Home & smart home

The officially licensed Poké Ball toaster smoked straight away and made bad-tasting toast.

Addictively good scents and clever design, though it runs through fragrance quickly; scored a high 8.

A cheaply made popcorn machine that smoked and covered itself in butter; scored 2 out of 10.

An 88 inch 8K OLED used as the screen, converted into a touchscreen at great effort; the first one broke.

A generic-looking toaster that burns an unrecognisable face onto toast, rated 2 out of 10.

A stationary vacuum that barely picks up anything unless you sweep rubbish right into it, rated 0 out of 10.

A well-built, fast cocktail machine that does little beyond measuring the spirit, rated 4 out of 10.

It sounds good under a pillow, but a partner can still hear it, so he rates it 4 out of 10.

A surprisingly quick and cool aluminium ice stamp that he rates 9 out of 10.

A lovely kettle with silky pouring, but slow and very expensive; he gave it 7/10.

A beautiful table that quietly purifies air and wirelessly charges, earning a strong 9/10.

An elegant, simple diffuser that works better than a plain candle, and he scored it 9/10.

Far exceeded expectations, cooking a much better risotto than Dhrisha; an easy 9/10 for its recipes.

Outstanding coffee from a simple, satisfying machine, held back only by washing up and needing a grinder; 9/10.

Pretty with a great picture, but the easel design has no real benefit and it is overpriced; scored 6/10.

Cool and does one thing well, but laggy, only 1080p and overpriced at $1,200 for a niche audience.

Impressed by how strongly the suction base grips, but shows it is not invincible when pushed hard enough.

Tough and clever in design, but knocked over it stopped brewing and got damaged, so he gave it a 4.

LED lights you weave through a LEGO build to tie it together.

Suggested as a chaotic prank for switching off a friend's home entertainment system mid-film.

An automatic roti maker with a good non-stick surface that produced tasty rotis.

An impressive sub-$80 Android TV projector with fast auto keystone correction, a strong 9.

Mentioned as the $900 projector the Beam 440 reminds him of.

A knockoff Chromecast with constant flicker that is dysfunctional, rated 1 out of 10.