.

At $449, the Lightwall is undeniably expensive. However, if you value convenience and portability over a permanent installation, it is a worthy investment. Likewise, if you plan to use it for a small business or professional events rather than just casual get-togethers, the value proposition becomes even stronger.

Having tested both the Curtain Lights Pro and the new Lightwall, I’m excited to see how Govee iterates on this technology — likely just in time for the next holiday season. For now, I’m heading out to the backyard to pack up the Lightwall for our next big family party and potentially as a backdrop for my wife’s next school dance.

Like most security companies, Ecobee, which is best known for making one of the best smart thermostats (as well as a video doorbell and home security camera), charges a monthly subscription to use all the features of its products. For example, if you want to save footage from its video doorbell, it'll cost you $5 per month.

Also like many security companies, Ecobee is changing its subscriptions; while pricing remains the same, what you'll get for your money is changing. Here's a look at Ecobee's new pricing tiers and when they'll go into effect.

Similar to its current offerings, Ecobee is going to offer three tiers:

• Core: free, built‑in protection
• Plus: enhanced awareness and alerts for 1 camera
• Advanced: full‑home coverage for unlimited cameras

The biggest change is that professional monitoring will no longer be available as part of the company's $10/month package.

If you want 24/7 monitoring, which includes professional response to both break-ins and smoke/fire events, it will now cost an extra $10/month. If you want 24/7 monitoring for just smoke detection, it will cost an extra $5/month.

While the new plans will go into effect immediately, existing customers will be able to maintain their current plans until December 31, 2026, at which point they'll have to choose one of the new plans.

Obviously, it's a bit of a bummer to lose professional monitoring at such an affordable rate. Now, if you want professional monitoring, it will cost you $20/month total, which brings Ecobee's pricing in line with some of the other major players, such as Ring and Wyze, which also charge $20/month for professional monitoring.

While neither of those companies have a smart thermostat, they do offer more options when it comes to video doorbells and security cameras, which makes them a better option if you're outfitting your home.

More from Tom's Guide

• Google vs. Ring vs. Arlo: We put 6 security cameras to the test to find the most accurate AI
• Best home security cameras
• Best video doorbells

Many of the best home security cameras on the market today call themselves "smart," but there's a massive difference between a camera that fires off alerts every time a tree branch moves and one that can actually tell you what's happening at your home.

Cameras these days use AI to better analyze motion and classify what they're seeing or hearing, and many of them are leaning into generative AI for things like summaries and descriptions, so you can better wade through the hours of footage they record.

Of course, AI has become a bit of a buzzword, so I wanted to compare several cameras to see if they actually delivered on the promise of using AI to improve home security. To do so, I tested cameras from six major smart home companies — Google Nest, Arlo, Wyze, Ring, Blink, and Eufy — to see how they use AI, and if it’s worth the extra expense.

The contenders

We deliberately picked models from each brand that carry the company's most capable AI feature set. In other words, while we didn't necessarily use the most expensive model that each manufacturer has to offer, we specifically made sure that it had the same AI features.

To be sure, many companies' AI features work off-camera, so the particular type of hardware you choose doesn't factor in as much.

Here's a list of the cameras we tested:

• Google Nest Cam Indoor (Wired, 3rd Gen)
• Arlo Essential
• Wyze Cam v4 Pan Tilt
• Ring Indoor Cam Plus
• Blink Mini 2K+
• Eufy EufyCam 3C

Basic detection: Motion, person, and zones

Most smart security cameras have had some kind of smart detection for a while now. For example, they all have things like motion zones, which let you filter out alerts for some areas of the video (like the street in front of your house), while keeping alerts for others (like your driveway).

Three of the six cameras we tested offer both person detection and activity zones completely free. Google Nest handles person detection on-device and lets you customize activity zones at no cost through the Google Home app. To be clear, this "person detection" is not the "Familiar Faces" feature, which is person-recognition. That runs through the Cloud.

Wyze also has free person detection and activity zones right out of the box, with basic detection handled on the camera itself. And Eufy runs person detection locally on its HomeBase 3 hub with free activity zone support, no subscription required.

The remaining three cameras need a paid plan before they do much beyond simple motion alerts. Arlo locks person detection and activity zones behind its Arlo Secure subscription, starting at $7.99 per month for Arlo Secure Basic. Without that, the Arlo Essential is basically just a motion camera with a nice app. Ring is slightly more generous since person detection (part of the "Smart Alerts" feature) is locked behind a plan, but basic activity zones are included for free. Blink is the same as Ring, offering basic motion zones for free, but requiring a plan for person detection.

It's also worth pointing out that on-device processing, which Google, Wyze, and Eufy use for basic detection, generally delivers faster alerts since the video doesn't have to make a round trip to a cloud server before your phone buzzes. In practice it’s usually only a difference of a few seconds, so it's not a huge deal, but it's enough to push some in one direction or another.

Advanced object detection: Vehicles, animals, and packages

Once you move past basic detection, the next level of smarts is classifying specific object types — vehicles, animals, and packages. These detections are more specialized, but they also require more cloud power — which is why they're almost always locked behind a subscription.

Almost always, anyway. Google Nest is the clear leader for free advanced detection. Vehicle and animal detection are both included at no cost, processed on-device. Package detection and facial recognition (called Familiar Faces), though, requires a Google Home Premium Standard subscription at $10 per month. Wyze bundles vehicle, package, and pet detection into its Cam Plus+ tier for just $2.99 per month — easily the cheapest paid option available and arguably the best value in this entire comparison if you want multi-object classification. Ring's Solo plan at $4.99 per month (for one camera only, $9.99 per month for multiple) adds package and vehicle detection, though animal detection isn't explicitly offered even in paid tiers.

Arlo supports vehicle, animal, and package detection, but it's all gated behind the Arlo Secure subscription. The features work well enough, but you're paying at least $7.99 per month to touch any of them. Eufy also offers all of these features, and they're all processed on its HomeBase 3 without the need for a subscription. Blink is the weakest performer in this category — it simply doesn't offer advanced object classification beyond person and vehicle detection, even in its paid tiers.

In testing, I found that all of the advanced detection features worked pretty well. At this point, detecting things like packages is kind of solved — most security cameras can do it without too much effort.

Smart sound and hazard detection

AI isn't just about analyzing what a camera sees. Several cameras in our comparison can also listen for specific sounds and classify them, which can be useful for catching emergencies like smoke alarms, glass breaking, or carbon monoxide detectors going off. Sound detection can come in handy, especially when it comes to things like smoke alarms. Security cameras can basically bridge older dumb smoke alarms and smart home ecosystems, alerting you to smoke detection without needing to upgrade to a smart smoke alarm.

Wyze offers the deepest sound detection suite of any camera we tested, and it's not particularly close. Its Cam Plus+ tier ($2.99/month) covers glass breaking, smoke and CO alarms, barking, crying, and even gunshot detection. No other camera here offers barking, crying, or gunshot classification at any price. That's pretty good for what is the cheapest subscription of the set. Google Nest can detect glass break, smoke alarm, and CO alarm sounds, but these require the Home Premium Standard subscription at $10 per month. Arlo covers the same trio of hazard sounds — glass break, smoke, and CO — also behind its Secure subscription at $7.99 per month.

Ring, Blink, and Eufy don't currently offer specific AI-powered sound classification. Ring and Blink cameras have microphones and can record audio, but they're not analyzing sounds to identify particular events. Eufy has some sound-detection features on some of its cameras, but it doesn't offer sound-detection on its HomeBase 3, which has its most recent and advanced AI features.

Facial recognition and generative features

Generative AI features are the most recent additions to security systems. Facial recognition lets a camera identify specific people and handle alerts differently depending on whether someone is a known family member or a stranger. Generative AI features, built on large language models, open up capabilities like natural language video search ("Show me when the dog was on the couch yesterday") and AI-written event descriptions.

Eufy is the standout for facial recognition, and it pulls this off without any subscription, just like its other AI features. Its "BionicMind" system processes facial recognition entirely locally on the HomeBase 3, distinguishing between family members and strangers. Eufy claims 99.9% accuracy, and in testing it did seem to work very well. The fact that it all runs locally, meaning your face data never leaves your home, is definitely good too, for a facial recognition feature. No other camera here offers subscription-free facial recognition.

I found Google to offer the best-quality generative features. For starters, those features work with Google Home, which is a much more built-out ecosystem than the likes of Eufy or Wyze. They also make use of Gemini, which is considered to be one of the better large-language models out there, and in my testing provided pretty accurate and helpful results, both in conversation, and when it came to descriptions. It also seemed to get better with a little guidance. After initially setting up familiar faces, it regularly recognized me as an “unfamiliar face,” but after managing the faces a few times and merging my “unfamiliar” face with my recognized one, it got much better.

Pricing

Subscriptions range in price. Eufy comes at $0 per month for its full AI suite. Wyze's entry-level AI tier comes in at just $2.99 per month ($19.99/year if you pay annually), making it the cheapest paid option. Ring starts at $4.99 per month, Arlo at $7.99, and Google at $10.

Blink's Plus Plan at $11.99 per month is arguably the worst value in this whole comparison, considering how little AI functionality it actually unlocks compared to the competition. At the top end, generative AI and extended storage push Google, Ring, and Wyze into the $20 per month range, or roughly $200–$240 per year. Arlo's premium tier hits $24.99 per month, which is the most expensive option we tested.

Google has "Familiar Faces" through its Home Premium Standard tier at $10 per month, using cloud-based processing. Jump up to the Home Premium Advanced tier at $20 per month and you get generative AI features powered by Gemini, including AI video descriptions, daily activity summaries, and natural language video search. Google also enables natural language automations at this tier, letting you build smart home routines described in plain English. That can be pretty handy for those who don't want to dive into manual home automation, and it works pretty well.

Ring has facial recognition and generative AI with its AI Pro tier at $19.99 per month. You get cloud-based facial recognition, AI event descriptions, and natural language video search. Ring has also started testing "Unusual Event" alerts in beta, where the AI learns normal patterns for your camera and flags anomalies — someone lingering near a door, activity at an odd hour, that kind of thing. It's an ambitious idea, though its beta status means real-world reliability is still a work in progress.

Wyze may be a budget offering, but it still boasts some great AI features. Its Cam Unlimited Pro tier ($19.99/month) has Friendly Faces identification, natural language search, and AI descriptions. Wyze also offers Friendly Faces at a lower Cam Unlimited tier ($9.99/month) without the generative capabilities.

Arlo goes a different route. Its Secure Plus subscription ($19.99/month) enables user-trained custom object detection, where you teach the camera to recognize specific objects or scenarios. It's a unique feature, but it takes more effort from the user than pre-trained models do. Arlo also offers generated event captions. Blink offers no facial recognition or generative AI features at any tier.

Arlo, Blink, and Ring lean heavily on the cloud. Arlo and Blink require cloud upload for essentially all AI analysis, and neither delivers much useful functionality without a subscription. Ring handles its advanced AI in the cloud too, though its Ring Edge feature (which requires an Alarm Pro base station) enables some local processing and storage — but that's an additional hardware purchase. Without subscriptions, Arlo and Blink cameras offer near-zero AI utility, which makes their actual cost considerably higher than the sticker price might suggest.

Verdict

There's no single "best" AI security camera here — it really depends on what matters most to you. But three clear winners stand out.

For the most polished AI experience, Google is the clear winner – though it costs more than some alternatives. The generative AI features work quite well, are easy to use in the Google Home app, and Gemini surfaces good results overall, in a conversational way. Google also has audio detection and other non-generative AI features, making it well-rounded.

If you value things like generative AI descriptions, and are willing to sacrifice some polish and conversational features for a lower price, Wyze is the way to go – though don’t expect a “chat” experience like you’ll get with Google. It still has AI descriptions and search tools, and while they're not as accurate or as detailed as Gemini, they still worked quite well.

If you don't necessarily need generated features at all, but still want AI-based object recognition and a privacy-first experience — and don’t want to pay a monthly subscription — then it's worth looking at Eufy cameras that work with the HomeBase 3.

Blink and Arlo are tough to recommend on AI merits alone. Blink's total lack of advanced object detection even in paid tiers makes it a hard sell, and Arlo's insistence on gating basic features behind subscriptions undermines what is otherwise solid hardware. Ring lands somewhere in between — its AI Pro tier isn't bad, but $19.99 per month is a lot to pay for features that are still partially in beta and available for less elsewhere.

All of these cameras get regular software updates, so the competitive picture could shift. But as things stand right now, if AI features are your priority, the smart money is on Eufy for free, Wyze for cheap, or Google for best-in-class.

More from Tom's Guide

• Best video doorbells
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• I've been using this solar-powered security camera for 7 months

Having one of the best robot vacuums can make light work of household chores, saving you effort.

The Eureka J15 Max Ultra Robot Vacuum is more than just a sweeper; it's a versatile multitool. This unit handles both vacuuming and mopping, and frees up your time. In addition, its advanced base cleans the robot itself, reducing the need for manual maintenance. While it's a win-win on paper, I was keen to put this pricey robot vacuum to work.

After trying the Eureka J15 Max Ultra in my home, here's how the robot vacuum fared in everyday testing.

Eureka J15 Max Ultra robot vacuum Review: Price and availability

The J15 Max Ultra costs $1,199.99 and is available for purchase now on Eureka’s website. Plus, Eureka offers a two-year warranty, 30-day returns, and free shipping. You can also make your purchase using Shop, which allows you to pay over time.

Eureka J15 Max Ultra robot vacuum Review: Setup

Out of the box, the J15 Max Ultra is quick and easy to assemble. Setup is also intuitive and fast once you download the app, though you’ll need to go through the usual tedious process of creating an account and password before you get rolling.

I like how the J15 maps out your home using its intelligent strategizing system, Intelliview AI 2.0, and you’ll be able to see the map it draws in the Eureka app.

Finally, the J15 Max Ultra integrates Alexa, Siri, and Google Assistant, so you have plenty of options for integrating your robot vacuum into existing smart ecosystems if you have them.

Eureka J15 Max Ultra robot vacuum Review: Design

The J15 Max Ultra comprises two major units: the base, and the robot itself. The base is a bit taller and wider than other robot vacuums in the category, largely because it has two water tanks built into its base unit. The J15 also houses a lot of impressive features that more basic units don’t have.

For instance, its wet functions include, auto mop washing, auto drying, auto clean water refilling and dirty water draining. While its dry functions have auto dust emptying, base tray cleaning and auto dirt collection.

Additionally, the base tray auto-clean function features a built-in scraper that cleans the tray and moves all waste to its own dedicated collection area. There’s also a high-density FlexiRazor blade system that operates at 400 strokes per minute. This cleans the robot thoroughly and is intended to reduce the amount of time you’ll need to spend manually cleaning any of the robot’s parts.

Designed to both vacuum and mop your floors, it features an aluminum fan structure with a max suction of 22,000Pa. Which, according to Eureka, is double the suction power of leading models. The SweepExtend brushes extend outward to get into corners and along baseboards. Similarly, the ScrubExtend feature allows the scrubbers to reach outward in an effort to eliminate missed spots.

What's more, the robot can overcome big carpet and floor transitions using the Allroad Technology. According to Eureka, the robot can get over standard thresholds up to 3.3cm tall, and double-layer thresholds up to 4.5cm tall. It will also avoid unplanned obstacles using the Dual Vision System, which combines FHD vision sensors as well as infrared sensors. There is even a 'pet area' setting, and you can visit with your pets when you’re not at home by tapping into the robot’s cameras. Who wouldn't?

There aren't any accessories for the J15 Max Ultra for sale on the Eureka website. But you can order replacement parts as necessary.

Eureka J15 Max Ultra robot vacuum Review: Performance

First, I charged the J15 Max Ultra, pairing it to the base, while it performed the auto-mapping function. It was an easy process, and the robot automatically mapped the entire upper floor of my house in about ten minutes (about 1,100 sq ft). After accounting for obstacles like furniture and other areas the vacuum could not access, the footprint for cleaning totaled about 770 square feet.

Next, I set the vacuum up to mop and vacuum. Once it’s in action, the J15 Max Ultra will adapt its cleaning methods for different carpets and flooring, using its high-precision sensors. It even identifies liquid spills and adapts its cleaning to effectively mop up. Also, it will lift the roller brush, rotate to get the mops out front, and ensure it cleans the mess without spreading it.

With that said, the J15 Max Ultra took a very, very long time to complete both tasks, largely because I have a lot of hardwood in my house. In fact, mopping just the bedroom and hallway took well over an hour, so I interrupted the process and sent the robot back to its base. That’s because I wanted to get a sense of how long it took just to vacuum the upper floor of my house, which is the function I intended to use most often. So I let it charge back up to full power and then set it on its way.

It vacuumed the upper floor in 72 minutes, and drained the battery down to 65%. Strangely, it only cleaned 602 square feet, skipping over about 168 square feet. I can only guess that it sensed obstacles and avoided those spaces.

When I went to inspect, the vacuum had done a great job of cleaning up dog fur, dust, dirt, and other particles. But it did miss some spots in corners and along baseboards. It wasn’t a lot, but it was enough to irk me and send it out to clean those spots again.

In subsequent cleanings, the robot did clean more square footage and miss fewer spots, though it does seem to consistently miss dirt in corners despite its brushes reaching far out from the robot body.

It also gets 'hung up' on certain things in my house, like wires from lamps and corners of carpets. And while it only happened a few times, it was almost always on my high-pile (almost shag) carpet in my home office.

Although the robot functions fairly quietly — much more quietly than my upright vacuum, which drowns out the TV, radio, and basic conversation in the house — it’s still loud enough that you’ll notice it running. However, it’s a fair trade-off for the convenience of having the robot do the hard work, especially the mopping.

Speaking of which, I tried the mopping feature again, and while it does a great job, expect that process to take a long time if you have a lot of hardwood floors. In fact, it took almost two hours to mop the kitchen, living room, and hallway — about 350 square feet.

If you do have mainly hard flooring or prefer speedy results, you may want to opt for the Ecovacs Deebot X8 Pro Omni robot vacuum that gave a stellar performance in our tests.

Eureka J15 Max Ultra robot vacuum Review: App

The Eureka app provides all the controls you need for the J15 Max Ultra, and I liked that it's easy to use. There’s plenty of functionality to get the most out of your unit, like pre-planned sessions (full cleaning, sweeping after meals, sweeping before mopping, etc). You can also choose to simply mop or just sweep.

Additionally, you can opt to clean your entire house or just specific zones. The J15 Max Ultra automatically sensed various rooms in my house and set up each as its own zone, so if I want to vacuum the kitchen after meals, it’s easy to do just that with the tap of a button.

The app will track how much square footage the vacuum has cleaned, where it encountered obstacles that may have adversely affected its cleaning ability, the total time it spent cleaning, and the current battery life. And you can monitor the base station as well, noting the tank levels, self-cleaning processes, and much more. Overall, it’s a well-designed and very useful app that I had no trouble using.

Eureka J15 Max Ultra robot vacuum Review: Verdict

The J15 Max Ultra offers a ton of features for a whole-home cleaning. I love that I can both mop and vacuum, though it does take quite a long time to perform both tasks. The mopping feature in particular is quite the investment of time, best done when you’re not at home.

The vacuum does an excellent job for the most part, though it could be better in tight corners and along baseboards. And I love that it’s self-cleaning and very low-maintenance. What's more, the pet area feature works wonderfully, doing a deeper clean where my dog tends to hang out the most.

The Eureka app also makes the J15 Max Ultra super simple to use. I love how quickly I can choose what kind of cleaning I want to do, whenever I want to do it. I can schedule cleanings too, taking even more of the onus off of me to keep the house clean.

Overall, this is a solid unit that offers lots of flexibility and low maintenance. It’s slightly hampered by its consistency of missing spots in corners, and the price is quite high. But otherwise, the J15 Max Ultra is a solid investment for set-it-and-forget-it daily cleaning.

Last fall, Ring updated its wired video doorbells with a new, sleeker design and more powerful 2K and 4K retinal cameras; now, the company is refreshing its battery-powered doorbells with similar capabilities, so that homeowners who need the flexibility of a non-hardwired device (or merely want a battery backup) will be able to get higher-resolution feeds from their doorstep.

In total, Ring is launching three new battery-powered doorbells, the least expensive of which is just $99, and it's also refreshing its cheapest video doorbell, the Ring Wired Doorbell, which will cost just $79.

The naming conventions of the new models — Ring Battery Doorbell Pro (2nd gen), Ring Battery Doorbell Plus (2nd gen) and Ring Battery Doorbell (2nd gen) follows that of the ones they're replacing, so there shouldn't be much confusion over an upgrade path if you're ready for a change.

Here's the lowdown on each model.

Pricing and availability

All four Ring doorbells go on sale today (March 25), and will be priced as follows:

• Ring Battery Doorbell Pro (2nd Gen): $249.99
• Ring Battery Doorbell Plus (2nd Gen): $179.99
• Ring Battery Doorbell (2nd Gen): $99.99
• Ring Wired Doorbell (2nd Gen): $79.99

The biggest differences

Like the Ring Wired Doorbell Pro (3rd gen), the Ring Battery Doorbell Pro (2nd gen) will have a 4K Retinal camera, so you'll be able to get the sharpest picture out of the three models. It will also have a removable battery, so you can recharge it without having to remove the entire unit from your front door.

The Ring Battery Doorbell Plus and Ring Battery Doorbell will both have 2K cameras, similar to the Ring Wired Doorbell Plus (2nd gen). However, only the Battery Doorbell Plus will have a removable battery. This is similar to the previous generation models, where only the Plus version had a battery that could be removed from the unit.

A new budget wired doorbell, too

Ring is also updating its least expensive video doorbell. The Ring Wired Doorbell is being replaced with the — you guessed it — Ring Wired Doorbell (2nd gen). This model will have 2K resolution and sell for just $79, making it the most affordable doorbell in the company's lineup.

In the past, we've been hesitant to recommend this product, because the first-gen Wired Doorbell did not work with a home's existing doorbell chime. Unfortunately, the second-gen model also does not work with built-in chimes, so you'll need to purchase a separate plug-in chime. Ring sells a combo of the doorbell and chime for $99.

Outlook

Ever since Ring released the 4K and 2K video doorbells in the fall, it was only a matter of time until it refreshed the rest of its lineup. The new, sleeker design of the video doorbells will be welcome, considering the company has had the same look since nearly its inception.

The addition of higher resolution cameras to its entire lineup means that Ring will be able to better compete with the best video doorbells, though it should be noted that unlike options from Nest, Wyze, and Eufy, you'll need to sign up for a Ring subscription in order to save video.

For those already in the Ring ecosystem whose video doorbells are showing their age, this upgrade should have you set for another five years at least.

More from Tom's Guide

• We've tested every Ring video doorbell, and this is the one you should get
• Best video doorbells
• I just upgraded to a smart lock with built-in video doorbell camera — and it’s a game changer

The best robot vacuums seem to undergo substantial evolution every couple of years, and Dyson seems to be at the forefront of the latest shift. The company's new Spot+Scrub AI robot vacuum features lasers that help it detect stains and clean them. After making the media rounds, including our Spot+Scrub Ai review, it's available to buy from popular retailers like Amazon, Best Buy, and even Dyson's website.

While the most exciting aspect is the fancy laser, Dyson also included some useful features like a new self-cleaning roller mop (something we've seen on other robot vacuums like the Ecovacs Deebot X8 Omni) and a multifunction dock.

We gave the new Dyson robot vacuum a 4-star rating, but it wasn't available to purchase at the time. Now that you can actually take the vacuum home, it's worth grabbing if you're looking for a high-end option to clean your home.

One of the things we really liked was how hard it worked on dried-on stains. A lot of robot vacuums will make a single pass over stains and be none the wiser. With Dyson's new offering being "aware" of stains, it will keep going back and working on them until they're as close to completely removed as possible.

It uses AI to recognize and avoid obstacles like socks and wires. If you've used a robot vacuum, you know they love to suck up wires, so one that promises to avoid the pitfalls of cord-eating sounds exciting.

More from Tom's Guide

• Are cordless vacuum cleaners worth it? Here are the pros and cons
• Check out these 5 things you need to know before buying a Dyson vacuum cleaner
• And here's how to clean a Dyson vacuum cleaner

Rumors about a robust Apple smart home hub, possibly dubbed the HomePad, have been rolling around the Apple-sphere for a couple of years. Unfortunately, this device has been repeatedly delayed thanks to Apple's ongoing struggles with AI and the long-awaited Siri 2.0 revamp.

Now though, a pair of new leaks indicate that the HomePad has been delayed yet again, but they also revealed several potential new features.

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reported that Apple delayed the smart home hub to "later this year" because of Apple's struggles with AI. Allegedly, Apple wanted to release the hub this month alongside the revamped Siri 2.0 that was supposed to be released with iOS 26.4.

Testing delays pushed that launch back again though.

According to Gurman, the device itself has been ready for "several months," but the AI software issues have scuttled release plans. He now claims that Apple wants to launch the device in September, possibly alongside the iPhone 18 Pro models and iPhone Fold.

That appears to agree with a leak from X user Kosutami, who suggested that the HomePad would launch this Fall.

What can the HomePad do?

We know a bit about the device and what Apple wants it to do with AI.

Kosutami posted recently that the HomePad might feature a MagSafe wall mount which would allow you to move it between your wall and a base.

The device is supposed to have a 7-inch display and look like an iPad attached to a speaker base. Gurman claims that Apple has several Home devices in the works, including a display-less version, new Apple TV hardware, and a version with a 9-inch display connected to a robotic arm.

AI-powered Siri integration is supposed to be a major part of how the device works. It would tap your personal information to fulfill requests from controlling other smart home devices to acting as an Alexa-esque chatbot.

Apple reportedly wants to develop an entire smart home ecosystem. But again, the issue is that it's all based around tvOS software that requires Siri to work better. Apple has yet to crack AI shown in its desperate partnerships with OpenAI and later this year, integrating Google's Gemini model into Siri.

If Apple can finally figure it out, we should see the HomePad later this year. If not, we'll report on any other delays as they happen, so stay tuned to Tom's Guide for all the latest Apple news.

More from Tom's Guide

• I tried the new Studio Display XDR, and it’s Apple’s most impressive (and brightest) monitor yet — but there’s a catch
• Apple just discontinued 15 products including one that's only six months old
• I just tested the MacBook Pro 16-inch M5 Pro — and its stellar performance and epic battery life blew me away

Despite all the rumors we've heard about Apple's upcoming smart display, or "HomePad" as it's been dubbed, Apple still hasn't released anything yet. But that isn't stopping details about what the display might offer from leaking online, with the latest claiming that the HomePad will offer a "magnetic snap-to-wall" feature.

This information comes from a leaker and prototype collector known as Kosutami. The leaker claims that "one specific revision of the ongoing prototypes" they've seen will offer the magnetic feature. This suggests that it isn't actually guaranteed, but it is something Apple has been exploring. Though it is something I'd like to see make it to the final design.

After all, being able to magnetically attach the screen to a wall mount, speaker, or maybe even your fridge, would make placing it somewhere convenient that little bit simpler. And less prone to breaking than your typical plastic wall mount. Whether you'd need to use any kind of fixtures for that hypothetical wall mount isn't clear. That's not something we're likely to find out about until the display is actually announced and its design revealed.

Other features mentioned include doorbell integration and support for Apple Intelligence. Kosutami doesn't go into any specifics about either of those things, but they don't exactly surprise me. There's little point in offering a smart display that can't connect to a live doorbell feed, especially since Apple is rumored to be developing a Face ID-capable doorbell of its own.

Likewise, it's been speculated that the HomePad has only been delayed by as much as it has because it was heavily dependent on Siri's Apple Intelligence upgrade. It's been almost two years since Apple unveiled Apple Intelligence and promised Siri would gain new AI-infused powers, but so far, nothing has come of it. In fact, everything we've heard suggests Apple has had to resort to outsourcing all the AI work to a third party — reportedly Google.

Currently, rumors point to Apple's smart display arriving later this year, possibly in the fall. Though I suspect that will also depend on whether Siri AI is ready for the spotlight by then. But we've also been burned by those kinds of promises before, and I will not be getting my hopes up just yet

More from Tom's Guide

• This is my favorite MagSafe accessory — and it's perfect for iPhone 17e
• I took 200 photos on the Leica Leitzphone and the iPhone 17 Pro to see which is better — and there's a clear winner
• This iPhone feature stopped my eye strain — here's how to enable it

In March 2020, die-cutting machine brand Cricut launched the first-of-its-kind compact craft device, the Cricut Joy. Unbeknownst to us at the time, the small machine would make waves globally during the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic, as we turned to hobbies to fill the time of mandatory social isolation.

While some of us were trying to keep our sourdough starters alive, others were crafting stickers, cutting vinyl and making custom crafts thanks to Cricut’s tiny, but mighty device. Since then, the Cricut community has truly expanded, bringing an already thriving community of crafters back into the limelight with reinvigorated imaginations for a multitude of DIY projects made possible by a Cricut machine.

Six years on, and one evolution later, Cricut has launched the second-generation of the Joy, aptly named the Joy 2, with an impressive redesign and price tag to match. After reviewing the flagship Cricut Maker 4 last year, I was well-placed to try out the Joy 2. Seeing as it's compact and easily portable, I spent the past two weeks taking the Joy 2 almost everywhere with me — read on to see how I fared with Cricut's latest machine.

Cricut Joy 2 review: Price and availability

The Cricut Joy 2 can be purchased for $139 / £129.99 / AU$249 with an Essential materials bundle that lets you create any of 35 projects within minutes of opening the box. You can also purchase the machine only for $99 / £99.99 in the U.S. and the U.K.; however, you can only buy the Essentials bundle in Australia. While the machines are the same globally, the Aussie model comes with additional plug adapters for the APAC region.

Cricut crafters in the U.S. can purchase the Cricut Joy 2 directly from Cricut US. In the U.K., you can purchase the Cricut Joy 2 from Cricut UK, and in Australia, you can purchase it from retailers such as Big W, Officeworks and Spotlight.

The Joy 2 has a similar footprint to its predecessor, the Cricut Joy, and remains smaller than the next evolution, Cricut Joy Xtra. That said, the Joy 2 packs a mighty punch, now with an upgraded cutting precision for over 75 materials.

The Joy 2 also comes with a new print-then-cut sensor for sticker making — optical sensor tech previously exclusive to the Maker and Explore models. This means you can print your sticker designs with Cricut-branded sticker paper and cut them to size with the smaller machine, instead of investing in a larger model.

When it comes to Cricut materials, the Joy 2's Essentials bundle includes ready-to-craft items such as value cardstock, Cricut-branded Smart Vinyl, transfer tape, iron-on sheets, insert card sets and printable vinyl. As for tools, the bundle has a standard cutting tool, a scoring tool (typically sold separately) and a portable trimmer. The bundle also features a light grip machine mat and a card mat.

The Cricut Joy 2 is compatible with the Cricut Joy line of materials, which are typically smaller-sized rolls made for the compact machines. You can use other Cricut rolls and materials for larger machines, but you'll need to cut them to size before using them in the Joy 2.

Cricut also has "Smart Materials", which are rolls of vinyl and other textiles that don't require using the machine's mat. This means if you have a smaller workspace for the already small Joy 2, you don't have to worry about the mat taking up excess space. Smart Materials cost roughly the same as the regular material rolls.

Launched alongside the Joy 2 was the Cricut Explore 5, which enters as the newest mid-range machine, priced at $249 / £249.99 / AU$449. The machine can make precision cuts on over 100 materials, with a 12-inch cutting space. The Explore 5 also comes with a bundle of select materials and tools, including vinyl, cardstock and a cutting mat.

The new launches sport a new streamlined design (both machines have lost their lids), and the Joy 2 is available in an adorable two-toned blue colorway.

Cricut Joy 2 review: Specifications

Cricut Joy 2 review: Performance

I put the Cricut Joy 2 through three tests and made cards, stickers and vinyl using the materials provided in the Essentials bundle. All of these projects used the Fine Point cutting blade, which is standard in the bundle.

Before conceptualising your first craft, you need to set up the machine using the Design Space app. You'll also need to be connected to Wi-Fi and have at least 3.93 in / 10 cm clearance behind the machine to allow the mat to glide in and out while cutting.

Vinyl Cutting

If Cricut machines are to be known for something special, let it be cutting all types of vinyl. Whether it's a removable vinyl label, permanent vinyl or iron-on, the Cricut Joy 2 can do it all — and do it all well.

As part of the machine's setup, you need to cut a test piece of black vinyl. Design Space will hold your hand throughout the entire setup process and cut, but the Joy 2 has taken the manual work out of the equation entirely — there is no load, unload or even a power button on the Joy 2. You only need to hit 'make' on Design Space for the machine to start trimming.

There's even a new "Auto Load" feature that takes away the hassle of the machine checking your mat's materials before cutting… but it can be a bit tricky if you haven't quadruple-checked the edges of your material to make sure they're aligned correctly. (The machine did munch some of my initial test vinyl due to a slight misalignment, so do keep this in mind.)

As for the trial cut, it took less than a minute or so for the machine to carve the Cricut logo, and I was mighty impressed. For the real test, though, I created my own design out of permanent vinyl and a rather important one at that — my dogs' names for their matching harnesses. Sure enough, after agonising over the hundreds of font options, I selected my block letters and hit 'make', watching on eagerly as the fine cutting blade intricately cut the material.

Again, as a rather simple design, the Joy 2 was swift, cutting out the names within three minutes. Now, for this project, I used the provided Cricut Light Grip Mat, which measures 4.5 in x 6.5 in / 11.4 cm x 16.5 cm. However, I could have just as easily used the Smart Materials white vinyl on its own, as Cricut's Smart Materials don't require a mat.

With the much-improved Design Space (more on that in the section below), the software walked me through the entire vinyl-cutting process, from cutting to "weeding" (removing the cut vinyl from the mat) and applying the design onto the harnesses. My only caveat was not "burnishing" (a.k.a. affixing) the vinyl enough to the harness on the first go, as one letter fell off in the midst of puppy play time, and it was never seen again. Thankfully, it was easy enough to cut another set of names, as I had saved the design to my projects in Design Space.

Stickers

As mentioned in my Cricut Maker 4 review, I love making stickers with my full-sized machine. I was most intrigued by the prospect of making stickers with the Joy 2, since it now includes the print-then-cut sensor, which wasn't in the previous iteration.

That said, I was more concerned that Cricut-branded sticker sheets are A4-sized, and the Joy 2 can only cut materials half that width. Luckily, Design Space came to my rescue, as it automatically recognised the issue and divided the stickers into two sections lengthwise (or mats, as they're called on Design Space) on the same paper. After printing the design, the sticker sheet was separated by a cut line and sensor marks for each mat, making it easy to trim and stick onto the mat for cutting.

For the test, I opted for a pre-designed sticker that says 'emotional support water bottle' for my office tumbler, which stares at me longingly during my workday. Cutting the sticker took a few minutes, as it had to recognise the sensor marks and cut the sticker accordingly; however, it was much speedier than my Maker 4. That said, I often cut out an entire sheet of stickers at a time, so my use case for one sticker being quicker isn't that surprising.

Regardless, I still love making stickers, and it was just as pleasant and seamless when using the Joy 2.

Card making

Another Cricut-craft pastime I've picked up is making personalized cards for my nearest and dearest using the Cricut Maker 4. So, much like making stickers, I was keen to get stuck into cutting cards with the Cricut Joy 2. And boy, did it not disappoint.

With the included card mat, I made a fun, yet slightly silly, predesigned birthday card from Cricut's Community for an older relative (which they loved, BTW). I already had a Cricut Cutaway card set from my previous review; however, you could just as easily create a similar design using the insert cards provided in the Essentials bundle or nab some separately.

The Cricut Joy 2 intricately cut each flower petal and letter in a matter of minutes, dancing around with impressive precision and detail. The only task required of me was to weed the excess pieces off the card post-cut, which was tricky but made easy with the included weeding tool.

Unlike other machines, the Cricut Joy 2 Essential bundle has a scoring tool, meaning you can easily fold or create cards from normal cardstock or paper. I made one of these cards as a trial, but it didn't quite go to plan. It was definitely more of a trial-and-error project, but I'm determined to let card-making become my newest hobby.

Cricut Joy 2 review: App features

Despite having all the correct tools, materials and power adapter, Cricut machines are all solely dependent on one factor — and that's the companion design software, Cricut Design Space.

You'll need to download the software to set up the machine, and you'll find QR codes on the box and in the instruction manuals for the App Store and Google Play Store. Design Space is also available for PC and Mac. It's also worth noting that the software needs to be regularly updated to use the Joy 2 effectively.

After setting up the machine, the search bar is the easiest way to find designs or templates for a new project. You can add the designs straight to a blank canvas or bookmark them for later projects. You can also upload your own images or files to use in your designs. If you haven't used Design Space before, the software does have a step-by-step tutorial you can follow.

Now you can pay for a subscription that gives you access to everything Design Space has to offer; however, most users can get by without one. In full transparency, for this review, I was supplied with a paid subscription, which I've used a fair bit more than the average crafter.

The only caveat we've found in our reviews here at Tom's Guide — including my own Cricut Maker 4 review — is that Design Space isn't very user-friendly. That said, Cricut has listened to criticisms, transforming the software alongside the Joy 2 and Explore 5.

Cricut's "Guided Flows" is designed to understand what the user wants to make, and provides step-by-step instructions from start to finish. Guided Flows show users only what's needed at each stage of the design process and help them understand exactly which materials and tools are required for their chosen project. Plus, you can now preview your design on the canvas by clicking the preview button, and you can find templates for most projects, just in case you need some inspiration.

Alongside this, Cricut now has a "Create AI" feature for paid Design Space subscribers, which allows you to generate custom single-layer AI designs. Having said that, this tool might not be the most essential, given the community designs, but it can offer powerful niche customization if you so desire it.

Throughout my review, I have really enjoyed previewing and following the guided flows for my projects. These improvements have drastically changed the Cricut Design Space in more ways than one, but largely, they've made the software much more accessible. I have been very appreciative of the guided flows in times of limited crafting patience, especially when creating cards, as it gave me hope my project would inevitably turn out as visualised.

Did I have any glaring issues using Design Space? Well, yes and no — yes, because for the majority of this review, I was using the Beta software, which was initially buggy as Cricut slowly sorted the issues. And no, because I've had a good six months under my belt of using the previous software, so any improvements were welcomed on my part.

Suffice to say, if you're totally new to the Cricutting game, the new Design Space and new Joy 2 would be quite the beginner-friendly pair. If you're a seasoned Cricut veteran, you'll appreciate that the new automations take away some manual processes — i.e. Auto Loading and selecting your material.

Cricut Joy 2 review: Verdict

In a world of die-cutting machines, the Cricut Joy 2 is hard to beat for beginners. It takes up a small footprint, is easy to carry (and transport if needed), and comes with everything you need to get started, thanks to the Essentials bundle. Sure, in the U.S. and the U.K., you can opt to purchase the machine separately, but for a modest $40 / £30 extra, you can get a pack of materials and extra tools that'll save you from added expenditure down the road.

Having said that, if you're keen to go all in on a Cricut machine or you're upgrading your current Maker or Explore model, you may find yourself limited by the Joy 2's smaller cutting dimensions. It definitely wouldn't be my pick for small business owners — but if you enjoy the occasional crafternoon, the Joy 2 could be for you.

Dyson knows how to make a great vacuum cleaner. I've got two in my house, purely because I love them both for different reasons. So when Dyson announced its new Spot+Scrub Ai robot vacuum, I was first in line to test it.

After a couple of weeks of daily use, I'm pretty charmed by the brand's first wet and dry robot vacuum. It does the job — it actually does it rather well — but it's by no means got the 'wow' factor that you'd expect from the brand behind the AirWrap, PencilVac and iconic cooling fans.

Will the Dyson Spot+Scrub Ai become a major competitor in a crowded market of $1,000+ robots? Maybe not. But what it lacks in forward-thinking features it makes up for in its low-maintenance, user-friendly design, and I'm pretty happy with its day-to-day performance.

Dyson Spot+Scrub Ai Robot Vacuum: Specs

Dyson Spot+Scrub Ai Robot Vacuum: Design

The Dyson Spot+Scrub Ai is so gargantuan, I'm tempted to charge it rent. Admittedly, I live in a small apartment in London, where floor space is at a premium and every square foot is accounted for.

That's one of the reasons I've clung onto Dyson's neat little 360 VisNav for so long — it's one of the few options that will slot underneath the cabinets in my living room. If you're fortunate enough to live in a home that's larger than an overpriced shoebox, you might not find Spot+Scrub Ai's bulky design so egregious.

With this in mind, I set up the Spot+Scrub Ai in my kitchen for a couple of weeks, where its hefty docking station could sit unencumbered next to my dining table. Size aside, I think it's a handsome machine, with a self-emptying bin (complete with signature Dyson aesthetics) and a tank for clean and dirty water. A bagless design (which means no ongoing cost — huzzah), it does have an unusual transparent design that will lay all your crumbs, hair and dust out in full view. So maybe don't put it next to the TV, unless you enjoy looking at trash.

This is a wet and dry cleaner, and the Spot+Scrub Ai uses a heated cleaning system to keep the roller clean and hygienic. It uses 140°F (60°C) water to clean, and dries it with a 113°F (45°C) hot air cycle to prevent odors. In practice, I found this cycle a little noisy. It's not disruptive, but because it runs for hours after your vacuum has finished mopping, it's a bit annoying and would put me off placing the vacuum in a room where I spend a lot of time.

The vacuum itself is sleek, black and circular, in a shift from the D-shaped design of the 360 VisNav. The unit is pretty tall at 4.3 inches — taller than many other robot vacuums — and it's 14.7 inches wide, which sadly meant it couldn't fit between my dining chair legs.

Alongside that familiar-looking dustbin, Dyson has also added its Fluffy Optic tech to the robot's front bumper. It uses green LED light to illuminate dust and crumbs on the floor ahead as it cleans, and that includes the crumbs underneath the dining chairs, which the vacuum is too wide to clean around. Brb, grabbing my PencilVac.

To its credit, the Spot+Scrub Ai has a shifting brush bar that slides from one side to the other of the vacuum, in theory ensuring that no corners are missed as the vacuum cleans the sides of the room. I found this worked very well, intuitively shifting to sweep alongside table legs and underneath kitchen counters.

Dyson Spot+Scrub Ai Robot Vacuum: Performance

Setup

Dyson always makes a good first impression. Setting up robot vacuums can be a complete pain, but thankfully, I already have the Dyson app and the parts slotted together very intuitively, so setup was seamless.

Once paired to the app, the Dyson Spot+Scrub Ai ran a software update and then set about mapping my room. I was impressed that it got a very accurate map simply from scanning the length and breadth of the kitchen in a matter of minutes. It clearly had used its in-built 'vision' to get a spot-on depiction of my floorplan.

From there, I was able to set up any no-go areas or add in furniture to my app, as well as create a custom schedule and edit the cleaning routine (vacuum only, mop only, mop and vacuum, vacuum then mop, for example) used.

I added in my dining table, which looked mammoth in the map of the room. I couldn't see a way to edit the size of the furniture, so I ended up leaving it, taking up a substantially larger portion of the floorplan than it actually does in real life. I couldn't quite tell what difference it made adding in your furniture, as the vacuum successfully cleaned rooms where I had added furniture, and where I'd neglected to.

Vacuuming

The Dyson Spot+Scrub Ai methodically carved out a path through my kitchen, first tracing the outline of the room and using its side-sweeping brushes to push dirt in its path, and then tracing back and forth in clean lines along the room.

I enjoyed how strategically it approached the clean, and when I gave it full rein of the lower level of my home, it also comfortably tackled each room one by one, automatically detecting rug and carpeting and even identifying areas of high debris and flagging them on the end-of-clean report.

My main gripe with the vacuuming performance is that the Dyson Spot+Scrub Ai seemingly cuts entire areas out of its cleaning path without reason. The vacuum may have struggled to reach under my dining table, but in my weeks of using it, it didn't seem to try very hard to get there.

However, where it did decide to clean, it did a great job. I can't fault the Dyson Spot+Scrub Ai for suction or pickup. Its first clean was on a Monday, after a very prolonged meal prepping session that involved panko breadcrumbs, couscous and those little scraps of garlic skin that end up absolutely everywhere.

It did a really good job of flicking crumbs and debris into its path as it circled the room, and illuminated dust and debris I didn't even know was there — outing my lazy closing shift the day before. Thanks, Dyson.

When it came to the classic Tom's Guide oats test, it picked up almost every oat I had sprinkled both on my hard floor and carpeting, but on the hard floors its sweeping brushes did flick a few out of its path.

Mopping

I had really high hopes for the Dyson Spot+Scrub Ai's mopping performance. I love that it's got a roller brush as opposed to mopping pads, meaning the brush is only mopping with a clean and continuous stream of fresh, warm water.

Dyson didn't include any of its 02PROBIOTIC hard floor cleaning solution with the vacuum — in fact, it would appear that it's completely out of stock, which is annoying when you're meant to use it with Dyson products — so I opted for a different brand's dilutable wet floor cleaner to get the job done.

I'd love to pretend that I'd pre-stained my floorboards in preparation for this test. In reality, I'd been lazily taking teabags to the trash can across the kitchen floor, and dripping tea as I went, for a few weeks while I had builders in the house.

In addition to these tea stains, I squirted some sriracha sauce across the width of the floor. If not thoroughly mopped, this leaves a red streak in its path and can easily settle between boards.

The Dyson Spot+Scrub Ai decided it didn't want to clean a patch of the sriracha halfway through mopping my floor. I'm not sure why, because it even flagged that it had identified a stain on the map it generates after cleaning. "Hey, Millie, FYI there's some sriracha on your floor. Did I clean it? No, I thought I'd best get back to my dock."

I sent it out on a second mopping mission after this mishap, and it did a great job of picking up the remaining sauce. In fact, in the weeks that have passed since that initial test, it's not missed a spot, so I'm almost tempted to mark the first issue as a fluke.

Even this morning, the Dyson Spot+Scrub Ai continues to do a great job of picking up all the marks on the floor, including my dried-on tea stains. And it vigilantly monitors its water levels and self-cleans its mop roller mid-wash, meaning you won't need to worry about it smearing dirt around your floors.

According to Dyson, this robot vacuum scans its path seven times per second. It's equipped by a dToF (Direct Time of Flight) system, which has greater accuracy in long-range LiDAR measurements and makes both mapping and object detection seamless.

In my tests, I found that the Dyson Spot+Scrub Ai had no trouble detecting and navigating around multiple obstructions, including a sock and a wire I left in its path deliberately, and more than a few accidental obstructions left by the builders who were working on my house at the time I was testing! It also flagged these obstructions and any high-debris areas it wasn't able to reach once it had finished its cleaning.

Dyson Spot+Scrub Ai: Comparison

The world of robot vacuums moves fast, but the Spot+Scrub does feature some of the more impressive innovations we've seen in recent months. For one, its mop roller is supplied with a constant stream of clean water, as opposed to alternatives with spinning pads which will continue to clean with an already-dirty mop. The always-fresh roller is a feature you'll also find in the new Dreame Aqua10 Ultra Roller Complete, although we've not tested that yet, so I can't compare the two models on performance, but pricing is comparable across the two vacs.

If you're on a budget, our top pick for the best robot vacuums is the Shark PowerDetect 2-in-1 Robot Vacuum and Mop, which retails for roughly half the price of the Dyson Spot+Scrub Ai and also features wet and dry cleaning. We also loved its app, which is one area where many find the Dyson Spot+Scrub Ai to be lacking.

The PowerDetect doesn't feature the same smart mopping system you'll find with Dyson. However, Shark recently rolled out the PowerDetect UV Reveal robot vacuum, which performed nearly perfectly on our tests.

Dyson Spot+Scrub Ai: Verdict

In an ideal world, you'll never have to deal with your robot vacuum. It won't miss spots of debris or spread mess around your home. It won't gobble up wires or forget where its dock is. And it'll clean and dry its own mop, and empty its own bin. For such smart tech, it doesn't take more than a slight mishap for me to feel that my robot vac is really rather dumb. So while the Dyson Spot+Scrub Ai is expensive and bulky, I've been impressed by just how little I've had to deal with it in the past few weeks.

Did it blow me away with impeccable, 100% accuracy? Not every time, no. It missed some staining in one of my first tests (although hasn't missed this spot since) and flicked a few oats and crumbs out of its own path as it made its way around my lounge. But the most important thing to me is that this vacuum never needed rescuing, and didn't cause any dramas in my house. If you want a low-maintenance, trustworthy robot vac, it's one to consider, though not our first choice.

Europe’s largest tech tradeshow, Mobile World Congress 2026, is winding down, and while my primary focus covering MWC has been on health and fitness tech, I’d be remiss not to share the startling (to me) number of robots I bumped into — several, literally — on the show floor.

Some danced, others did flips, and a few operated in such terrifying, inhuman-like ways that I may never sleep soundly again. That said, here are the most noteworthy robots of Mobile World Congress 2026.

Half-sized dancing robot

This guy first made an appearance during a pre-show event on Sunday. At that time, we met, snapped a selfie, enjoyed some mutual dancing, and that was that.

However, the $27,000 Agibot X2 ‘compact humanoid’ popped up once again at a random booth on Monday, the opening day of the show, and then another time, in a completely different part of the show complex on the second day.

By MWC’s third day, I had no doubt I’d run into my old, pint-sized pal, Agi, and sure enough, I did. However, on our final (I hope) run-in, I decided to give my new robot friend the cold shoulder and avoid its cold, metallic gaze, as I’m starting to think Agi may be secretly following me around…

Backflipping dog robot

Usually, when I think of robot dogs, I picture those scary, Terminator-like Boston Dynamics robots. However, this robot dog, also manufactured by Agibot, was much less intimidating. Well, at least for a little while. When the demo began, the robot at first seemed to mimic an actual dog, inspecting the crowd that had gathered and even jumping on its ‘hind legs’ in a show of excitement.

Then the movements became… aggressive. One backflip led to another, and then another. Suddenly, the cute robot dog seemed more like a licensed martial arts assassin, rather than man’s best digital friend. It was at this point that I made my exit from the demo.

A slightly less impressive mini humanoid

Agibot wasn’t the only brand with dancing robots on display. While on the hunt for my 20th ham sandwich, I couldn’t help but pause outside of Maoiclab’s booth to check out their MagicBot Z1, another half-ish-sized humanoid boasting 50 ‘bio-inspired joints.’

It’s a little less impressive in its dexterity and operational smoothness compared to the Agibot X2 — the arms whipped around at one point with an almost violent force — but still, the thing can bust some certifiably jaw-dropping dance moves.

AI-powered desktop robot for kids

On the more wholesome front, we have TCL’s concept Tbot companion bot for kids. This desktop, AI-powered accessory turns TCL’s line of kid-friendly smartwatches, including the latest Movietime MT48, into a fully interactive, child-safe virtual buddy (it’s also a charger).

The Tbot makes fun faces, answers questions, promotes good posture and time management, all while being anything but intimidating. I mean, seriously, how could you not smile at its cute facial expressions? Of all the robot-like devices I saw at MWC, this one was my favorite.

Beer butler robot

I only saw the beer butler robot from a distance, and while we didn’t get to meet formally, I, for one, am a fan of their style. Brought to you by Agibot, the same brand behind the half-sized human robot and scary dog-bot, the beer bot is part of the brand’s G series of light industrial robots.

Less scary and capable than the aforementioned, notably due to a lack of human/animal-like legs (it does have wheels for mobility), the Agibot G robot might be the ultimate party trick if, of course, you're willing to drop some major cash. That said, I hear Agibot offers a robot rental program.

The Omni hand

Want to feel super uncomfortable? Head to YouTube and pull up a video of THE OMNIHAND in action. While the human-like dexterity and movement of this mechanical appendage is nothing short of amazing, something about a dismembered robot hand seemingly operating on its own, helter-skelter-like, from a stationary platform strikes me as deeply unsettling.

At least there's a seemingly accessible on/off button at the base.

More from Tom's Guide

• Forget smart glasses, I saw the future of smart contact lenses — and they're coming sooner than you think
• Meet Moya, the AI that winks, smiles and walks with 92% human-like gait — is this the uncanny valley?
• I just tried the world’s first smartphone for pets — and I can’t wait to call my dog

IKEA is making a name for itself in the smart home world and its next product looks set to continue that momentum. The Ankarlägg smart light is a motion-activated adhesive light you can place anywhere. And although it's not yet available in the U.S., it's sure to come with a price that puts other smart lights to shame.

If you want a simple way to illuminate a hallway, light up the corners of a garage or just brighten up your office during the winter, the Ankarlägg could fit the bill. The bulb doesn't need any smart home hub to work and runs on batteries — no wiring needed. It's got a self-adhesive back so you can mount it on any flat surface.

This light is meant to be versatile; you could even pick up a couple and have them waiting inside your cupboard for you.

Of course, this is IKEA so the pricing should be on the friendly side. At present, IKEA has launched the light in Europe with a price of just €2.99 on the retailer's French site. The site reads: "This light can be installed anywhere because it runs on batteries and requires no wiring: in the entryway, the bedroom, the staircase, or even in a closet or wardrobe."

If (or rather, when) this comes to the United States, I'd be willing to bet it'll cost around $7 in line with IKEA's international pricing. That's a fair lot less than you'd pay for a typical smart light and motion sensor.

Six months of battery

IKEA says the Ankarlägg smart light has a battery life of six months if it's triggered 10 times per day. It can detect motion up to 10 feet away and to conserve power, the light will switch off if no motion is detected for 30 seconds.

Unlike some other IKEA smart home products, this light shouldn't need to be connected to any kind of hub. Making it about as plug-and-play as it's possible to get. It might not be as fun as IKEA's iconic donut lamp, but this could be another big hit for the Swedish retailer.

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Aliro, a new smart lock standard, has finally rolled out after three years of testing; when it's implemented, it will allow any smartphone to unlock any smart lock with the technology. In some ways, it's like Matter, but for smart locks.

Aliro works much like Apple HomeKey — tap your iPhone or Apple Watch to a compatible smart lock, and it will open — but will work on Android devices, too. In some cases, you won't need to tap the lock at all, but merely walk up to your front door to have it open for you.

To find out more about Aliro, how it works and when you'll be able to purchase one of the best smart locks with the technology, I spoke with Nelson Henry, who leads the Aliro Working Group, and Garrett Lovejoy, General Manager of Connected Security at Fortune Brands, the company that owns Yale, August, and Master Lock, among others.

How Aliro works

"When we talk about Aliro, it's that digital key throughout your life," Henry says. "And that could be sort of any kind of smart device. So that's phones, watches, a fitness tracker, that sort of thing."

Aliro uses a combination of NFC and Bluetooth to communicate between the lock and your phone. Create a digital key that's shared between the lock and your phone, and when you tap your phone, the lock will recognize it, and open the door.

"Basically, what Aliro is doing is it’s standardizing the interaction between those two," Henry adds.

On smart locks (and phones) that also support Ultra-wide Band (UWB), you'll even be able to simply walk toward your door, and the smart lock should automatically unlock, no tap needed. While it doesn't use Aliro, the recently launched Aqara U400 smart lock is an example of this technology in action.

"The intention is that it's a baseline that can be done with commonly available chipsets and parts," Henry says. "If you go get the things that are commonly available, a company can certainly build it and it’s not some crazy ask."

Companies that support Aliro

There are around 200 companies that are working with the Community Standards Alliance to develop and support Aliro. They include, Apple, Google, Samsung, ASSA ABLOY, Kwikset, and Future Brands.

When will Aliro locks be available?

Several companies announced that their smart locks will support Aliro, but have not yet said when the update will occur. Here are the ones we know of so far.

Locks available now:

Aqara U400

Locks coming soon:

Nuki Keypad 2 with NFC (Available Q1 2026)

Schlage Sense Pro Smart Deadbolt

Ultraloq Latch 7 Pro (Available Q1 2026)

A few days after the Aliro standard was announced, Samsung launched Digital Home Key, which will allow Samsung Galaxy owners to use Aliro locks in the coming months. However, the smart lock will have to be set up via Samsung SmartThings, and the phone will need either NFC or a UWB chip, which looks to be most Galaxy phones since 2021. (Here's a full list of Galaxy phones that support Aliro.)

Can existing smart locks use Aliro?

Sadly, it doesn't appear that many can do so. Just because Aliro can take advantage of existing technology doesn't mean it can be retrofitted easily into smart locks already in the wild, beyond the ones that companies have already planned for.

For example, the Kwikset Halo Select Plus has NFC, but the company confirmed to The Verge that it would not be updated to support Aliro.

Uses beyond smart locks

Apart from residential, Aliro is poised to have a greater impact in the commercial market, as it will allow owners of larger businesses, apartment buildings, and facilities with lots of tenants an easier way to manage access for dozens, if not hundreds of individuals.

For individuals, that means no longer needing card keys to get into your office, they gym, or anywhere else. Just tap your phone.

"Your phone or your handset or your wearable or whatever really can be that centralized device to give you that opening experience in all of the places that you're in, instead of in just one or two places," Lovejoy said.

"When you come up to your Tesla, you get a special experience. When you come up to your house now, right? But you don't get a special experience when you go to Planet Fitness and scan your barcode. But this tech makes everything so standard and accessible that allows that kind of explosive growth of that application."

Outlook

Should you go out and immediately replace your smart lock with one that works with Aliro? Considering how new Aliro is, it might be worth waiting a while for more companies to enter the market.

Lovejoy believes widespread adoption will take a few years at best. "Ring didn't launch their doorbell and have, you know, 100 million users in a minute," he said. However, he feels that Aliro has the potential to greatly broaden the appeal of smart locks with its convenience.

"Someone’s going to come home, they’re going to have the door magically unlock in front of them, and they’re going to do it without having to take groceries out of their hand, without having to put their kid down, without having to do any of those things as they come home," he says. "You do it in front of your friend and he goes, man, that’s really cool, I kind of want that."

"This might be the first product you can give your mom, dad, grandfather, grandmother — the non-tech person in your family — and you go I can be totally sure this is going to work for you."

More from Tom's Guide

• Best smart locks of CES 2026
• Buying a smart lock? 5 things to consider
• I just upgraded to a smart lock with built-in video doorbell camera

I'll be the first to admit, my house doesn't get vacuumed nearly enough. As a family of five, with three very active teenagers and two dogs, the combination leads to plenty of dirt and dog hair being tracked all over our house.

I've owned several robot vacuums over the years, and even dabbled with a 2-in-1 robot that could vacuum and mop. Ultimately, I'd give up on them for various reasons. For instance, one model that continuously kept forgetting the map of our house, or another that made a huge mess with its mop pad every time it ran.

However, I’ve never used a premium-priced, 2-in-1 robot vacuum until now. Shark's new PowerDetect UV Reveal robot vacuum is equipped with plenty of interesting features, including a UV light that highlights stains and spills. I put the UV Reveal to the test for two weeks to see if its steep price tag is justified by its fancy list of features, and how it stacked up against the best robot vacuums on the market.

Shark PowerDetect UV Reveal Robot Vacuum: Price & availability

The Shark PowerDetect UV Reveal Robot Vacuum costs $1,299 on SharkNinja. This is also available on Amazon, Best Buy, and Costco for the same price.

Shark PowerDetect UV Reveal Robot Vacuum: Design

In addition to the vacuum itself, the Reveal's box includes its dock, an air freshener to cover up any nasty odors of the bagless dustbin, a 12-ounce bottle of Shark VacMop multi surface cleaning solution, and two side brushes.

You'll need a dedicated space with plenty of room for the dock. It measures 17 x 18 x 14 inches, and needs at least one foot of room on either side, and two feet of room in front of it. When looking at the dock, the dustbin is located in the back-right corner and is easily removed by pressing a button located inside the handle on the right side of the housing.

The clean and dirty water tanks take up the entire width, running along the front of the dock. Both tanks have a top handle and are easy to take in and out of the dock. On the back-left side of the dock are two filters. One is a foam pre-motor filter that you'll need to clean every couple of months, along the post-motor filter on the left side of the dock behind a door that has the same cleaning cadence.

As for the Reveal itself, it looks like a standard 2-in-1 robot vacuum. On the front, it has an array of lights and sensors, including an RGB camera and a UV light that help with the Reveal detect edges, floor types, objects, and live environmental changes.

On top of the Reveal are four touch-sensitive buttons that are used to activate vacuum and mop modes (if you don't want to use the app), send the robot back to its dock, and set up Wi-Fi. Plus, the Reveal's internal dustbin is removable from the back, as is the mop pad plate.

In short, the Reveal looks like a typical 2-in-1 robot vacuum that could pull double duty with its mopping features. On the outside, at least, there's nothing in particular that stands out about the Reveal.

Shark PowerDetect UV Reveal Robot Vacuum review: Performance and Test Results

After finding a spacious spot for the dock and fully setting up the Reveal, which consists of signing into the SharkClean app and connecting the vacuum to Wi-Fi, and giving your vacuum a name. There are a handful of names you can select in the app — we went with Clean Elizabeth. Once that's done, the app will prompt you to let the vacuum map your home. It was fun to watch it roam around the house, randomly spinning in circles as it scans the room and adds to its map.

With the map created, you're then prompted to let the vacuum go around your house and identify carpet and hard floors so it knows where to vacuum and where to mop. The entire setup and mapping process took about an hour. Once it was done, I set Clean Elizabeth loose on its first vacuuming run, which took just over two hours to complete.

This was the first robot vacuum to run in our house in at least a few years. We'd previously given up on them because of how inconsistent and frustrating they can be. But I'm here to tell you, reader, that the Reveal not only met expectations but exceeded them.