Home & smart home

Gives a lot for the money and is his favourite Echo device so far.

Modular light panels with per-tile gradients that he sees as better than the alternative he uses, despite wasteful packaging.

A simple alarm clock, night light and wireless charger combined that works well if you still use an alarm clock.

A tiny 1080p camera with ten infrared lights for night use and motion alerts to your phone.

He likes them, but setup with pairing codes and Amazon Echo compatibility was a hassle.

Works, but needs a separate hub that he finds far from seamless.

Colour changes are locked behind its own app unless Google Home is set up, which he finds frustrating.

A single-colour smart lamp controllable by app or by twisting the top, with scale features he calls useless but cool.

Touch-controlled square light panels that are bright, vibrant and highly customisable.

His new favourite bedside lamp, with flip on/off, rotate dimming and a built-in battery.

Stealthy under-desk gadget that hangs headphones and charges up to three devices.

Keeps cables together on a desk without tangling.

A tiny, cheap projector with compromises, but one of the best cheap ways to expand a phone screen.

He likes the Aurora panels enough to add two more starter kits, though he jokes about overdoing the RGB.

A real leather gaming chair that looks great and is very comfortable, replacing a poor IKEA one.

A bin he has come to rely on and recommends strongly, despite occasionally forgetting how to use a normal one.

Impressive robot vacuum that maps the room, docks itself and has adjustable suction and a carpet mode.

Looks like a smart bulb but is a simple USB-powered humidifier with colour-changing LEDs and decorative stones.

One of the best fans he has come across, sleek, battery-powered and near silent, though it costs more than a normal fan.

Clever two-in-one smart bulb and IP camera that saves money, though weak in low light.

Space-saving smart bulb with a small speaker that makes sense for decent everyday audio.

Easy-to-set-up mesh system that sharply improved his download speeds, though the app is basic and the finish is a bit grainy.

Projector in the Wiz lighting range, covered together with the Hero and Bulb as a cheaper Hue alternative.

Smart bulb in the same range as the Hero, with near-Hue performance at a discount.