Most of these products are available now, though some can only be preordered at the moment. Read on for all the details and pricing — at the time of writing international pricing is slowly rolling out, so we'll add that here as it gets announced.

1. Echo Dot

The brand new Echo Dot — the speaker for "everywhere you can imagine" as Amazon puts it, from the kitchen to the living room — gets a host of upgrades. There's a new full-range driver here for improved audio and 50% more bass, the addition of a fourth microphone so it can hear you better, and room temperature detection.

There's some custom Amazon silicon inside in the form of the AZ3 chip, which should make Alexa+ faster and more responsive, and the smart speaker is now both a smart home hub as well as an Eero Wi-Fi extender. It's available now in Graphite, Glacier White, Agave Green, and Coral Pink for $99.99 / £94.99 / AU$199.

2. Amazon Kids Echo Dot

If your kids are after their own Echo Dot, Amazon has you covered here too. There's everything you get in the regular Dot, with a choice of either Octopus and Penguin designs, and a year of Amazon Kids+ (featuring podcasts and audiobooks, usually $7.99 / £6.99 a month if you've got Prime). The Amazon Kids Echo Dot is yours for $109.99 / £104.99.

3. Echo Studio with Home Camera

The Echo Studio is the Echo speaker you go for if you want the best audio possible, and the newly unveiled model adds a feature called Advanced Room Adaptation that "tunes the sound to your space". There's also now Adaptive Volume, so audio adjusts as you move about the room to maintain a steady level.

Also — surprise! — there's now a camera embedded in the speaker. Amazon says you could use it to check in on pets or make sure you've switched the lights off. The camera can also be used with Alexa+, to get info on whatever you're holding, and with Fire TV devices if you want to put video calls on your television.

As always, you can turn off the camera whenever you like. The new Echo Studio with Home Camera is now available in Graphite for $249.99 / £239.99 / AU$479, and the existing Echo Studio (without the camera or extra audio features) remains on sale for $219.99.

4. Echo Time

The Echo Time is a brand new smart speaker series from Amazon, and looks to be a more premium version of the existing Echo Spot. Yes, it's basically an Echo Dot with a clock on the front, but there's also smart alarm functionality here to wake you up at the best point during your sleep cycle, and routine settings for winding down at the end of the day too.

With a 3.2-inch touchscreen, you've got a bit of extra control when interacting with Alexa+ and other features, and Amazon says it's been specifically designed for the bedroom (there's no camera, you'll be pleased to know). The speaker is available now for $199.99 / £184.99 / AU$379, in Graphite, Glacier White, and Coral Pink.

5. Amazon Kids Echo Time

There's a kid-friendly version of the Echo Time available as well for $209.99 / £194.99, in either Galactic Grape or Cosmic Lime. As with the Echo Dot, the version for youngsters bundles in a year of Amazon Kids+ (usually $7.99 / £6.99 a month if you also subscribe to Prime), so there's lots of audio content to explore, plus wind-down content curated especially for kids.

6. Echo Show 16

Amazon is going big with the Echo Show 16, which boasts a screen measuring 16 inches from corner to corner (as you may have guessed from the name). Amazon says its the "most advanced, versatile smart display" it's put out yet: there's a refined design, Fire TV functionality built in, and a choice of three new Screen Styles.

These Screen Styles are basically different widget layout options, focusing on smart home controls, displaying photos, or acting as a family organizer (with calendars front and center). The device is faster than previous Echo Shows, Amazon says, and the 13MP camera lets you use it as a security camera and video calling device too.

Amazon is opening up preorders for the Echo Show 16 now, and it'll be available "later this year". The standard smart display costs $499.99, while one with a special anti-glare Nanomatte layer (as used in the Alexa Tablet 12 Pro) is yours for $569.99.

7. Alexa Home Map

Alexa Home Map is exactly what it sounds like: a map of your home, rendered in 3D. The idea is you can see at a glance how your smart lights, speakers, displays, and cameras are set up, and control them with a tap on the map. You can start setting up the map through the Alexa+ app on your phone, though it's not rolling out until later this year.

8. Alexa Photo Frame

The Alexa Photo Frame tasks the Alexa AI with picking out the best shots from your Amazon Photos library, and displaying them on the 10-inch touchscreen — though you can also manually specify albums and people you want to see. New photos can show up automatically if you want, as they're added to your library.

Alexa is always on hand if you want to request a particular image, and you can even add voice notes to pictures and send them to friends and family with their own Alexa Photo Frames. The digital frame is available now for $199.99 in Black, and $229.00 with a real Birch or Walnut wood frame.

The UK Government has announced a new 'Warm Homes Loan Scheme' designed to provide either interest-free or low interest loans for homeowners buying solar panels, a battery, or a heat pump (and other renewables besides).

The Guardian reports that energy suppliers such as British Gas and E.On have partnered with lenders (including Homeserve, Tandem Bank and The Money Co-op) to offer the loans.

Those wanting solar panels or a storage battery can get a loan of up to £15,000 (so up to £30,000 for a full system with both). An air-to-water heat pump (meaning one that uses your existing central heating radiators) qualifies for a loan of up to £20,000. Air-to-air heat pump loans go up to £10,000, and a loan for a ground-source heat pump runs up to £35,000.

Only some of these loans will be interest-free, but where interest is charged it'll be at a low level, the Government it has worked with lenders to deliver an "up-to-5% reduction in interest rates from regular loans offered by banks or high street lenders".

The Government also notes that the loan periods can be up to 30 years in some cases, and that "people can shop around for the one that works best".

As well as a loan, some homeowners will still be able to benefit from a grant for a heat pump of up to £9,000 under the current 'Boiler Upgrade Scheme' or BUS (for upgrading away from a fossil fuel heating system). There could be a catch here, though, which I'll come back to shortly.

The Government said: "We know demand for these technologies is soaring, with almost 150,000 solar panel installations in first six months of this year. Heat pump sales also reached a record high in 2025. Our loans will help thousands more households cut their energy bills quickly."

All loan-funded installations will use MCS-certified installers.

Analysis: new loans are welcome — but BUS grants are reportedly changing too

Any financial support for making the move to renewable energy is very welcome for obvious reasons. These systems can be very pricey, as I've found out first-hand — I recently had a solar panel and battery setup installed. If you want a sizeable array and a battery with a higher capacity, that doesn't come cheap, so a loan really helps — and the repayments are subsidized by the savings made on your electricity bill.

I live in Scotland, where I couldn't get a loan of this nature before now, and it's worth noting that this scheme is for the whole of the UK, so those in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland can benefit.

What we don't know yet is how many of the loans will be interest-free, as obviously that's the ideal proposition — presumably those will be the shorter-term financing arrangements.

For the low-interest loans, the Government gives an example of a homeowner borrowing £10,000 at 8% over seven years, where the expected repayment would be about £155 per month. With the new loan scheme, we're told they'd save "up to £285 a year on repayments", so they'd be repaying more like £130 per month.

The Government estimates that installing a heat pump, solar panels and battery could help a household save up to £550 per year on energy bills — and with solar export (which is plentiful in the summer), £300 more can be saved. I'd say those figures were right based on my experience (with just solar and battery), and this money offsets the cost of the loan as already noted.

What about the potential catch for the 'Boiler Upgrade Scheme' grant that I mentioned? Apparently in today's budget, chancellor John Healey is reportedly going to scale back these heat pump grants, with hundreds of millions of pounds of potential funding to be cut from its £2.7 billion five-year budget.

Currently a grant typically provides £7,500 towards the cost of a heat pump, but it's viewed dimly as a subsidy mostly used by middle-class homes. The Guardian tells us that the Government is likely to switch to offer the mentioned up to £9,000 grants, but crucially these are supposedly going to be for households in remote areas not connected to the gas network. The idea will be to help those homes transition from very expensive oil heating systems to a heat pump.

Meanwhile, for those not looking at a larger investment in renewables, whether loan-funded or not, plug-in solar remains a fresh and much more affordable option than a full solar install.

Amazon has long offered a wide variety of smart speakers and smart displays, all powered by Alexa, and more recently, many have gotten the upgrade to Alexa+. Now, after several new devices, from Kindles to tablets with a glare-free Nano Matte coating, Amazon has five more, and the most intriguing is the $199 / £184.99 / AU$379 Echo Time.

A device that earns a spot on your bedside table needs to clear a high bar, and the devices team at Amazon, led by Panos Panay, thinks they’ve cracked it with this one. Speaking to press and creators, Panos called the Echo Time the ‘smartest clock in the world,’ and, first and foremost, it's meant to show you the time in a range of ways.

It really presents itself as a more well-thought-out Echo Spot. Rather than a half-circle display, the Echo Time offers a 3.2-inch screen wrapped in what looks like the body of an Echo Dot Max, with woven mesh on the rear, top, and sides. Controls sit at the top, just above the woven mesh, for volume up, volume down, and microphone mute. It does have microphones you can mute, but the Time notably doesn’t have a camera.

That’s a refreshing admission for a device designed for your nightstand and will likely make the Time more popular than the Spot.

Instead, Echo Time aims to mix clock skills with Alexa+. Like the previous Echo Spot and the forthcoming Apple HomeView, you can customize it with a range of clock faces and even add mini widgets. I saw several designs that look like traditional clocks, with or without hands or numbers, as well as digital ones and others that use photos.

There are some collaborative designs pulling from famous characters like Harry Potter or the Powerpuff Girls — I am hoping for some Disney, Star Wars, or Marvel ones one day. You can swipe left or right to adjust the clock face and long-press to swipe between and customize them.

It can, as you might suspect, function as an alarm clock, but Amazon takes this a step further, as it can raise or lower the brightness of the display and glow light at the bottom to help with your wind-down or wake-up routine. For instance, rather than blaring a loud horn as your alarm, it can intelligently raise the display brightness and work with connected smart home gadgets, like a smart bulb, to help ease your wake-up. It can gradually raise the brightness like a sunrise, and at night, it could start to dim things and even cut blue light from the display. At night, the display can drop to as low as 0.3 nits, meaning that the glow won’t keep you up and the screen can be viewed without burning your retinas.

It will also utilize Omnisense to find the best time to wake you up if you opt in, which is different from Soli on, say, the Google Nest Hub or the Hatch Sleep Clock with sleep tracking. Echo Time isn’t looking to track your sleep but is using these sensors — room temperature, presence detection, ultrasound for breathing, and proximity — to figure out when you’re in a state of lighter sleep and start to wake you up. From there, when an alarm is set, Alexa and the Echo Time can make the call to sound it earlier.

And since it’s running Alexa+, you don’t need to be precise with your asks. You could tell Alexa you have an important meeting at 9 AM, so you need to be up by 7:30 or 7:45 AM, and have it figure out the best routine, potentially setting an alarm but also cueing the lights and hopefully easing you into your day.

With its built-in speakers and screen, you can ask Alexa topical questions and even request music playback, and the Echo Time will happily oblige. It seems like a fully capable Alexa smart display, but it’s unlike the rest of the Echo Show or the standard Echo lineup. Echo Time is squarely built around being a digital clock with Alexa capabilities. And that's a good thing.

Instead of trying to be another smart display that does a little bit of everything, it offers a camera-free design, customizable clock faces, and smart features designed to help you start your day or ease into slumber. It's a more purpose-built Echo, and that could be exactly what makes it worth the space on your nightstand.

At $199.99, it is the same price as the Echo Show 8 and more than the Echo Spot at $109.99. That puts it in an interesting spot in the lineup, and I'm looking forward to spending more time with it soon. Its price puts it firmly in premium smart-clock, smart display territory, so it’ll be interesting to see whether its added features justify the cost over other Echo devices.

Amazon’s also dropping the Amazon Kids Echo Time at $209.99 / £194.99 in Galactic Grape — my favorite — or Cosmic Lime, and it comes bundled with a year of Amazon Kids+. The standard Echo Time comes in Graphite, Glacier White, and Coral Pink for $199.99. Both are available to order now and are shipping now.

Amazon’s new Echo Show 16 looks like a big step forward for its smart displays. With a slimmer design, upgraded audio, and a redesigned Alexa+ interface, it feels like Amazon’s hardware and software are finally working in tandem.

It has a thinner, more modern look, almost mimicking that of an iMac, with a brighter, more vibrant display that can be treated with the special anti-glare NanoMatte coating. It also boasts a redesigned interface that feels tailor-made for the larger screen.

At $499.99 with a standard display and $569.99 with NanoMatte, the new Echo Show 16 is very much a premium smart display. It’s also only available in the United States for now and is up for preorder ahead of a mid-December launch. You can also save by preordering, with $100 off either finish.

Like the refreshed Echo Show 8 and Echo Show 11, this Echo Show 16 feels like Amazon’s device design team, led by Panos Panay, has hit its stride. I only spent a handful of minutes with it, but I can already see that the design and software are working in tandem, and this could be the template for future Echo Show smart displays.

Amazon has redesigned the entire build, including the internals, from the ground up, packing everything into an anodized aluminum frame that’s 40% slimmer than that of the Echo Show 15 or 21. The audio team has also built out eight custom micro-woofers on the sides and two tweeters for robust audio. In the demo space, it got pretty loud with no noticeable muddiness. It can also adjust playback in real time using the onboard microphones, sensors, and custom algorithms to ensure sound stays clear.

There are four microphones as well, so Alexa can clearly hear you when you make queries, but they also help if you’re on a video call, letting whoever you’re speaking to hear you without extra background noise. Two forward-facing microphones sit next to the wide-angle 13MP camera, and two are on the rear.

The 16-inch display is Full HD, and I’m especially loving the NanoMatte finish, particularly for a device that might be wall-mounted or used with the separately sold swivel stand. Either way, it could be exposed to varying degrees of natural sunlight, and glare can be an issue with smart displays.

Of course, Alexa — specifically Alexa+ — is central to this, and the Show 16’s new Cards, which organize your conversations with the assistant, offer a new way to interact with and revisit those conversations. Panos described the interface as a combination of user interface and AI, and explained how the two work together.

When you open a Card from a previous Alexa conversation, you’re presented with the original prompt, condensed, alongside jumping-off points on the right and more detailed information next to it. You can easily tap on those suggestions or pull up the original conversation. Alexa's new conversation design is also reminiscent of how conversations are organized in the Siri app. The new look is also rolling out to the Alexa mobile app.

The whole interface feels a bit cleaner, and you can finally choose between different Screen Styles for the Echo Show 16. These include a Family Organizer for calendars and family plans, a Smart Home view for controlling connected devices — think the Echo Hub on steroids — and a Photos option that turns the display into a digital picture frame.

A more focused Echo Show

After spending a little time with the Echo Show 16, I came away most impressed by the cohesive feel of the hardware and software. The slimmer frame, more capable audio setup, NanoMatte display option, and redesigned Alexa+ experience all serve the same goal: making a large smart display more useful in the home.

The new Cards could be particularly interesting as Alexa+ becomes more capable, giving conversations a life beyond the moment you ask a question. And with Screen Styles that cater to different household needs, the Echo Show 16 feels less like a screen that simply sits on a counter or wall and more like a hub for organizing your home.

I’ll need to spend more time with it to see how well those features work in everyday use, but my first impression is that Amazon has made a more considered, cohesive smart display. If the new Alexa+ experience delivers on its promise, the Echo Show 16 could be one of the more compelling examples of where Amazon wants its smart home devices to go next.

We've already crowned the best tech of the year as chosen by you in our TechRadar Readers' Choice Awards 2026 — but this is where we let our experts have their say.

Our writers and editors chose their favorite products in nearly 100 categories, ranging across all the kinds of products we review. In some cases, we agree with the readers; in lots of cases, we don't. So read on to see which gadgets we rate as being the most impressive of the last 12 months.

Phones & tablets

Phone of the Year

Phone Brand of the Year

Phones Innovation of the Year

Best Value Phone

Best Mid-Range Phone

Best Folding Phone

Best Flip Phone

Best Camera Phone

Best Gaming Phone

Best AI Phone

Best Phone Accessory

Best Tablet

Best eReader

Cameras & drones

Camera of the Year

Brand of the Year

Camera Innovation of the Year

Best Beginner Camera

Best Mid-range camera

Best Professional Camera

Best Compact and Instant Camera

Best Action and Vlogging Camera

Best Camera Lens

Best Camera Accessory

Best Drone

Computing

Laptop of the Year

Computing Brand of the Year

Best Computing Innovation

Best Value Laptop

Best AI Laptop

Best Gaming Laptop

Best PC Gaming Handheld

Best Gaming Keyboard

Best Gaming Mouse

Best Gaming Monitor

Gaming

Gaming Device of the Year

Gaming Brand of the Year

Gaming Innovation of the Year

Best Console Accessory

Best Gaming Service

Best Gaming Controller

Best Gaming Headset

Best Gaming Chair

TV & home theater

TV of the Year

Home Entertainment Brand of the Year

Home Entertainment Innovation of the Year

Best Gaming TV

Best TV for Sound

Best OLED TV

Best Mini-LED TV

Best Value TV

Best Projector

Best Soundbar

Best Wireless Home Theater Speakers

Streaming

Streaming Service of the Year

Best for Movies

Best for Documentaries

Best for TV Shows

Best Free Streaming Service

Audio

Headphones of the Year

Audio Brand of the Year

Audio Innovation of the Year

Best Wireless Headphones

Best Wireless Earbuds

Best Open Earbuds

Best Value Headphones

Best Value Earbuds

Best Value Open Earbuds

Best Wired Headphones

Best Wired Earbuds

Best Bluetooth Speaker

Best Wireless Speaker

Best Portable Audio Player

Best Turntable

Best DAC

Best Stereo Speakers

Health & Fitness tech

Health & Fitness Device of the year

Health & Fitness Brand of the Year

Health & Fitness Innovation of the Year

Best Smartwatch

Best Running Watch

Best Fitness Tracker

Best Smart Ring

Best Electric Toothbrush

Best Connected Fitness Tech

Home tech

Home Device of the Year

Home Tech Brand of the Year

Home Tech Innovation of the Year

Best Home Light Tech

Best Home Security Device

Best Robot Vacuum

Best Vacuum

Best Air Fryer

Best Coffee Machine

Best Value Coffee Machine

Best Fan

It's also been a really difficult year in tech, though, due to the component crisis and rising prices across nearly all products. In the middle of that tension, it only makes sense for us to find out which companies navigated the challenges best by asking the community of tech lovers out there — and so here are the first TechRadar Readers' Choice Awards.

The results are in, so below we've listed the TechRadar Readers' Choice Awards 2026 winners winners in every category, all 100% voted by you!

Phones & tablets

Phone of the Year

Phone Brand of the Year

Phones Innovation of the Year

Best Value Phone

Best Mid-Range Phone

Best Folding Phone

Best Flip Phone

Best Camera Phone

Best Gaming Phone

Best AI Phone

Best Phone Accessory

Best Tablet

Best eReader

Cameras & drones

Camera of the Year

Camera Brand of the Year

Camera Innovation of the Year

Best Beginner Camera

Best Mid-range camera

Best Professional Camera

Best Compact and Instant Camera

Best Action and Vlogging Camera

Best Camera Lens

Best camera accessory

Best drone

Computing

Computing Brand of the Year

Best Computing Innovation

Best Value Laptop

Best AI Laptop

Best Gaming Laptop

Best PC Gaming Handheld

Best Gaming Keyboard

Best Gaming Monitor

Best Gaming Mouse

Gaming

Gaming Device of the Year

Gaming Brand of the Year

Gaming Innovation of the Year

Best Console Accessory

Best Gaming Service

Best Gaming Controller

Best Gaming Headset

Best Gaming Chair

TV & home theater

TV of the year

Home Entertainment Brand of the Year

Home Entertainment Innovation of the Year

Best Gaming TV

Best TV for Sound

Best OLED TV

Best mini-LED TV

Best Value TV

Best Projector

Best Soundbar

Best Wireless Home Theater Speakers

Streaming

Streaming Service of the Year

Best Streaming Service for Movies

Best Streaming Service for Documentaries

Best Streaming Service for TV Series

Best Free Streaming Service of the Year

Audio

Headphones of the Year

Audio Brand of the Year

Audio Innovation of the Year

Best Wireless Headphones

Best Wireless Earbuds

Best Open Earbuds

Best Value Headphones

Best Value Earbuds

Best Value Open Earbuds

Best Wired Headphones

Best Wired Earbuds

Best Bluetooth Speaker

Best Wireless Speaker

Best Portable Audio Player

Best Turntable

Best DAC

Best Stereo Speakers

Health & Fitness tech

Health and Fitness Device of the Year

Health & Fitness Brand of the Year

Health and Fitness Innovation of the Year

Best Smartwatch

Best Running Watch

Best Fitness Tracker

Best Smart Ring

Best Electric Toothbrush

Best Connected Fitness Tech

Home tech

Home Device of the Year

Home Tech Brand of the Year

Home Tech Innovation of the Year

Best Home Light Tech

Best Home Security Device

Best Robot Vacuum

Best Vacuum

Best Air Fryer

Best Coffee Machine

Best Value Coffee Machine

Best Fan

• Browse all of today's best deals at Amazon

Some of the best deals are found on smart home tech from Ring and Blink, including some super-cheap doorbells and cameras. One highlight is this Blink Mini 2K+ for just $16.99 (was $39.99), which is a very low price for the latest version of a handy and feature-rich indoor security camera.

Another standout to me is the brand-new Fire TV Stick 4K for $29.99 (was $59.99). That's a very early 50% discount on the upgraded version of Amazon's popular streaming stick, which offers a cheap way to add smart features to a TV and get easy access to all the major streaming services, such as Prime Video, Netflix, Disney+, and more.

Some of these offers end soon, so it's perhaps worth snapping those up if you want to bag them now. Although, with Black Friday about to get underway, it wouldn't surprise me if a lot of the deals return in a matter of days — or stay this low for the whole of next month's sales period.

Top 16 early Black Friday Amazon devices deals

Amazon is refreshing its range of Blink home security cameras with five new models, introducing the company's first-ever 4K, spotlight, and pan-tilt devices, which are now available to preorder in the US.

The first two of Blink’s new models are new additions to its existing XR lineup — one being the walkie-talkie-looking Blink Frontier XR+, a device built for larger homes in remote locations and the company’s ‘farthest-reaching camera yet’. It’s available to preorder in the US now for $199.99, which includes a Sync Module XR+.

Unlike standard homes, properties with long driveways and surrounding land, or even job sites that are far out from the main building are more difficult to surveil. Amazon has designed the Blink Frontier XR+ to reach these faraway areas without it having to be close to the main hub, and can reach areas up to 7,000 feet away from the main hub with a clear line of sight, but requires a Sync Module XR+ to achieve this.

The other device coming to the XR lineup is the new Blink Outdoor 2K XR+, which also requires a Sync Module XR to push beyond standard Wi-Fi range. Blending 2K video with 1080p resolution, the camera packs a 115-degree field of view and can reach 800 feet away from the Sync Module XR with obstruction, or up to 2,700 feet with nothing in the way.

Likewise to the Blink Frontier XR+, the Outdoor 2K XR+ is handy for keeping an eye out on extended driveways and gates, and can be preordered now for $149.99 (which also includes a Sync Module XR).

Not only is Blink launching its farthest-reaching camera, it’s also releasing its inaugural 4K device. The Blink Mini 4K+ ($79.99) is a compact model built for both indoor and outdoor use, fitted with a 115-degree field of view and dual-band Wi-Fi 6 that’s ‘built to capture detail that lower-resolution cameras miss’, Amazon shares.

While it packs standard home security features such as two-way audio, you’ll need to sign up for a compatible Blink subscription plan to take advantage of features such as Smart Alerts with person and vehicle detection.

The new $109.99 Blink Spotlight Cam 2K+ marks another first for the maker of the best home security cameras, being its first battery-powered spotlight camera that uses hi-res video and built-in illumination to boost surveillance quality after dark. Its wireless setup gives you more flexibility placement-wise, allowing you to place it in the areas you feel need added surveillance.

Lastly, Blink is launching its first pan-tilt-zoom device with the Mini Pan-Tilt 2K+, the cheapest model in the new lineup at $49.99. Designed for both indoor and outdoor monitoring, Blink’s first pan-tilt camera has 350-degree pan and 115-degree tilt for wide viewing angles, but it doesn’t just capture a static frame — it follows action at the same time. That said, if you want to use it outdoors, you’ll need a Blink Camera Outdoor Adapter, which is sold separately.

As mentioned, all five devices are available to preorder in the US now, and customers in Canada, the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium, Australia, and New Zealand can also preorder the Blink Mini 4K+ and Blink Mini Pan-Tilt 2K+. As for the Blink Frontier XR+, Blink Outdoor 2K XR+, and Blink Spotlight Cam 2K+, these will be available in Canada, but we don’t know when they will be available internationally.

One of the things that really makes the HomeView unique is that it recognizes your face, then adapts its display so you see your personal content in apps like Messages, FaceTime, Calendar, Reminders, and Find My. It’s a great feature, because having to keep logging in manually all the time would be a real time-consuming turn-off for a device that’s used by all the family.

But a note on the Apple newsrooms page about HomeView says “Apple HomeView setup and multiuser support require a compatible iPhone or iPad running the latest software.” It goes on to say that “Personal Context requests require a paired Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhone or iPad running the latest software version with Siri AI turned on and set to a supported language.”

You need a modern iPhone or iPad

Apple’s wording features two overlapping statements. A compatible iPhone or iPad is required to set up the HomeView, but one that runs Apple Intelligence is required for Personal Context requests. In practical terms, you need an iPhone 15 Pro, any iPhone 16 or newer model, an A17 Pro iPad mini, or an M1-or-newer iPad. The standard iPhone 15 does not qualify.

The Apple HomeView isn’t useless without those devices — it can still answer general-knowledge questions, control compatible smart-home products, and offer improved music discovery. However, it won’t be able to process requests involving personal information, such as finding details in Messages or Calendar and taking actions across apps, which require a modern iPhone or iPad. Siri AI must be enabled, and the HomeView and paired device must use a supported language.

But there is one even narrower requirement: customizing Siri’s expressiveness and speaking speed requires an iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone Air, iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone Duo, or an M4-or-newer iPad with at least 12GB RAM. Obviously, that's a small voice-personalization feature, not the threshold for ordinary Personal Context requests, but it’s still worth noting.

The complete Apple AI home costs considerably more

When we look into the HomeView’s smart-home features, which are part of Apple’s wider smart-home ecosystem, things get even more complicated. With a compatible HomeKit Secure Video camera, Apple Intelligence can do the following, genuinely useful, things:

• Summarize recorded activity: Instead of merely saying “Motion detected,” the Home app can describe what happened, such as a person leaving a package or a dog entering the garden.
• Search recordings conversationally: You can search using requests such as “Show me when the parcel was delivered”, or, “When did the children get home?”, rather than manually scrolling through clips.
• Connect related activity: The Home app can group or surface significant moments captured across different cameras.

Once again, an Apple Intelligence-compatible iPhone or iPad is required — this time to set up and enable the camera-intelligence features. Apple says footage is processed locally by the home hub or using Private Cloud Compute, rather than simply handing the analysis to the paired iPhone.

The complete list of what you need for these features to function is: a HomeKit Secure Video-compatible camera, HomeView or another compatible Apple home hub, an Apple Intelligence-compatible iPhone or iPad, and an eligible iCloud+ subscription. In other words, simply buying a HomeView alone does not give you the AI camera summaries or searchable recording history.

iCloud+ plans start at $0.99 / AU$1.49 for 50GB of storage a month, then $2.99 / AU$4.49 for 200GB and $9.99 / AU$14.99 a month for 2TB. Recorded HomeKit Secure Video footage is retained for 10 days, and does not count against your normal iCloud storage allowance.

Of course, you can still view a compatible camera’s live feed and receive basic accessory notifications without paying for recorded history, but you need that iCloud+ subscription for HomeKit Secure Video storage, and for AI features that analyze and search those stored recordings.

At $299 / £299 / AU$449 the HomeView therefore doesn’t independently provide the complete experience Apple demonstrates. Owners of an iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 16 or another qualifying device may already have everything they need for Personal Context. But people using a standard iPhone 15 or an older model could discover that their new household AI device is considerably less personal unless they upgrade their phone too.

That may suit Apple perfectly: HomeView isn’t just another product, but another reason to keep every device in your home relatively new, compatible and attached to an Apple service. For buyers who haven’t studied the footnotes, however, the difference between what HomeView can do alone, and what Apple shows it doing, could prove frustrating.

The whole point of using a health and fitness tracker, one would think, is to be able to analyze your data in order to understand your own well-being. New users of Withings’ smart scales, however, have just been stung with an extortionate annual subscription if they want to enjoy that privilege.

As noted on the Withings forum, the company has decided to lock the ability to sync your wellness metrics to the Apple Health app behind a paywall. And this isn’t just some token fee either — you’ll be charged a whopping $99.99 a year. All to do what has always been free (and what many rivals still offer at no cost).

Withings apparently justified the move to the forum poster by citing unspecified “privacy measures” and an “AI connector.” Yet syncing data to Apple Health using the HealthKit framework doesn’t require any server-side processing or hefty AI lifting that might justify such an expensive fee. Instead, the paywall simply gives the impression of being an opportunistic revenue booster.

The post on the Withings forum described the move as a “silent and incredibly anti-consumer change” and pointed out that anyone who signed up on or after October 13, 2026, would be subject to it. Existing users won’t be forced to pay, but that’ll come as little consolation to everyone else.

A controversial move

It’s safe to say that the optics don’t look good for Withings, and users have been understandably upset at the move. The original poster on the Withings forum labeled the change “an obvious cash grab” that “ruins the hardware experience and destroys the trust in the brand,” adding that “We shouldn't have to pay a subscription to access our own health data.”

On Reddit, users echoed that dissatisfaction, saying “$99 a year is a real joke” and, about Withings’ decision-makers, “They are digging their own grave.” Another Redditor asked, “Why would I ever buy another Withings product, let alone recommend the products to other people, if you have to pay a subscription to access your own data?”

A Withings representative tried to explain that the $99.99 Withings+ subscription includes other features — including “An improved Health Assistant” and “Better-priced access to medical services” — but no user seems to care about any of that. The main concern is the decision to lock a fundamental feature behind a paywall when said feature appears to require no additional costs on Withings’ part.

Given the strength of the customer reaction already, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Withings backtrack and unlock Apple Health syncing in the near future. With many users already saying they’ll either ditch their Withings devices or abstain from buying one in the first place, the ball is firmly in Withings’ court.

Over the years, Wyze has released a number of high-profile smart products across a range of different industries. They began with cameras but have expanded their range to offer vacuums, lights, locks, and a collection of affordable smart scales.

The Wyze BodyScan sits just underneath their most premium offering, the BodyScan Ultra, and is the brand’s most affordable 8-electrode BIA (which stands for bioelectric impedance analysis, the method many smart scales use to scan users’ bodies) scale. Offering segmental muscle and fat analysis across a user’s arms, legs, and torso, the BodyScan is more capable than almost all other smart scales at this price point.

As for its positioning in the market, the best smart scales for home users range from $20 for the Vitafit Smart Bathroom Scale all the way up to $599.95 / £449.95 / AU$895 for the Withings BodyScan 2. The BodyScan sits just above Vitafit’s offering and sets itself apart with segmented body composition reporting.

The BodyScan boasts a very impressive 4.7-inch LED screen, which displays seven different metrics, including weight, BMI, bone mass, protein, and body water percentage. The display is one of the largest you’ll find on any smart scale, elevating the user experience well beyond the $84.98 price tag.

The remaining metrics, including protein, basal metabolism, and subcutaneous fat, are displayed in the Wyze app. Unfortunately, because the app covers all Wyze products, it’s not a dedicated smart scale platform. The interface provides little more than a presentation of the metrics in both data and graph form. When compared to the premium Withings app experience, the two are worlds apart.

The BodyScan smart scale offers an incredible amount given the small price tag and delivers all the health metrics that most everyday users could ever need. The scale offers only a little more than the basics, but it does those basics without fuss and without stress. If you were to also invest in one of the best smartwatches, then you’d have a great all-round solution for measuring your health progress.

Wyze BodyScan smart scale: Specifications

Wyze BodyScan smart scale: Price and availability

• $84.98 USD
• Only available in the US
• Budget-friendly

At just $84.98, the Wyze BodyScan scale is one of the most affordable on the market, especially if you’re looking for segmented muscle mass and body fat with a high level of accuracy. The app experience and build quality leave a little to be desired, but at this price point there’s nothing better.

If your budget is even tighter and you have no interest in segmented data, then the Vitafit Smart Bathroom Scale, for around $20, is currently our best budget pick in our best smart scales buying guide. The scale delivers accuracy that we were “blown away” by across a varied set of metrics, including weight, BMI (although you can calculate this yourself at home, the scale does it for you), bone mass, basal metabolic rate, and more.

• Value score 5/5

Wyze BodyScan smart scale: Design

• Large 4.7-inch LED display
• Cheap and basic handlebar construction
• Solid glass base

Let’s begin with one of the main highlights of the BodyScan scale, the huge 4.7-inch LED display. I was so surprised to see a screen of this size that I had to check the price point again. In fact, this is the largest of all displays of any scale featured in our best smart scales guide, and for under $100, its inclusion is even more impressive.

The display is located at the top of the base unit and is big, bright, and super clear even when viewed from six feet away. The benefit of packing the display into the base rather than into the handlebar, like the Withings BodyScan 2, is that they can make it significantly larger and thereby display more information at once. As a result, I found myself opening up the app a lot less compared to other brands.

To keep costs down, Wyze has stripped out a number of additional premium features found on the BodyScan Ultra, but the most noticeable compromise is actually the budget material choice and the basic construction quality of the handlebar. The plastic is cheap, it feels lightweight, and it lacks a locking mechanism, so it won’t automatically stay in position when you’re waiting for measurements to be calculated.

I was glad that these issues don’t translate over to the main base unit. Thanks to a solid plastic base and a thick ITO-coated glass panel, I was left confident that it would stand the test of time. My only issue with the base is an aesthetic one. For some unknown reason Wyze has inserted a protruding plastic rectangle into the middle of the glass, which breaks the otherwise sleek design of the panel.

• Design Score: 4/5

Wyze BodyScan smart scale: Features

• 17 body composition metrics
• Seven of these metrics are displayed on the scale itself
• Syncs with Apple Health, Health Connect, and Fitbit.

The Wyze Bodyscan covers 17 body composition metrics. Seven of these are displayed on the 4.7-inch LED display: Weight, Body Fat Percentage, BMI, Muscle Mass Percentage, Bone Mass, Protein, Body Water Percentage.

These metrics and the 10 remaining ones are displayed in the Wyze app. These are Muscle Rate, Physical Age, Lean Weight, Visceral Fat, Basal Metabolism, Subcutaneous Fat, Fat Mass, Skeletal Muscle Mass, Segmented Muscle Mass, and Body Fat.

Beyond measurements, the Wyze Bodyscan syncs with Apple Health, Health Connect, and Fitbit. It also recognizes up to eight users automatically and has a nine-month battery life.

• Features Score: 4/5

Wyze BodyScan smart scale: Performance

• Comparable results to the industry-leading Withings BodyScan 2
• Simple but basic app experience
• Managing multiple users is a bit of a hassle

Given the sub-$100 price tag, I didn’t expect very much from the Wyze BodyScan. Not only were my expectations exceeded with regard to design and features but also with overall performance. Despite not having any bells and whistles, the BodyScan manages to do all the basics incredibly well.

The overall experience of using the scale is a positive one. The large display presents seven of the most common metrics, which means most users won’t need to check the app each time they step off the scales. However, when you do find yourself drilling down into the metrics, you’ll discover a very basic app experience. Data is clearly laid out, but there’s no analysis or health advice, as is found in the Withings app. On the plus side, there’s no subscription either.

Part of the reason for the basic app experience is that it handles all Wyze product types and has a significant interface bias towards its cameras. The positive of that is that if you’ve bought into the Wyze ecosystem, then you’ll be able to manage all your smart devices in one place.

Unfortunately, the app issues don’t end there: there’s no support for a multi-user profile, so other family members will have to download the app on their own phone. That’s fine for other adult members or older children but not if you’re wanting to track the health of your young child.

More positively, when compared to the Withings BodyScan 2 and the RunStar 8E SmartScan Pro, the scale delivered accurate results. This was especially true for the key metrics of weight, BMI, muscle mass, and body fat. There were only two metrics with issues, and those were body water and basal metabolism.

Thanks to the electrodes in the handlebar, the BodyScan is capable of reporting body composition across five separate segments. Measurements are overlaid onto a body graphic within the app, so it’s quick and easy to see where imbalances are located.

The overall speed of the unit was good, with weight being calculated in a matter of seconds and the remaining 16 metrics taking less than 20 seconds. This is about the same length of time as most other scales we’ve tested.

• Performance score: 4/5

Wyze BodyScan smart scale: Scorecard

Wyze BodyScan smart scale: Should I buy?

Buy it if

Don’t buy it if

Also consider

How I tested the Wyze BodyScan smart scale

I used the Wyze BodyScan smart scale in my bathroom for several weeks. Each time I used the scale, I measured all 17 available metrics, which enabled me to track accuracy over time as well as whether it was susceptible to fluctuating results. Because of the lack of multi-profile support through one account, I didn’t use the scale with my children.

First reviewed: October 2026

If you've never heard of Mova as a brand, you're not alone as it was initially only available in select European and South-East Asian countries. The brand, which is owned by Dreame Technology, is now expanding and is supposed to be value-focused side of the company — although you'd be hard pressed to believe that when its latest flagship robot vacuum costs upwards $1,000 / £1,000 / AU$3,000.

However, the Mova V70 Ultra Complete brings everything you expect from such an expensive robovac, including some industry-first features that are now being adopted by other brands. This includes suction that's a whopping 42,000Pa at its maximum, as well as the impressively long reach of the side brush and mopping arm (12cm and 17cm respectively). I even love the fact that it eliminates the need for dust bags by using a tank you can clean out every now and then while still remaining as hands-free as possible.

It's also arguably the quietest robot vacuum I've tested, even at maximum suction — so quiet, in fact, that I had to check it was actually cleaning during my testing. Yes, it was.

It's vacuuming prowess, however, isn't a good reflection of its listed suction power, particularly on carpets. Case in point: it failed to pick up a mix of oats, tea and chia seeds from a mid-pile carpet even after two passes on its Max (or second-highest) suction setting. Hair pickup at the same setting is also not that great, but bump it up to Max+ (which significantly impacts battery life) and I found my carpets looking a lot better, with even bits of thread cleaned up. The mixture of pantry essentials, however, still remained and I needed to use my Dyson V15 Detect to clean up the leftovers.

Moreover, the extra reach the side brush promises isn't consistent. For example, I expected it to remain extended as long as the V70 was traversing along a room edge, but it repeatedly retracts, leaving dirt along some sections of a room edge. The timing of the extension while cleaning around furniture legs is also off, with the side brush opening up either just before or just after it gets to a chair leg.

The extending mop arm, however, performs better, but even it retracts along some sections of a room edge, but the bot is close enough for edges and areas around furniture to be mopped, if not vacuumed.

The Mova V70 Ultra Complete uses dual rotating mop pads that, in my opinion, aren't as good as rollers. It made a bigger mess of some spilled soy sauce in my kitchen, which a roller mop doesn't as these are constantly washed with fresh water while the robot vacuum is cleaning. I also found that for hard floors to even seem damp, waterflow rate needs to be set to high.

It's also disappointing that, for an expensive robot vacuum, the docking sequence takes a few tries. In the four weeks of testing, I had to replace the bot in the dock manually twice, but at all other times, it took 2-3 attempts to correctly roll itself back in for self-cleaning and charging.

The companion app is near identical to the Dreame one, but can be slow to load and respond (at least on iOS, which is what I use). And, like its counterpart, some settings are tucked away in submenus, so you need to spend some time going through it all.

While there are features to love here, it's disappointing that they don't really come together well enough to make a complete package, especially when it has to the potential to be one and blow the competition out of the water. For its high asking price, it's a hard one to recommend.

Mova V70 Ultra Complete review: Price & availability

• First unveiled in May 2026 in Europe, followed by an August launch in the US
• Available in bigger markets, like the US, UK, Europe and Australia
• Investment pricing of $1,299 / £1,219 / AU$3,299

The very high $1,299 / £1,219 / AU$3,299 retail price of the Mova V70 Ultra Complete might make you balk but, given its feature set, it shouldn't be all that surprising.

Then again, it's a competitive price when you take into account other flagships recently released, including the $1,699 Roborock Saros 20 Flow (which is unavailable in the UK at the time of writing, but is a lot cheaper at AU$2,499 in Australia) and the Dreame Aqua20 Ultra Roller going for £1,299 / AU$3,299 (unavailable in the US at the time of publication).

All the aforementioned new flagships have different feature sets to justify their high asking prices, but we're yet to try the last two competitors ourselves. Given the results of my testing in this review, however, the Mova V70 Ultra Complete doesn't deliver on its promises as it should, making it a tough sell at its very high price point.

Instead, opting for slightly older models like the Roborock Saros 10 or Saros 20, even the Dreame Aqua10 Ultra, would be the better buy, especially if you can get them at a discounted price.

However, I should note that the Mova V70 Ultra Complete doesn't use dust bags, minimizing your ongoing costs. Plus there's a complete set of replacement brushes and three additional pairs of mop pads in the box, meaning you can go a very long while without needing to buy any replacement parts, adding some additional value to the initial cost.

The only ongoing purchase, if you wish, would be a mopping detergent and/or wood floor-care solution. Only the former is supplied, but Mova recommends you only purchase its proprietary detergents to avoid damaging the appliance and voiding warranty.

• Value score: 3 / 5

Mova V70 Ultra Complete review: Specs

Mova V70 Ultra Complete review: Design

• Clean, modern design with no dust bag
• Retractable LiDAR turret
• Extending side brush and mop arm with industry-leading reach

These days, if you've seen one premium robot vacuum, you've essentially seen them all. The Mova V70 Ultra Complete isn't, at least at first glance, very different from nearly every other set-and-forget alternative on the market, although there are some design elements you won't find elsewhere just yet.

Robot design

The first, and arguably the Mova V70 Ultra Complete's headline act, is on the bot itself — the MaxiReachX mechanism for the side brush and a mop arm. What this means is that for both vacuuming and mopping, the bot has quite the reach, extending 12cm and 17cm respectively. This is not only good for edge cleaning and sweeping into room corners, but it also allows the bot to clean around furniture legs that most other robovacs don't necessarily do well.

The efficacy of the cleaning, however, is a different story, with the side brush extension not quite timing itself right when around furniture and not remaining fully extended when traveling along a wall (or room edge). As you can see from the video clip below, the side brush opens just before it actually gets to the chair leg — when the bot 'sees' the furniture' — then retracts.

I do worry about the longevity of the side brush arm, though, as I found it often scraps against a wall or skirting board, which means it could suffer from wear and tear with constant use, potentially cracking or breaking. While it could still be usable, any jagged edges of the broken plastic could scratch walls. In the four weeks of almost daily use I put the Mova V70 Ultra Complete to, there has been no issues, but the sound the extended side brush makes while scraping has often made my jaw clench.

The mop arm, however, does often stay extended longer but, again, not as consistently as I had expected, retracting when the bot gets close enough to a skirting board to not need the extension.

Mova promises that the dual circular mop pads can apply 15N of downward pressure and, in combination with their spinning, should apply a little elbow grease when mopping but, in reality, that's asking for too much from any robot vacuum cleaner.

What I do appreciate is that the mop pads attach magnetically and they're left behind automatically in the dock whenever the V70 needs to vacuum, so there's no fear of dirty dampness transferring on carpets. That said, you can set the bot to vacuum carpets first anyway, so it really doesn't matter either way.

Most of its other features are similar to what you'll get with other premium bots, including its retractible navigation turret that allows it to roll under low-lying furniture. However, I should note that I often found the turret elevated when it was knocking against the underside of cabinets, and the bot itself isn't the thinnest on the market — at 8.8cm, it doesn't have as good a clearance as, say, the 7.98cm of the Roborock Saros 10R.

The Mova V70 Ultra Complete also features robotic legs that allow it to climb up to 9cm in two shallow steps, plus dual anti-tangle bar brushes that definitely don't require manual intervention to keep clean. I should mention, though, that during my testing, hair got badly entangled with the large wheels and the side brush, which were difficult to cut away.

One small point of difference on the bot compared to others is that along with lit buttons on the turret, the Mova V70 features a thin bar of blue light when it's powered on. It gives the otherwise white bot a slightly ethereal look in my opinion.

Dock design

The white and silver dock is quite standard on the outside but, instead of housing a dust bag inside, there's a 2L box with a filter that holds up to 100 days' worth of dirt. This means there are no ongoing costs for replacing bags and you're also reducing waste in the bargain. The dust tank, as Mova calls it, is washable, but it also gets dried out after every use, thus reducing the build up of odors and a bacterial or fungal ecosystem within.

Like the Dreame Aqua10 Ultra, the dock also houses a detergent dispenser with two compartments — one for a standard mopping soap, the other for either a pet odor neutralizer or a wood floor-care solution. You will need to use the app to enable the use of these as they're not set to flow into the clean water by default.

Both water tanks are under a lid, keeping them out of sight. Moreover, the lids on each tank clip on tightly, so odors from the dirty mop water don't escape in case you forget to clean it out regularly.

• Design score: 4.5 / 5

Mova V70 Ultra Complete review: Performance

• Hard floor cleaning is good, but carpet vacuuming is disappointing
• Excellent navigation and obstacle avoidance
• Auto docking requires multiple attempts

Say what you will about the Mova V70 Ultra Complete — and I do have a lot to say about its performance — but the one thing I love about it is how quietly it goes about its work. When vacuuming, even at its Max+ (its highest suction setting), the V70 did not hit more than 66dB on the Decibel X app, when others can average around the 80dB mark at similar settings. Understandably this isn't a very scientific method of measuring sound, but it's a good way to compare.

Even the dock isn't as loud as similar models, with auto-emptying of the onboard bin being easily be missed if you aren't paying attention.

How does it actually clean, though? Let's get into the crux of the matter.

Vacuuming

With up to 42,000Pa on tap, the expectation that the Mova V70 Ultra Complete would be able to ace my tests was high. And while it does vacuum well, especially hard floors, its edge cleaning isn't as good as I hoped it would be. That's due to the fact that, during use, the automatically extending side brush doesn't remain stretched as the bot is rolling along a room edge but, instead, retracts after a few seconds.

In fact, at one point in my tests, the bot moved away from a room edge, leaving behind dirt — a mixture of oats, tea from a tea bag, chia seeds and freeze-dried raspberries to emulate different debris sizes — that most other premium robovacs I've previously tested have successfully cleaned up (see video below).

Otherwise, it tackles regular daily vacuuming well enough on hard floors even at mid-suction settings, but it's a different story on carpets.

While I don't expect side brushes on any robovac to be as effective on carpet as on hard floors, I had hoped that on Max suction, the same mixture of oats, tea, chia seeds and bits of fruit would be easily tackled but, as you can see from the photos below, the V70 left behind a lot even after two passes. Bumping up to Max+ helped only marginally, but debris still remained on the carpet and I had to use my cordless vacuum to clean up the rest.

Hair pickup on carpets in the Max setting also wasn't as impressive as I had hoped — around 80% — but it was about 98% when bumped up to Max+. Given this performance, I found leaving the vacuum setting at Max worked best for regular jobs, but occasionally used the Max+ setting when a carpet needed a little extra work. And that's disappointing from such a premium flagship that boasts high suction.

Mopping

The Mova V70 Ultra Complete, however, is slightly better at mopping room edges as I found the extending mop pads stayed open for longer periods of the bot sensed room edges, corners and furniture legs.

Mova says it applies a downward pressure of 15N but, in real-world use, that doesn't translate for any robovac as there's never enough vibrations to emulate 'scrubbing'. So I can't blame the V70 for not being able to clean up a drop of dried up curry on my kitchen floor.

The same downward force also doesn't work along room edges, which I tested by sprinkling a few crystals of charcoal-infused sea salt under my kitchen cabinets and moistening by adding a few drops of water. The tiny black spots remained where they were even after two mopping sessions at high waterflow rates.

Where other premium robovacs have been able to successfully clean up small spills of liquid, like soy sauce, I found that the V70 made more of a mess, spreading the dark liquid across a larger section of floor until I ended its task to prevent the stain from expanding further (see video below).

That said, I was impressed by how well the bot identified furniture legs while mopping and the extending mop pad was able to clean a full 360º around each leg in both my dining and living rooms.

It doesn't, sadly, negate the overall performance of the mopping which, like the vacuuming is disappointing. If you don't have a messy household, though, what the V70 does do will leave you with clean floors — something a far less expensive robovac will also give you.

Navigation and obstacle avoidance

Here's the good news: the Mova V70 Ultra Complete has impeccable navigation skills with very good obstacle avoidance. Throughout the four-week testing period, not once did the Mova V70 Ultra Complete deviate from its prescribed path, whether that was a quick clean with wider zig-zags or a tighter grid for deeper cleaning.

It also never got lost when told to do a room or zone cleaning, finding the path of least resistance wherever it needed to go, even if there were obstacles in its path.

Speaking of which, the Mova V70 Ultra Complete promises to recognize up to 300 different obstacles, and that includes cables and your pets. For the most part, it gets them correct, although there were instances when it didn't quite recognize some items. For example, a large charging brick on the floor was picked up as a shoe, and that's OK.

All obstacles, even smaller pieces of furniture that you may not have added to the map get picked up and they're marked in the app. Just tap on any of these grey icons and a small diagram and name of the item is shown, along with accuracy of recognition.

The one thing it definitely struggles with is docking on its own — every single time, it took the bot two to three attempts to automatically engage docking. In the four weeks of testing, I was asked to manually replace the bot back in the dock for charging and self-cleaning.

Self-cleaning

Dock performance itself isn't bad, with self-emptying of the onboard bin into the dust tank quite good, leaving only the barest layer of very fine dust sticking to the plastic sides of the smaller box inside the bot. And, as I've previously mentioned, this self-emptying isn't as loud as I've experienced with other robovacs, and I appreciate that.

Like the Dreame Aqua10 Ultra where the dust bag is dried with warm air, the Mova V70 Ultra Complete also dries out the dust tank. However, it takes 5 hours to do so compared to just 3 hours on the Dreame. It's also a lot longer than the V70 takes to dry out the mop pads, which is 3 hours as well. I'm not entirely sure why the dust tank requires more time, and while the additional power consumption is unlikely to make a significant dent in your energy bills, it could become inconvenient if you run the robovac daily.

Mop pad washing is impressive as well, with even dark soy stains being 95% scrubbed away. The good thing is the circular pads can be removed and washed in the machine or soaked in a stain-removing solution to return them to pristine condition.

The wear and tear on the pads, however, is a little more than on other robovacs that use spinning pads. I've spotted bits of fiber stuck on the textured wash tray after only five mopping runs, so it's a good thing that Mova supplies three additional pairs in the box.

Dock maintenance is very easy as well, with the dust tank easy to empty and wash, and access to the tanks is minimal effort.

Battery life

The Mova V70 Ultra Complete uses a 6,400mAh battery pack like many premium robot vacuums and its runtime is quite standard, depending on the suction setting, of course.

For example, when doing a full-home clean on the Max (penultimate) setting in an area approximately 45sqm / 484sq ft, it drops from 100% to 44% when vacuuming only, and 100% to 32% when vacuuming and mopping at the same time. In both cases, dynamic suction was engaged when it detected carpets (which automatically boosts suction slightly).

When I ran it on Max+ (its highest suction) for approximately 20 minutes, battery life dropped from 100% to 82%, but that was nonstop cleaning with no dynamic suction engaged and no need to return to the dock for self-emptying.

This is, of course, based on a smaller test space, so bigger homes might not get a full clean on a single charge, and the one time in my testing when battery dropped off entirely with a task incomplete, the bot didn't pick up where it left off once there was sufficient battery even though I made sure it was toggled on in the app.

• Performance score: 2.5 / 5

Mova V70 Ultra Complete: App support

• Almost identical to the Dreamehome app with similar navigation and setup
• Mostly easy to understand, but some settings need a little digging
• App can be slow to load and respond

Given that Dreame Technology owns Mova, I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised to see that the MOVAHome app is identical to Dreamehome, with only minor differences, like the color scheme on the home page.

And I do mean identical as the entire bot setup and the settings, plus all the navigation, is the same. Since I've previously used a Dreame robovac, the learning curve needed for me to get around the MOVAHome app was small, but first-time users will need to spend a little time going through every setting to ensure they've got the V70 set up to how they want it, including toggling carpet-first for a 'global clean' and selecting detergent use if necessary.

However, the MOVAHome app is a little slower compared to the Dreame one, and that includes editing the map as well which, on iOS, was a little tedious to do. So much so, that I decided to not divide the study from the entry hallway in mine. Adding the rug to my living room was a heck of a lot fiddlier than on the Dreamehome app, while it took three attempts to add wall-to-wall carpet to the bedroom on the Mova app.

Once everything is set up just the way you like, though, the MOVAHome app becomes easy to use, and you'll only likely need to select the cleaning type and the space. Setting up scheduled runs isn't hard either, as is creating custom cleaning routines. All in all, it's a clean app, just one that might require some initial time investment to wrap your head around.

• App support score: 4 / 5

Mova V70 Ultra Complete review: Score card

Should I buy the Mova V70 Ultra Complete?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Mova V70 Ultra Complete review: Alternatives

I like that the Mova V70 Ultra Complete brings some good features to the market but, given its performance during my testing, there are other models I would consider instead.

How I tested the Mova V70 Ultra Complete

I used the Mova V70 Ultra Complete three times a week for four weeks in my one-bedroom apartment that has mixed flooring and an internal cleaning area of approximately 45sqm (484sq ft). The mixed flooring includes wall-to-wall mid-pile carpet in the bedroom, tiles everywhere else, plus a mid-pile rug in the living room.

While many of the cleaning runs were for regular upkeep of the floors, I put the Mova V70 Ultra Complete through some of TechRadar's standard tests. For vacuuming, this included sprinkling oats, tea from a tea bag, chia seeds and pieces of freeze-dried berries on carpets and hard floors to emulate different debris sizes.

Since I don't have a pet, I collected strands of my long hair and spread them on the bedroom carpet, walked over them for a couple of days to ensure they were embedded in fibers, then ran the V70 on two different high suction settings to test results. I even used pieces of thread on carpets to enhance visibility of pickup.

For mopping tests, I poured a little soy sauce and dropped a dollop of mustard on my kitchen floor, but kept the waterflow rate high.

I regularly checked the onboard dustbin to ensure self-empty was good, while also washing the dust tank once. I tested the wash-board cleaning feature once during this time.

I also ensured I went through everything the app had to offer, comparing it to the Dreame alternative which I use regularly anyway.

I've tested several robot vacuums in the last 10 years and, having witnessed their rapid evolution, I've built a solid knowledge base to help me compare different models.

Read more about how we test vacuums

[First reviewed October 2026]

There's a new upgrade rolling out for Google Home and Philips Hue lights that might not sound all that significant at first, but will actually make a notable difference to functionality — and I'm keen to get it installed on my own system as soon as possible.

The upgrade in question is local Matter support. And as per a Google (via 9to5Google) report, it means there should be faster response times if you're controlling your Philips Hue lights via the Google Home app. It should also mean the connection works even if your internet goes down, as long as the local network is still operational.

Even better, the update should be applied smoothly and seamlessly in the background, so you don't even need to repair your lights. Just look out for an update to Google Home appearing in the Android or iOS app store.

While the Philips Hue app offers more in the way of features, I like controlling my Hue lights through the Google Home app, because all my other smart stuff is in there too — so faster responses and offline support are very welcome.

More upgrades and fixes

There are a bunch of other minor improvements coming to Google Home as well, including updates for the Gemini for Home early access program. Conversations will now end more naturally, Google says, and weather temperature units will be more consistent.

Gemini is also getting better at understanding when "stop" actually means stop — as in, you're trying to stop media playback or an alarm, rather than just bringing a conversation to a close. Plus, requests for "relaxing music" or similar will now open up a proper media player app, rather than switching to ambient sounds (like rain or white noise).

The Google Home app gets a few tweaks in terms of drag-and-drop stability and more prominent smoke and CO alarm messages, while third-party controls for lights, plugs, and switches have been revamped. Various camera fixes have been added too.

With Matter more generally, Matter hubs should be more responsive and more reliable via Google Home. All in all, it seems the platform is finally starting to find its feet again, after several months of frustrating bugs and user complaints.

Google may be sunsetting its Nest smart-home brand as it makes room for new hardware, but the tech giant isn’t leaving its older smart speakers out of the firmware-update equation.

If you’re still glued to your Nest speaker from years ago, you’ll be happy to learn that Google is currently testing a new firmware update, version 3.79.550760, through the Google Home Preview Program, which you’ll need to be signed up to if you want early access.

While an exact release date hasn’t been announced, the upcoming changes could seriously upgrade the overall performance of older devices.

As per Google’s release notes, the Nest Audio, Nest Mini, Google Home, and Google Home Mini are getting a roster of improvements across audio, smart-home control, and more. The Google Home Max and Google Home Speaker, the company’s latest audio device, are also getting some bug fixes, but are being left out of the wider updates — so we’re assuming that these devices are already running this firmware.

In addition to general performance and stability improvements, there’s a slew of audio improvements on the way, including fixes to media streaming and volume, which could do wonders for boosting your music playback experience. At the same time Google is polishing smart-home controls, a fix that we’re guessing will enhance the synergy between voice commands and the smart home devices that are connected to your speaker.

Finally, the company is rolling out setup and connectivity improvements on Wi-Fi issues and ‘Google assistant entry experience improvements’. This is likely a reference to Gemini, which Google is making the flagship voice assistant for its smart-home tech as it releases new devices.

While some reputable tech brands kill off widely-used, albeit previous-gen devices as a way to push users to upgrade to newer models, Google hasn’t completely forgotten about the devices that put the company on the smart home map. Just a few weeks ago Google unveiled a big Home update for video doorbells, security cameras, and Automations, so it’s not just smart speakers that are getting all the attention.

As mentioned, if you want to make the most of Google’s upcoming smart speaker upgrades, you’ll need to be signed up to the Google Home Preview Program. If you’re not already enrolled, just head to the Google Home app and open Device Information. Select Preview Program, and you’ll be able to sign up if you’re eligible. If you are, the firmware update will install overnight.

I’ve already written at length about HomeView, and why it’s the smart display and home hub I’ve been waiting for. Now, I’ve had the chance to spend more time with it. Not quite enough time for a full review, and I haven't tested it in my own home yet, since all my hands-on time has been in Apple’s demo space. But I’m still optimistic about what it could offer.

I already have a connected home of sorts. For me, though, it’s still very fragmented. I have HomePods, HomePod minis, and Apple TV 4Ks, but I mostly use them for quick questions, timers, taking calls, or media playback. I’ve also tried Echo Shows, Nest Hubs, and myriad other smart home gadgets like cameras, bulbs, and sensors, but none of those has really stuck, because they aren’t part of my core ecosystem.

Amazon’s ecosystem is heavily focused on commerce and shopping. That’s not necessarily a complaint, but the experience can also feel cluttered with targeted ads, and privacy concerns can be a sticking point.

Given Apple’s broader commitment to privacy and its carefully curated user experience, HomeView could help it carve out its own smart-home category. For people already invested in Apple’s ecosystem, it removes some of the friction that has kept other smart displays from becoming a central part of the home.

With an Echo Show or Nest Hub, someone who primarily uses Apple’s suite of services may have to move photos to another platform or service if they want to display them. The same goes for calendars, calls, and even music, depending on the services and features being used. And those devices don’t integrate with your iPhone the same way an Apple-made display can.

That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but when a smart display is something you might buy for a family member, a parent, or a friend, those differences can make for a less cohesive experience.

When you factor in the setup, the effort required to get everything working together, and the ongoing upkeep, some of the convenience promised by an Echo Show or Nest Hub starts to diminish. That’s what I’ve encountered in my own experience.

HomeView could help solve that disconnect. While the wall-mounted options seem like a less compelling value proposition to me, I can easily picture the speaker-base version sitting on a kitchen island or side table and becoming the household's hub device. And if you already know Apple’s ecosystem and its software, the learning curve should be much less daunting.

I’d seen HomeView before, but this time I got to interact with it, starting by swiping between its different faces; I almost called them watch faces, and for good reason.

HomeView feels like an Apple Watch on steroids, with a supersized, customizable watch face essentially plopped onto a display. That’s not a knock. The interface feels familiar, and is easy to get the hang of.

I especially like the Snoopy face, which offers a fun way to keep an eye on what’s happening throughout the day. You can check the weather as it rolls in, see an upcoming calendar event, or simply glance at the time with a little help from Snoopy and Woodstock. You can also go for something more functional, with modular faces that pack in widgets, or, as Apple calls them, complications, for things like your calendar, reminders, and the weather.

Swipe past those faces, and you arrive at the HomeView home screen. And for once, Apple’s answer to a shared household device isn’t to force you to buy one for everyone in your home. HomeView can recognize up to six people, effectively switching between their individual accounts and surfacing what matters most to each person while keeping their personal information private.

In my case, I could see myself having a HomeView setup that brings together quick controls for my thermostat, the weather, a rotating selection of photos, and, of course, a Bruce Springsteen playlist. The idea is that HomeView can surface a personalized experience when it recognizes you, with your iPhone playing a role in that process.

Privacy is central, too. If I open Messages, respond to someone, and walk away, HomeView locks the app when someone else approaches. It’s a small but important example of how Apple is thinking about a shared screen: convenient when it’s yours, but not an open book.

HomeView doesn’t feel exactly like iOS, iPadOS, or watchOS. Instead, it feels like a combination of all three, with familiar elements pulled together into something designed for a display you interact with throughout the day. App icons are larger, and I’d expect the interface’s emphasis on glanceable information to be particularly useful here. Widgets, in particular, seem designed to put the details you need front and center.

Swipe up, and you’ll find the App Drawer. There’s a selection of built-in apps, but notably, no App Store. I’m actually a fan of that approach. I don’t want to be glued to HomeView; it shouldn’t become another blue-light-filled screen demanding my attention. Instead, it should be actionable and glanceable, helping me get things done without becoming another device I have to manage.

Apple has a selection of core apps ready for HomeView, including Home, Intercom, Music, News, Photos, Safari, FaceTime, Messages, Calendar, Alarms, Timers, Find My, Podcasts, Reminders, Settings, and Weather. Developers can’t build dedicated apps for HomeView, but Apple can bring compatible experiences over from the iPhone. That includes apps such as Apple TV, Audiobooks, Apple Music Classical, and News.

There’s a distinction here: some of these experiences are effectively extensions of the iPhone, rather than apps running independently on HomeView. And while Apple supports third-party media apps that work with CarPlay, I wouldn’t count on specific apps such as Spotify arriving until Apple or the developers confirm compatibility. Still, the approach makes sense for a home hub. I like the idea of a curated selection of apps rather than hundreds of downloads competing for space and attention.

Music is one area where HomeView already makes a strong impression. Album artwork looks great on the display, and you can follow lyrics in real time. The built-in speakers also deliver clear, crisp, vibrant audio, although the volume wasn’t quite as powerful as I’d hoped during my time in Apple's demo space.

Even better, music doesn’t disappear into the background when you switch tasks. If you swipe over to another app, such as a cooking feature, a makeshift Dynamic Island appears at the top of the screen, giving you easy access to music controls. It’s a thoughtful touch that makes HomeView feel less like a collection of separate apps and more like a device designed around the way you actually use your home.

Smart home control is another central part of HomeView’s value proposition. Rather than opening the Home app on an iPhone, iPad, or Mac, this is a dedicated device designed to make controlling your home a more immediate, everyday experience. The Home app has been customized for the display, with larger touch targets and key information highlighted, and it looks nice.

You can move around elements within the app or bring them into other parts of the interface, adding controls as complications on your chosen clock face or widgets on the home screen. That flexibility means you can make HomeView work for the way you live, whether you want quick access to a few favorite accessories or a more comprehensive overview of your home.

The interface is the same whether you opt for HomeView on its speaker base or mount it on the wall. The latter does come with a trade-off, though: you lose the speakers in the base and have to pay separately for the wall mount. That makes the wall-mounted setup feel like a less compelling deal, at least to me.

Still, I can see the appeal of turning HomeView into a dedicated control panel near the front door, where it could become a natural first stop when you arrive home. It also feels like Apple is catering to people who have already invested in wall-mounted iPad setups for smart-home control.

You can interact with HomeView directly through its touchscreen, which reaches up to 500 nits of brightness and can dim as low as 0.3 nits — the lowest brightness Apple has engineered for a display. But touch is only part of the experience. Four built-in microphones are designed to pick up your voice while reducing background noise, whether you're making a FaceTime call or asking Siri for help.

Siri is central to the experience, and it’s clear that HomeView is designed with Apple's new Siri AI capabilities in mind. My time testing them was brief, and I sometimes had to repeat a request, but I was able to ask Siri to handle basic smart-home controls, start routines, and play music, as well as tackle more involved requests.

On my Mac, I enjoy typing to Siri for several tasks, including creating calendar events based on what's on my screen, but on the iPhone or iPad, I use it for multistep or topic-specific tasks. It is not always the fastest, but it is night and day over the former.

During my time with HomeView, I saw a similar approach in action for more complex questions. I saw a demo of Siri being asked what time someone was landing at an airport, then asked when that person would arrive home if they took a train. After a few seconds, Siri answered by drawing on information from Messages, its broader knowledge, and estimated transit times.

It was a brief demonstration, but I could immediately see how useful this could be for quick questions and more involved requests. For instance, my friend Benjamin and I love sharing music. If I missed a song he recommended, I could imagine asking Siri to identify that Chuck Berry track while cooking dinner or getting on with something else around the house.

That’s where I think HomeView could really distinguish itself from the ever-popular Echo Show. Amazon's displays can connect to a range of services and smart home devices, but for someone already invested in Apple, they remain part of a separate ecosystem. HomeView, by contrast, is designed to work with the devices, services, and information you already use. If Siri can reliably bring all of that together, HomeView could be considerably more useful than a smart display that simply answers questions or controls a few connected devices.

That integration extends to moving between devices, too. When I get home, I could transfer whatever I'm listening to on my iPhone simply by tapping it against the front of HomeView. That's iPhone Handoff, and it's a brilliant implementation of a feature that makes the most of Apple's hardware working together. The same idea extends to calls, episodes of content, and even Safari webpages, making it easier to pick up where you left off without having to start over on another device.

An ambient smart display, rather than another screen demanding attention

A few other details from my brief hands-on stood out. For one, HomeView doesn't have notifications, and I actually like that decision. It means there's less reason to linger in front of the display or constantly check it for updates. Instead, HomeView feels like an ambient device, designed to be useful when you need it and easy to ignore when you don't. It's arguably Apple's strongest implementation of that idea yet, and it already feels more purposeful than StandBy on the iPhone.

It still has familiar Apple touches, of course. You can pull down from the top-right corner to access Control Center and quickly reach key settings. The built-in 12-megapixel camera, which recognizes users and serves as the main lens for FaceTime, can also make HomeView double as a mirror. Who knows, perhaps the Photo Booth could return and find a home here, too.

I still need to spend more time with HomeView, and in my own home, before I can say whether it delivers on all that promise. But after getting hands-on with it, I'm even more convinced that Apple is approaching the smart display from the right angle. Rather than giving me another screen to manage, HomeView looks set to bring together the devices, services, and everyday tasks I already rely on. And for someone who's been waiting for Apple's smart home to feel more connected, that's an exciting prospect.

Of course, Siri AI still needs to deliver on that promise, but after the long wait, it's encouraging to see Apple finally moving in the right direction.

Eufy’s new security camera isn’t just a small, handy smart home tool that removes the hard work from installing security devices in outdoor spaces — it’s also affordable and, crucially, subscription-free.

Hot on the heels of the Eufy Video Doorbell S4, the first video doorbell with VR viewing, the Eufy E10 Window Camera is the latest device in the lineup, priced at $79.99 / £69.99 each, or $149.99 / £129.99 for two. It’s already available in the US, with UK pre-orders set to ship from November 6; it's listed as "coming soon" at Australian retailers, with pricing TBC.

Unlike many of the best home security cameras, the Eufy E10 Window Camera is a compact device at 2.69 x 2.69 x 1.65 inches. It's designed for window placement, and sticks easily to glass, allowing you to monitor your driveway and front garden from inside your home, so there are no mounting tools, hard labor, or wall damage involved.

Features-wise, the camera, which offers smart integration with Alexa and Google, offers a detailed 2.5K resolution, with what Eufy describes as a ‘wraparound’ design. In addition to its 25-degree adjustable downward-tilt mechanism, which minimizes empty upper-frame space and allows you to capture ground-level footage, the camera also comes with anti-reflection stickers to prevent glare from windows or other sources of light that may obstruct the view.

The Eufy E10 Window Camera is also completely subscription free — a feature that more users are starting to look for in their smart-home devices.

Instead of charging you a monthly fee to store security footage (as rivals such as Ring and Blink do), Eufy’s security camera supports microSD cards up to 256GB. Additionally, the camera supports 24/7 video recording, with 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz dual-band Wi-Fi for a reliable and steady connection.

Eufy’s new security camera is simple, but effective — and it doesn’t compromise on smart features for its size either, supporting an AI identification model that distinguishes between people, pets, and vehicles.

The only real downside here is that the Eufy E10 Window Camera is wired, which limits where you can place it — you’ll have to mount it on window that's within range of a power source. This also means you’ll have a wire running from your window, which isn't ideal for keeping things discreet.

On the device’s product listing, Eufy says it’s seen a high demand for its new window camera, and as a result it will be processing orders on a first-come, first-served basis.

There are refreshed versions of the Apple TV 4K and the HomePod mini, plus an Echo Show-style smart display called the HomeView. The HomeView is evidence of a renewed focus on the smart home from Apple, as are the devices being made by LG Electronics and Schneider Electric that the HomeView can connect to.

We've also got Siri AI rolling out across the board, which in theory should mean more intelligent and more useful AI conversations. Here's our full recap of what was announced, with links to specific articles if you want to read more.

1. The HomeView is Apple's first smart display — and it comes in two versions

Apple just jumped into smart displays: the HomeView is a competitor to the Amazon Echo Show and the Google Nest Hub, giving you a 7-inch screen that lets you control smart home devices, chat to Siri AI, play music, and much more. You can choose between a HomeView on its own rotating stand, or a HomeView designed to be wall-mounted.

A curated list of Apple apps can run on the HomeView, including Calendar, Safari, FaceTime, Weather, and Apple TV. If you like what you see, the HomeView costs $299 / £299 / AU$449 in Silver, Starlight, Rose Pink, or Space Gray. Preorders are open today, with sales and shipping starting on Friday, November 13.

• Read the full story: I've seen Apple's HomeView smart display in action — it looks like the Apple Watch and classic G4 iMac had a baby, and it could make the Echo Show irrelevant

2. You need an iPhone or iPad to use the HomeView

Before you put your cash down for Apple's new smart display, read the small print. You need to have an iPhone or an iPad handy to set it up, and these connected mobile devices also provide a lot of the HomeView's personalized context — your messages, appointments, reminders, podcasts, and playlists for example.

3. The Apple TV 4K has finally been refreshed (with a big price hike)

We're pleased to see the launch of a brand new Apple TV 4K, but less enthused about the increased price: the new model will set you back $299 / £299 / AU$449, up from $199 / £199 / AU$299 (Wi-Fi) and $249 / £249 / AU$399 (Wi-Fi and Ethernet) for the old models, which are no longer going to be on sale from Apple.

You do get more for your money though. The upgrades here include a new Siri Remote that can make a sound when you're trying to find it, Siri AI on board, a faster processor, and three far-field mics for more "hey Siri" voice control options. Preorders are opening today, with a shipping and on-sale date of Friday, November 13.

• Read the full story: New Apple TV 4K finally brings HomePod Dolby Atmos surround sound and a Siri Remote you can’t lose — but its price has been hiked to $299

4. The new Siri Remote works with older Apple TVs

The fourth-generation Siri Remote that comes with the 2026 Apple TV 4K — the one that can make a sound when you're trying to find it, and can be tracked down using Precision Finding on the latest iPhones — is compatible with older Apple TV models too.

That means it'll work with the Apple TV HD and previous Apple TV 4K models. It'll be available to buy separately, but we're still waiting on pricing details.

5. You can pair the new Apple TV 4K with four HomePod speakers

One of our favorite new features on the Apple TV 4K is the ability to pair it with up to four HomePods as its audio system.

That could be four 2nd-gen HomePods, four HomePod mini 2s, or two of each, it's up to you. Naturally, that could be a pretty pricy combo if you're starting from scratch though — an Apple TV 4K and four HomePod mini 2 units would cost $895 / £895 / AU$1,365, for example.

Still, you're still able to use a single HomePod or a stereo pair with the new Apple TV 4K as well, just like before.

6. The HomePod mini 2 is here, but it doesn’t have Siri AI (yet)

Considering the first HomePod mini launched in November 2020, an updated version was well overdue, and it's now arrived. It comes with a speedier chipset, and a modest price bump to $149 / £149 / AU$229. Preorders are open now if you want to put your money down, with the speaker shipping and going on sale on Friday, October 30.

You've also got new colors to pick from — Green and Pink models are available, alongside the previous White, Midnight, and Blue (Yellow and Orange get dropped) — and the LEDs on top of the speaker can change color to match the artwork of whatever you're listening to. Siri AI is supported as well, but it's coming in a future software update (there's no confirmed date yet).

• Read the full story: The HomePod mini 2 is here, but while the upgrades are subtle, the price hike isn’t — and you'll have to wait for Siri AI

7. There’s no Siri AI update for the second-gen HomePod

While the HomePod mini 2 will get the all-singing, all-dancing Siri AI update eventually (Apple hasn't set a specific date), the 2nd-gen HomePod launched in 2023 won't be getting the smarter AI.

Apple hasn't yet said why, but presumably the on-board processor just isn't fast enough for the extra demands of the AI.

8. Apple has co-designed new smart home gadgets with LG and Schneider Electric...

It's fair to say Apple's smart home ambitions have been limited somewhat by a lack of compatible gear — there's just not the range of products you get that work with Google Home or Amazon Alexa for example — but improvements are coming. A new doorbell and smart lock, plus cameras, sensors, and thermostats, are on the way.

These new gadgets are appearing under the label of the Apple Home Collection, though these are actually joint efforts between Apple and both LG and Schneider Electric. It means if you do buy a new HomeView smart display, you're going to have a wider choice of smart home devices to connect it to, and more hardware is likely to be in the pipeline.

• Read the full story: Apple Home is getting a new doorbell, cameras, and smart lock — but Apple isn’t making them

9. ...but you won’t be able to buy them everywhere

When it comes to the availability of the Apple Home Collection, these devices might not be sold as widely as we might like.

Shipping is scheduled for December across the board, but it looks like the LG Door Lock will only be available in the US and Canada, while the doorbell and cameras are limited to the US and the UK — at least for now.

The Apple HomeView is a modern, cute 7-inch Liquid Retina display and smart-home hub that enables you to use the touchscreen or Siri AI voice commands, to control connected devices, play music, check the weather and more.

There are two models: a version with the display sitting atop a speaker unit (shown at the top of the page), to which it's attached by an adjustable arm that enables you to tilt and rotate the display; and a screen-only model that's designed to be wall-mounted.

The HomeView starts at $299 in the US, £299 in the UK, and AU$449 in Australia, with preorders opening today (October 13) ahead of a November 13 on-sale date.

It comes in familiar Apple colors: Silver, Starlight, Rose Pink, and Space Gray. That price is actually more competitive than I expected, given that rumors had pointed to a price around $350.

While $299 is still $100 more than the Echo Show 8, Apple is clearly pitching the HomeView as its alternative to Amazon's devices — and if you’re already in the Apple ecosystem, there are some compelling reasons to consider it.

As for the hardware, you get a 7-inch Liquid Retina display, a 12MP Ultra Wide Center Stage camera, a four-microphone array, and a multi-driver speaker system in the model with the speaker unit.

Apple’s A18 processor powers the HomeView, though the platform is not iPadOS, tvOS, or iOS — it’s all-new HomeView Software.

The HomeView has features that can rival the likes of the Amazon Echo Show or Google Nest Hub. And when it comes to the former, it might have the edge for two key reasons: privacy, and integration with the Apple devices you already use every day.

As the rumors and reports suggested, HomeView is reminiscent of the iMac G4 of yesteryear, but feels more refined. It starts with a face you can set to a variety of clocks — think an Apple Watch face or the screensaver interface on an Apple TV 4K — and some will feel familiar if you’ve used an Apple Watch, though with distinct differences.

Snoopy is back with fresh adventures, and the Flow face is reimagined here so that, rather than simply grooving like a lava lamp, its colorful shapes respond to what the camera up top sees. You can add complications such as your calendar, to-do lists, and weather, with information adjusting from a general view to more specific details as you approach.

The HomeView can recognize up to six family members using its integrated camera, which helps it personalize the experience for whoever is interacting with it. Each family member can customize their own face, apps, and widgets, and here the interface resembles iOS, even to the degree that you can tint the icons.

The similarities extend to privacy, too. Apple says personal information stays personal, meaning another family member shouldn’t be able to walk up to HomeView and access your messages or see who you’re texting.

Siri requests aren’t recorded, according to Apple, and personal data isn’t stored directly on HomeView itself. It also has no ads, unlike the Echo Show, which makes it feel more like part of your home than a billboard on your kitchen counter.

You'll need an iPhone or iPad to set it up, and doing so unlocks much of the HomeView’s personal context.

You won’t find an App Store on the HomeView. Instead, Apple curates the experience around the apps and features it thinks make sense on a shared home display. Those include Apple’s own apps and services, such as Messages, Music, Weather, Reminders, Calendar, Safari, Find My, FaceTime, Apple TV, Podcasts, News, and the Home app.

Apple also shared that select third-party media apps that already work with CarPlay will be supported, potentially bringing more of your favorite audio services, such as Spotify, into the experience.

You can’t just download whatever you want, but Apple has clearly thought about how people will use HomeView throughout the day, whether that’s for checking the weather, catching up on messages, playing music, or controlling connected devices.

Siri is central to HomeView, and the integration with Apple’s broader ecosystem is where the experience starts to feel more ambitious than a typical smart display.

HomeView can draw on personal context to help with requests that go beyond simple commands. During a demonstration, I saw how it could help find a recipe a friend had recommended, or one your mom had sent, or pull up a song a friend had texted you about.

It can also handle more involved requests. For example, you could ask when your dad’s flight lands, work out how long it will take him to get from the airport to your apartment, and then look for brunch recommendations. Rather than treating each question as a separate task, HomeView can use context to help connect the dots.

It’s not just about asking Siri to turn on a light or set a timer; Siri AI on HomeView seems purpose-built for personalized, multi-step assistance — much like what Apple promised with the next-generation personal assistant.

The HomeView isn’t just a screen with a speaker attached. Apple has built a more considered audio setup into the device, with two custom drivers for high notes in the screen, alongside a down-firing woofer and two other force-canceling woofers in the base of the speaker-mounted version.

During a kitchen demonstration, I heard a Bad Bunny track playing on Apple Music, and HomeView got impressively loud without distorting. Lyrics appeared on the screen, too, making it feel like a natural fit for a kitchen island or another shared space where music is part of the routine.

The speaker-mounted version feels especially suited to the kitchen, where you might angle the screen toward yourself while cooking, then turn it toward someone else when they walk in. As mentioned, there’s also a wall-mounted option, with audio tuned specifically for that placement, though I didn’t get to demo music on that model.

One of the more practical features is how HomeView works with your iPhone. If you’re looking at a recipe on your phone, you can tap or bring the phone close to HomeView to hand it off to the larger screen. You can also switch a FaceTime call or music in the same way.

With a recipe, Safari can show the important details, including ingredients and step-by-step instructions. You can work through the recipe as you go, with timers available along the way.

Siri AI adds another layer. You could ask it to add ingredients to a shopping list, set a reminder, or help find a nearby grocery store for something you need. It’s the kind of connected workflow that makes sense on a display designed to live in a shared space, rather than one that’s just a smaller tablet sitting on a counter.

The HomeView also feels like a natural extension of Apple’s smart-home ambitions. The Home app enables you to control compatible lights, thermostats, door locks, and cameras, while smart home widgets put your most-used controls closer at hand.

You can receive doorbell alerts and view live camera feeds, with support for up to nine camera views at once. Existing Apple Home-compatible and Matter-compatible devices will work with it, naturally, giving HomeView a clear role as a central smart home hub.

The HomeView will arrive ahead of Apple’s new Home Collection, a range of smart home products made in collaboration with LG Electronics and Schneider Electric, that are expected to arrive in December. These will include a video doorbell, a smart lock, and various security cameras and sensors.

As mentioned, you can choose between speaker-mounted or wall-mounted versions of the HomeView. The wall-mounted option feels like a replacement for touch controls for an automated home system — the feel will be similar to a smart thermostat, too.

The speaker-mounted version feels much more like a communal, catch-all device. Both versions have their appeals, but you will need to give this some thought before you buy.

The HomeView has fewer features than some rivals, and as mentioned it’s not an entirely open software experience. I think that’s a two-fold decision: it enables Apple to deliver a compelling, well-thought-out experience built around what HomeView is designed to do at launch, and to put privacy front and center.

The HomeView will be central to controlling your smart home, but it also ventures closer to being a personal assistant around the house, thanks to its integration with Apple’s broader ecosystem. The HomeView isn’t a standalone device in the traditional sense given that it requires you to have and iPhone or iPad, but if you’re already invested in Apple’s ecosystem it could also mean that you're reaching for your iPhone a little less.

It’s taken Apple a long time to enter the smart-display category, but after seeing HomeView in action, I think the wait has been worth it. This feels like one of Apple’s strongest new category entries in quite some time. Apple has used its ecosystem strengths to give HomeView a clear purpose: a shared display that still feels personal, a smart-home hub that doesn’t require you to reach for your phone, and a genuinely useful extension of the Apple devices you already own.

The Echo Show has been a familiar fixture in the smart home for years. But now Apple has finally arrived on the scene, with a product that feels distinctly Apple — and if you already have an iPhone at the center of your life, I can see the HomeView making a lot of sense.