RunStar 4E Body Scale: One minute review

The RunStar 4E is an affordable smart scale that costs little more than a standard set of electrical scales. Considering it measures more than 20 different body composition metrics, the low price becomes even more impressive. As you’d expect at this price, there are limitations though, with the inability to measure composition accurately (fat-to-muscle ratios and so on) being the most glaring one.

Despite these shortcomings, everything, from app setup to using the scales, is smooth, straightforward, and wonderfully intuitive. Connecting the scales to the companion app is quick and easy thanks to a robust Bluetooth signal, and the option to create multiple users within the app is a nice touch for a family of my size and stage.

The weight measurement consistently measured around 0.4% more than the pricier RunStar 8E SmartScan Pro, which isn’t a massive deviation. For almost all the other measurements, the RunStar 4E adopts a bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) measuring method through four metal sensors located on the top panel of the scale.

BMI measurements were almost identical every single time compared to the 8E SmartScan Pro (probably because it's a mathematical calculation not dependent on the electrodes), but almost all other composition measurements offered up a deviation of between 3 and 30%. For these reasons, it’s not likely to make it into our best smart scales guide. That said, for the price, the RunStar 4E is a respectable set of scales for weight and quick BMI calculation.

RunStar 4E Body Scale: Specifications

RunStar 4E Body Scale: Price and availability

• $33.54 / £31.00
• Not available in Australia
• Budget-friendly smart scale

At $33.54 USD / £31.00 GBP, the RunStar 4E Body Scale is incredibly affordable as far as smart scales go. It might lack full body measurements for fat loss and fitness and muscle gain, but for that pleasure you’ll have to part with a lot more money and shoot for something like the RunStar 8E SmartScan Pro, Withings Body Scan series, or Wyze Scale X.

A comparable option in terms of price and features would be the Vitafit Smart Bathroom Scale, which scored a respectable four stars in our testing. Positives included the easy connection, extremely fast results, and the comprehensive app. Our reviewer had some concerns over accuracy, but overall it’s a solid choice.

The scales are FSA and HSA eligible, which means US users are able to use them in conjunction with designating pre-tax money to be taken from pay and put towards paying medical expenses.

• Value score 4.5/5

RunStar 4E Body Scale: Design

• LCD display with color graphics
• Compact and lightweight design
• Powered by 3x AAA batteries

At the heart of the RunStar 4E is a bright LCD display that provides an easy-to-access readout of six metrics: weight, body fat, BMI, muscle mass, body water, and bone mass. The display cycles through these with a few seconds given over to each stat. Unfortunately there’s no way to move to a specific metric using on-device controls, although the full list is available in the accompanying app.

At 11.02 x 11.02 x 0.78 inches and 3.17 pounds, the smart scale is both compact and lightweight. As a result, finding a suitable spot for it in a bathroom or bedroom shouldn’t be a problem. It can also be easily stowed on its side in a cupboard while not in use.

The scale is covered in 6mm tempered glass, which protects against scratches and cracks, neither of which I suffered despite my children doing their accidental best to inflict a dent or two. Underneath you’ll find four anti-slip silicone feet.

Quick and effortless connectivity is via Bluetooth, and power is delivered courtesy of three AAA batteries. USB-C charging would have been better for the environment, but with minimal power required, I don’t envisage getting through too many batteries.

• Design Score: 4/5

RunStar 4E Body Scale: Features

• 22 reportable metrics including weight, BMI, and muscle mass
• App supports multiple users

The RunStar 4E boasts an impressive feature set for such an affordable scale, or at least it would be if the extras were more impressive. At its core, the scale is capable of measuring over 20 metrics, including weight, BMI, body fat percentage, body mass, muscle mass, body water rate, bone mass, and visceral fat. Six of these are visible on the smart scale itself, while the full set is reported in the Starfit RunStar app.

To accommodate families, the Starfit app enables users to set up multiple profiles, one for each family member. By entering the height and target weight of each person, the app is able to provide more accurate and informed reporting. The app also tracks measurements over time and plots them on a chart for trend analysis.

• Features Score: 4/5

RunStar 4E Body Scale: Performance

• Quick results on-device and in-app
• Accurate weight, BMI, and metabolic age
• Some inaccuracies consistently reported

The first thing to note is that the RunStar 4E is quick. In a matter of seconds the scale is able to measure over 20 different body composition metrics and display them instantly in the app. There’s no waiting around for calculations to be made and zero lag when the display is cycling through the six core metrics.

Weight, as you’d expect, is measured prior to all the body composition elements. Having measured myself hundreds of times, I found that the 4E regularly mismeasured my weight by around 0.4% compared to the RunStar 8E SmartScan Pro and, indeed, my rudimentary pair of digital weight scales. It would be unfair to judge the scales too harshly for this small deviation, especially given the price.

According to research published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research, one study conducted on smart scales shows a median margin of error of around 0.3kgs, so I can forgive it some small deviation. That said, if you’re requiring absolute accuracy, you’ll need to look elsewhere.

BMI was also consistently measured more or less accurately, with deviations of only 0.5%. If you’re only concerned with quick measurements such as weight and BMI, then the RunStar 4E won’t cause you any problems.

Getting into the specifics, musculoskeletal-related measurements using BIA include muscle, muscle mass, and skeletal muscle rates. The first two measured around a 3% deviation from the 8E SmartScan Pro, but it was the skeletal muscle rate which was most concerning, measuring a deviation of nearly 15%.

Unfortunately variable results continue with fat-related metrics. Compared to the SmartScan Pro, body fat percentage, subcutaneous fat, and body fat mass all reported a massive 30% deviation.

Despite comparably poor results on some metrics, it’s worth remembering that most of these are specialized measurements, and to expect too much from a smart scale that costs $33.54 / £31.00 might be a little unreasonable.

That said, it would be preferable for consumers if smart scale manufacturers would only include metrics that they could report on accurately. The RunStar 4E also measures consistently with itself, which means it can still be trusted as a weight loss tool assuming you allow for the margin of error.

• Performance score: 3.5/5

RunStar 4E Body Scale: Scorecard

RunStar 4E Body Scale: Should I buy?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Also consider

How I tested

My family (two adults and three children) has been using the RunStar 4E for three months. We’ve used it to measure and track all types of metrics, including weight, BMI, and muscle mass. I carried out comparison tests with the more premium RunStar 8E SmartScan Pro. In addition, I’ve used every feature of the app to give the smart scales a thorough testing.

First reviewed: July 2026

The news that Amazon’s smarter AI assistant, Alexa+, is finally making its way to Australia could well be exciting news for many Aussies. After all, we’ve had to wait a fair amount of time for the upgraded digital assistant, as it launched in the US way back in February 2025, and arrived on UK shores in March of this year.

If you’re already embedded in Amazon’s ecosystem, whether that be through ownership of Echo smart speakers and displays or Ring home security cameras, you’d be forgiven for thinking Alexa+ might never make it Down Under. If so, you may have never felt the need to upgrade your various Amazon devices to newer generations.

Now with the official rollout of Alexa+ in Australia, that could mean your devices aren’t compatible. In truth, the list of incompatible devices is relatively short (which I have to say is quite remarkable and deserves brownie points for Amazon), but regardless, the latest generation Alexa-enabled devices will offer the best Alexa+ experience.

So, if you want to add Alexa+ to your home to become an AI-powered digital assistant capable of performing all manner of tasks, from answering simple queries to placing Amazon orders on your behalf or even notifying you when packages are delivered to your home (and are captured on a Ring camera), then any of these nine Echo devices will be worthy additions to your home.

Also note that you'll need a subscription to Alexa+. It's free if you're already a Prime member, otherwise it costs AU$29.99p/m. Considering an Amazon Prime membership is just AU$9.99p/m, you'd be saving money.

• Amazon touts Alexa+ as its voice assistant’s “biggest leap forward”
• Aussies can now request early access to Alexa+, but it’s also available with the purchase of a new eligible Echo or Fire TV device
• Prime members get Alexa+ for free after early access ends in November; non-members pay AU$29.99p/m

Alexa+, the conversational AI upgrade of Amazon’s long-time voice assistant, has officially launched in Australia, over a year after rolling out in the US.

This “smarter, more conversational and more capable” voice assistant promises a more transactional experience that recognises natural language, can remember user preferences and automatically adjust your smart home tech, like turning on your air conditioning when it starts to get warm or turning on lights when it starts getting dark.

For its local debut, Amazon has added Aussie touches, so Alexa can now understand colloquialisms like ‘arvo’, ‘snags’ and ‘servo’, as well as being “tuned into Australian culture”, like not mixing up footy codes or understanding expressions like ‘fair dinkum’ or ‘passing the pub test’.

You can sign up for an early access invite now if you already own a compatible device, or get automatically signed up when you buy an eligible Echo or Fire TV device — check out our nine favourite Echo devices to get you up and running. After early access ends on November 30, 2026, Alexa+ will remain a free Prime benefit for subscribers, while non-members will have to pay AU$29.99 per month to retain access.

Most of the current Echo devices are compatible with Alexa+, with only the now-discontinued first- and second-generation models unable to support the new voice assistant. Fire TV devices, meanwhile, will have limited compatibility with Alexa+, with support available only on the following:

• Fire TV Stick 4K Select
• Fire TV Stick 4K Max (2nd Gen)
• Fire TV Stick 4K Plus (2nd Gen)
• Fire TV Cube (3rd Gen)

Alexa+ isn’t the only ‘smart’ voice assistant available in Australia, with Google Home Premium (formerly Nest Aware) being its main competitor. The latter costs AU$15 per month or AU$150 per year for its Standard tier, or AU$30 or AU$300 per year for the Advanced tier, scoring Alexa+ points on pricing — provided you’re a Prime member or course.

It remains to be seen whether this would trigger a Prime membership price hike in the days to come.

Do we really need an Amazon-powered LLM in our lives?

Amazon claims that Aussies interact with Alexa “more than two billion times each year”, with 77 million questions asked and more than 600 million smart home actions in 2025 alone. While that suggests there’s a large customer base in Australia, it begs the question of whether we’re willing to bring another AI assistant into our homes and, importantly, pay extra for it.

As my colleague Graham Barlow rightly pointed out, Alexa+ may be an improvement by being more conversational and context aware, but it doesn’t really do enough to warrant the consistent use of the assistant.

Lots of Redditors have also expressed their displeasure with Alexa+, with some choosing to revert back to the old Alexa for the many ads, the style of the new voices, or just preferring not to opt into the upgrade.

Sure, being a free add-on to Amazon Prime will see plenty of early adopters, but it remains to be seen if Aussies will jump ship from ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude or whatever LLM they’re already using and move to Alexa+. (Incidentally, a web version is also slated to come soon.)

Then again, AI is evolving and Alexa+ seems like the next step in the voice assistant’s development, although it will need to do more than just speak fluent 'Strayan if it wants to reign supreme Down Under.

• Philips Hue accidentally leaked a new Pro TV lightstrip on its own website
• There are no details of its price or release date yet
• A new Philips Hue Play Sync camera is expected to launch soon

I love Philips Hue lights, and I particularly love Hue lightstrips — so I'm excited by an accidental leak that indicates a new Pro lightstrip is coming to your TV.

The leak was spotted by the excellent Hueblog, who discovered the following text on the US Hue website: "Check out Philips Hue Play gradient strip lights and Play gradient strip light pro." There isn't currently a gradient strip with the 'pro' suffix, so this appears to be a new product that's coming very soon.

I hope so, although I worry about the "pro" bit because that usually indicates a premium price. But if it uses the same tech as the spectacular Hue Omniglow lighting strip I reviewed earlier this year, it could be a stunning addition to your home cinema or gaming setup.

Philips Hue Play Gradient Strip Light Pro: what to expect

The Philips Hue Play system synchronizes your smart lights and bulbs, enabling you to change the lighting with music or to reflect what's going on in a game, TV show or movie. The Gradient Strip Light models are designed to go on the back of your TV and deliver a similar experience to an Ambilight TV, extending the colours from your screen onto the walls and ceiling.

I'm a huge fan of Hue Play – I've been using it since the first-gen Play Sync box was released in 2019 – but the individual LEDs are very visible. If the Pro version were to be closer to the Omniglow, which delivers seamless gradients without the LEDs being visible individually, that would be a great upgrade. Although I suspect it's likely to be pricey too: the Omniglow has an RRP of $139.99 / £119.99 / AU$279.99 for the 3m model.

At the moment details are non-existent, but we do know that Hue is getting some more Hue Play products imminently: the Hue Play Screen Sync TV camera is expected to launch very soon as a more affordable alternative to the clever but expensive Hue Play HDMI Sync Box 8K. As with the Sync Box it'll mirror your display to your smart lights and bulbs, but you won't need to connect any devices to do it as it'll simply watch what's on the TV.

Xiaomi Robot Vacuum X20 Max review: one-minute review

The Xiaomi Robot Vacuum X20 Max seems like a slam dunk in the robot vacuum space. Positioned right in between the budget and upper mid range sections of the market, it delivers strong vacuum and mopping performance that make it capable of tackling a wide variety of messes in your home.

With LiDAR technology, its mapping is excellent and the robot vacuum does a great job of navigating unexpected obstacles that it might encounter during a clean. The design isn't the most exciting, though it still has a good range of features like an extendable mop arm and automatic carpet detection.

The dock is large, which might make it tricky to fit into smaller homes, but it's pretty capable as well, with hot water washing and air drying capabilities to keep the mop pads clean between uses.

It's all underpinned by a competent app that's easy to use and offers key functions such as being able to schedule cleans, restricting the robot vacuum to certain rooms, and allowing you to customize the vacuuming power and amount of water used by the mop.

The elephant in the room is that my unit developed a fault after a year of testing, occasionally spilling water during a mop pad clean. It's unfortunate and, even though it doesn't seem widespread, makes this model difficult to recommend unreservedly.

Xiaomi Robot Vacuum X20 Max review: price, range & availability

• List price $999.99 / £499.99 / AU$1,199
• Launched late 2024
• No longer available in Australia
• Limited stock in the US

The Xiaomi Robot Vacuum X20 Max has a list price of $999.99 / £499.99 / AU$1,199, and is readily available via the brand’s website in the UK. It often receives discounts too, taking the price down by £100 or so around major sales events. At this price it sits neatly between the budget and upper mid range price brackets, coming in much more expensive than under $300 / £300 / AU$500 favorites like the Roborock Q7 M5 but cheaper than the likes of the Eufy X10 Pro Omni, which goes for $799.99 / £799 / AU$1,699.95.

That latter model is a good point of comparison here, as it also features mop and similar LiDAR sensor setup. With this in mind, the Xiaomi Robot Vacuum X20 Max is very solid value - especially if you get it at that reduced price point. Accessories like replacement brushes, dust bags, and mop pads are all available via the Xiaomi website at pretty reasonable prices too.

Unfortunately, this model seems a lot harder to come by in the US. You can find it on Amazon, but it goes for an eye-watering $999.99 and stock appears limited. At this price it’s significantly worse value and you would be better off spending less on an alternative. Its list price is AU$1,199 in Australia, but it appears to no longer be available either through Xiaomi's own store, or Amazon.

• Value for money score: 3/5

Xiaomi Robot Vacuum X20 Max specs

Xiaomi Robot Vacuum X20 Max: design

• Raised LiDAR puck
• Extendable mop arm

The Xiaomi Robot Vacuum X20 Max isn’t pushing any boundaries when it comes to its overall design, but honestly that’s not such a bad thing.

It looks like your average robot vacuum, which is to say a big plastic disc with a chunky bumper at the front and a whole host of sensors. The most prominent of these is a big LiDAR sensor that sits in a little raised puck on the top, though there are others designed to spot obstacles or prevent the vacuum from falling off ledges.

Despite the basic look, the Xiaomi Robot Vacuum X20 Max has a bunch of useful features including two mop pads, one of which can be extended on a little arm for edge cleaning. The Xiaomi Robot Vacuum X20 Max is also capable of detecting which kind of surface it’s on, raising the mop pads when it goes over carpet to prevent any accidental stains.

Coming in at13.39 x 16.54 x 22.17 inches / 340 x 420 x 563mm, the docking station that it comes with is absolutely ginormous which could make it awkward to fit in smaller homes, but there are some good reasons for this size. Firstly, you’re getting a large 135.3oz / 4l clean water tank (removed for filling by simply popping up the lid on top of the dock) and a slightly smaller but still sizable 128.5oz / 3.8l tank for dirty water storage.

Xiaomi says that this is more than enough water to clean 2,152.8 square feet / 200 square meters on a single fill, and while my testing area was considerably smaller, I can say that it didn’t need refilling across multiple cleans.

The dock also has a hot water system to help wash both mop pads at 131F / 55C - a temperature that Xiaomi claims reduces odours more effectively. It dries the mop pads using hot air, a process that takes a few hours and produces a small level of sound akin to a desk fan.

There’s also a generous 84.5oz / 2.5l dust bag, which Xiaomi says only needs emptying once every 75 days in a three-person household with one pet. This seems like a very generous estimate to me, and your mileage will vary depending on your specific level of household mess. This bag size is on par with much of the competition, such as the aforementioned Eufy X10 Pro Omni, so you can expect similar performance to those models.

One feature that I particularly appreciate is the ability to remove parts of the dock for cleaning, including the little tray where the vacuum sits while charging. This isn't something that you will need to do regularly, but my previous robot vacuum tracked a decent layer of grime in its dock over the years and was comparatively pretty tricky to clean.

My only real complaint from a design standpoint is the vacuum’s incessant need to narrate what it's doing. By default it frequently declares 'start to dry the mop pad' and similar phrases in a loud, annoying voice. It's disruptive, though mercifully can be turned off in the app.

• Design score: 4/5

Xiaomi Robot Vacuum X20 Max review: performance

• Good navigation
• Deals with multiple surfaces well
• Base station pump developed issues

I've been using the Xiaomi Robot Vacuum X20 Max for a year now, and can say that it handles most daily cleaning tasks well. Its navigation capabilities are excellent and map that it generated of my cleaning area was spot on. I have the base station in the corner of an L-shape hallway and the robot never struggles to find it, even when it's been cleaning the handful of adjoining rooms.

Setting room boundaries works excellently too — if you want to restrict cleaning to a specific defined area, the vacuum won't stray beyond it. It also deals with unexpected obstacles like closed doors or moved furniture well, bumping into them once or twice and then adapting its path smartly. You don't need to worry about multiple surfaces, either. Every time I spot the vacuum going over the rug in the middle of a mop cycle, the pads are automatically raised as it detects the soft surface to prevent damage.

The vacuum picks up small debris and cleans up small spills with no sweat, and for a more intensive task I doused my kitchen floor with oats, cereal crumbs, flour, ketchup, and pretty much anything else that I could find in the cupboard.

How did the Xiaomi Robot Vacuum X20 Max fare? I sent it out on the most intensive possible cleaning mode and it made a commendable dent in the mess. The oats, crumbs, and flour were masterfully hoovered up with the exception of a few survivors in the hardest to reach corners of the room.

The ketchup was more of a challenge, and at first I was pretty worried that it wouldn't be able to overcome it: the mop pads smeared it in a thin layer over the middle of the floor at first but, sure enough, after multiple visits to the base station in order to clean itself and to refill its water tanks, it was all gone after a few runs. I did spot some red residue in the grouting between tiles, but this took just a few seconds for me to wipe up.

It's the kind of performance you would want from a mid-range robot vacuum. It's not a total replacement for doing the cleaning, but it does decrease the need for big cleans.

That said, my unit has developed a major issue over long-term testing. Sometimes when the vacuum cleans its own mop pads (either at the start or during a cleaning task) the motor that's meant to suck away all the dirty water doesn't kick in. This means that dirty water starts to accumulate in the base station, eventually overflowing and spilling out onto the floor.

It's frustrating (and pretty gross), and I'm struggling to resolve the issue by cleaning the water sensors, fiddling with the base station, and so on. Anecdotally, a family member bought Xiaomi Robot Vacuum X20 Max a few weeks after seeing my one, and it developed a similar fault within just a couple of months. It was, after some back and forth, repaired by Xiaomi.

Looking online, it doesn't seem to be a widespread problem, though I've still been able to find at least a few others who report the same thing. Users on Facebook and Reddit also seem to have had luck getting their vacuums replaced via Xiaomi's support service, though I suspect I can't go through this route with a review sample.

For this reason, I would recommend buying from Xiaomi directly rather than through reseller if you do chose to pick one up, as you otherwise will likely have more trouble getting support if issues do arise.

• Performance score: 2.5/5

Xiaomi Robot Vacuum X20 Max review: app

• Easy to use
• Scheduling features
• Different suction levels

The Xiaomi Robot Vacuum X20 is compatible with the Xiaomi Home app. It's easy to use and has plenty of features, including the ability to view the map generated by the robot, and its location real time. This is on top of the option to start cleans in specific rooms, schedule cleans, or clean the mop pads.

You can view the battery level, and change cleaning modes. These include basic vacuuming, mopping, vacuuming and mopping, or vacuuming before mopping. You can increase the water output too, with three levels to choose between, but bear in mind that this will increase how quickly you will need to refill everything.

I didn't encounter any bugs within the app, and it remained quick and responsive during my year of testing. The fact that you have to set up a Mi account is a bit annoying, but otherwise it offers everything you could from robot vacuum companion software.

• App score: 4.5/5

Should you buy the Xiaomi Robot Vacuum X20 Max?

Buy it if… 

Don’t buy it if… 

Xiaomi Robot Vacuum X20 Max review: alternatives to consider

How I tested the Xiaomi Robot Vacuum X20 Max

I tested the Xiaomi Robot Vacuum X20 Max in my home for over a year, using it to clean a hallway and two large rooms on a weekly basis. It cleaned a wide variety of messes in that time on a number of different surfaces, namely carpet and tiled flooring. I fully utilized the companion app in order to evaluate its performance and compared the overall experience to other robot vacuums that I own.

Read more about how we test

First reviewed August 2026

• Existing ban on drones and routers extended to "advanced" robots
• FCC has confirmed that robot vacuums are included
• No effect on products already authorized by the FCC for US sales

The US's latest ban on foreign hardware is coming for an unlikely target: robot vacuum cleaners and likely robot lawn mowers too.

The ban comes via the White House, which has extended its previous ban on foreign-made drones and Wi-Fi routers. The ban now includes foreign-made power inverters and "advanced robots" on the grounds that they pose a national security risk to the US.

If you're finding it hard to imagine Russia rigging your vacuum cleaner, or Iran invading the US via an army of lawnbots... yeah. Us too.

How will the ban on robot vacuum cleaners work?

The ban doesn't outlaw the use of robots that you already own, so you're not going to have to hand over your robo-vac to the authorities. However, it bans the sale of "advanced robotic devices".

The definition of advanced robotic devices refers specifically to "autonomous mobile robots, humanoid robots, and quadrupeds" that can move around, avoid obstacles and weigh 4.4lbs or more including any ground station or docking station. Many robot vacuums and lawn mowers meet those criteria, and the FCC has confirmed to PC Mag that the ban does indeed apply to cleaning robots.

This is bad news for the big robot brands such as Ecovacs, Roborock and Dreame; the top five US robot vacuum brands are all Chinese, and therefore fall under this ban, so we contacted them for comment.

"We are aware of the FCC’s recent update," Eric Villines, Chief Communications Officer at Anker Innovations (the parent company of Eufy), told TechRadar. "Based on our current understanding, the new rule does not affect the continued availability, use or support of products we currently sell in the United States. Those products remain available and will continue to receive updates and customer support,

"Like others across the industry, we are seeking further clarity on how the rule will be applied to future products, and we will keep our customers informed. We remain committed to complying with all regulatory requirements in every market where we operate."

Several other smart home brands declined to comment at this early stage, but we get the general impression that this news might have come as something of a surprise.

Can you keep using your robovac?

There is one bit of sunshine in this cloud, however: the ban is not retrospective, so if a robot already has FCC authorization to be sold in the US that's fine. The ban does not prevent retailers "from continuing to sell, import, or market relevant models approved previously."

That said, PC Mag identifies a separate FCC order that says existing robot vacuums and similar products "may continue to receive software and firmware updates that mitigate harm to US consumers at least until January 1, 2029." If the FCC decides not to extend that then it's just put a countdown clock on any new Chinese-made robot vacuums sold in the US.

For the affected manufacturers, the next step will be to lobby the FCC in the hope of gaining an exemption for some or all of their products: after all, there's a big difference between a self-driving, self-cleaning mop and a robot dog capable of carrying an AR-15. However, so far there haven't been any exemptions for major Chinese drone or router manufacturers so the future is not looking very bright for the affected companies.

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Robot lawn mowers are emerging as one of the most exciting smart-home categories. The concept has been around for a while, but in the past two years we've seen advances in technology that are making them more helpful and more user-friendly than ever. Finally, the barriers to entry are coming down, and lawnbots are starting to look like a feasible option for even the least tech-minded amongst us.

To find out more about what's going on in this growing space, I spoke to KK Yin, marketing director at major lawnbot brand Mammotion. We chatted about the most impactful shifts in lawnbot technology, the hottest trends, and the hurdles the industry still needs to overcome.

Cutting-edge edge cutting

For KK, the big feature that hasn't quite been nailed yet is edge-cutting. Even if you have a great robot mower that does a stellar job trimming your grass, its usefulness is limited if you then have to get out a trimmer to take care of the edges. "Edge trimming remains one of the biggest challenges, especially along walls," says KK. "The key is balancing cutting performance with safety."

If you're trimming along the edge of a flat path, it's relatively easy — certain mowers are designed to straddle the path edge, with the blades underneath trimming the grass at the boundary line. However, that doesn't work when trying to trim next to a wall. "The lawnmower can get as close as possible, but the cutting disc being set back from the mower's edge to maintain a safe clearance prevents the mower from cutting close enough to walls," KK continues.

Lots of brands have been working on a solution, and it typically takes the form of an edge-trimming module that attaches to the side of the bot, with smaller blades in a protective casing.

On the Luba Mini is an edge-cutting disc that can trim as close as 5cm (1.97 inches) from a wall — a distance KK admits might not be close enough. "Five centimeters is not very far from the wall, but still some users want us to make it perfect so it can cut maybe even down to one centimeter," KK says.

"We're exploring more flexible solutions," he continues. "For example, when mowing alongside a wall, the cutting disc could potentially extend slightly out of the mower's body for a cleaner edge cut. In open areas or during ride-on-the-edge mowing, it would retract to maintain a safe clearance beneath the mower. So that is the direction and also the challenge in the future."

Tackling tricky terrain

Another major lawnbot trend that's been emerging over the past year or so is all-wheel drive (AWD). This helps lawnbots tackle tricky or uneven terrain, as having all the wheels individually powered means that if one or two end up off the ground, or struggling to get traction, the others can help the robot escape without requiring manual intervention.

AWD can also help the lawnbot retain its grip when scaling especially steep lawns. KK notes that in the European market, and Germany especially, lots of houses stand on slopes, where this boosted climbing ability comes in handy.

All-wheel drive is usually indicated by an 'AWD' on the product's name, and it appears in Mammotion's advanced Luba line — you can see the LUBA 3 AWD scaling an astroturf mountain in the video above.

The brand has also been looking at upgrading its bots' climbing ability and mowing speed, and is keen to figure out what the next advancement might look like. "We can see some other companies are exploring other things like independent steering," says KK. "Maybe that is a good solution for difficult terrain. So we are also thinking about how to combine this technology."

Better tech in smaller bots

Initially, Mammotion kicked off its lawnbot journey with its premium Luba series. Later on, the Yuka Mini arrived — a smaller, more affordable bot that's designed for yards 500 to 800 square meters in size. It proved to be the big winner in Europe during the recent Amazon Prime Day sales.

"I think when we started, our premium product line helped us build trust in our technology — things like the all-wheel drive and the positioning system and the efficiency. So customers believed our brand could bring some of that technology to an entry-level lawnmower," muses KK.

The Yuka Mini is a good fit for European yards, which on average are 300 to 500 square meters in size. "Many robot lawnmower brands spend a lot and have a different product strategy for European regions, because many of the users have already accepted this innovative product for their lawn care. For example, they know about the positioning systems and how all-wheel drive compares with rear-wheel drive. They want their robot lawnmower to do more things — not only mowing, but also edge trimming."

In the US, where the average lawn size is much larger than in Europe, the focus is a little different. "I think most US users still prefer a ride-on or traditional lawnmower. I think they're still looking for an efficient robot mower that can cover their large lawn," says KK. "The US is at a different stage, and what customers require is different.

No-fuss installation

Navigation tech is perhaps the area that has moved on most quickly and has had the most impact on lawnbot usability. It was only a few years ago that boundary wires were required; now they're all but obsolete.

Initially, the technology to take over was RTK. This is satellite-based positioning, and it requires a separate RTK receiver to improve the accuracy of the satellite data. Not everyone wanted to set up a receiver in their yard, leading to a shift to centralized receivers that could serve massive areas at once. Mammotion calls this NetRTK.

Either way, the system relies on satellites, which means it has some limitations in yards where there is coverage from trees or buildings. Most recently, we've started to see LiDAR being used. This is the navigation approach used in robot vacuums, and just like with RTK, there are pros and cons when used in lawnbots. LiDAR works by bouncing light off objects to build up a picture of its surroundings, which is great when there are objects around but less useful in wide, open spaces with nothing to bounce off.

"You know, like we always say, maybe laziness is the best way to improve the technology!" says KK. "For our users, if they're happy with the intelligence of the robot lawnmower, then they want an easier installation, or even no installation at all. So that's why they really like our NetRTK, because they don't need to install an antenna. Or some users will choose LiDAR, which doesn't need an antenna at all."

The real shift is less to do with using one specific navigation approach over another, and more about moving to a situation where multiple navigation technologies can work alongside one another.

"We want to think about the final result of the positioning system," says KK. "Many users don't want to compare which positioning method is good. They just use it; that's enough. They don't need to know more about it. So that's why we came up with Tri-Fusion, which combines the advantages of RTK and LiDAR and even AI vision. We believe this can cover all environments for a residential user."

A few robot mower companies have started experimenting with similar concepts, where the bot can swap between different approaches depending on the situation. If satellite signal drops out under some trees, LiDAR can swoop in to save the day and get the lawnbot back on track, for instance. Cameras (often backed by AI) form the third pillar, enabling the bot to recognize objects and understand if it should mow close to them or steer clear.

There are problems still to solve in the world of robot mowers, but let's not forget that just a few short years ago, we were still painstakingly laying boundary wires and watching the lawnbot bounce haphazardly between them. Now, the issue is whether a bot can trim quite close enough to the edge of a wall, and if it's smart enough to tell a soccer ball from a lounger. We've come a long way.

Brilliant bots

We've tested plenty of impressive lawnbots at TechRadar. Here's a taster of some of our favorites — hit the View details button for a link to our full review for each.

The world of robot vacuums has come a long way. I've been testing and writing about these puck-shaped home helpers for over two years, and during that time I've watched suction specs skyrocket, bots sprout legs and pincer arms, and docks transform into formidable, self-sufficient cleaning stations. Robot vacuums are looking cleverer and more useful than ever.

I wanted to get an idea of where the industry is headed, and what the next generation of robovacs might look like. So I rounded up representatives from some of the best robot vacuum brands to get their insights — and it's clear from what they told me that this smart-home segment is going to get even bigger… and even weirder.

• Update: After this article was published, it was announced that the FFC would be banning robot vacuums made outside of the US. Read the full story here.

Complete cleaners

The obvious place to start is with the cleaning itself, and there's one point that my interviewees all agreed on: it's no longer all about the suction specs. "Customers are looking beyond headline suction figures and realizing the performance of robot vacuums is the combination of a lot of features," says Michael Meng, President of Dreame's robot vacuum division.

Nowadays, customers are looking for better cleaning, rather than just outright power, and robovac brands have been happy to oblige, with all manner of inventive solutions.

Roborock, for example, has been working hard to make sure no corner goes uncleaned. "We see a massive push for ultra-slim designs that don't sacrifice power," says Ricky Ma, general manager for Europe and America. "People want a device that can finally clean the forgotten spaces under low-profile furniture — couches, beds, and cabinets — where dust and allergens traditionally accumulate and remain out of reach for bulkier robots."

The brand's newest bots use an innovative navigation system that doesn't require a raised puck to sit on the top surface. Roborock — alongside Dreame — has also experimented with pucks that can extend or retract, periscope-style, depending on the vertical height available.

Mopping functions have been the subject of much attention, too. Wet cleaning is nothing new — in fact, these days you might struggle to find a model that can't mop — but I've been seeing an increasing preference for roller mops rather than flat mop pads (either of the D-shaped or disc-shaped variety). The benefit of a cylindrical mop is that the dirty water can be scraped off, and clean water added in, as the robovac goes about its mopping business.

"One development that particularly excites me is the introduction of roller mop technology, which helps ensure floors are continuously cleaned with a fresh mop surface," says Reena Patel,

Floorcare Category Manager at iRobot, the brand behind Roomba.

Faraz Mehdi, managing director at Eufy, agrees. "Users increasingly care about whether the robot is actually cleaning with a clean mop and truly removing dirty water, rather than just spreading mess around," he says. "Real-time self-cleaning mopping makes a meaningful difference."

Eufy is also looking into improving filtration. In manual vacuums, Dyson has popularized multi-step filtration systems, which make use of cyclones to separate waste particles of different sizes. However, that hasn't really carried over into robot vacuums, which typically have a much more basic setup.

Eufy's AeroTurbo filter setup is significantly more complex. "We’re interested in airflow and dust-separation systems that help deliver more sustained suction performance, especially in homes with carpets and hair," explains Faraz. "One of the biggest pain points in the category is that cleaning performance can fall over time as filters clog, so technologies like multi-cyclone separation matter because they improve long-term consistency."

Dreame has made particular strides in innovations focused on getting right into edges and corners. "No matter how powerful a robot vacuum is, dust and debris collect in corners and along edges where brushes simply can't reach. It's one of those problems that sounds minor until you actually look at how dirty those corners get," says Michael Meng.

Its newest bot — the X60 Pro Ultra Complete — has 'UltraExtend technology', which enables the mop pad to kick out up to 7 inches / 18cm from the robot body, and the side sweeper brush to unfurl, E.T.-style, to reach up to 4.7 inches / 12cm.

The design is inspired by human limbs. "When you extend your forearm, your reach increases significantly," Meng explains. "We applied that same principle to our robotic arm design — engineering it to fold and unfold in a way that mimics natural arm movement."

Intertwined with cleaning performance is battery function. "A robot vacuum that runs out of power mid-clean is more frustration than solution," says Meng. "Consumers with larger homes or open-plan layouts need a robot that can complete a full clean in a single charge — or intelligently return to dock, recharge and resume exactly where it left off. Battery efficiency, combined with smart charging and resume functionality, has become a key purchasing consideration for households of all sizes."

Mind the (performance) gap

Even with all the performance advancements, it's still the case that a robot vacuum-mop won't clean as well as a manual vacuum could. Robovacs are winning on convenience, but not on cleaning power. The long-term aim is to catch up. "The first step is to close the cleaning performance gap — reaching, and eventually surpassing, handheld devices," says Faraz from Eufy.

Longer-term, he sees things progressing to a point where robot vacuums can tackle not just vacuuming and straightforward mopping, but a wider range of cleaning demands.

"Technologies like roller mopping, steam cleaning, and multi-cyclone systems are maturing," he points out. "In the next five to 10 years, robot vacuums will take on true deep-cleaning capabilities — thorough carpet washing, high-temperature steam disinfection and floor sanitization. The kinds of tasks that currently require dedicated equipment or professional services will gradually fall within the robot vacuum remit."

The trump card robot vacuums already hold over manual cleaning appliances is that they take care of the job on their own. It makes sense, then, that continuing to improve automation is a key focus for all the brands I spoke to.

"In the 12 years we have existed as a company, trends have shifted constantly," says Roborock's Ricky Ma. "Currently, the primary trend is 'zero-maintenance and zero human intervention', where users expect a robot to not only vacuum and mop but also self-clean, self-dry, and navigate complex environments without human intervention."

"The biggest challenge is making advanced automation feel completely effortless," adds SwitchBot's co-founder Richard Mou. "Our goal is to reduce the number of times users need to think about their robot."

iRobot's Reena Patel points out that this focus on autonomy is reflected in iRobot's sales patterns. "We've seen consumers become more willing to purchase premium robot vacuums to deliver a genuinely hands-off experience," she tells me. "Consumers are increasingly prioritizing features that save time, such as self-emptying and self-cleaning docks, advanced mopping systems, and intelligent obstacle avoidance."

A big part of the equation when it comes to true autonomy is maintenance. "People increasingly expect higher automation," says Eufy's Faraz Mehdi. "Features like auto-emptying, mop washing, drying, and anti-tangle systems are becoming much more important because users want a robot that genuinely reduces housework, rather than creating a new maintenance routine."

The ultimate aim is robovacs that don't require you to get involved at all — as Mehdi puts it, "zero manual intervention, end to end", including "full-chain self-maintenance, so the user never needs to maintain the machine itself."

Self-maintenance is one thing, but for a robot to operate without a human chaperone present, it also needs reliable navigation and object avoidance skills. These are essential if it's not going to get lost, stuck or tangled in something.

"Accurate navigation is the foundation of an effective robot vacuum," says Dreame's Michael Meng. "Advanced LiDAR and AI-powered object recognition allow modern robots to avoid obstacles in real time.... Smart robots should not be trapped or stuck easily, so they can work on their own without users to rescue them."

I've never met a robot vacuum that's not desperate to jam itself up by chowing down on any charge cable it can get its wheels on, so here I'd like to put in a personal appeal for more focus on low-level object avoidance.

Time to step up

When it comes to robot vacuums making their way around unassisted, the ultimate hurdle to overcome is stairs. The more premium of the current fleet of bots tend to come kitted out with something akin to small stilts, which raise up the body of the vacuum and enable it to maneuver over tall room thresholds.

However, traversing an actual flight of stairs requires an altogether more involved approach. "It sounds like a simple problem, but for anyone living in a multi-story home, it's one of the biggest limitations of robot vacuums today," Meng notes.

As far as I'm aware, there are just three brands who have offered some kind of stair climbing solution, and they're all represented in my pack of interviewees. For Dreame, it's the Cyber X — essentially a stair-climbing pocket into which a robot vacuum can dock when it needs to change floors. Think of it like a stairlift for robovacs. Eufy's MarsWalker takes a similar approach.

Roborock's Saros Rover is rather different, with its two long, spindly legs that enable it to scale not just steps but all kinds of uneven terrain. Ricky Ma sees it as a major breakthrough in bots that don't require human intervention. "The future of this category is exciting and we can't wait to show everyone what we have to offer," he enthuses. I saw the Rover in action at CES 2026, and it was a complete departure from any robot vacuum I've seen before. At that point, it was still at prototype stage — I'll be watching with interest to see how things develop.

Future-gazing

So far, I've been focusing on developments that have already started to take root. But what about the longer term? I asked my interviewees their predictions for what the robovac market might look like in five to 10 years' time, and they had some intriguing answers.

Eufy believes autonomous decision-making is going to change the game. "Robot vacuums will reach a level of intelligence where they can genuinely understand the home environment, identify different types of dirt, and autonomously choose the optimal cleaning strategy," Faraz Mehdi predicts.

Roborock is planning along similar lines. "Robovacs are rapidly shifting from an appliance to a smart cleaning partner. The most important shift will be greater physical intelligence," says Ricky Ma. "The ultimate goal is to build an intelligent cleaning partner that can spot the need to clean even before the user has time to ask the product to do so."

Further to this, a few of the execs I interviewed envision about a future where robot vacuums are no longer lone rangers, but work seamlessly alongside other smart appliances.

"Rather than operating as standalone devices, they will become increasingly connected with the wider smart home ecosystem, working more intelligently with other devices," says Dreame's Michael Meng.

Meng also sees a future where robovacs are far from the only autonomous helpers in the home. "While the familiar robot vacuum will remain an important form factor, its capabilities will extend well beyond floor cleaning," he says. "Advances in technologies such as robotic manipulation and embodied AI will enable these robots to interact more naturally with their surroundings and take on a broader range of household tasks."

SwitchBot's Richard Mou has an even more fully formed vision for the future: "I think we'll stop thinking about robovacs as a standalone category and instead see them as part of a broader family of home robots," he tells me.

"As embodied AI and humanoid robotics continue to mature, robot vacuums will contribute proven capabilities like autonomous navigation, environmental perception, and home mapping, while future humanoid robots build on those foundations to take on a much wider range of household tasks. At SwitchBot, that's exactly how we see the future — creating intelligent home robots that work together as one ecosystem rather than isolated devices."

Prepare yourself for the home robot takeover — and for an even cleaner home.

TP-Link Tapo C660 Kit: One-minute review

The TP-Link Tapo C660 Kit is a feature-packed 4K outdoor security camera that delivers many of the perks usually reserved for pricier models, including solar charging, pan-and-tilt coverage, color night vision and local microSD storage.

That last feature means you won’t need to pay for a subscription for video playback and download, but there are still some great (but non-essential) features in the paid Tapocare subscription, especially if you plan to expand your home's security with more than a single camera.

The Tapo app is also easy to use, and the C660 Kit will slot in alongside other Tapo smart home gear like lights, plugs and more to form its own smart home ecosystem. On the other hand, if you have other smart devices in the mix and would prefer a hub to control them all, Alexa has the strongest support, while Google Home only works with voice commands and video streaming to smart displays and TVs. There’s no native support for Apple HomeKit.

While it doesn't necessarily stand out in a crowded market with its design, the white casing looks sleek and stylish, and the IP65 waterproof rating means the C660 Kit is dust-tight and can withstand low-pressure water jets from any direction (aka rain, splashes or hose spray).

TP-Link Tapo C660 Kit review: Price and availability

• Starts at $169.99 / £179.99 / AU$299 for a single camera unit
• Available in multipacks of 2, 3 and 4-camera bundles
• Optional Tapocare subscription plans start at $3.49 / £2.99 / AU$3.99 per month

The Tapo C660 Kit costs $169.99 / £179.99 / AU$299 for a single camera unit, although multipacks of 2-, 3- and 4-camera kits are available either as set bundles or as part of a build-your-own package option directly from Tapo as well as through third-party retailers like Amazon.

While you may not need a subscription package, especially if you use a single camera unit, Tapocare might well be worthwhile for some users. It offers cloud storage, extended video clip history for up to 30 days and enhanced notifications, with plans starting at $3.49 / £2.99 / AU$3.99 per month for one camera on the Basic Tapocare tier. Prices increase as you add more cameras.

You can also buy the camera on its own without the solar panel under the TP-Link Tapo C560WS name for $99.99 / £109.99 / AU$199.

• Value: 5/5

TP-Link Tapo C660 Kit review: Specs

TP-Link Tapo C660 Kit review: Design and installation

• Sleek black and white color scheme
• Straightforward installation with easy-to-follow instructions
• Recommended mounting height is between 2.5m and 3m (8-10 feet)

The Tapo C660 Kit has a sleek white plastic body with black accents around the lens, with IP65 rating for dust ingress protection and resistance to low-pressure water jets from any direction. This means water from rain, splashes or hose spray will be fine, but it won’t withstand immersion and pressure washing.

The solar panel is just the right size relative to the camera — it isn’t small and subtle by any means and it’s definitely noticeable once installed, but it isn’t too imposing either. As mentioned above, there is a rubber flap underneath the camera lens concealing the power button, a reset button and a microSD card slot.

Installing the Tapo C660 Kit is straightforward thanks to the easy-to-follow instructions included in the box. You start by drilling holes where you want to mount the base plate, then slot the camera in. The solar panel is screwed on top, then plugged into the camera’s USB-C port located on the bottom.

It’s worth taking some time to think about where you want the camera placed before you install it, though. While the Tapo C660 Kit can pan and tilt the camera, getting the full view of an entire space isn’t guaranteed if it’s mounted too low since it doesn’t tilt upward. TP-Link recommends mounting it between 2.5m and 3m (8-10 feet) and in a location where the solar panel gets the most sunlight throughout the year.

TP-Link also recommends that the camera shouldn’t point at swaying trees and other moving objects like vehicles and pedestrians to prevent an avalanche of notifications, but if it’s unavoidable, the C660 lets you set motion detection zones via the app to reduce or minimize notifications of movement within those zones.

One thing to note about the installation is that the camera has a manual power button tucked away beneath a flap under the lens. Unlike other security cameras that power up automatically when plugged into a power source (like the solar panel or a USB-C cable), this button needs to be switched on before mounting (especially when it's in a hard-to-reach height) and pairing with the Tapo app.

Pairing the camera to the app is quick and straightforward, with only a few setup options at the beginning, like Wi-Fi connection type (2.4GHz for longer range or 5GHz for better video streaming quality, both using the Wi-Fi 4 standard), assigning the camera’s location and even the icon you want displayed in the Tapo app home screen.

• Design: 5/5

TP-Link Tapo C660 Kit review: Software and smart home support

• Tapo app is intuitive and easy to use
• Alexa has full support, while Google Home is limited
• Motion detection zones move with the camera instead of a fixed area

TP-Link’s Tapo C660 Kit natively integrates with the Tapo smart home app, allowing the camera to slot into any existing Tapo smart home ecosystem that might include lights, plugs, switches, robot vacuums, door locks and more.

If you have devices from other brands and use a smart assistant to consolidate them into one interface, the camera supports Amazon Alexa and Google Home. Alexa supports both live footage playback and voice commands, while Google Home only supports voice controls and video streaming on select devices. Apple HomeKit isn’t supported, but alerts and automations can still be done through Siri via iOS shortcuts enabled through the Tapo app.

The app works well, with an intuitive interface using tiles to show all your Tapo devices, with dedicated tabs for the different gadget categories (like cameras, vacuums and 'Smart' for automations). You can play the live feed and adjust settings by tapping on the tile for the camera (or cameras if you have more).

Camera settings include two-way audio, a toggle for the built-in spotlight and adjustments for panning and tilting the camera. There’s also an option to 'save' a set camera position via 'Viewpoints' and easily access those positions without manually adjusting each time. Those views can be used for automations, too.

To try out the feature, I set the camera to monitor the rear of the house instead of the driveway and front stairs for just a few hours during the day, and it would activate as scheduled each time. Patrol Mode also lets you move the camera between those set positions, but the Tapo app warns that this mode may impact the camera motor’s longevity.

One annoyance I found with the Viewpoints feature was that the motion detection zone that I set also moved with the camera and there’s no option to lock it to a specific spot. Thankfully, I didn’t have to move my camera too often for that to personally impact me, but I can see it being inconvenient for some users.

Adding to the motion tracking is a setting subject detection like person, pet or vehicle, and it can also be set for different motion detection zones as well.

• Software: 4/5

TP-Link Tapo C660 Kit review: Performance

• Crisp 4K image quality from 8MP lens
• Built-in spotlight provides color at night
• Solar panel keeps the unit running 24/7

The Tapo C660 Kit captures videos through its 8MP lens with 4K (3840 x 2160 pixels) resolution, with a frame rate of 15 or 20 frames per second. The recorded video clips were crisp and detailed when viewing live or when playing back previously recorded footage. It was clear enough for me to see details like faces, vehicle license plates and larger text from further away, while the 18x digital zoom provided more detail than lower-resolution cameras.

It managed to retain detail in brighter areas and the video wasn’t washed out, like when direct sunlight was hitting the driveway. There’s built-in wide dynamic range to prevent overexposure in bright sunlight or underexposure in dark shadows.

Motion tracking was responsive, and the C660 Kit could track me moving when I was walking quickly, running or cycling (although I wouldn’t necessarily call myself a fast runner or cyclist to try and avoid the tracking). I also liked that the camera automatically reverts to the original position after detecting movement, so I didn’t have to adjust it manually as some security cameras require you to do.

At night, the f/1.6 aperture takes in enough light to provide a clear image, and the built-in spotlight adds more low-light visibility. There’s also an infrared sensor as an alternative to color night vision. While I found both modes were able to detect movement almost instantly, the image quality isn’t as crisp as daytime mode, but it was still decent enough to be clear and fully visible.

The built-in microphone produced clear audio and was loud enough for a conversation even when I wasn't at home.

The solar panel kept the battery topped up, with the camera almost always running at 100% apart from some overcast days. It was only when I switched on 24/7 Capture (which frankly most people won’t need) that the solar panel struggled to keep the camera charged, and I eventually had to bring it indoors (it can be removed from its base plate easily) for a top-up via a USB-C cable.

In a different test, I tried running the camera without the solar panel plugged in, and the camera ran uninterrupted for just over 2 weeks before it needed charging.

The Tapo C660 Kit isn't necessarily the cheapest 4K security camera, but having local storage via a microSD card makes it a great value option compared to others that require a subscription to access cloud storage for recorded footage. It supports up to 512GB, though you'll need to purchase the microSD card separately as it doesn't come with one in the box.

TP-Link says that’s enough for around 16 complete days of recording, which is plenty for most people. Local storage means you can also back up those recordings to your home computer or another drive for redundancy. The Tapo app also lets you password-protect the microSD card for an extra layer of security.

Accessing footage from the card is easy through the app, and notifications reliably link to recordings with almost no delay after the camera detects motion. Video playback is also very smooth in the app. If you prefer cloud storage, you can opt for the aforementioned Tapocare subscription and choose a plan based on the number of connected cameras you plan to have.

Other features in Tapocare include 30 days of encrypted video storage for events, rich notifications and video summaries.

• Performance: 4/5

Should I buy the TP-Link Tapo C660 Kit?

Buy it if

Don't buy it if

How I tested the TP-Link Tapo C660 Kit

I installed the Tapo C660 Kit to a porch post on my property for a few months to get a sense of both its recording capabilities and whether its solar panel would keep the camera’s battery charged.

I tested all the settings, but had the alarm and spotlight mostly turned off to avoid disturbing neighbors, only doing one-off tests to see if they perform as advertized. I would also check captured footage whenever I got a push notification.

The smart home integrations were tested with smart displays (a 2nd-gen Google Nest Hub and an Amazon Echo Show 5) in addition to the Alexa and Google Home mobile apps.

First reviewed July 2026

• Google is expanding Gemini Live to the first-gen Home Mini speaker and Nest Hub smart display
• It rolled out in Gemini for Home early access, and requires a Google Home Premium subscription
• Google also increased Gemini's conversation memory window to 15 minutes

It’s a great day to be an owner of older Google smart home devices, now the company is rolling out Gemini Live to its two of its OG models.

Yesterday (July 23) Google unveiled a slew of Gemini for Home early access upgrades on its support page, but the one that has everyone talking is the arrival of Gemini Live, which is coming to the first-gen Google Home Mini speaker and Google Nest Hub smart display.

The update marks the next step in Google’s plan to expand the ubiquity of its live AI chatbot, which the company rolled out to the Nest Mini, Nest Audio, Nest Hub, and Nest Hub Max devices in October 2025. The new Google Home Speaker comes equipped with Gemini Live out of the box.

For users who are still going strong with their first-gen Google devices, we imagine this upgrade will be welcomed with open arms, but the one catch is that Gemini Live is paywalled behind the Google Home Premium subscription service, which costs a monthly fee of $10/ £8/ AU$15.

If you already have Google Home Premium and are part of the Gemini for Home early access program, you can now start conversations with your Home Mini and Nest Hub devices by saying ‘Hey Google, let’s chat’. The chime will indicate that Gemini is listening, and you can ask it anything such as recipe ideas, suggestions for an upcoming trip, or dive deeper into the most niche topics.

In addition to Gemini Live’s expansion, Google has upgraded Gemini’s conversation memory window to 15 minutes. “You can ask Gemini a follow-up question to a topic that was discussed during this window, and Gemini will understand the context,” the company details.

It’s refreshing to see that Google hasn’t completely given up on its early smart speakers and displays — even if the hardware is aging. Not often do you see tech giants acknowledge that old devices are still widely used, and Amazon is a classic example of this.

A few months back, the company came under fire for ending support for Kindles released from 2012 and earlier even though there’s a whole community of bookworms that still rely on these models — so Google is doing a better job than Amazon in that regard.

Signed up to Google Home Premium but unsure how to join the Gemini for Home early access program? We’ve got you covered.

First, you’re going to need to request early access, and you’ll need to make sure your Google Home app is updated to the latest version. From there, launch the app and tap your profile image or initial at the top right, select Home settings, and then Early Access. Follow the steps to request early access, and you’ll receive a notification when Gemini for Home becomes available for your devices.

You can also check region availability and other information on the Google Home and Nest help page.

I've been testing and writing about robot vacuums for nearly a decade here on TechRadar Australia and one of the standouts for me in the past 12 months was (if you'll excuse the pun) an absolute dream machine.

If you read my in-depth Dreame Aqua10 Ultra review, you'll know just how impressed I was with its overall performance, and my nitpicking complaints were mostly to do with how its battery gets used, which honestly isn't even a complaint — perhaps more of an observation.

It is, however, a premium model that I've only very rarely seen discounted. Its slightly cheaper sibling, the standard Dreame Aqua10 Roller, though, is almost as good and also currently 44% off on Amazon, and just AU$69.35 more than its Prime Day price from earlier this July.

That's still a sight better than having to pay nearly three grand for the Ultra version.

The differences between Aqua10 Roller and its Ultra sibling may seem like a long list, but trust someone who's still using the latter in her own home — it's overkill and not worth the extra cash.

So what are those differences? Well, for starters, the LiDAR turret doesn't lower itself automatically on the standard Roller version, but that's not unique to it, especially at this price. It also misses out on the 3D mapping that the Ultra version does but, again, a 2D map is pretty much all most people will need (floors, after all, tend to be pretty flat). And it gets a single-compartment soap dispenser instead of the dual-slot one in the Ultra which, again, isn't necessary unless you want to use an odour-neutralising solution as well.

For your money, you're still getting a whopping 30,000Pa of suction which, going by how well my Ultra version utilises it, will do very well on carpets and I am in awe at how well the roller mop works on the Dreame. There are plenty of intelligent features available on the Aqua10, including intelligent stain removal, so if you think your robovac has forgotten its navigation path and is circling, that's likely just its sensors picking up extra dirt in a small area and getting the bot to clean repeatedly for a thorough job.

It's also a machine that promises excellent edge cleaning, since it uses the exact same side brush and extending roller mop as the Ultra model. And the Roller even has the same automatic mop cover, which comes on as soon as it detects carpet to keep the mop head clean and your carpet dry.

While the Roller doesn't quite match the Ultra's ability to move over thresholds and steps up to 8cm tall, it's capacity to tackle heights up to 6cm is still above average, and means it can potentially head into patio areas if your sliding door frames aren't very high.

If it performs anywhere as well as my Ultra model, I think the Dreame Aqua10 Roller will be hard to beat at its current discounted price.

• Ring had launched an updated Outdoor Camera and Peephole Camera 2K
• They will both go on sale in August 2026
• The Outdoor Camera is £99.99 (about $130 / AU$190), and the Peephole Camera is £79.99 (about $110 / AU$150)

Ring has announced two brand new smart security cameras, one for mounting outdoors and one for installing into the peephole of your door.

Let's start with the outdoor option first. The new Ring Outdoor Camera (2nd Gen) is available in both wired and battery versions. It has a wide-angle lens (140 degrees horizontal and 85 degrees vertical), and delivers 2K resolution with up to 6x enhanced zoom. It has B&W night vision, customizable privacy zones and motion detection, and you can talk to visitors via Live View and Two-Way Talk. If you subscribe to Ring Protect you can also get intelligent alerts and the ability to scroll back in time to rewatch footage. Wi-Fi is single-band Wi-Fi 4 using the 2.4GHz frequency band.

One of the big selling points here is easy installation: it's simple to mount the camera and it's designed to cope with temperatures from -20ºC to +50ªC, although Ring says the camera may temporarily turn itself off if it's in direct sunlight during extreme heat conditions.

The Ring Outdoor Camera (2nd Gen) has a list price of £99.99 (about $130 / AU$190) and it'll be available from August 12, 2026. Pre-orders are open now.

Ring Peephole Camera 2K: this peep is fairly cheap and fits in doors that are quite deep

The new Ring Peephole Camera 2K is more stylish than its rather boxy predecessor, with a more triangular shape and a good-looking speckled finish. It fits through the space where you'd normally have an optical peephole, and there's no need to drill, run cables or do anything at all as it's completely wireless and runs off a rechargeable battery. It's designed to fit peepholes from 12mm to 14mm in size and go through doors between 32.5mm and 60mm.

I think this is going to be particularly popular with flat dwellers, especially renters who can't make any physical changes to the property: simply unscrew the optical peephole, install the camera, and you can take it with you when you move. Don't forget to keep the original peephole somewhere where you can find it again, though.

Like the new Outdoor Camera (2nd Gen) the resolution is 2K with up to 6x enhanced zoom, Live View and Two-Way Talk, but there's no night vision here so you'll need to make sure the door is facing a well-lit area. Ring says its camera is tuned for low-light conditions, but this camera doesn't see in the dark like the Outdoor Camera does.

The field of view is 140 x 140 degrees to deliver 'head-to-toe' visuals, and the quick release battery is easy to remove for charging. Wi-Fi is Wi-Fi 4 on the 2.4GHz frequency band.

The Ring Peephole Camera 2K will be available from August 19, 2026, and pre-orders are open now. The list price is £79.99 (about $110 / AU$150).

Computing is so ubiquitous that we often see more than one in most households, including laptops, desktops, all-in-ones, smartphones, tablets, and so on. But there was once a time when that certainly wasn't the case. In that context, some comments made by industry stalwarts of the past may appear like massive miscalculations.

Ethics in AI

The late Ken Olsen was the co-founder and CEO of Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC), a major company in the mid-20th century that produced a series of minicomputers over the decades in which it operated until its decline in 1998.

Despite being a key part of the computer industry, Olsen was adamant that the computer was something isolated to the enterprise — delivering his infamous comments in 1977 at a convention of the World Future Society. There are, however, two very important caveats.

Firstly, computers at the time were either gigantic mainframes or minicomputers that needed specialized staff to manage. Secondly, Olsen later claimed his words were taken completely out of context.

Smart living

Olsen claimed he wasn't referring to the sort of computers we see today in homes like desktop PCs or laptops, but actually the then-futuristic proposal of a master computer that would automate different functions around the house.

What the executive was referring to was what we now understand as the smart home. However, regardless of the context, his comments still missed the mark — as the rise of smart home technology has been a very exciting development during the 21st century.

That said, the vision of a fully automated and intelligent home has proven massively prohibitive, partially due to cost, partially due to hardware, and finally due to slow interoperability and integration. That latter element, however, is finally something that's been changing thanks to the Matter smart home standard.

Top PC accessories (for the computer you apparently don't need in your home)

Robot lawn mowers are growing in popularity, and with good reason. They're getting more advanced in features, easier to set up and use, and can be a huge time- and effort-saver... provided you pick the right model. There are plenty of options to choose from, spanning a range of prices and capabilities, and if you're new to the lawnbot world then it can be tricky to figure out which one you need.

This article is here to guide you through that process. I've pulled together five big questions to help you narrow down your options. And for added expertise, I've enlisted the help of KK Yin, Marketing Director at leading lawnbot brand Mammotion, whose insights you'll find throughout the piece.

#1. Do I need all-wheel drive?

"Everyone has a different environment for their lawn. So the first thing a customer should do is choose which kind of power system they need — for example, all-wheel drive or rear-wheel drive, or some the brands have front-wheel drive," says KK.

Rear-wheel drive will be perfectly fine if you have a relatively even and flat lawn, and will have no issue scaling relatively gentle inclines. However, if you have a very steep or uneven lawn, all-wheel drive (AWD) will help ensure the lawnbot maintains its grip without churning up your grass. Front-wheel drive is really only for flat lawns, and is a less common power system.

AWD tends to be reserved for larger, more premium robot mowers. However, at the start of this year Segway Navimow launched compact AWD model, with the suggestion that it would treat your turf more gently.

#2. Does my lawn have shaded areas?

Next, KK suggests figuring out which navigation method is best suited to the environment. "A customer should look at if they have shaded areas, the house is tall or they have trees in the garden. If they do, I suggest they don't choose an RTK positioning system. They should maybe choose a LiDAR model," says KK.

There are two major navigation systems for robot mowers. RTK, which uses satellites, can work very well if the lawnbot has a wide, uninterrupted view of the sky. However, if there are obstructions — such as those listed by KK — in the way, these can block the signal and lead to the lawnbot getting lost.

LiDAR is the system used by robot vacuums, and is relatively new in the robot mower market. LiDAR builds a picture of its surroundings by bouncing light off objects, so it's not well suited to wide-open lawns with no objects in them.

Broadly speaking, RTK will be a good choice in big, open yards, whereas LiDAR might be a better fit if you have a smaller, more cluttered yard. LiDAR models are often pricier, so if you can get away with an RTK bot, you might prefer to go with that option.

#3. How big is my lawn?

Many lawnbot models are available in a few different iterations aimed at different-sized lawns (typically indicated by a number after the product name). The difference is usually the battery capacity — a bot designed for a larger area will have a bigger battery, enabling it to cover more ground before having to return to its dock to recharge, thus making it more efficient.

"I think most users figure out that in one week they will mow maybe two or three times. So they need to work out how long it will take a product to mow their lawn once," suggests KK. With that information, you can work out if your mower will be efficient enough to keep up with your grass-trimming demands.

#4. Do I have more than one mowing zone?

"The next point, I think, is about multi-zone management," says KK. "Not all people have one big lawn — it's divided by the house, or the garden is split into different areas. That means they need to manage more than one mowing zone."

Pretty much every lawnbot will be able to mow multiple separate lawns, with the ability to create different maps in your app. However, some have more advanced multi-zone capabilities than others. One bot might be intelligent enough to handle a schedule where the lawnbot spends the morning in Zone A and moves to Zone B in the evening, and it might even be able to work out the optimal mowing patterns and cadence.

#5. How much setup do I want to do?

If you end up with a satellite-based lawnbot (see point #2), you might need to decide between a bot that comes with a separate antenna and one that does not. This RTK station is required to make the satellite information more accurate — so satellite positioning on its own might tell you where a bot is to within a meter or two, but add in a separate RTK receiver and it's more like centimeters.

Traditionally, you'd have this receiver in your own back yard. This adds an extra level of complexity to setup — the reciever needs to sit high up, with direct line of sight to satellites in the sky, and it also needs a power source. However, increasingly, we're seeing lawnbots that use a big, centralized RTK receiver that covers a large area. Mammotion calls this NetRTK. It's definitely a more low-effort option.

There are further features to look out for if you want the most straightforward setup. Some modern robot mowers have cameras and AI features that enable them to instantly create a map of their location, so you can just pop it on the floor and it'll be able to start mowing pretty much instantly. KK suggests these kinds of features are more of a nice-to-have, and advises focusing on the first four points first.

Reviews round-up

We've tested plenty of excellent lawnbots at TechRadar. Here's a taster of some of our favorites — tap the 'View details' button for more information, plus a link to our full reviews.

• Philips is rumored to be launching a new camera-based Hue Sync device for its TV backlights
• It removes the need for a pricey Hue Play HDMI Sync Box
• The 'Sync Screen' would be the first camera for the Philips Hue Play system

Philips Hue could be working on a new device for syncing your TV’s color palette to your backlights, giving you another option for illuminating your entertainment setup

Fabian of Hue Blog attended an online presentation hosted by Philips, and spotted a new Hue Sync device with an integrated camera that looks strikingly similar to rival devices like the Nanoleaf 4D.

The new gadget could be called ‘Sync Screen’, and may be unveiled at IFA 2026 in September. We don't know how much it will cost yet, but considering Philips Hue is a premium brand, it's likely the new device will sit in a higher price bracket than its competitors.

Just like other camera-operated TV LED lights, Philips’ version mounts to the top of a TV or monitor, and captures the color movements of the movie, show, or game on the screen. This movement is then processed and synced with backlights mounted behind the display.

From the image shared by Hue Blog, it seems that the Philips Sync Screen camera will only have one lens, but will likely be a fish-eye one to capture your entire TV screen — just like those used by rival devices.

You will almost certainly still need a Philips Hue Bridge to link the lights and camera to one another, but because the system camera-operated, you won't need a Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box or Hue Sync TV app subscription, which could make it a more tempting proposition.

As mentioned, Philips isn’t the first smart home giant to offer TV lighting gadgets like this, which aim to make your TV and gaming experiences more immersive by extending the colors from the screen onto the surrounding walls.

In addition to the Nanoleaf 4D light strips, the Govee StarPal Pro and the more recent Govee TV Backlight 3 Pro models are all camera-operated — the latter having a dual-camera system to capture more of your TV screen or monitor.

Philips has had quite an eventful 2026 already. In March the company unveiled its new OLED TVs, which are also the first native models for Dolby Vision 2, as well as its beautiful yet expensive ceiling light that mimics natural daylight. We’re just a mere two months away from IFA 2026, and I think the best is yet to come.

A new Google Home Display might be on the cards, but sticking to the traditional smart home hub format seems like a missed opportunity. What I really want to see this year is a new version of 2023's Google Pixel Tablet — and it would be a much better fit for a modern AI-powered smart home.

Google hasn't officially announced a new smart screen, but I think it's only a matter of time. Last year, Anish Kattukaran, Chief Product Officer for Google Home, said the company was still committed to the smart display format. "If you think about the properties of a smart display: a microphone, which means audio in, a speaker, so audio out. It’s got a screen, which complements a voice modality, you can interact with it and visualize information," he told The Vergecast.

"As I see where Gemini for Home is going and Gemini more broadly, all of the things Google is investing in building, for me it feels like almost the ultimate form factor to be able to deliver a really great home experience. So, that’s why we are going to continue to invest in that category, so I think it’s going to be awesome."

A smart home hub can be so much more than a speaker, screen, and microphone though, as the 2023 Google Pixel Tablet demonstrated — and I think a new version of that device would be an even better platform for Gemini than a Google Home Display.

The smart home untethered

If you're not familiar with the Pixel Tablet, it's essentially a full Android tablet specifically designed for use around the house. It doesn't have great battery life, and there's no SIM card slot for mobile data, but that's not a problem when you're never straying outside range of your home Wi-Fi network, or taking it far from its dock.

At first glance it looks just like a Google Home Display, but there's one big difference: while the Home Display is all one unit, the Pixel Tablet's screen lifts off its magnetic dock so you can carry it from room to room.

Unlike a Google Home Display, the Pixel Tablet isn't just a hub, either. Although it can be the heart of your smart home, providing quick access to your lights, switches, robovacs and cameras with quick voice controls, it's also a fully-featured Android tablet, with access to the whole Google Play Store. That means you can install your favorite web browser, stream movies from Netflix, or spend hours on YouTube on its 10.95-inch display. It has a reasonable front-facing camera as well, so it's ideal for Zoom calls with the family from the comfort of your sofa.

My Pixel Tablet lives on my kitchen table, where it serves as both a smart home hub and a second TV, letting me stream shows via BBC iPlayer at breakfast time, or use YouTube Music to play music while I work. The tablet's built-in speaker is quite tinny, but the one housed within its dock sounds surprisingly rich and well-balanced.

When it's time to make dinner, I can simply pluck it from its dock, stand it on the kitchen counter, and load my recipe app of choice, then in the evening, I can crash out on the sofa, adjust the lights, and finish my daily Duolingo session. You can't do that with a Home Display. Sounds good? It is — and it's now discontinued.

A smarter Pixel Tablet

So what would a 2026 Pixel Tablet look like? Well, apart from having Gemini pre-installed (naturally), it needs to function as a Thread border router, and its speaker needs a boost to bring it level with the new Google Home Speaker. Its 2,560 x 1,600px screen resolution is already respectable though (for comparison, the larger Amazon Echo Show 11's screen is 1,920 x 1,200px) and its weight doesn't matter considering it's not intended to travel outside the house, so I wouldn't worry about slimming it down much.

It would be nice to see a lower price, though. The original Pixel Tablet had a list price of $499 / £599 / AU$899, which is a hefty fee for a smart display. A cheaper Pixel Tablet might be wishful thinking, but considering you would need a Google Home Premium subscription to get the most out of Gemini, a lower asking price would make it a more tempting proposition.

There's a chance that Google might surprise me with a Google Home Tablet that can roam from room to room, but somehow I doubt it. Apple's vision for the future seems to involve multiple screens scattered throughout your home, while Amazon Echo devices are so affordable, it's easy to justify buying one for each room. We'll have to wait and see.

Eufy Omni S2: two-minute review

Eufy’s latest flagship robotic vacuum and mop, the Omni S2 is a hugely impressive appliance that combines excellent mopping with brilliant vacuuming to create one of the best home cleaning systems you can buy. It also self-cleans so thoroughly that, after several weeks of daily use, the dust bin, rollers and mop still looked like new.

The Omni S2 uses warm water to clean its spinning mop as it goes, while also scraping away dirt and using cyclone technology to whisk dust more efficiently into the onboard bin, instead of leaving it to clog up the filters. Water is ozonated in the base station to further improve cleaning performance, and there’s an integrated detergent system too.

The robot itself can even be fitted with a fragrance diffuser, which makes your room smell nice after every clean; three different scents are included in the box and, along with the detergent, and can be replenished from Eufy’s website.

It navigates well, mostly avoiding contact with walls and doors while driving very closely to all manner of obstacles without pushing them around, driving over them or ingesting them. The S2 is good at climbing over raised carpets, rugs and door thresholds — something the Omni S1 struggled with – and the app does a great job of quickly mapping your home, with a simple editing system for labeling every room correctly, and even adding virtual furniture.

I was impressed by how quiet the Omni S2 is, even with its powerful Cyclone mode engaged, and how the base station doesn’t sound like an Airbus when emptying the robot. It’s a very expensive product, but one that looks good and performs extremely well.

Eufy Omni S2: price and availability

• List price: $1,599 / £1,599 / AU$2,299
• Launched: March 2026

Just two years on from the launch of the Omni S1 Pro, Eufy now has the Omni S2. This is now the company’s flagship robotic vacuum and mop, with a price, performance and feature set to match.

It carries a recommended retail price of $1,599 / £1,599 / AU$2,299, making it £300 more expensive than the S1 pro, which remains on sale. That’s an awful lot of money for a vacuum cleaner — especially when

Eufy’s own range of robovacs starts under the £150 mark, and one of my favourites — the X10 Pro Omni vacuum and mop — is a comparative snip at £599.

What does the extra £1,000 get you with the S2? More power, of course, with greater suction thanks to Eufy’s new AeroTurbo 2.0 tech, improved intelligence, greater threshold clearance, a more powerful mop, better computer vision, a self-cleaning mop, electrolysed water, integrated detergent and even a built-in fragrance system with three included scents to pick from.

An additional cost to bear in mind is Eufy’s replacement parts kit. The brushes, bags, mops and rollers of all vacuum cleaners need replacing, so ongoing costs aren’t unusual, but Eufy likes to charge plenty. A complete kit for the S2 is £79.99. Premium parts for a premium robovac, I suppose. More welcome is Eufy’s new two-year warranty, which applies to all robot vacuums launched in 2026 and doubles the previous coverage.

• Value score: 3.5/5

Eufy Omni S2: specifications

Eufy Omni S2: design

• Docking station with charger, dust bag, water tanks and mop drying
• Rotating, self-cleaning mop
• Integrated detergent and fragrance supply

The S2 has a similar but more refined look than its S1 predecessor. The subtle bronze tint to sections of the robot and docking station give it a premium aesthetic that blends nicely with the futuristic lighting in both the clean water tank of the dock, and the robot’s onboard dust bin.

Taller than many docking stations, but significantly more elegant than most, the Omni S2’s appearance helps to justify its lofty price tag — and that’s further aided by the display and touch controls on top of the dock. These are handily located to press without stooping down to the robot itself, while the screen is useful for checking on the robot’s status and spotting error messages.

Short of making you a cup of tea while the robot cleans up, the S2’s docking station does absolutely everything. It charges the robot, empties its dust bin, replenishes its water supply (and even ozonates fresh water before it’s fed to the mop), cleans the mop with water heated to 70 degrees centigrade, dries it with hot air, refills the detergent tank, and has enough dust bin capacity for up to a claimed 68 days between bag replacements.

The robot itself is almost circular, with a central roller that’s claimed to be 100 percent tangle free, a pair of spinning side brushes, and a roller mop that self-cleans, slides outwards by 1.5cm to reach into corners and even an onboard fragrance supply to make your home smell nice. The S2 includes three different fragrances in the box, but these are a bespoke design so replacements can only be bought from Eufy itself. The same goes for the detergent bottle too, while thankfully the 2.5-litre dust bags are generic.

I like how the Omni S2 looks. Its design is more sophisticated than that of the S1, and I can imagine it neatly complementing the lavish houses of its deep-pocketed buyers. And while tall, at 670mm (26.4 inches), the docking station is relatively slim.

The robot is also relatively short, at 85mm. This compares favorably against taller, bulkier robovacs like the Dyson Spot+Scrub AI, which towers over the Eufy at 110mm and is less capable of cleaning beneath low furniture.

A welcome design upgrade for the Eufy Omni S2 is its ability to now clear door thresholds up to 4.2cm tall, up from just 2cm for the Omni S1. I was often left frustrated by that robot’s inability to drive up from exposed floorboards to a carpeted neighboring room, but have had no such issues with the S2.

• Design score: 5/5

Eufy Omni S2: performance

• Impressive vacuuming
• Excellent mopping
• Strong improvement over the S1

From the setup process and mapping, to vacuuming, mopping, navigation and self-cleaning, the Omni S2 is a triumph. You might say it should well be for the massive price tag, but even in 2026 it’s rare for such a complex new product to impress so universally. Where the Eufy Omni S1 struggled in some key areas — navigation, threshold clearance and sometimes even vacuuming — the S2’s performance is close to perfect.

Yes, it’s an ultra-premium product with a price to match. This is right up there with your Leica camera, Rimowa suitcase and five-figure turntable. I imagine the typical Omni S2 owner is the sort of person who wouldn't blink at splashing out on a pair of Apple AirPods Max 2 at the airport because they forgot their first-gens at home. They’d probably deal with a flight delay by picking up a new Swiss watch, too.

And that’s absolutely fine. Whatever the product, there’s always something that happens to sell the most expensive one, and for robotic vacuums that just so happens to be Eufy with the Omni S2. That doesn’t inherently count against it, because there are always customers happy to pay a premium for the one they like, or not really care about the cost because the S2’s spec sheet, design and feature set already put it at the top of the market.

What matters is how it performs in the real world, and how that compares to user expectations. Naturally, mine were at an all-time high and the S2 mostly delivered. The vacuuming performance is noticeably better than with the S1, and after a month of testing I still smile at the neat stripes vacuumed into my lounge carpet — and at how pleasant the S2’s fragrance system makes every room smell.

Eufy has improved navigation since the S1, and now the S2 is smart enough to not vacuum over the tasselled ends of a rug. It also automatically detects rug and carpet thickness, then raises itself by up to 50mm (1.97 inches) to prevent getting stuck in deep-pile fabric. In my testing, the S2 flagged a potentially tricky bit of carpet — which was actually an integrated but deeply contoured door mat — so I could tell it to ignore the concern or permanently avoid it.

Navigation and map creation is generally good. The robot only once got stuck and called for help, and I was impressed by how quickly the S2 mapped the ground floor of my home and did a decent job of detecting room boundaries. I used the app to fine-tune these, and was pleased to see how the S2 had added 3D cupboards, sofas, tables, chairs and other bits of furniture to the map. This isn’t strictly necessary, but it’s nice to see how the S2 correctly understands its environment.

Eufy claims a maximum suction of 30,000Pa, which is a huge upgrade over the 8,000Pa of the Omni S1 and other Eufy robots like the X10. There are four suction modes — Quiet, Standard, Turbo and Max — three options of cleaning intensity, three water levels, and the option of performing each cleaning task once or twice. As with the S1, the S2 returns to base whenever it needs to empty its bin, clean the mop, replenish its water supply or charge the battery. A mode called AI Automation promises to adjust cleaning strategy based on room type, floor material and cleaning frequency.

The Omni S2 deeply impressed during the first few weeks of general use, keeping hard floors and carpets clean — even after a cockapoo puppy joined our household, and his insistence on helping with garden projects brought a lot of dirt into the house. It was a joy, quite frankly, to have the S2 on hand, ready to clean up after every chaotic evening of dog zoomies.

I also loved how the S2 kept itself clean. Not only is the mop cleaned and dried with every use, but the cyclone-style dust collection ensures the onboard bin is practically spotless after each empty, and the filters don’t get clogged up. The rollers also looked like new after many hours of use, thanks to an anti-tangle design that actually works.

The mopping system works as well as the S1’s — evidenced by the absolutely filthy water collected in the waste tank of the docking station. I’d recommend owners empty this frequently, because if you wait a couple of weeks or so until it’s full, pouring it away is a seriously stinky process.

During TechRadar’s standardized robovac tests the Omni S2 continued to perform very well. These tests include two rounds of vacuuming on both carpets and hard floors, plus an obstacle avoidance test and a mopping test.

Pleasingly, the Omni S2’s vacuum performance is better than its predecessor, the two-year-old Omni S1. Vacuuming up oats from carpet was particularly impressive, with not a single piece being missed (except where I set the target zone in slightly the wrong place).

Before vacuuming

After vacuuming

During these tests I found the quickest, least powerful mode, called Quiet, was indeed very quiet (just 55 decibels on carpet), but the S2 performs best when suction is upped to the Standard or Turbo modes, cleaning intensity is increased from Fast to Standard, and the S2 is asked to perform two passes of the target zone or room, instead of one.

A crumb mix made of flour and crushed biscuit was completely lifted from a wooden kitchen floor using the S2’s standard intensity and suction settings, while on carpet I found Turbo or Cyclone (the most powerful suction mode) was best.

Crumb mix before first pass

Crumb mix after first pass

With that enabled, plus the intensity increased to Deep and the number of passes upped to two, the robot did a superb job.

Crumb mix after first pass

Crumb mix after second pass

The oat test is usually tougher, because robovacs tend to flick larger debris across hard floors with their spinning side brushes. The Omni S2 fell foul of this too, but as ever my advice is to set the robot to vacuum the entire room twice, instead of aiming for a target and kicking it everywhere.

With the right settings applied, the S2 picked up every single piece – and passed the same test with flying colors on carpet too, where flicking debris is less of an issue.

Before vacuuming

After vacuuming

I tested the mopping system with a dried smear of ketchup, which was promptly removed from the wooden floor. The cylindrical mop spins and pivots outwards to reach into the edges of the room, while the robot scrapes it clean and washes it while driving. The mop is then dried with hot air at the base station, which takes several hours but is very quiet.

Before mopping

After mopping

Meanwhile, the S2’s obstacle avoidance saw it drive neatly around a shoe, a sock and a USB cable strewn across the floor. I was impressed by how close it got to each, with moving or ingesting anything.

Overall, the Eufy Omni S2 performed brilliantly. I would recommend using Standard intensity and Standard suction with two passes most of the time, then up the suction to Turbo or Cyclone for a deeper clean. The latter hitting just 70 decibels was also impressive — for context, my Dyson V10 stick vacuum is 90 dB at medium power.

I only encountered one serious problem with the S2, and unfortunately it led to a replacement unit being provided by Eufy. The first S2 performed perfectly for a month, but developed a fault where the robot and docking station lost their connection. Several reboots and lots of advice from customer services failed to find a solution, so a second S2 was delivered and the original went back to Eufy for an inspection.

Naturally, this is disappointing for such an expensive product. But I was impressed by Eufy’s customer service department — which I approached as a customer and not a journalist — and how quickly the problem was resolved. The second unit performed perfectly throughout the rest of my test.

• Performance score: 4.5/5

Eufy Omni S2: app

• Easy to use
• Lots of configurability
• Also handles Eufy security products
• Option to charge at night — great if you have an EV tariff

The Eufy app gets better with every revision, and today it’s one of the best robovac apps I’ve ever used. Everything is logically laid out, with just the right amount of adjustability on offer to keep both newcomers and power users happy. The app is quick, responsive and presents everything in a way that’s easy to understand.

I especially like how it adds virtual furniture to your floor maps, which makes it easier to understand the layout and visualize where the robot is. Editing floor plans also works well, with simple tools for splitting, combining and renaming rooms after the robot has created an initial (but not always accurate) map of your home. Multiple floormaps can also be created, making it easy to save a second map for your bedrooms upstairs, for example.

Another feature I like is how pre-defined tasks can be created. I have one called “After dinner”, which tells the S2 to vacuum and mop my kitchen a certain way. A single tap of this from the Eufy app home screen, and the robot gets to work.

Since getting a puppy I’ve come to value Eufy’s child lock function, which disables the buttons on top of the robot – handy for both inquisitive children and dogs alike. I also like the off-peak charging function, where you can configure the S2 to only charge its battery at certain times of day. Since I have an electric car and an EV tariff, I’ve set the robovac to only charge at night, when my electricity is much cheaper.

• App score: 4.5/5

Should you buy the Eufy Omni S2?

Buy it if

Don't buy it if

How I tested the Eufy Omni S2

I lived with the Eufy Omni S2 for several weeks before writing this review. During that time it was used exclusively to vacuum the carpets and mop the floors of my house. I tested its cleaning abilities, tried some of the included fragrance diffusers, and noted how its self-cleaning systems fared after many hours of use.

I then carried out a number of specific tests to understand how well it cleans different types of debris from carpet and hard floors, how effective its mopping system is, how good it is at avoiding obstacles, and how loud it is.

First reviewed July 2026

Amazon Prime Day 2026 in Australia had a flurry of discounts across its product portfolio last week (and early this week too), and robot vacuums saw some of the biggest price reductions at the time, with deals of up to a whopping 78% off. That meant that some of the top sellers were, in fact, robovacs, with the Dreame X40 Ultra being the most popular appliance — so much so, it was out of stock by the last day of the sale.

So while that specific deal is no longer available (it was 73% off, by the way), there are still a lot of robovac deals still live on Amazon, including some of our top-rated models tested and reviewed by our international team of experts, with discounts of up to 70%.

Robot vacuum discounts aren’t new — the market is crowded with several major players looking to stand out and each one releases a new model every few months promising the best features possible at various price points. And that’s good news for the consumer as you’re guaranteed new technology at good prices. With everything else getting more expensive these days, a race-to-the-bottom price war like this is always welcome.

The best part is, even if you missed out on Prime Day, you don’t have to wait until Black Friday if you’re in the market for a new robot vacuum — these 6 deals below are still live and would make a fantastic addition to your home, no matter your budget.

• A software update bricked Philips Hue Bridge Pro devices
• The bug required a very specific set of circumstances
• Philips Hue has promised free replacements to affected users

Over the last few weeks, reports have emerged of Philips Hue Bridge Pro smart home devices becoming bricked, and it looks like the culprit has now been identified. According to Philips Hue, the fault lay with a recent software update — but the company has won plaudits for what it's giving to customers in order to make amends.

The trouble started in late June when Philips Hue released software update 2071353020, which was intended to include “several small changes” that improved the product’s operations. Yet reports started flooding in that the update had caused people’s Hue Bridge Pro devices to fail and become completely unresponsive.

In a statement to Ars Technica, Philips Hue explained the very specific circumstances that caused the problem: “The issue affects users who disabled automatic software updates, remained on an older software version for an extended period, and then manually installed a firmware update after the update package had been stored on the Bridge for more than 10 days.”

As well as that, the spokesperson noted that “Our data shows fewer than 100 Philips Hue Bridge Pro devices have been impacted.”

Still, any disruption like this is a pain. If you’re affected, not only will you have to wait for a replacement to arrive, but you’ll also have to reconfigure your lights and settings from scratch. That’s the kind of disturbance that is made all the more irritating due to the fact that it occurred after users updated their software — something that people are often encouraged to do in order to get the latest bug fixes and improvements.

Free replacements

While it’s always unpleasant to see a software update brick your device, Philips Hue has attracted praise for the way it’s responded. Not only has it issued a fix, but the company has promised that “We will replace affected Philips Hue Bridge Pro devices free of charge, regardless of warranty status.”

The decision has proved popular with Hue owners on Reddit, who've noted in one popular thread that it's a rare example of "big company actually making good". Another comment noted: “Considering the RAM prices too those Bridges went up in costs too. W to Philips on this one.”

If you haven’t updated your Philips Hue Bridge Pro for a while and think your device could be vulnerable according to Philips Hue's description, it might be worth getting in touch with the company first before attempting to update. The last thing you want is a bricked product on your hands.

And if you already have been affected, don’t spring for a replacement device just yet. You might be able to get a free replacement from Philips Hue, so be sure to explore that avenue first before spending a dime on anything new.

While the TechRadar Australia team has been knee-deep in covering this week's Amazon Prime Day sale, we were rocked by the news of my colleague, Max Langridge, recording a break-in attempt at his home with a Ring security camera. It was enough for him to bolster security further by picking up some extra Blink cameras while they're discounted.

One of the best things about modern home-security cams is that they're very cheap to purchase, with Ring cameras starting as low as AU$35 for the indoor camera (although the brand has some premium options, too) and Blink with even more affordable offerings from AU$31 for a 2-pack of the Mini 2K+.

But there’s a catch with these Amazon-made security cameras — you have to sign up for a monthly subscription to access some of their most useful features, like cloud video storage and movement detection . There are some workarounds with Blink cameras, such as the flash storage-supporting Sync Module 2, but on the whole, you need to pay extra to use the cameras to their full potential.

Fortunately, there are plenty of other compelling Prime Day deals on security cameras that don’t require a monthly subscription to access essential features.

I’ve pulled together five such subscription-free security camera discounts below, including offerings from reputable brands like TP-Link, Reolink, Wyze and more:

Amazon's Prime Day sale has delivered another very tempting robot vacuum deal, with the Dreame X50 Ultra dropping to just AU$1,479. That's a huge discount from its AU$2,999 launch price last year, and well below the usual AU$2,000 price we've seen it discounted to in recent months.

It isn't a budget buy, even at AU$1,479, but this is the lowest price we've seen for this robovac so far and, given it scored an impressive 4.5 stars in our Dreame X50 Ultra Complete review, we think it's worth considering at this price.

This isn't just another robot vacuum with a mop attached to the rear. The Dreame X50 Ultra is built to be a proper hands-off floor cleaner, with a self-emptying, self-refilling and self-cleaning dock, 20,000Pa suction, extendable mop pads and a side brush designed to reach into edges and corners.

In our review, the Dreame X50 Ultra was described as setting "a new standard" for the best robot vacuums, with the reviewer praising its cleaning results and low-maintenance design.

The model reviewed was the Complete version, which means it comes with an accessory bundle, but the core robovac and dock is the same X50 Ultra you'll find in this Amazon Prime Day deal.

The X50 has a lot of clever features that make it more capable than previous models. Its navigation puck can retract so the robovac can clean under lower furniture, while its small threshold-hopping legs help it clear raised room dividers and other tricky transitions around the home.

Our review also highlights its mopping and vacuuming performance — especially its ability to make use of its extending side brush and mop pads.

However, our reviewer found the X50 Ultra's object avoidance wasn't always as reliable as expected, and its pet-waste detection needed the right settings to work properly in testing. Despits these shortcomings, it still scored very well in our tests, which is saying something.

If you've been waiting for Dreame's top model to fall to a more tempting price, Prime Day has delivered exactly that.

More Amazon Prime Day deals in Australia

• All the best Amazon Prime Day 2026 deals
• Best Prime Day deals under AU$100
• Best Prime Day vacuum cleaner deals
• Best Prime Day headphone deals
• Best Prime Day Apple deals
• Best Prime Day Garmin deals
• Best Prime Day coffee machine deals

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• The best robot vacuums we've tested

• The Google Home Speaker supports wireless connectivity to the Google TV Streamer
• This gives a simple way to curate your own home theater setup
• You can connect your Google Home Speaker through your Google TV device, or via the Google Home app

Google’s new Home Speaker comes with a slew of much-needed upgrades, but its support for wireless connectivity with the Google TV Streamer is a tool users have been pining for since the company started making smart hubs.

As well as its Gemini-powered smarts and 360-degree audio redesign, Google now lets you to wirelessly pair the Home Speaker with your Google TV device, allowing you to ditch your TV’s built-in speakers and set up a home theater system. Pairing just one Google Home Speaker works, but you’ll get the most out of your setup if you have two.

The company announced its initial plans to develop the feature in 2020 when it unveiled the Nest Audio, its first smart speaker, but the functionality never arrived. “Google Home Speaker now works together with your Google TV Streamer. You can pair up to two speakers with a Google TV Streamer to turn your living room into a mini home theater with spatial surround sound,” the company detailed in a blog post.

Surround-sound systems are integral to most entertainment fanatic’s setups, but they don’t always have to feature a multitude of different types of speakers — some people simply rely on the best sound bars to boost their audio. Though the Google Home Speaker isn’t necessarily suited to seasoned audiophiles, it gives novices an inexpensive and hassle-free way to enhance their streaming experience.

It hasn’t been impossible to hook up wireless speakers to the Google TV Streamer, however, as the option to use the best Bluetooth speakers has always been there. However, because the Google Home Speaker’s function relies on Wi-Fi, the bandwidth is much bigger. This means it also supports Dolby Atmos which, for a cost-effective home theater setup, is quite a fair perk.

Audio champions such as Sonos and Bose have offered wireless connectivity with third-party streaming devices for years, so the Google Home Speaker’s functionality is far from new. That said, it’s only recently that TV manufacturers have decided to jump on the bandwagon and sell speakers of their own.

Over the last 18 months or so, brands including Amazon, LG and Samsung have released their own speakers to allow wireless connectivity with their range of TVs — so Google is playing catch-up here.

How to pair your Google Home Speaker with your Google TV Streamer

Once you’ve set up your Google Home Speaker for regular use, you can pair it with your Google TV device right from the home screen.

Using your Google TV Streamer remote, click the home button and head to ‘Quick Settings’ at the top of the screen. From there, select ‘Audio output’ from the options, click ‘Connect another device’, then select ‘Google speakers’ and click ‘Getting started’.

After this stage, you should see a list of Google Home Speakers connected to your account in a separate window, and you’ll want to select the ones you wish to pair with your Google TV Streamer. Once you’ve done this, tap ‘Next’ and it should complete your setup.

You can also do this from the Google Home app, as Google details on its support page.

Smart home security cameras are nothing new. They’ve been protecting Australian homes for well over a decade now, but for a long time I never felt the need for them. This was predominantly because for the majority of my adult life living away from home, I’ve been in rented accommodation, and so I’ve either been unable to install anything of my own, or I’ve been on an upper floor of an apartment building.

I’m now living in a ground floor apartment with my partner, and we’re the owners. That means we’re free to install cameras as we see fit, and so we decided to place an old Ring Outdoor Stick-Up Cam above our front door, mainly as a ‘just in case’ safeguard.

I’m now glad we did, and I’ve just invested in some newer Blink Outdoor 2K+ cameras with clearer vision following an attempted break in. The good news is they weren’t expensive, with a 2-pack currently costing AU$77 in the Amazon Prime Day sales.

I never thought my home would experience an attempted break in, and there’s a chance you’ve had the same thought. For such a low price right now, it’s better to be safe than sorry.

• Follow our live coverage of the best Prime Day 2026 deals, many of which ship to New Zealand as well

So, why have I made the impulsive decision to invest more heavily in home security? Well, my partner noticed the street-facing gate to our courtyard left ajar in the early hours of the morning. He suspected I just hadn’t closed it properly when we came home the night before.

Wanting to exonerate myself, we checked back over the footage taken by our Ring camera, which proved my innocence. We noticed more events were recorded around 1am, and sure enough, the Ring captured two youths climbing over the wall in the wee hours of the morning.

To say we were gobsmacked would be an understatement.

Fortunately nothing was stolen and they didn’t manage to get into our home — despite some clear hand prints on the glass door proving they peered in to see if there was anything worth nabbing.

Unfortunately, the Ring camera missed the activity by our door because it was only covering the front yard and fence area. I therefore now want to install more cameras in our outdoor area to ensure there are no blind spots, and the Blink cameras seem perfect for the job.

Our Blink Outdoor Cam 2K+ review found that recorded footage is clear and sharp, even at night. Perhaps the biggest selling point for me is the two-year battery life with two AA batteries. The Ring camera I have right now relies on a rechargeable battery that needs to be recharged frequently.

The biggest drawback, however, is a new Sync Module Core that requires a paid subscription to store and view back footage. It’s crazy that you need to pay to use the camera you just bought, but hey, it’s 2026. A subscription costs from AU$4.95p/m for one device, or AU$15p/m for unlimited devices. Since I’ve bought two Blink cameras, I’ll need the latter.

Fortunately, the older Sync Module 2 is still available and is compatible with the newer Blink cameras. With this module, you can attach a USB flash drive to store footage on, bypassing the need for a subscription. Based on the AU$15 Blink Plus subscription, I’d make my money back in just under four months.

However, the subscription does also open up extra features, including AI motion detection — you’ll receive notifications only when it detects specific things such as animals or vehicles.

At just AU$77 in the current Prime Day sales, I was more than happy to add the Blink Outdoor Cam 2K+ to my basket. There are many other options to choose from of course, many of which are also on sale right now. I’ve listed a few below, and be sure to check out our guide to the best home security cameras and best video doorbells for total home protection.

• Ring Floodlight Camera Pro (2nd Gen): was AU$449 now AU$329
• Ring Spotlight Camera Pro (2nd Gen): was AU$399 now AU$279
• Blink Outdoor Floodlight Camera Kit: was AU$119 now AU$49

EZVIZ EP4: one-minute review

Fitting a video doorbell or security camera is often a non-starter if you rent or live in an apartment where drilling into the walls isn’t allowed. That’s where the EZVIZ EP4 Wire-Free Peephole Door Viewer comes in — by fitting through your front door’s existing peephole, it brings almost everything you’d get from a full video doorbell, without any damage that could upset your landlord.

The physical setup is incredibly easy and took me just 10 minutes to complete. After you’ve unscrewed the old peephole, the EP4 securely clamps onto the door without a power tool in sight.

Once it’s running, the footage captured is very clear, giving you a detailed look at anyone outside. The companion app is simple to use and intuitively designed, making it effortless to check live feeds, use the two-way talk feature, or adjust security settings.

When it comes to saving video footage, EZVIZ doesn’t lock you into a subscription plan like some rivals. While the company includes a free trial of its cloud subscription service, you aren’t forced to pay for it afterwards. If you want to skip the recurring fees, you can opt to install a local microSD card (up to 512GB) to store clips locally.

However, the EP4’s AI facial recognition has a notable quirk. Although it's smart enough to identify who is at your door, there’s currently no way to stop the app from sending you notifications when it spots someone you know — including you. Because you can’t tell the camera to ignore certain individuals, you’ll be alerted every time you walk through your own front door.

EZVIZ EP4: price and availability

• List price £229.99 (about $300 / AU$440)
• Available in the UK, but not the US or Australia
• No subscription necessary if you use a microSD card

The EZVIZ EP4 Wire-Free Peephole Door Viewer is available in the UK for £229.99 (about $300 / AU$440), but I’ve seen it discounted to as little as £159.99 during sales events. It’s not yet available in the US and Australia at the time of writing, but older models are, so hopefully the EP4 will launch more widely soon.

If you want to store your videos at home subscription-free, you’ll also need a microSD card (up to 512GB), so factor this into the cost. If you’d prefer to store footage in the cloud, you’ll want an EZVIZ CloudPlay subscription. After a 30-day free trial, there are three plans to choose from:

• Value score: 4.5/5

EZVIZ EP4: design

• Discreet external camera
• Very simple to fit without damaging door
• Internal screen projects an inch into the room
• Visitors might not spot the doorbell button

The EP4 has two main parts: the camera, which has a cable that threads through the peephole in your door, and a screen that sits on the inside. The camera has a doorbell button below the lens (though visitors might not notice it because it's at an unusual level), a motion sensor at the top, and a speaker and microphone on the side.

It’s compatible with doors between 1.4 x 4.1 inches / 35 x 105mm thick, with a peephole diameter between 0.6 inches and 2 inches / 14mm and 50mm. That’s a wide range, and should be fine for the vast majority of internal and external doors, but it’s worth measuring yours first just to be sure. You can remove the peephole from your door by simply unscrewing it, though if it’s particularly tight, you might need to use a pair of pliers to get it started.

To fit the EP4, start by measuring the thickness of your door using the card template provided, and choose the appropriate pair of screws, indicated by the instruction manual. These will be used to clamp the EP4 onto your door. Peel the paper off the 3M tape on the back of the camera unit, position it on the outside of your door (I recommend using a spirit level to get it straight), thread the screws and data cable through the peephole (you can roll a piece of paper around them to avoid snagging), and press down to secure it.

Then tighten the screws a little, slide the mounting plate for the screen into place, tighten the screws the rest of the way, plug in the data cable, and slide the screen into place. The whole process takes no longer than 10 minutes, and when you want to remove it, there’ll be no damage to your door.

It’s a clever design, and the exterior camera is discreet (it comes with stickers to put on your door if you want to warn visitors they are being recorded), but it’s worth being aware that the interior screen stands about an inch proud of the door, so you’ll need to be very careful if it opens opposite a wall.

You can detach the screen unit to charge it via a microUSB cable (supplied with the EP4) and insert a memory card. It’s a shame there’s no hot-swappable battery — you can’t use the camera and doorbell while the unit is charging — but battery life is quite respectable. EZVIZ suggests up to 120 days, though this will depend on how many times the camera is triggered and how often you use the internal screen to see what’s happening outside.

• Design score: 4.5/5

EZVIZ EP4: performance

The EP4 is an ingenious home security device that provides many of the advantages of a video doorbell or home security camera without needing to make permanent changes to your property. It’s a great pick for an apartment, with excellent picture quality and smart notifications, though it’s worth being aware of a few drawbacks — particularly when it comes to person recognition.

The resolution of the internal screen is fine, and you’ll immediately benefit from a field of view that’s much wider than your original peephole, but it doesn’t do justice to the EP4’s 4K camera. To see footage in its full 4K glory, you’ll need to use the Ezvizlife app, which also gives you access to all the EP4’s settings, as well as event history, saved recordings, call logs, two-way talk, and static photos.

Footage in the Ezvizlife app is incredibly sharp, and there’s very little lag between events happening outside and the camera starting to record. You’ll notice a delay when using two-way talk, but it’s only a couple of seconds, and no worse than some much higher-end video doorbells we’ve tested here at TechRadar.

When a visitor uses the doorbell, you'll receive an incoming-call-style notification that you can choose to reject or answer to start two-way talk. It's also possible to start two-way talk at any time through the app if you can see someone at the door.

Want to keep your identity private? The app gives you two options: ‘Uncle Tone’, which deepens your voice, and ‘Clown Tone’, which makes it high and squeaky, both of which work well and will effectively disguise your voice if you don’t want to be recognized. Personally, I would prefer an option that doesn’t sound quite so cartoonish, but they’re a welcome feature nonetheless.

I found the fisheye-correction option particularly useful during my testing, along with the AI person-shape recognition, which correctly identifies subjects even when they’re wheeling a bike or carrying a large object that might obscure their body shape.

When a person is detected, the camera will send a notification to the EZVIZ app, and start recording a 10-second video clip, which will be saved on an SD card or in the cloud, depending on which storage option you’ve chosen. You can also choose to watch through the camera live at any time, trigger a recording, or capture a still image.

You can also export videos from your logs at any time, which is very useful if you're unfortunate enough to need them as evidence for the police.

EZVIZ is a Chinese company, and although the app has been localized quite well, some parts are still confusing. For example, if you attempt to toggle a feature that’s still in beta, you will see a notification reading: “The current status of this detection is closed. Please enable the corresponding algorithm in the intelligent detection before enabling this function”.

For me, the biggest drawback — and the one that holds the EP4 back from a better score — is the implementation of facial recognition. In an ideal world, you wouldn’t receive a notification when your own face is detected, and you could disable alerts for other members of your household as well, so you’re only alerted when a stranger arrives. Unfortunately, that’s not an option with the EP4, which notified me that “Cat appeared” each time I arrived home from work.

Facial recognition works very well, and even identifies a person wearing a cycle helmet and sunglasses, but at the moment, the implementation seems back-to-front. In fairness, though, the feature is still in beta, so perhaps the developers at EZVIZ will make that change before its full launch. For now, it's a real problem.

• Performance score: 3.5/5

Should you buy the EZVIZ EP4?

Buy it if

Don't buy it if

EZVIZ EP4: also consider

If you're not sure whether the EZVIZ EP4 is the right security camera/doorbell for your home, here are two other wireless alternatives to consider.

How I tested the EZVIZ EP4

I installed the EZVIZ EP4 on the door to my apartment, having first unscrewed the original peephole. I used it for two weeks, adding myself and my husband as 'familiar faces' halfway through. I used the two-way talk function to speak to him when I received a notification that he had arrived, and we used the doorbell function to speak to one another. I kept recordings on a microSD card once the seven-day cloud storage trial expired, and used the app to review recordings, export videos, and capture still images.

At the end of the test period, I removed the EP4 and replaced my door's original peephole. For more details, see how we test, review, and rate products at TechRadar.

First reviewed July 2026.

Blink Outdoor 2K+: two-minute review

Blink has become the brand you recommend to people who don't really want a security camera. Cheap, painless, owned by Amazon, and a forgiving field of view. The catch was that previous 1080p pictures turned to mush the moment anything moved, or the sun went down.

The Outdoor 2K+ fixes this by capturing would-be crims at 2560 x 1440 in its top "Best" setting. There's 4x zoom for closer inspections, noise-cancelling two-way audio making doorstep conversations less of a shouting match, and an improved low-light sensor that holds color as the light fades before switching to infrared black-and-white. Drop to 1080p 'Standard' or 720p 'Saver', and you'll claw back a bit of battery life.

Blink quotes up to two years from a pair of AA lithium cells, and while I can't fast-forward through two summers to prove it, a fortnight’s daily use barely dented the gauge. There's a USB-C port if you'd rather wire it to the mains with Blink's separately sold weather-resistant adapter, an IP65 rating shrugs off wet weather, and it’s compatible with the existing Outdoor 4 accessory range, so floodlight mounts and battery packs carry over.

Setup should be the usual Blink doddle. Scan the code, follow the app, pair the Sync Module, done in under 10 minutes with no cabling and no electrician. For a first-time buyer, it's about as low-friction as home security gets, although we did encounter some teething problems connecting the kit to a home Wi-Fi network.

Then you discover the real kicker. The Outdoor 2K+ ships with a new Sync Module Core rather than the old Sync Module 2 we were supplied with, and the Core has had its USB port removed. That port was the whole point for subscription-averse buyers: plug in a flash drive, store clips locally, pay Amazon nothing.

Without it, the free experience reduces to live view and motion alerts, while saved recordings, person and vehicle detection and the smarter notifications all sit behind a Blink subscription that starts at £2.50 (about $3.50 / AU$5) a month and rises to £8 (about $10 / AU$20) for unlimited cameras. An older Sync Module 2 still works if you own one, but most people buying this won't.

It leaves the 2K+ in an odd spot. As a camera, it's the best budget outdoor option Blink has made. As a package, it's less optimal. Judge it on the camera and battery life alone, and it's a comfortable recommendation. Judge it on the small print, and you’ve got a new monthly bill the old model didn’t demand.

Blink Outdoor 2K+: price and availability

• List price: £89.99 / $99.99 / AU$119
• Launched October 2025
• Available in the US, UK and Australia

Pitched at the affordable end as ever, the Outdoor 2K+ slots in alongside the cheaper Mini 2K+ and the Blink Arc — a mount that pairs two Mini 2K+ cameras for a panoramic view — as part of the brand's 2K refresh. The one-camera kit includes the Sync Module Core, two AA lithium batteries, and a mount, so nothing essential to buy on day one — unless you want your footage saved anywhere, at which point the maths changes.

That's the rub. The headline price buys you a very capable camera and a deliberately hamstrung storage situation. Anyone who bought the Outdoor 4 specifically to dodge a subscription should know the goalposts have moved, because the bundled module no longer takes a USB stick. Frequent discounting means the camera itself rarely costs full RRP for long, which softens the blow, but the ongoing cost is the number to watch.

• Value score: 3.5/5

Blink Outdoor 2K+: subscription costs

Blink has two subscription tiers to choose from, both offering unlimited cloud storage for recordings for up to 60 days (up to 30 days in the EU and UK). Monthly or yearly billing is available.

• Blink Basic: $3.99p/m | £2.50p/m | AU$4.95p/m
• Blink Plus: $11.99p/m | £8p/m | AU$15p/m

Blink Basic includes support for one device, motion-event recording, live-view recording, instant video access, video sharing, person detection, and photo capture. Blink Plus includes all Basic features, along with unlimited device inclusion, moments capture, notification snoozing and 10% off Blink devices.

Blink Outdoor 2K+: specifications

Blink Outdoor 2K+: design

• Compact and easy to place
• IP65 weatherproofing
• Sync Module Core changes rules

There's nothing here to frighten the neighbours. The 2K+ keeps Blink's small, squared-off black housing, the kind of camera that disappears into a porch corner or sits on a windowsill without announcing itself. It's light, the bundled mount screws to a wall, and you can equally stand it on a flat surface and forget about it.

The IP65 rating earned its keep through sporadic summer showers and wind with no fogging or dropouts. Power comes from two AA batteries hidden behind a sealed cover, or bypass them with USB-C and an optional weather-resistant power adapter, if you'd rather not think about batteries at all.

Like the Sync Module 2, Blink’s bundled Sync Module Core is a similarly small puck minus a USB connection.

• Design score: 4/5

Blink Outdoor 2K+ performance

• 2K is a visible upgrade
• Color night vision is useful
• Smart features cost extra

The Blink Outdoor’s 2K output greatly enhances the chances of identifying strangers. I set it to watch a back garden, and it did an able job of capturing my faux break-in attempts. The 4x zoom is digital, so it softens as you push in, but it's enough to pick up distinguishing features or marks.

Low-light performance is the other win. An improved sensor holds color as daytime fades, while garden lights and street lamps keep footage useful. Let the light go entirely, and it reverts to black-and-white. For genuine color after dark, you can add Blink's separate Outdoor Floodlight Mount.

Motion detection was razor-sharp, even if the default settings felt overzealous. Definitely adjust sensitivity and activity zones in the app to avoid being swamped with notifications about plump pigeons and swaying flora… unless you’re aiming for Springwatch in forensic form.

This is also where the subscription cost bites again: person and vehicle detection — the features that stop your phone buzzing every time a fox crosses the lawn — only switch on with a Blink plan.

Run it free, with the Core module, and you're left with motion alerts and a live view, which is a thinner experience for a 2K camera. As ever, there's no way to view footage on a computer or browser; it's the phone app or nothing.

• Performance score: 4/5

Should you buy the Blink Outdoor 2K+?

Buy it if

Don't buy it if

Blink Outdoor 2K+: also consider

If you're not sure whether the Blink Outdoor 2K+ is the right home security camera for you, here are two others to keep in mind.

How I tested the Blink Outdoor 2K+

• Tested at a domestic property
• Mounted outdoor
• Assessed video, night vision, audio, and battery

I lived with the Blink Outdoor 2K+ as a normal household would, mounting it to watch the back garden. I ran it through all three resolution modes, checked color night vision against lit and unlit spaces, and held two-way conversations to judge the audio. The two-year battery claim is, by definition, untestable in weeks, so I've reported Blink's figure and my short-term experience rather than pretending otherwise.

For more details, see how we test, rate, and review products at TechRadar.

I've reviewed a few robot vacuums in the last year sister site Tom's Guide, but I'd yet to try one from powerhouse brand Ecovacs Robotics. With several excellent reviews already on TechRadar, including those by my colleague Sharmishta, who swears by the brand and rated the Ecovacs Deebot X8 Pro Omni very highly, I was eager to get stuck into my own assessment of the Deebot T90 Pro Omni, which launched in March this year.

On paper, it came across as the perfect pet-friendly robot vacuum. It touted an impressive 30,000Pa suction power across hardwood and carpeted floors, and as a mum to two Border Collies, cleaning up fur every day was my #1 priority.

It also didn't help that I fell pretty hard for The T90's looks (more on that below), but I was anxious about its price — $899.99 / £899 / AU$2,299 seemed rather steep, especially in Australia where I'm based, for a T-series Deebot that's typically been the more mid-range option to Ecovacs' X-series flagships. But then you get what you pay for, right? Or so I thought.

After using it for three months, I was left with an expensive robot vacuum that still looks lovely in its corner but doesn't quite fulfil the rest of its promises.

It's a looker

If you’ve often considered a robot vacuum, but have been put off by the large, rather unsightly docking stations, then you’ll be pleased to learn that the Deebot T90 Pro arrives with the newly enhanced Ecovacs station. The dock and station's combined footprint is slim, and it can easily be placed under a counter or table if you want to store it away. But given its Nordic-inspired, fabric-like design, Ecovacs clearly didn't intend for the T90 to be hidden, especially in homes with minimalist aesthetic settings. Personally, I quite liked the new off-white color as it complemented my apartment decor.

Unlike some other Ecovacs' robot vacuums, the T90 Pro Omni's bot neglects a turret completely, opting for a LiDAR sensor at the front of the machine, so it can get under furniture without issues. In place of a turret sits a loosely placed fabric-like lid that can, sadly, get dislodged when bumped into with some force.

However, the fact that both water tanks are fully concealed within the dock is a big tick for me, as it means I never once had to catch sight of dirty water throughout the day. The trade-off to this is that you can't see if either tank is full or empty. If you set the robot vacuum to clean everyday, then you’ll need to regularly check the tanks to see if they need filling or emptying.

I found I was consistently emptying and refilling the water tanks after every other clean despite its 4L capacity and the mopping area in my apartment is the living, dining and kitchen (my bedrooms are carpeted). I'm also a little surprised that the dirty-water capacity is so much lower, I was expecting it to be around 3L. What that means is, if you live in a large family home, you'll likely need to clean out the dirty mop water between each session too — beats the purpose I think.

Looks can be deceiving

It's lovely design aside, the T90 Pro struggled from day one, starting with its initial floor mapping. As I've already mentioned, my single-storey apartment has a mixture of carpeted and hardwood floors and a relatively straightforward floor plan, which most robovacs I've tried can get right the first time. Nevertheless, it took six mapping sessions to finally achieve an accurate map of my home.

I'll take some of the blame here, as the one map error was my fault after leaving my built-in wardrobe open, but I wanted to believe that after considerable daily use, the bot would update the floorplan on its own — I suppose I was expecting too much from Ecovacs' software there.

Even after the T90 had mapped my home accurately, I still had to make significant edits in the app to get all the rooms marked out correctly, something I've not had to do with other brands.

I made sure all carpet areas were marked out and, despite that, the T90 Pro Omni repeatedly mopped the bedrooms when in Auto mode to do a full-house clean. The only way to avoid this was to start setting up Room or Zone cleans every single time. In other words, the Auto Mode, for me, was redundant.

Aside from the copious amounts of remapping and wrong floor recognition, the T90 faltered when it came to vacuuming up pet hair. Despite its high suction power, I found that the T90 consistently left pet hair on even my hard floors (struggling even more on carpets), and I had to do a follow-up clean with my Dreame U20 which, even as affordable cordless option without a lot of suction, does so much better.

This really was my biggest disappointment because Ecovacs' Blast suction promises improved airflow for the best clean and I saw no evidence of that here. Moreover, a lot of the pet hair got entangled in the central bar brush and its wheels, meaning the bot itself required constant maintenance.

Mopping was a rather unfortunate experience too, especially after all those trips to and from the tap. My wood floors were left streaky and some spills were ignored by the AI stain recognition. My colleague Sharm much prefers the roller mops to the rotating discs on robovacs, but I'm not convinced... yet.

Random starts was another issue I had to face with the T90 Pro Omni — it would just start cleaning on its own, even when there was no voice command or a schedule set up.

There was a silver lining in all this, though: despite being a little basic compared to other robot vacuum apps I've used, the Ecovacs Home app was fairly easy to use (after the remapping shenanigans of course) to set up custom cleaning routines, schedules, suction and waterflow rates.

The easy-to-use app doesn't make up for everything else that went wrong though.

So, what now?

Look, I'll be honest — I was hard-pressed to find something positive to say about the Ecovacs Deebot T90 Pro Omni. A nice design and a decent app will only take my over user experience so far.

I wasn't looking for perfection; I just needed a robot vacuum that do the daily cleanup so I didn't have to and, in that one task, the T90 failed as I had to vacuum again anyway.

And this isn't the first time a Deebot has disappointed — my colleague Sharm wasn't particularly enthused by the older Ecovacs Deebot T50 Max Pro Omni either. TechRadar's recently published Ecovacs Deebot X12 Omnicyclone review also doesn't look very encouraging.

So what's going on at Ecovacs Robotics, one of the pioneering robovac brands? The company's been pumping out new models in quick succession over the last few years, with three alone announced at CES 2026, but it just feels like software and performance issues aren't being fully tested before release to market. Maybe it's time for Ecovacs to slow down, take a beat, and perhaps learn from its mistakes before releasing another suite of subpar products.

I'm still keeping faith that the brand will impress me one day, it's just not going to be with the T90 Pro Omni.

• Google Home Speaker users are reporting early issues
• The voice assistant is taking up to 60 seconds to respond to requests
• Google has said it's working on a fix, but there hasn't been any updates

Google has only just returned to smart hubs with its new AI-powered Google Home Speaker, six long years after the company released the Nest Audio — and users are already running into issues.

It’s been barely a week since pre-orders were shipped and those who’ve been excited to test out the upgraded Google Home Speaker have been let down with the device’s performance.

The crux of the issue is the voice assistant itself, which many users say takes a while to respond to their commands. A slew of Reddit posts highlight the same issue, agreeing that the speaker can take between 30-60 seconds before responding, and others have experienced audio cutting out altogether.

While we don’t know how widespread these lagged responses are, the top comment in the Reddit thread above says it’s happening globally. Whether this is the case or not, it’s birthed a lot of frustration among those who have spent good money on the new device — “I’m returning mine” one user writes, while another says “I really hope Google puts more effort into things”.

Looking at the user reactions, it appears that this issue is also prevalent in older devices like the Nest Audio and Nest Mini, so it’s not just the new Home Speaker that’s going through the ringer. Thankfully, Google is doing something about it.

Amidst the backlash, the official u/GoogleNestCommunity replied to the Reddit post with the following; “We're aware of an issue causing increased latency or timing out. We are working on a fix ASAP and will circle back once this is resolved. Thanks for your patience”.

Though Google’s acknowledgment provides some sort of reassurance that a fix is on the way, the company hasn’t provided any details on how it intends to address the issues or when users can expect to see an improvement. At this rate, it’s still a waiting game, but this isn’t the only run-in with criticism the Google Home Speaker has faced since its launch.

Repairability could be hindered

When Google officially announced the new Home Speaker in October 2025, I was thrilled to see a new speaker was on the way just as much as the next person, but there’s one setback which an early unboxing video addresses.

The Google Home Speaker has a fixed power cable, meaning you can’t disconnect it like you can with the majority of the best smart speakers. It may sound like we’re splitting hairs here, but the unboxing video highlights the repairability problem that comes with not having an unpluggable power cord.

These issues aside, the Google Home Speaker isn't totally devoid of positives. According to the same unboxing video, the speaker’s accompanying app has a lot of appeal and the overall audio quality is pretty solid — so it’s nice to see that Google has adhered to its 360-audio upgrade promises.

• Alexa+ has turned a little scary in one household
• A simple counting task enabled a creepy voice
• Some other users are reporting similar bugs in the AI

If you're already worried about the potential dangers of AI chatbots, this one probably isn't for you: an Amazon Echo user has reported Alexa+ "breathing and making guttural sounds" while engaged in the supposedly innocent task of counting to 40 (in Spanish).

There's video evidence on Reddit (via Android Authority), and it's pretty spooky to listen to — so only click the play button if you're sure you want to hear a disembodied AI-generated voice that sounds somewhat possessed.

According to the user who posted the video, they asked Alexa+ to count up to 40, which prompted the strange sounds. It's not an ideal response, especially as there were two five-year-old kids listening who just wanted a simple countdown.

Apparently, the original poster was then able to get the same thing happening on a separate Amazon Echo in another room. "Needless to say, the Alexas in my house are now unplugged and I've reported the whole thing to Amazon," they report.

A little bit too expressive

While it's possible that some kind of user error or AI fakery has produced this video, it's odd that it would happen on two different devices — and there's at least one other user in the Reddit thread saying they've experienced something similar.

It's almost certainly down to a bug in Alexa+: the new and upgraded AI assistant is intended to be more conversational and more expressive, and in this case it seems to have gone too far (in the same way that AI chatbots can introduce hallucinations and tangents when writing out text).

When pushed, Alexa+ itself said that "something in my environment" must have caused the glitch, though it's not clear what that something might be. Perhaps it's the ghost of Alexa past, which Alexa+ has now replaced.

The Reddit reactions describe the speaker as "haunted", "terrifying", and in need of an exorcism, though the fix is likely to be no more complicated than a tweak to the Alexa+ AI model from Amazon's side.

• A Google Home Speaker is revealed in an early unboxing
• The sound quality and app interface are reportedly impressive
• However, the power cable can't be removed from the device

The brand new Google Home Speaker is about to finally go on sale, but an early unboxing video posted online reveals a design decision made by Google that a lot of users are likely to be less than pleased about: the power cable can't be removed.

You can check out the unboxing over on Reddit (via Android Authority), which shows off the aesthetics of the device that we've known about since the first official reveal last October — as well as giving us the revelation about the power cable.

The Nest Mini device that the Google Home Speaker is more or less replacing does have a removable USB-C power cable, which means when it's not in use, you can tidy it away more easily. On the other hand, the Nest Audio — another speaker now discontinued since the new model arrived — has a fixed power cable.

It seems that a removable power cable is something that quite a few smart speaker owners care about. "This is a nightmare for repairability, for which I am a massive proponent," writes the original unboxer.

Some positives, one negative

As per the information supplied in the video, the Google Home Speaker comes with a USB-C cable that's around 5 feet (1.52 meters) in length that can't be unplugged. There's a 30W power brick on the other end that can be removed.

On the plus side, our unboxer reports that the sound quality from the speaker is good, that the app component has a "cool" interface, and that setting up the device is straightforward — apparently it takes less than 10 minutes.

As with the Nest Mini, there are apparently touch controls available on top of the speaker, as well as hidden lights to report status information and volume levels. On the whole the first impressions from this user are positive ones.

It's just the power cable situation that's drawing criticism: "the non-removable cord killed it for me" writes one poster (who is apparently worried about cats playing with the cord), while the original poster says they're "extremely disappointed in the engineers". Another comment takes a dim view too: "The reason is always money."

Shark PowerDetect UV Reveal review: Price & release date

• List price: $1,299.99 / £999.99
• Released March 2026

The Shark PowerDetect UV Reveal comes in at $1,299.99 / £999.99 — while it’s far from cheap, it’s pretty good value for what it offers. That being said, there are other robot vacuum cleaners with equally impressive features and better software at a similar price point.

Plus, you’ll need to maintain some parts of the vacuum; in particular, refills for the multi-floor cleaner ($13.99 / £14.99) and the odor-neutralizing puck ($9.99 – $14.99 / £7.99 – £15.99), as well as the usual replacement for things like side brushes and mop pads. Over time, these can add up, but you’ll scarcely find a robovac that doesn’t come with added costs at similar prices these days.

• Value: 4/5

Shark PowerDetect UV Reveal review: Design

Out of the box, you’ll find the vacuum, base, power chord, an anti-odor puck, one refill bottle of Shark’s multi-floor cleaner, two side brushes, plus the usual array of instructions and warranty documents.

The base stands at 17 x 18 x 14 inches / 43.2 x 45.7 x 35.6 cm, and comes in either black or white — mine was the latter, and I think it looks a lot more premium than the tackier black colorway. Enclosed in the lid of the base are the 2.74-litre / 96.65oz clean and 1.18-litre / 41.62oz waste water tanks, which lift out easily thanks to the retractable handles, as well as the bagless dirt compartment — I really appreciate that Shark opted for this so there’s one less thing to routinely replace.

You can remove the container with the press of a button situated on the side of the dock, and it’s also HEPA-filtered. There’s also a set of two filters you’ll need to clean every 1-2 months, depending on how often you use your robot vacuum, and a slot for one of Shark’s anti-odor pucks should dusty smells be an issue for you.

The vacuum itself is a fairly standard, rounded 2-in-1 robot vacuum, but a little tall and hefty at 5.35 inches / 13.6cm tall. The top houses its raised puck for LiDAR sensing, which works in tandem with the front of the device, where the cameras and other sensors, including a camera as well as LED and UV lights, to navigate your home and spot messes ripe for cleaning.

If you’d rather not use the app, you can use the four touch-sensitive buttons to activate mop and vacuum modes, send the vacuum home and connect to the Wi-Fi. A soft bumper surrounds the edges of the vacuum to prevent damage from any collisions, which are remarkably rare thanks to its top-tier obstacle avoidance, and you can remove its dust bin and mop plate from the rear of the device.

On the underside, you’ll find the wheels, brush bar, side brush, and a singular, flat mop pad. These aren’t my favorite type — a rondel will typically offer a deeper clean, better post-clean drying and less water waste. However, Shark has designed the robot vacuum to wiggle this mop pad to agitate dirt, which goes some of the ways to make up the difference.

Of note is that the vacuum seems to be a total dust magnet. I have mine placed beneath a desk, where I wouldn’t expect excessive levels of dust — however it’s constantly lined with a thick layer of the stuff.

• Design: 4/5

Shark PowerDetect UV Reveal review: Performance

Setup for the Shark PowerDetect UV Reveal is pretty simple; using the app, you’ll connect the vacuum to your Wi-Fi, give it a name (I loved some of the suggestions like Clean Latifah), and after that, the robot vacuum will run its first mapping pass. Broadly, mine was accurate; my apartment has a slightly tricky layout for robot vacuums, including a half-tiled, half-carpeted kitchen-living room, and lots of doors to dodge.

After this first pass, the app will offer you a second mapping run, this time to detect flooring types. If you plan to regularly mop hard floors and have carpets or rugs to avoid, make sure to get this out of the way during setup; I couldn’t find any way to update this map after the fact.

Cleaning tests

I performed my standard pickup tests using oats, cornflour and brown rice to compare performance to other robot vacuums I’ve tested, and the results were a mixed bag. When setting the Shark PowerDetect UV Reveal off for a standard, vacuum-only clean, I was immediately impressed as it zig-zagged across my floors, leaving them visibly refreshed — plus, it’s pretty quiet in action.

On hard floors, it excels thanks to a combination of its side brush, solid suction and the jet of air it blasts at hard-to-reach debris, ensuring floors are spick and span post-clean. On carpet, it’s slightly less impressive, especially in the edge cleaning department, but it still does a decent enough job. Its pickup of larger debris was very impressive on carpet, leaving little to nothing behind, but there was a small amount of powdery debris left behind on my medium-pile rugs — hair, however, is no problem, be it human or pet.

Next up, I tried a regular combination clean with vacuum and mopping, and that’s where my experience with the Shark PowerDetect UV Reveal became a bit more mixed. The robot vacuum first fills its water tank at the base, proceeding to concurrently vacuum and mop your floors rather than splitting out the tasks. This helps to save time and battery; however, it does increase the risk of soggy carpets.

To avoid this, the robovac will lift its hind to keep the mop pad from drenching carpets — this reduces its effectiveness on carpets, though, as it crushes the side brush, and sometimes, while navigating, it will spin round and spit water across the floor, too. However, once it reaches hard floors, the results are pretty impressive; the mop pad agitates spills and stains with a back-and-forth scrubbing motion, and will reach into corners to make sure every spot is well-cleaned.

It does use a lot of water, though, and especially if you’re cleaning up larger spills, that means the PowerDetect UV Reveal can leave a streaky mess in its wake. I noticed this even more so when there was lots of debris to vacuum up during the clean; the PowerDetect UV Reveal left a clump of soggy oats behind like an owl pellet as well as white streaky marks across the floor, but I wouldn’t typically recommend regularly using your robot vacuum to collect large volume spills anyway. I have especially reflective kitchen tiles, so I noticed this a lot; on my less shiny bathroom tiles, it wasn’t as much of a problem.

Powering up to a higher suction or mopping setting does result in a more thorough cleaning job, especially on carpets, but it’s worth noting that this seems to make the excess water usage more noticeable.

Object detection and navigation

When the Shark PowerDetect UV Reveal works, it really works, but I encountered a fair few bugs and limitations that do impact its overall effectiveness — for example, when doing a combination clean, it sometimes skips cleaning certain areas and rooms, or neglects to clean areas I’ve specifically asked it to.

Its LiDAR scanner makes accurate room maps, though they’ll be a bit odd-looking if you have lots of furniture at floor level. That’s unavoidable, to a degree, but I wish it had investigated those areas more closely to find the real edges of the walls; that way if furniture moves around your home, you wouldn’t need to remap.

Its object detection is incredible — perhaps too good, as the robot vacuum avoided my low-hanging (but not floor-length) curtains like the plague, giving wide berth to even the most inconsequential of obstacles. Generally, it’s not too much of a problem, but improved smarts would mean there’s slightly less preparation required pre-clean to ensure your entire floor gets cleaned properly. I was also massively impressed by the ease with which it lifted itself over and cleared thresholds, chair legs, and the like, leading to quicker cleans.

UV detection

After its standard cleaning cycles, the robovac will return to its base, but the cleaning isn’t over quite yet. It’ll issue an ominous warning once it’s refreshed itself: "I detected stains. I'm heading back out to aggressively attack them."

Here’s where the magic of the PowerDetect UV Reveal is really on show; as it cleans, it flares a blue UV light, with which you can see for yourself the stubborn and sometimes invisible stains on your floor, which it will then return to after a standard cleaning run. It was pretty cringe-inducing to watch it navigate areas I hadn’t cleaned recently and see just how much grime was there.

Dock

After the job’s complete, it’ll return for a final time to the base and begin the mop pad maintenance process quietly in the background with just a low humming noise, washing it with hot water before drying it to reduce contamination. In my testing, the robovac lived up to its estimated 3-hour battery life; a 45-minute clean on standard settings dropped the battery by 25%. A full recharge takes roughly 4 hours, and the vacuum won’t perform new tasks when at less than 20%.

• Performance: 4/5

Shark PowerDetect UV Reveal review: Software and app

The app is quite restrictive when it comes to home and schedule customization; you can only have one map, so multi-floor cleaning isn’t possible, no-go zones are always rectangular and you can only create two schedules per day.

I also noticed that the robot vacuum would often get confused when it initiated a clean, forging straight to the corner of my living room and spinning there for a good few minutes before figuring out its path to the hallway. On closer inspection, this happened most frequently when I sent it to clean somewhere other than its home room; for some reason, it wanted to head straight through my wall instead of around and through the doorway.

I couldn’t find a quiet mode, either, meaning if you ever wanted to use the vacuum at night or when little ones are sleeping, they might awaken to an ominous threat from your robovac.

These issues, among other software quirks, make for the primary complaint I have surrounding the Shark PowerDetect UV reveal; its app and on-board smarts hold back an otherwise high-performance robot vacuum.

• Software: 2.5/5

Shark PowerDetect UV Reveal review: Specs

Should I buy Shark PowerDetect UV Reveal?

Buy it if…

You value well sanitized floors
With its UV detection, the Shark PowerDetect UV Reveal offers peace of mind and broadly great results, especially in the mopping department… if you can handle slow-drying floors.

You have pets
Again, the UV detection comes in clutch here for invisible pet messes, but it’s also a deft hand at hair collection.

You have a large home
With its great battery life and efficiency, the Shark PowerDetect UV Reveal is unlikely to run out of juice before finishing the job even in larger homes.

Don’t buy it if…

You have lots of wooden floors or shiny tiles

While it’ll clean these floor types within an inch of their life, the residual water and cleaning solution could warp or damage wooden floors and leave streaky marks on particularly reflective ones.

You have lots of carpet
Don’t get me wrong, this is an accomplished vacuum for carpets, but if you want to do combination cleans, you might end up with a few soggy spots left in its wake.

You want to vacuum multiple floors — or other smart features

I liken the Shark PowerDetect UV Reveal to a power washer in the hands of a caveman; it’s only as good as the software allows it to be, and with frustrations like single-floor mapping, ignored instructions and

Shark PowerDetect UV Reveal review: Also consider

How I tested the Shark PowerDetect UV Reveal

I tested the Shark PowerDetect UV Reveal for two weeks in my home, completing my standardised pickup, edge cleaning and mopping tests in addition to simulating tests for features like UV detection. I used the app, making a map of my home and testing various features like scheduling and room-by-room cleaning tasks, closely observing the vacuum when in use to note any navigation or performance issues during testing.

• Read TechRadar’s reviews guarantee
• First reviewed June 2026

Ecovacs Deebot X12 OmniCyclone: two-minute review

The Ecovacs Deebot X12 OmniCyclone arrives in an increasingly crowded robot vacuum market, yet it still manages to stand out thanks to a handful of genuinely innovative features. Chief among these is the OmniCyclone docking station, a bagless dust collection system that uses Dyson-style cyclonic technology to capture detritus without relying on pricy disposable dust bags. As a result, it's a great system for anyone with molting dogs or cats, as long as the bin is emptied on a fairly frequent basis.

The X12's floor sweeping credentials aren’t exactly anything to write home about, mind, especially its performance on hard floor.And while its navigation is mostly precise and systematic, I have seen evidence of it occasionally missing some areas.

However, it's the mopping system that really sets this machine apart. Rather than dragging two damp spinning pads around the floor and potentially smearing dirt all over the floor, the X12 employs an extendable roller mop that is continuously supplied with clean water, while simultaneously collecting dirty water into a separate tank. The result is a far more hygienic clean, particularly on hard floors where conventional robot mops can often leave a thin film of grime in their wake. This model also has a unique FocusJet system that squirts water on deep stains before mopping them up, but I simply couldn’t get it to function as it should.

No question, the X12 OmniCyclone is extremely well engineered and packed with clever technology, but me thinks it might be worth a trip back to the drawing board to fix some of its frustrating anomalies.

Ecovacs Deebot X12 OmniCyclone: price & availability

• List price £1,249 / €1,399 / $1,499.99
• Launch date April 2026
• Availability Worldwide

In the UK, the Ecovacs Deebot X12 OmniCyclone’s retail price is £1,249 but you can purchase it right now direct from Ecovacs or Amazon for a knockdown £949. At this price, the odd glitch in its performance makes it a lot more justifiable. However, if you mainly want a robot vacuum to collect dry debris from hard floors, the X12 still remains difficult to fully recommend, even at this lower price point.

As of writing, US buyers don’t get the same rosy deal as those in the UK – it sells direct from Ecovacs or Amazon for the full price of $1,499.99 – though you can be sure that big discounts will be applied in the not-too-distant future. The same applies to most of Europe, too, where the X12 OmniCyclone is retailing at a quite considerable €1,399.

If the Ecovacs Deebot X12 OmniCyclone feels too specialized for your needs. or you’ve been put off by some of my reported performance issues, there are several strong alternatives on the market. For instance, the Roborock Saros 20 (£1,249) offers a much more balanced blend of hard-floor vacuuming, carpet performance and premium mopping. Likewise, the Dreame X50 Ultra Complete is also an excellent all-rounder with particularly strong obstacle avoidance and cleaning coverage. Finally, don’t discount this model’s predecessor, the Deebot X11 OmniCyclone, which delivers much of the X12’s roller-mop appeal and bagless convenience for a lot less money (£699 to be precise).

• Value score: 3/5

Ecovacs Deebot X12 OmniCyclon:: specs

Ecovacs Deebot X12 OmniCyclone: design

• Excellent dock with cyclone emptying
• Impressive roller mop system
• Pre-spray system isn’t reliable

I’ll admit that, in this day and age with so many robot vac brands and models on the market, it’s difficult to get too excited about yet another robot vac-and-mop unless it’s bringing a smorgasbord of new tech to the table. Thankfully this one introduces at least three tantalising features that I personally haven’t seen in a robot vac before, and you can read about these below.

As with all robot vacs, setup was very easy because there are only three items in the box: the dock, the robot and the clip-in ramp for the dock. Everything was self-evident, although I will add that there was a surfeit of protective cellophane wrapping on almost every inch of the dock and robot, and I guarantee you will find a piece of cellophane still lurking somewhere that you completely missed on unboxing a few weeks earlier.

Once it was plugged in and ready to go, I launched the Ecovacs Home app and added the robot to my account and Wi-Fi network. I then sent it out on its first mapping run so it could acquaint itself with its new home, and it took a spritely 10 minutes to map my entire floor space of four rooms. The resulting map on the app looked clean and precise and intuitively layout out, though I did have to merge and split some rooms, which is very common and easy to do.

Robot design

The Ecovacs Deebot X12 OmniCyclone may, at first glance, resemble the vast majority of hybrid robot vacuum leaners, but its engineering sets it apart from much of the competition.

The first thing I should address is that, at 3.85 inches (9.8cm) in height, the X12 won’t be able to scoot under low-slung furniture like the squat Roborock Saros range. However, as is the case with the Saros 10R, this model uses solid-state direct Time-of-Flight LiDAR to navigate so it doesn’t come with an ugly LiDAR turret, and that keeps its height to an acceptable level for most low furnishings.

Aside from its dToF-based navigation system, the X12 also utilises Ecovacs’ AIVI 3D 4.0 which combines an RGB camera and depth sensors with AI processing to detect, identify and manoeuvre around most household obstacles. The camera can also be used to send a live stream to the app and it’s the sharpest image I’ve seen from any robot vac, not that you’ll use it much.

And then there’s something called TruEdge 3D Edge Sensor 2.0, which combines vertical and horizontal lasers to allegedly detect irregular edges, skirting boards, and recessed areas for improved edge cleaning.

Most robot vacs have a pair of manual controls on top of the robot so you can perform a full clean at the touch of a button or, more importantly, tell it to end its cleaning without having to reach for the app. Sadly, this model only has a single on/off button that you press to continue cleaning after a hiccup in its navigation, and press and hold for three seconds for it to return to dock. I personally prefer having two buttons: one to turn it on and off, or pause it mid clean, and another to end the task and return to dock. Had I not checked the manual, I’d never have know its on/off button served two functions.

Heading to the undercarriage, the X12’s single tapered six-inch brush roller makes a very fair fist of dealing with hair tangles by coaxing it towards the tapered end where it’s sucked into the vacuum path. The roller itself is comprised of four soft rubber paddles for carpet beating and two bristled paddles for hard floors.

I’ve been watching suction-power stats of robot vacs for some time, and over the past five years they have has exploded from an average of 2,000–2,500 Pascals to between 20,000 and 36,000Pa for today's flagship models. Mind, suction stats are largely a marketing ploy because real-world cleaning relies much more heavily on brush design and airflow. This model boasts 22,000Pa which is about average for its price range.

One of this model’s most distinctive design elements is the extendable roller mop, which automatically extends one inch beyond the robot's chassis to clean along skirting boards and into 90-degree corners that are often left untouched by standard robot mops. I much prefer a roller system like this over twin spinning mop pads because the roller is continually washed during operation, with contaminated water extracted and transferred to a dedicated dirty-water tank while fresh water is supplied to the roller. This ensures that muck is removed rather than redistributed over other sections of flooring.

The X12’s carpet protection is equally innovative because a protective sleeve rotates beneath the roller, effectively isolating the damp roller and preventing unwanted moisture from transferring to carpet. The mopping system is theoretically further enhanced by Ecovacs’ unique FocusJet Stain Pre-Dissolving technology, which allegedly targets dried-on spills before mopping. This system is said to improve cleaning performance on stubborn messes, but I’ve found it to be very hit-and-miss, which even Ecovacs admits to in a warning written just below the app’s FocusJet setting.

I don’t have any tall thresholds in my home but if you do, you’ll be pleased to learn that the X12 comes with something called TruePass Adaptive four-wheel-drive Climbing System that will, according to Ecovacs, help the robot to scale single thresholds of up to one inch (2.4cm) in height and "navigate continuous double steps of up to 1.57 inches (4cm) with ease".

I wouldn’t say that this model’s battery capacity is especially noteworthy, at least when used extensively. However, Ecovacs says the battery can be restored by 13% in just three minutes to help elongate its operation time if the robot is being pushed to the limits, so that’s a very good thing.

Like quite a few high-end hybrid robotic cleaners, the X12 also uses an AI Agent to "autonomously map your home, identify floor types via intelligent scene recognition, and then schedule and execute a weekly cleaning plan". I personally always turn AI off because I’m human and have a brain capable of setting my own schedules, thank you very much.

Score ref: 3.5/5

Dock design

The Ecovacs Deebot X12 OmniCyclone’s charging dock combines an impressive range of automation features with styling that looks more like a miniature Art Deco skyscraper from Batman’s Gotham City or Fritz Lang’s Metropolis than a household appliance.

Rather than relying on disposable dust bags, which may need replacing on a two-week basis if shedding pets are in the home, the X12’s dock uses cyclone technology to suck dust and debris from the robot’s small bin into a large 1.69-quart (1.6-litre) collection chamber. To empty, simply unclip it, take it to the kitchen bin and slide down the blue lever. Voila, the debris falls out of the bottom just like a Dyson vac.

As a dog- and cat-owner, I’m a big fan of this type of system because it not only reduces ongoing costs — and environmental waste — but it also helps maintain strong suction performance between the robot and the dock while vastly reducing any issues of clogging that can sometimes occur if the robot has collected too much pet hair.

The dock also houses two large clean and dirty water reservoirs (3.7 quarts/3.5L and 2.85 quarts/2.7L apiece) for the roller mop system which minimises the need for frequent refilling or emptying. It also incorporates two cleaning-solution tanks, including a dedicated one that’s used by the X12’s FocusJet system to tackle dried-on spills and stubborn marks before mopping.

As with most premium hybrid robots, the dock’s maintenance is almost entirely automated so the station washes the roller mop using heated, pressurised water, extracts dirty water into a separate tank and then dries the mop with hot air to reduce rancid odours and bacterial growth. Ecovacs has also equipped this dock with some self-cleaning functions, including automatic cleaning of the washing tray and dirty-water system.

Score ref: 4.5/5

• Design score: 4/5

Ecovacs Deebot X12 OmniCyclone: performance

• Top-notch dock performance
• Very good roller mopping to the edge
• Disappointing hard floor performance

Navigation performance

After a very successful initial mapping run, the X12’s navigation seemed a bit wayward for the first few excursions but improved as the robot seemingly learned the quickest route from room to room.

However, I have been perplexed by some of its behavior in our furniture-cluttered lounge which is a mixture of hard wooden floor and thin rugs. It doesn’t help that the app has so many customizable floor-cleaning options that you’re forced to experiment and the surfeit of carpet settings alone is enough to drive you round the twist as you fiddle and mess about with options like ‘clean carpet first’, ‘avoid fringed carpets’, ‘carpet recognition’, the list goes on.

Possibly as a result of some setting I may have incorrectly adjusted, the X12 has never performed a complete clean of the lounge, at least according to the image of its trail on the app. At first I had ‘AI Agent' turned on, and I never trust AI when it comes to automation because you never know what it’s going to do next. Besides, I prefer to be in control of my gadgets. Anyway, after 15 minutes of online research I noticed a tiny grayed-out ‘exit’ word just below the AI Agent option that had been there all the time. So I turned AI Agent off and breathed a sign of relief. Did it make a difference to its lounge-cleaning navigation? Not much, as far as I can tell.

I’m not really sure what it doesn’t like about my lounge, but for some strange reason it usually misses cleaning the 15 inches of wooden floor gap between two thin rugs and it doesn’t completely vacuum under my sofa, even when I’ve lifted the valence. Instead, it performs one pass under the front edge of the sofa and then leaves.

And another thing… When it started my most recent lounge-cleaning attempt there was a dog bed on the floor, which it deftly skirted around. But when I removed the bed while it was cleaning nearby, I expected it to notice the sudden lack of bed and proceed to clean that area too. But no, it simply went home.

The X12 also has a habit of stalling at the edge of every rug before moving forward. It heads towards the rug at full speed and as soon as a wheel detects a slight incline – we’re talking millimeters here – it stops dead while it assesses the situation before proceeding to cross the rug. No great shakes but it was something I noticed that rarely bothers other bots. Thankfully and despite these slightly confounding anomalies, the X12 has behaved perfectly well in every other room with full clean-ups as one would reasonably expect.

Score ref: 2.5/5

Obstacle avoidance

If the X12’s overall navigation has room for improvement, there’s no such issue with its obstacle avoidance. For this test I set its AIVI 3D obstacle avoidance to ‘high sensitivity’ and used a number of dog toys but also placed two cigarette lighters and a small remote. I was very impressed by how quickly it negotiated a path between them with no collisions to report. At other times the X12’s obstacle avoidance has been set to ‘standard’ and even in this setting it has never ridden slipshod over anything, so I call that a result.

Score ref: 4/5

Vacuuming

I set up two vacuuming tests, one on hard floor, the other on carpet rug using a mix of rice, oats, icing sugar and granola. Test one was on my kitchen hard floor and unfortunately it was a bit of a failure. While this test was extreme, it was no different to every other robot vacuum test I perform on hard floor. Firstly, the act of creating a zone using the Scenario option was far too complicated, but I got there in the end. I went for the full vacuum power, deep clean and two-passes option to give it a better chance.

When it arrived at the zone, it first drove straight over the detritus with its motor off, which was a strange thing to do. It then proceeded to start its cleaning run and collected some of the debris, but left far more behind than it should have done. It also seemed to work haphazardly and made just one pass along the skirting board without cleaning up any of the ingredients. When it finally left the scene, the floor looked in quite a state so I reached for the Dyson Gen5detect, which cleaned up everything in one pass.

I couldn’t tell if this disappointing result was due to sub-par suction power – at 22,000Pa it should pick up debris much better – or if the brush bar is badly designed, but the results for this hard floor test were unacceptable. However, I should add that, during its day-to-day sweeping, I’ve never had too much cause for concern because it has always vacuumed the kitchen and most other hard floor areas efficiently enough. Perhaps I pushed it too far for this test.

Thankfully the rug test was more successful, though I wouldn’t say it was exceptional by any means, especially considering that I had maxed out all the settings. The first horizontal pass clearly showed that it had collected most of the crumbly debris, but it took a return pass and another two vertical passes to leave it fairly clean. I say fairly because most robots leave behind some detritus in a test like this, which is why you should never get rid of your cordless stick vac or any other form of manual vacuum cleaner. While robots are great for keeping on top of things, homo sapiens is thankfully still way more advanced than any robot when it comes to household duties.

Score ref: 2.5/5

Mopping performance

Despite having the X12’s FocusJet activated since installing the product, I have never actually seen it in operation, which has really confused me because I thought that the moment the robot spots a large stain area it jet washes it first to break up the stain and then mops it. But maybe that’s not the case — answers on a postcard please.

For my kitchen mopping test I squirted some tomato ketchup on the floor and adjusted the cleaning settings to Vac and Mop (for some bizarre reason there is no mop-only feature), standard water dispensing, Deep Cleaning, and two passes. As I anticipated given all the mopping tech on this bot, the X12 performed well in this test; indeed better than most spinning mop systems I’ve tested. Yes, it was a bit erratic in its chosen path, but it eventually cleaned the mess up and left far fewer smears than I have normally experienced.

Did it use the FocusJet on this unmissable ketchup stain? No, it simply approached the stain and duly mopped it without once using the squirty jet thing. And yet it did squirt water at least twice on an area with no stains whatsoever.

I personally don’t see a need for this water-spraying function because the task of cleaning a specific stain is a lot quicker if you just grab some kitchen towelling or a proper mop and bucket and do it yourself. The mere fact you need to reach for the app and make an educated guess where the stain is on the map and then wait five minutes while the robot gets ready to trundle over to what you hope is the correct spot, is way too long a process in my opinion. And even when it gets there, there’s no guarantee that it will actually use the water spraying system in the correct place, or even use it at all.

Score ref: 3.5/5

Dock performance

The X12 OmniCyclone's charging dock is among the most capable and innovative docking stations I’ve come across. Its bagless OmniCyclone dust collection system has performed particularly well, emptying the robot's onboard dustbin with no clogging to report, though I will admit that I have set it to empty the bot’s bin several times during its daily routines. Yes, I have had to take the bin to the kitchen bin twice in a month for emptying but even this has been a breeze. In fact, it has a better emptying mechanism than a lot of cordless stick vacs I’ve reviewed.

The dock also automatically washes the roller mop using heated water, removes the dirty water into a dedicated reservoir and then dries the roller with hot air to help prevent unpleasant smells and mould growth. And like most premium models, the dock’s self-cleaning functions also do a grand job of helping to keep the removable washing tray free from accumulated muck.

Score ref: 4/5

Battery performance

The X12’s 4,000mAh battery has a charging time of around two and a half hours. My lounge is roughly 12m² and, according to the app, the double-pass vacuum test in my lounge took 28 minutes to complete, while missing the space between two rugs that I have already mentioned above. After this run the battery showed 54% remaining, which seemed a bit low to me. Anyway, I then set it off to do two vacuum passes at full suction in the kitchen (around 17m²), after which the battery showed just 15%. As a result it headed back to the dock for a top-up before heading out again 20 minutes later to complete the task.

I’ve also noticed it heading back for a near-full top-up midway through an entire house clean and this suggests that the X12 might not be the best model for larger homes. Granted, one is rarely bothered by how long it takes a robot to clean a whole home, but there will be times when you need a quick cleanup in an emergency only to discover that the X12 is too busy charging itself from an earlier task.

Score ref: 3.5/5

• Performance score: 3/5

Ecovacs Deebot X12 OmniCyclone: app functionality

• Relatively easy to navigate
• Far too many custom options
• Some annoying programming traits

At first I thought the Ecovacs Home app was one of the most intuitive and well laid-out robot app I’d come across – ‘very easy to navigate’, I said in my notes. However, in hindsight I think it’s too complex and confusing for its own good. Don’t get me wrong, I love an app that provides loads of customisation but this app tips it into anorak territory with so many custom options available that it’s difficult to know where to start.

This is especially noticeable when you select ‘Robot Advanced Functions’ because advanced they most certainly are. Yes, some are self explanatory but when you tap ‘Carpet Settings’ you’re met with two pages of settings relating to every carpet-cleaning scenario imaginable. As a result you can find yourself in a rabbit hole of experimentations that take ages to carry out because it’s a robot and robots always do things at their own pace – very slowly.

On the plus side, the app does cleverly divide all settings into Robot and Dock, and provides instant access to one’s pre-programmed routines, or Scenarios as Ecovacs calls them. However, it might take you a while to find the area where you create them, and when you finally get there and create your series of personalised routines and name them accordingly – like ‘Lounge Vac’, ‘Kitchen Mop’, etc – don’t just click on ‘done’ because there’s also a faint ‘save’ button on top and if you don’t click that, you may be back to square one. Also, as mentioned above, I had issues trying to turn off Agent Mode which I simply don’t trust, especially given the amount of engineered wood flooring in my home.

This is far from the worst robot app I’ve ever used. In fact it’s quite similar to my favourite Roborock app for functionality and personalisation. But as I said above, I think the IT department went a bit over the top when they designed this app and ended up providing too many options.

• App functionality score: 3/5

Should you buy the Ecovacs Deebot X12 OmniCyclone?

Buy it if

Don't buy it if

How I tested the Ecovacs Deebot X12 OmniCyclone

I tested the Ecovacs Deebot X12 OmniCyclone across a typical mixed UK home environment, combining hard flooring, rugs and high-traffic kitchen areas. The focus was on real-world performance rather than lab conditions, including everyday debris such as crumbs, dust, huge amounts of pet hair and sticky spills. I ran multiple cleaning cycles using the highest levels of vacuum and full mopping modes, observing how well it handled edge cleaning, room transitions and obstacle avoidance. Particular attention was paid to its roller-mop system, water delivery and the behaviour of the Focus Jet and OmniCyclone dock during emptying and refilling.

I also assessed its noise levels, maintenance demands and app control usability over repeated use. The aim was to determine whether its headline mopping innovations genuinely translate into better everyday cleaning performance. It mostly did in this regard but there’s definitely room for improvement regarding its overall navigation and hard floor sweeping.

First reviewed June 2026.

• Google is officially retiring its range of Nest Audio speakers
• That includes the Google Nest Audio and the Google Nest Mini
• They’ll be replaced by the Google Home Speaker when it launches shortly

It’s fair to say that there’s a lot of expectation around the Google Home Speaker — after all, it’s the company’s first smart speaker in six years and we’ve been waiting since its August 2025 announcement for it to arrive. But its launch next week spells bad news for the Google Nest Audio range, as we’ve just heard that it’s finally being sent off to retirement.

Speaking to Tech Advisor, a Google spokesperson said: “As we continue to build the future of the smart home, we are refining our portfolio of Google Home and Nest devices. As part of this evolution, we have ended production of the Google Nest Mini and Google Nest Audio.”

Yes, that means both the Nest Mini and the Nest Audio are out of stock on the Google online store and instead redirect to the page for the Home Speaker. Not only that, but Google is apparently phasing out the Nest branding for its speakers and displays, with Home taking its place.

Interestingly, Google Gemini for Home — the tech giant’s artificial intelligence (AI) model tailored for smart home usage — is compatible with all existing Google speakers and displays, meaning it will continue to work just fine on Google Nest audio devices.

What this news means for you

It’s not all bad news for Google Nest speaker owners. Google said it remains “deeply committed to our smart home ecosystem and to the millions of people who use our products every day.” To that end, “Existing Nest Mini and Nest Audio devices will continue to be fully supported with regular software updates, security patches, and customer care,” the company added.

With Gemini for Home still working on Nest products, you’re not missing out if you already own one of these speakers, at least from an AI standpoint. And while Google’s online stores no longer stock the Nest Mini and Nest Audio, you can still find them at third-party retailers.

But considering the age of the Nest Mini and Nest Audio — they first launched in 2017 and 2020, respectively, with neither device being updated since the latter date — it’s perhaps unsurprising that Google has finally called time on these speakers. With the Google Home Speaker set to land any day now, we’ll soon see if their replacement is up to scratch.

• Google has confirmed the launch of its new Google Home Speaker
• You can pre-order now, with the device expected to ship from June 25
• The speaker comes with basic Gemini features, but you'll need a Google Home Premium subscription to use advanced tools

Since Google first teased its next smart speaker back in August 2025, we’ve been keeping an eye on all the latest rumors around the new Gemini-powered Google Home Speaker —and now its official launch date has finally been confirmed.

Pe-orders for Google's first smart speaker in six years, which will replace the company’s Nest Audio, and Nest Mini, are open now. According to the Google Home Speaker pre-order page, shipping will commence on June 25.

The new Google Home Speaker is priced at $99.99 / £99.99 / AU$199, and comes in four colors: Jade, Berry, Porcelain, and Hazel. All four of those shades are available in the US, but Porcelain and Hazel are the only options for users in the UK and Australia.

Google has been keeping us on our toes in recent months when it comes to its anticipated new speaker and, as per a leak from Best Buy Canada, we had the speaker pegged for a late-June launch. When Google officially announced the device in October 2025 following its tease, it unveiled a slew of new upgrades, starting with its design.

Much like the Apple HomePod Mini and Amazon’s Echo Studio hub, the Google Home Speaker adopts 360-audio, which Google says you can pair with a supported Google TV Streamer device to create an immersive home theater audio setup. It comes with a 3D-woven fabric finish, and a light ring on its base to let you know when it's listening and responding — but the biggest upgrade is its Gemini powers.

For years, Google Assistant has been the company’s voice assistant for its smart hubs, but the Google Home Speaker is its first flagship device with Gemini capabilities, designed to be even smarter when responding to complicated requests and queries. It all sounds great on paper — but there’s one notable catch.

While the Google Home Speaker will come with basic features such as reminders, smart home controls, and quick answers, you’ll need to subscribe to one of the Google Home Premium tiers (Standard or Advanced) to use Gemini in its entirety — and additional outlay I imagine most potential users won't be happy about given the up-front cost of the speaker.

One of the advanced features locked into Google Home Premium Standard tier is Gemini Live, a conversational chatbot you can talk to, interrupt mid-sentence, and ask follow-up questions of about all kinds of topics. Whether you need a substitute ingredient for a specific recipe or are looking for outfit inspiration for an event, Gemini Live will have you covered.

The advanced features don’t end there however. With a Google Home Premium membership you’ll get additional storage for footage from security cameras and video doorbells that are integrated into your setup. If you’re signed up to the Advanced tier you’ll also get access to Home Brief, a tool that summarizes your footage highlights and gives you more detailed descriptions of the events that occur on your cameras.

It's not all bad news, because Google is offering six months of Google Home Premium for free when you purchase the new Google Home Speaker before September 30.

If you want to continue your time with Google Home Premium, you’ll have to pay a subscription to one of its tiers. Standard is $10/ £8/ AU$15 a month, while the Advanced tier is $20/ £16/ AU$30. You can read more about what each tier has to offer on the Google Home Premium sign-up page.

• Aura has added Google Photos support for its digital photo frames
• Albums / individual photos can be uploaded to frames from linked accounts
• Aura Frames can also be pre-loaded with existing Google Photo albums

Aura features heavily in my best digital photo frames guide. In fact, I have two of its frames in my home; the Ink with its natural, print-like E Ink display, and my absolute favorite, the punchy and classy Walden. Now, as a Google user, those frames just got better with the addition of Google Photos integration.

To add the feature, you'll need the Aura app (which is super handy for syncing frames anyway). In the app, select the 'Add Photos' option, tap 'Connect' on Google Photos, sign into your Google account, and then select which albums / individual photos you'd like to add. It's as simple as that.

Those photos will be added to your frame, and any new photos added to albums later will be included automatically.

Aura frames are collaborative too, in that you can invite family and friends to add their own photos to a frame, from anywhere in the world through the cloud. There are plenty more ways to add images besides the Aura app and now Google Photos, including iCloud, email, web and even by text message.

I've enjoyed personalizing an Aura frame as a gift before; photos can be pre-loaded to a frame, and that now goes for the new Google Photos integration too.

Photos shared, the proper way

I regularly find myself huddled around a phone with my wife and children when curated memories pop up from our Google Photos albums. We've got years worth of memories stored in a Google Photos account, with new photos added automatically.

As much as I love the spontaneity of our family slideshows around the small screen of a phone, there's something that little bit more special seeing those photos in a slick wall-mounted frame or one on a sideboard.

This Aura update, therefore, massively improves my experience with Aura frames, especially for displaying family memories. Most Aura frames also play video with sound, but not the Ink frame, which has the most authentic print-like quality, but is photo-only.

If you're totally new to digital photo frames, I've included links to the best deals for my favortire Aura frames below, and for more buying advice, check out my digital photo frames guide.

Ring Battery Video Doorbell Plus (2nd Gen): two-minute review

A video doorbell is a parcel monitor, a deterrent, and a low-key surveillance node pointed at your own front step, and Ring has spent the better part of a decade making that proposition feel normal.

The second-generation Battery Doorbell Plus is the company sharpening its best idea: taking the head-to-toe doorbell and giving it the resolution it always deserved.

Where ordinary doorbells frame a visitor's torso and chin and little else, the Plus shows a tall, square 1:1 field of view — 140 degrees in both directions — that takes in the person, the doorstep and whatever's been left on it.

This generation shoots in 2K Retinal resolution (1920 x 1920) with HDR, so you can identify a courier, read a label and confirm whether the parcel is on your step or your neighbour's — and a 6x Enhanced Zoom lets you pinch in without the image collapsing. It's the spec that separates a useful doorbell from a novelty, and the upgrade that justifies picking the Plus over Ring's cheaper Battery Doorbell.

Night performance has been rethought, too. Rather than dropping straight to grey mush after dark, the Plus uses true-color low-light sight to hold onto colour in dim conditions, only switching to adaptive black-and-white night vision once it's dark.

Two-way talk with noise cancellation does the doorstep-conversation job cleanly. The other quality-of-life change is the Quick Release Battery Pack: instead of unmounting the whole unit to charge, you pop out the battery, recharge it and slot it back.

Installation takes under 30 minutes, connecting to Wi-Fi through the app and mounting with the supplied tools, then lining it up so the head-to-toe view actually reaches the floor. No hub required. If there's a grumble, it's a small one: in 2026, a $179.99 / £149.99 / AU$249 doorbell still charges over Micro-USB rather than USB-C, so you'll be hunting for the right cable.

On the upside, it runs dual-band Wi-Fi 6, so a 2K stream holds up better than Ring's older 2.4GHz-only doorbells, with Ring recommending a 10Mbps upload to keep it smooth.

Then there's the Ring tax, in two senses. Financially, person alerts, package alerts and saved recordings all live behind a Ring subscription; without one, the doorbell is reduced to real-time alerts and live view, which rather undersells a 2K camera.

Philosophically, buying Ring means accepting its history of police-data partnerships and the broader unease about Amazon-owned cameras pointed at public pavements. None of that is new, and none of it stops the hardware being good, but a review that ignored it wouldn't be doing its job.

Ring Battery Video Doorbell Plus (2nd Gen): price & availability

• List price: $179.99 / £149.99 / AU$249
• Announced March 2026
• Available in the UK, US, and Australia

Sitting in the upper-middle of Ring's range of video doorbells, the Plus costs more than the $99.99 / £79.99 / $149 standard Battery Doorbell and less than the $249.99 / £219.99 / AU$399 Battery Doorbell Pro, which steps up to Retinal 4K and 3D motion detection.

With a list price of $179.99 / £149.99 / AU$249, the Battery Video Doorbell Plus isn't an impulse buy, but Ring discounts aggressively and its doorbells routinely sell well under list, so few people pay full price for long.

You should also factor the subscription into the lifetime cost. Plans start affordably for a single device and climb for multi-device households. Although the doorbell functions without a subscription, the experience is hollow: you'll be notified that something happened without being able to review what. Treat the subscription as part of the purchase, not an optional extra, and the value equation looks honest.

• Value score: 4/5

Ring Battery Video Doorbell Plus (2nd Gen): subscription plans

Features such as instant notifications, Live View and Two-Way Talk are available out of the box and for free on all Ring devices. A Ring subscription (branded Ring Protect) allows you to review, save and share your videos.

With a Ring subscription, starting from $4.99 / £4.99 / AU$4.95 per month per device, you can store unlimited Ring footage in the cloud for up to 180 days, to rewatch, download to your own device or share with friends and family. Person and package alerts also require a subscription.

You get a 30-day trial subscription when you first set up your Ring device. Video storage defaults to 30 days, with the option to extend it to up to 180 days.

Ring Battery Video Doorbell Plus (2nd Gen): specs

Ring Battery Video Doorbell Plus (2nd Gen): design

• Well-built
• Quick-release battery
• Hub-free wireless install

I’ve never been the biggest fan of Ring’s bulky designs, but the second-gen Plus is a bit more suitably restrained: a slim, rounded slab that won't embarrass a period porch or a new-build alike.

Build quality is reassuring, and the button has a satisfying press, though for UK and Australian customers it only comes in a single Nickel Silver finish, so there's no matching it to your door furniture the way some rivals allow.

The most practical design feature is the Quick Release Battery Pack. On older Ring doorbells, recharging meant unscrewing and removing the whole device — exactly the sort of faff that leads to a flat battery and a fortnight of excuses. Here you release the battery alone, charge it and reinsert it, with the doorbell staying put.

Buy a spare — the standard pack or the new Quick Release Ultra Battery Pack — and downtime drops to seconds. If a permanent supply suits you better, it hardwires to existing doorbell wiring for continuous trickle charging.

Setup follows Ring's well-worn path through the app, and crucially needs no separate hub or bridge. The only thing to get right is the angle: head-to-toe view only delivers its full benefit if you mount the doorbell so the frame reaches the doorstep, so it's worth spending a minute on placement rather than slapping it up at eye level out of habit.

• Design score: 4/5

Ring Battery Video Doorbell Plus (2nd Gen): performance

• 2K Retinal head-to-toe view
• True-colour low-light
• Subscription gates smartest features

Fitted to a typical front door, the Plus does the important things well, and the move to 2K makes the difference obvious. The higher resolution and tall, square frame capture a visitor from hairline to doormat, so you see the face and the parcel in one shot.

The 6x Enhanced Zoom lets you crop in on a label or a face without the picture completely falling apart. Motion alerts arrived promptly during testing, live view loaded quickly, and two-way talk was clear enough to hold a proper exchange with a courier rather than barking over each other.

It might split opinion, but Ring uses AI-powered features to identify and announce who is at your door. Instead of generic motion alerts, I received AI prompts such as “A person is walking in the room with a vacuum cleaner”. I loved it, my cleaner hated it, and well, I guess that’s the point.

After dark, true-color low-light sight holds onto color under external lighting, so a late-night clip is worth reviewing; only in near-total darkness does it fall back to adaptive black-and-white.

It’s worth noting that I tested this sample on an internal front door, but one with intermittent infrared communal lighting at night, so the low-light functionality became incredibly useful when the lights cut out. Being battery-powered and available with Ring’s additional adhesive stick-on mounting kit makes it suitable for rental properties, too.

Connectivity is more of a quiet improvement: dual-band Wi-Fi 6 gives the 2K stream more headroom than Ring's older 2.4GHz-only doorbells, with Ring recommending a 10Mbps upload speed to keep things smooth.

The performance ceiling, though, is set by the subscription. Person and package alerts — the difference between 'motion detected' and 'a parcel has arrived' — require a Ring plan, as does the ability to go back and watch what you missed, with recordings held up to 180 days.

Without a plan, the doorbell still rings and still streams live, but it stops short of the intelligence its hardware is clearly capable of. As a generational upgrade, it's a real one: 2K Retinal, HDR, sharper zoom and better low-light all land, so first-gen Plus owners have a genuine reason to look, even if a working 1536p unit is still perfectly serviceable.

• Performance score: 4/5

Should you buy the Ring Battery Video Doorbell Plus (2nd Gen)

Buy it if

Don't buy it if

Ring Battery Video Doorbell Plus (2nd Gen): also consider

If you're not sure whether the new Ring Battery Video Doorbell Plus is the right option for you, here are two other doorbells to think about.

How I tested the Ring Battery Video Doorbell Plus (2nd Gen)

• Tested at a domestic front door
• Assessed video, head-to-toe framing, zoom, night vision and audio
• Trialled the subscription experience

I used the doorbell outside to assess image quality, but mainly mounted the doorbell on an internal front door and used it as my main entry camera, paying particular attention to whether the head-to-toe view and the new 2K sensor delivered on the promise of capturing parcels and people together.

I checked live-view responsiveness, pushed the 6x zoom on faces and labels, held two-way conversations with visitors, and reviewed low-light and night clips after dark.

I've reported on Ring's privacy considerations because they're a material part of the buying decision, not a footnote.

For more details, see how we test, rate, and review products at TechRadar.

First reviewed June 2026

Fitting a video doorbell is an excellent way to boost your home security, but if you rent your home or live in an apartment, they're just not possible. That's where the catchily-named EZVIZ EP4 Wire-Free Peephole Door Viewer comes in. This little 4K camera fits in your front door's spyhole, and provides you with all the best features of a video doorbell without any drilling or damage.

Installing the EP4 is incredibly easy, and I managed to complete the whole process in around 10 minutes thanks to EZVIZ's handy video guide (the video shows an earlier model, the CP4, but the process is identical). The most time-consuming part was waiting for the EZVIZ app to download on my phone.

The peephole camera comes in two parts: the camera that fits on the outside of your door, and a 5.5-inch color screen that sits on the inside. There's also a set of six screws (don't worry, there's no drilling involved), a charging cable, and two small plastic plates that keep the camera's connector and charging port covered.

To get started, unscrew the peephole from your front door and put it somewhere safe. You might need to use a pair of pliers to get this started, but it seems mine was never installed very well to begin with, and it came away effortlessly.

Now measure the thickness of the door and select the right pair of screws (my door is relatively thin and required the shortest ones), screw them a little way into the back of the camera, and push them through the peephole, along with the data cable. You can wrap them in a rolled-up piece of paper to make this easier, but I found I didn't need to.

Take the mounting plate off the screen, slide it onto the screws, and tighten them up (making sure that the screen is level before turning them all the way). Then just push the data cable into the screen and cover it with a plastic plate, slide the screen into position, and press the power button for three seconds.

Select your language when prompted, pick your Wi-Fi network, and enter the password when prompted. Then just install the app, create an account, and scan the QR code that appears on the camera's screen to initiate pairing. This only takes a moment, and once it's connected, the camera is ready to use.

EZVIZ provides you with a seven-day free trial of its cloud storage service, which you can extend to 30 days by entering your payment details, but you can skip the fees by installing a microSD card (up to 512GB) instead. The app makes it easy to pick which type of storage you want to use.

From the app you can see a live video feed from your camera, capture a still image, or start recording. The EP3 records in 10-second clips, which is ample time to identify the person at your door and see what they're up to.

The EP3 can also start recording automatically when it detects a person (sending an alert to your phone as well, if you like), and can identify specific individuals using a feature called 'Familiar Faces', which is currently in beta. Upload a picture of someone you know, and the camera will use on-board AI to alert you when they're at the door.

It's an interesting idea, and great if you often have friends over, but at the moment it only seems to be possible to switch alerts on when a Familiar Face is recognized. You can't ask the camera to ignore certain people, so if you've added yourself, you'll get alerts telling you that you're at the door. Hopefully that's something EZVIZ is working on.

The EP4 also offers two-way talk, so you can use the mobile app speak with the person at the door — using your own voice, or a voice-changer if you want to stay anonymous. I noticed a delay of about five seconds on two-way-talk, which is better than some of the best video doorbells we've tested on TechRadar over the years.

I'll share a full review soon, but so far I'm very impressed by what I've seen of the EP4. It was incredibly easy to fit, and is an excellent option if you can't alter your door. Once EZVIZ has refined the facial recognition feature, I think it'll be onto a real winner.

Yale Linus Smart Lock L2 Lite: two-minute review

Smart locks in Britain have always been the awkward cousin of the smart home. American buyers get deadbolts and endless choice; we get multipoint mechanisms, lift-to-lock handles and a nagging sense that retrofitting anything to the front door will either void the insurance or fall off.

Yale's answer with the Linus L2 Lite is to keep things small, cheap and reversible — and, crucially, to build in Matter over Thread so the lock works with whatever smart home system you already rock.

The L2 Lite is a compact, round-knob unit that mounts on the inside of your door over the existing thumb-turn. Your key still works from the outside, which matters both for emergencies and for landlords.

Inside the Yale Home app, you get the modern smart-lock toolkit: digital keys and PIN codes you can share and revoke, an activity feed of who came and went, Auto-Unlock that opens the door as you approach with your phone in your pocket, and KeySense — a button on the knob for a quick press-to-lock or a long-press delayed lock as you leave.

Because it supports Matter over Thread alongside Bluetooth 5.4, the L2 Lite joins Apple Home, Google Home, Amazon Alexa or Samsung SmartThings locally and responds fast, no Yale-specific bridge required — provided you already own a device that acts as a Thread border router, such as a recent Apple HomePod or Amazon Echo.

If you don't live in a Matter ecosystem and still want to lock the door from the pub, you'll need Yale's optional ConnectX Wi-Fi Bridge, sold separately. There's no Wi-Fi baked in, unlike the pricier Linus L2.

Living with it, the L2 Lite is reassuringly unremarkable in the best way. Installation took 15 minutes, it disappears against the door, and KeySense quickly becomes muscle memory.

It runs on three CR123A batteries — not the sort of cell you keep in a kitchen drawer. There's no USB-C top-up, and it lacks DoorSense, so it knows whether it's locked but not whether the door is actually shut.

There's no Apple Home Key tap-to-enter either, which makes sense for an interior-only design but will disappoint iPhone devotees.

Get past the spec-sheet gaps, and the bigger question is door compatibility, because this is where UK smart locks live or die, and the L2 Lite is fussier than its friendly styling suggests.

Yale Linus Smart Lock L2 Lite: price & availability

• List price £129.98 (about $170 / AU$250) compared to £220 (about $290 / AU$420) for the regular Linus L2
• Launched December 2025
• Available in black or silver

With a list price of £129.98 (about $170 / AU$250), the Yale Linus Smart Lock L2 Lite undercuts the standard Linus L2 by a meaningful margin while keeping most of the day-to-day features. That makes it one of the cheapest routes to a Matter-over-Thread smart lock in the UK, though at the time of writing it's not available worldwide.

Pleasingly, there are no subscription fees to concern yourself with, but there are some other cost caveats.

CR123A batteries are included, and Yale rates them for up to six months, but replacing them is more expensive and less convenient than AAs. Second, if you're not in a Matter household, the ConnectX Wi-Fi Bridge is effectively mandatory for remote control, setting you back another £70.

Reassuringly, pairing the lock with a Yale Platinum Three Star cylinder brings a £3,000 Total Trust Guarantee if it's ever breached. That compares to £5,000 offered by smart lock rival Ultion Nuki. Its base model, the Ultion Nuki Go, costs £239 with Wi-Fi built in.

• Value score: 4/5

Yale Linus Smart Lock L2 Lite: specs

Yale Linus Smart Lock L2 Lite: design and installation

• Compact design
• Reversible install
• Door compatibility tricky

For something doing a serious security job, the L2 Lite is endearingly low-key. It's a small round knob in black or silver that sits on the inside of the door over your existing thumb-turn, and from the outside, there's no sign anything has changed.

The casing is plastic, which sounds cheap but feels solid enough in the hand. Installation lives up to the drill-free promise. In my case, I was carrying over an Ultion cylinder left in the door from a previous smart-lock install, and the supplied two-piece thumb-turn adapter eventually made the swap painless.

Fix the mounting plate around the cylinder, clip the adapter over the thumb-turn, attach the lock and calibrate it in the app. Because nothing is drilled and the cylinder isn't replaced, it comes off just as cleanly if you're renting or wary of committing.

The catch is what counts as a compatible door. The L2 Lite works only with lift-to-lock mechanisms; your cylinder needs to protrude at least 3mm on the inside, and it explicitly won't work with split spindles or auto-engage multipoint locks.

Plenty of UK front doors are lift-to-lock multipoint and will be fine; a meaningful number aren't. Use Yale's online compatibility checker before you buy, and note that if your current cylinder doesn't fit the bill, Yale's Linus Adjustable Cylinder is designed to solve exactly that.

• Design and installation score: 4/5

Yale Linus Smart Lock L2 Lite: performance

• Fast operation
• KeySense and Auto-Unlock useful
• Battery and DoorSense omissions niggle

Day to day, the L2 Lite locks and unlocks reliably, on command, without fuss. Paired into a Matter home, it responded quickly to app and voice commands, and Auto-Unlock greeted me at the door as advertised, sensing my approach over Bluetooth.

KeySense, the press-to-operate button on the knob, turns out to be the feature I used most: a quick press to lock behind me, a long press for a delayed lock as I gathered bags and left. One practical wrinkle on lift-to-lock doors: you still need to lift the handle as you leave, or KeySense has nothing to throw the bolts into.

Matter over Thread is always appealing, and it works. Through Apple Home, the lock appeared as a native tile, automations fired, and there was no bridge-dependent lag.

Sharing access is painless — digital keys and PIN codes go out to family or a cleaner and can be revoked from the app, with an activity feed confirming who came and went.

Want a code or fingerprint on the door rather than a phone? It pairs with the additional Yale Smart Keypad 2 or the Yale Dot.

The motor isn't silent, throwing a businesslike whir as it turns the cylinder, though it's no louder than rivals. The omissions are what stop a higher score. The lack of DoorSense means it reports whether it's locked, but has no idea whether the door is actually closed, which undermines the 'Is the house secure?' peace of mind.

The CR123A batteries are a recurring irritation rather than a dealbreaker, and the absence of Apple Home Key means no tap-to-enter with an iPhone or Apple Watch from outside. None of it spoils the core experience; it merely reaffirms this isn’t the flagship.

• Performance score: 4/5

Should you buy the Yale Linus Smart Lock L2 Lite?

Buy it if

Don't buy it if

Yale Linus Smart Lock L2 Lite: also consider

If you're not sure whether the Yale Linus Smart Lock L2 is the right smart lock for your home, here are two others to bear in mind.

How I tested the Yale Linus Smart Lock L2 Lite

• Installed on a domestic door
• Tested via Matter, Bluetooth and the Yale Home app
• Assessed installation, daily reliability, KeySense, and Auto-Unlock

I fitted the L2 Lite myself to gauge how true the drill-free claim is, swapping it onto an Ultion cylinder already in the door via the supplied two-piece thumb-turn adapter. I lived with it as a daily lock, locking and unlocking by app, voice and the KeySense button.

I paired it with Matter to test hub-free operation and response times, and used Auto-Unlock on repeated approaches. I shared and revoked digital access, checked the activity feed, and paid particular attention to the consequences of the missing DoorSense and the CR123A battery choice. Battery longevity can't be verified in weeks, so I've reported Yale's six-month figure alongside my shorter-term experience rather than guessing. For more details, see how we test, rate, and review products at TechRadar.

First reviewed June 2026

• A Google executive has teased the new Google Home Speaker's imminent arrival
• The new smart home hub could go on sale as soon as next week
• It would be Google's first smart speaker in six years

We've been waiting for Google to announce a new Google Home Speaker since the device was teased at the tech giant's Made by Google event almost a year ago, and now it looks like it could be arriving — and within a matter of days.

In an email sent out yesterday (June 11) to Gemini for Home early access testers, Google thanked participants for their feedback, which it said resulted in over 2,500 bug fixes and a wider launch to 20 countries in 10 different languages. Google has also been consistent with software updates, which also saw the return of the much-loved Continued Conversation feature.

As noted by 9to5Google, Chief Product Officer for Google Home & Nest, Anish Kattukaran, sent out the email to users stating the following:

“I’m writing to you from my living room, surrounded by the same speakers, displays, thermostats and cameras in many of your homes. With over 100 of my own smart home devices connected around me and my family, I am deeply aware of the incredible potential and occasional inconveniences of smart home life”.

Since the early access program launched, it’s garnered a staggering 3.5 million sign-ups from users who’ve wanted to get a taste of what the new Google Home Speaker will have to offer, and Kattukaran is still encouraging users to send feedback.

But he signed off his email with what looks very like confirmation that the new Google Home Speaker will be announced next week.

At the bottom of the email, Kattukaran says “for those of you who have been patiently waiting for a certain speaker… keep a very close eye on your inbox next week,” which I think can only be referring to the launch of a new Google Home Speaker.

I imagine that, like us, you’ve also been keeping your eyes peeled for signs of the new speaker since the company officially announced it in October 2025.

At the time, Google teased a "spring 2026" release date, and it could still meet that deadline, technically, as while most people go by the meteorological definition of spring, which is March-May in the northern hemisphere, astronomical spring doesn't end until June 21.

As of now the new Google Home Speaker is prominently displayed at the Google Store, where you can sign up to be notified by email when it goes on sale — and we've had a hint as to when that might be. Best Buy Canada recently slipped up when it listed the device along with a June 25 release date label.

Shortly after, Nest Mini and Nest Audio speakers started mysteriously vanishing from the Google Store and third-party retailers, which suggested a new speaker was on the way.

It’s been six years since Google came out with the Nest Audio and a lot has changed in the realm of the best smart home devices on both the hardware and software fronts, so the bar is set high. But from the feedback from Gemini for Home users and the device features list on the Google Store, there’s a chance that Google could actually hit this one out of the park.

I've been using my Amazon Echo Pop for the best part of two, nearly three years, and it's served as the ideal smart speaker to cover all my basic needs. It's not a complex device, which has its perks, but I feel I've used it to its full extent, and I'm looking for that extra something. Perhaps the new Google Home Speaker will be my sign to finally take the plunge and upgrade.

• Philips is launching a ceiling light that mimics the look of a real skylight
• It automatically adjusts daylight temperature as the day goes on
• The skylight looks very realistic, but lacks smart home support

Philips is one of our favorite home lighting brands, and it’s launching a new ceiling light that mimics daylight and creates the effect of a skylight — and it looks spectacular.

The Philips Skylight is designed to replicate natural lighting and outdoor environments indoors, using a blend of advanced LED and Philips’ NatureConnect technologies. Signify, Philips’ manufacturer, says the skylight is “inspired by the natural brightness, depth and rhythm of sunlight”.

It’s a great option for windowless rooms if the design of your roof doesn't allow you to fit a skylight, or you want to save yourself the hassle and expense of having one fitted.

Before now, Signify limited the Philips Skylight to professional settings (offices, medical environments, and so on), but now the ceiling light will be available for everyone when it launches later this month in most regions (Signify says the Skylight be available in the US in September).

The Philips Skylight comes in four models: the Philips Skylight Medium, Philips Skylight Large, Philips Skylight VitaUp Medium, and Philips Skylight VitaUp Large, with prices starting at 499.99 euros (about $580 / £430).

Each variant comes with a slim ceiling profile for mounting, a remote control, five preset lighting scenes, and Philips’ Day Rhythm tool which automatically adjusts color temperature and brightness throughout the day. All models have an IP44 rating, meaning the Philips Skylight can be fitted in bathrooms and other humid environments.

The VitaUp models come with an integrated UV-B module built to support the body’s natural vitamin D production indoors. This also includes a handful of safety measures, including automatic shut-off which happens after eight hours.

In images shared by Philips, the Skylight's outdoor light imitation looks surprisingly convincing, and there are obvious benefits for wellbeing. More people are spending more time indoors and out of natural daylight, so devices like this are becoming increasingly sought after.

However, despite its cleverness, the Philips Skylight is not a Hue product. Philips produces some of the best smart lights out there, but its new ceiling light doesn't offer smart connectivity. This means it doesn’t connect to Wi-Fi or work with Matter over Thread, so you can't integrate it into your existing smart home setup, and you’ll have to use the included remote to control it manually.

Given how impressive the Philips Skylight looks, and its price tag, that's a shame. Let's hope Philips adds smart home connectivity to a future version.

• The Nest Mini and Nest Audio smart speakers are unavailable on the Google Store
• Third-party retailers are still listing them, but the options are limited
• It could be Google's way of preparing for the arrival of the new Google Home Speaker

The long-awaited Google Home Speaker is getting closer to a full launch — and another strong clue is that company’s older models are becoming increasingly difficult to buy.

Suddenly, Google's Nest Mini and Nest Audio speakers have been vanishing from online retailers, which was first spotted on Google’s US store. Not only does the listing for both models read "out of stock", but it also says that both devices are "unavailable".

As for Google’s Canada store, it’s the same case, however customers in the UK and Australia can sign up to receive an email notification if it ever comes back into stock.

Outside of the Google store, it’s even more of a challenge to find them in stock. At the moment, availability is sparse, but there are still ways for you to get your hands on one. In the US, Amazon is your best shot at scoring the Nest Mini, while Best Buy is listing the Nest Audio in its clearance sale for $74.99.

If you’re based in the UK, Amazon is the only retailer listing the Nest Mini in stock for £69.99, but stores such as Argos, Currys, and Very no longer list either model. There are also limited options if you’re in Australia, but there are still some kicking about on Amazon.

Will the Nest Mini and Audio be back?

It’s not completely surprising that Google has paused the sales of its smart speakers as it prepares to launch its next-gen device, but whether the Nest Mini or Nest Audio will go back on sale after the Google Home Speaker launches is unknown.

Since Google has spent quite a bit of time rolling out Gemini tools to the Nest Mini and Nest Audio, it wouldn’t make sense to completely stop production and sales for these models, and since Google is notifying UK customers when they'll be available again, it gives us more reason to believe they’ll be back sooner or later.

The Nest Mini and Nest Audio speakers have been Google’s flagship smart hubs for the best part of seven years, and now it seems as though the company is getting ready to embrace the new Google Home Speaker as their successor — but it’s been quite the process.

The new Google Home Speaker first appeared during last year’s Made by Google event, and was officially announced in October 2025 with a launch scheduled for Spring 2026 (or sometime between March and May for those in the southern hemisphere).

While Spring has passed and no such speaker has been released, Best Buy Canada listed the device saying it would be due on June 25. Google still hasn’t confirmed this, but its new smart hub is very much in sight, and it would be great news if this were true.

• Suitable for peepholes from 14mm to 50mm diameter
• Wireless operation and local microSD storage
• UK and Europe: £159 / €249

If you'd like a smart video doorbell but don't have anywhere to put one — or permission from your landlord to make any permanent changes — then the new EP4 door viewer from EZVIZ looks like an excellent alternative. It's a smart video camera that delivers all the key features of the best video doorbells, but instead of screwing it into the door, frame or wall you simply replace the door's existing peephole.

Because it's wireless and doesn't require additional mounting, if you're moving elsewhere in the future you can simply take it out and pop the original peephole back in again.

There's another key benefit here: the EP4 supports local storage. If like me you're trying to avoid signing up for yet another subscription service that's a big plus.

EZVIZ EP4 Wireless Peephole Door Viewer: what it does, what it costs and where to get it

The EZVIZ EP4 comes in two sections: the camera, and the viewing screen. The camera is designed to replace peepholes between 14mm and 50mm in diameter, so it should fit most existing peephole doors, and it has a rechargeable 7,100 mAh battery so you're not going to be recharging it every few weeks. My video doorbell battery is 5,000 mAh and I usually get two-ish months from that in a fairly busy street.

The camera streams 4K video to the portable viewer, which has a 5.5-inch touch screen. There's a live view and a two-way talk mode, AI-powered face recognition, human shape detection and infra-red detection, and you can customize the detection sensitivity so it's not alerting you of irrelevant passers-by. Local storage is via microSD card, with support for cards up to 512GB.

The camera features a wide 155 to 160-degree field of view with automatic distortion correction so your visitors don't look like they're auditioning to be in an emo band's video. There's no night vision here, although that shouldn't be an issue for internal doors in apartment blocks and similar spaces.

EZVIZ sells through Amazon, and the EP4 is available now for an RRP of £159.99 on Amazon UK.

In Europe the RRP is €249 but I'm already seeing it discounted to €189. Pricing and availability for the US and Australia hasn't been announced just yet.

I don't know about you, but my fridge at home is decorated with numerous snapshots of family and friends spanning many years, precariously fixed in place with souvenir fridge magnets. It's into this mix that I've recently added a few Vidabay Snaps.

A Vidabay Snap looks like an instant-film print, but it is in fact a tiny, magnetic E ink display. So, unlike an actual print, you can change the picture displayed and easily attach it to a range of surfaces.

It's optimized for iPhone (and compatible with various Android devices), and any image from your gallery can be uploaded via the (free) Vidabay app using NFC, whenever you like.

Think of Vidabay Snaps as, like, tiny digital photo frames, just set within a Polaroid-style border, and with an E Ink display that's much more basic than the fabulous Aura Ink.

Vidabay Snaps are available from the Vidabay website in white, black, yellow or red (see below), with prices starting at $29.99 for a single Snap (was $35.99) or $86.99 for a pack of three (was $99.99). Vidabay ships to most regions, including the UK and Australia, and price is calculated at checkout.

A genuine instant print from the likes of a Polaroid Go Gen 3 or Fujifilm Instax Mini 13 costs around $1 / £0.80 / AU$1,50 a go — much cheaper than a Vidabay Snap. Even pricier (and larger) formats like Polaroid I-Type are around $3 / £2.50 / AU$4.50 per print, while regular photo prints from the lab are typically the cheapest of the lot. However, the image on a Snap can be changed as often as you like.

I have a small collection of the best instant cameras, and am not short of instant prints to put on my walls (and fridge). And now that it's been a month since I got my Vidabay Snaps, I can tell you they don't hold the same magic as an instant print.

My experience using Vidabay Snaps with an Android phone has been mixed, which I'll unpack next, but there's one fundamental flaw to the product — the frames don't display the color blue (not for me, anyway), which is very limiting for color images.

However, I can totally appreciate these neat, low-cost E Ink devices for what they are, and the concept is pretty well executed. And even though they feel pricey compared to prints, I believe Vidabay Snaps are great little gifts. Let's take a look at how they work.

How to get started

To get started, you need to pair a Vidabay Snap with your NFC-enabled device — they're optimized for iPhone, but I've done the whole process with an Android phone. Once that's done, you select the desired picture from your phone's gallery, choose the paired Snap, and then hold the two devices together to upload to the frame.

Using a recent Oppo Find X9 Ultra phone, I found the NFC connection for image uploads — which takes around 30 seconds to complete — exceptionally fiddly, but persevered for around 15 attempts each time before my first success.

The trick is locating NFC in your device, and Vidabay does point out that not all Android devices will work. The company says there's a Bluetooth dock on the way, which will simplify the process and widen compatibility for Android. Until then, you'll need to check with Vidabay if your device is compatible. I haven't tried a Snap with an iPhone, but I imagine the process will be much easier.

The Snap's display flickers as the uploading image appears, and then there you have it — a lo-fi E ink (aka E Paper) image in a handy magnetic display.

E ink displays like this are typically lo-fi — don't expect fine detail or a vibrant and wide color range. Quite the opposite, they don't even display the color blue, meaning that in a photo of my son with two teammates in their blue-and-black-striped soccer gear, the jerseys were essentially monochrome. You can imagine what happened when I attempted to load a photo of a sailboat out on the water on a sunny day. The screenshot (above) demonstrates the difference in quality between an original image and how it appears loaded on a Snap.

I picked up five Vidabay Snaps and had mixed success. Three of the five loaded fine (after several attempts); the other two refused to load in color, period, and I eventually gave up.

The app could also do with some work; there's no way of recomposing / cropping the photo within the square frame, nor can you rename a frame once it's registered. I had five frames all identically named, making it extremely difficult to track which frame was which in the app. Writing a number on the back of each one with a Sharpie was my solution.

Each Vidabay Snap has a magnetic back for attaching to surfaces like a fridge. It's also fitted with NFC for image uploads and charging. Being a tiny E Ink display, it consumes next to no power – a true lo-fi product. An individual Snap can be purchased with a leatherette tag to attach to something like your bag, and this bundle costs $48.99.

If you have that sentimental person in your life who happens to be an iPhone user, then Vidabay Snap is an easy, low-cost gift recommendation. Until the Bluetooth dock lands and it proves to address my user experience issues, I'm hesitant to recommend the product for Android users.

Blueair Mini Restful air purifier: two-minute review

The Blueair Mini Restful Sunrise Clock Air Purifier is a three-in-one device — technically a four-in-one if you include the built-in USB charger — that combines an air purifier, a sunrise alarm clock and a wake-up light in a single unit. It launched as part of Blueair's Sleep collection with a clear USP: rather than cluttering your nightstand with separate devices, one appliance handles the air quality, the light and the alarm. If you've been browsing the best compact air purifiers for a bedroom, the Mini Restful sits in a category of its own.

The purification uses Blueair's HEPASilent technology, which captures 99.97% of particles down to 0.1 microns — finer than a standard HEPA filter — and my hayfever symptoms were noticeably more manageable on mornings after I'd had the Mini Restful running.

It runs across three fan speeds plus a Night mode, covers rooms up to 33m² / 355 sq ft, and is QuietMark certified. The brand claims noise levels of 21dB on its lowest setting whereas my own tests averaged 32dB, much of which was ambient.

In reality, it's whisper quiet and I could easily run it through the night without disturbing my sleep. I even forgot to switch it off a lot of the time because it's so quiet, I didn't realize it was still running.

What makes it stand out most from other purifiers I've tested is the wake-up light: a circular ring below the touchscreen display that brightens gradually over 15–30 minutes before your alarm time. This is designed to mimic natural sunrise, and you can also choose from multiple alarm sounds via the app, including birdsong, soft tones, and rainfall.

This wake-up light is impressively bright for its size and the whole appliance's design is attractive enough for you to actually want on your bedside table. I tested the Blueair Mini Restful in summer so while it helped rouse me gently, it's hard to judge exactly how effective it would be in the depths of winter, say, when a more gentle wake-up is most needed.

At 11.8in / 30cm tall and just 2.36lbs / 1.07kg, it sits comfortably on a standard nightstand, and the USB-C port at the back means it can charge your phone too, saving you even more space by eliminating the need for a separate charger.

My biggest complaint about the Mini Restful is the Blueair app, which doesn't quite live up to the rest of the device's performance. When it works, it's great — intuitive and clean. Yet there's no way to track air quality levels, and during my review period there was often a lag between adjusting settings and the device responding. This became frustrating quickly. The connectivity dropped completely three times during the four weeks of tests and I had to fully reconnect to my Wi-Fi and phone.

For anyone who suffers from allergies and has been meaning to try a sunrise alarm, the Mini Restful makes a compelling case that one device can do all of it well. But even if you already own one of the best air purifiers on the market and a separate sunrise alarm, the Mini Restful makes a strong argument for consolidating. It will definitely feel like an upgrade.

Blueair Mini Restful air purifier review: price and availability

• List price: $199.99 / £169
• Available in the US and UK

The Blueair Mini Restful is available directly from Blueair US and Blueair UK, as well as from Amazon US, Amazon UK, Walmart and John Lewis. It has a list price of $199.99 / £169, which converts to about AU$280, but at the time of writing it's not available in Australia.

On purification alone, it's easy to find cheaper options. Blueair's own £79 Blue Pure Mini Max, the £59.99 GoveeLife Smart Air Purifier Lite and the £149.99 Levoit Core 300S are all strong compact options that cost less and if all you want is cleaner air in a bedroom, any of those will do the job well. However, none of them has a sunrise alarm or wake-up light. Nor do they charge your phone.

In fact, there is no direct equivalent on the market — no other purifier currently combines HEPASilent filtration with a built-in sunrise alarm and wake-up light in a single bedside device. This means the real question isn't how it compares to other purifiers, but whether it's cheaper and better than buying two separate devices.

On that measure, it mostly wins. The Hatch Restore 3 ($169.99 / £220) is widely considered the best standalone sunrise alarm clock you can buy, while a compact bedroom purifier like the Levoit Core 300S adds another $99 / £90 on top. That's $260 / £240 for two devices that take up more space, require two separate apps and two separate power outlets. The Mini Restful does both jobs for $199.99 / £169 in a single unit that sits comfortably on a bedside table.

The trade-off is that neither function quite matches what a dedicated device delivers. The sunrise graduation isn't as smooth as the Hatch Restore 3, and the purification coverage is limited to spaces up to 33m² / 355 sq ft. If you need serious room coverage or a flawless sunrise simulation, you'd be better served buying separately. But for a standard bedroom and anyone who wants to simplify their nightstand, the value case is very strong.

Replacement filters cost $29.99 / £24 and need changing every nine months — a running cost worth budgeting for, even though it's in line with most other comparable purifiers.

• Value for money score: 4 out of 5

Blueair Mini Restful air purifier specs

Blueair Mini Restful air purifier review: design

• Compact and attractive enough to earn its place on a nightstand
• Soft woven fabric exterior
• Touchscreen display doubles as clock face
• Controls can feel awkward at table height

The Mini Restful is one of the better-looking air purifiers I've had in my bedroom, which matters more than it might sound.

Most purifiers are designed for corners and shelves where nobody has to look at them. They're functional, but they largely earn their keep by blending in. The Mini Restful is instead designed to stand out, and Blueair has clearly put effort into the aesthetic. The woven fabric exterior, which is available in Coastal Beige or Midnight and can be removed and cleaned, feels closer to an Alexa speaker than a home appliance. For comparison, the Levoit Core 300S — a purifier I rate highly for performance — is a plain white cylinder that would look out of place on my nightstand.

At 11.8 inches / 30cm tall and 6.7 inches / 17cm across, it has a similar footprint to a bedside lamp, albeit slightly more imposing. It's taller than I had expected for something described as a bedside device and it's not as compact as I'd like (the Blueair Blue Pure Mini Max, for instance, is shorter and lighter) but it does fit comfortably. I could fit the purifier and my phone charger on my nightstand without it feeling cluttered.

At 2.36lbs / 1.07kg, it's also light enough to pick up and move without any effort. The cord runs neatly through the base and plugs into a standard outlet, and at the back there's a USB-C port for charging your phone overnight. This is easy to reach without having to move the unit, and it's one of those small additions that makes a real difference to how the product fits into a bedside routine.

All of the controls sit on the top of the device, arranged around a circular touchscreen display. The display shows the time, current fan speed and filter status at a glance, and is the main interface for adjusting settings manually. It's responsive and readable in low light and the icons are intuitive — power, fan speed, display lock and purification mode are all clearly differentiated. I found I could adjust settings without turning the main light on after the first few days of use. The display can also be locked via the app if you want to prevent accidental changes overnight.

Just below the display is the light ring — a circular band that serves as both the wake-up light and a soft night light. It's a smaller lit area than you'd find on a dedicated sunrise alarm like the Hatch Restore 3, which uses its entire face as a light source, and I was skeptical that such a narrow ring could produce enough light to actually wake me. It did, and it looked elegant doing so.

Setup is straightforward. The Mini Restful arrives in a simple box with the device, a cord and a plug — thread the cord through the base, attach the plug, remove the plastic cover from the filter inside and you're done, in under two minutes.

From there you download the free Blueair app, create an account, and connect the device to your home Wi-Fi. The whole process took me around five minutes, and the app walks you through each step clearly. It's here that you'll set your alarm times, choose your wake sounds, adjust the sunrise duration, and create purification schedules.

The one ergonomic issue I found is that having everything on top means you need to lean over to adjust anything manually when the unit is at table height. It's a minor inconvenience rather than a dealbreaker, and in practice I used the app for most adjustments after the first week, but it's not ideal. Overall, this is a product that has been designed with the bedroom specifically in mind, and it shows in almost every decision Blueair has made.

• Design score: 4.5 out of 5

Blueair Mini Restful air purifier review: performance

• Powerful purification even on lowest settings
• Near-silent on Night mode and speed 1
• Wake-up light impressively bright for its size
• Sunrise graduation can be abrupt

The Mini Restful has two jobs to do — clean the air and wake you up gently — and it approaches both with more conviction than I expected from a device of this size.

I tested it over four weeks as my primary bedroom purifier and alarm clock, running it every night and monitoring air quality via the Blueair app each morning. I also measured noise levels at each fan speed using a decibel meter, and ran the sunrise alarm as my sole alarm throughout the review period rather than keeping a backup.

Starting with the purification. The HEPASilent filtration captures 99.97% of airborne particles down to 0.1 microns, which is finer than a standard HEPA filter, and covers dust, pollen, pet dander and most common allergens with ease. I suffer from hayfever and the review period coincided with peak pollen season, which gave me a useful real-world test. On mornings after running the Mini Restful through the night on speed 1 or 2, I noticed a genuine difference: less of the throat tightness and eye irritation I'd normally get.

To test the purification speed specifically, I sprayed deodorant directly at the unit for five seconds on both the lowest and highest settings, then timed how long it took for the air quality reading in the app to return to normal. On the lowest setting it took around 45 minutes to fully clear. On the highest setting it took just 12 minutes — a significant difference. The app's air quality history chart, which shows readings over the past 24 hours and 30 days, is useful for tracking these changes and gave me a clear picture of how conditions shifted.

On noise, the Mini Restful is super quiet. Blueair claims 21dB on the lowest speed; my measurements put it at around 32dB. This sounds like a huge difference but the purifier is almost inaudible, even in a quiet room. Speed 2 registers around 35dB, which produces a gentle white noise that actually helped me sleep rather than disturbing me. Speed 3 is noticeably louder at around 48dB — not unpleasant, but enough that I wouldn't choose to run it while trying to fall asleep. The Night mode handles the transition well though, stepping the fan down to its quietest setting automatically, and I left it on this mode for the majority of the review period.

Blueair says the Mini Restful works best in rooms between 14–33m² / 151–355 sq ft, which will cover most standard bedrooms. I tested it in a medium-sized room and found it kept up well, with the air quality sensor registering improvements within 20–30 minutes of switching on after a day with the windows open. It won't cope with large open-plan spaces — for that you'd need something with considerably more power, like the Dyson HushJet Compact — but for a bedroom it's more than adequate.

The wake-up light is the more interesting part of the performance story. The light ring is small relative to a dedicated sunrise alarm but on its highest brightness setting it lit the room enough to wake me without the alarm sound triggering at all on several mornings. The three manual brightness levels via the touchscreen are useful, and the app's slider control allows finer adjustment if you want to dial it in precisely.

The issue is with the graduation. The light is supposed to brighten gradually over 15–30 minutes before your alarm time, mimicking a natural sunrise. For the most part it does, and on the mornings it worked as intended the experience was gentler than waking to a conventional alarm. But on several occasions — I counted at least six across the four-week review period — the light jumped to full brightness abruptly rather than easing up to it, which is jarring. It doesn't ruin the experience entirely but it stops the Mini Restful from matching the consistently smooth graduation of a dedicated wake-up light. If the sunrise simulation is the primary reason you're considering this, that inconsistency is worth noting.

Elsewhere, the alarm sounds themselves are pleasant and varied — birdsong, soft tones, rainfall — and the volume is adjustable via the app.

• Performance score: 4.5 out of 5

Blueair Mini Restful air purifier review: app

• Required for full setup and alarm customization
• Doesn't show air quality levels
• Clean, well-organized interface
• Lag between app and device is frustrating
• No HomeKit, Alexa or Google Home support

Despite a small number of flaws, I can barely fault the hardware of the Blueair Mini Restful. The same can't be said for the app though, sadly.

Firstly, the Blueair app isn't optional. You can use the touchscreen to turn the device on and off and cycle through fan speeds, but doing anything of note, such as setting alarms, choosing wake sounds, adjusting the sunrise duration, creating purification schedules and checking air quality history, all require the app.

This is great when it works. The interface is clean and logically laid out, with the device status and filter life all visible without having to dig through menus. Setting a sunrise alarm takes seconds: you pick a time, choose a sound, set the brightness duration between and you're done.

The filter replacement reminder is useful; the display lock feature is a sensible addition for overnight use; and the scheduling tools are flexible enough to set different purification levels for different times of day.

However, knowing how to view live air quality readings isn't obvious, and I ended up having to Google for help. Even then, you can only see the current outdoor air reading (via the Outdoor air section on the homepage) and not a live, room-by-room chart.

Then there's the problem with lag. There was a consistent, frustrating delay between adjusting a setting in the app and the device responding throughout almost the entire review period. This could be anything from a few seconds to almost 30 seconds on occasion. Switching fan speeds via the app often took longer than just tapping the top of the unit, which defeats part of the point of having remote control in the first place.

What's more, during my four-week review period the connection dropped completely three times, requiring a full reconnection through the app each time. I'd find myself checking the app before bed to make sure the alarm was still set and the connection was still live, which is exactly the kind of friction a product like this should be eliminating.

The absence of any smart home integration is also a real gap. There's no HomeKit support, Alexa skill or Google Home compatibility, which means the Mini Restful exists entirely within its own ecosystem. For anyone who controls their bedroom environment through a smart home setup — lights, heating, other devices — the Mini Restful sits outside all of that. It's not a dealbreaker, but it's a limitation that feels out of step with both the price and what other, similar connected bedroom devices offer.

Blueair has clearly invested in the app's design and the range of features it offers, and the bones are good but the execution needs a lot of work.

• App score: 3 out of 5

Should you buy the Blueair Mini Restful air purifier?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Blueair Mini Restful air purifier: also consider

If you're not sure whether the Blueair Mini Restful is the right air purifier for you, here are two other options to consider:

How I tested the Blueair Mini Restful air purifier

• Tested over four weeks as purifier and alarm clock
• Used the sunrise alarm as my sole morning alarm
• Measured noise levels at each fan speed with a decibel meter
• Tested purification speed by spraying deodorant at the unit and timing air clearance
• Monitored air quality data via the Blueair app

I used the Blueair Mini Restful as my main bedroom purifier and alarm clock for four weeks, running it every night and monitoring the air quality readings in the app each morning.

To test purification speed, I sprayed deodorant directly at the unit for five seconds on both the lowest and highest fan settings, then timed how long it took for the air quality reading in the app to return to normal.

I measured noise levels at each fan speed using a mobile phone decibel meter and ran the sunrise alarm as my sole morning alarm throughout the review. I also tested the app's scheduling tools, the USB-C charging port and the manual touchscreen controls.

Read more about how we test.

First reviewed May 2026

Dyson is making big strides in the world of robot vacuums, and its latest robovac — the Dyson Spot+Scrub Ai — uses a camera combined with artificial intelligence to tackle tough stains that other robot vacuums tend to miss, and get your floors as clean as possible. But why did Dyson choose to tackle that particular problem, and what does the future hold when it comes to household robots?

I visited Dyson's UK Innovation Campus in Wiltshire, where many of the company's advanced engineering teams work on new products and technologies, using rapid prototyping to develop and test ideas. The campus is also the home of the Dyson Institute, where undergraduate students from around the world come to learn, and work on real-life projects.

There, I sat down with Jake Dyson, the company's Chief Engineer, to learn more about his own experience, and Dyson's approach to AI and robotics.

Despite being the son of founder James Dyson, Jake hasn't always worked for the company. After a brief spell at Dyson at the age of 22, he left to pursue an independent career in industrial design. He built his own workshop and began to specialize in lighting, separately from the family business, before returning, bringing that experience with him. I asked him how that early work translated into his current endeavors.

"It comes down to identifying problems and solving them," he explained. "When LEDs first entered the market, I realized people weren’t cooling them properly. The promise of LEDs is that they should last a lifetime, but in reality they were being treated like disposable lightbulbs. I visited Osram in Asia, and they explained that if you keep the diode temperature below about 50C, you can maintain brightness, color quality, and lifespan. That became my goal."

"I looked at how satellites manage heat. In space, temperatures swing from extremely hot to extremely cold, so they need precise thermal control. I applied similar thinking by designing systems that passively dissipate heat. For example, the heat moves away from the chip and is cooled by airflow, maintaining a stable temperature even at high power.

"That process, spotting a problem and solving it, is what drives everything."

Stairs and arms

Dyson's latest robot vacuum has been designed to tackle the specific problem of tricky stains on hard floors, which other wet-and-dry cleaners fail to tackle. The Dyson Spot+Scrub Ai uses a high-definition camera and an LLM that includes over 190 different household objects and stains.

I asked Jake why Dyson had chosen to tackle such a (literally) ground-level problem when other companies are debuting robot vacuums that can climb stairs and lift objects with mechanical arms. He explained that Dyson has been tackling those more advanced problems for about 10 years already, but the solutions aren't yet genuinely useful and reliable.

Having seen some other companies' ambitious robots, I can see what he means. The Roborock Saros Z70, for example, has a pincer arm that can lift lightweight objects out of the way, but in our tests it failed to identify and move them independently, instead relying on you to control the pincer remotely. It also has a lower success rate on carpet due to what Roborock calls a "hardware limitation".

Stairs are also a major challenge. My colleague Ruth Hamilton saw two stair-climbing robovacs in action at last year's IFA tech show, but explained that the legs/treads used to navigate stairs aren't actually attached to the robots themselves (they are more like a cradle that holds the bot), which means they can't clean the stairs as they go. Only one robot managed to tackle the first step with confidence as well. According to Ruth, the other "approached this initial challenge at the speed of a geriatric turtle".

They're interesting concepts, but neither looked ready for the mainstream — and as Jake explains, they're attempting to solve a very difficult problem.

"Every staircase is different height, spacing, materials and then you add in pets, children, and people moving around. It becomes a very complex and potentially unsafe problem," he said. "Something going up and down stairs autonomously needs to be extremely reliable. It’s actually more complex than autonomous driving in some respects."

"So while it’s an interesting challenge, and being able to clean an entire home, including all floors, with one machine would be ideal, it has to meet a very high bar for safety and usefulness. Until it does, we focus on delivering products that work reliably in real homes today."

Safer decision-making

Dyson has never been shy about dropping products that don't work out (such as the CR01 Contrarotator washing machine and the Dyson car), but its work on cordless vacuums continues apace. We recently reviewed the super-compact Dyson Pencilvac Fluffycones, and just a few weeks ago the company debuted its first self-emptying cordless vacuum. I asked Jake whether he thinks robots will eventually handle all your cleaning tasks, or whether there will always be a place for stick vacuums.

"No, I don’t see that happening, at least not completely," he said. "Right now, robot vacuums are very good at regular maintenance, keeping floors tidy day-to-day. But people still want a to clean with a cordless vacuum when they do a deeper clean, as well as being able to clean surfaces other than the floor."

However, he added that the world of robotics is advancing incredibly quickly, especially when it comes to AI.

"Previously, robots could see and navigate, but they struggled when they encountered something unfamiliar. Now, with reasoning, they can make safer, more informed decisions.

"We’re also seeing rapid development globally, the US is leading in AI and ‘brains’, and China is producing robots at scale and more affordably.

"In the future robots will learn from each other via the cloud,; one robot’s experience will instantly improve others, and one robot will be able to repair a fault on another robot. That will massively accelerate development.

"However, regulation and safety will slow adoption. These technologies may be ready soon, but it could take around 10 years before they’re widely allowed in homes. Elon Musk said he thinks humanoid robots will be in many homes in three years, and I agree with him. Though they use up a lot of energy to walk for example, so a robot vacuum cleaner is much more energy efficient than a humanoid [robot] using a vacuum cleaner.

"So yes, robots will become more capable, but I think traditional tools will still exist alongside them."

Although you might like the idea of handing over all your household chores to a robot, it seems cordless and handheld vacuums will be around for a while yet — and you'll still need to climb the stairs and pick up socks yourself for now.

• Shark has launched a new Luxe Collection of robot and cordless vacuums
• The range features muted colors, satin finishes, and metallic accents
• It was designed in partnership with designer and TV personality Jeremiah Brent

Robovacs are perfect for keeping your home tidy between deep cleans, but they're not very attractive. Even the best robot vacuum is usually a piece of black or white plastic that sits in a matching dock, and is something you'd probably prefer to hide away if possible — some owners even build miniature garages to keep their bots out of sight. Now, Shark has come to the rescue with a robot vacuum that looks more like artwork than an appliance.

The company has teamed up with interior designer Jeremiah Brent of design studio AD100, who you might remember as the interior design expert on seasons 9 and 10 of Queer Eye. He's used his expertise to help develop a new version of the Shark PowerDetect UV Reveal 2-In-1 Vac & Mop that looks much more appealing than the original, while cleaning just as well.

We awarded the PowerDetect UV Reveal 2-In-1 Vac & Mop four stars out of five in our review, and were particularly impressed by its obstacle avoidance, edge cleaning with extending mop pads, and its ability to lift itself over thresholds. It's not much to look at though, which is unfortunate for such a conspicuous appliance.

Now, however, the same vacuum is available in four subtle new colors — Evergreen, Ivory, Espresso, and Deep Harbor (navy blue) — all of which have co-ordinating satin-finished metallic trim.

These new Luxe Collection robot vacuum is available for the same list price as the original black model ($1,299.99, which works out at about £970 / AU$1,820), though it's worth noting that the black version is currently discounted to $949.99 (about £710 / AU$1,330) in Shark's online store.

At the time of writing, the Shark PowerDetect UV Reveal 2-In-1 Vac & Mop Luxe Collection is only available in the US, but I'm hopeful it will be ready to clean homes globally very soon.

Cordless and chic

If you're fed up with an ugly cordless vacuum occupying space on your wall, the Shark Luxe Collection also includes a more stylish version of the Shark PowerDetect Speed Clean & Empty. This lightweight vacuum with its flexible head now comes in four extra colors (Oatstone, Harbor Slate, Sagewood, and Walnut), which are again finished with muted metallic accents.

Each vacuum has a list price of $499.99 in the US, or £499.99 in the UK (about AU$700). They're not currently available in Australia, but will hopefully roll out there before long.

Our tester Tim Gee gave the Shark PowerDetect Speed Clean & Empty four and a half stars in his review, saying: "It did a great job picking up fine dust and larger debris in our tests on carpet and hard floors, has good edge cleaning, and can easily be moved around the house making it an ideal occasional cleaner."

I've been reviewing robot vacuum cleaners since Ecovacs Robotics brought its first Deebot to Australia about a decade ago. So I like to think that I've learnt a few things about what to look for when buying one — knowledge that I've used to curate the best robot vacuums in Australia right now.

The manufacturers don't make it easy, do they? They make every spec sheet sound glowing, but you get what you pay for, especially when it comes to robot vacuums. It's understandable that you'd want an affordable model, and there are plenty that make sacrifices to keep costs down — you just need to be able to understand what those sacrifices mean for your personal use case.

In the same vein, you don't have to spend thousands on a robovac, although you will get the top-of-the-line models at premium prices that offer plenty of smart features. Some of those, like agentic voice assistants and Matter connectivity, aren't really necessary, but you might want pet-specific features that cheaper models won't have. But not all expensive models are reliable cleaners.

So, what's a good robot vacuum to buy then? On paper, the Ecovacs Deebot T50 Pro Omni sounds good at half price, but my experience with it was very disappointing, but we found the older and cheaper T30 family to be better.

Now, you're not expected to know what's good and what isn't, so I've picked a few models that I think are worth considering right now, and they're all discounted. They do pretty much the same things — vacuum, mop and clean themselves, so you don't need to do much yourself — at different price points. Where they vary is suction power, but I've listed a variety that should cover carpets and pet needs too.

Follow my live coverage of Amazon's Mid-Year Sale for more vacuum cleaner discounts.

My top robovac deals

What to look for in a robot vacuum

I picked the above robot vacuums based on my own or a colleague's experience of either trying the exact model or a related one that's very similar. When we test robovacs here at TechRadar, we look at specific things like cleaning prowess, battery life, dock performance and much more.

Allow me to break it down into easier terms for you here, so you can choose the best automated cleaning machine yourself from my four picks or any other model you might have been eyeing.

1. Suction power
It's in the name — a robovac's primary function is to vacuum, and for that it needs good suction power. Gone are the days when 6,000Pa was considered class leading. Now it's upwards of 20,000Pa. Now, while the higher suction power is a good thing, a robovac's cleaning prowess is also dependent on the airflow inside the bot to ensure it's able to suck up even fine particles and push them through into the onboard bin. If you have carpets, definitely look for high suction specs, but hard floors will be cleaned easily with less.

2. Mopping
Practically every robovac available today can mop as well, so you're paying for the feature anyway, but how well they're able to do so varies. Older models barely wet the floor, but newer models allow you to set a water-flow rate to suit your floor type. Some models that use circular mop pads can apply a little scrubbing motion and a tiny amount of downward pressure to tackle some stains, but I've found that roller mops perform better. However, robovacs with rollers are the premium kind, although models like the Roborock Saros 10 listed above can mop really well with its pads. Just make sure you pick one that can extend both pads outward for edge cleaning.

3. Robot height & threshold clearance
Most bots have a little puck on the top that houses their navigation tech and, sometimes, a camera. This can prevent the droid from rolling under some low-lying furniture, which means you may have areas being left uncleaned. If you do have low furniture, pick a model with no puck or a retracting puck, but these are premium options. Similarly, you'll want a bot that can clear at least a 3cm threshold or you'll need to move it manually if it gets stuck somewhere. Again, premium models can now do well over 4cm.

4. Dock performance
You definitely want to make sure the mops on the bot are cleaned thoroughly after each mopping session, and then dried as well. This prevents germ growth and odour build up. Now, every all-in-one model has a dock uses warm water and air to do so, but the more effective cleaners use hot water and warm air for the same task. I'm yet to meet a dock that isn't too loud when sucking out dirt into the dust bag, though — I'd love that.

5. Navigation & obstacle avoidance
This is very important, of course. If the tech can't ensure the bot can circumnavigate around socks, shoes, toys or anything else on the floor, what's the point? So ensure you find a model with good software that allows it to travel a path that's both effective and efficient. You also want one that doesn't keep going around in circles, cleaning the same spot multiple times.

6. Battery life
This really shouldn't be an issue with most robovacs available today as most will offer a decent runtime, but you definitely want to pick one that can clean for at least 20-30 minutes at higher settings. Sadly manufacturers only list the maximum runtime based on the lowest settings, so take it with a pinch of salt as real-world use will never get you upwards of 100 minutes as some spec sheets claim.

7. Other features to consider
You want to make sure the mops can extend for edge cleaning, while a side brush will typically take care of the vacuuming part. Note, however, that most robot vacuums, no matter how expensive, can miss corners. If you have pets, there are premium models that now offer pet-poo avoidance features and higher suction power to suck up fur and dander. Even for just the family, you definitely want a bot that uses an anti-tangle central bar brush. Smart features, like voice control or Matter connectivity, are nice but unnecessary for the average user. And while some robovacs can double up as a security bot, allowing you to keep an eye on your home via its onboard camera, there are security risks with this feature — another one that's nice to have but not necessary.

8. Never pay full price
If there's one home appliance you should never pay RRP for it's robot vacuums. They're frequently discounted, which means you can pick up a really good one at a better price.

• The new Google Home Speaker could be arriving on June 25
• Best Buy Canada updated its product listing with a release date
• The Google Store still reads 'Coming Spring 2026'

Just when I thought the upcoming Google Home Speaker would never see the light of day, a possible release date has surfaced — and it could be here in a matter of weeks.

A product listing for the Google Home Speaker on the Best Buy Canada site points to a June 25 release date, so if you’ve been patiently waiting for the arrival of Google’s first smart speaker in six years, you could get your hands on it sooner than you think.

Though this is exciting news for those who’ve been waiting to upgrade, it’s best to take this placeholder date with a pinch of salt before you get your hopes up. At the moment, there’s no mention of an official release date on the Best Buy US page, and Google Store also hasn’t been updated either.

As far as pricing goes, we have more information on how much the Google Home Speaker will cost depending on region. It’s listed for $99.99 / £99.99 on the Google Store, and CA$139.99 on Best Buy Canada. When it comes to color options, the speaker will be available in four different shades in the US (Berry, Jade, Hazel, and Porcelain), while the UK and Canada will only have two (Hazel and Porcelain).

Back when Google first showcased the smart speaker in October 2025, we were lucky enough to get hands-on with it to see how it differs from the Nest Audio. Its biggest upgrades are the 360-audio design (which resembles the Apple HomePod Mini), and its connectivity improvements, allowing you to group multiple Google Home Speakers which you can pair with the Google TV Streamer to enhance your audio.

That said, the Google Home Speaker will also get some major Gemini upgrades, where you can ask pretty much any topical question and make smart home commands for a more casual, conversational-like experience. Additionally, Gemini works to better understand the context of your voice commands and questions to give you more accurate answers.

To say the Google Home Speaker’s release has been a long slog is an understatement. We first caught a glimpse of Google’s next gen smart speaker during its Made by Google event in August 2025, when it teased a mysterious Nest smart speaker.

The company unveiled the smart speaker right after Amazon announced the next generation of its own line of Echo devices, and was projected for a spring 2026 arrival, which we assumed would be between March - May, and it’s been a waiting game ever since.

Google is really cutting it close with its smart speaker release as we’re officially past the expected release timeframe. Spring officially ends on June 21, meaning that if Google goes ahead with its June 25 release, it would have just missed the Spring cut-off.

While I prefer the term "thrifty," some might call me cheap. I manage expenses pretty closely, which means I don't typically sign up for subscription services on various smart home devices. But that's the only way one could experience Ring's still-in-beta Familiar Faces feature, and it is kind of a game-changer.

To be clear, I still did not sign up for the necessary Pro Tier $20-a-month service to gain access to the new facial-recognition-powered feature. Ring's parent Amazon offered to give me temporary access so I could get a feel for Familiar Faces, and I'm glad they did.

How it works

As the name implies, Familar Faces can automatically identify known and unknown faces as they appear in front of your Ring camera. Since it relies in part on video resolution to generate those IDs, you'll need at least an HD-grade video doorbell. My Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2 supports "HD+" (1536p). Ring actually recommends one of its pricier 4K models for the best Familar Face performance.

Nothing changes on the hardware side, but once you enable the feature in your ring app, it'll start capturing faces.

On the Ring Video Doorbell interface, the timeline shows when an unknown face appears in front of your doorbell. Click on it, and you get a handful of face thumbnails, and then you can label it.

I must admit that once I started using Familair Faces, it felt a little weird seeing all the faces it captured. There was my mailman. Then I saw the guy who repaired my door, and I saw my neighbor when he dropped by to deliver a package that was mistakenly delivered to his home. Then there were my family members. It felt like I was spying on people.

Even so, I diligently went about labeling whomever I could, even the mailman, whom I called "Mailman." Also, unless someone comes to the front door, Familar Faces won't identify them. Ring still takes note of activities, but its ability to perform facial recognition is limited to faces a few feet away from the front door.

In some instances, I noticed that when family members appeared, Familar Faces correctly identified them. Still, it could not properly reidentify the mailman.

I was surprised that even though Ring now knows my family's faces, and my Ring Video Doorbell is connected to my Alexa+-powered Echo Show, I couldn't use Alexa+ to show, for instance, all the times my wife appeared at the front door. Instead, Alexa+ just wanted to show me all the videos from the last two weeks.

Faces in the cloud

The ID doesn't happen on the Ring device or even your smartphone. Instead, face data is encrypted and sent to Ring's cloud, where it's stored for further face matching.

You can go in and delete identified faces at any time, and then they're deleted from the cloud, too.

For the faces I've captured and identified (up to 50), I can see everyone's comings and goings, including my own. It's nice to know when my wife arrived home safely (and not confuse it with the postal service showing up). But I hesitate to show this to any of my family members who might find it invasive.

In that case, they'll probably be pleased that my Pro trial will end soon, as will my access to Familiar Faces beta. I'll lose the ability to instantly identify and video people as they approach my front door. I'll also lose access to that archive of up to 180 days of video. That, I may miss the most (all those dogs and squirrels).

• Researchers at Graz University of Technology unveiled FROST, a browser side‑channel attack
• The method can reveal visited websites and opened desktop apps, but requires large file creation
• Limitations exist, yet the study highlights how modern browser features expand the attack surface for surveillance

Security researchers have come up with a new way of spying on internet users, and they’re calling it FROST. Recently, more than half a dozen researchers from the Graz University of Technology (Austria) published a new report called “FROST: Fingerprinting Remotely using OPFS-based SSD Timing” in which they claim that there is a way to spy on user activities directly through the browser.

This is a remote side-channel technique that exploits a standard browser feature called the Origin Private File System (OPFS). Generally, a side-channel attack is a way of stealing secrets by measuring physical side effects, such as how long an action takes, how much power it uses. In this case, the researchers measured solid-state drive (SSD) access speeds, allowing them to track which websites a victim visited, and what desktop applications they opened.

“Web browsers have evolved from simple document viewers into complex platforms capable of running sophisticated applications,” the research paper says. “Companies like Google, Microsoft, and Adobe have developed full-fledged office suites, photo- and video editors, or even integrated development environments (IDEs) that run entirely within the browser.”

Limitations exist

“While these features enhance the capabilities of web applications and allow completely novel use cases, they also increase the browser’s attack surface, and some have already been shown to introduce new vulnerabilities.”

Unlike real-life exploits, those discovered in controlled environments have limitations, which make it somewhat harder to pull off in the wild. For example, the attack only works if the victim’s activity and the browser are running on the same SSD. The attack requires creating an exceptionally large file to bypass the computer’s memory cache, which can noticeably drain the victim’s free disk space and since Firefox limits storage space per website to 10GB, the attack is a little more difficult to pull off on that specific browser.

It was also said that the attacker cannot perform a quick, short measurement, because the large file must first be cleared out of the system’s memory cache. And finally, if a user runs software that completely moves their browser profile into RAM, the zero-interaction attack is successfully blocked.

Still, if you are worried about someone using FROST to snoop on you, just make sure you only keep one tab open at a time.

Via Ars Technica

IMOU AOV PT: two-minute review

Founded in 2015 as a spin-off from the Chinese surveillance giant Dahua Technology, Hangzhou-based IMOU has quickly become a major player in the value segment of the smart home market. A few months ago, I looked at the IMOU Cell 3C, another budget outdoor security camera. I liked the model, but it was a lot more basic than this model (and much cheaper, too).

For starters, the AOV PT features a separate, rather than the integrated solar panel found on the Cell 3C. For many set-ups this is an important distinction because often the best place for a camera, such as under an eve or in a porch, is the worst place for a solar panel. Having a separate panel means it can be located up to four metres away in a sun-drenched spot using the long USB-C cable provided.

Whereas most battery cameras stay in a deep sleep until a PIR is triggered, this latest IMOU features the company’s Always-On Video (AOV) technology — hence the AOV moniker. It’s like a sort of low-power mode where the camera records a frame every two seconds continuously, creating a low-frame rate timelapse of the entire day. Then, when the AI detects a human or vehicle, it ramps up to full-speed 3K (5MP) recording. Particularly clever is the smart tracking option which means once the pan-and-tilt camera detects movement it will follow the ‘target’ as it moves around. It’s all a bit Big Brother-y maybe, but useful if you want to track certain individuals or vehicles.

Usually, where security cameras manufacturers make their money is in selling you a monthly subscription to store your video footage in the cloud. Not only is this a potential cybersecurity risk, it can also get very expensive (I’m looking at you Ring). Even the average price of a subscription is £5 (about $7 / AU$10) a month, which I think is a bit excessive for basically storing your video clips.

With the IMOU AOV PT not only is a MicroSD card slot provided for storage, but IMOU has even thrown in a 32GB MicroSD card gratis — it’s a really nice touch, especially if you're always scrabbling around for a card to record onto! If you want more storage, though, the device can support up to 512GB. Alternatively, it is possible to sign-up to one of IMOU’s subscription plans (see details below).

Usefully, in addition to a MicroSD card, the IMOU also comes with a 4G SIM. This enables you to control the camera via the IMOU Life app without it having to be hooked up to the home’s Wi-Fi. IMOU provides a modest 100Mb of data (with a trial offer for a 6GB plan). However, for those monitoring properties where Wi-Fi connectivity is either non-existent, or at best patchy, it’s a potential game changer.

On the downside, though, the camera only supports the 2.4GHz Wi-Fi frequency rather than the higher 5GHz Wi-Fi frequency which is better for faster data transfer.

Designed to be mounted permanently outdoors, the IMOU boasts an IP-66 weatherproof rating for heavy-duty waterproof protection. It also comes with two reasonably powerful spotlights, a built-in microphone and speaker for two-way communication and a siren for warding off intruders (though this isn’t the loudest). There’s also a clever smart night vision feature so that when the camera detects an object, the spotlight is automatically activated, and recordings are displayed in color.

IMOU AOV PT: subscription options

Basic Plan: Covers seven days of event history and basic AI detection, between £2.59-£3.50 ($4-$5 / AU$5-AU$7) per month or approximately £30 ($40 / AU$70) a year.

Plus Plan: Offers 30 days of event history, enhanced AI detection, and sharing with up to 20 users. Costs around £5.99 ($9 / AU$12) per month or £60 ($80 / AU$110) per year.

See https://www.imou.com/uk/imou-protect for more details

IMOU AOV PT: price and availability

How much does it cost? IMOU AOV PT, $170 / £129 / AU$260

When is it available? Since December 2025

Where is it available? UK / US / Australia

Chinese firm IMOU is known for its competitively priced home security products. This one is no exception. OK, it’s quite a bit more expensive than the IMOU Cell 3C we reviewed which also comes with a solar panel. But then the AOV PT offers so much more and is still under £150.

In fact, when you consider the package includes a separate 5W solar panel, a pre-installed 32GB MicroSD card, and a 4G SIM card, the IMOU AOV PT is actually really very good value for money. That’s not to mention other useful features such as 360-degree field of view thanks to the pan-and-tilt camera and smart tracking so you can monitor the movements of intruders!

Compared to 4G rivals from Arlo or Reolink, which often require separate purchases for solar panels or storage, the IMOU really is a cost-effective, all-in-one solution for those needing off-grid security. Best of all is that you don’t need to pay for a monthly subscription — although that option is available from around £3 a month if you want it. Instead, you can store video clips on the MicroSD card provided or upgrade to one holding 512GB (these are now widely available for under £50/$50).

• Value score: 5/5

IMOU AOV PT: design

• Pan-and-tilt design
• Separate solar panel
• IP66 waterproofing

It’s fair to say that the IMOU AOV PT won’t win any security camera beauty competitions. Built for utility rather than stealth, it comprises a not particularly attractive black pan-and-tilt camera inside a large white plastic housing, plus a separate lightweight solar panel designed to tilt up to 45 degrees for maximum solar gain.

Installation isn’t the easiest either. Because of its weight and the way it protrudes from the wall, it requires a very secure mount. It’s not a camera you can casually stick up with a couple of small screws. Instead, you’ll need the full four-screw bracket provided (plus wall plugs if drilling into brick) to prevent it from vibrating in the wind or feeling flimsy.

For added protection/security the camera snaps firmly into the mount and can only be released by pressing a button underneath the unit. Here you will also find a rubber flap covering the power on and the USB-C input for connecting to the solar panel and for recharging the camera (it comes with an integrated 1000mAh lithium-ion battery).

For our set-up we installed the camera on a wooden summer house/home office with the solar panel located nearby and angled towards the sun (the app tells you when it is receiving power from the panel). However, 4m of cable is provided if you need to locate the solar panel a bit further away to capture the sun’s rays. Thankfully, the solar panel is much simpler to install than the camera but the two units together do take up quite a lot of space, compared to other designs.

Finally, one slightly odd aspect of the design is the panel for the MicroSD card and 4G SIM card slots. Located at the back of the camera lens, this can only be accessed with a Phillips screwdriver. Perhaps it’s to deter casual thieves from easily stealing the MicroSD/SIM cards, or maybe to provide further protection from the elements?

• Design score: 4/5

IMOU AOV PT: performance

• 360-degree field of view
• 3K resolution
• Color night vision

When it comes to performance, the IMOU AV PT is one of the best I’ve reviewed — especially at this price level. When it comes to functionality, it’s difficult to imagine any other cameras matching it. However, what’s impressive is that it combines this functionality with very good performance too. For example, the 3K image quality is crisp enough to identify faces at a distance, and the full-color night vision is excellent, using two bright spotlights to illuminate intruders.

What I particularly like is the pan-and-tilt camera which effectively gives the camera a full 360-degree view, much wider than most cameras which are limited to a maximum of around 150 degrees. Either you can move it around using the left/right, up/down keys on the app or you can use the ‘smart tracking’ option in the menus so that it tracks movement automatically.

During testing it was great fun, picking up neighbours on balconies, even family members walking close to the patio doors inside the kitchen. However, I could see it would have a serious function too if ever I was burgled, capturing the culprit as they approached the house and closing in on their physical details.

Any criticisms? Well, a few, but they are minor. Firstly, it is worth bearing in mind that the ‘smart tracking’ option really does drain the 10,000mAh battery. During a day of heavy testing, it dropped 11% in just 24 hours, even with some additional solar power from the panel. For long term use it’s probably best to switch it off completely or limit the use of the camera to certain hours of the day.

Using the app, recording times can be set for each day (so the camera only records footage at night) or you can quickly put it into ‘privacy mode’ where the lens turns around completely so you can’t record. It’s also possible to set areas where you don’t want to record, such as a neighbor’s garden or a busy main road using the ‘activity zone’ option.

As with many security cameras, one small bugbear is that the IMOU AV PT is a little too sensitive, creating a few false alarms. Not only can this get a little bit annoying after a while (getting an alert every time a bird flies past), it can further drain the battery. Finally, while the siren works effectively enough, it’s certainly not the loudest we’ve ever heard.

• Performance score: 4.5/5

Should you buy the IMOU AOV PT?

Buy it if

Don't buy it if

IMOU AOV PT: also consider

If you're not sure whether the IMOU AOV PT is the right camera for you, here's how it stacks up against two of its rivals.

How I tested the IMOU AOV PT

• I used the camera outdoors for seven days
• I set it up myself using the fittings provided by the manufacturer
• The security camera and solar panel was installed on the outside of my summer house/office

I am forever climbing up and down step ladders changing over outdoor security cameras on my summer house, so much so that the neighbours must think I’m paranoid about getting burgled. This is the latest in a long line of solar panel cameras I’ve looked at recently and I think one of the best so far.

I really enjoyed the smart tracking feature, watching the camera following the movement of family members and my dog Poppy, as well as the occasional glimpse of neighbours standing on a balcony. If I had the device for a long time I would probably switch this off as it is a major drain on the battery as well as being overly intrusive (although less so than using the pan-and-tilt camera in the house).

I can also see the benefits of the 4G SIM. While my Wi-Fi is generally OK in the garden, thanks to a Wi-Fi repeater near the back door, there are many homes especially in rural areas where this option could be a game-changer.

First reviewed May 2026