Summer is officially over, and the cooler weather is a perfect excuse, if you needed one, to cosy up at home with a Lego kit. So what does Lego have new in for October? It's not quite as extensive a lineup as I've seen in previous months — and there's a disappointing lack of Spooky Season sets — but there are still some gems worth checking out.

One standout addition is the Santa Holiday Countdown; a jolly Mr Claus perched in a chimney with an adjustable countdown clock set into it. Listen, I know it's too early to be thinking about holiday season, but apparently Lego didn't get that memo — and I have a feeling this one is going to be popular. If you're an early celebrator, there's also a Buddy the Elf (complete with candy canes, one of the four main food groups) joining the lineup.

For UK residents and fellow Bristolians in particular, I'm very pleased to see Aardman making an overdue Lego debut. You can now swap plasticine for bricks and build your own Wallace & Gromit on motorbike and sidecar. And while this US lineup is sorely lacking in new kits for Halloween, Brits can at least have the option of a couple of new Wednesday themed sets. Have fun sorting out all those black and gray bricks.

Scroll down to explore all the new Lego sets for October.

New Lego for October: US kits

Jump down the new UK launches

New Lego for October: UK kits

Video doorbells used to be fixtures in sci-fi media as futuristic tech, but fast-forward to 2026, almost anyone can install one in their home for not much money or effort, with a lot of the best video doorbells making for an easy home security upgrade.

But if you still find those options a bit pricey, the Blink Video Doorbell System discounted to just AU$27.99 ahead of Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days sale next week, should certainly make for a no-brainer addition to your home.

In our Blink Video Doorbell review, we called it one of the easiest security systems to install, with two different mounting options to suit any household, and setting it up within the Blink mobile app with the included Sync Module Core (which serves as the central system hub) takes just three steps.

Our tester found that it has good image quality at 1440p resolution and 30 frames per second, stable video connection, a wide 150º horizontal field of view and battery life rated for up to two years via three AA lithium batteries.

There’s no included indoor chime, but you can pair this doorbell with a Blink Mini camera that’s sold separately (but you can also buy a bundle with two Blink Mini 2K+ cameras for AU$48) or connect via the Alexa app on your phone to an Amazon Fire Stick or Amazon Echo Show to let you see who’s at your door on your TV or smart display.

As mentioned above, lots of features are locked behind a subscription plan, including video recording, cloud video storage, video sharing, person and vehicle detection, even photo capture. The Blink Basic Plan applies to just one device for AU$4.95 per month or AU$49.95 per year, while Blink Plus lets you add an unlimited number of Blink devices for AU$15 per month or AU$150 per year. For most households, though, the former is a good starting point at a reasonable price, which is made even more enticing by the device’s whopping 72% price drop.

Want to explore your options? Amazon has also discounted more Blink video doorbell models and cameras here.

• Cybersecurity company OPSWAT found a login bypass and a crash bug in TP-Link's Tapo C200 cameras
• TP-Link has extended that to include its C120 offering too
• Anyone on the same network could get admin access, live video, and recordings without requiring the owner's credentials

Security researchers at OPSWAT have detailed two high-severity flaws in TP-Link's Tapo C200, a pan-and-tilt indoor camera listed on Amazon for $26.99 and sold as a baby monitor and pet camera.

The more serious issue is that someone on the same network can log in as the camera's administrator without the password, accessing the live feed and stored recordings.

At least one other bug, which OPSWAT rates as critical in the same disclosure but does not detail, has not been published.

A localized login that requires no authentication

The TP-Link Tapo C200, as we noted in previous coverage of the incident, isn't just another security camera that happens to be vulnerable; it is one of the most popular models on the market, clocking in at over 3,000 sales on Amazon alone.

The Tapo C120, in its current iteration, sells over 5,000 units monthly, even as the advisory notes that its V1 hardware version is currently compromised until users update the firmware on their devices.

Both SKUs have received firmware updates that patch the vulnerabilities (CVE-2026-15315 & CVE-2026-15316), which are assigned 'high' scores of 8.7 and 7.1, respectively. However, according to TP-Link, CVE-2026-15316 does not affect the C120 camera.

However, the former vulnerability is the more pressing of the two and, according to OPSWAT, is particularly problematic for users because of how the C120 and C200 cameras function.

Both run a local management interface over HTTPS and use a challenge-response login designed to prove a client knows the owner's password. Khoi Tran, a graduate fellow at OPSWAT, and his mentor, Thai Do of the company's Unit 515 team, found a second verification path in which, under certain conditions, a value the camera hands out during login can be sent back and accepted as a valid authentication response.

The result is an administrator session after a small number of requests, with no password, no existing session, and no requirements for the new 'owner'. As a result, access includes live video, stored footage, and configuration changes.

OPSWAT's researchers pointed out that a C200 used as a baby monitor would expose "live video, night vision, crying detection and two-way audio."

The second flaw, CVE-2026-15316, affects only the C200 and sits in its Wi-Fi onboarding code. Sending the camera an oversized chunk of encrypted Wi-Fi credential data can crash its HTTPS service or restart the device outright, cutting the owner off from management and monitoring until it recovers.

The attacks are somewhat limited in scope: users aiming to exploit such vulnerabilities would need to be on the same Wi-Fi network, or within a certain trusted ecosystem, to begin with.

For now, users upgrading to TP-Link's newest firmware, issued for both models, rectifies both issues, but there might already be another security patch in the works: OPSWAT also found "a critical vulnerability that could allow an attacker to fully compromise the camera," which could then serve as a foothold inside the network.

It is currently holding off on publishing any details about the vulnerability as it waits for TP-Link to issue a patch that rectifies the situation. Neither OPSWAT nor TP-Link, however, has provided a timeline for when the patch will be available to end users.

If there's one thing I've learnt in the last decade of testing some of the best robot vacuums in Australia is that not all of them are made equal. Some have excellent performance and software while others, despite a premium price tag, disappoint on testing.

However, as you can probably tell from my Ecovacs Deebot X8 Pro Omni review, I really liked how well this robovac performed in my tests. It wasn't perfect, but it cleaned and navigated well. Sadly, though, Ecovacs seems to have discontinued it, although stock is still available at retailers like JB Hi-Fi and The Good Guys, listed for AU$1,999.

It has now been replaced by the Ecovacs Deebot X8 Max Pro Omni (please note the 'Max' moniker here) which, despite a very similar name is a slightly different model. I much prefer its design aesthetic over the previous X8 Pro Omni — which was rather boxy — thanks to rounded corners that make the dock look sleeker.

Other than that, the newer model has slightly lower suction power (16,600Pa compared to 18,000Pa on the X8 Pro Omni), but it now boasts a better anti-tangle brush system and a faster rotating roller mop. It can also independently raise the side brush when necessary to avoid scattering.

These upgrades mean it has an RRP of AU$2,599 (AU$100 more than the X8 Pro Omni at launch) but, in better news, it's now on the receiving end of a massive 65% discount on Amazon — down to just AU$899.

The slightly lower suction power on the Deebot X8 Max Pro Omni is neither here nor there in real-world use. Robovacs with even lower suction can perform just as well as models with upwards of 20,000Pa of suction as pulling power is highly dependent on airflow through the device.

In my tests I found that the X8 Pro Omni was able to vacuum remarkably well, but I was even more impressed by its mopping — and this Max model has the exact same roller mop mechanism as the older bot. In fact, I find rollers to be the better cleaners than rotating dual mop pads for a couple of reasons: they scrape along edges better and are able to use more water and actually mop rather than (dry) wipe as circular mop pads are wont to do.

I had no issues with navigation or obstacle avoidance with the older model, and I'm confident that since nothing other than the suction has changed here, the Max will be a good investment for anyone keen on a capable set-and-forget robot vacuum.

I would even go so far as to say not to wait until the Amazon Prime Big Deal Days sale next week as I don't think this vacuum will drop lower in price — AU$899 is an all-tine low that we first saw in August this year, long after the main Prime Day sale in July.

• Lidl is relaunching its affordable dehumidifier on September 27
• It packs dehumidifying and drying settings, with a 2.1L removable tank
• As well as the appliance, you'll also get washable filters, a drainage hose, and garden hose adapter

Sometimes, supermarket appliances are more than enough to meet your tech needs, and Lidl's new dehumidifier is designed to help you keep on top of your laundry over the winter months.

Lidl’s Tronic dehumidifier will land in stores this week on September 27 as part of the supermarket’s home event. Compared to models from brands like Meaco, Lidl’s version is listed for £79.99, making it a budget-friendly appliance that arrives just in time for winter, when it gets harder to dry your laundry in a cost-effective way.

As well as the appliance itself, Lidl’s new dehumidifier comes with a 30cm drainage hose, a garden hose adapter (both of which are ideal for continuous operation), and removable and washable filters.

The dehumidifier itself has dimensions of 27 x 20.5 x 42.2cm (W x D x H), making it more compact than the Meaco 12L Low Energy Dehumidifier (24.8 x 32.5 x 48.5cm) for example. Lidl’s version also comes with four castors, so you can easily move it between rooms.

However, don’t underestimate it because of its sub-£100 price and compact size — it doesn’t compromise on features.

Packing two main programs, the appliance has distinct settings for dehumidifying and drying laundry, and can extract up to 10L of moisture over 24 hours. The only downside is that its removable water tank has a 2.1L capacity, so it’s not the biggest, and will require frequent emptying.

Despite this setback, the tank features a window allowing you to see how much water has been collected, with a warning signal that alerts you when the tank is full. If you somehow miss this alert, fear not, the dehumidifier has overflow protection to stop spills.

As the winter nights draw closer, many people are looking appliances to not only help dry clothes in the colder months, but dry clothes in the most cost-effective way. Dehumidifiers are just such an appliance.

If drying clothes at a lower cost takes priority over drying speed, we recommend compressor dehumidifiers, which draw damp air over a cold set of coils, allowing the water vapor to condense and is then collected in the tank. You can read more about which dehumidifier type is best for your needs by checking out our rundown of compressor and desiccant dehumidifiers.

Every now and then supermarkets such as Lidl and Aldi replenish their middle aisles with affordable alternatives to devices from premium brands. Aldi recently did this with its Dyson and Shark stick vacuum rival.

Likewise with Aldi’s Specialbuys, Lidl’s upcoming appliance restock will be limited, so if your plan is to use your tumble dryer as little as possible this winter, get down to your nearest Lidl store as soon as you can when the dehumidifier drops this weekend.

If your shed tends to sit unloved and unused during the darker months, adding power will make it much more useful year-round — whether you want to use a heater, add lights, charge power tools, or just keep your phone and laptop charged up. You don't have to go through the complicated process of laying an electricity cable, either; an off-grid solar generator means you can upgrade your shed in an afternoon.

To find out more, I spoke to Brady Sun, Head of Europe at solar generator company Jackery. He gave his top tips for powering your shed safely, starting with the key question: why go off-grid at all?

"Running 20-metre extension cords across damp lawns and patios creates trip and water-exposure risks, while trapping cold air inside your house through open windows," Sun explains "Installing a plug-and-play solar generator inside your shed creates a completely wireless, self-contained power hub — giving you mains-free electricity without the £1,000+ cost of professional electrician fees, armoured cabling, and trench digging."

Choose the right hardware

You can pick up a whole solar power kit, including panels, cables and battery, for well under £1,000 — and because the battery has UK plug sockets built-in, you can start using it immediately without making any modifications to your shed. But which kit should you choose? Sun says it depends on what you want to power.

"Before choosing your setup, calculate the total running and peak (startup) wattage of the devices you plan to run simultaneously," he says.

"If you’re running LED strip lighting, Wi-Fi extenders, laptops, or small battery chargers (~100W-300W load), a compact 500Wh to 1,000Wh unit (like [the] Jackery Explorer 1000 v2) provides quiet, reliable power.

"High-draw power and garden tools (table saws, lawnmowers etc) and electric heaters demand high continuous output and substantial surge capacity. Opt for a 2,000Wh+ expandable system (like the Jackery Explorer 2000 Plus v2) capable of handling 3,000W+ peak surges."

Set up a workbench charging hub

So you've got your solar panels and power station set up. Now you're ready to start tackling all those DIY jobs you've been putting off.

"Flat 18V tool batteries are a major bottleneck during autumn garden upgrades and DIY projects," says Sun. "Setting up a solar power station as a permanent workbench charging hub ensures you to continuously recharge cordless tool batteries right where you work. Paired with solar input, you can cycle through tool batteries continuously without stepping foot inside the house."

No more excuses — you can now fix those broken fence panels and trim that hedge without worrying about your tools running out of juice. It'll be great for a leaf-blower as well.

Optimise solar input

As the days get shorter, positioning your solar panels correctly is particularly important. Sun advises angling foldable solar panels at 30-45 degrees, facing south, to catch lower autumn sun trajectories.

"Choose a power station that supports pass-through charging," he adds. "This allows solar panels to feed power into the battery while the battery simultaneously powers shed lights or laptops."

You should also bear in mind the wet and cold weather that's just around the corner. "Feed solar cables through a rubber grommet or sealed cable port in the shed wall to maintain weatherproofing," Sun recommends.

Protect your battery

Finally, remember to take care of your battery in an unheated shed, which will experience moisture buildup and sharp temperature drops during autumn and winter nights.

"Always place your power station on a raised shelf, workbench, or cabinet rather than directly on cold concrete or wooden shed floors to protect it from dampness and dust," says Sun.

You should also pay attention to cold-weather charging limits. "Lithium (LiFePO4) batteries perform best when charged above 0°," Sun adds. "During freezing winter spells, insulate your setup or bring the battery unit indoors overnight to maintain optimal charging efficiency."

Talk to anyone about Dyson, and you can be certain that pricing will come up before long. It's not unjustified: this is the brand that gave us a $399 (£299 / AU$549) hair dryer, back in 2016 when that kind of price tag was unfathomable for such a product. It's the brand whose current flagship stick vacuum costs $979.99 (£749.99 / AU$1,349). And, most recently, it's a brand that unveiled an electric toothbrush that costs $499.99 (£419.99 / AU$799).

I'm not surprised, therefore, that at a roundtable I attended at the recent Dyson Unpacked launch event, the conversion ended up turning to pricing. Nor was I surprised to hear that the roundtable guest of honor, Jake Dyson — son of brand founder James and company Chief Engineer — had plenty to say on the subject.

[To avoid confusion, throughout this feature I'll use 'Jake' to mean the person, and 'Dyson' to refer to the brand.]

"If you want the best, you have to pay," he begins. "If you want the best engineering, you have to pay. If you want all the features."

If you move past the price tag, Dyson's products often really do achieve something different. That hair dryer's unusual design breathed new life into a market that had been stagnant for years. That flagship stick vacuum can sense exactly the size and number of particles it's sucking up and adjusts its suction in response. And the toothbrush? It has an in-built camera and can detect gaps between your teeth, into which it'll shoot mouthwash.

So the price tag might not be on a par with that of competitor products, but neither are the products.

"We're not interested in doing the cheapest. At all. We want to introduce new technology and do new things. That's what we're interested in," continues Jake. "We're also not afraid to have the most expensive. Because, unfortunately, doing things like this, you can't do cheaply."

He's also, frankly, sick of the constant discussions about it (of which I'm aware this article is a part). "We get quite a lot in America where it's just attacks on price every single time we launch a product," he says. I can sense the frustration from spending months and years developing a product, only for the headlines to be dominated by comments about the price."

He continues: "They've completely missed the fact that… look at what it's doing for you." He gestures to the CameraJet, which is the hero launch from the event. "Look at the advance in oral care. And, you know, we can't make things cheaply because they have high-tech technology in them. And they perform as well as they do."

What is unfortunate about this particular example is that following our roundtable discussion, reports started rolling in from early customers that the CameraJet wasn't performing well. In fact, in many cases, it was refusing to perform at all. I've discussed that in more detail in a separate article, and Dyson is adamant it's an isolated issue with a handful of specific batches of products, rather than a design fault.

It's enough here to state that not every product is going to be a slam-dunk. I've tested a ton of different Dyson products and there are innovations I love, and innovations I don't rate at all, but my overriding feeling is that I'm pleased that someone is out there changing things up. You don't have to buy it, after all.

Combatting copycats

Imitation might be the sincerest form of flattery, but Jake is less than enamored with the copycat products that have a habit of following any successful Dyson launch.

"We obviously patent areas of the product, if we can patent them, to prevent that. But we do that in every product, and they always find a way," he says. "And they find a way, but the product isn't as good. They say that it is, but it isn't."

The brand similarly guards against third-party accessories being subbed in. There are chips in the brush heads that mean the CameraJet will detect if a non-Dyson head is attached — just as the vacuums will know if you've added a fake battery, and the hair stylers know if you've picked up a budget attachment pack on Amazon. That kind of thing does start to sting a little, because Dyson accessories tend to come with their own hefty price tag. The toothbrush heads are $29.99 / £25 / AU$49 for a pack of two, for example.

The engineering flair is one thing, but Dyson products tend to also have a recognizable aesthetic, and part of that is the colors. Some of them have a personal connection, says Jake: "This blue [on the toothbrush] is inspired by Yves Klein, who's an artist that my father really likes. He wasn't allowed to use the same blue, but we created our own. And the first vacuum cleaners have purple in them, because of the lavender from the south of France, which is something he loved as well."

He continues: "So it's about, you know, references, but [also] about art, bringing that creativity into the product, and also recognizing it as a Dyson product."

Doubling up

Blazing new trails inevitably requires a lot of effort and time (and therefore money). Dyson is also keen to be as efficient as possible. "We can make one thing and use it across multiple products," says Jake. "You try not to do things twice that take an awful long time and a lot of investment. You try and use it again in another product."

He talks about certain innovations the brand will seek to "platform". So a version of the shrunk-down motor and heater that's used in the Airwrap also features in the Supersonic r hair dryer, and now also in Dyson's new Airsmooth hot brush.

Similarly, the battery platform developed for the PencilVac also shows up in the PencilWash. "Once we've done the electronics and the management system for the batteries, which is an expensive development, we can all use the same thing in multiple [products]. So platforming is quite important," he adds.

The process for this happens naturally. "You cross-pollinate, you join the dots — 'If we put that with that, we could do this'," he shares. "You're thinking about other areas of the home, things people use every day… As a company, we're getting much better at predicting that before we do it."

He continues: "It makes us realize there are other technologies we need to develop ourselves — which we are, behind the scenes — to enable us to go into those new areas and do something better than anyone else."

So we won't expect Dyson's pace of innovation to slow any time soon, then — but neither should we expect prices to drop. It's a strategy that has paid off so far. As Jake recalls, of the brand's decision to launch its $400 Supersonic when you could get a hairdryer for $40: "It didn't stop anyone buying them."

• New and improved solar panel materials have been analyzed
• Two key physics effects combine to create the improvements
• It could help panels break through the 33% energy conversion rate

There's a long-standing physics theory that suggests solar panels will only ever be able to convert a maximum of 33% of the sunlight that comes their way, but a team from the University of Groningen in the Netherlands has detailed a way to harvest extra energy from 'hot' electrons that could push through this limit.

Solar panels work by using the photons from sunshine to jump-start electrons. With the most energetic photons, the result is super-charged, so-called hot electrons, that have the potential to generate significantly more electricity — but the problem is they cool down too quickly and lose the energy as heat before it can be captured.

This new research builds on previous studies reporting a promising new tin-based solar panel material. The material has demonstrated it can keep the heat from hot electrons trapped for around 1,000 times longer — but there have been competing ideas about the mechanism making that possible.

Trying to clarify what was going on, though a series of computer simulations and experimental measurements, was the purpose of the new research: understanding the material's key properties will help scientists build on the potential of the material and potentially scale it up into something that's viable commercially.

Ultra-long cooling

The analysis carried out by the researchers determined that there were two different actions at work. First, an effect called a hot phonon bottleneck creates a heat trap: as the environment around the buzzing electrons warms up so quickly, the electrons end up reabsorbing the thermal energy again, keeping their heat for longer.

Second, what's known as the Burstein-Moss effect creates an atomic traffic jam. As hot electrons cool, they quickly fill up the lowest available energy states in the material, which means other hot electrons can't lose their heat as quickly — it's like an airplane filling up from the front, with passengers arriving later having to walk all the way to the back.

These two effects were already known about, but now we know they're the reason that these special solar panel materials work — and that in combination they provide the extended hot electron cooling that might help to nudge future solar panels above that crucial 33% ceiling, and create clean energy more efficiently.

"It is the simultaneous satisfaction of these electronic, phononic, and chemical criteria, operating under high-injection conditions, that enables the ultra-long cooling times necessary for practical devices," write the researchers in their published paper, which appears in the journal ACS Energy Letters.

IKEA is really making a name for itself in smart home tech. Its mobile app is clear and easy to navigate, its selection of smart switches (which my colleague Ruth Hamilton called "the understated hit of IKEA's new gadget range") are versatile and cheap, and its stylish smart lamps made a real splash at this year's CES technology show.

But what if you don't want to be limited to IKEA's own app? What if you like IKEA's lights, but already have a Philips Hue setup, or want to incorporate lights and devices from other brands as well?

Thankfully, there are lots of options to explore, from simple software solutions to crafty hardware hacks. Here are four ways to get all your smart lights to play along nicely.

1. Use the Matter standard

Last week, IKEA launched a new driver for its integrated lights (including the type of strips and spots you would install in cupboards and cabinets) that not only lets you control them remotely via the IKEA Home app, but is also compatible with the Matter smart home standard. That means you can combine these integrated lights into a larger smart home setup.

You can then control them using a Matter-compatible smart speaker, set a schedule, dim them, and much more. You aren't limited to IKEA's integrated lights, either. The brand also offers other Matter-compatible lights, including the color-shifting, donut-shaped Varmblixt, and Kajplats bulbs — and you can throw in lights from other brands like Nanoleaf, Govee, and (of course) Philips Hue, too.

But what if you don't want to use the Matter standard? What if you already have a Philips Hue setup and want to continue using the Hue app to control all your lights?

2. Connect everything to your Hue Bridge

IKEA smart lights (such as the Varmblixt and Kajplats) support Zigbee Light Link, which is the same wireless protocol used by Philips Hue bulbs. You can therefore connect your IKEA lights directly to a Philips Hue Bridge by following these instructions:

1. Ensure your IKEA smart light has software version 1.2.x or later
2. Keep the IKEA smart light close to the Philips Hue Bridge
3. Search for new devices in the Philips Hue app
4. Do a factory reset of the smart light by toggling the main switch six times

Connecting your IKEA smart lights this way will let you control their basic functions through the Hue app, set schedules, add them to groups, and trigger them with Hue sensors and switches.

However, you won't get the same degree of control you would through a native Hue smart light. You won't be able to dim your IKEA lights using a Hue Tap Dial switch, for example, or incorporate them into a Philips Hue Play entertainment setup. For that, you'll need to get more creative.

3. Try a hardware hack

If you like the look of an IKEA smart light, but want the full functionality of Philips Hue and are feeling brave, you could try a crafty hardware hack.

The Varmblixt lamp is a particularly popular choice for smart lighting DIYers, who have discovered that its frosted glass case is ideal for concealing a Philips Hue light strip. Reddit user K1uppy described the process of opening the IKEA lamp, removing its innards, and replacing them with a coiled Hue strip.

It's an interesting idea, and another Redditor's experiment with a non-Hue LED strip demonstrates how dramatic the effect could be with a gradient.

However, you should remember that a coiled light strip could overheat, damaging the LEDs.

4. Pick the right lamps

A safer (though less imaginative) alternative is to use Hue bulbs with IKEA lamps designed for standard light bulbs. Look out for ones that will diffuse light, such as the Fado table lamp, the ruffled Vindkast, or the striking multi-bulb Simrishamn. You can use the Philips Hue app to create a 'group' of these three bulbs, and control them together or apply a scene so they co-ordinate for an interesting effect.

There are Philips Hue bulbs for virtually all light fixtures, so you will be able to find one that fits your chosen IKEA lamp. Reddit users have suggested dialing down the brightness of your Hue bulbs to around 50% to create soft ambient lighting. You'll find a collection of suitable IKEA pendant, table, and floor lamps below.

Withings BodyScan 2 Body Scale: One minute review

Smart scales measure weight, body fat, muscle mass, and a whole host of other metrics through a collection of electrodes at the soles of your feet. The best smart scales are perfect for fitness enthusiasts, family health monitoring, and those who want to track changes to their body over time, but Withings wants to push the boundaries of what is possible in the smart scale category. Not satisfied with simple measurements like the ones listed above, Withings has launched the BodyScan 2, and it represents a significant step in innovation.

According to Withings, the BodyScan 2 is “the world's first longevity station. It is the only consumer device that transforms your daily weigh-in into a complete cardiometabolic assessment, revealing whether your lifestyle is adding or taking years off your healthy life.” This scale is all about trends over time and those who care about optimizing their health now, for the reward of future gains.

Building on the original BodyScan scale, version two introduces a number of new features and design changes. The display has been moved from the base to the handlebar, offering a more pleasing user experience. New features include SpO2 measurements, hypertension screening, heart and ‘vascular age’ estimations, and reporting on the risk of unstable glycaemia.

All of these improvements make the scale $200 / £100 more expensive than the original. That’s a significant increase given that even the most premium offerings from most other brands cost less than half the price, but I suppose electronics in all categories have been getting more expensive this year with the components crisis. And if you want access to the complete set of features, then you’ll have to part ways with $9.95 / £8.95 per month for a Withings+ subscription, making this a premium-only, money-no-object smart scale option.

That said, the BodyScan 2 offers the very best in features and build quality. The scale is able to track over 40 biomarkers and, through very clever processing, can report heart findings that no other scale is capable of. It also boasts a robust and premium build with the chassis being made from reinforced aluminum.

Withings has taken some of the most innovative hardware found in the best smartwatches and best smart rings and combined it with traditional smart scale technology. The result is one of the most advanced smart scales on the consumer market.

Withings BodyScan 2 Body Scale: Specifications

Withings BodyScan 2 Body Scale: Price and availability

• $599.95 USD / £449.95 GBP / $895 AUS
• The specs justify the high cost
• More affordable alternatives exist

The BodyScan 2 is one of the most expensive scales on the market, period. At $599.95 / £449.95 / $$895 AUS, the scale is marketed at only the most serious of users who have the disposable income to match their health goals.

Unfortunately, the costs don’t end there. If you’d like to unlock the premium in-app experience, Withings+, then you’ll have to part with a further $9.95 / £8.95 per month. The membership provides clinical experts at your disposal, an AI health assistant to convert your history into future progress, and a long-term assessment of your aging.

The spec of the BodyScan 2 sets it apart from the rest of the competition. If you turn to the likes of RunStar, then you’ll find their most premium smart scale, the 8E Ultra, costing less than half the price of the BodyScan 2. This shows that unless you need features to measure and estimate heart age, vascular age, and risk of unstable glycaemia and hypertension, then you’ll be able to save a lot of money by going for one of the other options on our best smart scales list.

• Value score 4.5/5

Withings BodyScan 2 Body Scale: Design

• High-resolution LCD screen
• ITO Glass Platform
• Robust and durable

The BodyScan 2 exudes the premium build quality that you’d expect given its eye-watering price tag. The aesthetic is smart, professional, and well thought through. With a reinforced aluminum chassis, you also won’t have many concerns should it be dropped on a hard tiled floor or knocked against a sink pedestal.

At the heart of the experience is a 640 x 172px color LCD screen, which is bright, vibrant, and clear. With it, users can quickly and easily track their progress without even needing to launch the Withings app. This is neatly located in the retractable handle, if you choose to use it, so your data will be closer to your eye and more easily read.

The base is covered with a large-format glass platform that contains eight integrated Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) electrodes for high-precision accuracy and support for all foot sizes and up to 200 kg / 440 lb maximum capacity. The base features a black and blue hued striped pattern, which elevates the smart scale beyond looking like a glass slab.

Extruding out of the base is the smart retractable handle with an automatic locking mechanism. It works smoothly and reliably locks into position, and its length means it’ll cater to even the tallest of users. Withings has also integrated two buttons into the handle to allow for easy operation of the unit.

As well as housing the color screen, the handle comprises four stainless steel electrodes to take the total number across the scale up to 12. Through these sensors, the BodyScan 2 is capable of performing cardiometabolic assessments and a whole-body analysis.

• Design Score: 5/5

Withings BodyScan 2 Body Scale: Features

• Hypertension notifications
• Blood oxygen level measurements
• Heart age predictions

The BodyScan 2 represents a significant advancement in body tracking for the consumer market. It does, of course, continue to carry out the basics admirably, but beyond that, the scale introduces new measurements and features that have never been seen before in a home device. These features include hypertension, heart age, and blood oxygen level, with glucose resilience tracking coming soon.

First up, hypertension notifications. By analyzing patterns in the data collected by the BodyScan 2, Withings is able to detect signs associated with hypertension. The presence of these patterns is not a medical assessment that hypertension is present but rather the reporting of it as a heightened possibility, just like the best Apple Watches. If it detects a pattern, you’ll receive a notification through the Withings app.

Then there’s the heart and vascular age predictors, which are unlocked with a Withings+ membership. According to Withings, this is an indicator of the “heart's mechanical efficiency, based on how quickly your heart reacts to each beat and how effectively it pumps blood.”

The final new feature to mention is blood oxygen tracking, which is achieved through a multi-wave PPG sensor built into the handle. Through this infrared technology, the smart scale measures SpO2 in the same way as the best smartwatches. These three features provide a complete cardiometabolic assessment, which sets the BodyScan 2 apart from the competition.

• Features Score: 5/5

Withings BodyScan 2 Body Scale: Performance

• Solid accuracy for basic metrics
• Variable vascular age results
• Cluttered Withings app experience

To provide a comparison set of measurements, I compared the BodyScan 2 with the RunStar 8E Pro. Both brands claim over 98.5% DEXA validation and deliver a similar set of metrics, although the BodyScan 2 offers the most.

Let’s start with the basics. The BodyScan 2 recorded my weight at 61.23kg and BMI at 18.2 compared to 61.4 and 19 on the RunStar. Comparative measurements continued across muscle rate, subcutaneous fat, visceral fat, base metabolism, and a number of other fat and mass metrics.

All readings are quickly available on the Withings app, which allows for deeper interrogation and tracking over time. Body composition data is displayed on a 3D graphic, which is engaging. I did, however, find it difficult to navigate around the Withings app with the sheer amount of data and features causing the interface to feel cluttered.

As accurate as the BodyScan 2 is for basic measurements, it is not these metrics that would cause someone to purchase a BodyScan 2. I was much more interested in the new features, including blood oxygen level measurements and heart age predictions. To test SpO2 readings, I compared it to my Garmin Tactix 8 and found that its readings were similar and consistent.

Vascular age reporting was less reliable. The first time I measured it, the app told me that my vascular age was four years older than my actual age. As you can imagine, that was a little bit of a shock. I measured it a week later, at a similar time of the day, and Withings reported only a one-year difference from my actual age. That’s a significant difference in a short space of time, which makes it difficult to entirely rely upon the findings and decide whether health changes are required.

Offering cardiometabolic measurements and estimations via a smart scale puts the BodyScan 2 at the forefront of the industry. They have introduced tech that has never before been seen in a smart scale, and the level of innovation is truly impressive. That said, I think we’re a few iterations off, seeing a smart scale delivering the necessary accuracy to make their estimations accurate enough to be relied upon to be highly accurate within some newer metrics, only a general trend indication.

• Performance score: 4.5/5

Withings BodyScan 2 Body Scale: Scorecard

RunStar 4E Body Scale: Should I buy?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Also consider

How I tested

My family (two adults and children) used the BodyScan 2 scale for several weeks. Having several family members made it possible to try out the multi-profile functionality, but most of the time I spent testing the scale using myself as a subject. I focused in on some of the new features that set the BodyScan 2 apart, such as vascular age and SpO2. Having the scale located in a busy family bathroom enabled me to determine the robustness and durability of the device.

First reviewed: September 2026

• Scientists have developed solar panels that can work up to 10 meters underwater
• The panels can capture up to 324 mWh of energy at that depth
• Each device is expected to last up to five and a half years at a time

A lot of devices are deployed underwater for research and exploration purposes, but powering them all can prove to be difficult, especially if they’re under the waves for a considerable period of time. A new scientific paper, however, has shown that solar panels can be successfully used at depths of up to 10 meters, potentially presenting a new way to keep underwater tech powered up and ready for action.

The paper was published in the Joule periodical and accompanied by a press release explaining its advances. The research was conducted by a team of scientists from Yunnan University in China, who said that a series of solar cells placed 32 feet (10 meters) below the water’s surface in the South China Sea were able to collect enough energy to power up a set of lithium-ion batteries in two hours.

The cells were made from lead halide perovskite with a polymer called polyhexamethylene guanidine hydrochloride added into the mix. This additive helped to enhance the effectiveness of the panels.

According to Wen-Hua Zhang of Yunnan University, “Very few studies have been reported on underwater solar cells, and all of them are focused on very shallow water depths of only two meters or less, a scenario far from catering for requirements of practical application.”

“This work presents the first functional validation of submerged solar cells practically operating at a water depth of up to about 10 meters, greatly broadening their application scope,” Zhang added. The researchers stated that each cell could be deployed for around five and a half years at a time.

The panels captured 1,416 milliwatt-hours (mWh) of electricity at a depth of two meters. This decreased to 752 mWh at six meters and 324 mWh at ten meters. During separate lab testing, the solar panels had a power conversion efficiency of just under 35%.

Paving the way

The idea behind this research is that underwater solar panels could be used to power devices such as sensors, cameras, communications systems, and more.

Many of these objects are stationary for much of the time, so nearby solar cells could help keep them topped up and working without necessarily requiring extensive human intervention.

One question that remains unanswered is how exactly solar panels like this would interact with their environment. For example, it’s likely that they would accumulate biomatter that could hinder their operation, potentially requiring regular cleaning in order to remain fully functional. After all, the sunlight that will power these cells could also promote the growth of plants and animals — a process known as biofouling.

Still, the research seems to have potential. As the authors noted, “This work paves the way for the practical deployment of perovskite photovoltaics in underwater environments, offering a promising route toward self-sustained marine energy systems and autonomous underwater devices.”

It's time for TechRadar's annual tech awards, and this year we're doing it differently. For the first time, we have a complete set of categories where the winners are chosen 100% by you, the TechRadar readers.

The TechRadar Readers' Choice Awards 2026 comprises nearly 100 categories, but we know that not everyone is interested in voting in every one, so on this page you can vote in just our Fitness & Home Tech categories.

These include smartwatches, fitness trackers, smart gym equipment, air fryers, smart lighting and home security. You can vote in the survey just below — or follow the links to see other specific categories, or to vote on the full list instead.

The shortlists were chosen by TechRadar's editors based on the best products we've tested or the most popular products of the year. You'll need to vote before 00:01am PST / 03:01am EST / 08:01am BST on Wednesday October 7th 2026 for it to be counted.

• All categories
• Phones & Cameras
• Computing & Gaming
• TV & Audio

Once the deadline has passed at 00:01am PST / 03:01am EST / 08:01am BST on Wednesday October 7th 2026, we'll tally your votes to find the winners in each category.

We'll announce the winners in our big TechRadar Awards 2026 Week, starting Monday October 19th. We'll reveal the winners of the Reader's Choice Awards, as well as the winners of our TechRadar Product of the Year Awards, which are chosen solely by our expert judges.

How many products will do the double? We'll be curious to see — but right now, all you can do is vote for what you think should win, so vote away!