Computer Shopper - UK (2020-04)

ISSUE386|COMPUTER SHOPPER|APRIL2020 93

SimpliSafehasjustlaunchedintheUK
(from£249).Ithasawiderrangeof sensors
thanRing,includingaglass-breaksensor,
panicbutton,smokedetector,andfreezeand
watersensors.SimpliSafecosts£20amonth
forProPremiumprofessionalmonitoring.
Withthispackage,themonitoringcentrecan
checkyourcamera’sfeedswhenanalarmis
triggered(they’relimitedtoviewingafew
minutesaroundthealarm)andcancallthe
policeforyouif therearesignspeoplearein
yourhome(you’recalledtocheckfirst).If
therearenosignsof peopleandyou’renot
answering,anoptionalguardserviceis
dispatchedtocheckyourhome.Italso
includesSIMbackup.

SECURITYCAMERAS

Securitycamerasareagreatwaytomonitor
yourhome,soyoucanseewhat’sgoingon.
We marginallypreferoutdoorcameras,as
thesecanspotproblemsbeforepeople
breakintoyourhouse,andwerecommend
thatyoubuymodelswithatleasta1080p
resolutionsoyougetdetailedfootage.
Thereareplentyof goodoptionsoutthere,
butwehavesomefavourites.If youhavea
RingAlarmSystem,itmakessensetopairit
withRingproducts:theRingStickUpCam
(£89)isagoodindoor/outdoormodel,and
theRingFloodlightCam(£249)combinesa
camerawithasecuritylight.It’s alsoworth
buyingtheRingVideoDoorbellPro(wired,
£229)orRingVideoDoorbell2(battery-
powered,£179)toprotectyourfrontdoor.
TheNestCamOutdoorIQisanexcellent
camerawithfacedetectionthatoffers24/7
recording.PairitwithaNestHellodoorbell,
whichoffersthesameconstantrecording

capabilitywhilelettingyou

answeryourdoorfrom

anywhereintheworld.

Finally,theArloPro3system

(£550,twocameras)comes

highlyrecommended,asthe

battery-poweredcamerascan

beplacedinsideorout,and

yougetextremelypowerful

controlstosetwhenthecamerascanand

can’trecord.Youcanaddthecheaper,older

ArloPro2camerasintothemix,too.

SMARTLIGHTING

Smartlightingisn’tjustaboutmakingiteasyto

turnyourlightsonandoffwithouthavingto

getup;youcanalsosetschedulestofake

occupancyinyourhomeandputoff burglars.

Therearetwomaintypesof system:smart

lightbulbsandsmartlightswitches.Smart

lightbulbsfitintoexistinglightsockets,and

theintelligenceisbakedintothebulb.

Thisgivesmoreoptions,includingbulbs

thatcanchangetheircolourortemperature.

Colour-changingbulbsmaysoundabitnaff,

buttheyletyoupaintaroomfordifferent

moods,andtheeffectscanbeoutstanding.

Of allthesystemsavailable,thePhilipsHue

systemisthebest,givingyouthewidest

choiceof bulbs,thelargestchoiceof remote

controlsandswitches,andthebest

integrations,includingHomeKit,SmartThings,

AlexaandGoogleAssistant.If youjustwant

oneortwosmartbulbs,theTP-LinkKasa

Wi-Firangeisagoodoption.

Smartlightswitchesreplaceyourexisting

lightswitch,givingyouremotecontrolover

yourexistingbulbs.TheLightwaveSmart

Lightingrangeisanexcellentchoice,with

smart-lookingswitchesthatcanbecontrolled

viatheapp,Alexa,GoogleAssistantor

HomeKit.Alltheswitchesaredimmers,soyou

needdimmablebulbstousethemwith.

SMARTSPEAKERS

Smartspeakersgiveyoueasyvoicecontrol

overyourdevices.Themainchoiceis

betweentheGoogleHomeandAmazon

Echorange,andwe’vegotmoreonthe

respectivevoiceassistants,GoogleAssistant

andAmazonAlexa,laterinthisguide.Both

havealotof choiceof speakers,butwe

generallyfindthatAmazonhastheslightly

bettersmarthomesupport.

ForAmazon,theAmazonEcho3rdGenis

agoodall-rounderif youlikemusic,andthe

EchoDot3rdGenisagreatproductfor

puttingvoicecontrolinotherrooms.Gowith

theEchoShow8ifyouwantasmartdisplayyy...

If youhaveaRingVideo

Doorbell,Echospeaaakkkers

makeevenmoresenssse,

asyoucananswertheee

doorwithanyspeaker,

andseeyourvisitorwithhh

anEchoShow.

ForGoogle,the

GoogleHomeremainsa

goodchoiceif youwanttooo

listentoabitof music,

theGoogleNestMiniis

excellentforspreading

voicecontrolthrough

yourhome,andthe

GoogleNestHubisa

greatsmartdisplay.IfyouhaveaNestHello,

youcangetnotificationsthatsomeone’sat

thedooronallspeakers,andanswerthrough

anyGoogleAssistant-poweredsmartdisplay.

ACCESSORIES

Thereareplentyof goodadditionstoasmart

home,butthesearesomeof ouressentials.

First,smartplugshelpyouturndumbdevices

intosmartones(seepage94formore

details).Thereareafewmodelstochoose

from,buttheTP-LinkTapP100istinyand

powerful,andtheTP-LinkKasaSmartWi-Fi

PowerStripgivesyouthreeplugsthatcanbe

controlledindividually.IfyouhaveaPhilips

Huesystem,thenthePhilipsHueSmartPlug

isabrilliantadditiontotheline-upandisone

of thefewHomeKit-compatibleplugs.

Smartbuttonscanhelpmaketaskseasier,

asyoupressabuttontostartsomething

happening,suchasturningoffspeakersand

lightswhenyouleavehome.Withthedemise

of theLogitechPopsystem,theFlic2Hub

aaannndddsssmmmaaarrrrttttbbbuuuttttttttooonnnssssssyyysssttteeemmmiiissseeexxxccceeelllllleeennnttt.IIItttwwwooorrrkkksss

direccttttlywithPhilipsHueandSonos,among

others,butalsoworkswithIFTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTtofurrtttther

expandwhatcanbedone.

SMARTHOME MADEEASY

LEFTTT:TheRing Alarm system is simple to

configggureand workswith your cameras

ABOVE:TheArlo Pro3isapowerfulsystem of
wireless security cameras

ABOVE:Philips Huegives you ahuge range of

lighting options and effects

ABOVE:This power

strip has individually

controlled smarrttttsockets

ABOVE:TheEcho

Show 8 iiisssaaagggreat

smartdisplay and

you can answer your

front door from it