If you’ve not heard of layered lighting, you’re in for a treat. Sure, a single ceiling fixture is the easiest way to illuminate a room, but adding a variety of light sources in different places in a room — a technique known as layered lighting — can completely change the way your home looks and feels, making it more inviting and more practical, without the need to redecorate.

To find out why layered lighting is worth trying, and how you to get started, I spoke experts from lighting companies Paulmann, Govee, and Philips Hue . Hue and Govee are two of the biggest names in smart lights, while German company Paulmann produces a range of rechargeable lights that attach to backplates mounted on the wall with screws or adhesive — ideal if you rent or don’t want to get involved with wiring.

“We believe lighting should do more than simply illuminate a room,” explains Jerry Lin, Product Manager at Govee. “A well-designed environment combines different layers of light to create depth, balance and atmosphere, helping people adapt their spaces for any moment of the day.”

Tom Amelung, Junior Product Manager at Paulmann Licht, agrees that lighting is about much more than just function. “It shapes mood, enhances texture and brings colors to life,” he says. “Without a considered lighting scheme, even the most beautifully designed interior can feel flat and uninspiring. When thoughtfully layered, however, lighting creates depth, adds warmth and brings balance and harmony to a room.”

Think beyond the ceiling

So what are the layers that you should be thinking about? “At its core, layered lighting is about combining four key types of light: ambient, task, accent and decorative, so that they work together seamlessly,” explains Philips Hue’s spokesperson. “The result is a home that not only meets practical lighting needs, but one that also adapts effortlessly to different activities, moods and times of day.

Your central ceiling light can be part of that mix, but you need to think beyond it. “Introducing table lamps, floor lamps, wall lights or light strips adds dimension, highlights architectural features and furnishings, and enhances the richness of colors and textures throughout the room,” adds Hue’s lighting expert.

Amelung suggests trying spotlights as well, thinking outside of the standard grid arrangement that you might already have in your bathroom or kitchen. “A uniform grid of spotlights might feel like the easy option, but it often creates flat, overly bright spaces,” he says. “Instead, position lights based on how the room is used.”

That doesn’t mean placing lights directly above seating, though — lights placed directly over your sofa can be harsh and uncomfortable when you’re trying to relax. The same is true in a bedroom, where softer lighting is a better option to avoid making the space feel clinical.

“Place lights above worktops, not behind you, to avoid casting shadows while cooking,” adds Amelung. “Directional options, such as Paulmann’s directional recessed and spotlight options, are ideal for targeting key areas.”

Smart ideas

Smart lights are particularly effective for layering thanks to their versatility. Using connected light fittings lets you transform a space throughout the day without moving anything around. Want to use a corner of your living room as a study during work hours, then use the whole space for relaxing in the evening? With smart lights you can do exactly that, helping delineate spaces that serve multiple purposes.

“One of the greatest advantages of smart lighting is its ability to transform a space throughout the day without requiring any changes to the room’s layout,” says Philips Hue’s spokesperson. “Instead of moving lamps, changing bulbs or adjusting fixtures manually, smart lighting allows you to easily adapt brightness, color temperature and ambience to suit different activities and moods.”

Your home — and the way you use it — is unique, and smart lights let you personalize your layered lighting setup to suit the way you live.

“With intelligent features such as Govee DaySync, your lighting can automatically adjust its temperature and brightness to match your daily routine, shifting naturally from morning to evening,” says Govee’s Jerry Lin. “At the same time, advanced color management systems such as Govee LuminBlend+ let you explore more lighting experiences, from subtle pastel tones to immersive ambient scenes to strike the perfect mood every time.”

Ultimately, smart lighting gives people the flexibility to create spaces that feel more connected to the way they live,” says Lin.

Go for it!

Are you feeling inspired? I asked Philips Hue where I should start if I want to begin experimenting with layered lighting tonight.

“When layering a room, the use cases could be many,” said Hue’s spokesperson. “Say, for example, in a bedroom – a layered set-up might look like an overhead fixture for clarity, bedside lamps for reading, soft accent lights for atmosphere, and hidden strip lights that trace architectural lines.

“Once everything is dimmed, the room feels cohesive rather than cluttered, with each source playing a distinct role.”

Ready to go? Each expert has suggested four products to help you begin experimenting with layered lighting, including recessed spotlights, table lamps, floor lamps, smart ceiling lights, and gradient light strips. Want even more inspiration? Take a look at our complete guide to the best smart lights.

Lights for layering

RunStar 4E Body Scale: One minute review

The RunStar 4E is an affordable smart scale that costs little more than a standard set of electrical scales. Considering it measures more than 20 different body composition metrics, the low price becomes even more impressive. As you’d expect at this price, there are limitations though, with the inability to measure composition accurately (fat-to-muscle ratios and so on) being the most glaring one.

Despite these shortcomings, everything, from app setup to using the scales, is smooth, straightforward, and wonderfully intuitive. Connecting the scales to the companion app is quick and easy thanks to a robust Bluetooth signal, and the option to create multiple users within the app is a nice touch for a family of my size and stage.

The weight measurement consistently measured around 0.4% more than the pricier RunStar 8E SmartScan Pro, which isn’t a massive deviation. For almost all the other measurements, the RunStar 4E adopts a bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) measuring method through four metal sensors located on the top panel of the scale.

BMI measurements were almost identical every single time compared to the 8E SmartScan Pro (probably because it's a mathematical calculation not dependent on the electrodes), but almost all other composition measurements offered up a deviation of between 3 and 30%. For these reasons, it’s not likely to make it into our best smart scales guide. That said, for the price, the RunStar 4E is a respectable set of scales for weight and quick BMI calculation.

RunStar 4E Body Scale: Specifications

RunStar 4E Body Scale: Price and availability

• $33.54 / £31.00
• Not available in Australia
• Budget-friendly smart scale

At $33.54 USD / £31.00 GBP, the RunStar 4E Body Scale is incredibly affordable as far as smart scales go. It might lack full body measurements for fat loss and fitness and muscle gain, but for that pleasure you’ll have to part with a lot more money and shoot for something like the RunStar 8E SmartScan Pro, Withings Body Scan series, or Wyze Scale X.

A comparable option in terms of price and features would be the Vitafit Smart Bathroom Scale, which scored a respectable four stars in our testing. Positives included the easy connection, extremely fast results, and the comprehensive app. Our reviewer had some concerns over accuracy, but overall it’s a solid choice.

The scales are FSA and HSA eligible, which means US users are able to use them in conjunction with designating pre-tax money to be taken from pay and put towards paying medical expenses.

• Value score 4.5/5

RunStar 4E Body Scale: Design

• LCD display with color graphics
• Compact and lightweight design
• Powered by 3x AAA batteries

At the heart of the RunStar 4E is a bright LCD display that provides an easy-to-access readout of six metrics: weight, body fat, BMI, muscle mass, body water, and bone mass. The display cycles through these with a few seconds given over to each stat. Unfortunately there’s no way to move to a specific metric using on-device controls, although the full list is available in the accompanying app.

At 11.02 x 11.02 x 0.78 inches and 3.17 pounds, the smart scale is both compact and lightweight. As a result, finding a suitable spot for it in a bathroom or bedroom shouldn’t be a problem. It can also be easily stowed on its side in a cupboard while not in use.

The scale is covered in 6mm tempered glass, which protects against scratches and cracks, neither of which I suffered despite my children doing their accidental best to inflict a dent or two. Underneath you’ll find four anti-slip silicone feet.

Quick and effortless connectivity is via Bluetooth, and power is delivered courtesy of three AAA batteries. USB-C charging would have been better for the environment, but with minimal power required, I don’t envisage getting through too many batteries.

• Design Score: 4/5

RunStar 4E Body Scale: Features

• 22 reportable metrics including weight, BMI, and muscle mass
• App supports multiple users

The RunStar 4E boasts an impressive feature set for such an affordable scale, or at least it would be if the extras were more impressive. At its core, the scale is capable of measuring over 20 metrics, including weight, BMI, body fat percentage, body mass, muscle mass, body water rate, bone mass, and visceral fat. Six of these are visible on the smart scale itself, while the full set is reported in the Starfit RunStar app.

To accommodate families, the Starfit app enables users to set up multiple profiles, one for each family member. By entering the height and target weight of each person, the app is able to provide more accurate and informed reporting. The app also tracks measurements over time and plots them on a chart for trend analysis.

• Features Score: 4/5

RunStar 4E Body Scale: Performance

• Quick results on-device and in-app
• Accurate weight, BMI, and metabolic age
• Some inaccuracies consistently reported

The first thing to note is that the RunStar 4E is quick. In a matter of seconds the scale is able to measure over 20 different body composition metrics and display them instantly in the app. There’s no waiting around for calculations to be made and zero lag when the display is cycling through the six core metrics.

Weight, as you’d expect, is measured prior to all the body composition elements. Having measured myself hundreds of times, I found that the 4E regularly mismeasured my weight by around 0.4% compared to the RunStar 8E SmartScan Pro and, indeed, my rudimentary pair of digital weight scales. It would be unfair to judge the scales too harshly for this small deviation, especially given the price.

According to research published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research, one study conducted on smart scales shows a median margin of error of around 0.3kgs, so I can forgive it some small deviation. That said, if you’re requiring absolute accuracy, you’ll need to look elsewhere.

BMI was also consistently measured more or less accurately, with deviations of only 0.5%. If you’re only concerned with quick measurements such as weight and BMI, then the RunStar 4E won’t cause you any problems.

Getting into the specifics, musculoskeletal-related measurements using BIA include muscle, muscle mass, and skeletal muscle rates. The first two measured around a 3% deviation from the 8E SmartScan Pro, but it was the skeletal muscle rate which was most concerning, measuring a deviation of nearly 15%.

Unfortunately variable results continue with fat-related metrics. Compared to the SmartScan Pro, body fat percentage, subcutaneous fat, and body fat mass all reported a massive 30% deviation.

Despite comparably poor results on some metrics, it’s worth remembering that most of these are specialized measurements, and to expect too much from a smart scale that costs $33.54 / £31.00 might be a little unreasonable.

That said, it would be preferable for consumers if smart scale manufacturers would only include metrics that they could report on accurately. The RunStar 4E also measures consistently with itself, which means it can still be trusted as a weight loss tool assuming you allow for the margin of error.

• Performance score: 3.5/5

RunStar 4E 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 three children) has been using the RunStar 4E for three months. We’ve used it to measure and track all types of metrics, including weight, BMI, and muscle mass. I carried out comparison tests with the more premium RunStar 8E SmartScan Pro. In addition, I’ve used every feature of the app to give the smart scales a thorough testing.

First reviewed: July 2026

The news that Amazon’s smarter AI assistant, Alexa+, is finally making its way to Australia could well be exciting news for many Aussies. After all, we’ve had to wait a fair amount of time for the upgraded digital assistant, as it launched in the US way back in February 2025, and arrived on UK shores in March of this year.

If you’re already embedded in Amazon’s ecosystem, whether that be through ownership of Echo smart speakers and displays or Ring home security cameras, you’d be forgiven for thinking Alexa+ might never make it Down Under. If so, you may have never felt the need to upgrade your various Amazon devices to newer generations.

Now with the official rollout of Alexa+ in Australia, that could mean your devices aren’t compatible. In truth, the list of incompatible devices is relatively short (which I have to say is quite remarkable and deserves brownie points for Amazon), but regardless, the latest generation Alexa-enabled devices will offer the best Alexa+ experience.

So, if you want to add Alexa+ to your home to become an AI-powered digital assistant capable of performing all manner of tasks, from answering simple queries to placing Amazon orders on your behalf or even notifying you when packages are delivered to your home (and are captured on a Ring camera), then any of these nine Echo devices will be worthy additions to your home.

Also note that you'll need a subscription to Alexa+. It's free if you're already a Prime member, otherwise it costs AU$29.99p/m. Considering an Amazon Prime membership is just AU$9.99p/m, you'd be saving money.

• Amazon touts Alexa+ as its voice assistant’s “biggest leap forward”
• Aussies can now request early access to Alexa+, but it’s also available with the purchase of a new eligible Echo or Fire TV device
• Prime members get Alexa+ for free after early access ends in November; non-members pay AU$29.99p/m

Alexa+, the conversational AI upgrade of Amazon’s long-time voice assistant, has officially launched in Australia, over a year after rolling out in the US.

This “smarter, more conversational and more capable” voice assistant promises a more transactional experience that recognises natural language, can remember user preferences and automatically adjust your smart home tech, like turning on your air conditioning when it starts to get warm or turning on lights when it starts getting dark.

For its local debut, Amazon has added Aussie touches, so Alexa can now understand colloquialisms like ‘arvo’, ‘snags’ and ‘servo’, as well as being “tuned into Australian culture”, like not mixing up footy codes or understanding expressions like ‘fair dinkum’ or ‘passing the pub test’.

You can sign up for an early access invite now if you already own a compatible device, or get automatically signed up when you buy an eligible Echo or Fire TV device. After early access ends on November 30, 2026, Alexa+ will remain a free Prime benefit for subscribers, while non-members will have to pay AU$29.99 per month to retain access.

Most of the current Echo devices are compatible with Alexa+, with only the now-discontinued first- and second-generation models unable to support the new voice assistant. Fire TV devices, meanwhile, will have limited compatibility with Alexa+, with support available only on the following:

• Fire TV Stick 4K Select
• Fire TV Stick 4K Max (2nd Gen)
• Fire TV Stick 4K Plus (2nd Gen)
• Fire TV Cube (3rd Gen)

Alexa+ isn’t the only ‘smart’ voice assistant available in Australia, with Google Home Premium (formerly Nest Aware) being its main competitor. The latter costs AU$15 per month or AU$150 per year for its Standard tier, or AU$30 or AU$300 per year for the Advanced tier, scoring Alexa+ points on pricing — provided you’re a Prime member or course.

It remains to be seen whether this would trigger a Prime membership price hike in the days to come.

Do we really need an Amazon-powered LLM in our lives?

Amazon claims that Aussies interact with Alexa “more than two billion times each year”, with 77 million questions asked and more than 600 million smart home actions in 2025 alone. While that suggests there’s a large customer base in Australia, it begs the question of whether we’re willing to bring another AI assistant into our homes and, importantly, pay extra for it.

As my colleague Graham Barlow rightly pointed out, Alexa+ may be an improvement by being more conversational and context aware, but it doesn’t really do enough to warrant the consistent use of the assistant.

Lots of Redditors have also expressed their displeasure with Alexa+, with some choosing to revert back to the old Alexa for the many ads, the style of the new voices, or just preferring not to opt into the upgrade.

Sure, being a free add-on to Amazon Prime will see plenty of early adopters, but it remains to be seen if Aussies will jump ship from ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude or whatever LLM they’re already using and move to Alexa+. (Incidentally, a web version is also slated to come soon.)

Then again, AI is evolving and Alexa+ seems like the next step in the voice assistant’s development, although it will need to do more than just speak fluent 'Strayan if it wants to reign supreme Down Under.

• Philips Hue accidentally leaked a new Pro TV lightstrip on its own website
• There are no details of its price or release date yet
• A new Philips Hue Play Sync camera is expected to launch soon

I love Philips Hue lights, and I particularly love Hue lightstrips — so I'm excited by an accidental leak that indicates a new Pro lightstrip is coming to your TV.

The leak was spotted by the excellent Hueblog, who discovered the following text on the US Hue website: "Check out Philips Hue Play gradient strip lights and Play gradient strip light pro." There isn't currently a gradient strip with the 'pro' suffix, so this appears to be a new product that's coming very soon.

I hope so, although I worry about the "pro" bit because that usually indicates a premium price. But if it uses the same tech as the spectacular Hue Omniglow lighting strip I reviewed earlier this year, it could be a stunning addition to your home cinema or gaming setup.

Philips Hue Play Gradient Strip Light Pro: what to expect

The Philips Hue Play system synchronizes your smart lights and bulbs, enabling you to change the lighting with music or to reflect what's going on in a game, TV show or movie. The Gradient Strip Light models are designed to go on the back of your TV and deliver a similar experience to an Ambilight TV, extending the colours from your screen onto the walls and ceiling.

I'm a huge fan of Hue Play – I've been using it since the first-gen Play Sync box was released in 2019 – but the individual LEDs are very visible. If the Pro version were to be closer to the Omniglow, which delivers seamless gradients without the LEDs being visible individually, that would be a great upgrade. Although I suspect it's likely to be pricey too: the Omniglow has an RRP of $139.99 / £119.99 / AU$279.99 for the 3m model.

At the moment details are non-existent, but we do know that Hue is getting some more Hue Play products imminently: the Hue Play Screen Sync TV camera is expected to launch very soon as a more affordable alternative to the clever but expensive Hue Play HDMI Sync Box 8K. As with the Sync Box it'll mirror your display to your smart lights and bulbs, but you won't need to connect any devices to do it as it'll simply watch what's on the TV.

• Solar energy just had its best-ever month in the UK
• Rooftop panels and farms provided 14.4% of the country's electricity
• The record comes ahead of the legalisation of plug-in solar kits soon

Our gardens may be wilting in this exceptionally dry, sunny summer in the UK, but one thing that is benefitting from all the rays is solar panels. Solar energy just had its best-ever month for supplying power to the grid — and plug-in solar panels are aiming to keep that run going when they become legal later this month.

Alongside solar farms, rooftop panels — which are surging in popularity — helped provide an impressive 14.4% of the UK's electricity in July (via The Guardian). That's 50% more than this time last year, according to National Energy System Operator (Neso) data, and helped to power the fans and air con units we're all relying on to survive while working from home.

The record comes from a combination of two factors. The incredible amount of sunshine we saw in July helped — the UK bathed in around twice the amount of sunshine hours that it usually gets on average at this time of year.

But it was also powered by the popularity of solar panels, which many are installing to help cut their energy bills in the UK. The country saw more solar power installations in the first half of 2026 than in any similar period for 15 years, while last year saw the highest total number of solar installations (269,000) ever recorded in a calendar year, according to government data.

Those figures include ground-based solar farms, but a significant proportion (just under a third of the UK's total solar power) is provided by rooftop panels. However, with these panels still prohibitively expensive for many, eyes will now be turning to the legalisation of plug-in solar kits from August 27.

Can plug-in solar add some extra shine?

It's unfortunate that plug-in solar panels weren't legalised a few months ago, when they could have contributed to these record UK solar energy figures.

Still, the UK government made the welcome announcement last week that these plug-in solar kits — which can send electricity into your wall socket without needing professional installation — will become legal from August 27. That's good news if you've felt frozen out of solar due to its cost, a lack of roof access or the fact that you're renting.

The Statutory Instrument 2026/848 clears the blocks that previously prevented UK residents from buying self-installed, ‘plug-in’ solar systems. The August 27 date is more of a legal landmark, so it isn't clear exactly when these kits will go on sale. But you can expect to see them in the likes of Lidl, Currys and Amazon soon, when they'll apparently cost around £400 and could save households up to £70-£110 a year.

While many have argued that plug-in batteries could be the real home energy revolution (they were left out of the government's new legislation), the combination of this new solar energy record and the legalisation of plug-in solar kits later this month means that renewable energy is having a big moment.

"Fifteen years ago, solar energy was a footnote in the electricity mix," said Chris Hewett (Chief executive of Solar Energy UK). "Now it is a major player, delivering homegrown, cheap, clean and reliable energy."

“The UK is firmly in its second solar boom, joining the trend we’re seeing worldwide, as households and governments look to it as a low-cost and local alternative to oil and gas,” added Frankie Mayo, a senior analyst at Ember.

The UK is still well behind Germany when it comes to balcony solar (which is called 'Balkonkraftwerk'), as you can see in the graph above, but at least the country's sun-powered potential is now finally on the charge.

Planning a summer getaway but worried about leaving your house for a few weeks? While statistically you are more likely to suffer a break-in during the winter months when it’s much darker, summer also presents an ideal opportunity for burglars. Even if you're at home there are increased risks, especially if you leave your windows open to get some fresh air into the house during a heatwave.

Of course, there are basic steps you can take to reduce your risk such as asking a neighbor to take in your mail and packages, and making sure windows are closed when you go out. But technology can help big time too. What’s more, you don’t have to spend a fortune on all the gear. Whereas once you had to spend thousands on security cameras and PVRs (personal video recorders) that had to be professionally installed, now you can buy cameras and video doorbells for a fraction of the price that can be controlled easily via your smartphone.

Starting simple

The trick is to start simple. A good idea if you are going away for a long time is to have an indoor camera focused on the most vulnerable part of the house where a burglar is most likely to break in — such as a back door. I’ve got a Nest Cam IQ Indoor focused on my patio doors leading out to the garden. I like it because it can record when it hears sound (such as glass breaking) as well as motion.

However, there are other cheaper models available from companies such as Amazon-owned Blink and Ring as well as lesser-known, but popular, Chinese brands such as EZVIZ, Reolink and Aqara.

Focused on the front door I have a tiny Blink Mini 2K+ which also provides a chime for the Blink video doorbell so we can hear it ringing in the house. Usually, I switch the motion sensor off on the Blink Mini during the day because it’s triggered every time a family member opens the front door which can be a bit of a pain. However, when I go on holiday I switch the motion sensor on just in case.

One important consideration is how footage is stored — either locally on a MicroSD card or in the cloud. Personally, I prefer storing footage locally on an SD card, although the downside is that you will usually have to buy a card separately. The advantage of local storage is that not only is it generally more secure (there have been cases of servers being hacked and private security footage being leaked), it also often works out cheaper in the long term.

That’s because many home security companies will charge you a monthly subscription fee to store all your recorded footage and access advanced AI-driven features such as facial recognition and text descriptions of videos.

While these features may be vaguely useful, especially if you have lots of people coming to the door, for the vast majority it’s probably not worth the monthly fee.

Let’s go outside

Obviously, no discussion of home security is complete without talking about outdoor cameras and video doorbells. Whether it’s summer or winter, these devices are invaluable when it comes to optimizing your home security set-up and helping to prevent burglary.

Choosing the type of outdoor camera you want is largely down to personal choice and the type of property you live in. Generally speaking, outdoor cameras should be mounted reasonably high on your property to give you a better view and to prevent theft.

Many offer a wide viewing angle of between 130 and 180 degrees, while some of the latest models, such as the latest IMOU AOV PT, are pan-and-tilt models that detect and track movement automatically.

Want a security camera to act as a deterrent to an opportunist burglar? Then it’s worth considering a device with a powerful built-in spotlight and loud siren. If there are two things that burglars hate more than anything else, they're excessive noise and light that draws attention to what they are up to. Reolink’s Solar Floodlight Cam covers both bases with twin spotlights either side of the camera and an integrated 110dB siren.

Going solar

Unlike indoor cameras, which usually plug into the mains, powering an outdoor camera is a little more challenging. Although some are designed to plug into the mains via a waterproof housing, most now rely on either disposable/rechargeable batteries and/or solar power. Indeed, solar-powered cameras, such as the Reolink Solar Floodlight Cam mentioned above, have become increasingly popular in the UK particularly as summers have got hotter and panels have become more efficient.

While many of the latest outdoor cameras comprise separate solar panels that need to be mounted separately and plugged into a USB-C socket on the camera, others such as the IMOU Cell 3C come with a solar panel built in. Chinese company Baseus even has an innovative solar-powered camera, the Baseus Security S2, that boasts an innovative rotating solar panel that moves as the sun moves in order to maximize power to the camera.

Deciding how to power your outdoor camera isn’t the only factor you need to consider either. You also need to think about the technology you are going to use to transmit video clips to your phone’s security camera app. While for indoor cameras this is usually WiFi, for outdoor devices getting a connection between the indoor router and outdoor camera can be more challenging — especially over distances of around 30m.

One option therefore, may be to buy a device that offers dual-connectivity, including Wi-Fi and cellular (usually 4G), such as the IMOU AOV PT or Eufy 4G LTE Cam S330.

Optimizing your setup

So you’ve got your outdoor camera. What next? Well, now begins the process of optimizing it for your security needs. Generally, most outdoor cameras are far too sensitive and record far more footage than you actually need to look at. As a result, you could find your entire time on holiday viewing footage of someone walking past your house, or a car whizzing by, instead of enjoying quality time away.

Not only is this highly annoying, it could really waste battery power — something that's both costly and time-consuming, especially if you have to climb up on a ladder to take the device down to recharge or change the batteries every couple of weeks.

Within the app, it’s therefore a good idea to set the motion detection zones so that the camera only records footage captured on your property and also reduce the sensitivity settings too so the camera isn’t recording too much footage. If you know you are going to be away for a set period of time then it’s probably a good idea to ensure the camera can detect motion 24/7, but when you are home you may want to use the menus so it only records at time of the day when you know family members or flat mates aren’t going to be entering or leaving the property (such as night time).

When it comes to video quality, most outdoor cameras now offer at least 1080p video quality. However, some such as the Baseus Security S2 and the Reolink Altas PT Ultra, offer stunning 4K picture quality. While this is great, especially if you want to zoom in on close ups of a potential suspect, most of the time it’s probably unnecessary. By reducing video quality you will be able to store more footage on the SD card/in the cloud and not consume as much power either.

For night-time monitoring, standard infra-red (IR) night vision provides clear monochrome visibility in total darkness while a colour night-vision option uses advanced low-light sensors or built-in LED spotlights to capture colour details after dark.

Video doorbells — it’s good to talk

Think someone may be intruding on your property while you’re not around? All security cameras that I’ve ever tested (probably over 50 now) feature two-way audio so you can, if you so wish, talk directly to the intruder to tell him or her to get off your land. And they can also talk back to you, of course, using the built-in microphone.

Some of the latest models even generate automated messages or use different voices so the person doesn’t actually know who they are talking to (for example the Aqara G100 indoor/outdoor security camera lets you turn your voice into that of a robot or clown.) It’s a feature that some women and teens in particular might find reassuring, especially if they don’t want a man to think they are at home by themselves — though I can’t help thinking of Kevin McCallister in the film Home Alone.

Essentially video doorbells take the technology one step further by enabling you to speak directly to people who press the button, even if you are sitting on beach sipping a strawberry daiquiri on your summer vacation (as with the G100, Aqara’s G410 Doorbell Camera Hub also allows you to disguise your voice). Invented by Ring’s founder Jamie Siminoff back in 2013, video doorbells have really taken off in the last few years with most home security manufacturers now producing models.

Usefully, not only do video doorbells enable you to talk to whoever comes to the door as if you were at home, they can also be set up to detect and record nearby movement just like standard outdoor security cameras. The only real difference is that, whereas outdoor security cameras often have a wide viewing angle and wide aspect ratio, video doorbells tend to offer a much squarer field of view — often 1:1 — so you can see whoever is at the door more clearly.

Advanced functionality

For those looking to replace their traditional doorbell, video doorbells are a great solution. With many models, it’s even possible to use existing doorbell wiring to power them, rather than having to rely on disposable or rechargeable batteries. Many come with separate plug-in chimes so you can hear the doorbell clearly inside the house with a choice of customizable ‘ringtones’, ranging from classical music to Christmas carols.

That’s not to say that video doorbells are the perfect security solution for everyone. They’re not. Often, I’ve found there is quite a lag when you are talking to someone and if you live on a busy street it can be difficult to hear what they are saying. To counter this, some models, including those from Ring, enable you to play automated responses to the visitor, a bit like an old-fashioned answerphone — for example, ‘please leave the parcel outside’ or ‘call back in an hour’s time’.

Another issue is that with subscription services such as Ring Pro you can spend up to $19.99 / £15.99 a month on premium features such as person, package and vehicle alerts, video descriptions and 180 day video playback. At least with a Blink video doorbell it’s possible to store clips on the Blink Sync Module 2 hub using a separate USB drive while the TP Link Tapo D235 is one of the few doorbells with integrated MicroSD storage (it also offers free AI smart detection to distinguish between vehicles, pets and people).

Complete security solutions

Looking for a more advanced security solution for when you go away over the summer? Most manufacturers will allow you to view several cameras via their app. However, if you want to put different types of security devices together — such as locks, lights and a burglar alarm — then you will need a more advanced setup.

For example, one advantage of the Aqara G410 video doorbell is that it’s actually a fully-fledged smart home hub with a built-in Matter bridge and Thread border router that can be used as part of a smart home ecosystem such as Apple HomeKit, Google Home, Amazon Alexa and Smart Things.

Owned by Amazon, Ring products including cameras, video doorbells and burglar alarms can easily be controlled using Alexa routines with footage viewable via Echo Show devices. Furthermore, Ring Alarm also supports certified third-party products via the encrypted Z-Wave network, including smart locks from Yale, Schlage and Kwikset. This means you can lock/unlock doors, manage guest PIN codes and trigger automated security routines (such as arming the alarm when the door is locked) all inside the Ring app.

Securing your home for summer

With the summer holiday season well and truly upon us, and houses left empty as we down tools for a well needed break, now is the time to think about securing your home. While traditional precautions — such as securing windows, clearing letterboxes and locking away garden tools (including ladders) — remain essential precautions, modern technology can help too.

Protecting your home against burglary needn’t cost the earth either. You can now buy indoor cameras focused on vulnerable parts of the house for less than $70 / £50 while most outdoor cameras and video doorbells cost between $120 / £100 and $250 / £200. And while subscription charges do push up prices, often these aren’t necessary — especially if you can store footage locally on an SD card or USB drive.

Ultimately, combining the latest tech solutions with solid physical security will give you the peace of mind needed for you to truly unwind, ensuring your home remains a well-guarded fortress while you enjoy your break.

It's typical, you wait for ages for a home energy revolution and then two come along at once — or at least that's what appears to be happening in the UK.

You've probably heard about the first landmark moment. 'Plug-in solar' hit the headlines last week when the UK government announced that small, solar panel kits that feed electricity directly into your standard home socket can legally go on sale from August 27.

That's a big deal. Plug-in solar means that millions of people who have traditionally been locked out of generating their own clean electricity — renters and flat owners, for example — will be able to join the residential solar party, albeit on a more modest scale.

But not everyone was celebrating wildly with biodegradable confetti. Across the country, energy nerds bemoaned one glaring omission in the government's new legislation — a legal pathway for 'plug-in batteries'.

For many, these small home batteries — think a mini Tesla Powerwall that plugs into a standard wall socket — are the "real game-changer", as Octopus Energy and Anker both described them to me. That's because they promise to be even more accessible than plug-in solar and act as a money-saving brain that makes your home an active part of a smarter UK electricity grid.

Bold claims indeed, so I spoke to four of the biggest players in this burgeoning space — Anker, Octopus Energy, EcoFlow and Windfall Energy — along with the UK government to find out when plug-in batteries might be coming, what the drawbacks are and, most importantly, how much you can really expect to save...

When are they coming?

The main premise of plug-in home batteries, like the Windfall Battery above, is simple — they charge automatically using cheap-rate electricity (usually at night), then discharge that electricity around your home during more expensive peak-rate periods. "Even without solar panels, a plug-in battery delivers meaningful savings through grid arbitrage alone," Anker Solix's EU CEO, Kelvin Cao, tells me. Savings estimates range from between £100-£400 per year, depending on your battery, tariff and usage.

Great, so when exactly will they become legal in the UK? When I asked the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), the official answer was predictably vague. "We are rolling out plug-in solar, which will be quickest to reach the market — helping to bring bills down for good," a DESNZ spokesperson said.

The DESNZ told me its main focus right now is plug-in solar kits and that plug-in batteries have their own technical and regulatory hurdles, which it's currently investigating. Still, there are hopes that grid-connected batteries that plug into your wall socket could be legalised within the next year.

Several big players are quietly preparing plug-in batteries — which are already available in countries like Germany — for a UK launch. Anker, for example, has built a page for its Solix Solarbank 4 that clearly explains the benefits of plug-in batteries, should they become legalised in the UK. "We are eager to support the rise of the plug-in era in the UK and become part of its evolving energy landscape," Anker Solix's EU CEO, Kelvin Cao, told me.

Octopus Energy also recently announced that its new plug-in Nook Cube battery will go on sale sometime in 2027. More confident on the timescale is Windfall Energy, a London startup that's designed the best-looking piece of home energy kit I've seen for a while, the Windfall Battery.

"I was at a roundtable with a Minister of Parliament about a month ago, and everyone there was pretty much calling for batteries to come hot on the heels of plug-in solar," Windfall Energy's co-founder Rob Hallifax told me.

So when is Windfall expecting to start selling its 2.5 kWh home battery, which has an RRP of £1,200 and had previously been slated to ship in autumn? "Winter is more likely now. We want to time it with the plug-in regulations. It’s looking like the end of this year, early next," he added.

Why now?

You'll probably have noticed that the UK has been on an energy rollercoaster that can technically be described as 'not fun'.

Back in the late 1990s and early 2000s, inflation-adjusted gas and electricity prices were actually stable or even falling. But there was a huge spike for both in early 2022 and they've never returned to pre-energy crisis levels. Electricity prices are still 13% higher than in January 2020, according to the UK government, and they continue to move in the wrong direction.

Plug-in batteries promise to be, if not a cure, then at least a much-needed pain killer for our energy bills headache. They're emerging now because of three things — falling prices for lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) batteries, the easing of electrical regulations in some regions (Germany created the world's first dedicated plug-in solar product standard in late 2025), and soaring wholesale gas prices that are reflected in the graph above.

As Anker's Kelvin Cao tells me, this has "reshaped how European households think about electricity". Unfortunately, that double-digit increase in energy prices is also "unlikely to come down any time soon". That's why Germany started the trend, and the UK is (hopefully) about to follow.

So how exactly do plug-in batteries save you money? "There’s two parts to the price saving," Windfall Energy's co-founder Rob Hallifax tells me. "The simple one is just the price arbitrage. So if you're paying 10p at night and 30p in the day for electricity per kilowatt hour, then you buy it at 10p, use it when it's 30p, you're saving 20p per kilowatt hour," he says.

That part's pretty simple — with the Windfall Battery, this 'buy low, use when prices skyrocket' approach makes up about £168 of its promised £250 per year savings. But there are also extra savings from getting your plug-in battery really singing in tune with the electricity network.

The UK grid acts a bit like a giant smart thermostat, signaling when the system needs more or less electricity, and the idea is that energy suppliers could follow by telling plug-in home batteries when to charge and discharge. Smaller plug-in batteries would likely be capped at an 800W output (without professional installation), so wouldn't be exporting power to the grid. But they could still play a role in balancing demand.

This makes tariffs the second big factor in the money-saving potential of plug-in batteries — and that's something Octopus Energy has been a UK leader in.

"The energy sector overall has not really embraced the fact that you can just offer different types of products to different types of consumer customer groups," Alex Schoch, Group Director for Flexibility at Octopus Energy, tells me. "Of our eight million customers, 1.2 million are on some kind of smart tariff," he adds.

Octopus Energy told me there could potentially be dedicated plug-in battery tariffs or bolt-ons for existing ones. If you've ever been baffled by choosing the right energy tariff, this could also get simpler thanks to plug-in batteries.

"I equate it to the evolution of mobile phone plans," Octopus Energy's Alex Schoch tells me. "First, they were incredibly generic. Then they got so complicated that Carphone Warehouse came into being just to explain the complexity. And now we’re at a stage where we create hyper-personalised plans based on your needs as a consumer. We’re on that same journey when it comes to energy".

But doesn't this also demand a lot of trust in energy companies? Windfall Energy's Rob Hallifax agrees, but thinks falling bills will ultimately convince consumers. "It's their (consumers'] battery, they're in control of it, but the energy company is controlling it a bit to help them maximize the savings," he says. "The consumer has to trust that the energy company is doing this to save them money, and I think that will come when they see their bills go down," he adds.

What's the catch?

Clearly, plug-in batteries won't be a magic wand for everyone's bills, even if the batteries could be subsidised or even given away for free by the UK government to lower-income households, as the i Paper reported recently (the DESNZ declined to comment on this when I asked).

For most plug-in batteries, the payback period (the time it takes for savings to cover the cost of the battery) is expected to be around 3-4 for years, so not exactly a financial quick fix. The Windfall Battery promises annual savings of £250 (with an RRP of £1,200), while Anker tells me that the larger Solix Solarbank 4 on a dynamic tariff like Octopus Agile could save you just under £400 per year. That battery has no UK price yet, but retails for €1,999 in Europe (around £1,700).

The other concern raised by skeptics is safety. Is allowing potentially millions of households to connect batteries to their electricity networks without professional installation really a good idea? Windfall Energy's Rob Hallifax acknowledges that it's an understandable concern. "People see a battery, and they think of scooters and fires, and there some valid concerns. Obviously, safety is critically important, and just one battery fire would be one too many," he says.

"But modern batteries are generally extremely safe,' he adds. "There are some studies out of Germany now where they compare batteries to EVs and other home appliances. One headline is that they’re typically about as safe as a washing machine," he adds. The other common comparison is with fan heaters, which are legal in the UK but carry a higher risk of 'user error' incidents than plug-in batteries.

Still, the added complexities of grid-charging batteries mean some agree with the UK government's top-dipping approach. EcoFlow, one of the biggest global players in home batteries, is among them. "We're aware and completely understand that these things take time," Lorna Wallace-Smith (EcoFlow's Head of UK PR) told me. "The fact that they were able to move forward with at least one step is is great" she added.

But hasn't Germany's rapid adoption of both plug-in solar and home batteries shown it's safe? "I think that's something we should learn from, as well as not fast-track into something without knowing it's absolutely built for UK homes," she added.

Could they outshine solar?

Despite these concerns, it seems clear that plug-in batteries have the potential to eclipse the more complex plug-in solar kits in the UK — and most of the experts I spoke to agreed.

"They are the fundamental great equalizer," says Octopus' Alex Schoch on plug-in batteries. "It’s such an important thing for renters because you can then take it with you to your next place," he adds.

"I think in the next couple of years we will see plug-in batteries really be the transformational scale deployment. I think it has the potential of being a mass market thing even faster than solar," he predicts.

Windfall Energy's Rob Hallifax naturally agrees when comparing plug-in batteries to their solar equivalent. "There are 28 million homes in the UK and about half of them are either rented or flats and small homes. So more people could get them, millions, and there’s also the benefit to the grid and to the system," he says.

There is one other obvious comparison with an accessory that's cheap, easy to use and promises to save you money. "We use air fryers as quite a good example. Four or five years ago they just came from nowhere and suddenly half the country has one," he says.

But wouldn't an 'air fryer' level of popularity also cause a problem for plug-in batteries? After all, a lot of their money-saving potential comes from tapping into today's so-called 'delta' between cheap-rate and peak-rate electricity. If plug-in batteries help to solve the imbalance of today's grid demand — and tariffs are adjusted to reflect that — could that start to diminish their savings potential?

"I think yes and no," says Windfall Energy's Rob Hallifax. "So maybe in 50 years the whole grid will be sort of perfect. I think the fundamental thing is that if you have renewable generation, that's always going to be variable. That's just the nature of the world. And so somewhere in the system, storage has to be part of it," he adds.

Octopus Energy's Alex Schoch agrees that such a change would be a long way off. "In theory, yes." he says in response to my pessimistic scenario. "But I would actually say the length of time here is measured in decades, not in a sub-decade quantum," he adds.

However, he does note that a similar process is already happening. "We've had such an explosion of solar in the UK over the last few years that now during Spring and Summer, a lot of the cheapest wholesale price electricity times are actually late morning, early afternoon, mid afternoon, and no longer overnight," he notes.

Charging ahead

The legalisation of plug-in batteries in the UK appears to be a matter of 'when' not 'if'. As a flat owner in south west London with no roof and only a limited appetite for plug-in solar, I'm right in the target market — and will certainly be interested when that moment comes.

But it also won't be an impulse buy where I snap up the first thing I see Amazon. "The biggest pitfall to avoid is making decision on price alone," says Anker's Kelvin Cao. "Now that plug-in solar has regulatory approval, the UK market will attract a wave of low-cost imports, some of which will be excellent and some of which will not. This will be a similar problem once the plug-in batteries are legalised," he warns.

"A battery that cuts corners on cell quality, protective engineering and compliance with applicable safety standards might look more attractive on its price tag, but it will not deliver the same reliability over the 10 to 15 years that a household should reasonably expect," he adds. In other words, buying cheap could backfire when it comes to savings.

So what exactly should you look for when plug-in batteries are legalised? "As a baseline, consumers should look for durable LFP battery cells, a high cycle life, robust protection against weather and corrosion, and integrated safeguards against electrical and thermal risks," Kelvin Cao says.

"They'll probably also say that the product must be listed on the Energy Networks Association (ENA) Type Test Register to demonstrate that its protection settings meet G98 requirements," adds Windfall Energy's Rob Hallifax.

A real-world view

A large number of early adopters are already getting a taste of the benefits of a battery-only setup. One of those is TechRadar contributor Mark Pickavance, who wrote our EcoFlow Stream Ultra X review (which is well worth a read).

I caught up with him to see how it's going and he continues to be impressed. He told me that his monthly energy costs are down by about £40 a month with his setup (which was installed with the help of an electrician), and you could get most of that from a single Ultra X.

The only problem is that this stuff can get addictive. "I started with the premise of using just a battery, but once you have one the logical progression is solar. However, for people renting, it's the ideal solution, and if you use an Economy 7-like tariff (Octopus Go), you can take a chunk out of your costs," he said.

The arrival of plug-in solar from August could, then, be a good dry run of what to expect when plug-in batteries arrive. The big differences between residential buildings between Germany and the UK could mean plug-in solar doesn't quite take off in the same way in the UK, but Anker's Kelvin Cao remains bullish.

"This is no longer a niche movement. Germany passed one million officially registered plug-in solar systems in 2025, with around 430,000 new systems registered during that year alone," he notes. If plug-in batteries follow a similar pattern in the UK, that could have big consequences for energy bills — and the UK's grid as a whole.

• Existing ban on drones and routers extended to "advanced" robots
• FCC has confirmed that robot vacuums are included
• No effect on products already authorized by the FCC for US sales

The US's latest ban on foreign hardware is coming for an unlikely target: robot vacuum cleaners and likely robot lawn mowers too.

The ban comes via the White House, which has extended its previous ban on foreign-made drones and Wi-Fi routers. The ban now includes foreign-made power inverters and "advanced robots" on the grounds that they pose a national security risk to the US.

If you're finding it hard to imagine Russia rigging your vacuum cleaner, or Iran invading the US via an army of lawnbots... yeah. Us too.

How will the ban on robot vacuum cleaners work?

The ban doesn't outlaw the use of robots that you already own, so you're not going to have to hand over your robo-vac to the authorities. However, it bans the sale of "advanced robotic devices".

The definition of advanced robotic devices refers specifically to "autonomous mobile robots, humanoid robots, and quadrupeds" that can move around, avoid obstacles and weigh 4.4lbs or more including any ground station or docking station. Many robot vacuums and lawn mowers meet those criteria, and the FCC has confirmed to PC Mag that the ban does indeed apply to cleaning robots.

This is bad news for the big robot brands such as Ecovacs, Roborock and Dreame; the top five US robot vacuum brands are all Chinese, and therefore fall under this ban, so we contacted them for comment.

"We are aware of the FCC’s recent update," Eric Villines, Chief Communications Officer at Anker Innovations (the parent company of Eufy), told TechRadar. "Based on our current understanding, the new rule does not affect the continued availability, use or support of products we currently sell in the United States. Those products remain available and will continue to receive updates and customer support,

"Like others across the industry, we are seeking further clarity on how the rule will be applied to future products, and we will keep our customers informed. We remain committed to complying with all regulatory requirements in every market where we operate."

Several other smart home brands declined to comment at this early stage, but we get the general impression that this news might have come as something of a surprise.

Can you keep using your robovac?

There is one bit of sunshine in this cloud, however: the ban is not retrospective, so if a robot already has FCC authorization to be sold in the US that's fine. The ban does not prevent retailers "from continuing to sell, import, or market relevant models approved previously."

That said, PC Mag identifies a separate FCC order that says existing robot vacuums and similar products "may continue to receive software and firmware updates that mitigate harm to US consumers at least until January 1, 2029." If the FCC decides not to extend that then it's just put a countdown clock on any new Chinese-made robot vacuums sold in the US.

For the affected manufacturers, the next step will be to lobby the FCC in the hope of gaining an exemption for some or all of their products: after all, there's a big difference between a self-driving, self-cleaning mop and a robot dog capable of carrying an AR-15. However, so far there haven't been any exemptions for major Chinese drone or router manufacturers so the future is not looking very bright for the affected companies.

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Robot lawn mowers are emerging as one of the most exciting smart-home categories. The concept has been around for a while, but in the past two years we've seen advances in technology that are making them more helpful and more user-friendly than ever. Finally, the barriers to entry are coming down, and lawnbots are starting to look like a feasible option for even the least tech-minded amongst us.

To find out more about what's going on in this growing space, I spoke to KK Yin, marketing director at major lawnbot brand Mammotion. We chatted about the most impactful shifts in lawnbot technology, the hottest trends, and the hurdles the industry still needs to overcome.

Cutting-edge edge cutting

For KK, the big feature that hasn't quite been nailed yet is edge-cutting. Even if you have a great robot mower that does a stellar job trimming your grass, its usefulness is limited if you then have to get out a trimmer to take care of the edges. "Edge trimming remains one of the biggest challenges, especially along walls," says KK. "The key is balancing cutting performance with safety."

If you're trimming along the edge of a flat path, it's relatively easy — certain mowers are designed to straddle the path edge, with the blades underneath trimming the grass at the boundary line. However, that doesn't work when trying to trim next to a wall. "The lawnmower can get as close as possible, but the cutting disc being set back from the mower's edge to maintain a safe clearance prevents the mower from cutting close enough to walls," KK continues.

Lots of brands have been working on a solution, and it typically takes the form of an edge-trimming module that attaches to the side of the bot, with smaller blades in a protective casing.

On the Luba Mini is an edge-cutting disc that can trim as close as 5cm (1.97 inches) from a wall — a distance KK admits might not be close enough. "Five centimeters is not very far from the wall, but still some users want us to make it perfect so it can cut maybe even down to one centimeter," KK says.

"We're exploring more flexible solutions," he continues. "For example, when mowing alongside a wall, the cutting disc could potentially extend slightly out of the mower's body for a cleaner edge cut. In open areas or during ride-on-the-edge mowing, it would retract to maintain a safe clearance beneath the mower. So that is the direction and also the challenge in the future."

Tackling tricky terrain

Another major lawnbot trend that's been emerging over the past year or so is all-wheel drive (AWD). This helps lawnbots tackle tricky or uneven terrain, as having all the wheels individually powered means that if one or two end up off the ground, or struggling to get traction, the others can help the robot escape without requiring manual intervention.

AWD can also help the lawnbot retain its grip when scaling especially steep lawns. KK notes that in the European market, and Germany especially, lots of houses stand on slopes, where this boosted climbing ability comes in handy.

All-wheel drive is usually indicated by an 'AWD' on the product's name, and it appears in Mammotion's advanced Luba line — you can see the LUBA 3 AWD scaling an astroturf mountain in the video above.

The brand has also been looking at upgrading its bots' climbing ability and mowing speed, and is keen to figure out what the next advancement might look like. "We can see some other companies are exploring other things like independent steering," says KK. "Maybe that is a good solution for difficult terrain. So we are also thinking about how to combine this technology."

Better tech in smaller bots

Initially, Mammotion kicked off its lawnbot journey with its premium Luba series. Later on, the Yuka Mini arrived — a smaller, more affordable bot that's designed for yards 500 to 800 square meters in size. It proved to be the big winner in Europe during the recent Amazon Prime Day sales.

"I think when we started, our premium product line helped us build trust in our technology — things like the all-wheel drive and the positioning system and the efficiency. So customers believed our brand could bring some of that technology to an entry-level lawnmower," muses KK.

The Yuka Mini is a good fit for European yards, which on average are 300 to 500 square meters in size. "Many robot lawnmower brands spend a lot and have a different product strategy for European regions, because many of the users have already accepted this innovative product for their lawn care. For example, they know about the positioning systems and how all-wheel drive compares with rear-wheel drive. They want their robot lawnmower to do more things — not only mowing, but also edge trimming."

In the US, where the average lawn size is much larger than in Europe, the focus is a little different. "I think most US users still prefer a ride-on or traditional lawnmower. I think they're still looking for an efficient robot mower that can cover their large lawn," says KK. "The US is at a different stage, and what customers require is different.

No-fuss installation

Navigation tech is perhaps the area that has moved on most quickly and has had the most impact on lawnbot usability. It was only a few years ago that boundary wires were required; now they're all but obsolete.

Initially, the technology to take over was RTK. This is satellite-based positioning, and it requires a separate RTK receiver to improve the accuracy of the satellite data. Not everyone wanted to set up a receiver in their yard, leading to a shift to centralized receivers that could serve massive areas at once. Mammotion calls this NetRTK.

Either way, the system relies on satellites, which means it has some limitations in yards where there is coverage from trees or buildings. Most recently, we've started to see LiDAR being used. This is the navigation approach used in robot vacuums, and just like with RTK, there are pros and cons when used in lawnbots. LiDAR works by bouncing light off objects to build up a picture of its surroundings, which is great when there are objects around but less useful in wide, open spaces with nothing to bounce off.

"You know, like we always say, maybe laziness is the best way to improve the technology!" says KK. "For our users, if they're happy with the intelligence of the robot lawnmower, then they want an easier installation, or even no installation at all. So that's why they really like our NetRTK, because they don't need to install an antenna. Or some users will choose LiDAR, which doesn't need an antenna at all."

The real shift is less to do with using one specific navigation approach over another, and more about moving to a situation where multiple navigation technologies can work alongside one another.

"We want to think about the final result of the positioning system," says KK. "Many users don't want to compare which positioning method is good. They just use it; that's enough. They don't need to know more about it. So that's why we came up with Tri-Fusion, which combines the advantages of RTK and LiDAR and even AI vision. We believe this can cover all environments for a residential user."

A few robot mower companies have started experimenting with similar concepts, where the bot can swap between different approaches depending on the situation. If satellite signal drops out under some trees, LiDAR can swoop in to save the day and get the lawnbot back on track, for instance. Cameras (often backed by AI) form the third pillar, enabling the bot to recognize objects and understand if it should mow close to them or steer clear.

There are problems still to solve in the world of robot mowers, but let's not forget that just a few short years ago, we were still painstakingly laying boundary wires and watching the lawnbot bounce haphazardly between them. Now, the issue is whether a bot can trim quite close enough to the edge of a wall, and if it's smart enough to tell a soccer ball from a lounger. We've come a long way.

Brilliant bots

We've tested plenty of impressive lawnbots at TechRadar. Here's a taster of some of our favorites — hit the View details button for a link to our full review for each.

For years, residential solar power in the UK has focused primarily on larger installations, comprising photovoltaic (PV) panels on the roof and an inverter for converting DC (direct current) power into AC (alternating current) for use in the home. Indeed, according to government data, the UK now has approximately 1.7 million residential rooftop installations with 2025 the strongest year on record with around 269,000 installations completed.

It’s remarkable progress. Yet for many in the UK, this type of installation remains out of reach for several reasons, including cost, or lack of roof access if they live in a block of flats. If they’re renting, their landlord/landlady might not allow them to install solar panels permanently on the roof.

That’s all set to change with new government legislation. Under Statutory Instrument 2026/848, which formally comes into force on August 27, 2026, legal and regulatory hurdles that previously blocked self-installed, ‘plug-in’ solar systems are set to be cleared.

By officially creating a legal category for what are officially called 'plug-in microgenerators', this landmark legislation allows standard UK BS 1363 three-pin plugs to be approved for feeding electricity into a home socket. As a result, for the first time, millions of people living in flats with balconies will have a viable, low-cost option to generate their own clean electricity.

Looking to Europe: the rise of Balkonkraftwerk

Of course, while plug-in solar is new to the UK, it is already well-established across the rest of Europe. In Germany, for example, where these installations are known as Balkonkraftwerk (or balcony power plants), there are officially 1.2 million registered balcony installations — though the actual figure is probably nearer 1.5 million when you take into account unofficial installations.

Balcony installations are proving particularly popular with renters – those who were historically excluded from rooftop solar power until reform to German tenancy law in 2024 gave them the explicit right to install balcony panels without needing landlord approval. As a result, reports German news site Denkstrom, waiting lists emerged in big cities such as Munich and Berlin for equipment in the months following the reform.

Nor is Germany the only European country to have embraced balcony installations. In Spain, where two thirds of people live in apartments, balcony solar power is also taking off, saving up to 30% on a household’s typical electricity bill. “The beauty of the solar balconies is they are flexible, cheap and plug straight into the domestic network via a converter, so you don’t have to pay for the installation,” Santiago Vernetta, CEO of Tornasol Energy, one of Spain’s main suppliers, told The Guardian.

Gaining UK industry support

Whether balcony solar power technology proves as popular in the UK as other European countries remains to be seen. However, with millions of flats across the UK, including an estimated 380,000 homes in England with a balcony, plug-in solar power certainly has the potential to expand renewable generation beyond rooftop installations.

Driving the rollout of plug-in solar within the UK government is Martin McCluskey, Minister for Energy Consumers within the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ). In June he met up with high street retailers and supermarkets including B&Q, Currys, Amazon, Lidl, Asda, Screwfix and Wickes to prepare market-compliant kits for the official August launch. "We’re delighted to be working with DESNZ to bring plug-in solar panels to the UK market. With energy bills continuing to rise, enabling the safe roll-out of these products will mark an important step for consumers across the UK,” said Michelle Gorringe-Smith, Director of New Categories at Currys in a recent press statement.

“This is a fantastic opportunity to make renewable energy more accessible to people around the UK," Added John Boumphrey, Amazon’s UK and Ireland Country Manager. "Amazon is the largest corporate buyer of carbon-free energy in the UK.. Enabling households to generate their own power with self-install plug-in solar panels is a practical step that supports household budgets and delivering against net zero goals.”

Major energy providers have also welcomed the regulatory change. Chris Norbury, Chief Executive of E.ON UK, describes the removal of regulatory red tape as an “encouraging step toward giving consumers more control over their energy use”.

Similarly, Greg Jackson, Founder and CEO of Octopus Energy said in a UK government statement: “Every solar panel, heat pump and battery cuts bills and boosts Britain’s energy independence.” Furthermore, these industry perspectives align with the wider objectives set out in the UK Government's Solar Roadmap, which details plans to expand solar capacity across domestic, commercial and ground-mount sectors to meet national clean power targets.

Payback time

Under the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero's (DESNZ) interim product specification, compliant solar power consumer kits must meet very strict criteria. This includes a microinverter (which converts direct current electricity into alternating current electricity) which can’t feed more than 800 VA (Volt-Amperes), roughly 800W, into the home at any one time.

Systems must connect via a standard BS 1363 three-pin UK socket using a manufacturer-supplied, non-rewireable moulded plug with a fuse rated at no more than 5A. Typically, most kits will comprise two 400W panels, each measuring around 1.7m x 1m in size and weighing around 20Kg. However, the regulations allow up to four panels with a combined rating of 2,000W. The inverter still limits the output to around 800W, but the extra panels can help the system generate more power during weaker sunlight.

While working out exactly how long it will take to get a return on a solar panel investment is far from an exact science, most of the commentators I spoke to for this article thought it would take under five years for a system costing between £300 and £600.

“Our modelling suggests that three to five years is a realistic payback period for many sensibly priced, well-positioned systems,” Ben Bowyer, creator of PluginSolarCalculator.com told TechRadar. “The government’s own estimate is around £70 to £110 a year in savings, but I think that’s actually quite cautious. Our figures suggest many suitable 800W installations could save closer to £95 to £155 a year,” he added.

Andreas Pierrie, founder of bespoke solar installation price comparison site Go Solar Today, was even more optimistic about ROI when asked. “For someone with a south facing balcony, you're looking at a payback of roughly two to three years, which is genuinely good for a solar product,” he asserted.

Lack of battery storage

However, it’s not all good news. While the new legislation will help consumers save some money by turning their systems into ‘plug-in microgenerators’, one key limitation is that batteries are excluded from the initial plug-in framework. Instead, the product specification covers generation-only systems and does not permit integrated battery storage.

The government likely adopted this cautious approach to prioritize safety, as lithium batteries store chemical energy and require strict compliance to prevent hazards such as thermal runaway. Including battery storage would also inevitably have slowed down the roll out of the initial phase of the technology. Go Solar Today’s Andreas Pierrie explains the reasoning behind the phased rollout by noting that the UK is simply following the German approach.

“The UK is copying the German playbook by starting narrow, getting the simple version working and trusted, then widening the rules over time,” he said. “Walking before you run is reasonable when you're opening up self-generation to millions of homes for the first time... The instinct to be careful with batteries is completely understandable.”

How long the lack of battery storage in the solar panel specifications will last is open to debate. Just a few weeks before the final specification was revealed, Octopus Energy announced the Nook Cube — a 2KW battery that plugs into a standard socket - which perhaps indicates a future opening up of the legislation to include battery storage.

Exporting energy for free?

For now at least, one of the main limitations is that any solar energy generated during the day that isn't used immediately by household appliances flows back out into the local grid. Because these small microgenerators do not automatically qualify for the Smart Export Guarantee at launch (unlike solar-powered rooftop installations), this means you are potentially exporting daytime energy to utility companies for free.

“That battery storage can’t form part of a compliant plug-in solar system during this first stage of the rollout is probably my biggest disappointment with the rules announced by the government so far,” admits PluginSolarCalculator’s Ben Bowyer. “A battery would let households store spare solar power generated during the day and use it later in the evening, when electricity use is often higher."

"The biggest limitation is the lack of integrated battery storage, meaning any electricity you don't use immediately is typically exported rather than stored for later," adds Robin Edwards, Property Buying Agent at property-finding company Curetons. "That reduces the financial benefit significantly, particularly for people who are out at work during the day when panels generate the most power.”

However, while disappointed by the lack of battery storage, PlugIn Solar Calculator’s Ben Bowyer admits people often underestimate how much power their home uses even when nobody is actively switching anything on. “Fridges, freezers, routers, and standby devices, create a constant background demand known as the household baseload that a well-positioned plug-in solar system can frequently cover during brighter parts of the day.”

To maximize savings without a battery, consumers can shift flexible energy use, such as running washing machines or dishwashers in daytime hours when the sun is shining.

Simon Turek, Chief Executive of graphene nanomaterials company Haydale, also explained how households can pair plug-in solar with heating solutions. “By moving to efficient forms of electric heating, it’s possible to achieve savings within your overall energy cost, because generation during the day could be used for heating purposes in winter months,” he told TechRadar.

Cladding exclusion

Unfortunately, lack of battery storage isn’t the only limitation of the new legislation. Before purchasing a plug-in solar kit, consumers must consider several practical and regulatory rules. For example, users cannot mix and match panels, cables and inverters from different suppliers. Systems must be purchased as complete tested, manufacturer-certified packages listed on the Energy Networks Association Type Test Register. This requirement ensures that all connected hardware meets rigorous domestic electrical standards.

Kits must also plug directly into a wall socket using the manufacturer-provided cable. The use of extension leads, multi-way block adapters, travel adapters, or plug-in RCDs (Residual Current Drives) is strictly prohibited to avoid electrical overloads. Furthermore, installation is prohibited on timber balconies, timber cladding, aluminium composite cladding, high-pressure laminate cladding, or buildings undergoing fire safety remediation. Understandably, these restrictions are designed to mitigate fire and safety risks across high-density residential properties.

Renters and leaseholders must also obtain permission from their landlord or freeholder before installing panels on shared or exterior structures. Users are also legally required to notify their local Distribution Network Operator via a G98 notification form when connecting a system. This notification process ensures that regional network operators maintain accurate records of micro-generation capacity across local distribution grids. Compliance with these administrative steps is mandatory for all system owners.

Beyond administrative rules, there are also practical considerations around installing heavy solar panels. Because individual panels weigh around 20kg each, experts strongly recommend treating the setup as a two-person job, advising consumers to get professional help if there's any uncertainty regarding structural anchoring, working safely at height, or load-bearing capacity. Makeshift fasteners like cable ties, string, or tape are strictly banned and approved mounting hardware rated for UK wind and snow loads must be used.

As Ben Bowyer candidly admits: "Balcony installations still give me the shivers, especially the thought of someone lifting one of these panels over a railing 10 floors above the ground."

Power to the people

With the cost-of-living crisis showing no signs of ending any time soon, the push to legalise plug-in solar technology is welcome news to millions of flat dwellers and renters wanting to reclaim some control over their mounting utility bills. Importantly, by enabling households to create their own microgenerators by connecting small-scale panels straight into standard wall sockets, the framework provides an accessible route to lower electricity costs. With solar power in place, users could save up to 30% on their electricity bills with typical kits paying for themselves within three to five years

.However, the legislation is far from perfect. Because the initial rollout focuses purely on daytime generation without integrated battery storage, users must adapt their daily routines to make the most of the power while the sun is shining. What’s more, by establishing an 800W AC output limit and capping panel capacity at 2,000W, the framework really only covers continuous household baseload demand from refrigeration and standby appliances, rather than being able to power your entire home with solar.

Still, it’s a decent start and it’s likely the legislation will be expanded to include battery storage over time. As Christopher Burd, Managing Director of solar installation company SPS PowerBuild told TechRadar: "The energy transition is ultimately about people taking control of their own power. Enabling households to generate clean electricity directly from their living spaces represents a fundamental shift in how we think about urban resilience and domestic independence." Literally, power to the people.

Robot vacuums have been around for many years, and modern bots are cleverer and more helpful than ever. But while they are getting more popular, they seem to be struggling to properly break through to the mainstream. See a robot vacuum in someone's house, and you'd probably still remark on it. The aim for robovac brands must be to at some point overtake manual vacs as the general public's dust-sucker of choice — so why isn't that happening?

I rounded up representatives from some of the best robot vacuum brands to get their take. I wanted to learn more about the misconceptions that brands are still fighting against, how perceptions of these handy puck-shaped home helpers has changed, and what challenges still remain if robovacs are going to truly hit the mainstream.

Get with the times

"Robot vacuums are gradually being accepted and adopted by the public, rather than being treated as a novel and unrealistic concept," insists Michael Meng, president of the robotic vacuum division at Dreame.

"Admittedly, the market share of robot vacuums is still smaller than that of stick vacuums and upright vacuums, but the trend towards automated, hands-free household cleaning is inevitable," he adds. The problem — as all of my interviewees agree — is that people's perceptions are stuck in the past.

"The issue isn't technical — it's psychological," says Faraz Mehdi, a managing director at Eufy. "Many people who've used robot vacuums still associate the category with 'mopping with dirty water' and 'poor carpet cleaning' — real pain points from a few years ago. Today's products are fundamentally different."

"One lingering misconception is that robot vacuums are still novelty gadgets that wander randomly, get stuck constantly, and cannot clean as well as a conventional vacuum. That perception often comes from earlier generations of the category," says Ricky Ma, the general manager for Europe and America at Roborock.

He continues: "The biggest opportunity is helping consumers understand that a robot vacuum is not simply a smaller vacuum; it is an automated, intelligent cleaning system designed to maintain the home every day and free up their time in a way that no other appliance can compete with."

"Ultimately, the industry's continued growth will depend not only on technological innovation but also on helping consumers better understand how far the category has evolved," adds Dreame's Meng. "Bridging the gap between perception and reality remains one of the most important opportunities for the industry as a whole."

Welcome to the real world

So there are unfair assumptions about modern robot vacuum performance, but there are also genuine issues that still need to be solved. As a robovac reviewer, I'm regularly struck by how simultaneously smart and stupid these bots can be — for every bot raising itself majestically over a tall room threshold, there's another determinedly head-butting a French door.

I'm in wholehearted agreement with Reena Patel — a floorcare category manager at iRobot, the brand behind Roomba — when she suggests that autonomy and reliability should be the key focus areas.

"While robot vacuums have become significantly smarter, consumers still expect them to navigate increasingly complex environments, avoid everyday obstacles, handle pet hair effectively, and transition seamlessly between different floor types without intervention," she says.

"The goal is to deliver consistently excellent cleaning results while reducing the need for maintenance, ensuring the robot can truly operate as a set-and-forget solution that fits effortlessly into consumers' daily lives."

Minimal human intervention is one of the hot robot vacuum trends du jour, but it's easier said than done. Mehdi points out that, in the UK at least, plenty of people live in old apartments or multi-story homes, both of which are "historically a nightmare for robots". Throw in challenges like clutter, low-slung furniture, uneven flooring, and mixtures of different floor types, and it's easy to see why people might assume a robot vacuum wouldn't be able to cope.

There are solutions to some of these problems — albeit mostly confined to the premium end of the market. Today's most advanced flagship robots have features like little stilts for vaulting tall thresholds, sensors that identify and respond to different surfaces, and slimline designs that can sneak under furniture.

However, the challenge is to hone those features to a point where they work consistently and reliably. After all, if, your bot misjudges the height of a space and gets itself wedged, or fails to cross a step on the way back to its dock, and you're not around to bail it out, that can put a pretty abrupt end to the cleaning for the day.

"It’s one thing for a robot to perform well in a demo, but another to perform reliably, day after day, in homes that are busy, messy, and unpredictable," admits Mehdi. "The real issue isn't what the product can do, it's that consumers haven't seen it perform in their own space."

The bigger picture

The robot vacuum market has evolved considerably in the past few years, but so too has what customers are looking for. All my interviewees agreed lofty specs are no longer the route to a customer's heart (or wallet).

"Customers are looking beyond headline suction figures and realize that the performance of robot vacuums is the combination of a lot of features," says Dreame's Meng.

Eufy's Mehdi echoes his sentiments: "A few years ago, the category was often marketed around isolated features like suction power. But consumers are now evaluating robot vacuums much more holistically. People are looking for real cleaning outcomes, not just bigger numbers on a spec sheet."

Expectations are also rising — a number of the brands I spoke to told me that customers increasingly want bots that can mop as well as vacuuming, and are looking for models with self-maintenance features like dust-emptying, water tank refilling, and mop washing.

iRobot's Patel comments that customers are "more willing to purchase premium robot vacuums to deliver a genuinely hands-off experience".

Dreame's Meng argues that the move from cheap-and-basic to pricey-and-advanced bots reflects a change in perceptions. "Users are starting to realize that they can trust robot vacuums to take on more of their household cleaning."

Pricier bots might be becoming more popular, but customers aren't willing to splash their cash on just anything. Mehdi at Eufy describes a demand for "flagship-level experiences… at broader price points", noting that even at the upper end of the market, people are "rational about value".

"The market is shifting towards products that deliver meaningful innovation people can actually use and justify paying for," he explains.

As part of this trend, the early adopters who took a leap of faith with a simpler model a few years ago are now ready for something more advanced. "We have observed a significant shift from 'first-time experimenters' to 'sophisticated upgraders'," Roborock's Ma tells me.

These shoppers are seeking out replacements that solve the issues that frustrated them with their first bot. Thanks to design innovations, many problems that plagued early robot vacuums — hair tangling, poor edge coverage and stinky mop pads — are far less common in modern models.

Not your average robovac

Features and price decisions aside, my interviewees have noticed a broader change in purchasing habits — and it's tied to how people see robot vacuums. "More consumers are treating robot vacuums as long-term home automation investments rather than one-off gadgets," says Richard Mou, co-founder of SwitchBot. "They're spending more time comparing ecosystem compatibility, software updates, and after-sales support before making a purchase."

Mehdi describes a dovetailing of approaches. At the upper end of the market, he's noticed customers going really in-depth with the research and product comparison, while at the more affordable end of the market, the decision-making process is different.

"There, trust can matter more than technical comparisons," he says. "Ratings, reviews, brand reputation, and recommendations from friends or family are often more influential than specs alone."

"That tells us something important about where the category is today," he concludes. "As robot vacuums become more mainstream, people are evaluating them less like gadgets and more like long-term home appliances."

So robot vacuums are getting smarter, customers are starting to embrace the modern advancements now on offer, and brands are working to address the pain-points that still linger when it comes to using a robovac in a real, messy, haphazard home.

The fact that people are viewing their robot vacuums as investment purchases rather than short-lived impulse purchases suggests things are moving in the right direction. Perhaps we will yet see a future where, when we see a robot vacuum in the corner of a room, it'll no longer be worthy of comment.

The world of robot vacuums has come a long way. I've been testing and writing about these puck-shaped home helpers for over two years, and during that time I've watched suction specs skyrocket, bots sprout legs and pincer arms, and docks transform into formidable, self-sufficient cleaning stations. Robot vacuums are looking cleverer and more useful than ever.

I wanted to get an idea of where the industry is headed, and what the next generation of robovacs might look like. So I rounded up representatives from some of the best robot vacuum brands to get their insights — and it's clear from what they told me that this smart-home segment is going to get even bigger… and even weirder.

Complete cleaners

The obvious place to start is with the cleaning itself, and there's one point that my interviewees all agreed on: it's no longer all about the suction specs. "Customers are looking beyond headline suction figures and realizing the performance of robot vacuums is the combination of a lot of features," says Michael Meng, President of Dreame's robot vacuum division.

Nowadays, customers are looking for better cleaning, rather than just outright power, and robovac brands have been happy to oblige, with all manner of inventive solutions.

Roborock, for example, has been working hard to make sure no corner goes uncleaned. "We see a massive push for ultra-slim designs that don't sacrifice power," says Ricky Ma, general manager for Europe and America. "People want a device that can finally clean the forgotten spaces under low-profile furniture — couches, beds, and cabinets — where dust and allergens traditionally accumulate and remain out of reach for bulkier robots."

The brand's newest bots use an innovative navigation system that doesn't require a raised puck to sit on the top surface. Roborock — alongside Dreame — has also experimented with pucks that can extend or retract, periscope-style, depending on the vertical height available.

Mopping functions have been the subject of much attention, too. Wet cleaning is nothing new — in fact, these days you might struggle to find a model that can't mop — but I've been seeing an increasing preference for roller mops rather than flat mop pads (either of the D-shaped or disc-shaped variety). The benefit of a cylindrical mop is that the dirty water can be scraped off, and clean water added in, as the robovac goes about its mopping business.

"One development that particularly excites me is the introduction of roller mop technology, which helps ensure floors are continuously cleaned with a fresh mop surface," says Reena Patel,

Floorcare Category Manager at iRobot, the brand behind Roomba.

Faraz Mehdi, managing director at Eufy, agrees. "Users increasingly care about whether the robot is actually cleaning with a clean mop and truly removing dirty water, rather than just spreading mess around," he says. "Real-time self-cleaning mopping makes a meaningful difference."

Eufy is also looking into improving filtration. In manual vacuums, Dyson has popularized multi-step filtration systems, which make use of cyclones to separate waste particles of different sizes. However, that hasn't really carried over into robot vacuums, which typically have a much more basic setup.

Eufy's AeroTurbo filter setup is significantly more complex. "We’re interested in airflow and dust-separation systems that help deliver more sustained suction performance, especially in homes with carpets and hair," explains Faraz. "One of the biggest pain points in the category is that cleaning performance can fall over time as filters clog, so technologies like multi-cyclone separation matter because they improve long-term consistency."

Dreame has made particular strides in innovations focused on getting right into edges and corners. "No matter how powerful a robot vacuum is, dust and debris collect in corners and along edges where brushes simply can't reach. It's one of those problems that sounds minor until you actually look at how dirty those corners get," says Michael Meng.

Its newest bot — the X60 Pro Ultra Complete — has 'UltraExtend technology', which enables the mop pad to kick out up to 7 inches / 18cm from the robot body, and the side sweeper brush to unfurl, E.T.-style, to reach up to 4.7 inches / 12cm.

The design is inspired by human limbs. "When you extend your forearm, your reach increases significantly," Meng explains. "We applied that same principle to our robotic arm design — engineering it to fold and unfold in a way that mimics natural arm movement."

Intertwined with cleaning performance is battery function. "A robot vacuum that runs out of power mid-clean is more frustration than solution," says Meng. "Consumers with larger homes or open-plan layouts need a robot that can complete a full clean in a single charge — or intelligently return to dock, recharge and resume exactly where it left off. Battery efficiency, combined with smart charging and resume functionality, has become a key purchasing consideration for households of all sizes."

Mind the (performance) gap

Even with all the performance advancements, it's still the case that a robot vacuum-mop won't clean as well as a manual vacuum could. Robovacs are winning on convenience, but not on cleaning power. The long-term aim is to catch up. "The first step is to close the cleaning performance gap — reaching, and eventually surpassing, handheld devices," says Faraz from Eufy.

Longer-term, he sees things progressing to a point where robot vacuums can tackle not just vacuuming and straightforward mopping, but a wider range of cleaning demands.

"Technologies like roller mopping, steam cleaning, and multi-cyclone systems are maturing," he points out. "In the next five to 10 years, robot vacuums will take on true deep-cleaning capabilities — thorough carpet washing, high-temperature steam disinfection and floor sanitization. The kinds of tasks that currently require dedicated equipment or professional services will gradually fall within the robot vacuum remit."

The trump card robot vacuums already hold over manual cleaning appliances is that they take care of the job on their own. It makes sense, then, that continuing to improve automation is a key focus for all the brands I spoke to.

"In the 12 years we have existed as a company, trends have shifted constantly," says Roborock's Ricky Ma. "Currently, the primary trend is 'zero-maintenance and zero human intervention', where users expect a robot to not only vacuum and mop but also self-clean, self-dry, and navigate complex environments without human intervention."

"The biggest challenge is making advanced automation feel completely effortless," adds SwitchBot's co-founder Richard Mou. "Our goal is to reduce the number of times users need to think about their robot."

iRobot's Reena Patel points out that this focus on autonomy is reflected in iRobot's sales patterns. "We've seen consumers become more willing to purchase premium robot vacuums to deliver a genuinely hands-off experience," she tells me. "Consumers are increasingly prioritizing features that save time, such as self-emptying and self-cleaning docks, advanced mopping systems, and intelligent obstacle avoidance."

A big part of the equation when it comes to true autonomy is maintenance. "People increasingly expect higher automation," says Eufy's Faraz Mehdi. "Features like auto-emptying, mop washing, drying, and anti-tangle systems are becoming much more important because users want a robot that genuinely reduces housework, rather than creating a new maintenance routine."

The ultimate aim is robovacs that don't require you to get involved at all — as Mehdi puts it, "zero manual intervention, end to end", including "full-chain self-maintenance, so the user never needs to maintain the machine itself."

Self-maintenance is one thing, but for a robot to operate without a human chaperone present, it also needs reliable navigation and object avoidance skills. These are essential if it's not going to get lost, stuck or tangled in something.

"Accurate navigation is the foundation of an effective robot vacuum," says Dreame's Michael Meng. "Advanced LiDAR and AI-powered object recognition allow modern robots to avoid obstacles in real time.... Smart robots should not be trapped or stuck easily, so they can work on their own without users to rescue them."

I've never met a robot vacuum that's not desperate to jam itself up by chowing down on any charge cable it can get its wheels on, so here I'd like to put in a personal appeal for more focus on low-level object avoidance.

Time to step up

When it comes to robot vacuums making their way around unassisted, the ultimate hurdle to overcome is stairs. The more premium of the current fleet of bots tend to come kitted out with something akin to small stilts, which raise up the body of the vacuum and enable it to maneuver over tall room thresholds.

However, traversing an actual flight of stairs requires an altogether more involved approach. "It sounds like a simple problem, but for anyone living in a multi-story home, it's one of the biggest limitations of robot vacuums today," Meng notes.

As far as I'm aware, there are just three brands who have offered some kind of stair climbing solution, and they're all represented in my pack of interviewees. For Dreame, it's the Cyber X — essentially a stair-climbing pocket into which a robot vacuum can dock when it needs to change floors. Think of it like a stairlift for robovacs. Eufy's MarsWalker takes a similar approach.

Roborock's Saros Rover is rather different, with its two long, spindly legs that enable it to scale not just steps but all kinds of uneven terrain. Ricky Ma sees it as a major breakthrough in bots that don't require human intervention. "The future of this category is exciting and we can't wait to show everyone what we have to offer," he enthuses. I saw the Rover in action at CES 2026, and it was a complete departure from any robot vacuum I've seen before. At that point, it was still at prototype stage — I'll be watching with interest to see how things develop.

Future-gazing

So far, I've been focusing on developments that have already started to take root. But what about the longer term? I asked my interviewees their predictions for what the robovac market might look like in five to 10 years' time, and they had some intriguing answers.

Eufy believes autonomous decision-making is going to change the game. "Robot vacuums will reach a level of intelligence where they can genuinely understand the home environment, identify different types of dirt, and autonomously choose the optimal cleaning strategy," Faraz Mehdi predicts.

Roborock is planning along similar lines. "Robovacs are rapidly shifting from an appliance to a smart cleaning partner. The most important shift will be greater physical intelligence," says Ricky Ma. "The ultimate goal is to build an intelligent cleaning partner that can spot the need to clean even before the user has time to ask the product to do so."

Further to this, a few of the execs I interviewed envision about a future where robot vacuums are no longer lone rangers, but work seamlessly alongside other smart appliances.

"Rather than operating as standalone devices, they will become increasingly connected with the wider smart home ecosystem, working more intelligently with other devices," says Dreame's Michael Meng.

Meng also sees a future where robovacs are far from the only autonomous helpers in the home. "While the familiar robot vacuum will remain an important form factor, its capabilities will extend well beyond floor cleaning," he says. "Advances in technologies such as robotic manipulation and embodied AI will enable these robots to interact more naturally with their surroundings and take on a broader range of household tasks."

SwitchBot's Richard Mou has an even more fully formed vision for the future: "I think we'll stop thinking about robovacs as a standalone category and instead see them as part of a broader family of home robots," he tells me.

"As embodied AI and humanoid robotics continue to mature, robot vacuums will contribute proven capabilities like autonomous navigation, environmental perception, and home mapping, while future humanoid robots build on those foundations to take on a much wider range of household tasks. At SwitchBot, that's exactly how we see the future — creating intelligent home robots that work together as one ecosystem rather than isolated devices."

Prepare yourself for the home robot takeover — and for an even cleaner home.

TP-Link Tapo C660 Kit: One-minute review

The TP-Link Tapo C660 Kit is a feature-packed 4K outdoor security camera that delivers many of the perks usually reserved for pricier models, including solar charging, pan-and-tilt coverage, color night vision and local microSD storage.

That last feature means you won’t need to pay for a subscription for video playback and download, but there are still some great (but non-essential) features in the paid Tapocare subscription, especially if you plan to expand your home's security with more than a single camera.

The Tapo app is also easy to use, and the C660 Kit will slot in alongside other Tapo smart home gear like lights, plugs and more to form its own smart home ecosystem. On the other hand, if you have other smart devices in the mix and would prefer a hub to control them all, Alexa has the strongest support, while Google Home only works with voice commands and video streaming to smart displays and TVs. There’s no native support for Apple HomeKit.

While it doesn't necessarily stand out in a crowded market with its design, the white casing looks sleek and stylish, and the IP65 waterproof rating means the C660 Kit is dust-tight and can withstand low-pressure water jets from any direction (aka rain, splashes or hose spray).

TP-Link Tapo C660 Kit review: Price and availability

• Starts at $169.99 / £179.99 / AU$299 for a single camera unit
• Available in multipacks of 2, 3 and 4-camera bundles
• Optional Tapocare subscription plans start at $3.49 / £2.99 / AU$3.99 per month

The Tapo C660 Kit costs $169.99 / £179.99 / AU$299 for a single camera unit, although multipacks of 2-, 3- and 4-camera kits are available either as set bundles or as part of a build-your-own package option directly from Tapo as well as through third-party retailers like Amazon.

While you may not need a subscription package, especially if you use a single camera unit, Tapocare might well be worthwhile for some users. It offers cloud storage, extended video clip history for up to 30 days and enhanced notifications, with plans starting at $3.49 / £2.99 / AU$3.99 per month for one camera on the Basic Tapocare tier. Prices increase as you add more cameras.

You can also buy the camera on its own without the solar panel under the TP-Link Tapo C560WS name for $99.99 / £109.99 / AU$199.

• Value: 5/5

TP-Link Tapo C660 Kit review: Specs

TP-Link Tapo C660 Kit review: Design and installation

• Sleek black and white color scheme
• Straightforward installation with easy-to-follow instructions
• Recommended mounting height is between 2.5m and 3m (8-10 feet)

The Tapo C660 Kit has a sleek white plastic body with black accents around the lens, with IP65 rating for dust ingress protection and resistance to low-pressure water jets from any direction. This means water from rain, splashes or hose spray will be fine, but it won’t withstand immersion and pressure washing.

The solar panel is just the right size relative to the camera — it isn’t small and subtle by any means and it’s definitely noticeable once installed, but it isn’t too imposing either. As mentioned above, there is a rubber flap underneath the camera lens concealing the power button, a reset button and a microSD card slot.

Installing the Tapo C660 Kit is straightforward thanks to the easy-to-follow instructions included in the box. You start by drilling holes where you want to mount the base plate, then slot the camera in. The solar panel is screwed on top, then plugged into the camera’s USB-C port located on the bottom.

It’s worth taking some time to think about where you want the camera placed before you install it, though. While the Tapo C660 Kit can pan and tilt the camera, getting the full view of an entire space isn’t guaranteed if it’s mounted too low since it doesn’t tilt upward. TP-Link recommends mounting it between 2.5m and 3m (8-10 feet) and in a location where the solar panel gets the most sunlight throughout the year.

TP-Link also recommends that the camera shouldn’t point at swaying trees and other moving objects like vehicles and pedestrians to prevent an avalanche of notifications, but if it’s unavoidable, the C660 lets you set motion detection zones via the app to reduce or minimize notifications of movement within those zones.

One thing to note about the installation is that the camera has a manual power button tucked away beneath a flap under the lens. Unlike other security cameras that power up automatically when plugged into a power source (like the solar panel or a USB-C cable), this button needs to be switched on before mounting (especially when it's in a hard-to-reach height) and pairing with the Tapo app.

Pairing the camera to the app is quick and straightforward, with only a few setup options at the beginning, like Wi-Fi connection type (2.4GHz for longer range or 5GHz for better video streaming quality, both using the Wi-Fi 4 standard), assigning the camera’s location and even the icon you want displayed in the Tapo app home screen.

• Design: 5/5

TP-Link Tapo C660 Kit review: Software and smart home support

• Tapo app is intuitive and easy to use
• Alexa has full support, while Google Home is limited
• Motion detection zones move with the camera instead of a fixed area

TP-Link’s Tapo C660 Kit natively integrates with the Tapo smart home app, allowing the camera to slot into any existing Tapo smart home ecosystem that might include lights, plugs, switches, robot vacuums, door locks and more.

If you have devices from other brands and use a smart assistant to consolidate them into one interface, the camera supports Amazon Alexa and Google Home. Alexa supports both live footage playback and voice commands, while Google Home only supports voice controls and video streaming on select devices. Apple HomeKit isn’t supported, but alerts and automations can still be done through Siri via iOS shortcuts enabled through the Tapo app.

The app works well, with an intuitive interface using tiles to show all your Tapo devices, with dedicated tabs for the different gadget categories (like cameras, vacuums and 'Smart' for automations). You can play the live feed and adjust settings by tapping on the tile for the camera (or cameras if you have more).

Camera settings include two-way audio, a toggle for the built-in spotlight and adjustments for panning and tilting the camera. There’s also an option to 'save' a set camera position via 'Viewpoints' and easily access those positions without manually adjusting each time. Those views can be used for automations, too.

To try out the feature, I set the camera to monitor the rear of the house instead of the driveway and front stairs for just a few hours during the day, and it would activate as scheduled each time. Patrol Mode also lets you move the camera between those set positions, but the Tapo app warns that this mode may impact the camera motor’s longevity.

One annoyance I found with the Viewpoints feature was that the motion detection zone that I set also moved with the camera and there’s no option to lock it to a specific spot. Thankfully, I didn’t have to move my camera too often for that to personally impact me, but I can see it being inconvenient for some users.

Adding to the motion tracking is a setting subject detection like person, pet or vehicle, and it can also be set for different motion detection zones as well.

• Software: 4/5

TP-Link Tapo C660 Kit review: Performance

• Crisp 4K image quality from 8MP lens
• Built-in spotlight provides color at night
• Solar panel keeps the unit running 24/7

The Tapo C660 Kit captures videos through its 8MP lens with 4K (3840 x 2160 pixels) resolution, with a frame rate of 15 or 20 frames per second. The recorded video clips were crisp and detailed when viewing live or when playing back previously recorded footage. It was clear enough for me to see details like faces, vehicle license plates and larger text from further away, while the 18x digital zoom provided more detail than lower-resolution cameras.

It managed to retain detail in brighter areas and the video wasn’t washed out, like when direct sunlight was hitting the driveway. There’s built-in wide dynamic range to prevent overexposure in bright sunlight or underexposure in dark shadows.

Motion tracking was responsive, and the C660 Kit could track me moving when I was walking quickly, running or cycling (although I wouldn’t necessarily call myself a fast runner or cyclist to try and avoid the tracking). I also liked that the camera automatically reverts to the original position after detecting movement, so I didn’t have to adjust it manually as some security cameras require you to do.

At night, the f/1.6 aperture takes in enough light to provide a clear image, and the built-in spotlight adds more low-light visibility. There’s also an infrared sensor as an alternative to color night vision. While I found both modes were able to detect movement almost instantly, the image quality isn’t as crisp as daytime mode, but it was still decent enough to be clear and fully visible.

The built-in microphone produced clear audio and was loud enough for a conversation even when I wasn't at home.

The solar panel kept the battery topped up, with the camera almost always running at 100% apart from some overcast days. It was only when I switched on 24/7 Capture (which frankly most people won’t need) that the solar panel struggled to keep the camera charged, and I eventually had to bring it indoors (it can be removed from its base plate easily) for a top-up via a USB-C cable.

In a different test, I tried running the camera without the solar panel plugged in, and the camera ran uninterrupted for just over 2 weeks before it needed charging.

The Tapo C660 Kit isn't necessarily the cheapest 4K security camera, but having local storage via a microSD card makes it a great value option compared to others that require a subscription to access cloud storage for recorded footage. It supports up to 512GB, though you'll need to purchase the microSD card separately as it doesn't come with one in the box.

TP-Link says that’s enough for around 16 complete days of recording, which is plenty for most people. Local storage means you can also back up those recordings to your home computer or another drive for redundancy. The Tapo app also lets you password-protect the microSD card for an extra layer of security.

Accessing footage from the card is easy through the app, and notifications reliably link to recordings with almost no delay after the camera detects motion. Video playback is also very smooth in the app. If you prefer cloud storage, you can opt for the aforementioned Tapocare subscription and choose a plan based on the number of connected cameras you plan to have.

Other features in Tapocare include 30 days of encrypted video storage for events, rich notifications and video summaries.

• Performance: 4/5

Should I buy the TP-Link Tapo C660 Kit?

Buy it if

Don't buy it if

How I tested the TP-Link Tapo C660 Kit

I installed the Tapo C660 Kit to a porch post on my property for a few months to get a sense of both its recording capabilities and whether its solar panel would keep the camera’s battery charged.

I tested all the settings, but had the alarm and spotlight mostly turned off to avoid disturbing neighbors, only doing one-off tests to see if they perform as advertized. I would also check captured footage whenever I got a push notification.

The smart home integrations were tested with smart displays (a 2nd-gen Google Nest Hub and an Amazon Echo Show 5) in addition to the Alexa and Google Home mobile apps.

First reviewed July 2026

• Google is expanding Gemini Live to the first-gen Home Mini speaker and Nest Hub smart display
• It rolled out in Gemini for Home early access, and requires a Google Home Premium subscription
• Google also increased Gemini's conversation memory window to 15 minutes

It’s a great day to be an owner of older Google smart home devices, now the company is rolling out Gemini Live to its two of its OG models.

Yesterday (July 23) Google unveiled a slew of Gemini for Home early access upgrades on its support page, but the one that has everyone talking is the arrival of Gemini Live, which is coming to the first-gen Google Home Mini speaker and Google Nest Hub smart display.

The update marks the next step in Google’s plan to expand the ubiquity of its live AI chatbot, which the company rolled out to the Nest Mini, Nest Audio, Nest Hub, and Nest Hub Max devices in October 2025. The new Google Home Speaker comes equipped with Gemini Live out of the box.

For users who are still going strong with their first-gen Google devices, we imagine this upgrade will be welcomed with open arms, but the one catch is that Gemini Live is paywalled behind the Google Home Premium subscription service, which costs a monthly fee of $10/ £8/ AU$15.

If you already have Google Home Premium and are part of the Gemini for Home early access program, you can now start conversations with your Home Mini and Nest Hub devices by saying ‘Hey Google, let’s chat’. The chime will indicate that Gemini is listening, and you can ask it anything such as recipe ideas, suggestions for an upcoming trip, or dive deeper into the most niche topics.

In addition to Gemini Live’s expansion, Google has upgraded Gemini’s conversation memory window to 15 minutes. “You can ask Gemini a follow-up question to a topic that was discussed during this window, and Gemini will understand the context,” the company details.

It’s refreshing to see that Google hasn’t completely given up on its early smart speakers and displays — even if the hardware is aging. Not often do you see tech giants acknowledge that old devices are still widely used, and Amazon is a classic example of this.

A few months back, the company came under fire for ending support for Kindles released from 2012 and earlier even though there’s a whole community of bookworms that still rely on these models — so Google is doing a better job than Amazon in that regard.

Signed up to Google Home Premium but unsure how to join the Gemini for Home early access program? We’ve got you covered.

First, you’re going to need to request early access, and you’ll need to make sure your Google Home app is updated to the latest version. From there, launch the app and tap your profile image or initial at the top right, select Home settings, and then Early Access. Follow the steps to request early access, and you’ll receive a notification when Gemini for Home becomes available for your devices.

You can also check region availability and other information on the Google Home and Nest help page.

I've been testing and writing about robot vacuums for nearly a decade here on TechRadar Australia and one of the standouts for me in the past 12 months was (if you'll excuse the pun) an absolute dream machine.

If you read my in-depth Dreame Aqua10 Ultra review, you'll know just how impressed I was with its overall performance, and my nitpicking complaints were mostly to do with how its battery gets used, which honestly isn't even a complaint — perhaps more of an observation.

It is, however, a premium model that I've only very rarely seen discounted. Its slightly cheaper sibling, the standard Dreame Aqua10 Roller, though, is almost as good and also currently 44% off on Amazon, and just AU$69.35 more than its Prime Day price from earlier this July.

That's still a sight better than having to pay nearly three grand for the Ultra version.

The differences between Aqua10 Roller and its Ultra sibling may seem like a long list, but trust someone who's still using the latter in her own home — it's overkill and not worth the extra cash.

So what are those differences? Well, for starters, the LiDAR turret doesn't lower itself automatically on the standard Roller version, but that's not unique to it, especially at this price. It also misses out on the 3D mapping that the Ultra version does but, again, a 2D map is pretty much all most people will need (floors, after all, tend to be pretty flat). And it gets a single-compartment soap dispenser instead of the dual-slot one in the Ultra which, again, isn't necessary unless you want to use an odour-neutralising solution as well.

For your money, you're still getting a whopping 30,000Pa of suction which, going by how well my Ultra version utilises it, will do very well on carpets and I am in awe at how well the roller mop works on the Dreame. There are plenty of intelligent features available on the Aqua10, including intelligent stain removal, so if you think your robovac has forgotten its navigation path and is circling, that's likely just its sensors picking up extra dirt in a small area and getting the bot to clean repeatedly for a thorough job.

It's also a machine that promises excellent edge cleaning, since it uses the exact same side brush and extending roller mop as the Ultra model. And the Roller even has the same automatic mop cover, which comes on as soon as it detects carpet to keep the mop head clean and your carpet dry.

While the Roller doesn't quite match the Ultra's ability to move over thresholds and steps up to 8cm tall, it's capacity to tackle heights up to 6cm is still above average, and means it can potentially head into patio areas if your sliding door frames aren't very high.

If it performs anywhere as well as my Ultra model, I think the Dreame Aqua10 Roller will be hard to beat at its current discounted price.

• Ring had launched an updated Outdoor Camera and Peephole Camera 2K
• They will both go on sale in August 2026
• The Outdoor Camera is £99.99 (about $130 / AU$190), and the Peephole Camera is £79.99 (about $110 / AU$150)

Ring has announced two brand new smart security cameras, one for mounting outdoors and one for installing into the peephole of your door.

Let's start with the outdoor option first. The new Ring Outdoor Camera (2nd Gen) is available in both wired and battery versions. It has a wide-angle lens (140 degrees horizontal and 85 degrees vertical), and delivers 2K resolution with up to 6x enhanced zoom. It has B&W night vision, customizable privacy zones and motion detection, and you can talk to visitors via Live View and Two-Way Talk. If you subscribe to Ring Protect you can also get intelligent alerts and the ability to scroll back in time to rewatch footage. Wi-Fi is single-band Wi-Fi 4 using the 2.4GHz frequency band.

One of the big selling points here is easy installation: it's simple to mount the camera and it's designed to cope with temperatures from -20ºC to +50ªC, although Ring says the camera may temporarily turn itself off if it's in direct sunlight during extreme heat conditions.

The Ring Outdoor Camera (2nd Gen) has a list price of £99.99 (about $130 / AU$190) and it'll be available from August 12, 2026. Pre-orders are open now.

Ring Peephole Camera 2K: this peep is fairly cheap and fits in doors that are quite deep

The new Ring Peephole Camera 2K is more stylish than its rather boxy predecessor, with a more triangular shape and a good-looking speckled finish. It fits through the space where you'd normally have an optical peephole, and there's no need to drill, run cables or do anything at all as it's completely wireless and runs off a rechargeable battery. It's designed to fit peepholes from 12mm to 14mm in size and go through doors between 32.5mm and 60mm.

I think this is going to be particularly popular with flat dwellers, especially renters who can't make any physical changes to the property: simply unscrew the optical peephole, install the camera, and you can take it with you when you move. Don't forget to keep the original peephole somewhere where you can find it again, though.

Like the new Outdoor Camera (2nd Gen) the resolution is 2K with up to 6x enhanced zoom, Live View and Two-Way Talk, but there's no night vision here so you'll need to make sure the door is facing a well-lit area. Ring says its camera is tuned for low-light conditions, but this camera doesn't see in the dark like the Outdoor Camera does.

The field of view is 140 x 140 degrees to deliver 'head-to-toe' visuals, and the quick release battery is easy to remove for charging. Wi-Fi is Wi-Fi 4 on the 2.4GHz frequency band.

The Ring Peephole Camera 2K will be available from August 19, 2026, and pre-orders are open now. The list price is £79.99 (about $110 / AU$150).

Robot lawn mowers are growing in popularity, and with good reason. They're getting more advanced in features, easier to set up and use, and can be a huge time- and effort-saver... provided you pick the right model. There are plenty of options to choose from, spanning a range of prices and capabilities, and if you're new to the lawnbot world then it can be tricky to figure out which one you need.

This article is here to guide you through that process. I've pulled together five big questions to help you narrow down your options. And for added expertise, I've enlisted the help of KK Yin, Marketing Director at leading lawnbot brand Mammotion, whose insights you'll find throughout the piece.

#1. Do I need all-wheel drive?

"Everyone has a different environment for their lawn. So the first thing a customer should do is choose which kind of power system they need — for example, all-wheel drive or rear-wheel drive, or some the brands have front-wheel drive," says KK.

Rear-wheel drive will be perfectly fine if you have a relatively even and flat lawn, and will have no issue scaling relatively gentle inclines. However, if you have a very steep or uneven lawn, all-wheel drive (AWD) will help ensure the lawnbot maintains its grip without churning up your grass. Front-wheel drive is really only for flat lawns, and is a less common power system.

AWD tends to be reserved for larger, more premium robot mowers. However, at the start of this year Segway Navimow launched compact AWD model, with the suggestion that it would treat your turf more gently.

#2. Does my lawn have shaded areas?

Next, KK suggests figuring out which navigation method is best suited to the environment. "A customer should look at if they have shaded areas, the house is tall or they have trees in the garden. If they do, I suggest they don't choose an RTK positioning system. They should maybe choose a LiDAR model," says KK.

There are two major navigation systems for robot mowers. RTK, which uses satellites, can work very well if the lawnbot has a wide, uninterrupted view of the sky. However, if there are obstructions — such as those listed by KK — in the way, these can block the signal and lead to the lawnbot getting lost.

LiDAR is the system used by robot vacuums, and is relatively new in the robot mower market. LiDAR builds a picture of its surroundings by bouncing light off objects, so it's not well suited to wide-open lawns with no objects in them.

Broadly speaking, RTK will be a good choice in big, open yards, whereas LiDAR might be a better fit if you have a smaller, more cluttered yard. LiDAR models are often pricier, so if you can get away with an RTK bot, you might prefer to go with that option.

#3. How big is my lawn?

Many lawnbot models are available in a few different iterations aimed at different-sized lawns (typically indicated by a number after the product name). The difference is usually the battery capacity — a bot designed for a larger area will have a bigger battery, enabling it to cover more ground before having to return to its dock to recharge, thus making it more efficient.

"I think most users figure out that in one week they will mow maybe two or three times. So they need to work out how long it will take a product to mow their lawn once," suggests KK. With that information, you can work out if your mower will be efficient enough to keep up with your grass-trimming demands.

#4. Do I have more than one mowing zone?

"The next point, I think, is about multi-zone management," says KK. "Not all people have one big lawn — it's divided by the house, or the garden is split into different areas. That means they need to manage more than one mowing zone."

Pretty much every lawnbot will be able to mow multiple separate lawns, with the ability to create different maps in your app. However, some have more advanced multi-zone capabilities than others. One bot might be intelligent enough to handle a schedule where the lawnbot spends the morning in Zone A and moves to Zone B in the evening, and it might even be able to work out the optimal mowing patterns and cadence.

#5. How much setup do I want to do?

If you end up with a satellite-based lawnbot (see point #2), you might need to decide between a bot that comes with a separate antenna and one that does not. This RTK station is required to make the satellite information more accurate — so satellite positioning on its own might tell you where a bot is to within a meter or two, but add in a separate RTK receiver and it's more like centimeters.

Traditionally, you'd have this receiver in your own back yard. This adds an extra level of complexity to setup — the reciever needs to sit high up, with direct line of sight to satellites in the sky, and it also needs a power source. However, increasingly, we're seeing lawnbots that use a big, centralized RTK receiver that covers a large area. Mammotion calls this NetRTK. It's definitely a more low-effort option.

There are further features to look out for if you want the most straightforward setup. Some modern robot mowers have cameras and AI features that enable them to instantly create a map of their location, so you can just pop it on the floor and it'll be able to start mowing pretty much instantly. KK suggests these kinds of features are more of a nice-to-have, and advises focusing on the first four points first.

Reviews round-up

We've tested plenty of excellent lawnbots at TechRadar. Here's a taster of some of our favorites — tap the 'View details' button for more information, plus a link to our full reviews.

Halloween might seem like a long way away, but it's never too early to start getting ready, and if you're anything like me, then you can't wait for the weather to start getting cooler, with crisp leaves underfoot and misty mornings. It seems the designers at IKEA agree, because they've already launched a whole set of Kustfyr Halloween decor so you can start preparing for spooky season now.

The new seasonal lights are particularly cute, and I defy anyone not to be charmed by the adorably spooky LED ghost table lamp with its arms raised mid-scare. Pair it with a set of ghostly battery-powered LED string lights for a full themed room.

It wouldn't be Halloween without pumpkins, and you can avoid the mess and hassle of carving a real gourd by picking up one of IKEA's fun pumpkin lamps. The globe-shaped LED pumpkin table lamp is a cute classic, while the matching battery-powered pendant lamp is safe to use outdoors, so you can hang it on your porch when it's time for trick-or-treating.

Want more creepy ways to decorate your home? Check out the full Kustfyr collection, which includes everything from plushies to plates.

Adorably spooky Halloween lights

Eufy Omni S2: two-minute review

Eufy’s latest flagship robotic vacuum and mop, the Omni S2 is a hugely impressive appliance that combines excellent mopping with brilliant vacuuming to create one of the best home cleaning systems you can buy. It also self-cleans so thoroughly that, after several weeks of daily use, the dust bin, rollers and mop still looked like new.

The Omni S2 uses warm water to clean its spinning mop as it goes, while also scraping away dirt and using cyclone technology to whisk dust more efficiently into the onboard bin, instead of leaving it to clog up the filters. Water is ozonated in the base station to further improve cleaning performance, and there’s an integrated detergent system too.

The robot itself can even be fitted with a fragrance diffuser, which makes your room smell nice after every clean; three different scents are included in the box and, along with the detergent, and can be replenished from Eufy’s website.

It navigates well, mostly avoiding contact with walls and doors while driving very closely to all manner of obstacles without pushing them around, driving over them or ingesting them. The S2 is good at climbing over raised carpets, rugs and door thresholds — something the Omni S1 struggled with – and the app does a great job of quickly mapping your home, with a simple editing system for labeling every room correctly, and even adding virtual furniture.

I was impressed by how quiet the Omni S2 is, even with its powerful Cyclone mode engaged, and how the base station doesn’t sound like an Airbus when emptying the robot. It’s a very expensive product, but one that looks good and performs extremely well.

Eufy Omni S2: price and availability

• List price: $1,599 / £1,599 / AU$2,299
• Launched: March 2026

Just two years on from the launch of the Omni S1 Pro, Eufy now has the Omni S2. This is now the company’s flagship robotic vacuum and mop, with a price, performance and feature set to match.

It carries a recommended retail price of $1,599 / £1,599 / AU$2,299, making it £300 more expensive than the S1 pro, which remains on sale. That’s an awful lot of money for a vacuum cleaner — especially when

Eufy’s own range of robovacs starts under the £150 mark, and one of my favourites — the X10 Pro Omni vacuum and mop — is a comparative snip at £599.

What does the extra £1,000 get you with the S2? More power, of course, with greater suction thanks to Eufy’s new AeroTurbo 2.0 tech, improved intelligence, greater threshold clearance, a more powerful mop, better computer vision, a self-cleaning mop, electrolysed water, integrated detergent and even a built-in fragrance system with three included scents to pick from.

An additional cost to bear in mind is Eufy’s replacement parts kit. The brushes, bags, mops and rollers of all vacuum cleaners need replacing, so ongoing costs aren’t unusual, but Eufy likes to charge plenty. A complete kit for the S2 is £79.99. Premium parts for a premium robovac, I suppose. More welcome is Eufy’s new two-year warranty, which applies to all robot vacuums launched in 2026 and doubles the previous coverage.

• Value score: 3.5/5

Eufy Omni S2: specifications

Eufy Omni S2: design

• Docking station with charger, dust bag, water tanks and mop drying
• Rotating, self-cleaning mop
• Integrated detergent and fragrance supply

The S2 has a similar but more refined look than its S1 predecessor. The subtle bronze tint to sections of the robot and docking station give it a premium aesthetic that blends nicely with the futuristic lighting in both the clean water tank of the dock, and the robot’s onboard dust bin.

Taller than many docking stations, but significantly more elegant than most, the Omni S2’s appearance helps to justify its lofty price tag — and that’s further aided by the display and touch controls on top of the dock. These are handily located to press without stooping down to the robot itself, while the screen is useful for checking on the robot’s status and spotting error messages.

Short of making you a cup of tea while the robot cleans up, the S2’s docking station does absolutely everything. It charges the robot, empties its dust bin, replenishes its water supply (and even ozonates fresh water before it’s fed to the mop), cleans the mop with water heated to 70 degrees centigrade, dries it with hot air, refills the detergent tank, and has enough dust bin capacity for up to a claimed 68 days between bag replacements.

The robot itself is almost circular, with a central roller that’s claimed to be 100 percent tangle free, a pair of spinning side brushes, and a roller mop that self-cleans, slides outwards by 1.5cm to reach into corners and even an onboard fragrance supply to make your home smell nice. The S2 includes three different fragrances in the box, but these are a bespoke design so replacements can only be bought from Eufy itself. The same goes for the detergent bottle too, while thankfully the 2.5-litre dust bags are generic.

I like how the Omni S2 looks. Its design is more sophisticated than that of the S1, and I can imagine it neatly complementing the lavish houses of its deep-pocketed buyers. And while tall, at 670mm (26.4 inches), the docking station is relatively slim.

The robot is also relatively short, at 85mm. This compares favorably against taller, bulkier robovacs like the Dyson Spot+Scrub AI, which towers over the Eufy at 110mm and is less capable of cleaning beneath low furniture.

A welcome design upgrade for the Eufy Omni S2 is its ability to now clear door thresholds up to 4.2cm tall, up from just 2cm for the Omni S1. I was often left frustrated by that robot’s inability to drive up from exposed floorboards to a carpeted neighboring room, but have had no such issues with the S2.

• Design score: 5/5

Eufy Omni S2: performance

• Impressive vacuuming
• Excellent mopping
• Strong improvement over the S1

From the setup process and mapping, to vacuuming, mopping, navigation and self-cleaning, the Omni S2 is a triumph. You might say it should well be for the massive price tag, but even in 2026 it’s rare for such a complex new product to impress so universally. Where the Eufy Omni S1 struggled in some key areas — navigation, threshold clearance and sometimes even vacuuming — the S2’s performance is close to perfect.

Yes, it’s an ultra-premium product with a price to match. This is right up there with your Leica camera, Rimowa suitcase and five-figure turntable. I imagine the typical Omni S2 owner is the sort of person who wouldn't blink at splashing out on a pair of Apple AirPods Max 2 at the airport because they forgot their first-gens at home. They’d probably deal with a flight delay by picking up a new Swiss watch, too.

And that’s absolutely fine. Whatever the product, there’s always something that happens to sell the most expensive one, and for robotic vacuums that just so happens to be Eufy with the Omni S2. That doesn’t inherently count against it, because there are always customers happy to pay a premium for the one they like, or not really care about the cost because the S2’s spec sheet, design and feature set already put it at the top of the market.

What matters is how it performs in the real world, and how that compares to user expectations. Naturally, mine were at an all-time high and the S2 mostly delivered. The vacuuming performance is noticeably better than with the S1, and after a month of testing I still smile at the neat stripes vacuumed into my lounge carpet — and at how pleasant the S2’s fragrance system makes every room smell.

Eufy has improved navigation since the S1, and now the S2 is smart enough to not vacuum over the tasselled ends of a rug. It also automatically detects rug and carpet thickness, then raises itself by up to 50mm (1.97 inches) to prevent getting stuck in deep-pile fabric. In my testing, the S2 flagged a potentially tricky bit of carpet — which was actually an integrated but deeply contoured door mat — so I could tell it to ignore the concern or permanently avoid it.

Navigation and map creation is generally good. The robot only once got stuck and called for help, and I was impressed by how quickly the S2 mapped the ground floor of my home and did a decent job of detecting room boundaries. I used the app to fine-tune these, and was pleased to see how the S2 had added 3D cupboards, sofas, tables, chairs and other bits of furniture to the map. This isn’t strictly necessary, but it’s nice to see how the S2 correctly understands its environment.

Eufy claims a maximum suction of 30,000Pa, which is a huge upgrade over the 8,000Pa of the Omni S1 and other Eufy robots like the X10. There are four suction modes — Quiet, Standard, Turbo and Max — three options of cleaning intensity, three water levels, and the option of performing each cleaning task once or twice. As with the S1, the S2 returns to base whenever it needs to empty its bin, clean the mop, replenish its water supply or charge the battery. A mode called AI Automation promises to adjust cleaning strategy based on room type, floor material and cleaning frequency.

The Omni S2 deeply impressed during the first few weeks of general use, keeping hard floors and carpets clean — even after a cockapoo puppy joined our household, and his insistence on helping with garden projects brought a lot of dirt into the house. It was a joy, quite frankly, to have the S2 on hand, ready to clean up after every chaotic evening of dog zoomies.

I also loved how the S2 kept itself clean. Not only is the mop cleaned and dried with every use, but the cyclone-style dust collection ensures the onboard bin is practically spotless after each empty, and the filters don’t get clogged up. The rollers also looked like new after many hours of use, thanks to an anti-tangle design that actually works.

The mopping system works as well as the S1’s — evidenced by the absolutely filthy water collected in the waste tank of the docking station. I’d recommend owners empty this frequently, because if you wait a couple of weeks or so until it’s full, pouring it away is a seriously stinky process.

During TechRadar’s standardized robovac tests the Omni S2 continued to perform very well. These tests include two rounds of vacuuming on both carpets and hard floors, plus an obstacle avoidance test and a mopping test.

Pleasingly, the Omni S2’s vacuum performance is better than its predecessor, the two-year-old Omni S1. Vacuuming up oats from carpet was particularly impressive, with not a single piece being missed (except where I set the target zone in slightly the wrong place).

Before vacuuming

After vacuuming

During these tests I found the quickest, least powerful mode, called Quiet, was indeed very quiet (just 55 decibels on carpet), but the S2 performs best when suction is upped to the Standard or Turbo modes, cleaning intensity is increased from Fast to Standard, and the S2 is asked to perform two passes of the target zone or room, instead of one.

A crumb mix made of flour and crushed biscuit was completely lifted from a wooden kitchen floor using the S2’s standard intensity and suction settings, while on carpet I found Turbo or Cyclone (the most powerful suction mode) was best.

Crumb mix before first pass

Crumb mix after first pass

With that enabled, plus the intensity increased to Deep and the number of passes upped to two, the robot did a superb job.

Crumb mix after first pass

Crumb mix after second pass

The oat test is usually tougher, because robovacs tend to flick larger debris across hard floors with their spinning side brushes. The Omni S2 fell foul of this too, but as ever my advice is to set the robot to vacuum the entire room twice, instead of aiming for a target and kicking it everywhere.

With the right settings applied, the S2 picked up every single piece – and passed the same test with flying colors on carpet too, where flicking debris is less of an issue.

Before vacuuming

After vacuuming

I tested the mopping system with a dried smear of ketchup, which was promptly removed from the wooden floor. The cylindrical mop spins and pivots outwards to reach into the edges of the room, while the robot scrapes it clean and washes it while driving. The mop is then dried with hot air at the base station, which takes several hours but is very quiet.

Before mopping

After mopping

Meanwhile, the S2’s obstacle avoidance saw it drive neatly around a shoe, a sock and a USB cable strewn across the floor. I was impressed by how close it got to each, with moving or ingesting anything.

Overall, the Eufy Omni S2 performed brilliantly. I would recommend using Standard intensity and Standard suction with two passes most of the time, then up the suction to Turbo or Cyclone for a deeper clean. The latter hitting just 70 decibels was also impressive — for context, my Dyson V10 stick vacuum is 90 dB at medium power.

I only encountered one serious problem with the S2, and unfortunately it led to a replacement unit being provided by Eufy. The first S2 performed perfectly for a month, but developed a fault where the robot and docking station lost their connection. Several reboots and lots of advice from customer services failed to find a solution, so a second S2 was delivered and the original went back to Eufy for an inspection.

Naturally, this is disappointing for such an expensive product. But I was impressed by Eufy’s customer service department — which I approached as a customer and not a journalist — and how quickly the problem was resolved. The second unit performed perfectly throughout the rest of my test.

• Performance score: 4.5/5

Eufy Omni S2: app

• Easy to use
• Lots of configurability
• Also handles Eufy security products
• Option to charge at night — great if you have an EV tariff

The Eufy app gets better with every revision, and today it’s one of the best robovac apps I’ve ever used. Everything is logically laid out, with just the right amount of adjustability on offer to keep both newcomers and power users happy. The app is quick, responsive and presents everything in a way that’s easy to understand.

I especially like how it adds virtual furniture to your floor maps, which makes it easier to understand the layout and visualize where the robot is. Editing floor plans also works well, with simple tools for splitting, combining and renaming rooms after the robot has created an initial (but not always accurate) map of your home. Multiple floormaps can also be created, making it easy to save a second map for your bedrooms upstairs, for example.

Another feature I like is how pre-defined tasks can be created. I have one called “After dinner”, which tells the S2 to vacuum and mop my kitchen a certain way. A single tap of this from the Eufy app home screen, and the robot gets to work.

Since getting a puppy I’ve come to value Eufy’s child lock function, which disables the buttons on top of the robot – handy for both inquisitive children and dogs alike. I also like the off-peak charging function, where you can configure the S2 to only charge its battery at certain times of day. Since I have an electric car and an EV tariff, I’ve set the robovac to only charge at night, when my electricity is much cheaper.

• App score: 4.5/5

Should you buy the Eufy Omni S2?

Buy it if

Don't buy it if

How I tested the Eufy Omni S2

I lived with the Eufy Omni S2 for several weeks before writing this review. During that time it was used exclusively to vacuum the carpets and mop the floors of my house. I tested its cleaning abilities, tried some of the included fragrance diffusers, and noted how its self-cleaning systems fared after many hours of use.

I then carried out a number of specific tests to understand how well it cleans different types of debris from carpet and hard floors, how effective its mopping system is, how good it is at avoiding obstacles, and how loud it is.

First reviewed July 2026