T3 - UK (2021-07)

92 T3 JULY 2021

Best of the best

The most

comprehensive Alexa

smart speaker to date,

capable of doing lots,

and with a unique

trick: its large screen

rotates to follow you

around the room, so

that you can always

see it clearly.

£239.99, amazon.co.uk

APPLE HOMEPOD MINI

A quality little speaker

with the ability to

act as a HomeKit

hub to control smart

home devices – and

even support for

new smart protocol

Thread. The slickest

phone-to-speaker

experience there is.

£99, apple.com

GOOGLE NEST HUB MAX

Winner of our 2020

T3award as the

best smart speaker

for doing absolutely

everything. Youget

a crisp 10in screen, a

speaker that can fill

a room, a front

camera and of course

Google Assistant.

£219, store.google.com

AMAZON ECHO 4 TH GEN

Bigger than the

previous model, it has

beefed up speakers

and features, while

the Zigbee smart

home functionality

that used to be part

of the Echo Plus only

has been moved into

the standard Echo.

£139, amazon.co.uk

PHILIPS HUE

Hue dominates the

smart lighting sector

for good reason: it’s

a superb system with

the widest range of

bulbs and a simple,

useful app. Rivals may

be cheaper but they

can’tcompete with

Hue’s variety.

From £59, philips-hue.com

IKEA TRÅDFRI

Ikea’s Zigbee-

compatible system

doesn’t have the

range of Hue, but

if you prize control

over colour options

it’s stellar value for

money and has some

great controllers

and dimmers.

From £13,ikea.com

NANOLEAF ESSENTIALS

A line of bargain-

priced bulbs and

light strips that

support Thread,

an upcoming protocol

a bit likeZigbee.

We love the faceted

look, but they’re only

available in E27 or

B22 fittings.

From £18,nanoleaf.me

LIFX

If you fancy a Hue

system but don’t want

to spend so much,

LIFX has a strong

product range and

integrates with your

favourite personal

digital assistant.

Philips still wins,

but only just.

From £19, lifx.com

NEST THERMOSTAT E

This cheaper

Nest model

doesn’t fit as much

information on its

screen and doesn’t

feel as premium,

but that’s it. Same

algorithm, same Alexa

and Google Home

compatibility.

£180, nest.com/uk

HIVE HEATING CONTROL

Imagine: British Gas

in ‘exciting’ shocker.

Hive is great: it’s

affordable, works

well, and is part of a

larger smart home

system that includes

bulbs and security

options. This is an

ideal way to jump in.

£179, hivehome.com

NEST LEARNING THERMOSTAT

Nest made smart

thermostats sexy

and this third-gen

model looks great.

It’s simple to use with

good Google Home

and Amazon Echo

integration, but a

tad pricey, especially

with installation.

£220, nest.com/uk

TADO SMART THERMOSTAT

Tado is very sociable:

it works with 95%

of the systems out

there. It’s flexible,

clever and supports

a wide range of

accessories too.

Price cuts have

made it even

more enticing.

£99, tado.com

SMART

SPEAKERS

SMART BULBS

SMART

THERMOSTATS

Find the lowest prices at:
t 3 .com/bestsmart

Find the lowest prices at:

t 3 .com/bestbulb

Find the lowest prices at:

t 3 .com/bestthermostat

AMAZON ECHO SHOW 10