GADGET GURU
Want to work smarter, not harder at home? From virtual personal assistants, to having your very own digital doorman, there’s a long list of innovative gadgets just waiting to help out around the house. Tech expert Lucy Hedges has picked out her top five…
1 WIZ SMART LIGHTING
Physically flicking the light switch on and off feels outdated when you can do it by prodding your smartphone, or telling a digital assistant to do it. Capable of outputting millions of colours, smart lights can transform your interior in seconds. The brilliant thing about WiZ’s LED bulbs, light strips and lamps is that they rely on Wi-Fi, without needing a separate hub. So you can easily set schedules, whether you’re at home or out and about, create scenes, such as dimmed lighting for film night, and even set the lights to come on when they detect motion. From £8.98, wizconnected.com
2 AMAZON ECHO 15
Designed to cling onto your wall (stand optional), this 15.6 inch Alexa-powered hub can remind you of incoming calendar appointments, create shopping lists, make video calls, walk you through recipes, deliver the latest headlines and keep you entertained through Netflix, YouTube and more. Customisable widgets allow you to do things like leave messages for family and flatmates and track Amazon packages. You can even register faces for personalised information, like individual calendars, hook it up to your Ring Doorbell and control Alexa-compatible smart home devices. £269.99, amazon.co.uk
3 HUSQVARNA ASPIRE R4 AUTOMOWER
You can’t help but feel unapologetically smug knowing this automated robomower is tending to your overgrown grass, while you remain horizontal on the sofa. Designed for lawns up to 400 square metres, it navigates narrow areas, small slopes and uneven terrain, before obediently returning to its charging station on completion. Expect phone-controlled smarts through the Automaker Connect app, like adjusting cutting height and mowing schedules, as well as voice compatibility via Amazon Alexa or Google Home. It can even modify its cutting schedule based on the weather, mowing less, for example, when it�
