Stuff - UK (2021-03)

SMART HOME TECH

ur favourite

lamp? Luxo

Jr the Pixar

mascot,

obviously. But as far

as non-anthropomorphic

ones go, the Lightcycle

Morph takes some

beating. It can track

natural daylight to adjust

its brightness and colour

temperature accordingly.

As well as using less

power, this reduces

the amount of blue light

you’re exposed to, so you

wake up and wind down

more gradually.

Or do you just want to

stay focused for longer?

There’s a study mode that

intensifies the blue light

in order to get your brain

buzzing. Alternatively,

relax mode emits an

orange glow to keep the

chill vibes going all day;

this also works nicely for

a touch of movie-night

ambience.

As well as letting you

redirect its radiance, the

lamp’s arm can rotate

360 °. So you can use it

for everything from aiding

your make-up application

to dramatically spotlighting

a bit of artwork.

LEADER OF THE VAC

The Morph is just the

latest in a line of products

that can all be controlled

by the Dyson Link app.

This also includes the 360

Heurist robo-vac plus a

range of air purifiers and

humidifiers. The app lets

you schedule when they

come on and – rather

unusually – monitor their

performance with detailed

charts. While these make

it easy to spot faults fast,

we can’t help but think

this feature was made

with engineer James

Dyson in mind and not

really anyone else.

Adopting the Apple

approach to smart home

tech, Dyson’s devices

don’t mix well with others

and only connect over

Bluetooth rather than

Wi-Fi. But you can still

voice-command them

with Alexa and automate

them with Siri Shortcuts.

LOGITECH

HARMONY HUB

Logitech’s universal

remotes have been

clevering up homes for

years; now the Harmony

Hub puts all that power in

your phone. The hub itself

communicates with all

your infrared, Wi-Fi and

Bluetooth gizmos, allowing

you to control the lot via an

app. You can also combine

controls, so with just one

tap you could lower the

blinds, dim the lights

and fire up the telly for

movie night.

£100 / logitech.com

Yale Indoor Wi-Fi

Camera – Pan & Tilt

Like a sentry watching

over your home while

you’re away, this camera

sends an alert if it senses

anything suspicious. You

can also view live footage

and move it around to get

a better view of the cat

licking its bumhole. Yale

is of course a big name

in security, and its devices

work well with Z-Wave

and Zigbee systems.

£60 / yalehome.co.uk

V-Home by Vodafone

Safety Starter Kit

A bit like a ‘best of’ gift set,

Vodafone’s home security

bundle comprises kit from

Samsung, SmartThings

and Zipato. You get an HD

camera with night vision,

a sensor for detecting

intruders and fire-risk

temperature changes,

a siren, and a hub so they

talk nicely to each other...

as well as to Alexa and

Google Assistant.

£99 / vodafone.com

Bold Smart Lock

Until we’ve fully tested

this smart door lock we’re

happy recommending

Brisant’s brilliant Ultion

Smart; but with two-factor

authentication and

end-to-encryption, an

Android and iOS app that

isn’t fussy about smart

home platforms, and an

SKG three-star award

giving it the heaviest

possible burglary rating,

there’s plenty to like here.

€279 / bold.nl/en

TCP Smart

Nothing to do with mild

antiseptic and everything

to do with sensible smart

home upgrades, TCP’s

cheap and cheerful indoor

security camera and video

doorbell both have 720p

resolution and night vision.

There’s a supporting cast

of motion sensors, Wi-Fi

plugs and lightbulbs too,

none of which need a hub.

It all works with Siri, Google

Assistant and Alexa.

from £13 / tcpsmart.eu

Dyson Lightcycle Morph

£500 / dyson.co.uk

STUFF SAYS This is a connected gadget that only enjoys

mixing with its own kind, but we still love lamp ++++,

Go beyond the ‘big three’ and you’ll discover a whole host of

smart tech players ready to meet your needs at any price point

& THE REST

SMART HOME, SAFE HOME

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