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The chilling performance of the Dyson Cool CF1 fan didn’t come as a surprise – it was how quiet it was that blew me away

5:52 pm | June 9, 2025

Dyson Cool CF1 desk fan: two-minute review

The Dyson Cool CF1 desk fan is the latest generation of the brand’s original bladeless fan, boasting some upgraded features in a desktop format. As one would expect from the brand, the Dyson Cool CF1 is firmly at the premium end of the desktop fan scale, with a list price of £249.99. We’re still waiting on pricing and launch specifics, and will update as we learn more, but so far we know that the Cool CF1 won’t be available in Australia until later in 2025, or in the US until 2026.

Setting up the Dyson Cool CF1 was simple, as it comes in just two parts – though the rotating base made it a little tricky for me to click the loop amplifier into place. I had mixed feelings about whether it makes a suitable desk fan, as the 14-inch / 360mm loop amplifier could prove a tight squeeze on smaller desks or nightstands. That being said, the height and compact diameter of the fan’s base meant I had no issues incorporating it into my workstation.

The Dyson Cool CF1 is shown tilted downwards while sitting on a tabletop, in front of a leafy green plant. — (Image credit: Future)

The Cool CF1 desk fan has a clean and modern aesthetic, making it instantly recognisable as a Dyson. I liked the combination of the satin silver and gloss white finishes, but found it needed regular dusting, though this can often be the case, even with the best fans.

With 10 fan speeds, sleep mode, oscillation, and a timer, there were plenty of features to play with. The Cool CF1 doesn’t have any smart capabilities, though, so I had to rely on the onboard buttons and the remote control. Both proved simple to use when operating the Cool CF1, but the responsiveness when using the remote was inconsistent, especially if I wasn’t pointing it at the fan head-on.

In terms of the overall performance of the Dyson Cool CF1, it did a great job. The airflow was smooth and proved very efficient as it helped me stay cool as I worked away in a stuffy office. I appreciated how easy it was to adjust the angle of the fan, giving me more control over the direction of the airflow.

A woman's hand is holding the Dyson Cool CF1 remote. — (Image credit: Future)

I was very pleased with how quiet the Cool CF1 was, with sound levels ranging from whisper-quiet at speed one to moderate rainfall on the highest speed setting, which is particularly impressive considering how strong the airflow is. While the Cool CF1 sounds a little unusual while oscillating, I had no problem dropping off when using sleep mode.

If you’re a diehard Dyson fan, you definitely won’t be disappointed with the Cool CF1. It has the classic Dyson aesthetic, plus it quickly and quietly delivers efficient cooling. The remote could be better, and I’d have liked to see a companion app for more convenient control at this price point, but the great performance from the fan itself means it’s still a worthwhile investment.

Dyson Cool CF1 desk fan review: price & availability

List price: $TBA / £249.99
Launch date: May 2025 (UK)
Available now in the UK. US and Australia release dates TBA

Released in the UK in June 2025, the Dyson Cool CF1 desk fan has a list price of £249.99 and is available for purchase at Dyson, John Lewis, and AO. In terms of availability in other regions, all we know so far is that the Cool CF1 won’t be available until later in 2025 in Australia and 2026 in the US. I’ll provide an update as soon as I learn more about the specific release dates and pricing.

This is a pretty premium price tag for a desk fan, though this likely won’t come as a surprise if you’re already familiar with the brand. I must admit I’ve found some Dyson offerings to be somewhat overpriced in the past, and I can’t say I’d want to pay this for a desk fan myself, but the build quality and performance of the Cool CF1 are worth the cost if it’s within your budget.

There are far cheaper options out there that can still help you chill out at your desk, like the bladed MeacoFan Sefte 8in Portable Air Circulator, for those in the UK, though the cheaper price comes with compromises; namely that it’s heavier, only offers 90-degree oscillation, and it’s nowhere near as attractive.

Value for money score: 4 out of 5

Dyson Cool CF1 desk fan review: specs

Type	Bladeless desk fan
Speeds	10
Oscillation	15, 40, 70 degrees
Timer	Yes
Dimensions	5.9 x 14.2 x 217 inches / 150 x 360 x 550mm
Weight	4lb / 1.8kg
Control	Onboard buttons and remote control
Timer	Yes
Additional modes	Sleep mode

Dyson Cool CF1 desk fan review: design and features

Sleek and modern aesthetic
Collects dust and fibers
Basic but easy-to-use controls

The Dyson Cool CF1 comes in just two parts, so it was pretty straightforward to set up. Assembling the fan was simple in theory, as all I needed to do was push the bottom of the circular loop amplifier onto the base unit and twist anti-clockwise until I heard a click. It proved a little trickier in practice, however, due to the rotating base and the glossy outer finish, but I got there eventually.

Apart from the inside of the ring, which is a satin-finished silver color, the Cool CF1 has a glossy white exterior. I tend to appreciate a gloss surface, as this finish tends to be easy to clean, which was fortunate in the case of the CF1, as it appeared to be statically charged and attracted any dust or fibers that happened to be in the vicinity. As easy as it was to clean, my efforts felt a little futile as it would gather more dust very quickly.

A woman is about to press the power button on the control panel at the front of the fan. — (Image credit: Future)

I’m on the fence about whether the 14-inch / 360mm diameter loop amplifier makes the CF1 a little impractical for a desk fan. I found it to be a bit of a space invader, but as it sits eight inches / 200mm off the tabletop on a base of just 5.9 inches / 150mm in diameter, I was able to fit it on my workstation and my nightstand. It is at least easier to accommodate than the old-school bladed fans I’ve owned over the years, and as it weighs 4lb / 1.8kg, it proved easier to move around, too.

In terms of onboard controls, there are two push buttons and a dial/button combo under the little LCD screen on the front of the fan's base. The two push buttons control sleep mode and oscillation, and the dial can be turned to cycle through the ten fan speeds or pushed to power the fan on or off.

A woman is placing the Dyson Cool CF1 remote on top of the loop amplifier. — (Image credit: Future)

A remote control is also included, so it was fairly easy to switch up the settings even when the fan wasn’t within reach. It offers the same functions as the onboard buttons, along with a button to cycle through the timer durations, which range from half an hour to eight hours.

The concept of the curved and magnetized Cool CF1 remote control is to stick it to the top of the fan. While this makes it easily accessible, it looks out of place and disrupts the sleek aesthetic, especially as each end of the remote is clear, showing the circuitry within. That being said, I still managed to forget where it was, so it clearly isn’t that much of an eyesore. Speaking of losing the remote, it’s a shame the Cool CF1 isn’t compatible with the MyDyson app, as it’d make life much easier for those times I’ve gotten comfy and realised the remote’s still sitting on top of the fan.

Design score: 4 out of 5

Dyson Cool CF1 desk fan review: performance

Satisfyingly strong airflow
Patchy remote performance
Quiet enough to fall asleep with

It didn’t take long to feel the cooling effects from the Dyson Cool CF1 on the lowest setting when I had it about 2 ft / 600mm away from me on my desk in our stuffy reviews office. As I’m only 5 ft 2 inches tall, I found that the stream of cold air hit me in the face, even if I adjusted the angle. While this was great for keeping my makeup from melting off my face, it proved a bit of a sensory nightmare for me, so I made good use of the oscillation.

The airflow felt smooth, and it was satisfyingly strong, to the point where I’m pretty sure it gave me brain freeze when I tried it on the highest setting. I tested how far away I could still feel a cool breeze on the lowest, highest, and middle fan speed settings, and found that it was still noticeable when I was 2ft / 600mm away from the CF1 on setting one, 7ft / 2m on setting five, and 11ft / 3.3m on setting ten.

The three oscillation choices were convenient for a desk fan, as I could choose the 15-degree option to keep the cool breeze around me, 70 degrees to circulate the air a little more, or 40 degrees for something in between. I did wish the CF1 could remember my last-used setting, though, as I had to cycle through each time.

A woman is adjusting the angle of the airflow by sliding and tilting the fan unit on the base. — (Image credit: Future)

It was really easy to tilt the fan upwards or downwards, even when it was oscillating. This simple angle adjustment proved a real asset, especially when using it next to my bed on warmer nights, as it allowed me to fine-tune the fan’s position for the maximum cooling effect.

The simple onboard controls and remote made it simple to control the Cool CF1. The dial mechanism felt pretty satisfying; there was clear feedback each time I bumped the fan up or down a speed, so I didn’t even need to look at the screen.

The magnetic hold on the remote control felt just right, as the remote would stick to the top of the fan even if I was a bit absent-minded when placing it down, but was still really easy to pick up again. I’ve got to say I wasn’t thrilled with the remote’s operation, however. I found that the fan didn’t respond at times, even at pretty close range, and this worsened if the fan was rotated away.

The timer function worked as expected, and I liked that I could easily view the time remaining at any point by pressing the timer button on the remote. It was easy to cancel the timer by double-clicking the button.

A woman is pointing the remote at the Dyson Cool F1 while changing the fan speed. — (Image credit: Future)

Noise level is an important consideration, especially at nighttime, which is why I always do a sleep test whenever I’m testing fans or a potential best air purifier. If I happened to be using a higher fan speed setting before toggling sleep mode, the Cool CF1 would drop to speed setting four. I was happy to find that I could still increase the fan speed when in sleep mode, and the display would still turn itself off, which bodes well if I need it on a particularly toasty night.

For context, I have a British king-size bed, roughly the size of a queen, for those in the US, and I placed the CF1 on the nightstand on the opposite side to where I was sleeping. As speed four was the default for sleep mode, I kept the fan at that setting and set the oscillation to forty degrees. I’m quite sensitive to sound, especially repetitive ones, so I picked up on the whirring from the oscillation, which sounded a bit like I was settling down inside a document scanner, but it wasn’t overly loud. In fact, this bedtime setup had a reading of just 35dB, which is the equivalent of a whisper, so I was able to drop off and sleep undisturbed.

I was very impressed with the sound levels in general, with the CF1 giving an impressively quiet reading of 27dB on the lowest setting. Even on its highest setting, which kicks out a lot of air, it was only emitting 45dB of sound, comparable to the sound of moderate rainfall, and just a meagre 5dB louder than the bladed MeacoFan 260c on its lowest fan speed.

Performance score: 4.5 out of 5

Should I buy the Dyson Cool CF1 desk fan?

Section	Notes	Score
Value for money	This isn’t a desk fan for the budget-conscious, and there are certainly cheaper alternatives out there, but if you’re willing to pay the Dyson price tag, you’ll be more than happy with the overall quality and cooling performance.	4/5
Design & Features	Typically on-brand for Dyson, this fan looks well made, with a pleasingly sleek and modern aesthetic. It offers useful features to help fine-tune the airflow, but it loses a point for the lack of app connectivity and the slightly questionable design of the remote.	4/5
Performance	Aside from the hit-and-miss remote performance, I was really happy with the CF1. It produced a strong and consistent flow of air, which did a great job of cooling me down without making a racket.	4.5/5

Buy it if...

You want fine-tuned airflow
With 10 fan speeds, three oscillation settings, and adjustable vertical angles, it’s delightfully easy to get customized cooling.

You want a quiet night
The CF1 was whisper-quiet when I had it in sleep mode, and measured just 45dB when running full blast, making it a good choice for summer nights.

You love the Dyson aesthetic
With smooth lines and metallic elements, this fan is undeniably Dyson, so you can get a taste of the premium label without shelling out on one of the higher tech models.

Don't buy it if...

You’ve got limited surface space
This fan can’t be considered compact due to the wide loop amplifier. If your desktop and nightstand real estate is taken up by monitors or large lamps, I’d suggest looking at a floor-standing format like the Dreo Smart Tower Fan 519S instead.

You’re on a tight budget
While it’s currently the cheapest model in their air treatment range, this fan's price tag still comes with the Dyson premium. If you’re looking to save some pennies, I’d check out brands like Govee or Meaco, whose offerings won’t make such a dent in your wallet.

You like your products smart
At this price point, I can’t help but find it a little stingy that Dyson didn’t design the CF1 to be compatible with the MyDyson app, especially considering the disappointing remote performance.

Dyson Cool CF1 desk fan review: Also consider

	Dyson Cool CF1	Shark FlexBreeze HydroGo	Shark TurboBlade
Price	$TBA / £249.99	$149.99 / £129.99	$299.99 / £249.99
Speed settings	10	5	10
Oscillation	Up to 70 degrees	No	Up to 180 degrees
Timer	Up to 8 hours	No	Up to 12 hours
Controls	Onboard push buttons and dial, remote control	Onboard buttons	Onboard button, remote control
Companion app	No	No	No
Additional modes	Sleep mode	Cordless up to 12 hours, Misting	Natural Breeze, Sleep Mode, BreezeBoost
Dimensions	5.9 x 14.2 x 217 inches / 150 x 360 x 550mm	8.7 x 8.4 x 11.5" / 22 x 21 x 29cm	11.8 x 31.6 x 44.8" / 300 x 800 x 1,120mm (max)
Weight	4lb / 1.8kg	4lb / 1.8kg	15lb / 8.8kg

Shark FlexBreeze HydroGo
Not only is this fan and mister combo compact enough to use as a desk fan, its cordless capabilities mean it can be used on the go, too. The pairing of the built-in battery, which offers up to 12 hours of use, and the misting function makes it a great choice for summer weather. If you’d like to learn more, why not take a look at our full Shark FlexBreeze HydroGo review?

Shark TurboBlade
If you want to save on desk space and would like a bladeless format without the price tag of a Dyson tower fan, then I suggest taking a look at the TurboBlade. It’s height adjustable, offers multi-directional airflow, and can oscillate up to 180 degrees, so you can really customize your cooling. Check out our full Shark TurboBlade review for more information.

How I tested the Dyson Cool CF1 desk fan

I used the Dyson Cool CF1 in multiple locations
I judged the setup process and how easy the fan was to use
I evaluated the strength of the airflow and the sound levels

I used the Dyson Cool CF1 in our reviews office, my home office, and my bedroom for one week. I evaluated the assembly process and build quality closely before using it passively and in specific tests that allowed me to assess the available features.

I assessed the airflow by checking the distance I could still feel a good breeze on different settings. I used a decibel meter on my phone to check the noise levels, taking the readings from around 2ft / 600mm away, ensuring the fan wasn’t blowing directly into the microphone.

I checked the timer worked as expected, and tested out the sleep mode to see whether the Dyson Cool CF1 was quiet enough for me to be able to sleep well with it running overnight.

First reviewed: June 2025
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This window cleaning robot proved a major effort-saver, but I won’t be cancelling Matt the window guy just yet

5:00 pm | June 7, 2025

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Home Small Appliances | Comments: Off

Hobot S7 Pro: two-minute review

The Hobot S7 Pro is a square robot that clings to your window and cleans dirt away using dual cleaning pads and a fine spray mist. It can be used indoors and out, and is suitable for framed or frameless windows. The large size is well suited to big windows; note that if the pane is too narrow, it won't clean it at all.

On test, I found this bot did a great job of cleaning lightly dirty glass. It's easy to use, navigates accurately, and doesn't miss any spots. However, it struggles with tougher dirt, which is probably true of most window bots. When I used it on the outer panes of my large patio doors, with some water marks and general grime accumulated from being exposed to the elements, the results were a little streaky. In contrast, my indoor glass partitions were left perfectly clean with no smears at all (and the bot accurately detected the frameless edges, which impressed).

The design of the S7 Pro is largely effective, with a few downsides. At time of testing, app support wasn't available, which meant I had to rely on the remote control. This requires you to point the remote directly at the robot, which is sometimes awkward. I also found the voice prompts shrill and irritating – and there's no way to switch them off. During my extensive testing period, the bot did once fall off a window.

Price-wise, the S7 Pro is an investment, but roughly in line with the wider market. You won't be saving much time by opting for this bot and, unlike a robot vacuum, you can't leave it to do its thing unattended – you need to be around to move it from pane to pane. However, in a home with lots of glass, or glass that needs regular cleaning, it could be a big effort-saver, and worth the investment. That's the short version; read on for my full Hobot S7 Pro review.

Hobot S7 Pro review: price & availability

List price: $439 / £329
Available: US / UK
Launched: 2025

The Hobot S7 Pro is available in the US and the UK, with a list price of $439 / £329. Solenco – the brand behind Hobot – also has a presence in Australia, but at time of writing, the S7 Pro wasn't available there. You can buy it direct from Solenco in the UK, and via Amazon in the US, although I suspect it will become more widely available as time goes on.

The S7 replaces the S6 in the Hobot range. Unfortunately, I can't find the pricing for that model anywhere, and nor can I discern the exact differences between the S6 and S7 models. (I've requested the information and will update this review when I hear back.)

A major competitor in this market is Ecovacs with its Winbot line. Models range from around $230-$700 in the US or £300-£500 in the UK. In general, though, the models closest to the S7 seem to be roughly the same price.

The Hobot S7 Pro isn't an especially cheap alternative to manual window cleaning, but it could be worth the investment if you have a lot of glass to clean, or if your windows get dirty quickly.

Value for money score: 3.5 out of 5

Hobot S7 Pro specs

Size (W x D x H):	10.5 x 10.2 x 3.5in / 26.7 x 26 x 9cm
Tanks:	2 x 80ml
Max suction:	4,800 Pa
Total charge cable length:	21ft / 6.4m

Hobot S7 Pro review: design

Square-shaped bot with dual reciprocating cleaning pads
Sprays fine mist from two small water tanks
Controlled via remote control – app support advertised, but unavailable

The Hobot S7 Pro is a square robot with dual reciprocating cleaning pads. It clings to your window and makes its way across its surface to clean it, with the aid of "AI-powered navigation". This bot is suitable for both framed and frameless windows, as well as patio doors and mirrors. While the following isn't addressed in the literature anywhere, previous reviews suggest the S7 Pro is only suitable for perfectly vertical surfaces.

Size-wise, the bot is rather large, so better suited to big windows (in fact, it refused to clean a 12.6in / 32cm wide window, I think due to lack of maneuvering room). The brand makes a range of smaller window bots, shaped like elongated ovals, which might be a better option if your windows aren't sizeable.

Hobot S7 Pro window cleaning robot on wooden deck next to patio doors — (Image credit: Future)

On the upper side of the unit is a grip handle for attaching and removing the bot to a surface, plus an on/off rocker power switch and a start/pause press button. On either side are two small, 80ml water tanks, sealed with a rubbery stopper. These can be filled with water and/or Hobot's own (supplied) cleaning solution; they're detachable with the aid of a screwdriver. Attached to each one is an "Ultrasonic nozzle", which sprays a very fine mist into the path of the bot as it moves around the surface. These are apparently extremely sensitive and not to be touched under any circumstances.

Hobot S7 Pro window cleaning robot flipped upside down to show mop pads — (Image credit: Future)

Flip the robot over and you'll find two rubbery caterpillar belts and two removable, washable cleaning cloths. These have rectangular sections cut out of the middle, to leave the suction area the bot uses to cling to the glass free. The cloths are mounted on separate plates, and vibrate vertically in towards each other. Hobot says this simulates the motion of a human hand scrubbing, although with up to 600 "wipes" per minute, it's rather more frenetic than any window cleaner I've met.

On the edges are bumpers to protect your window frames. This model also includes patented Edge-Leakage-Bumper (ELB) sensors, which are designed to make this cleaner suitable for edgeless glass. These sense if there's a loss of suction as a result of a gap, or if the bot reaching the edge of a pane of glass, and change direction rather than continue over it, breaking the main suction seal and dropping off.

Close up of ultrasonic spray nozzle spraying window — (Image credit: Future)

The device needs to be plugged into the mains to work. Thankfully, the cable is nice and long, but you might still need to make use of an extension cord for awkwardly placed outside windows. You'll also need to keep the backup battery charged, in case of a power outage – this will keep the bot attached to your window for up to around 20 minutes without power.

A safety cable is provided as a further backup if you're cleaning windows up high. I was pretty lax about attaching this until the bot fell off one of my windows. This only happened once during my extensive testing period, and luckily I was close enough to catch the rope before it hit the ground outside, but I learned a lesson about being diligent with attaching the rope.

Remote control for Hobot S7 Pro window cleaning robot — (Image credit: Future)

Control is via remote. This offers a few different cleaning cycles – with the one you'll probably want to use helpfully colored in blue – plus options to turn the spray on and off, or manually direct the cleaning path if required. Unfortunately, you need to be pointing the remote directly at the bot for it to register, which can sometimes be tricky to achieve. Ideally, I'd have used the companion app; app support is advertised for this model, but didn't appear to be available at time of writing.

The bot will also provide information by yelling at you in a rather shrill voice, accompanied by various loud beeps. It needs to be loud to be heard over the suction of the machine, but that doesn't make it any less irritating, especially given it repeats the same safety instructions every time you turn it on.

Design score: 4 out of 5

Hobot S7 Pro review: performance

Navigates accurately and doesn't miss any spots
Excellent for maintenance cleans, but can smear dirtier windows
Not especially speedy, but does save on effort

The Hobot S7 Pro's dual pads vibrate in a reciprocating (linear, side-to-side) motion to clean and buff your windows. The water tanks apply a fine mist onto the surface of the glass, but this is by no means a wet cleaning setup – after cleaning three large floor-to-ceiling windows, the pads were only very slightly damp around the edges.

It's easy to get started, although if you're unfamiliar with window-cleaning robots, you might need to watch a video or two to understand how it will work. You need to hold the bot against the window and switch it on manually – at this point the suction will kick in, along with a loud voice prompt, and you can let go.

Hobot S7 Pro window cleaning robot on outside of reviewer's patio door window — (Image credit: Future)

Then you can start the cleaning run. Unlike, say, a robot vacuum, there's no need to map anything first: just set off your preferred cycle and the bot will do the rest. I found the S7 Pro navigated my windows accurately, turning after it had bounced lightly against the window frame or sensed a gap in the glass. Route planning is apparently aided by AI, although each of the buttons on the remote launches a specific cleaning pattern, so I'm not exactly sure where the AI comes in.

The water tanks spray jets of mist – from the side the bot is moving towards – at regular intervals (it isn't "continuous", as some of the literature on the bot states). Filling the tanks to max gave me enough liquid to clean one side of one pane on my patio door, plus a bit more; but you'll still have to top these up quite regularly.

The cleaning coverage is excellent: the S7 Pro left only a small margin around the edges of my framed windows. Previous Hobot window-bots have used two circular cleaning pads; the squared-off design here seems much better suited to regularly proportioned windows.

The ELB (Edge-Leakage-Bumper) sensors are designed to make this bot suitable for edgeless glass (explained more in the Design section). I tested it on some indoor glass partitions that have a 1.5in / 4cm gap at the sides, and the feature worked exactly as advertised – the bot stopped short of the wall and changed direction.

In terms of cleaning results, I'd give it a middling score. For lighter, maintenance cleans, it performed very well. Using it on relatively clean windows indoors, the results were excellent, with no smearing.

However, when faced with the dirtier outside panes of my patio doors, the S7 Pro struggled. While windows were left significantly cleaner than they had been, the results were streaky. I could see the path the bot had travelled, and the occasional caterpillar track-mark. Don't expect the bot to be able to clean off caked-on dirt or bird poo, either.

Overall, I'm not sure that the ultra-fine mist is sufficient to tackle tougher dirt; I think a little more liquid would help. In addition, when using the S7 Pro outside, I could see that much of the mist was getting blown away in the breeze rather than landing on the window.

Hobot S7 Pro window cleaning robot on outside of reviewer's window, photographed from inside — (Image credit: Future)

On dirtier windows, Hobot suggests you run a no-spray cycle first, to buff off surface dirt. I also found a brand video that recommended drizzling a little bit of cleaner solution on clean pads before starting, to help with grip. I found both of these tips improved the results on dirtier windows.

As as side note, the S7 Pro was also an unexpected win for cleaning behind the safety railings on some second floor, floor-to-ceiling windows; an area that's extremely awkward to clean any other way.

Generally, the bot adhered well to my window, and felt securely attached when giving it a little tug after pausing operations. However, it did once fall off a window, seemingly for no reason.

In terms of timings, Hobot advertises that it will clean an area of 1 square meter in 2 minutes 36 seconds. In practice, a complete, standard cleaning run takes rather longer than that – in my tests, it cleaned a 1.3 square meter pane of glass in around 7 minutes 30 seconds. So you're not saving a ton of time by opting for this method of cleaning, but you are saving on effort.

In general, like most robotic home assistants, the Hobot S7 Pro doesn't do as good a job as a human would do with a manual tool. It's designed for maintenance cleans that can be supplemented by the occasional proper window-wash, rather than to replace humans entirely. Also note that you can't leave it to clean unattended – you'll need to be present to move it from pane to pane.

Performance score: 3 out of 5

Should you buy the Hobot S7 Pro?

Attribute	Notes	Rating
Value	Not an especially cheap solution, but in line with similar bots on the market.	3.5 / 5
Design	Square-shaped bot with effective dual reciprocating mop pads and ultrasonic spray. Remote control is a little too sensitive, and app control is absent. Voice alerts annoying.	4 / 5
Performance	Easy to use and navigation accurate and complete. Results are excellent on lightly dirty windows, but can smear when encountering more challenging dirt.	3 / 5

Buy it if...

You have a lot of large windows
The large, square shape of this window bot makes it a good choice for big expanses of glass. Those with smaller windows will get away with a more compact bot.

Your windows get dirty fast
This bot won't do as good a job as a human, but it will make a noticeable difference to how clean your windows look – which makes it ideal for regular maintenance cleaning.

You don't need a pristine result
My windows were left much cleaner, but the results were slightly streaky. If that's acceptable to you, it will be a great addition to your cleaning arsenal.

Don't buy it if...

You want a pristine, smear-free result
If you're seeking perfectly clear windows, you'll be better off taking care of the task manually.

You want something that can operate unattended
Unlike a robot vacuum, you'll need to stick around while the S7 Pro cleans, to move it from pane to pane.

You want something app-controlled
At time of writing, there was no app support for this window bot.

How I tested the Hobot S7 Pro

I used the Hobot S7 Pro window cleaning robot to tackle various floor-to-ceiling windows, both inside and out. I tested its different cleaning modes, as well as the remote control option. I focused on how clean it left windows, if it missed any spots, and if it could achieve the advertised streak-free finish. I also assessed how easy it was to use, its noise level in operation, and if there were any design features that proved troublesome.

Read more about how we test

First reviewed June 2025

This powerful, smart and versatile upright vacuum was more than a match for my parents’ neglected carpets

11:22 am | June 5, 2025

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Home Small Appliances Vacuums | Tags: AU, Australia, UK, US | Comments: Off

Shark PowerDetect Upright Vacuum: two-minute review

Product info

This model has slightly different names and product codes in different territories:

US: Shark POWERDETECT Upright Vacuum with TruePet Upgrade AZ407UPG1

Shark POWERDETECT Upright Bagless Vacuum With Ultimate Cleaning Tools AZ407KT1

UK: Shark PowerDetect Powered Lift-Away Upright Pet Vacuum Cleaner AZ3900UKT

AU: Shark PowerDetect Corded Upright AZ3900

For this review, I tested the AZ407UPG1 version. There may be minor differences between different countries' models.

The Shark PowerDetect Upright Vacuum is one of the most versatile upright vacuums on the market. Like other Shark vacuums, it's outfitted with a Detect mode that adjusts the suction based on the floor type and how clean it is. You don't have to worry about unseen dirt because the vacuum can sense debris, dust, and dirt, and increases the suction as required to clean it up.

While you could use the three manual modes (hard floor, carpet/low pile, and thick carpet/area rug), with the Detect mode, the vacuum informs you when the floor is clean with lights on the vacuum head that turn from purple (i.e. dirty) to white (i.e. clean).

During testing, the Shark PowerDetect Upright Vacuum performed wonderfully on various floor types, especially when it came to picking up fine materials like tea and hair. Though it missed a couple of large oat clusters on a single pass, it's still a top-tier vacuum, with suction capability that's well above average. It's one of the very best upright vacuums I've tested, as well as one of the best vacuums for carpet.

Sure, the vacuum head is a bit bulky, and the cord may get in the way, but Shark made this upright vacuum as versatile as possible. You can remove the pod (which holds the dust bin) from the wand, allowing you to use it as a stick vacuum to reach under couches and beds or in conjunction with one of the three accessories to clean tight spaces. If you need something less bulky, there's a stick vac in the same range – read about it in my Shark PowerDetect Cordless review, or head to TechRadar's best Shark vacuums guide to see other options, some of which have similar features.

All in all, the Shark PowerDetect Upright Vacuum is a great choice for those who have homes with carpet and/or lots of rugs as it does a stand-up job with deep cleaning.

Shark PowerDetect Upright Vacuum review: price & availability

List price: from $549.99 / £399.99 / $699.99
Launched: Announced September 2024
Available: Worldwide, including US, UK and Australia

In the US, there are a couple of different PowerDetect Upright options – the one I reviewed is the Shark PowerDetect Upright Vacuum with TruePet Upgrade, and it's priced at $549.99. There's also the Shark PowerDetect Upright Bagless Vacuum With Ultimate Cleaning Tools, which costs $449.99. The base model is the same, but the different bundles come with different cleaning tools. In the UK and Australia, there's just one Shark PowerDetect Upright, with a list price of £399.99 / AU$699.99.

At full price, that puts this vacuum in the upper-mid or premium price bracket. However, at time of writing, there are significant discounts available in all territories, taking this vacuum down more firmly into the mid-range market.

I think it's good value for what you're getting here. There are cheaper upright vacuums on the market, but this one has a flexible design and several advanced features that help set it apart from the competition. As you might have gathered from the above, this brand isn't averse to a discount either, and I expect more price drops to appear as time goes on.

Value for money score: 4 out of 5

Shark PowerDetect Upright Vacuum specs

Weight:	17.6 lbs / 8 kg
Bin size:	2 qts / 1.3 L
Cord length:	30 ft / 9 m
Cleaning path:	12 in / 30.5 cm
Flexible hose length:	1.9 ft / 0.6 m

Shark PowerDetect Upright Vacuum review: design

Corded vacuum with LED lights and a 12in cleaning path
Detachable dust cup lets you use the wand with the three specialty tools
Four cleaning modes including an automatic mode

The Shark PowerDetect Upright is a corded upright vacuum that can be used in various configurations for different cleaning tasks.

Although typically I prefer the freedom of a cordless stick vacuum, I do understand the appeal of a corded upright – in a battle of upright vs cordless vacuums, the former tends to last longer, will never run out of juice, and almost always deliver more powerful suction too.

Shark PowerDetect Upright vacuum broken apart into all of its component parts — (Image credit: Future)

The cable here is fairly generous at 30 feet / 9m long – that's not the longest on the market, but it should still enable you to clean a decent-sized space before having to unplug and replug.

Similarly, at 17.6 lbs / 8kg, it's not the lightest vacuum but it's not overly heavy either. The vacuum head is a bit bulky, but comes with useful design features like a self-cleaning brushroll which means the vacuum can pick up pet and human hair easily without it tangling on the brush, and LED headlights to make it easier to see in dark corners. In fact, you'll notice a lot more lights and indicators on this vacuum than most, plus an odor neutralizer capsule designed to prevent bad smells and keep your floors smelling fresh.

Close up of buttons on Shark PowerDetect Upright vacuum — (Image credit: Future)

The handle has five buttons: a power button and four cleaning mode buttons (Detect mode, Hard floor, Carpet/Low pile, and Thick Carpet/Area rug. When using the Detect mode, this upright vacuum senses the floor type and adjusts the speed of the brushroll and the suction power to clean. Upon sensing dirt, the LED indicator light on the vacuum head turns purple. When the light is white, users know that section of the floor is free of dust and dirt.

Close up of floorhead on Shark PowerDetect Upright vacuum — (Image credit: Future)

The vacuum is outfitted with two other Detect modes. With Edge Detect, arrows on the top sides of the vacuum light up when the vacuum moves close to an edge of a room, and the suction increases on the relevant side of the floorhead to clear any dust that might have gathered there. There's also Direction detect, which is designed so that the vacuum cleans just as well on the reverse stroke as it does when it's pushed forwards.

The dust cup on this PowerDetect vac has a capacity of 2 quarts / 1.3L, which is on the smaller side for an upright vacuum, but is still far bigger than the bin you'd find on a cordless stick vacuum.

For greater flexibility, this dustbin section can also be removed and held in the hand. A flexible hose connects the wand to the dustbin, and from there you can reattach the motorized vacuum head to the wand, to allow you to reach under furniture without the dustbin getting in the way.

Shark PowerDetect Upright vacuum with dust cup removed and held in the tester's hand — (Image credit: Future)

You can also attach one of the detail tools, to tackle awkward or hard-to reach areas. Exactly what tools are included depends on which bundle you opt for. The review model I tested here came with a Duster crevice tool, Pet multi-tool, and HairPro Self-cleaning pet power brush.

As far as sound goes, the vacuum has a dB rating between 77-83, which is dependent on the mode being used or the increase in suction by the vacuum when it senses dirty floors.

Design score: 4.5 out of 5

Shark PowerDetect Upright Vacuum review: performance

Excellent edge and reverse cleaning
Accessories make it easy to clean furniture, ceiling, and tight spaces
Great at detecting dirt and adjusting suction on various floor types

The Shark PowerDetect Upright Vacuum took only a couple of minutes to assemble. When I first tried to use it, the machine wouldn't turn on despite pressing the power button and having it properly plugged in. Eventually, I realized I didn't have the hose connected all the way. I love that the vacuum 'protects' the user from accidentally turning the vacuum on and sending dust and debris they've just vacuumed back into the room.

On test, the Shark PowerDetect Upright Vacuum did not disappoint. I have historic hardwood floors, laminate floors, and low pile rugs in my house. On my first go, I cleaned my entire house with the vacuum, jumping between the Detect mode and manual surface modes (hard floor, carpet/low pile, and thick carpet/area rug) to get a feel on how each one worked.

Shark PowerDetect Upright vacuum being used by reviewer in her home — (Image credit: Future)

I've tested a number of Shark vacuums, and I'm a huge fan of the Detect mode, which detects unseen dirt on the ground. I love when the lights turn from purple to white, indicating the surface is dust-free. So many vacuums lack this feature and it's truly a shame, because it's difficult otherwise to know if my floors are actually clean.

No matter the mode, I felt like the vacuum picked up dirt, dust, and debris on all my different floor types wonderfully. The only drawback I observed was that the vacuum head wasn't able to fit into tight spaces. Not to mention, I was unable to reach under my couch or bed because the dustbin got in the way. (There is a workaround this; keep reading.)

Shark PowerDetect Upright vacuum cleaning deep pile carpet — (Image credit: Future)

During my testing period, I had the opportunity to take the Shark PowerDetect Upright Vacuum to my parents' home and test it on the carpet in their bedrooms. I was stunned by how much dust and dirt it picked up from the carpet. When using the Detect mode on their carpets, I found myself vacuuming over one strip of floor about six times before the light turned from purple to white indicating it was clean. (According to my dad, they hadn't deep cleaned their carpets in a while…) Anyone who has carpet in their home would do well to have this vacuum on hand.

Shark PowerDetect Upright vacuum with wand and detail tool attached to flexible hose — (Image credit: Future)

Perhaps the most impressive aspect of this upright vacuum is the ability to break it down and use the detail tools provided. The main pod (which holds the dust bin) can be removed from the wand, and the wand can be removed from the vacuum head. This allowed me to attach the duster crevice tool to the end of the wand and clean the corners or my ceiling.

Granted, I had to hold the pod in one hand and the wand in the other, but there aren't too many upright vacuums that offer this feature, and it's very useful. I was also able to use the wand and the vacuum head to clean under my couch and bed without the pod getting in the way.

The only drawback to breaking down the vacuum is that it's not easy to move the unit around the house in that mode. I'd have to pick up the pod in one hand and hold the wand in the other and walk to a new spot. Sometimes, I'd have to go back and grab accessories or the vacuum head or make sure not to get the hose tangled in the cord.

Close up of detail tools housed on back of Shark PowerDetect Upright vacuum — (Image credit: Future)

I don't have pets so I used the Pet Multi Tool and HairPro Self-Cleaning Pet Power Brush to remove my own hair from my couch. Compared to other vacuums that offer similar accessories, I thought they performed slightly better – although that might be more to do with the fact that the Shark PowerDetect Upright Vacuum has a more powerful suction. Nevertheless, it's worth putting this model in the mix if you're looking for the best vacuum for pet hair.

Maintenance isn't too much of a hassle. When I was done cleaning, I removed the dust bin and placed it over a trash can before opening the latch, allowing the dust and debris to fall in. Because the dust cup is much larger than you'd find on most cordless vacuums, you shouldn't have to do this too regularly. The only other required maintenance is cleaning the pre-motor filters every month, the HEPA filter every year, and hand washing the soft roller as needed. Sensors must also be occasionally cleaned, and blockages must be checked for in the hose, wand, and nozzle. The squeegee bristle strip has to be cleaned or replaced occasionally too.

Suction tests

I went on to run a few standardized tests so I can get an even better look into the suction power of the vacuum and how it compares to other models. To do that, I placed loose leaf tea and oats on one of my rugs and on the laminate floor in my kitchen. From there, I used both the Detect mode and the manual modes of Hard Floor and Thick Carpet/Area Rug to see how well the vacuum sucked up the debris.

One update on this Shark range is 'Direction direction' tech, where the vacuum is designed to vacuum just as well when pushed forwards as when it's pulled backwards (some previous Shark vacuums tend to pool debris behind the floorhead when reversing). I also kept an eye on this aspect in my tests.

Shark PowerDetect Upright vacuum performing suction tests on hard floor — (Image credit: Future)

When it came to the loose-leaf tea, the vacuum performed perfectly on my laminate floor and area rug. No matter if I vacuumed forward or in reverse, or what mode I used, it sucked up every single piece of the fine material in a single pass.

Now for the oats test… When it came to vacuuming oats on my laminate floor, the vacuum did a pretty good job. It looked like the vacuum had picked up all the oats in a single pass. However, I later found that the vacuum missed five clusters. Compared to other models I've tested, this is still impressive. Most vacuums push the oats forward or I find that the oats get trapped behind the wheels. The Shark PowerDetect Upright Vacuum didn't do that. Sure, it missed a couple of oats, but they were quite large clusters and only needed one more pass to remove them from my floors.

For the carpet/rug test, the results were slightly different. No matter the mode, the vacuum suctioned oats perfectly when vacuuming in reverse. Oddly, it missed a few of the larger clusters of oats when vacuuming forward. It took me two to three swipes of the vacuum to remove all the oats from the rug. Again, this is not as big of a drawback as it seems. Most vacuums struggle with picking up x-large clusters of oats, no matter the floor type.

With its Edge detect feature, the Shark PowerDetect Upright Vacuum senses when it's near the edge of a room, where dust can collect, and boosts suction on the relevant side of the floorhead to clear it. To test this feature, I sprinkled loose leaf tea along a wall. The vacuum head picked up every bit of the fine material in a single pass. I give the edge cleaning a perfect rating.

Performance score: 4 out of 5

Should you buy the Shark PowerDetect Upright Vacuum?

Attribute	Notes	Rating
Value	Sits in the upper-mid / premium price bracket, and while it's not the cheapest upright option, the flexibility and features justify the cost.	4.5 / 5
Design	An upright corded vacuum with four cleaning modes and sensors that detect edges, vacuuming direction, surfaces, and dirt. Versatile design that can be broken down into different configurations.	4.5 / 5
Performance	In addition to superb edge and reverse cleaning, it excels in cleaning all floor types, especially carpet. It may miss extra-large debris on a single pass but still outperforms most battery-powered vacuums.	4 / 5

Buy it if...

You have carpet or lots of rugs

Carpet and rugs hide a lot of dust and debris, but this exceptionally powerful upright vacuum can grab even the finest materials like tea.

You're a pet owner

The suction on this vacuum is excellent, and that combined with useful detail tools and a large dust cup make it well suited to those who need something that can cope with lots of pet hair.

You want more assurance that your floors are clean

The vacuum is outfitted with a Detect mode, which informs you when your floors are clean or dirty with lighting cues.

Don't buy it if...

You don't like to be limited by cords

While corded vacuums are not limited by battery life, they do limit how far you can go from an outlet. Not to mention, a cord can get in your way or get tangled.View Deal

You don't want to mess around with different configurations

The bulky vacuum head doesn't fit in tight spaces and the dust bin can prevent you from reaching under furniture. Although you can break down the vacuum to clean hard-to-reach areas, it will take you some time to do so and can be a bit of a hassle to move everything from one spot to the next. For ultimate freedom, try one of the best cordless vacuums instead.

You only have hard floors
Those with hard floors don't really need the power of an upright vacuum. Something lighter like the Shark PowerDetect Cordless Stick Vacuum will perform just as well.

How I tested the Shark PowerDetect Upright Vacuum

I tested the Shark PowerDetect Upright Vacuum with TruePet Upgrade over the course of two weeks. Not only did I use the numerous cleaning modes on my hard floors and low pile carpets, but I also took the vacuum to my parents' house and tested the vacuum on the high pile carpets in their bedrooms. As part of my review, I ran two vacuum tests with fine and thick materials on two different floor types to see how well the vacuum picked up the items on the lowest suction setting.

Read more about how we test vacuum cleaners

First reviewed May 2025

The De’Longhi Primadonna Aromatic is one of the best bean-to-cup coffee makers I’ve ever used – and one of the most expensive

6:00 pm | June 1, 2025

Author: admin | Category: Coffee Machines Computers Gadgets Home Small Appliances | Tags: UK | Comments: Off

De'Longhi Primadonna Aromatic: two-minute review

The De’Longhi Primadonna Aromatic is a premium bean-to-cup espresso machine that’s a pleasure to use, brewing exceptionally well-balanced coffee and giving you a huge array of ways to enjoy it.

Once you’ve tailored your espresso to your liking, the Primadonna Aromatic presents you with an enormous menu of hot and cold drink options so you can enjoy it any way you like. You don’t need to worry about being blinded by choice, though, because the machine will ‘learn’ what drinks you enjoy and when, and will bump them to the front of the queue depending on the time of day.

The interface is thoughtfully designed, with a chatty tone, step-by-step instructions, and diagrams and animations to walk you through everything from brewing a macchiato to cleaning the brew unit.

Iced latte macchiato made using Primadonna Aromatic coffee maker — (Image credit: Future)

For me, there are only two drawbacks. The first is the Primadonna Aromatic’s sheer size. I've tested some big coffee makers over the past few years, but this is definitely one of the largest.

Width isn’t much of an issue because the water tank can be removed from the front, making it possible to push the machine up against a wall and only move it out for occasional cleaning. The problem is the height. At 16in / 46.3cm this is a seriously tall appliance, and if you position it on a counter under a wall cabinet, you might struggle to open the bean hopper on top when it's time for a refill. Make sure you measure your space carefully before investing.

The second issue is the price. This is one of the best bean-to-cup coffee machines I’ve ever tested, but also one of the most expensive. In fact, only the Jura J10 is pricier. You’ll need a household of coffee lovers with varied tastes to get the most out of the Primadonna Aromatic.

De'Longhi Primadonna Aromatic coffee machine — (Image credit: Future)

De'Longhi Primadonna Aromatic: price and availability

Costs £1,549.99 (about $2,100 / AU$3,300)
Launched in the UK in April 2025
Not yet available in the US (but likely to arrive soon)

The De’Longhi Primadonna Aromatic launched in the UK in April 2025, priced at £1,549.99 (about $2,100 / AU$3,300). At the time of writing, it’s not yet available in the US, but I anticipate a wider release soon.

It’s one of the more expensive coffee machines in De’Longhi’s fully automatic series, sitting between the De’Longhi Primadonna Soul (which only brews hot beverages) and the top-end De’Longhi Maestosa (which has dual bean hoppers and a special milk carafe that can combine ingredients like cocoa powder).

The Primadonna Aromatic is definitely at the upper end of the price scale when it comes to home coffee makers. However, if you’re a fan of chilled espresso-based drinks, it’s a more affordable option than the Jura J10, which is also great for hot and cold drinks, but has an eye-watering price tag of £1,795 / AU$3,990 (about $2,300).

The Primadonna Aromatic is easily one of the best coffee makers I’ve tested this year, but there’s no avoiding the fact that its price will be beyond the budget of many coffee aficionados.

Value score: 4/5

De'Longhi Primadonna Aromatic: specifications

Name	De'Longhi Primadonna Aromatic
Type	Automatic bean-to-cup
Dimensions (W x H x D)	10.3 x 16 x 18.2in / 26.2 x 40.7 x 46.3cm
Weight	28.7lbs / 13kg
Water reservoir capacity	2.3 quarts / 2.2 liters
Milk frother	Automatic, hot and cold
Bars of pressure	19
User profiles	4

De'Longhi Primadonna Aromatic: design

Very large, but stylish
Five-inch touchscreen and intuitive interface
Two-carafe system for hot and cold milk foam
Easy to clean with dishwasher-safe components

The De’Longhi Primadonna Aromatic is a large but stylish espresso machine, with a brushed metal finish and black accents. Its most striking feature is a 5in color touchscreen that displays the menu options (there are 35 customizable hot and cold drinks to choose from), which is supplemented by four buttons: power, profile selection, hot drinks, and cold drinks.

The coffee dispenser on the front can be moved up and down to accommodate different-sized cups and has a magnetic cover that’s easy to remove when you want to clean the nozzles.

The Primadonna Aromatic comes with two milk carafes – one for hot milk and one for cold – that push into a connector on the left of the coffee dispenser. Each carafe has a dial on top that allows you to pick from three foam textures, from creamy to thick. Turning the dial all the way to the right will select cleaning mode, which you should run before returning the carafe to the fridge (the machine will remind you to do this if you forget).

Milk carafe connecting to Primadonna Aromatic coffee maker — The two milk carafes push into a connector on the front of the machine, and can be stored in the fridge between use (Image credit: Future)

Both carafes have lids to keep the milk fresh while it’s refrigerated. When it’s time to give them a deep clean, they can be easily disassembled and cleaned in the top drawer of a dishwasher, or left to soak in hot, soapy water for 30 minutes and rinsed.

The water tank is also nicely designed. It has a generous 2.3 quart / 2.2 liter capacity, and unlike some others, it's large enough to get your hand inside when you want to clean and dry it. There’s also a lid with a funnel-shaped hole for mess-free filling, and the machine comes with a water hardness testing strip that helps you set it up correctly, plus a water filter that screws inside.

Water tank removed from Primadonna Aromatic coffee maker — The large water tank slides into the machine from the front (Image credit: Future)

The Primadonna Aromatic will alert you when it’s time to replace the filter. New ones can be purchased directly from De’Longhi for £15.99 (about $20 / AU$35), but at the time of writing, they are discounted to £8.54 (about $10 / AU$20).

In addition to the main hopper, the Primadonna Aromatic has a chute you can use to add a scoop of pre-ground coffee when you want to drink something different from your usual beans. It’s a great feature that you’ll find on most De’Longhi machines, and is ideal if you want to switch to decaf in the afternoon.

Primadonna Aromatic coffee maker bean hopper — There's a large-capacity bean hopper on top, or you can use a scoop of pre-ground coffee if you want to switch to something different (Image credit: Future)

My only real issue with the Primadonna Aromatic’s design is its height. This mighty machine stands an imposing 16in / 407mm tall, which means there’s not much headroom between its lid and my wall cabinets. That usually wasn’t a problem, but it made refilling the bean hopper trickier than I’d like. I was just about able to remove the lid (which has a soft seal to keep your beans fresh) and slip scoops of coffee inside. It’s well worth measuring the space you have available to make sure this impressive machine will fit.

The good news is that you don’t need much room on the sides. The water tank is located on the right, but slides out from the front of the machine. If you position the Primadonna Aromatic right against a wall or cabinet (as I did), you’ll only need to move it out approximately once a month to clean the brew unit.

Design score: 5/5

De'Longhi Primadonna Aromatic: performance

Produces well-extracted, balanced espresso
Hot and cold milk frothing both work very well
User profiles provide smart recommendations for multiple users

Image 1 of 3

Drinks menu on Primadonna Aromatic coffee maker — The drinks you make more frequently at the current time of day will be displayed first in the menu (Image credit: Future)

Image 2 of 3

User profiles on Primadonna Aromatic coffee maker — You'll be prompted to create profiles for everyone who'll be using the machine during setup (Image credit: Future)

Image 3 of 3

Heating notification on Primadonna Aromatic coffee maker — All instructions and other text is written in a chatty style that makes the Primadonna Aromatica more pleasant to use (Image credit: Future)

The De’Longhi Primadonna Aromatic is a joy to use, and manages to nail both the fundamentals and the details.

First (and most importantly), it can brew an excellent espresso. The machine’s standard settings appear to be configured for medium roast arabica beans, because it produced a delicious, sweet, well-rounded espresso first time using my preferred beans. If the taste isn’t quite to your liking, you can delve into the Bean Adapt tool, which is accessible via a link above the main drinks menu.

Just select the type of beans you’re using, either through the machine’s touchscreen or De’Longhi’s Coffee Link mobile app, and the machine will automatically adjust its brewing settings accordingly, including the grind size. If the resulting espresso doesn’t meet your expectations, you can tinker with the options manually to achieve the optimum extraction.

Once you’ve perfected your espresso, you can take your pick from a selection of hot and cold drinks.

Primadonna Aromatic coffee maker pouring espresso — (Image credit: Future)

One of the Primadonna Aromatic’s main selling points is its ability to ‘learn’ which drinks you like at different times of day. This excellent feature helps you avoid scrolling through the vast menu every time you want to make a beverage, and is great for households with more than one coffee drinker.

User profiles for coffee machines sometimes feel a bit superfluous (after all, who’s actually replacing all the beans in the hopper when they want to brew a drink for themselves?), but with the Primadonna Aromatic, profiles are an integral part of the experience. When you first set up the machine, you’ll be asked to provide names for all the people who’ll be using it, and given the option to set different-colored profile icons. I set one for myself, and a second for my husband. You can switch between these profiles at the press of a button, and the menu will rearrange itself with that person’s preferred drinks listed first for quick selection. I test new coffee machines every month for TechRadar, and this is the first time I’ve found user profiles in an espresso maker genuinely useful.

The LatteCrema hot milk frothing system is excellent and produces some of the best results I’ve seen from an automatic espresso machine. De’Longhi advises that you’ll get the best results with whole dairy milk or plant milk, and during my tests, I found that dairy and oat produced the thickest, most stable foam. Push the milk carafe into place, tilt the dispenser so the nozzle is positioned over your cup, turn the dial to the position described on the machine’s screen, and you’re ready to begin.

Latte macchiato made using Primadonna Aromatic coffee maker — (Image credit: Future)

Another of the Primadonna Aromatic’s key features is its ability to make tasty cold-brewed drinks. These aren’t a tacked-on extra, and are given just as much prominence in the menu as hot beverages. There are even quick-access buttons beside the touchscreen that let you filter the drink menu by temperature.

The machine comes with a silicone ice cube tray, and after selecting a cold drink, you’ll be prompted to add a certain number of cubes to your cup or glass (at least six for an iced latte macchiato, for example). For milk-based drinks, you’ll then be asked to connect the cold carafe (the one with the white lid), which should be filled with either skimmed dairy milk or a plant-based alternative for the best results.

One of the biggest drawbacks of most automatic espresso machines is the cleanup, which sometimes takes so long that I think I’d be better off making my coffee manually. The De’Longhi Primadonna Aromatic is different. It rinses itself automatically after brewing and prompts you to rinse the milk carafe, but both processes only take a couple of seconds and seem to require very little water. I tested the machine for several weeks and never noticed any change in the taste of my drinks, so this system clearly works.

When it’s time to give the machine a deep clean, the Primadonna Aromatic provides step-by-step instructions to help you disassemble and wash the coffee dispenser components, and remove and rinse the brew unit. I found a small build-up of coffee grounds in the hatch containing the brew unit, but these were easy to wipe up with a damp cloth.

I was a little nervous about cleaning the plastic milk carafe components in the dishwasher, but they came out sparkling. Washing by hand is fine too, but it's reassuring to know they've been cleaned at a high temperature to remove residue that might harbor bacteria.

Performance score: 5/5

Should you buy the De'Longhi Primadonna Aromatic?

De'Longhi Primadonna Aromatic: score card
Attribute	Notes	Score
Value	It's a brilliant machine, but there's no escaping the fact that the Primadonna Aromatic will be beyond the budget of many coffee lovers.	4/5
Design	Smart and stylish, with a super-intuitive interface and dishwasher-safe components to make maintenance a breeze.	5/5
Performance	Brews consistently well-balanced and tasty espresso. Both hot and cold milk foaming work well, and user profiles that 'learn' your preferences are extremely handy.	5/5

Buy it if

You enjoy cold drinks regularly

The De’Longhi Primadonna Aromatic makes excellent iced espresso drinks, and its cold foam is particularly impressive. Use skimmed or plant-based milk for the best results.

You have a generous budget

This is one of the most expensive espresso machines I’ve tested. It’s a joy to use, but there’s no escaping the fact that it’s seriously pricey.

Don't buy it if

You have just a couple of favorite drinks

The Primadonna Aromatic learns your drink preferences, but if you only drink cappuccinos and double espressos (for example), most of this machine’s functions will be superfluous. There are over 30 drinks to choose from, and sticking with one or two would be a real shame.

You’re the only coffee drinker in your house

This machine’s smart user profiles are one of its best features, and if you don’t share your coffee machine with anyone else, you might be better off with a simpler machine that doesn’t offer such depth of customization.

De'Longhi Primadonna Aromatic: also consider

De'Longhi La Specialista Touch

If you don't have the space or the budget for the Primadonna Aromatic, this compact semi-automatic machine from De'Longhi is well worth a look. It can automate the trickiest parts of making espresso-based drinks, or let you take control. It's much smaller than you'd expect, and very reasonably priced.

Read our full De'Longhi La Specialista Touch review

Jura J10

If money is no object and your coffee orders are so complicated they give baristas a headache, the J10 could be the espresso machine for you. Like the Primadonna Aromatic, it does an excellent job of brewing hot and cold (with only one milk carafe needed), and it can even infuse foam with a flavored syrup of your choice.

Read our full Jura J10 review

How I tested the De'Longhi Primadonna Aromatic

I used the De'Longhi Primadonna Aromatic for two weeks in place of my usual coffee machine, and brewed coffee using a blend of freshly roasted Brazilian and Colombian arabica beans. I set up a separate user profile for my partner to test the smart recommendations, and we both used the machine to brew a variety of hot and cold drinks throughout each day.

Coffee beans beside De'Longhi Primadonna Aromatic coffee maker — (Image credit: Future)

I tested the hot milk frother with whole dairy milk and oat milk and used the cold milk frother with skimmed dairy milk and oat milk, as instructed by De'Longhi. All milk was bought fresh and used cold from the fridge.

First reviewed May 2025.

The Philips 1000 Series Dual Basket Air Fryer made the most delicious green beans I’ve had from an air fryer, and it’s big enough to feed a whole family

7:03 pm | May 28, 2025

Author: admin | Category: Air Fryers Computers Gadgets Home Small Appliances | Tags: Australia, LED, UK, US | Comments: Off

Philips 1000 Series Dual Basket Air Fryer: one-minute review

Since Philips introduced the world to the first air fryer back in 2010, the market for this health-conscious kitchen appliance has boomed. Manufacturers like Ninja dominate best air fryers lists, but British Philips continues to improve upon its patented Rapid Air Technology, and its most recent offerings, like the Philips 5000 Series Dual Basket Steam Air Fryer, are increasingly impressive.

The Philips 1000 Series Dual Basket Air Fryer NA150X isn't quite on par with the 5000 and suffers from some of the same issues around ease of use, but it's also considerably cheaper at £133.99. For that price tag, you get a well-performing air fryer with plenty of room and a handful of useful features, such as a shaking reminder and sync cooking, without bombarding you with a bunch of extras.

When the 1000 Series works well, it's excellent: chicken is succulent with just enough crispiness on the skin, muffins are soft inside without being dry, and chips (homemade and frozen) are golden and fluffy inside. I found the presets are mostly accurate and provide top-notch – though you do need to keep an eye on cooking at times – and the recipes provided in the accompanying Home ID app (though limited) are delicious.

Philips 1000 Series Dual Basket Air Fryer control panel — (Image credit: Vic Hood)

Frustratingly, you have to rely on that Home ID app a lot, especially at the start. Like the Steam Air Fryer, this appliance comes with a limited physical user manual. You need to download the Home ID app to access the full digital manual that gives clear instructions on each button's functionality and the food tables listing recommended weights and food types. While these tables are helpful, they aren't as thorough as others we've seen and don't cover some commonly air-fried foods. For example, I need to know what weight and settings to use for individual vegetables, like carrots and broccoli, more than I likely need to know the weight to cook meatballs with baked gnocchi.

However, once you get to grips with how the air fryer works, the digital interface is straightforward to use. You have the option to cook in one 7.1L XXL basket or to add the provided divider to create two individually programmable baskets – these can also be set to sync and finish cooking at the same time or to have matching settings. This air fryer is surprisingly compact (compared to its competitors) given its capacity, and the deep baskets are deceptively spacious, with a handy Max line indicating how much you can fill each.

Philips 1000 Series Dual Basket Air Fryer basket — (Image credit: Vic Hood)

The XXL basket and crisping plates are dishwasher friendly (though we always advise against this), and their non-stick coating makes them straightforward to clean – in theory. The XXL basket is cumbersome to clean, especially in a sink, and even if you just use one side, the entire basket needs to be removed and washed. Similarly, if you are cooking two foods at once and need to shake one side, you inadvertently remove and shake the other at the same time.

Ultimately, this is a great air fryer with an affordable price tag, even if the user experience isn't ideal. You may just need some patience (like with many air fryers) to find the optimal settings and weights for foods not listed in the table.

Philips 1000 Series Dual Basket Air Fryer: price and availability

£133.99 at Philips (roughly $181.45 / AU$281.43)
Available in the UK, but not in the US or Australia currently
Available at third party retailers like Amazon, but cheaper from Philips directly

The Philips 1000 Series Dual Basket Air Fryer is a budget to mid-range appliance at £133.99 (roughly $181.45 / AU$281.43). At that price, it's worth considering if you don't want to shell out £200+ on a premium air fryer like the Ninja Double Oven and Dreo ChefMaker. While it does come with fewer bells and whistles than more premium options, including the excellent Philips 5000 Series Dual Basket Steam Air Fryer, it gets the job done. While the results aren't always as consistent, this is a solid air fryer for this price tag.

At the time of writing, the Philips 1000 Series Dual Basket Air Fryer NA15X is only available in the UK as the NA150/09 (the Australian model has seemingly been discontinued). In the US, the closest model to the one we tested appears to be the Philips 3000 Series Dual Basket Air Fryer, which costs $199.99.

You can pick up the model we reviewed from third-party retailers like Currys or Amazon for £159.99, though you'll save some cash purchasing from Philips directly (£133.99).

Value score: 4.5/5

Philips 1000 Series Dual Basket Air Fryer: specifications

Review model	NA15X
Number of baskets	2 (with divider), or one XXL basket
Number of cooking functions	6 presets, plus three extra functions
Cooking functions and modes	Presets: Frozen Fries, Steak, Chicken Drumsticks, Mixed Vegetables, Cake/Muffin, Reheat Extra functions: Copy (apply same settings to both baskets), Time (syncs cooking times), Shaking reminder
Smart control	No
Rated power	2,450W
Capacity	7.1 liters
Temperature range	40C-200C / 104F-392F
Time range	Up to 60 minutes
Dimensions (including handles)	17.23 in (L) x 11.87 in (W) x 11.61 in (H) / 437.69mm (L) x 301.43mm (W) x 294.91mm (H)
Dishwasher safe	Yes
Weight	12.79lbs / 5.8kg

Philips 1000 Series Dual Basket Air Fryer: design

Black modern design
Fairly compact for an XXL air fryer
Spacious 7.1L capacity
Clear digital LED interface
Cumbersome to hand wash
Full user manual is digital only

The Philips 1000 Series Dual Basket Air Fryer has a matte black body with a black digital LED interface on the top, a glossy black plastic strip around the middle, and two large handles. The XXL basket is pulled out using the handles, like a drawer, and has two crisping plates inside, with each drawer also showing two maximum fill lines, one indicating the max capacity for frozen potato snacks and the other for other food types. A plastic divider is provided, which slides into slots between the two plates, creating two individually programmable, smaller baskets rather than the one XXL basket.

Max fill line in Philips 1000 Series Dual Basket Air Fryer — (Image credit: Vic Hood)

Given its 7.1 liter capacity, this air fryer is much more compact than others we've tested of similar size, measuring 17.23 in (L) x 11.87 in (W) x 11.61 in (H) and weighing 5.8kg. So, while it will take up some room in your kitchen, it's nowhere near as chunky as the likes of the Russell Hobbs Satisfry 9L Dual Basket Air Fryer. If you've kids at home, you'll be pleased to hear it's cool to the touch when on, with the airflow temperature out the back (on XXL cooking) averaging around 43C, and it's not too intrusive volume-wise either, averaging around 60 decibels (again on XXL cooking),

The digital LED interface is clear and easy to use, with minimal clutter on the screen. However, to understand how to use its various presets and functions, you need to download the companion Home ID app using the QR code on the front of the appliance. The physical user manual provided mostly consists of confusing illustrations that try to explain how to use the air fryer, but the digital user manual accessible through the app is much more thorough.

t's extremely frustrating that you can only read the 918-page user manual on your phone as a sort of PDF, though, and if you don't have a smartphone to download the app, you're snookered. This is a recurring issue with Philips air fryers we've found, but at least the QR code on this one works, and the app's recommended recipes are actually pretty tasty.

Philips 1000 Series Dual Basket Air Fryer mobile app with recipes — (Image credit: Vic Hood)

The digital user manual provides clearer instructions on the air fryer's presets and features, and how to use them, alongside food tables which recommend the weights and settings to use for certain food types. While these tables cover common food types like fries, chicken breast, and muffins, they could be more detailed – and some of the times listed in the tables are slightly different than the presets on the appliance. Instead of recommendations for cooking turkey roulade and veggies, a clear table on the settings for individual vegetables would be much more useful or what type of vegetables to use for the Mixed Vegetable preset would be much more helpful.

Another annoying issue I found with this appliance was cleaning it. While the Philips 1000 Series Dual Basket Air Fryer's basket and crisping plates can be put in the dishwasher, and I successfully did, we typically advise not to use a dishwasher to clean anything with a non-stick coating (as this has) to ensure it doesn't wear away over time.

You may have difficulty dishwashing the basket on this one anyway because it's pretty cumbersome and will take up a lot of room in your dishwasher. The entire XXL basket comes out as one and therefore the whole thing must be cleaned, even if you only use one of the baskets within it. While it cleans easily with dish soap and water, it can be a bit tricky to get it in the sink and give it a thorough clean.

While it's a shame Philips has dropped the ball again when it comes to a clear, physical user manual (which would benefit older, less savvy users), once you do get to grips with this air fryer, it's straightforward and convenient to use.

Design score: 4/5

Philips 1000 Series Dual Basket Air Fryer: performance

What it cooks well, it does brilliantly
Six presets, mixed accuracy
Time function to sync cooking
Copy function to match basket settings
Quality of life features, like shaking reminder

The Philips 1000 Series Dual Basket Air Fryer comes with six cooking presets (Frozen Fries, Steak, Chicken Drumsticks, Mixed Vegetables, Cake/Muffin, Reheat) and three extra functions (Time, Copy, and a Shaking reminder).

When the Philips 1000 Series Dual Basket Air Fryer works well, the results are impressive. I started my testing with frozen chips, adding 400g of frozen steak cut fries to one of the smaller baskets and selecting the Frozen Fries/Potato Snacks preset. This automatically adds the Shaking reminder (which can also be selected manually), which sees the appliance chirping about halfway through cooking to indicate when to shake or turn your food.

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Fries cooked with Philips 1000 Series Dual Basket Air Fryer — (Image credit: Vic Hood)

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Frustratingly, this does mean you need to shake the whole basket, whether you want the other half shaken or not. The results were excellent, with the chips cooked pretty evenly (though some were a tad more done than others) and crispy outside but fluffy inside. I had similar results when cooking homemade fries, following the food table instructions, though I had to pull the chips out a few minutes earlier than the recommended time to prevent them from becoming overdone.

The results for chicken wings and muffins were perhaps the best I've had from an air fryer yet. Into the XXL pan, I added six full-size wings coated in a Louisiana dry rub and selected the Chicken Drumstick preset (the food tables have no chicken wing recommendation).

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Chicken in Philips 1000 Series Dual Basket Air Fryer — (Image credit: Vic Hood)

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Muffins cooked with Philips 1000 Series Dual Basket Air Fryer — (Image credit: Vic Hood)

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Inside muffin cooked with Philips 1000 Series Dual Basket Air Fryer — (Image credit: Vic Hood)

Apart from turning the wings when prompted, I made no changes, and the resulting wings were perfectly crispy outside and juicy inside without being too much of either. Likewise, using a Ninja (sorry, Philips) blueberry and lemon muffin recipe with the Muffin preset in the XXL basket resulted in perfect muffins: soft and fluffy inside but not too dry.

While the recipes in the Home ID app are somewhat limited, at least for my specific appliance, they have stellar results. When you sign up for the app, you choose your appliance and are offered recipes that are suited to your specific air fryer. To start, I tried a green bean recipe that was simple but resulted in the most delicious green beans I've ever had from an air fryer: not too soggy, just perfectly cooked.

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Green beans cooked with Philips 1000 Series Dual Basket Air Fryer — (Image credit: Vic Hood)

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Chicken legs cooked with Philips 1000 Series Dual Basket Air Fryer — (Image credit: Vic Hood)

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The spicy drumstick recipe was even more impressive and produced eight piping-hot drumsticks from the XXL basket that tasted and smelled amazing. Again, they weren't "grab a napkin, quick!" juicy and had just the right amount of crisp on the skin.

But not every food test worked out this well, and I found a lot of my issues boiled down to the food tables not being detailed enough. I'm always intrigued by an air fryer steak preset and have yet to find one that produces pan quality. The Philips 1000 Series has a Steak preset, but the food table only gives a rough weight for the steak and doesn't recommend the type of steak to cook or if the recommended weight (150g-200g) is per steak or total. I opted for two medallion steaks weighing 340g total and added them to one basket.

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Steaks cooked using Philips 1000 Series Dual Basket Air Fryer — (Image credit: Vic Hood)

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Steak cooked using Philips 1000 Series Dual Basket Air Fryer — (Image credit: Vic Hood)

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The food table recommends one basket can fit four steaks, but I seriously doubt it, as I would have struggled to add more than two. How you like your steak is a personal preference, and with no notes on timings for specific doneness, I left the steaks in the full preset time and was left with two leather-like chunks of meat. They were like chewing on old shoes. One side of each was nicely seared, and the other wasn't, and they were drier than the Sahara. This is something you could probably experiment with to get the right level of doneness, but my advice is this: just don't cook steak in an air fryer.

I also had disappointing results with mixed veg. Again, the food table wasn't clear on what type of mixed veg it recommends or whether to add oil, but it does state timings may vary due to preference and to cut the veg roughly. I added the recommended weight in broccoli, carrots, and cauliflower to each basket and selected the Mixed Vegetable preset – making use of the Copy function to match the settings for both baskets. When I shook the veg halfway through the 20-minute cooking time, I saw my cauliflower and broccoli had browned on top, but, on tasting, my carrots weren't cooked properly.

Vegetables cooked with Philips 1000 Series Dual Basket Air Fryer — (Image credit: Vic Hood)

This could, like the steak, likely be rectified with some experimentation, but without clear instructions on what individual vegetable cooking times are recommended or what to include in your mixed vegetables, it's difficult to know off the bat what the best approach is.

Overall, this Philips air fryer is a solid appliance, and it provides great results more often than poor ones. If you've never owned an air fryer before or don't have the patience to get the most out of some of its peskier presets, you may struggle with it. But if you're a seasoned air fryer user or don't mind a few failed attempts before getting optimal results, it's worth the time, money, and potential effort.

Performance score: 4/5

Should you buy the Philips 1000 Series Dual Basket Air Fryer

Philips 1000 Series Dual Basket Air Fryer: score card
Attribute	Notes	Score
Value	Great value for a solid air fryer, but don't expect the consistency and high quality of more premium appliances.	4.5/5
Design	A sleek and fairly compact air fryer given its spacious capacity. The XXL basket can be divided into two separate programmable baskets, which are easy (but cumbersome) to hand wash. But Philips has dropped the ball with its user manual and instructions, so you'll need to use the Home ID app for thorough instructions.	4/5
Performance	What this air fryer does well, it does brilliantly. It has produced some of the best air-fried food I've had in all my testing. However, the user manual food tables could have more detail on optimal preparation and the settings to use for more common foods, as the results with some of the presets were thoroughly disappointing.	4/5

Buy it if

You want a spacious air fryer that isn't massive

This air fryer offers good capacity but isn't huge and bulky. It will still take up some counter space, but it's relatively small given its size.

You want an air fryer for under £150

This air fryer may have some pesky issues, but it's great value at £133.99 and offers a much higher quality than others we've seen in this price range.

You want an air fryer for simple, day-to-day meals

While mixed veg was a mixed bag, I found it easy to cook common air fryer foods in this appliance, like chicken, chips, and muffins. If you want a convenient air fryer that will cover the basics well (with some adjustment), this is a good option.

Don't buy it if

You have a small sink or dishwasher

While this air fryer's components can be cleaned easily thanks to their non-stick coat, the act of cleaning it can be a pain. The XXL basket is chunky and a struggle to clean, even in our fairly large Belfast sink. That's mainly because it's cumbersome and you need to clean the whole basket even if you just use one side of it. It's dishwasher safe if you have the room, but I advise against it to ensure the longevity of your components.

You want clear, physical instructions

The physical user manual provided with this air fryer is pretty useless and doesn't cover what its functions and features are or how to work them. You can access a digital user manual via the Home ID app, but if you haven't got a smartphone or struggle reading smaller digital print, this may not be the air fryer for you.

You want a heap of extra features

This air fryer doesn't come with a bunch of extra features, functions, or smart control – it sticks to the basics. So, if you do want extra functions like steaming, dehydrating, or grilling, this isn't the appliance for you.

Philips 1000 Series Dual Basket Air Fryer: also consider

Ninja Double Stack

If you don't have space for a full-width two-drawer air fryer, the Double Stack is the appliance for you. It's deeper and taller, but much narrower than the Russell Hobbs Satisfry or the Ninja Foodi Max Dual Zone, and in our tests it produced evenly browned, crispy fries every time.

Read our full Ninja Double Stack review

Ninja Foodi Max Dual Zone

If you live outside the UK where the Philips 1000 Series Dual Basket Air Fryer isn't available, this is two-drawer air fryer is a great alternative. It looks smart, and produces consistently good results (though we'd appreciate a reminder to shake to food for even cooking).

Read our full Ninja Foodi Max Dual Zone review

How I tested the Philips 1000 Series Dual Basket Air Fryer

I used the Philips 1000 Series Dual Basket Air Fryer for a week, cooking a wide variety of foods including fries, chicken drumsticks, steak, fresh vegetables, and muffins. I tested all the air fryer's various modes and cleaned the air fryer in line with the instructions provided in the manual. For more details, see how we test.

First reviewed May 2025.

The Ring Outdoor Camera Plus is tough and versatile, but its advanced security features come at a price

4:19 pm |

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Home Home Security Smart Home | Comments: Off

Ring Outdoor Camera Plus: two-minute review

Keeping an eye on your property remotely has become an obsession for many of us. No matter where you are in the world you can see exactly who is in your house and who has come to the front door. You can even use your camera to monitor the miserable weather back home while you are abroad enjoying sunshine.

Now owned by retailing behemoth Amazon, Ring was originally set up by US entrepreneur Jamie Siminoff as ‘Doorbot’ in 2013, but has since gone on to become one of the biggest names in the home security industry. As the name suggests, the Outdoor Cameras (previously known as Stick-Up Cameras) are designed for outdoor use, though there is no reason why you couldn’t use it indoors too – it can be just as easily placed on a table or desk as on the wall outside.

Ring Outdoor Camera Plus on a table indoors — (Image credit: Chris Price)

The Outdoor Camera Plus is certainly a versatile model with several mounting options, including a wall bracket (with wall plugs) as well as a rechargeable battery pack if a power cable isn't feasible (this wasn’t provided). Plastic covers stop water getting into the USB-C power port and the model is ‘weather-resistant’, not waterproof, so shouldn’t be submerged in water!

As with most home security cameras, set up is straightforward. Simply download the Ring app and scan the QR code with your phone’s camera to add the device to the app (several Ring devices can be viewed within the app, including cameras, video doorbells, chimes and alarms). You will then be taken through a set of voice-based instructions for syncing the camera to your home’s Wi-Fi, naming the device and updating its firmware. Usefully this new model features dual-band support so you can add it to either your 2.4GHz or 5GHz network as well as Amazon Alexa compatibility. For added security, two-factor authentication is also now provided.

When it comes to features, the Ring Outdoor Camera Plus doesn’t disappoint. You can set motion detection zones to avoid the camera capturing footage from, say, the swaying of tree branches. And it’s also possible to set up privacy zones that allow you to block out certain areas of the frame, even in ‘live view’. Instead, all you see on the screen is a black rectangle. It’s an unusual feature but one which is quite useful if you have neighbours concerned your camera can view/capture recordings from their property.

Screengrabs of motion detection settings for Ring Outdoor Camera Plus — (Image credit: Chris Price)

Another unusual feature in the menu is Smart Responses. This enables you to send out a warning message to people to tell them they are being recorded. However, it isn’t live on this device – at least yet. Other more conventional features include motion sensitivity for adjusting the amount of footage you capture (useful if you want to preserve battery life) and motion schedules for setting the times of day you want to record movement.

But that’s not all. For those who subscribe to Ring’s monthly subscription plans, other functions are available too. These include ‘smart alerts’ which filter different types of motion into categories – ie parcel, person and vehicles. Providing you pay for the £15.99 per month Ring Premium service, there’s also an AI-driven smart video search tool that can identify certain objects in your device's recorded motion events.

For example, just enter ‘dog’ into the search bar you can see all the times your dog has been captured by the camera while ‘red top’ will bring up footage of anyone wearing a red top in the recorded events. Particularly useful is that you can log into your Ring account on the web so you can view footage of all your cameras while working on your laptop, something which isn’t possible with more basic models.

Ring Outdoor Camera Plus: price and availability

Prices start at $69 / £69 / AU$179
Additional solar panel costs extra
Launched March 2025

Ring security cameras certainly aren't expensive to buy compared to some of the best home security cameras. At the time of writing, you can pick up the Ring Outdoor Cam Plus for £69 / $69 / $179 (considerably cheaper than the launch price). However, just like printer companies make their money from selling expensive printer cartridges, home security companies make theirs from selling costly subscriptions.

And really you don’t get too much more expensive than Ring’s monthly subscriptions. Whereas some companies, such as Blink, charge under $5 / £5 / AU$10 a month for a subscription, with Ring you are looking at double that – and that’s just the entry level subscription. If you want all the bells and whistles, such as the Smart Video Search outlined earlier, it will set you back a hefty $19.99 / £15.99 per month (and this top-tier subscription isn't even available in Australia).

In my opinion that’s simply far too much money, unless you are using the Ring for professional purposes such as monitoring, say, high street shops (in which case there are more advanced video surveillance systems available). Far better if you need to keep the recordings is to choose a security camera which provides the option of recording footage locally on a USB stick or MicroSD card.

Value score: 3/5

Ring Outdoor Camera Plus: subscription options

Ring Home Basic:

$4.99 / £4.99 / AU$4.95 per month

$49.99 / £49.99 / AU$49.95 per year

Subscription for a single device. Includes up to 180 days of video event history, person and package alerts, video preview alerts, and 10% off Ring.com purchases.

Ring Home Standard:

$9.99 / £7.99 / AU$14.95 per month

$99.99 / £79.99 / AU$149.95 per year

Includes everything in Basic, plus all devices at one location, doorbell calls, extended live view, alarm cellular backup, and daily event summary.

Ring Premium:

$19.99 / £15.99 per month

$199.99 / £159.99 per year

Not currently available in Australia. Includes everything in Standard, plus 24/7 recording, continuous live view, and smart video search.

Ring Outdoor Camera Plus: design

Upgraded from Ring Stick Up Camera
Versatile mounting
Flexible power options

With the Outdoor Camera Plus, Ring has made a few improvements over its predecessor, the third generation Ring Stick Up Camera (now called the Outdoor Camera). Most notable is its improved design, particularly the versatile mounting options. The Ring Outdoor Cam Plus can be mounted on a desktop/table, on a wall or roof eave using the screws and wall plugs provided. It can be mounted on the ceiling with an additional accessory (not provided as standard) and easily angled for optimum use.

Ring Outdoor Camera Plus battery hatch open — (Image credit: Chris Price)

Power is provided via the USB-C connector in the middle of the camera (a power cable wasn’t provided with our sample). Alternatively, you can take the Lithium-Ion battery out by swivelling the base to the unlock icon and removing it (ensuring you remove the card covering the charging points). You can then charge it via the orange Micro-USB cable provided until it’s ready for installation. Spare batteries are also available to buy online at Amazon of course.

Rear of Ring Outdoor Camera Plus showing charging cable — (Image credit: Chris Price)

Available in black or white, the Outdoor Cam Plus features a lens on the front which provides a 160-degree diagonal, 140-degree horizontal, and 80-degree vertical field of view. Underneath is a speaker while above there’s a small microphone for two-way conversations with visitors. When movement is recorded a solid blue light is displayed at the top of the unit while during set up this flashes blue.

Design score: 4/5

Ring Outdoor Camera Plus: performance

2K image quality
Stable video connection
Overly sensitive camera

Ring claims the Outdoor Camera Plus offers ‘brilliant 2K video quality’ but in all honesty there’s not a massive leap in quality between this model and its predecessor, the Ring Stick Up Camera. Whereas the previous model offered 1,920 x 1,080 resolution, this one boasts 2,560 x 1,440 (2K). In other words, an increase of 360 horizontal pixels and 640 vertical pixels – enough to see the difference when you zoom in to an image, but probably not otherwise.

Footage from Ring Outdoor Camera Plus on iPhone screen — (Image credit: Chris Price)

That said, I didn’t have any complaints about picture quality at all. Images are sharp even at night thanks to the ‘low-light sight’ feature (although colour is limited in low light) and the field of vision is also quite wide: 140-degree horizontal compared to 115 degrees on the Ring Stick Up Camera.

Another benefit is having dual-band Wi-Fi support (2.4GHz and 5GHz) which ensured images recorded on the camera and viewed in Live View were extremely stable even though the camera was mostly located in the back garden, a significant distance from my broadband router.

One thing worth noting is that the Ring Outdoor Camera Plus isn’t as sensitive as some models which record every bit of motion detected, even moving branches. Instead, you will probably need to turn the motion sensitivity option up a little bit just to capture all the footage you want. This will in turn use up more battery power so it’s worth considering either using the mains or a solar panel as a power supplement.

After nearly two weeks our sample model was already down to 50% so you will probably have to take the battery pack out for charging once a month – not the worst we’ve ever tested, but not the best either.

Performance score: 4/5

Should you buy the Ring Outdoor Camera Plus?

Ring Outdoor Camera Plus score card
Attribute	Notes	Score
Value	While the actual camera itself is relatively cheap, the subscription which gives you most of the added functionality is very expensive.	3/5
Design	Available in black or white, the Ring Outdoor Cam Plus looks OK and is both compact and reasonably well designed. Suitable for a number of locations (indoors or outdoors) it can be powered by mains, battery or even solar power.	4/5
Performance	Offering 2K video quality, the Ring Outdoor Camera Plus provides stable, good quality, images in record mode and live view. However, battery life isn’t the best and the motion sensor isn’t particularly sensitive.	4/5
Overall	A decent home security camera, but the Ring Outdoor Camera Plus loses points for its expensive subscription packages and so-so battery life. Performance isn’t that much better than its predecessor, the Ring Stick Up Cam	3.5/5

Buy it if

You need a versatile home security solution

With support for battery, solar and mains power, the Ring Outdoor Camera Plus is particularly flexible. It can also be used indoors and outdoors.

You want the latest features

There’s no shortage of handy features including Amazon Alexa compatibility and different motion and privacy zone settings, as well as smart video search (if you subscribe).

Don't buy it if

You already have the Ring Stick Up Camera

While picture quality and design are slightly better than the Ring Stick Up Cam there aren’t too many other benefits to justify the upgrade

You don’t want to pay for a subscription

Unfortunately Ring charges more than most other home security camera manufacturers for subscriptions, and you'll need one to get the most out of the Outdoor Camera Plus.

How I tested the Ring Outdoor Camera Plus

I used the camera both indoors and outdoors
I installed it myself
The camera was integrated into my home system with other Ring cameras

Like most manufacturers, Ring makes adding new cameras to its app very simple indeed. Because I already had several Ring security cameras and doorbells connected to my existing app, I simply added another using the QR code at the back of the device. However, starting from scratch would have been just as straightforward.

I started off using the device mostly indoors to get the feel of it and then moved it to my garden where I mounted it on top of the shed focused on the back door. There it has remained ever since (about 12 days at the time of writing), capturing people and pets who go out into the garden. Ring provides a 30-day trial for all the advanced features, such as smart video search and person/package/video alerts, but after this runs out you will need to subscribe online at Ring.com (you can’t do this via the app).

First reviewed May 2025

The Ring Outdoor Camera Plus is tough and versatile, but its advanced security features come at a price

4:19 pm |

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Home Home Security Smart Home | Comments: Off

Ring Outdoor Camera Plus: two-minute review

Ring Outdoor Camera Plus: price and availability

Prices start at $69 / £69 / AU$179
Additional solar panel costs extra
Launched March 2025

Value score: 3/5

Ring Outdoor Camera Plus: subscription options

Ring Home Basic:

$4.99 / £4.99 / AU$4.95 per month

$49.99 / £49.99 / AU$49.95 per year

Subscription for a single device. Includes up to 180 days of video event history, person and package alerts, video preview alerts, and 10% off Ring.com purchases.

Ring Home Standard:

$9.99 / £7.99 / AU$14.95 per month

$99.99 / £79.99 / AU$149.95 per year

Includes everything in Basic, plus all devices at one location, doorbell calls, extended live view, alarm cellular backup, and daily event summary.

Ring Premium:

$19.99 / £15.99 per month

$199.99 / £159.99 per year

Not currently available in Australia. Includes everything in Standard, plus 24/7 recording, continuous live view, and smart video search.

Ring Outdoor Camera Plus: design

Upgraded from Ring Stick Up Camera
Versatile mounting
Flexible power options

Design score: 4/5

Ring Outdoor Camera Plus: performance

2K image quality
Stable video connection
Overly sensitive camera

Performance score: 4/5

Should you buy the Ring Outdoor Camera Plus?

Ring Outdoor Camera Plus score card
Attribute	Notes	Score
Value	While the actual camera itself is relatively cheap, the subscription which gives you most of the added functionality is very expensive.	3/5
Design	Available in black or white, the Ring Outdoor Cam Plus looks OK and is both compact and reasonably well designed. Suitable for a number of locations (indoors or outdoors) it can be powered by mains, battery or even solar power.	4/5
Performance	Offering 2K video quality, the Ring Outdoor Camera Plus provides stable, good quality, images in record mode and live view. However, battery life isn’t the best and the motion sensor isn’t particularly sensitive.	4/5
Overall	A decent home security camera, but the Ring Outdoor Camera Plus loses points for its expensive subscription packages and so-so battery life. Performance isn’t that much better than its predecessor, the Ring Stick Up Cam	3.5/5

Buy it if

You need a versatile home security solution

With support for battery, solar and mains power, the Ring Outdoor Camera Plus is particularly flexible. It can also be used indoors and outdoors.

You want the latest features

There’s no shortage of handy features including Amazon Alexa compatibility and different motion and privacy zone settings, as well as smart video search (if you subscribe).

Don't buy it if

You already have the Ring Stick Up Camera

While picture quality and design are slightly better than the Ring Stick Up Cam there aren’t too many other benefits to justify the upgrade

You don’t want to pay for a subscription

Unfortunately Ring charges more than most other home security camera manufacturers for subscriptions, and you'll need one to get the most out of the Outdoor Camera Plus.

How I tested the Ring Outdoor Camera Plus

I used the camera both indoors and outdoors
I installed it myself
The camera was integrated into my home system with other Ring cameras

First reviewed May 2025

I tested the Dyson Supersonic r hair dryer and was blown away by how easy it makes precision styling at home

11:14 am | May 22, 2025

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Hair Care Home Small Appliances | Tags: Dyson Supersonic | Comments: Off

Dyson Supersonic r: two-minute review

The Dyson Supersonic r began life as a professional-only hair dryer, but is now available to the general public. It looks unlike any other hair dryer on the market; there's no barrel to speak of, but instead the handle curves to a right angle, so the whole thing looks like a pipe – or a lower case "r", if you like.

I tested the model to see how it compares to the rest of the best hair dryers on the market, and overall I was impressed. It's lightweight and comfortable to hold, and the unusual shape makes it super-easy to direct the airflow with precision, even in awkward spots such as the back of your head. As I'd expect from Dyson, it's also impressively powerful, making speedy work of rough-drying hair.

The compromise of the design is that in order to achieve the ultra-streamlined shape, Dyson has shifted some of the mechanics into the plug, which in turn is so chunky, it likely won't fit into some sockets. I also found the controls – which are small and positioned on the back of the handle – slightly fiddly to use, and a little too easy to accidentally press while styling. It feels like a design that would work just fine for professionals, who have a clear view of the buttons as they hold the dryer in front of themselves; but it's a little awkward for drying your own hair.

The magnetic attachments are thoughtfully designed and work well. Sensors enable the dryer to recognize which attachment is snapped on, and automatically adjust to your last-used temperature and airflow settings, which helps streamline the styling process.

Price-wise, it will come as a surprise to no one that we're in ultra-premium territory here. While the Supersonic r's build quality is impeccable, and the design innovative, some customers might find themselves more inclined to spend that amount on the Dyson Supersonic Nural, with its hi-tech Scalp Protect mode and ability to auto-pause when it's put down (both of which are absent from the Supersonic r). Most of the Supersonic r's appeal is in that lightweight and streamlined shape, and on that front it really is a standout option, and unique on the market, too.

That's the short version; read on for my full Dyson Supersonic r review.

Dyson Supersonic r review: price & availability

List price: $569.99 / £449.99 / AU$799
Launched: April 2025 (consumer version)
Available: Worldwide

The original version of the Dyson Supersonic r hit the market in February 2024, but it was available to professional hairstylists only. The consumer version reviewed here launched in April 2025.

At list price it costs $569.99 / £449.99 / AU$799. That's firmly in the premium bracket for hair dryers, and one of the priciest on the market right now – possibly beaten only by Dyson's other dedicated dryer, the Supersonic Nural, which comes in at $499.99 / £399.99 / AU$749.

However, the outlay is perhaps a little easier to justify with the latter, because the Nural offers several features not found in other models on the market, whereas the Supersonic r, for the most part, is simply a very efficient hair dryer.

As I'd expect from Dyson, build quality is top-notch, and there's plenty of meticulous research and engineering that's gone into the development of this dryer. It looks and feels premium, and as mentioned, it's incredibly well suited to precision styling. Nevertheless, if the outlay is too much, there are plenty of excellent dryers available for a far lower price.

Value for money score: 3.5 out of 5

Dyson Supersonic r specs

Wattage:	1,700W
Dimensions (L x H x W):	9.4 x 1.5 x 3.1in / 24 x 3.8 x 8cm
Weight:	Confirming
Airflow settings:	3
Temperature settings:	3 + cool shot
Extra modes:	None
Cord length:	9.2ft / 2.8m

Dyson Supersonic r review: design

Lightweight, with a unique, ultra-streamlined shape
Some mechanics have been shifted into the plug, which is enormous
Magnetic attachments with setting memory

The Dyson Supersonic r looks nothing like the Supersonic that helped cement Dyson's status in the haircare market. In fact, it doesn't really look like a hairdryer at all – it looks like a pipe. It's tubular in build, with a top end that curves to a stubby right-angle.

The only difference compared to the professional version is that the cable is shorter. It's now 9.2ft / 2.8m, which is still up there with the longest on the consumer market.

Dyson Supersonic r hair dryer with Powerful air attachment — (Image credit: Future)

That diminutive build is made possible by some redesigned mechanics. On the inside you'll find a more streamlined air heater than the one found in the regular Supersonic hair dryers. Ten heater foils follow the curve of the dryer, apparently to offer more consistent temperatures, with no hot or cold spots. That sits alongside a Dyson Hyperdymium motor (unconfirmed whether this is the same / a version of the Hyperdymium motor that powers today's best Dyson vacuums).

Plug for Dyson Supersonic r hair dryer — (Image credit: Future)

Dyson has also redesigned the plug socket, which now "incorporates primary electronics" that would otherwise have been inside the dryer itself (it looks very similar to the one included with the Dyson Airstrait.) That shifts extra weight away from your arm, but it does mean the plug is now pretty chunky – the main part measures 4.8in / 12.2cm (excluding the wrap at the top of the cord), with a part that protrudes downwards from the pins and lies flat to the wall. If you have power outlets that sit close to the floor or above protruding baseboards, it might not fit.

There's a removable filter cage, with a flashing yellow LED to tell you when it needs cleaning.

Close up of filter cage on Dyson Supersonic r hair dryer — (Image credit: Future)

The consumer Supersonic r is one of the first Dyson haircare gadgets to introduce the brand's new colorways (currently being rolled out across the full range). Rather than the tropical tones we're used to seeing, it's available in the more delicate Ceramic Pink and Jasper Plum.

Controls

In terms of settings, there's a rocker switch to increase and decrease temperature, and another for windspeed. There are three levels for each, indicated by lights. There's also a separate power button. All can be found on the rear of the handle. Round the front, beneath the curve of the dryer, is a cool-shot button.

Close up of control buttons on Dyson Supersonic r hair dryer — (Image credit: Future)

Attachments

In terms of attachments, there's an impressive selection. Compatible attachments include a Professional Concentrator, Powerful Air Attachment, Gentle Air Attachment, Flyaway Attachment, Smoothing Nozzle, Diffuser and Wide-Tooth Comb. Beware, though, what's included in the box varies by region.

Personally, I'm a fan of the way the model is being offered in the UK: just as with the Dyson Airwrap i.d., you can choose between a Curly+Coily Supersonic r and a Straight+Wavy one. Both have a Powerful Air Attachment, Professional Concentrator and Flyaway Attachment, then the one for curls adds a Wide-Tooth Comb and Diffuser, and the other swaps in the Smoothing Nozzle and Gentle Air Attachment. That means you don't end up with a bunch of attachments that aren't suitable for your hair type, gathering dust.

Attachments supplied with our review model of the Dyson Supersonic r hair dryer — (Image credit: Future)

As is standard for Dyson haircare products, the add-ons attach via magnets. And like the Supersonic Nural, they contain RFID sensors, which means the Supersonic r knows which one is attached. The recommended settings will kick in as default, and if you change them then the hair dryer will remember your preferences next time you snap that attachment back on.

Design score: 4 out of 5

Dyson Supersonic r review: performance

Comfortable to hold and incredibly easy easy to direct airflow
Controls a little fiddly and can be pressed accidentally
Attachment setting memory helps streamline the styling process

Dyson describes the r as being geared towards "fast, precision drying", with the unusual design making it easier to reach areas that would otherwise be tricky to tackle – namely, the back of your head. On test, that absolutely held true. It's comfortable to hold and extremely easy to direct; perfect if you want to be able to dry with precision. My only slight complaint is that I found the handle a touch too short.

Airflow is nice and powerful, drying my hair quickly; a rough-dry won't take long at all. However, the Supersonic r is really geared towards more complex styling tasks, where its light weight and easy-to-direct airflow come into their own.

The Supersonic Nural has a feature where it will automatically drop into low-powered mode if you put it down. That' isn't present here, and I missed it, although I will concede that it's a nice-to-have rather than an essential.

Dyson Supersonic r hair dryer with Pro concentrator attached — (Image credit: Future)

Moving on to the controls, the design of which I was a little less sold on. The switches to adjust speed and temperature are tiny and a little fiddly to use, and the positioning on the back of the handle means they proved fairly easy to press accidentally. I feel like they're better suited to professional use – where the person drying the hair can easily see the buttons; they're a little fiddly if you're trying to dry your own hair.

I was far more impressed with the cool-shot button, which sits on the inside of the handle, where it's comfortable to depress for setting your style.

Close up of cool shot button on Dyson Supersonic r hair dryer — (Image credit: Future)

Attachment performance

All the attachments are well designed and good quality, and the magnetic connection feels secure in use. Usefully, all the attachments have areas that stay cool, so you can comfortably remove them immediately after using if switching to another, for example.

Attachment memory is a welcome addition. It helps streamline the drying process, and means less fiddling about with controls as you dry. It will prove most useful for people who use multiple attachments throughout their styling routine. I guess it might also help with hair health, if it makes you less likely to default to "hot and fast" for everything.

Dyson Supersonic r hair dryer with diffuser attached — (Image credit: Future)

Curly haired users might miss the two-part Wave+Curl Diffuser, which was introduced with the Supersonic Nural but is absent here – you're just getting the standard all-in-one option instead.

A special shout-out should go to the Flyaway Attachment, which uses the Coanda effect (the same thing that makes the Airwrap work) to attract and smooth your locks once you've finished styling. It's unique to Dyson's dryers, and it made a noticeable difference to the sleekness of my hair.

Performance score: 4.5 out of 5

Should you buy the Dyson Supersonic r?

Attribute	Notes	Rating
Value	Very much a premium buy, and while the quality is outstanding, the list of special features is relatively short.	3.5 / 5
Design	Lightweight with a unique, ultra-streamlined shape and a wide range of well-designed attachments. Plug is very bulky, though.	4 / 5
Performance	Powerful airflow that's extremely easy to direct, while automatic attachment recognition saves time. Buttons are a little fiddly.	4.5 /5

Buy it if...

You spend lots of time styling
The lightweight-yet-powerful Supersonic r will really come into its own for those with long, thick hair and/or spend a lot of time styling as they dry.

You want precise control
It's incredibly easy to direct the airflow from this dryer, even in tricky areas such as the back of your head.

You want a luxe option
The Dyson Supersonic r looks and feels ultra-premium, and comes with a price tag to match.

Don't buy it if...

Your plug sockets are near to the floor
The scaled-up plug protrudes downwards, which means that depending on the placement of your sockets and what's going on beneath them, you might not actually be able to plug in the hair dryer.

You need something for travel
The voltage of the Supersonic r will match the country of purchase, and Dyson warns that it shouldn't be used abroad.

You're concerned about scalp health
The Supersonic Nural has a Scalp Protect mode that adjusts the temperature based on how close the machine is to your head, meaning you can get right up close without burning your head. The Supersonic r is missing this mode.

Dyson Supersonic r: alternatives to consider

	Dyson Supersonic r (reviewed)	Dyson Supersonic Nural	Laifen Mini
Wattage:	1,700W	1,600W	1,100W
Dimensions (L x H x W):	9.4 x 1.5 x 3.1in / 24 x 3.8 x 8cm	10 x 4 x 3.1in / 24.5 x 9.7 x 7.8cm	8.6 x 3. x 2.5in / 22 x 7.7 x 6.3cm
Weight:	Confirming	1.9lbs / 680g (with cord)	0.7lbs / 299g (no cord) 1.1lbs / 482g (with cord)
Airflow settings:	3	3	2
Temperature settings:	3 + cool shot	3 + cool shot	2 + cool shot
Extra modes:	None	Scalp protect	Child mode, auto-temperature cycle
Cord length:	9.2ft / 2.8m	8.5 ft / 2.6m	5.9ft / 1.8m

Dyson Supersonic Nural

The Nural is Dyson's other dryer option. It's heavier and bulkier, but has an innovative Scalp Protect mode that's absent on the Supersonic r. It will also automatically drop into low-powered mode when you put it down.

Read our full Dyson Supersonic Nural review

Laifen Mini

Laifen's original dryer was a blatant Supersonic dupe, but the newer Mini version is more unique. While not as streamlined as the Supersonic r, it's still super compact and lightweight, with a stylish matte design and some cool specialist modes, including temperature cycling. It's not as widely available as Dyson's dryers.

Read our full Laifen Mini review

How I tested the Dyson Supersonic r

I used the Dyson Supersonic r as my primary hair dryer for over a month. During this time, I tested all the settings and explored the different attachment options. I paid particular attention to how easy it was to use, and how efficient it was at drying and styling my hair. I compared my experience with other hair dryers I've used.

Read more about how we test

First reviewed May 2025

I spent two weeks with the world’s first robovac with a mechanical arm, and I’m optimistic but not sold quite yet

4:00 pm | May 20, 2025

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Home Robot Vacuums Smart Home | Tags: AU, US | Comments: Off

Roborock Saros Z70: two-minute review

The Roborock Saros Z70 is the first robot vacuum on the market to feature a robotic arm, which means it can tidy away your clutter as well as clean your floors. That's the theory, anyway – my initial tests found the tech still has a little way to go, at least when it comes to autonomous pincering.

Most people I talk to about this robovac seem afraid that the OmniGrip will be over-zealous, and try to tidy away the cat. I had quite the opposite problem: I couldn't get it to automatically tidy away anything at all. The current list of objects it can handle is very short, and the "conditions" have to be perfect in order for it to be successful. However, there's potential: controlling the robotic arm remotely via the app works very well, and Roborock is busy improving the service, with more functions, bug fixes, and supported objects in the pipeline.

Elsewhere, the performance is up there with the very best robot vacuums on the market. Suction is excellent, the setup painless, and the dock takes care of the vast majority of maintenance tasks for you, including washing the mop pads with hot water. Speaking of which, I was especially impressed with the Saros Z70's mopping ability. It comes courtesy of two spinning mop pads, one of which kicks out to the side to clean right up to the edges of rooms, as well as under the perimeter of cabinets.

This bot uses Roborock's StarSight system for navigation, which means no raised puck, enabling the robot to venture under low-sitting furniture. I'm happy to report I didn't see any compromise in performance as a result of this new(ish) system – the Z70 navigated accurately and reliably throughout my review period.

That's all great, but the reason to buy this model will be for the robo-arm tech. (If you don't need that, you could go for one of the sister models launched at the same time – the Roborock Saros 10 and Saros 10R – and get the same excellent performance at a much lower price.) And while it shows plenty of potential, right now it's a little difficult to recommend the Z70 on that basis. That's the short version; read on for my full Roborock Saros Z70 review.

Roborock Saros Z70 robot vacuum holding a cloth — (Image credit: Future)

Roborock Saros Z70 review: price & availability

List price: $2,599 / £1,799 / AU$3,999
Launched: Jan 2025 (on sale May 2025)
Available: AU, US

The Roborock Saros Z70 was announced at CES in January 2025, and went on sale in Australia and the US in May 2025. At list price it costs $2,599 / £1,799 / AU$3,999.

While it's common for flagship robot vacuums these days to cost over a grand in the US and UK, this is the most expensive robot vacuum we've tested to date. (It's worth noting that US tariff changes have had a negative impact on pricing; the Z70 is more expensive now than Roborock had planned.)

I'm not overly surprised by its high price. Roborock is introducing a completely new technology, alongside an additional mechanical component. Based on the prototype models we saw at CES in January, there may well be more arm-equipped robovacs hitting the market over the next year or two, but currently the Saros Z70 is your only option. In terms of quality and innovation, it's a standout robovac; but you're paying a premium for the newness of the tech.

However, if you don't need the arm then I'd give it a wide berth. There are plenty of premium robot vacuums on the market offering the same features. They'll just as good a job of cleaning your floors, they just won't be able to tidy away your socks. Arm-less alternatives include Z70's sister model, the Roborock Saros 10, which costs $1,599.99 / £1,499.99, or a model such as the Dreame L40 Ultra for $1,499.99 / £999.

New robot vacuums are being launched all the time, and the competitiveness of the market means you can generally avoid paying list price if you're willing to be patient. However, I'm not convinced deals will be quite so forthcoming with the Z70, just because the offering is currently so unique. That said, there is early bird pricing available at time of writing.

Value for money score: 3.5 out of 5

Roborock Saros Z70 specs

Max suction:	22,000Pa
Robot W x D:	13.8 x 13.9in / 35 x 35.3cm
Robot height:	3.1in / 8cm
Dock dimensions (W x D x H):	15 x 18.7 x 19.2in / 38.1 x 47.5 x 48.8cm
Dust bin volume (bot):	180ml
Dust bin volume (base):	2.5L
Water tank volume:	4L (clean), 3L (dirty)
Base type:	Charge, empty dust, clean and dry mop pads, self-clean, dispense detergent
Max threshold height:	1.6in / 4cm
Mop pad lifting:	0.9in / 2.2cm

Roborock Saros Z70 review: design

Pincer arm can extend to pick things up, or retract when not required
StarSight navigation means there's no raised LiDAR puck
Comprehensive dock takes care of most maintenance

Let's start with the obvious here: the Roborock Saros Z70 comes with a big mechanical arm known as the OmniGrip. On the end of it is a pincer that's designed to gently but securely grip and lift objects weighing up to 300g. To avoid unwanted pincering, OmniGrip features are switched off my default. You'll need to define exactly what you want the arm to do, or else it won't do anything at all.

The idea is that it can pick small objects such as socks and tissues off your floor, and either move them out of the way for more complete vacuuming, or tidy them to a location of your choosing. Alternatively, because Roborock has recognized most of us are basically big kids, you can remote control the arm via the companion app, just for fun and frolics.

There's also a camera mounted on the OmniGrip's arm, to supplement the one on the front of the robovac. This helps with locating objects for grabbing and also expands the bot's security capabilities by enabling you to switch to the arm camera to get a higher-level view of your home. When not in use, the arm folds neatly back into the main body of the bot, to be hidden beneath a hatch. You'd never even know it was there.

Roborock Saros Z70 robot vacuum with arm out — (Image credit: Future)

This bot uses Roborock's StarSight technology for navigation, which also appears on models such as the Saros 10R and Qrevo Slim. Essentially it means that the bot is no longer reliant on a raised LiDAR puck. So with the arm tucked into its hidey-hole, the top of this robovac is completely flush, making the whole unit just 7.98cm tall. That means it can clean under low furniture that's inaccessible to taller bots.

Close up of hatch on top of Roborock Saros Z70 robot vacuum — (Image credit: Future)

The rest of the robot looks rather like many of Roborock's other premium models. Flip over the unit and you'll find a single, all-rubber roller and a side brush, both designed to avoid becoming tangled with long hair. This is achieved in the latter simply by positioning the brushes at an angle to the central axis, rather than radiating directly outwards, so the hair can slip off easily (hopefully into the main suction path). In mopping mode, both can lift up into the body of the robot, so they don't end up full of gunk.

As mentioned, as a hybrid model the Saros Z70 also has mopping abilities. These are courtesy of two spinning mop-covered discs, one of which can kick out to clean right up close to your room's baseboards. The mop pads can also lift when traversing carpet, or be dropped off in the base, so there's no danger of damp rugs at all.

Roborock Saros Z70 robot vacuum flipped over to show the underside — (Image credit: Future)

Over the past year or so, we've seen a focus on improving how robot vacuums tackle more raised room thresholds, and Roborock is included. Like most of the brand's newest models, the Saros Z70 has an "AdaptiLift Chassis" whereby the left, right and front wheels can all raise or lower independently, enabling the bot to traverse over thresholds up to 4cm in height.

Dock for Roborock Saros Z70 robot vacuum — (Image credit: Future)

On to the dock. The Saros Z70's dock contains two large water tanks – one for clean water, one for dirty water – plus a smaller tank into which you can add detergent. These sit at the top and are directly accessible, rather than being hidden behind a hatch. There's also dust bag, which is hidden away.

The base is designed to be able to take care of as much robot maintenance as possible. When the robot docks, it will automatically empty its small onboard dustbin, refill its water tanks with warm water, and dispense detergent (if you've added it). It can wash the mop pads with hot (176ºF/80ºC) water – intelligently determining how dirty they are and extending cleaning times if necessary – and dry them with warm (131ºF/55ºC) air. It will also clean itself with hot (176ºF/80ºC) water, and the base is detachable for when you want to give it deeper clean. Finally, it offers speedy charging in just 2hrs 30mins.

It's one of the better-looking docks on the market right now. I miss the mirrored front that features on sister model, the Roborock Saros 10, although this matte version does mean any mess or clutter isn't reflected back at you.

Design score: 4.5 out of 5

Roborock Saros Z70 review: performance

Arm works well when manually controlled, but automation is unreliable
Vacuuming, mopping and navigation all excellent
Review model emits a rattling noise when cleaning

I started by performing the "Quick mapping" process, which was fast and painless, as I've come to expect from Roborock. The bot wandered into each room, looked around a bit, and I could see the map forming on the app as it went. Once complete, it assigned suggested rooms. It was broadly correct, but I was able to edit to split the main living space into a kitchen and living room, and re-label any spaces that weren't quite right.

Then I sent the bot off on a whole-flat vacuum and mop, using the default modes. It did a stellar job of navigating its way around. Roborock bots are generally great at this, but this is the first one I've reviewed that uses StarSight for navigation rather than traditional LiDAR. I'm happy to report I couldn't see any compromises in performance with this new system.

However, less positive was the irritating rattling sound the Saros Z70 made as it went about its business. You can hear it in the video clip below. I assume this is the result of the retracted arm or the lid; either way, it's not ideal, and not a problem I've experienced with any of the other arm-less robovacs I've tested.

OmniGrip arm

It's the USP here, so let's get on to OmniGrip arm – and whether or not it does what Roborock says it will. At time of review, the list of items suitable for pickup is short: socks, sandals (not shoes, in general), crumpled tissues and towels under 300g. Roborock plans to add more objects in due course, via firmware updates.

I started by remote-controlling the bot over to a cloth. With the cloth in its peripheral vision, it had no trouble taking over the final part itself, successfully navigating over to it and picking it up, at which point I could resume control and move it over to where I wanted it. There's potential for this to be helpful for those with mobility issues.

For the most part, however, you'd want this robot to take care of moving things autonomously. These functions can be toggled on in the "Robotic Arm options" section of the app (all are off by default), and you can ask it to move objects out of its cleaning path, so it doesn't have to skip that area, and/or to move specific items into areas designated by you. At the moment, the suggestion is that you use a (provided) cardboard Roborock "bin" for socks and crumpled paper, and then set a "shoe zone" for footwear.

The trouble is that conditions need to be perfect for the bot to actually clear anything away... so much so, that I've yet to have a successful run. First, the robot has to correctly identify objects it can move. I found this was fairly accurate in bright light, but when I tried it one evening in a less well-lit room, it identified two sandals and a sock all as "Carry out bags" and thus didn't try to pick them up at all.

Next, it needs to be able to pick up said objects. It failed to pincer a strappier sandal, and on successfully picking up another, it swung it into a doorstop, causing the strap to become twisted. I had to reset it manually (on the robot itself) following a repeated warning message.

Finally, it has to find its way to the designated areas. It seems a little unsure on this front at the moment. On one more successful run, it identified, returned to and successfully pincered some socks – only to spin around once and then put them back down 14 inches from their original position.

As I said earlier, Roborock is working on improving the arm function and I'm optimistic about the potential of this tech and the brand's ability to deliver on it. This is a new technology and Roborock is the first to bring it to market, so it isn't surprising that there are kinks to be ironed out. However, these issues make the Z70 difficult to recommend.

I'll be continuing to test this robovac and will update this review with a more complete picture of the arm's functionality once I've had more time with it.

Vacuuming

Moving on to more mundane (but still important) functions. How well does the Saros Z70 clean?

Given that the Saros Z70 boasts a massive 22,00Pa of suction power – matching the very highest you'll see anywhere – I had high hopes for this bot's cleaning ability. In general use, it seemed to do a very efficient job of vacuuming my apartment's medium-pile carpet, low-pile carpet and lino.

For a more objective view of its cleaning powers, I ran TechRadar's standard suction tests. I started by sprinkling oats and loose tea on my carpet, and setting it on a selective zone clean. There are four settings to choose from: Quiet, Balanced, Turbo and Max.

I ran one clean on Turbo, with the bot clearing almost all the oats and most of the tea, leaving only a sprinkling nestled in the carpet fibers. (The tea test is purposefully very challenging.) I then bumped up the robovac's setting to Max for a second clean, and it sucked up all but a single oat flake, and a few particles of tea. This is an excellent result.

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Oats and loose tea on the carpet before the suction test (Image credit: Future)

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Remaining tea after a single pass in Turbo mode — The remaining tea after a single pass in Turbo mode (Image credit: Future)

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Results of suction tests using Roborock Saros Z70 on carpet — The remaining oats after a single pass in Turbo mode (Image credit: Future)

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Remaining tea after a second pass in Max mode — Close-up of the tea left after a second pass in Max mode (Image credit: Future)

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I repeated the test on a lino floor. Since clearing debris off a hard floor is far less challenging, this time I used Balanced mode. It cleared almost everything on the first pass, with the second required only to capture the remnants that had been flicked around on the initial run.

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Tea and oats on a lino floor before suction test (Image credit: Future)

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A few remnants of tea and oats on a lino floor after a single pass — What was left after a single pass in Balanced mode (Image credit: Future)

Mopping

Next, I moved on to the mopping test. For this, I spread a tiny amount of ketchup on a lino floor and left it to dry a little. You can select Low, Medium or High waterflow levels, or for more control you can opt for a "Custom" mode, which lets you select a waterflow between 1 (Slight) and 30 (extreme). That level of control is excellent, opening this bot up as an option for cleaning delicate floors that can deal with only a tiny bit of water, for example.

I used "High" waterflow, and instructed the Z70 to clean the selected zone twice. It removed some of the ketchup on the first pass, and most of the remainder on the second pass. However, a light film of ketchup remained, and needed wiping away manually. I've yet to find a robot vacuum at any price that can deal with challenging or dried-on spillages.

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Ketchup smeared on lino before mopping test (Image credit: Future)

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Remainder of ketchup smeared on lino after one pass (Image credit: Future)

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Remainder of ketchup smeared on lino after two passes — Remainder of ketchup after two passes (Image credit: Future)

In general use, I found the Z70's mopping very effective. The pads saturated fully, and I could see they were cleaning the whole floor, without leaving any gaps. One of the mop pads would also regularly kick out to clean up close to the edges of rooms and under the edge of my fridge or cabinets. I found it far more effective than the static, D-shaped pads found on some robovacs.

I also appreciated the way the robot would automatically drop off its mop pads in the dock when embarking on a vacuum run. While the auto-lifting was reliable, I'm always just a little more comfortable when there are no damp mops in the vicinity of my carpet.

Dock functionality

The dock is designed to take care of most of the Z70's maintenance needs, and in my tests I haven't had any issues with its effectiveness, save for the fact some of the functions can be a little noisy.

I'm on the fence about whether washing the mops with hot water is something that's really required of the dock – I'd still give the pads a run through the washing machine periodically, regardless of whether or not this function is included. Self-cleaning takes around 3 mins 21 secs, although it's programmed to take longer if it senses the mop pads aren't clean at the end of that.

One benefit is that charging is remarkably speedy. I was recharging a Dyson manual vacuum at the same time, and found that the Saros Z70 juiced up far quicker than the Dyson.

Performance score: 3.5 out of 5

Roborock Saros Z70 review: app

Easy to use OmniGrip arm via remote control through the app
Well-designed and usable app with lots of customization options
So many options it can be a little tricky to find them all

Most control of the robovac is like to take place via the Saros Z70's companion app. One welcome addition here is the ability to use it to remote-control the OmniGrip arm. You drive it like a remote control car, navigating by using the view from the bot that you can see on your screen. If you spot something you want it to move, you can maneuver it into the vicinity and ask the bot to pick it up. It will do this automatically, but it's also possible to precisely adjust the angles of both the arm and the pincer, if required.

In my tests, I found all this reliable and straightforward, although the incessant repetition of "Remote viewing active" will mean you won't want to play with it for too long. (I haven't yet been able to find a way to switch this off.)

You can also switch views between the camera on the front of the robot and the mounted on the arm, which offers a view from higher up. The idea is to make it more useful as a security bot while you're out of the house.

In general, Roborock has done a great job of integrating the OmniGrip options into the app, making it as easy as possible to get started using the arm. The settings are simple to find and to switch on and off; they're straightforward to understand, even if the automated performance is still a little patchy.

Screenshots from Roborock companion app — (Image credit: Roborock / Future)

Elsewhere, the app is well designed and intuitive. There are plenty of precise customization options – so many, in fact, that it can take a while to explore them all. If you don't want to mess around in Settings, there's a "SmartPlan" mode that automatically analyzes the environment and cleaning history and uses that information to apply the settings it thinks will work best. There's also a built-in voice assistant, which you activate by saying "Hello Rocky".

App score: 4.5 out of 5

Should you buy the Roborock Saros Z70?

Attribute	Notes	Rating
Value	Wildly expensive, but this isn't surprising given it's the only robovac with an arm right now. If you don't want the arm, you can get excellent bots for far less.	3.5 / 5
Design	Combines most of the advanced features from the best robot vacuums on the market and adds a retractible pincer arm for good measure.	4.5 / 5
Performance	Pincer works well when remote-controlled, but automation is unreliable at the moment. Vacuuming, mopping and navigation are excellent.	3.5 / 5
App	Well designed and intuitive, with arm functions front-and-center.	4.5 / 5

Buy it if...

You love a cutting-edge gadget
This is the first robot vacuum on the market to feature a mechanical arm. At present, this tech doesn't feature on any other model of robot vacuum.

You have mobility issues
The robotic arm has potential to be very useful for people with limited mobility. The remote-control options are straightforward and reliable.

You have a cluttered home
While the arm is in need of some refining, and assuming that happens, this bot could prove very useful in cluttered homes. It has the potential to tidy as well as clean, provided your mess isn't too heavy.

Don't buy it if...

You don't need a robotic arm
There's no reason to buy the Saros Z70 if you don't need the arm – Roborock (and other brands) make many other excellent arm-less bots that are significantly cheaper.

You want tried-and-tested tech
The arm technology is fresh on the market, which means there are some kinks to be ironed out. For reliable performance, it might pay to wait for a later generation (or at least until Roborock has had a chance to push out some firmware updates).

Roborock Saros Z70: alternatives to consider

	Roborock Saros Z70 (reviewed)	Roborock Saros 10	Dreame L40 Ultra
Max suction:	22,000Pa	22,000 Pa	11,000Pa
Robot W x D:	13.8 x 13.9in / 35 x 35.3cm	13.8 x 14in / 35 x 35.3cm	13.8 x 13.8in / 35 x 35cm
Robot height:	3.1in / 8cm	3.1in / 8cm	4.1in / 10.4cm
Dock dimensions (W x D x H):	15 x 18.7 x 19.2in / 38.1 x 47.5 x 48.8cm	16 x 17.3 x 18.5in / 41 x 44 x 47cm	18 x 13.4 x 23.3in / 45.7 x 34 x 59.1cm
Dust bin volume (base):	2.5L	2.5L	3.2L
Water tank volume:	4L clean, 3L dirty	4L clean, 3.5L dirty	4.5L clean, 4L dirty
Base type:	Charge, empty dust, refill water, dispense detergent, wash and dry mops, self-clean	Charge, empty dust, refill water, dispense detergent, wash and dry mops, self-clean	Charge, empty dust, refill water, dispense detergent, wash and dry mops, self-clean

Dreame L40 Ultra
The L40 Ultra is far more affordable than the Z70, but is still an outstanding robot vacuum. There's no arm, but the cleaning powers are excellent and the dock will take care of almost all maintenance for you, too. The suction specs are lower than on the Z70, but ample for most people's needs.

Read our full Dreame L40 Ultra review

Roborock Saros 10
The Saros 10 is the sister model to the Z70. It doesn't have a pincer arm and, as such, is cheaper (although still premium). This model uses traditional LiDAR navigation rather than the new StarSight system, but the navigation puck can pop up and down so it can still clean under low furniture.

Read our full Roborock Saros 10 review.

How I tested the Roborock Saros Z70

I used the Roborock Saros Z70 over the course of two weeks as my main vacuum. During this time, I tested all the OmniGrip arm functions, as well as assessing the bot's general cleaning powers and usability. I ran TechRadar's standard vacuuming and mopping tests, using oats and loose tea, to see how its cleaning compares to other models. I also spent time digging into the app and exploring the options available. Through all this, I compared my experience with other robot vacuums I've reviewed, from other brands and at different price points.

Read more about how we test robot vacuum cleaners

First reviewed May 2025

My snaps looked great on the Aura Aspen – but not as great as the digital photo frame itself

4:00 pm | May 17, 2025

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Home Smart Home | Tags: US | Comments: Off

Aura Aspen: review

The Aura Aspen is a 1600 x 1200 11.8-inch digital photo frame. Sitting slap bang in the middle of the market, it retails for $229 (around £175) – while it’s currently only available in the US, the company has confirmed it will launch internationally later in 2025. In return, it offers a polished performance, neat design and unlimited cloud storage, making it a pretty reasonable investment.

Setting up the Aspen could not be more straightforward. Once you’ve downloaded the Aura app, you just need to tap +New Frame and plug in the frame. To connect your frame to Wi-Fi, simply enter the numbers displayed on the frame into the app, and it’ll connect to your home network. You’ll then be able to add users to the frame or just get on with adding photos.

And that could not be easier. You can navigate through the app – just tap Add Photos and pick an unlimited number of snaps and videos from your gallery – or use the built-in share button in most photo apps to share directly with the frame. After a quick upload, they’ll start appearing on the frame's screen.

Once they do, you’ll immediately see how impressive the Aspen’s screen is. While its display isn’t the highest pixel density we’ve seen – at 11.8 inches and a 1600 x 1200 resolution, it sits at around 170ppi – its images subjectively look about as crisp as we’ve seen from any of the best digital photo frames. However, it does occasionally overstep the mark (it was pretty unforgiving of the artificial bokeh on some of my iPhone 16 Pro snaps), making me wonder if it subtly sharpens images to give them that extra-well-defined look.

The Aura Aspen with a black and white photo of a beach and windsurfers, on a table with a lamp, reed diffuser and plant in front of a pink background. — (Image credit: Future)

One area it absolutely nails, however, is color reproduction. Whether it’s the marbled turquoise and azure of the Ionian Sea or the riot of peach and magenta of rhododendrons in full bloom, the Aspen made every hue in my photos look rich and enticing. And it never strays into looking artificial; it’s steadfast in its accuracy, not once overstepping the mark into that lurid oversaturation that some screens are susceptible to.

To top off this strong performance, the Aspen also has a pretty decent feature set. Alongside the ability for friends and family to share their shots to your frame, the Aspen automatically detects the orientation of the frame and rotates images accordingly. Unfortunately, while you can manually crop images to center them according to your preferences, you can’t crop them differently for landscape and portrait, or select which images you’d rather appear in either orientation. Still, few digital photo frames I’ve tested handle this perfectly, so I can absolutely forgive this here.

And the Aspen has some innovative features that few other frames offer. Perhaps the most attention-grabbing is its colorization feature, which adds color back to black-and-white photos. The results are, inevitably, a bit hit and miss, as it tends to default to the most conventional colors for everything. For example, it rendered the rock and sand of Fuerteventura in drab khaki and dull beige, rather than their true colors of ochre and gold. Meanwhile, its in-app scanner allows you to ‘digitize’ – read ‘take photos of’ – existing physical pictures. Both of these are a lot of fun to play with, even if I suspect you won’t end up using them that much.

A hand swiping the touchbar on the top of the Aura Aspen, showing the photos on screen sliding from one to the next. — (Image credit: Future)

When it comes to controlling the Aspen, you can, of course, use the Aura app. However, for those who prefer a more tactile method of control, the frame has two touch-capacitive bars that sit on top of the frame in either orientation. These allow you to swipe left and right to select photos from your playlist, tap to hide photos or double-tap to see image info. While this is less futuristic than the Netgear Meural Canvas II’s touchless gesture control, it also feels much more intuitive and foolproof. Put simply, it’s one of the best control mechanisms I’ve ever used when reviewing digital photo frames.

And this kind of pragmatic yet refined styling is a design language the Aura Aspen seems fluent in. Its white 1.4-inch (35mm) bezels have a matte, textured paper effect, making them feel convincingly like an authentic mounting board. Meanwhile, rather than the flimsy stick some digital photo frames rely on, its stand is a sturdy arrowhead shape fashioned out of weighty metal, meaning I never had to worry about it tipping over. The device showcases this kind of dependable, considered build quality throughout, making it feel suitably premium.

If you’re already convinced and ready to pick up the Aura Aspen, I doubt you’ll be disappointed. For those on the fence, there is one more factor to consider: its price. Yes, at $229, it’s marginally pricier than the similarly impressive Pexar 11-inch Digital Picture Frame, which retails for $159.99 / £149.99 and offers a slightly higher 221 PPI pixel density. However, the Aura offers a more premium-feeling build and unlimited uploads and storage, so which frame edges out the other is a matter of your biggest priorities.

A closeup of the corner of the Aura Aspen showing its paper-like mount, in front of a pink background. — (Image credit: Future)

Aura Aspen review: price & release date

Launched April 16, 2025
Retails for $229 (around £175)
Currently only available in the US

Launched on April 16, 2025, the Aura Aspen is available in the US now. Customers elsewhere in the world will have to wait a little longer for it, as according to Aura, its international rollout is currently pencilled in for ‘later in 2025’.

The Aura Aspen retails for $229 (around £175), positioning it slightly above the $159.99 / £149.99 Pexar 11-inch Digital Picture Frame and far more than budget options like the Aeezo Portrait 01, which you can currently pick up for as little as $39.99 / £53.19 from Amazon. The Aspen is subscription-free, however, and that price includes unlimited transfers and cloud storage, so there aren’t any hidden costs or upgrade fees included.

It's available in a single size, but offers two colorways: Ink, the charcoal-hued frame we tested here, or Clay, a neutral beige color.

The rear of the Aura Aspen, showing off its triangular stand and rear speaker. — (Image credit: Future)

Aura Aspen review: specs

Dimensions	12.7 x 10.1 x 1.1 inches (323 x 257 x 28mm)
Display size	11.8-inch
Resolution	1600 x 1200, 170 pixels per inch
Aspect Ratio	4:3
Touch Screen	No
Sound	Built-in speaker
Orientation	Portrait or landscape
Storage	Unlimited cloud storage
Connectivity	Wi-Fi

A hand swiping the touchbar on the side of the Aura Aspen. — (Image credit: Future)

Should I buy the Aura Aspen?

Attributes	Notes	Rating
Features	From a streamlined, user-friendly app to innovative features like photo recoloring, the Aspen has a decent feature set.	4/5
Design	Excellent build quality meet gorgeous aesthetics – it’s a work of art in its own right	5/5
Performance	Colors are vibrant yet faithful, the screen is bright and glare-free and the resolution is decent, even if bokeh occasionally looks a little sharp.	4/5
Value	Not the cheapest frame on the market, but its sturdy build and excellent finish more than justify the price.	4/5

Buy it if…

You’re looking for a lush, detailed display
While it doesn’t have the highest resolution on the market, what the Aspen is capable of is rather impressive, offering gorgeous color and crisp details.

You want a frame that looks as good as your snaps
Aesthetically, the Aspen is a gorgeous frame – not only is it made of premium materials, but its textured mount makes it feel like an authentic, high-quality picture frame.

Don’t buy it if…

You want the best bang for your buck
The Aspen is great quality, but in terms of sheer value, the $159.99 / £149.99 Pexar 11-inch Digital Picture Frame offers similarly stellar performance for marginally less investment.

You want a massive screen
At 11.8 inches, the Aspen is far from the largest screen on the market. If you want a frame that will occupy a decent amount of wall space, something like the gargantuan 27-inch Netgear Meural Canvas II might serve you better.

Aura Aspen review: also consider

	Aura Aspen	Pexar 11-inch Digital Picture Frame	Aura Walden
Dimensions	12.7 x 10.1 x 1.1 inches (323 x 257 x 28mm)	7.4 x 11.2 inches (18.9 x 28.4cm)	15.7 x 12.7 x 1.2 inches (399 x 323 x 30mm)
Display size	11.8-inch	11-inch	15-inch
Resolution	1600 x 1200, 170 pixels per inch	2000 x 1200, 212 pixels per inch	1600 x 1200, 133 pixels per inch
Aspect Ratio	4:3	5:3	4:3
Touch Screen	No	Yes	No
Sound	Built-in speaker	Built-in speaker	Built-in speaker
Orientation	Portrait or landscape	Portrait or landscape	Portrait or landscape
Storage	Unlimited cloud storage	32GB	Unlimited cloud storage
Connectivity	Wi-Fi	Wi-Fi, SD card, USB-A, USB-C	Wi-Fi

Pexar 11-inch Digital Picture Frame
One of my go-to recommendations at this price point, the Pexar offers an excellent balance of performance and price. Its true 2K resolution means it offers a staggeringly sharp 212 PPI pixel density, while colors are striking yet faithful. It’s not quite as gorgeous to look at as the Aspen, though. Read our full Pexar 11-inch Digital Picture Frame review.

Aura Walden
If you love what the Aspen is all about but fancy a little extra screen estate, the Aura Walden is a great option. After all, we named it our best premium digital photo frame for a reason: it has a larger 15-inch display while still offering the same premium build quality and ease of use. Bear in mind, though, that the increased screen size means you get a lower 133 PPI pixel density. Read our full Aura Walden review.

How I tested the Aura Aspen

Tested the product over multiple weeks
Uploaded a wide variety of photos
Have many years of experience working with photography

I tested the Aura Aspen over several weeks. First, I used its app to set up the frame, upload images, and explore its various features. I tried sending both individual snaps and bulk uploading whole folders to see how it coped in terms of transfer times.

I uploaded a variety of shots, from brilliantly hued blossoms to detailed monochrome compositions designed to help assess resolution and color performance. I also tried the frame in a range of settings to help assess its capabilities at different angles and distances, and in different light levels.

When it comes to experience, not only have I tested a wide range of digital photo frames for TechRadar, but I’m an experienced photographer, having taken over 40,000 photos on cameras from my Canon DSLR to my iPhone 16 Pro. I also spent many years working in print publishing, giving me a keen eye for image resolution and color accuracy.

First reviewed: May 2025
Read more about how we test

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