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Levoit 600S air purifier review: floor-standing air purifier that efficiently extracts whiffs

4:00 pm | October 31, 2023

Levoit 600S: two-minute review

Air purifiers are designed to remove dust, dander and dodgy odours, leaving you with a fresher smelling and healthier home. In the height of summer, or faced with an overly-heated home you soon start to notice the whiff of other people and pets.

They differ from fans, which waft the air around at speed, creating a cooling effect, instead extracting impurities and particulates that cause smells and cause germs. An electrostatic or fabric filter captures these as they are blown towards them by the air purifier’s gentle fan mechanism and, as with the Levoit 600S model, are collected in a disposable bag at the bottom of the device. Once cleansed, the air is sent back out into the room, leading to a fresher atmosphere.

The Levoit 600S promises to filter as much as 99.97% of PM2.5 particles (particulate matter less than 2.5 micrometre diameter). This covers the fine dust, pollen and pet hair as well as road traffic pollution and pollen. These can all irritate and, in the longer term, damage the lungs and impact respiratory function. Levels of less than 12μg/m3 should pose no health issues, and we were pleased to find that the existing levels in the first of the two properties in which we tested out the air purifier were already below this figure.

When things get whiffy or lingering sprays have been applied, the Levoit 600S is capable of changing the air in a 147m sq room twice an hour. This is a lower rate of air change than the best air purifiers TechRadar reviewed recently but is plenty for all but larger rooms or the most persistent smells and pollutants.

Although the 600S can be operated directly using the on/off button on the top, the VeSync app provides far more control, showing current PMS levels and the air quality steadily improving as its four-speed fan whips everything through its HEPA and carbon filters to remove airborne nasties. Both the LED on top of the unit and the app give real-time PMS readings and offer one-touch fan adjustments. The app adds scheduling and light-sensing options, making it ideal for use in a bedroom where the fan will automatically reduce in power so you can drop off to sleep.

Levoit 600S: price and availability

How much does it cost? £299.99 (about $360, AU$574)
When is it available? Available now
Where can you get it? Available in the UK

The Levoit 600S is available from Amazon UK for £299 (about $360, AU$574). A £50 discount voucher is currently active, bringing the price down to £249). Although you won’t need a replacement filter immediately, if you like to be organised you can get ahead by adding this £69.99 consumable or a pet allergy version for £101 to your online shopping cart.

This model launched last year in the US, but Amazon notes the current unavailability of the Levoit 600S model (although both branded and third party replacement HEPA filters are for sale there), while Australia has only the filters for sale.

Value: 4 / 5

Levoit 600S: Specs

Levoit 600S in use in the author's home — (Image credit: Future / Rosie Hattersley)

Levoit 600S: Design

Large but lightweight unit
Useful status indicator lights
Whisper-quiet fan

The imposing but elegant Levoit 600S seems to take up more room than its stated 60cm height suggests. While its 300S stablemate sits happily and fairly unobtrusively on a kitchen countertop, the 600S model is a real presence. Placed alongside our microwave, it dwarfed it. If space is at a premium, you will probably want to store it out of sight and bring it out for specific use rather than keeping it on standby. We found this particularly true when we were in the more cramped environment of our terraced home.

However, the curved design and off-white finish are stylish, and the materials sturdy. And, while it weighs 6.2kg, it feels far lighter. The well-positioned recessed handles on either side of the upper section also make it easy to move around.

Looks-wise, the Levoit 600S is smart with a sleek curved body and large fan blades covering the top. In the centre of the fan are the Levoit 600S’ controls and options to change the fan speed, set a timer, check on the filter and current air quality, and determine whether it is connected to Wi-Fi or using Bluetooth for the associated VeSync app. The lower half of the purifier features a fretwork effect, and contains the filter and the bag into which particles sucked in by the fan are deposited.

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Setup involves twisting apart the top and bottom halves of the air purifier’s body, extracting the filter that it comes with from inside, and removing its packaging before popping it back in place. There is a bright yellow sticker on the top of the unit that prompts you to do this before use. The two halves of the unit then click to lock together. It doesn’t matter which way round the top half faces, but the corners need to align with the corresponding corners on the bottom half, a simple enough process.

Although the Levoit 600S is a freestanding unit with no external moving parts, it needs space to operate so it doesn’t overheat. It should, therefore, be placed around 40cm away from the nearest walls. The power cable is more than a metre long, which is ample to accommodate this requirement.

Once switched on, the Levoit 600S can be used either manually using the controls on top, or via the VeSync app. Each of the on-device controls lights up when you touch them, with multiple presses used to increase or reduce the fan speed.

Design: 4.5 / 5

Levoit 600S: Performance

Effective dust and dander removal
Quickly gets rid of aerosol particulates
Less effective on kitchen odours

I tested the Levoit 600S in both an open plan 1960s detached house and a 1930s terraced house, the latter home to two asthmatics and a cat who is less than impressed at the ongoing renovations. The contrasting challenges were larger rooms with carpets, lots of upholstered furniture, and the odours associated with the older generation versus the renovation dust and the pet dander of our London home, which has wooden floors and tiles throughout.

Both have open plan kitchens where food is often oven-baked or prepared on a hob. I tested the changing air quality while sauteing a variety of vegetables as well as frying fish and meat, and noted whether having the window adjacent to the cooker made much difference to the rate at which the air purifier cleaned the air.

To set up the Levoit 600S air purifier, I first installed the VeSync app (iOS and Android versions are available). Next, I switched on the device and pressed the on/off switch on top until the Wi-Fi icon flashed blue. It was then recognised by the app and the two paired over Bluetooth. Next, the app searched for my home Wi-Fi network and prompted me for a login and password.

Although it accepted my previously registered email address, it doesn’t actually want you to provide the password for your VeSync app at this stage and is really after your Wi-Fi password. This tiny misunderstanding took moments to correct. Once connected, you will need to keep the VeSync app open as the firmware is updated. However, the 600S will start operating as soon as it’s connected to Wi-Fi, with its internal fan working at its level 4 maximum rotation speed.

Once the app has updated the firmware, you will be able to adjust the duration and schedules. You will also be shown the current air quality status based on the level of PM2.5 particulates it detects. What is not quite as apparent is that this screen also gives you the option to change the fan speed.

Sitting across the room, I found the Levoit 600S giving off a gentle rhythmic hum that was noticeable but unlikely to upset all but the most sound-sensitive family member. It hums along gently, with an unobtrusive decibel rating of less than 40 on the slowest speed setting and no more than 64dB when it kicks into its top speed rating and then settles at around 52dB. The ambient background noise in the room prior to switching on the air purifier was 38dB, so it barely disturbs the tranquillity.

Even my sound-sensitive mum was untroubled by its operation at the lower fan settings, but pleased with the improved room freshness after 30 minutes of use. Blasting Febreze at the fan itself for a sustained 10 seconds filled the room with choking levels of air freshener, but the purifier removed the lot in 12 minutes at setting 3 (of 4), while our comparison on opening the patio doors and other windows wide had no discernible effect after the same period.

I also found the Levoit 600S effective in removing dust from the air after a weekend of DIY, taking less than 20 minutes to clear the hallway and landing of visible particles. Sharing a home with a cat, I also appreciated it filtering stray hairs and slight odours.

However, it impressed me less when it came to removing cooking smells and signs of domesticity: the kitchen levels were modest before I began frying and sautéing, and the purifier was not much better than the overhead fan and an open window for this use. Given the 600S’ larger dimensions, we would no doubt choose its smaller sibling for this room in any case.

Performance: 4 / 5

Levoit 600S: App

Provides full control over the 600S
Alexa and Google Assistant voice controls
Strong scheduling and light sensing features

The VeSync app is well-designed with attractive graphics in calming shades of blue and turquoise. It provides a visual guide when setting up the Levoit device and has a user manual that you can access from its side menu.

You can control every aspect of the air purifier once installed, with options to adjust the fan speed, schedule days and times for it to operate, change air quality levels that will trigger it automatically switching on and on, and activate a light sensing feature that seems aimed at use in a bedroom. The rationale here is that the gentle hum of the fan helps promote sleep, especially once the air is duly freshened, so you can nod off without the interruptions from an asthmatic or cat-allergy wheeze.

The VeSync app is free to install and also works with Alexa as well as Google Assistant. This gives access to voice control options should you want to prompt your air purifier to go about its business without having to reach for your smartphone. I tried each of these without issue, finding the option to turn the fan off using a voice command useful when the phone rang while the 600S was clearing the air in the kitchen after cooking and I wanted to settle in for a chat.

Should I buy the Levoit 600S?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Also consider

How I tested the Levoit 600S

I used the Levoit Core 600S air purifier and the VueSync app for 10 days
Trialed it in two homes: one open plan; one a terraced house
Substances purified included pet odour, cooking smells and air freshener

I used the Levoit 600S air purifier in a number of different rooms, finding it particularly efficient at clearing the odours from a downstairs room that doubles as an elderly person’s bedroom. Being able to effectively cleanse this room of telltale odours associated with ageing, as well as Febreze and other masking sprays that disguise them was a good test since we had lots of visitors during the week in which the 600S was installed there. I react badly to perfumes and sprays due to asthma, so quickly clearing these smells was critical to me too. I continuously sprayed the aerosol contents at the purifier fan until the PM levels rose above 150 before switching on the unit to begin clearing the particulates.

With one family member being particularly sound-sensitive, being able to instantly dial down the fan setting such that she was undisturbed by the fan was vital. I also tested the unit while frying food and after making toast, as well as setting the Levoit 600S to automatically purify the landing of my own home during and after stripping paint from the stairs and sanding them down. I used a decibel meter app on my phone to measure how loud the fan was at various settings.

I compared the effects of simply allowing the air to clear naturally by opening windows either side of the room with the performance of the 600S, timing both to see how long it took for the PM level to drop below 12.

To test the air purification monitoring and speed, I sprayed heavy particulate aerosols (dry shampoo and deodorant) while the purifier was in Auto mode. This mode detects changes in the room and sets the fan speed accordingly.

I lit a scented candle next to the purifier and also positioned it in the kitchen while frying and grilling different meat and vegetables. I measured the volume with a mobile phone decibel meter.

Read more about how we test

First reviewed October 2023

Philips Hue Bloom review: a capable and colorful bias and accent light

5:30 pm | October 30, 2023

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

One-minute review

As well as its ever-growing range of smart bulbs, Philips Hue has been producing table and floor lamps for a number of years, many of which qualify as some of the best smart lights.

Way back in 2013, the Hue Bloom was the first non-bulb smart light to start this trend – a successful gambit, given it’s still a fan favorite to this day. It can be purchased from Amazon, directly from Philips Hue, and from some third-party retailers for $79.99 / £79.99. It’s a little expensive for what it is, especially in the UK; but it’s one of Hue’s more affordable table lamps. Petite at 4 x 5.1 x 5-inches / 10.1 x 12.9 x 12.6cm (h x w x d), the Bloom is a versatile table lamp that works as well for rudimentary bias lighting as it does for accent lighting.

Philips Hue Bloom table lamp — (Image credit: Future)

It sports a fairly discreet appearance, especially when it’s off, with a sort of ’70s sci-fi look; neutral, curvy, and clad in white plastic and metal. The front of the light is a flat, angled disc with a small bezel; however, you’re most likely to only ever see the rear or side of the light, since it’s for indirect lighting and performs best when facing walls and corners. The light sits on a short stem, which is home to the power cable; the cable exits through a small arch at the front-facing side of the lamp. Depending on where your power supply is in relation to the lamp, this can prove a little fiddly to set up.

You can set up the lamp via Bluetooth or the Hue Bridge. The latter comes at an additional cost of $59.99 / £49.99, and enables further devices to be connected, while also bringing more features such as remote control. As with all Philips Hue lights, the Bloom is super easy to set up in the app, with the overall user experience splendid. Adding the light to your smart home ecosystem is just as easy, and it’s compatible with Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant and Apple HomeKit.

Its slightly low lumen output somewhat betrays the age of the Bloom – and that’s despite it having had a few generational updates over the years. At just 500 lumens at 4000K, which is about as low as you’d ever want a table lamp to go. However, Bloom isn’t designed to spray light across the room, just to provide an interesting and ambient splash of color – and for that it’s perfectly balanced. There’s also a welcome softness to the Bloom as a result of the frosted covering, which diffuses the light wonderfully.

With the now-standard full 16 million array of colors, the Bloom can produce some beautifully vibrant hues, and you can adjust the temperature and brightness with ease using voice controls with the best smart speakers or via the app. As time has gone on, and Bloom has evolved through different Hue generations, color accuracy has improved significantly, and the most recent version I’ve been testing is exemplary of that evolution.

While there are still a few niggles that I’d have expected Hue to have tackled by now (the cable exit in the stem really irks me, for example), overall the Philips Hue Bloom is an excellent – albeit basic – bias or accent light, offering vibrant and bright ambient lighting in your home. It’s discreet enough to work well in any room, but still a good-looking device in itself.

Philips Hue Bloom review: Specs table

Should I buy?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Philips Hue Bloom review: Also consider

How I tested the Philips Hue Bloom

I tested the Philips Hue Bloom for a month
I used it as part of my smart lighting setup
I paired it via the Philips Hue Bridge and Alexa

To test the Philips Hue Bloom, I set it up in my living room for a month, alongside a set of other smart lights from other manufacturers.

My primary smart speaker controller is Alexa, which I used in tandem with the Philips Hue app to test the responsiveness, accuracy and ease of use when operating the lamp. I compared its color accuracy to smart lights in various form factors and from different manufacturers, too.

I used the Bloom as both a bias light behind my TV screen and as an accent light for a display cabinet, as well as a table-side light to add some more color spray to my smart light setup

Yeedi Cube robot vacuum and mop review: lots of features on a budget

4:00 pm |

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

Yeedi Cube: One-minute review

The Yeedi Cube comes among a litany of combo robot vacuums capable of both vacuuming and mopping. In that regard, it’s one of many. What sets it apart then is the fact that it comes with a self-emptying base station for a much lower price than much of the competition.

Whether it ranks among the best robot vacuums for you depends on whether you can accept its quirks. After all, there are a few issues here that might make you reconsider as the virtual mapping is not as good as it could be (though that should be fixed with a firmware update) and assembly can be involved to the point where, if you don’t hit every step correctly, you could end up with an issue. Of course, the issue with getting edges and corners is inherent in this type of vacuum. So, if that’s a concern, you can look at one of the best vacuums for something able to do a deeper clean.

That said, the Yeedi Cube is a cheap way, relatively at least, for a hands-free vacuuming and mopping experience that will leave your floors clean.

Yeedi Cube: price and availability

List price: $699 (about £559 / about AU$1,054)
Available in the US only at the moment

At $699.99 (about £559 / about AU$1,054), the Yeedi Cube is decidedly cheap for what it offers. Sure, you can find robot vacuums capable of mopping for less. For example, the Bissell Spinwave R5 costs $549.99 / about £455.19 /AU$799 and it has both functionalities. What the Bissell doesn’t have that the Yeedi Cube has is a base station that not only empties the debris that’s been vacuumed up but the dirty water as well.

A better comparison then is the iRobot Roomba Combo J7 Plus, which goes for a much higher price tag of $1,099.99 / £999 / AU$2,199 and also includes a self-emptying base station. Though the iRobot’s mopping ability is a bit better, the self-emptying functionality only applies to the dust and debris the Roomba picks up. Anything mopping-related is done manually. The Yeedi Cube’s base station also sucks out the dirty water.

That said, an area that both the Bissell and iRobot robot vacuums as well as that of most established brands have over Yeedi is the fact that the Yeedi Cube is currently only available in the US.

Value: 4 / 5

Yeedi Cube: specifications

Yeedi Cube on the author's floor — (Image credit: Future / James Holland)

Yeedi Cube: Design and features

Completely flat on top
Self-emptying base station
Lots of assembly

There are a few intriguing elements of the Yeedi Cube robot vacuum unit that stand out compared to other models I’ve seen. To start, the clean water tank sits on top of the vacuum instead of being shoehorned into the back with the dustbin. Because of its placement, it can store quite a bit of water (one liter specifically).

Also, the vacuum is completely flat, instead of having a raised area for mapping purposes. Because of this, the Yeedi Cube can get under couches and some furniture that might be out of reach for other units.

As far as attachments go, the Yeedi Cube has two side brushes (many especially cheaper models have one) and a single large brushroll underneath. The brush roll uses bristles so it is susceptible to getting tangled up, so you’ll have to check it somewhat regularly if anyone in the house has long hair.

The mop pad covers the back half of the vacuum and vibrates up to 2,500 times a minute to clean. Though you can easily remove the mop pad to clean it, the base station will wash and dry it every time it docks.

Speaking of the base station, it’s sizable but not too bulky. As it measures 15.74 x 17.72 x 14.76 inches, you’ll have to set aside a good amount of space, especially as the actual robot vacuum likes to do a three-point turn to back into it from about four feet in front.

The base station takes up this much space for a couple of reasons. As soon as the vacuum is docked, the station will suck the debris out of the dustbin into a disposable bag inside the base station, so you don’t have to regularly empty anything. Since having started testing for this review, I have not needed to replace the bag despite cleaning up after two dogs.

The base station also has a dirty water tank that’s big enough (1.2 liters, specifically) that it rarely needs to be emptied. Also, as mentioned above, when the vacuum docks, the station will wash and dry the mop pad to keep it clean and free of mold.

This is all well and good once you have it all set up, but it requires a little bit extra in terms of assembly. Namely, there are a lot of different areas where you have to remove tabs and stickers for correct operation.

To that end, I had trouble with the base of the base station as I thought it was properly installed, but because it didn’t fully click into place, all the dirty water that was supposed to go into the dirty water tank ended up leaking out of the base station. While I’ll admit that it’s user error, it’s something that I checked more than once trying to troubleshoot. And, if you’re not careful and fully push in that base when assembling this vacuum, you might end up stepping in a puddle of murky water as well.

Design: 4 / 5

Yeedi Cube: Performance

Solid vacuuming ability
Object avoidance is okay
Mopping is good

As far as vacuuming ability goes, the Yeedi Cube is as capable as any robot vacuum I’ve tested. It has two side brushes to the single one that most models have so that it’s able to feed all debris towards the brush roll instead of kicking debris out.

Having had to run the Yeedi Cube somewhat regularly to pick up after two French Bulldogs and a cat (mostly the dogs), it did a great job of getting all the pet hair off the floor. It did have some issues with larger objects since that brush roll uses actual bristles. Long hair and larger leaves will get stuck there as I experienced, requiring some manual clearing of the brush roll and brush roll area before being able to continue cleaning the floor.

Robot vacuums tend to have issues with this in general so it’s not a major point against the Yeedi Cube. You’ll just have to do a little pre-cleaning before running it if you see big pieces of debris lying around.

In the same vein, its object avoidance is okay but not great. It will bump up on objects before deciding to go around. This is a little bit of a frustration as that means it can get stuck on some lower-lying objects. In my case, the robot vacuum has gotten stuck on some floor vents that are a couple of centimeters higher than the surrounding floor, requiring me to rescue it. However, it seems to have learned from the first couple of times getting stuck and no longer does so when being run.

As with many other robot vacuums I’ve tested, the edge cleaning is not nearly as good as advertised and the Yeedi Cube will leave areas along the wall with some dirt and debris that I would have hoped it to pick up.

The mopping functionality is also pretty good. At first, it was a little streaky, but it seemed to find its stride after the first time or two running it. While Yeedi doesn’t offer any cleaning solution or advice on what to use, just using water does pick up quite a bit of dirt. The dirty water tank on the self-emptying base station attests to its ability to go the extra mile with mopping.

That might be from the physical mopping pad. Instead of dragging it behind it, the Yeedi Cube vibrates the mopping pad to physically remove dirt. If you want to take it to the next level, you can use any cleaning solution except for strong acids or alkali-based ones that could corrode the cleaning tank.

Performance: 4 / 5

Yeedi Cube: App

Fairly intuitive to use
Lots of adjustments for both vacuum and station
Room mapping needs work

The Yeedi app is generally intuitive to use. The main screen depicts the overall map that the robot vacuum has made of your space including whatever room divisions you’ve made. Information about the vacuum such as current settings, battery life and what it’s currently doing is listed at the top of the screen, while access to controls is at the bottom.

The “Robot” tab allows you to select between just vacuuming or vacuuming and mopping, how loud you want its operation (which affects how deeply it will clean), the amount of water you want it to use, whether you want it to do a quick or full clean and more. There are some advanced settings here available such as creating scheduled cleanings, how you want each room to be cleaned, and Do Not Disturb hours.

There’s also a “Station” tab with some base station-specific settings such as toggling on/off the self-emptying functionality and how long you want it to wash or dry the mopping pad.

The one area where the app falls short however is in its ability to subdivide the map into different rooms. After the initial mapping of my space, it all showed up as one big room. I was able to subdivide the whole space into two rooms but not any further than that even though I should have been able to break it down further. That means that I have to clean half the floor space when I want to clean just one room, so I end up just running the vacuum to clean everything.

Now, I run this vacuum in an area that is almost an open floor plan with wide door frames that lack doors and the Yeedi Cube apparently has more trouble with these sorts of spaces compared to a more typical apartment or house layout. So, this issue may not even apply to you. It’s still a major annoyance as well as a consideration when comparing robot vacuums, though I’ve been told that Yeedi is working on this and will hopefully have rectified this issue with a future firmware update.

If you’re on the smart home train, be aware that it is compatible with Alexa and Google Home but not HomeKit.

App: 3.5 / 5

Yeedi Cube: Battery life

Long battery life
Constantly returns to base station

The crazy thing about the Yeedi Cube’s 150-minute battery life is that it’s so careful about emptying its contents regularly and washing that mopping pad before continuing that it never got below 50%.

So, it would run for 40 or 50 minutes, return to the base station to clean, and then return to the job. That said, it wouldn’t wait to fully recharge. So, I never was in any danger of it running out of battery. The only time it did was when it got stuck on something when I wasn’t around to rescue it.

Even beyond that, a 110 or 120-minute runtime is typical so what this robot vacuum can achieve is far above average.

Battery: 5 / 5

Should I buy the Yeedi Cube?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Yeedi Cube: Also consider

Not sold on the prowess of the Yeedi Cube? Below are a couple of alternatives that you can consider.

How I tested the Yeedi Cube

I used the Yeedi Cube for a month
Tested different settings and features
Tested on different surfaces with various obstacles

To test the Yeedi Cube Robot Vacuum and Mop Self-Empty XL, I used it for a month to vacuum and mop the hardwood floors in my house. I also tested all the features listed in the app, from mapping to different levels of cleaning.

I took note of how well the vacuum cleaned the edges of a room as well as around obstacles, not to mention running it over different surfaces including two different types of hard flooring.

Read more about how we test

First reviewed October 2023

Nanoleaf Ultra Black Shapes review: Nanoleaf’s most chic smart light panels yet

5:24 pm | October 29, 2023

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

One-minute review

Nanoleaf has fast become a popular brand, producing some of the best smart lights on the market. In particular, its ranges of wall panels and lines have been allowing smart lighting fans to unleash their creativity and design their own illuminating wall art.

The standard Nanoleaf Shapes range includes three different form factors; Canvas, Hexagons and Triangles, and with the release of the Nanoleaf Ultra Black Triangles last year, and Hexagons this year (UK and US only as of writing), its Ultra Black Shapes lineup is now following suit. For this review, I tested the Hexagons.

Offering simple setup and installation and great app controls, the Nanoleaf Ultra Black Shapes are a quick, easy, and effective addition to any room; but with the starker black coloring, I’d say they best suit an office, studio, or rooms with darker walls.

Nanoleaf Shapes Ultra Black turned on — (Image credit: Future)

Despite the dark backdrop, the lights are surprisingly vibrant and bright; although not enough to the degree that they’re able to illuminate a room, rather just provide some ambiance. Much like the standard Shapes, the color doesn’t quite reach the corners and edges – personally, I’d prefer if they did.

The standard nine-pack allowed me to create a small but mighty bat-shaped accent piece, but I think both the design and technological capabilities of the device are best demonstrated through a larger design. The number of devices one controller can handle (500) is truly impressive, but it would be nice if the power cable could supply more than 21 panels.

All in all, the Ultra Black Shapes are a wonderful, slick addition to Nanoleaf’s wall paneling, and although I did experience a couple of bugs and quirks, in general I found them to be supremely easy to use and a beautiful addition to my workspace.

Nanoleaf Ultra Black Shapes review: Price and availability

List price: $219.99 / £179.99 / AU$369.99
Expansion sets: $69.99 / £49.99 / AU$119.99

The Nanoleaf Ultra Black Hexagons and Triangles are priced the same as the starter kits; $219.99 / £179.99 / AU$369.99 (although at the time of writing, the Hexagons have yet to be released in Australia.) You can buy them from Nanoleaf direct, Amazon, as well as through some other third-party sellers.

Included in this kit are nine panels, nine connectors, a power cord, a controller, and mounting tape, allowing you to start formulating your wall art. You can opt to expand your design, or mix and match shapes with the expansion kits, with each containing a further three panels and connectors for $69.99 / £49.99 / AU$119.99.

This puts the Nanoleaf Ultra Black panels at the higher end of the smart light price point spectrum, especially given that these are slightly pricier than the already-expensive standard white wall panels. I’d say they offer fairly good value for money thanks to the breadth of controls in the app and the build quality of the panels, but I’d be far more impressed if they’d come in at a slightly lower price point.

Value: 4/5

Nanoleaf Ultra Black Shapes review: Specs table

The Nanoleaf Shapes Ultra Black when turned off — (Image credit: Future)

Nanoleaf Ultra Black Shapes review: Design

Slick, matte black front
Robust and well made
Easily installed

Elegant and slightly imposing, these all-black panels offer a much more sophisticated look than the standard white Nanoleaf Shapes, making them a real statement piece whether they’re on or off. This very fact makes them slightly better suited to slightly different room types; namely, rooms with darker walls, or spaces such as a study, bedroom, or studio.

Both the Hexagons and Triangles have the same dimensions; 7.75 x 9 inches / 20 x 23cm, and are 0.24 inches / 60mm thick, meaning they sit impressively close to the wall. They feel robust and well made, capable of handling a few bumps – although I wouldn’t readily drop them from great heights. The included mounting tape is super strong and bonds quickly, which makes for easier and quicker installation.

When creating your design with the panels, you need to consider the placement of the controller and power cable(s). The former can control up to 500 panels and is shape ambiguous, and the power cord can supply up to 21 panels. Otherwise, creating a design with your panels is a breeze with the in-app layout assistant; or there are plenty of suggested designs available to give you some inspiration.

You can choose wherever you fit the controller on the side of one of the Shapes, and it’s fairly subtle, although I’d prefer for it to be slightly more remote or attachable to the power cord instead – but it’s a negligible interruption to your chosen design.

My one minor design gripe is that the color doesn’t fully reach the edge of the Shape; it comes pretty close, but especially into the corners, it doesn’t quite go the distance. This is true for all Nanoleaf Shapes, as well as many competitor products, but it’s a lot more noticeable on the black backdrop. As such, my former comment about the wall color being important is most relevant to this issue; placed on a darker wall, this is unlikely to be as noticeable as it is on a bright white wall. It’s just as the white panels stand out more on dark walls.

Overall I really appreciate the design of the panels, even if they’re a little starkly contrasting on my white walls – but I’d happily design a darker feature wall or room around these beautiful panels.

Design: 4.5/5

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Nanoleaf Shapes Ultra Black on a wall — (Image credit: Future)

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Nanoleaf Ultra Black Shapes review: Performance

Vibrant, but dimmer than standard Nanoleaf Shapes
App offers great controls
Can be a little buggy

Setting up the Nanoleaf Ultra Black Shapes is very easy through the Nanoleaf app (more on that later), and you’re pretty much ready to go as soon as they’re designed and installed – unless you want to spend time finessing the output in the settings.

I did attempt to re-calibrate the colors, but couldn’t make it through the entire process without it bugging; this happened on multiple occasions and through different software patches.

The app is pretty intuitive and offers a huge range of customization and design options, as well as downloadable scenes or a scene creator if you want to branch out. It’s super easy to control via the app, with minimal delay unless you’re fiddling with some of the settings I mentioned above.

The rest of the features perform similarly to other Nanoleaf products; in brief, MusicSync is great, so long as the sound source is close by and well directed, or otherwise loud, and Touch Gestures are a little temperamental.

Having tried out a number of different smart lights, including Nanoleaf’s standard range, the first thing I’d note about the Ultra Black range is that, despite Nanoleaf’s best efforts, there’s a slight impact on the color output and brightness.

On the former, certain colors have a slight muddiness to them – one I’d expect with the interference of the all-out black design, but since these are slightly pricier than the standard white panels, I’d have liked better attention to the light technology. It’s most noticeable with lighter colors – pure white is quite gray, yellow looks more saffron, light blue is more powder or eggshell blue, and pink is more peachy. Still, the colors are impressively vibrant given the device's design.

Personally, I don’t ever consider smart light panels to be primed for illuminating a room, but rather for ambiance and design, so I didn’t find the Ultra Black panels’ dimness too problematic. However, they’re definitely dimmer than the standard range, which is worth noting if you’re looking to bring proper light into a room.

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The edge of the nanolead shapes panels, showing slight disruption/fraying to the light — The edge of the Nanoleaf Shapes panels, showing slight disruption/fraying to the light (Image credit: Future)

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The black backdrop also draws attention to any lights that aren’t quite perfectly aligned; there’s a small blip on the edge of a few of mine, although you have to be up fairly close to notice.

There’s also some weirdness in the color assignment with certain smart home controllers - in my case, Alexa. For some reason, white always turns out a variant of peach or pink, unless I specifically pick out white in the app or use a white scene.

I tested these lights for a couple of months alongside a few different brands, and I’d say Nanoleaf was among the buggiest; the panels got stuck on certain colors, and were non-responsive or behaved strangely on occasions. Overall, though, they worked well.

Should I buy?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Nanoleaf Shapes Ultra Black review: Also consider

Still not sold on the Nanoleaf Shapes Ultra Black? Here are two other options you might want to consider.

How I tested the Nanoleaf Ultra Black Shapes

I spent two months testing the Ultra Black Shapes
I used them in tandem with other, non-Nanoleaf lights and paired with both Apple Home and Alexa
I tested color vibrancy, brightness, responsiveness and sturdiness, as well as all the in-app features.

I used the Nanoleaf Ultra Black Shapes for two months in my smart home. I installed and paired them following the in-app instructions, evaluating the process for speed and user-friendliness.

With the app being the primary controller, I tested all of its features, from creating scenes to trying the MusicSync and touch control features. I also adjusted the settings to calibrate the lights to my specific needs.

I paired the light panels with both my Amazon Alexa and Apple Home controllers to see how quickly they responded to various commands, while also considering how well the panels integrated with my non-Nanoleaf lights.

Ikea Starkvind table review: an air purifier masquerading as a table

2:30 pm | October 27, 2023

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

One-minute review

Ikea is a brand most often associated with flat-pack furniture, meatballs, and the occasional viral plush, it’s not the first name you think of when it comes to innovation. However, its smart home line is certainly home to some whacky, creative ideas, including the Ikea Starkvind table, an air-purifying table that’ll freshen up any living space.

Available for $199.99 / £199 / AU$249 directly from Ikea, the Starkvind table joins other novel creations like the Symfonisk lamp speaker and Symfonisk picture frame speaker.

While it’s no show-stopper, the Starkvind table is fairly stylish in a modest, minimal sense, and the 55cm / 21.7-inch tall table has a fair amount of surface area to play with thanks to its 54cm / 21.3-inch diameter.

It’s not the most impressive and capable air purifier I’ve ever used, and it lacks a true HEPA filter. However, if you’re looking for a space-saving device, it’s a great option - albeit a slightly pricey one, for what it is.

Ikea Starkvind table review: Price

The Ikea Starkvind table is available for $199.99 / £199 / AU$249 directly from Ikea. It’s a little overpriced for what it is, considering that some of our all-time favorite air purifiers, like the Blueair Blue Pure 411 Auto, sit at the $150 / £100 / AU$150 mark, and offer superior performance and specs compared to Ikea’s Starkvind table.

Added to that is the fact you’ll have to buy the Ikea Dirigera smart device hub for $69.99 / £60 / $AU99 if you want to use the app, which provides smart features like air analysis, timers, and scenes. The app also enables you to bring the device into wider smart home ecosystems, including Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit, and Google Assistant. There’s also an activated carbon filter for gaseous pollutants like formaldehyde which can be bought separately for $26 / £15 / AU$20. Both this filter and the included particle filter, which costs $20 / £7 / AU$25, need to be replaced every six months or so, depending on your level of usage, meaning that all-in-all, the table’s ongoing costs do add up.

In saying that, it’s robust, well-designed, offers decent performance, and is also a table, so it’s far from terribly priced.

Price: 4/5

Ikea Starkvind table grooves under the tabletop — (Image credit: Future)

Ikea Starkvind table review: Setup and design

As is to be expected from the Swedish furnishing behemoth, the Ikea Starkvind table is a piece of flatpack furniture that comes in a surprisingly compact box.

It’s incredibly easy to assemble. Simply turn the main console upside down, screw in the legs, remove the filter’s packaging, connect the power supply, click the tabletop into place, and voila; one air purifying table ready to go. If you have the Dirigera smart home hub, pairing is just as easy - simply press the pairing button under the tabletop and follow the in-app instructions. Once in the app, you can check out the air analysis, timers and cutscenes. You can also easily integrate the Starkvind table into your Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit, or Google Assistant ecosystem here.

The tabletop is pretty simple, but still stylish, offering decent real estate with its 54cm / 21.3-inch diameter and 55cm / 21.7-inch height. Under the hood lies a standard Ikea Starkvind air purifier, its plastic casing designed to seamlessly blend in with the rest of the table’s design. At the front of the table is a dial to switch between the automatic detection mode and five power settings. If you hold this dial down, it triggers the lock function. There are also two indicator lights; one for the lock toggle and the other for when it’s time to replace the filter inside.

There’s some great attention to detail in the table, despite its simplicity. For example, one of the legs has an indent, in which the cable can be fed to keep the underside looking neat and tidy. The underside of the tabletop also features a set of anti-drip grooves, which prevent spilled liquids from reaching the purifier underneath.

Setup and design: 4.5/5

Close-up of the Ikea Starkvind table controls — (Image credit: Future)

Ikea Starkvind table review: Performance

The Starkvind table’s filter can remove roughly 99.5% of smaller airborne particles, including PM2.5 particles, dust and pollen. On its least powerful setting, the Starkvind table is impressively quiet, registering just 25dB on test. However, the volume amps up pretty quickly once you get to its third, medium-strength setting.

By the time you get to the most powerful setting, it’s fairly noisy at 55dB, which is just a little quieter than a normal conversation. I had to raise my voice above the sound to be heard. While it’s unlikely you’d need to use this highest setting too often, I’d definitely have appreciated a slightly quieter performance.

I kept the Starkvind table with air purifier running on its auto mode for much of my testing, and put it through its paces by lighting candles and spraying aerosols in the nearby vicinity. It has a two or three-stage filtration system depending on whether you purchase the gas filter. Air travels through a prefilter to remove larger debris and particles before heading through the main filter and the optional gas filter. The main filter is capable of removing 99.5% of PM2.5, meaning dust, pollen, industrial emissions and smoke are all covered. It’s worth bearing in mind that more sophisticated purifiers can handle a wider range of particulate matter to give your airways the utmost protection, however, PM2.5 tends to carry the greatest risk.

The air sensor in the purifier was very responsive to pollutants, quickly amping up the power to clear out the harassing particles. While it’s hard to assess how good it is at actually filtering out the particles, I did notice the air quality swiftly climbing to a healthy level on my air quality monitor when I did my aerosol and candle tests.

Maintenance is pretty simple with the Starkvind table - simply lift the tabletop off to check the filters and vacuum off any grub regularly, and replace the filters every 6 months or when the LED indicator on the front of the table notifies you to do so.

While the table works as promised, the inability to take advantage of its smart features without Ikea’s smart home hub plus its fairly basic purification technology means it doesn’t land as well as other air purifiers I’ve researched and reviewed, like the Dyson Hot + Cool Formaldehyde.

Performance: 3.5/5

Ikea Starkvind table review: Specs table

Should I buy?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Also consider

How I tested the Ikea Starkvind table with air purifier

I used the Ikea Starkvind table with air purifier for one month
I tested its auto mode using candles and aerosols
I measured its success with an air quality monitor

I built the Ikea Starkvind and tested it in my living room for one month, mostly keeping it on its automatic detection mode to test its reactiveness and efficiency.

I kept my air quality monitor nearby to compare results, lighting candles and spraying aerosols in the vicinity of the table to see how quickly and effectively it cleared the particles from the air.

Lastly, I compared the results to my go-to purifier, the Dyson Hot + Cool Formaldehyde HP09 as a benchmark.

Swann AllSecure650 2K Wireless Security Kit review

3:03 pm | October 26, 2023

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Home Home Security Smart Home | Tags: Australia, UK, US | Comments: Off

One-minute review

With the AllSecure 650 2K Wireless Security Kit, Swann is aiming to straddle the markets for hardwired security systems that record and save footage to a cloud service and standalone kits that store it locally.

It offers the convenience of near-constant recording without the expense of a subscription service and is intended as a solid and reliable self-installation product, keeping setup and running costs relatively low. Furthermore, it comes in a variety of bundle sizes, with the smallest including two cameras and the largest, four. These cameras are wireless HD units that offer the convenience of being able to place surveillance cameras anywhere you choose.

The kit is based around a hub that either needs to be physically attached to your home router via Ethernet or connected wirelessly. You’ll also need a smart TV or, better yet, a spare monitor, to set up the system. This hub contains a 1TB hard drive and also has a very useful slot for an additional rechargeable battery pack.

The satellite cameras are wireless and can be placed wherever you wish within range. The instructions state that these need to be charged in advance for two or three hours, but a lengthier charge is needed if the cameras are to operate reliably for more than the first few hours. A USB charging cable for this purpose is supplied, but you’ll need to use the plug from a tablet or smartphone. European and UK adapters for the hub power cable were supplied in the two-camera kit, along with an abundance of brightly colored leaflets in multiple languages to aid hardware software and app setup.

Once charged, the battery packs click into the base of each camera, with the spare stashed snugly inside the hub, ready to be called into use when one of the wireless camera battery packs runs low. This is one of the most intuitive and useful aspects of the kit. Swann indicates a battery life between charges of up to four months, while the 1TB hard drive in the hub should be able to record standard or high-definition footage for two years before filling up.

The terabyte of included storage is probably best set to record motion events rather than record continuously, to save you trawling through saved footage in search of an event. Should you need it, there’s also an SD card slot on the hub so you can save footage that you might need to share, plus a USB port where you can add an external drive of up to 4TB capacity. In addition, you can save videos to your Dropbox account from the app.

With a few setup niggles such as the need to use an HD monitor, mouse, and on-screen keyboard to get the security system underway, the Swann AllSecure 650 offers a strong combination of wireless surveillance features with the convenience of recording to a built-in hard drive.

Having an extra battery pack inside the hub available for immediate swap-out with one of the camera packs ensures no downtime, and is a real benefit. You do need to watch out for properly charged batteries, however.

The video cameras provide clear footage with plenty of detail, and the Swann Security app offers most of the controls and playback options you’d hope for from a home security system, with only a few seconds delay to playing back event footage once you receive a phone or smartwatch alert. With no need to fork out for a subscription service, unless you need the extra person/car/animal alert distinctions, the Swann AllSecure 650 is also a good value choice.

Swann AllSecure650 2K: price & availability

List price (4-camera bundle): $699.99 / £499.95 / AU$999.95
List price (2-camera bundle, UK / AU): £399.95 / AU$699.95
Available in UK, US and Australia

The Swann AllSecure650 2K is sold directly from the brand's website or via resellers including Amazon, and arrives with a pre-installed local 32GB microSD card, a USB charging cable and installation equipment.

There are a host of bundles, which are compiled slightly differently globally - for this review, I was sent the 2-camera bundle, which is available in the UK and Australia for £399.95 / AU$699.95. The more globally available 4-camera bundle is $699.99 / £499.95 / AU$999.95.

To get the best from the camera, you'll need to sign up to a storage subscription service, meaning you'll benefit from the warranty, the best detection smart alerts, and cloud storage. Subscription services start at $2.99 / £2.99 / $AU5.55 per month; plus you get a free three-month trial when you buy the camera. This stores video footage for up to 60 days in the cloud and offers extras such as package, pet, and vehicle detection in addition to human heat and motion detection.

If the physical storage still doesn't quite cut it or you want some more options, there's also the Swann Unlimited subscription of £8.99 per month (after a three-month trial) for cloud storage, and continuous recording will work better for your needs: the Swann Security app makes it easy to add a cloud service at any point just by clicking the yellow-ish storage chest icon and adding your card details.

Swann AllSecure650 2K: specifications

Swann AllSecure650 2K: Design and set-up

Swann 650 hub port — (Image credit: Future)

Setting up the Swann AllSecure 650 involves plugging in the supplied mouse to the hub. With the screen attached to the hub via HDMI, it should automatically display the setup screen. Add your network details and Wi-Fi password or plug in the Ethernet cable, if you prefer. You can connect to either a 2.4GHz or 5GHz wireless network.

Next, create a Swann email account, enter your password as the admin, and add any extra users you may want on the system. You’ll know the hub is successfully connected when all three of the subtle colored LEDs are lit up on its front fascia.

You'll want to install the Swann Security iOS or Android app to use the AllSecure 650 system remotely using your phone. Once you’ve added your email details, you’ll be prompted to scan the QR code on the top of the hub. Oddly, Swann’s printed quick-start guide for the app only references iOS, not Android; but both are offered.

Although the app expects you to pair with a security camera at this stage, the pairing happens on the HD monitor screen. Two (or four, if you’ve bought the more expensive AllSecure 650 kit) of the on-screen panes will display a Play icon, while the rest will – rather off-puttingly – suggest “video loss” rather than that they’re not in use.

To pair, you must bring the camera into proximity to the hub and click one of the active on-screen panes. You then need to unlock the security system by manually entering your admin password credentials and clicking Unlock. Now click on the pane or the white video camera icon that appears just beneath it, and press and hold down the white hardware button on top of the camera for several seconds. There ought to be a red LED on the camera that turns on at this point – it never did for me, although pairing still took place. I also needed several attempts at pairing.

Swann 650 porch camera mount being screwed in place — (Image credit: Future)

Once connected, you can position the cameras as you see fit. The brief hardware setup instructions prompt you to try to experiment with what will be a suitable position, checking what appears in the camera view before committing to the location. Bear in mind that you need to have the hard plastic antenna on top of each camera sticking upwards in order to pick up the Wi-Fi signal and connect to the Swann 650’s hub. There’s a theoretical range of up to 30 meters.

I found that placing my indoor camera discreetly in a side window near the front door was ideal until the window glare and automatic porch light obscured the view at night – or I dislodged the camera with my bulky curtains.

Mounting it inside the porch worked well, but also announced the camera to the street. Although this could prove a good visual deterrent, along with the inevitable brace of secured property stickers I've placed on the windows, I ended up fretting that it would be all too easy for a chancer to simply shelter in my porch, unscrew the wireless camera from its mount and make off with it, caught on camera or not.

To prevent such instances, Swann suggests mounting the cameras roughly four meters above the intended surveillance area. In practice, this probably means outside a room on the floor above. Swann doesn’t guarantee that the cameras can withstand all weather, specifically warning about siting them where they’ll be rained on; however, it also makes claims of IP66-rated water and dust resistance, plus a good level of temperature tolerance; so a sheltered eave or nook outside above an upper-floor window are ideal spots.

If you’re restricted to mounting the fixings from inside the property, the options may be few. If you choose to go down this route and fit the cameras yourself, and if you lack a sufficiently long ladder and a head for heights, you may find yourself scrabbling to screw the cameras into place and then not necessarily in the ideal spot.

The two halves of the camera mount unscrew, with the part that attaches to the wall or ceiling having holes for two supplied screws. Once secured to the mounting base, you'll need to angle the camera as needed and use the wing nut to hold it in position. One of the review cameras was missing a sticky sponge pad inside the mount, which meant it wouldn’t stay in place; but I was able to work around this by adjusting camera placement.

Swann 650 upper camera mounted on the underside of a roof — (Image credit: Future)

Swann AllSecure650 2K: Performance

The video quality from the cameras was more than adequate; I was easily able to discern what was happening on the street below, both during the day and at night time, and whether in the default SD mode or when I selected HD (high-definition video). There was little visual distortion, although things looked a bit out of kilter when I seated the upper camera at an odd angle.

The playback option lets you view a two-second clip of whatever triggered recording, and if you spot something interesting happening while in Live View mode then you can simply tap the video camera icon on the app to instantly record.

The lag when in Live View mode and interacting with a visitor on the doorstep was minimal and the conversation was clear through the two-way sound system. To chat with someone who’s near one of the cameras, you just click the microphone icon beneath the screen of the relevant camera on the app. I was able to hold a two-way chat that made perfect sense and was more than loud enough at the camera end to be heard clearly, despite the tinny delivery.

In Night mode, the footage was also plenty clear enough to distinguish objects. Should the sun end up glowering into your Swann security camera’s lens, contrast levels are sufficient to combat the resulting washed-out images and critical details are easy to discern. When light levels drop, you can click the light bulb icon on the app to turn on the light and change the intensity of the night vision light. It’s possible to leave this light on if you want to use it as a deterrent or helpful guide light, too. With the night light on, you also get a color view.

Swann 650 in-app detection types, showing printscreens of the filter set-up, a car being detected and a parcel being detected — (Image credit: Future)

Swann AllSecure650 2K: App

The app is the main way of interacting with the events your AllSecure 650 cameras will pick up (unless, of course, you intend to monitor comings and goings yourself via the HD monitor, if it’s commercial premises you’re securing). The cameras can be viewed individually, or you can tap the Live View option to see an overview of all the active cameras.

Unless you’ve deactivated it, you’ll receive notifications about any and all motion events triggered by people and vehicles passing by, and approaching your home. If you receive too many, it’s a fair sign you ought to adjust the camera angle so fewer pedestrians and casually passing cars are detected.

Thankfully, the app is smart enough to realize it’s being ignored and, after a few unacknowledged alerts, will offer you the option to pause notifications. More usefully, you may wish to set the Schedule in the app to show when you’re almost certainly at home and awake anyway, and when you’re at work or similar. This way, Swann knows not to interrupt you because you’ll probably notice someone arriving in any case.

Refined options such as rich notifications (where you get a photo showing what’s happening alongside an event alert) and detection based on person, vehicle or animal, are delivered only as part of the Swann Secure+ subscription service. However, when I updated the app, I started receiving notifications that mentioned a person; in fact, they were usually just a car driving past.

There are no custom zone settings, so it’s down to the user to accurately place the camera for minimal false alerts - and for a camera this price, that's a little disappointing. The cameras aren’t powered, of course, so there is no pan/tilt option to track visitors. Number-plate recognition and other AI features are absent, too: the cameras use PIR to recognize animals, people, and vehicles by their outline.

Another quibble was that in Do Not Disturb mode, I found the cameras went offline and no clips were recorded, rather than me just not being notified about movements around my property for a while. Luckily, toggling off the DND mode brought them back into use after a couple of seconds.

Should you need it, there’s a guide to the app that you can view or share by clicking on the top-left menu bar and then tapping “User Manual”.

Should you buy the Swann AllSecure650 2K home security camera?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Swann AllSecure 650 2K review: also consider

If you want an outdoor security camera but want to shop around before you buy, here are a couple more options to consider...

How I tested the Swann AllSecure 650 2K home security camera

I installed and used the Swan AllSecure 650 2K in my home for a month
I monitored my home both day and night
I used all of its features and explored its settings

After installing and setting up my Swann AllSecure 650 2K, I used it to monitor my home for a month. I attached the cameras in various spots (my porch and underneath the eave of my roof) to detect comings and goings of visitors, deliveries and vehicles.

I paired the cameras with my phone and used the app, testing all of its features and settings to see how well they worked and if any further features could have been added. I noted the notification speed, the recording quality and accuracy of the cameras when I was home and away.

Read more about how we test

First reviewed September 2023

TP-Link Tapo RV30 Plus review: a self-emptying robot vacuum that won’t clean out your wallet

1:00 am | October 25, 2023

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

TP-Link Tapo RV30 Plus: One-minute review

The Tapo RV30 Plus is TP-Link’s flagship robot vacuum cleaner model in its smart home range. It can vacuum, mop and then self-empty its dustbin into one of the biggest dust bags that I’ve seen in any robot vacuum cleaner brand.

I’ve tested robot vacuum cleaners with 2L and 3L dustbags in their auto-empty docks, but this is the first time I’ve come across a 4L replaceable dustbag. And that means the number of times you need to replace it reduces, potentially saving you money in the long run.

When it comes to vacuuming, there’s up to 4,200Pa of suction power available and, while the default Standard suction is fine for relatively clean hard floors, I thought leaving it in Turbo was the best option. And even in Max mode it doesn’t drain too much of its ample three-hour battery life.

However, you will need to keep in mind that the breeze from the rotating side brush can scatter strands of hair and microscopic dust particles instead of pushing it towards the bar brush below the machine.

Mopping, however, is a lot more basic. While it can pump out three different water levels when you attach its mop plate, even the Max output isn’t enough to clean up dried, caked-in dirt and stains. There’s no agitation here like there is with some other robot vacuum cleaners like the Ecovacs Deebot X1 Omni or the Deebot X1 Turbo.

Where it really shines is how much control the companion app provides. From no-mop zones to customized cleaning routines, the Tapo app is excellent and the robovac follows all the instructions perfectly. If you have mixed floor types – hard floor as well as carpet – you can set no-mop zones and the RV30 won’t even enter that zone to vacuum if the mop plate is still attached. You can later remove the plate and send the machine back to do a spot clean. You can vacuum a space up to three times, meaning you will have a clean floor when it’s done – as long as you don’t have caked-in stains anywhere.

The RV30 is the same size as most other circular robot vacuums, but it looks large in comparison to its own auto-empty docking station, which is actually quite compact considering it houses a 4L dust bag. So you will still need a decent amount of floor space to store the whole machine.

And if you can pick it up during a major sale event, there’s some really good bang for buck here.

TP-Link Tapo RV30 Plus robot vacuum cleaner charging in its auto-empty dock — (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

TP-Link Tapo RV30 Plus review: price and availability

Announced early 2023
Priced at £599.99 / AU$999 (US pricing TBC)
Available now in the UK and Australia; yet to be released in the US

As a flagship model, the Tapo RV30 Plus isn't what we would call ‘cheap’, but it isn’t as premium as some other brands like iRobot’s Roombas. At the time of writing, the RV30 Plus is available to buy in select markets, including the UK and Australia, but not in the US. It will set you back £599.99 / AU$999 respectively at full price but can be picked up from Amazon UK and Amazon AU at a discount during major sales.

While it’s listed on Tapo’s US website, the RV30 Plus isn’t available to buy just yet in America. The closest alternative from TP-Link would be the Tapo RV10 Plus that will set you back $399.99 on Amazon US and misses out on the newest lidar navigation tech and its suction isn’t as powerful in comparison to the RV30 Plus.

In Australia, you can also buy the Tapo RV30 itself without the auto-empty dock for AU$799 from Amazon AU.

The RV30 Plus offers good value for money at its price point, considering it can vacuum, mop and empty its bin itself. What makes it stand apart from the crowd is its relatively large dust bags in the auto-empty dock – a whopping 4L, so you don’t need to worry about replacing it too often. Replacement bags will cost £17.99 / AU$49 for a pack of three. You can also find replacement kits for the bar brush, side brush and the filters on Amazon in your country.

Value score: 4 / 5

TP-Link Tapo RV30 Plus robot vacuum cleaner in its auto-empty dock — (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

TP-Link Tapo RV30 Plus: specifications

TP-Link Tapo RV30 Plus review: Design and features

Familiar, circular design with 2-in-1 dustbin and water tank
Compact auto-empty dock with 4L dust bag
Voice prompts; plus Google Home and Alexa support

The 2-in-1 dustbin water tank on the undercarriage of the TP-Link Tapo RV30 Plus — (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

The RV30’s design isn’t anything new – it’s the familiar circular robot vacuum cleaner with the lidar navigation system installed in the dome on top. Like a lot of other models, the RV30 is also white, with its front bumper a translucent black. There are three buttons in front of the lidar system – one for start/stop, a spot-clean button and the send-to-dock control. If it wasn’t for the Tapo branding on the top of the lidar dome, it could be any robot vacuum.

What is surprising is how much wider the vacuum itself is compared to its auto-empty docking station. While the RV30 has a diameter of 34.1cm, the auto-empty station has no docking plate, is a compact 19.1cm wide, and still manages to hold a 4L dust bag in its tank.

On the undercarriage of the RV30 is a bar brush which, unfortunately, isn’t anti-tangle and will require regular maintenance to keep it working optimally. If you have pets or people with long hair in your household, I’d recommend checking it after every one or two cleans in case it needs detangling.

Unlike some other robot vacuums, there’s only a single side brush here, placed just ahead of the bar brush. The bristles on the side brush are long and I was pleasantly surprised that the bot can get close to walls to effectively clean room edges, although it will miss corners like pretty much every other robovac.

Three buttons on the top of TP-Link Tapo RV30 Plus — (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

Also on the underside is the 2-in-1 dustbin and water tank. Yes, it’s the one transparent plastic container for both and accessible by picking up the robot – not from the top as in other brands. Despite being a 2-in-1 compartment, you still get a standard 350ml dustbin, plus a 300ml water tank that’s enough to mop up to 200 square meters (or 2,100 sq ft). The recharging sensors are on the rear of this compartment, so if you’ve taken out the tank to empty and dry, the RV30 will not be able to juice up.

There are plenty of voice prompts on this machine – from telling you if it’s stuck to when it’s starting to charge. There is Alexa and Google Assistant support here, so you can use voice commands to start and stop the machine, even send it back to charge, but it doesn’t recognize commands for specific cleaning routines however – it just does a default full home vacuum.

There’s up to 4,200 pascals of suction power here, which is pretty good for a robovac at this price. There’s also a whopping 27,000Pa of suction in the dock that leaves only the lightest of fine dust sticking to the sides of the bin compartment.

There’s also a generous 5,000mAh battery pack inside that can let you vacuum a decently-sized one-bedroom apartment up to three times in Turbo mode, plus mop once at the highest water level and still have something left over in the tank.

Design and features score: 4.5 / 5

The auto-empty dock open to reveal the dust bag of the TP-Link Tapo RV30 Plus — (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

TP-Link Tapo RV30 Plus review: Setup and app control

Well-designed, easy-to-use app
Lots of customization options
Wi-Fi 4 standard, plus Bluetooth 4.2 connectivity

As with any robot vacuum cleaner, if you want to make the most of the RV30, you’re going to need to download TP-Link’s Tapo app available from the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store for free. You will need to create an account if you don’t already have one (which you would if you already use another Tapo smart home device), then just add the Tapo RV30 Plus from the list of robot vacuums that show up on your screen. All of TP-Link’s smart home devices have separate tabs in the app, so they’re easy to locate and control individually.

After that, follow the instructions on screen to pair the RV30 once it’s been plugged into a power socket. These instructions include removing all protective strips on the machine, plus powering it up by using a switch on the side of the bot.

Tapo app screenshots for the TP-Link Tapo RV30 Plus — (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

It’s all real simple but, in my case, it just refused to accept my Wi-Fi password despite it being correct each time I entered it. It took about seven tries for my review sample of the RV30 Plus to pair up with the app. This is likely an isolated case and I wouldn’t worry too much about it. Once connected, though, you never have to worry about re-pairing it again even if you don’t use it for a long time and it completely drains its battery. This has happened to me with other smart home devices where inactivity has removed the device from its app, but I was pleasantly surprised that the Tapo app remembered the RV30 after a month of inactivity (while I was testing other vacuums).

Once you’re all set up, you can give your robot vacuum a name if you want, and give it a location, after which the app automatically checks for firmware updates and, if any, you’ll be asked to install it. Future updates can be set to automatically install overnight.

The next step in the app is to get your home mapped. You just start it and the RV30 creates an accurate map of your home remarkably quickly. Note that no cleaning takes place during the initial mapping process, so don’t worry if you find the bot not going close to walls or furniture. Mapping on the RV30 is via both gyroscope sensors and lidar, which results in a very accurate map that you can edit easily in the app. You can divide or merge rooms that bot has created, plus assign them names – you can do this at any time after you’ve started using the RV30. Importantly, you can save multiple maps, which is handy if you live in a duplex or multi-story home.

You can set up no-mop zones and, if the mop plate is attached, the RV30 won’t enter that space at all, even to just vacuum. This is a good failsafe as the mop plate doesn’t rise and, although water will stop pumping, your carpets could get damp from the wet mopping pad. You can always set up a spot clean for the no-mop zones.

You can create different cleaning runs – in my case, for example, I have one daily cleaning routine that’s vacuum-only for the whole home, plus a mop routine that includes three vacuum runs and a mop.

I really like the Tapo app – everything is laid out neatly and it works very well. You get control over the volume of the voice prompts from the bot (which is very loud out of the box), plus you can set up schedules, see cleaning reports and even move the RV30 manually to a specific spot using the Remote Control feature.

Setup and app score: 5 / 5

TP-Link Tapo RV30 Plus review: Performance

Excellent lidar and gyroscope navigation
Powerful suction for both vacuuming and cleaning out the bin
Good battery life

I’ve already mentioned how well the RV30 can vacuum. With up to 4,200Pa to tap into, there are four suction levels to choose from and you can set each room to be vacuumed up to three times in the app. Leaving the bot in its Standard mode was enough for my test space which was a mix of hard floors and carpet (plus a rug) as the RV30 automatically boosts suction when it senses it’s on a carpet or rug. If you aren’t too impressed with the Standard mode, you can always set your vacuuming routine to be at Turbo via the app.

I found that the side brush can scatter hair, fur and some lightweight dust instead of sweeping it towards the bar brush – getting the bot to run over your floors multiple times means you get good results. The flip side to the scattering of hair and dust by the side brush is that sometimes the dirt can get pushed under low-lying or heavy, unmovable furniture and there’s not a lot the RV30 can do about that.

As excellent as the vacuuming is, the mopping functionality isn’t anything to write home about. While it vacuums and mops at the same time if the mop plate is attached, it’s more a wipe than a scrub with the RV30, so you won’t be able to get rid of caked-in stains. In fact, during my testing, dusty footprints occasionally got left behind after a mop and, sometimes, even after repeated spot cleans, some stains remained because there’s no agitation applied to the mop plate so it’s unable to buff a floor.

The brushes and mop plate on the underside of the TP-Link Tapo RV30 Plus — (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

If you do have carpets or rugs that you want to avoid getting wet, you will need to remember to either remove the mop plate or set up no-mop zones. However, a no-mop zone means the vacuum will never enter that space while the mop plate is attached, even to only do a vacuum run, so you can alternatively use virtual boundaries in the app. In my case, I preferred the no-mop zones, and then followed it up with a spot-clean vacuum session for those spaces.

The suction of the auto-empty docking station is excellent as I only found the lightest of fine dust layering the sides of the dustbin. This, however, isn’t washable, but it’s so light that it’s easy to ignore. While the dustbin gets emptied automatically as soon as the RV30 has docked, you can trigger another suction via the app if you find it hasn’t done a good job, although I never found this to be necessary.

What does need maintenance is the bar brush as hair can get tangled around it very easily. My unit didn’t come with a cleaning blade, so you will need a pair of scissors to cut through the tangles. In the three months that I’ve used the RV30, I found that doing a quick check after every cleaning run ensured the bar brush didn’t get too difficult to clean.

TP-Link Tapo RV30 Plus robot vacuum in its auto-empty docking station — (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

The HEPA filter inside will also need dusting out regularly – note that it isn’t washable. You can wash the mopping pad though, and I’d highly recommend at least setting it out to dry, if not wash, after each mop run. Leaving the mop plate on overnight can make the wet pad start to smell.

With a 5,000mAh battery under the hood, there’s plenty of juice here to vacuum and mop a large home. TP-Link promises the RV30 will give you up to three hours of runtime, and I never needed it to go on that long during my testing. In my test space, which was a 40 sqm (430.5 sq ft) one-bedroom apartment, a 52-minute cleaning session only drained the battery to 71%.

Performance score: 4 / 5

Should I buy the TP-Link Tap RV30 Plus?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Also consider

Not sold on the prowess of the Tapo RV30 Plus? Below are a couple of alternatives that you can consider.

How I tested the TP-Link Tapo RV30 Plus

Used as main vacuum cleaner for two months
Tested space included carpets and hard floors
Scattered grains in its path; dropped sauces on kitchen floor

TP-Link Tapo RV30 Plus robot vacuum cleaner on a colorful carpet — (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

I’ve had the Tapo RV30 Plus for a while now and used it intermittently for the first month. After a gap of a few weeks, I set it up as my main vacuum cleaner and used it in my inner-city apartment that contains both hard floors, plus carpet in the bedroom.

To test the vacuuming prowess, I spread some small grains like rice and oats in the path of the vacuum, also allowed some hair to gather on carpets over a period of time before testing the automatic suction boost on it.

To test the mopping abilities, I dropped some green Sriracha sauce on the kitchen floor and allowed it to dry. I also had some dusty footprints in the living room.

I set two custom cleaning routines, set no-mop zones and did quite a bit of spot cleaning as well. I washed the mop cloth in the washing machine to see if it held up.

Read more about how we test

[First reviewed October 2023]

Philips Hue Lustre White smart bulb review: ambiance-creating smart bulbs with Bluetooth bonus

8:30 pm | October 21, 2023

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Home Smart Home Smart Lights | Tags: Amazon Alexa, Australia, Google Home, UK | Comments: Off

Philips Hue Lustre White: one-minute review

The Philips Hue White Ambiance Lustre colour-changing smart bulbs are ideal for use in bedrooms and living rooms where they can add an intimate feel or provide suffused light for reading or gentle wake-up calls.

Philips’ expertise with producing some of the best smart lights on the market really comes into its own, with these simple-to-set-up bulbs that use Bluetooth or ZigBee to connect to a Wi-Fi network. Setup and subsequent light control is managed seamlessly through the Philips Hue app. Here you can adjust scenes, routines and light levels individually or as a cluster of up to 10 lights, plus connect to other smart devices.

Philips Hue smart bulbs are compatible with Amazon’s Alexa and smart speakers, adding voice control functionality to the mix. Although this is ‘only’ a white smart light bulb, Philips expertly demonstrates just how many subtleties and shades and how many lighting effects can be created using a single base colour. I’ve already promised myself additional Hue lights for around the house. In most instances, I see myself choosing the calming light options offered by the Hue Lustre White in any case.

The Hue Lustre is compatible with Philips’ Hue Bridge so you can control multiple smart devices in the range centrally, but if you’re only after a couple of fancy coloured smart lights, these Bluetooth-enabled, app-controlled ones will fit the bill handsomely. Though considered as among the best smart home devices to invest in, they are more of an impulse buy than a considered purchase, making the addition of Bluetooth something of a power move on Philips’ part in this competitive market.

Philips Hue Lustre White: price & availability

From £19.99 / AU$54.95
Available in the UK and Australia at the time of writing
Warm-to-cool-white and colour versions available

The Philips Hue Lustre smart bulbs have the advantage of cost. This entry-level smart bulb is affordable for most people.

A single bulb costs £19.99 / AU$54.95, but the twin-pack is even better value. I’m sure I won’t be the only one mentally working out where else I could justify an extra Hue bulb or two, or snapping up another twin-pack for its great value. A twin pack costs £29.99, whereas the warm-to-cool-white version costs the same amount for a single bulb and the warm-to-cool-white-and-colour version is £54.99 / $99.95.

TechRadar’s main gripe about the original Philips Hue range was that individual bulbs were expensive, making it unlikely customers would replace all their lights to be part of such a system. Here, however, we’re looking at bulbs costing £15 apiece when bought as a pair, rated for 25,000 hours of use and ready to use minutes after unpacking.

Unfortunately, while the Hue Lustre smart bulbs are available in the UK and Australia, it’s not being sold in the US at the time of writing.

Value: 4.5 / 5

Philips Hue Lustre White: specifications

Philips Hue Lustre White during testing — (Image credit: Future / Rosie Hattersley)

Philips Hue Lustre White: design

Range of light fitting versions
Bluetooth connectivity for straightforward setup
Provides powerful 470 lumens illumination

In just 10 years, smart bulbs have become mainstream enough that early versions can often be acquired for a song in electronics stores, no longer feature-laden enough to satisfy the discerning customer. Statista predicts the smart lighting market to increase tremendously and quadruple to around US $44 billion by 2030 from its 2020 value of $11 billion.

Philips was early to the smart lighting game and quickly carved out a name and handsome share of the market for its Hue range. Now, it is upping the ante with bulbs that contain more of the smart elements, cutting out the need for additional hardware to connect and control their pretty lighting while also reducing entry-level bulb prices.

Whereas the original Hue White smart bulb was sold mainly on the ability to control it as part of a home network, here those controls are via Bluetooth, not only simplifying the installation but also adding a rich app experience. The Philips Hue Lustre White is a stunning showcase for this additional functionality without compromising on the ease of use you’d expect from a premium consumer electronics brand.

Philips Hue smart bulbs come in several versions to accommodate different light fittings, as well as offering a choice of Candle and Lustre shape bulbs and colour options. This version, soft warm white, is the sort you’re likely to need for table lamps, wall lights and small pendant lamps, marking it out as a smart bulb for intimate spaces and cosy nooks. The top half of the lamp is translucent white glass while the lower half is encased in plastic.

Although this may look like a generic light bulb, the Hue Lustre is capable of running the gamut from a strong 470-lumen intense light for when you need to fully focus to becoming a subtly glowing orb with a warm colour temperature of 2600K. Philips also sells Hue filament bulbs for use in situations where an exposed bulb is desirable, but since the Hue Lustre is likely to be placed within the housing of a fixed down- or uplighter or hidden within a lampshade, its plain appearance doesn’t much matter.

The need for fiddly switches has also been overcome by embracing Bluetooth, further simplifying setup and control. Voice control functionality can be added using Amazon Alexa or the Google Home app. However, Apple HomeKit users will need to invest in a Hue Bridge in order to use the Hue smart bulbs with the Apple Home system. Microsoft Cortana is also only supported via the Hue Bridge, but other smart home connection options include both ZigBee and the increasingly widely-supported Matter.

Design: 4 /5

Philips Hue Lustre White: setup & app

Attractive design and easy to navigate
Rich user experience with plenty of preset light options
Google Home, Amazon Alexa and ZigBee supported

Setting up the Philips Hue Lustre light was barely more complex than changing a regular light bulb. The E14 bulb screw fitting meant it could be used with my pretty Moroccan fretwork lamp and the second E14 lamp I bought to better enjoy my Hue smart bulbs. After screwing the Hue Lustre bulb into position I just needed to switch on the lamp at the mains and flick its on switch to make it visible on my Wi-Fi network. Standby mode uses a modest 0.5Wh.

The Philips Hue app is great! It requires only minimal personal information to set up, and I found its précis of terms stating that privacy is respected by default refreshing and reassuring. It took care of finding both Hue Lustre bulbs on the system and labels them by name and order in which they were added to the smart home setup. A few seconds later I was able to toggle the lights on and off individually or, as is the default, as a group.

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Scene selection and previewing was another one-touch task: the Hue lamp immediately responded by switching to the selected option, and the inclusion of seasonal settings – currently spooky Hallowe’en ones – made me feel I’d go back and check for new scenes having been added to the Gallery once in a while. Mood-based and time of day, focus or relax defaults made it easy to choose something appropriate without dithering. It might have been handy to have options not available to the particular Hue smart bulb blanked out, but seeing the array offered may also be a spur to splurging on a pricier edition.

Bluetooth connectivity built into the Hue smart bulbs is a game-changer, but it’s worth noting that the Philips Hue app only supports 10 lights at once. This is likely to be plenty for most homes, but centrally controlling additional Hue-enabled devices including outdoor lights, plus working with Apple HomeKit are beyond the app’s scope. This is a neat teaser to tempt upgraders to add a Hue Bridge to their smart home setup, and would also fix the other issue with the Bluetooth and app-based controls for the Hue Lustre range: you can only tweak settings and directly control the lights while you’re connected to the same network.

Setup and app: 4.5 / 5

Philips Hue Lustre White: performance

Ample brightness, very responsive
Lovely range of light effects
Needs Bridge to work with Apple HomeKit

The brightness of the Philips Hue Lustre smart bulb turned out to be ample to illuminate a dark spot in the lounge where I’d usually have a floor-standing lamp, making that corner of the lounge feel immediately cosier. And adjusting the settings for an individual bulb just meant tapping on it in the app and then either using the slider to manually adjust the light levels by percentage, or choosing a scene.

Since this bulb works only in the white colour space, there are far fewer permutations than for the more expensive colour and warm-to-cool-white variants. However, scenes such as Nightlight, Dimmed, Energize and Relax are offered in the Default section, and I was still able to select and apply intriguing gallery options such as Spellbound even though the effects are less pronounced.

Having selected Nightlight mode, I was immediately drawn to the soft white light inviting me to curl up with a book or nestle alongside the radio. I also admired the way the Hue Lustre bulb created intriguing shadows and pools of light, adding depth and interest to a fairly plain front room.

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Adding voice controls to the Hue Lustre lights was straightforward too. I was quickly and easily able to set up and start using my Amazon Echo Dot smart speaker by connecting it with the Philips Hue app and then issuing voice instructions to switch the Hue Lustre smart bulbs on and off.

I was able to use the Hue app to make both the Hue Lustre smart bulbs turn on and off by calling out ”Alexa, turn off first light; turn on second light” and also turn off all lights at once. Although Philips suggests that the speaker can only be used to voice control the Hue smart bulbs if the device is in the same room, once set up I was able to use voice commands to activate the lights from neighbouring rooms separated by a brick wall, and to do so from different Alexa speakers.

I also really liked the routines that can be set up to gently wake you with light that increases in brightness over the course of 20 minutes. A discreet but audible notification on my iPhone confirmed that the Hue app had clicked into action. There’s an equivalent routine for Night Time whereby the Hue lightbulb automatically turns off at a preset time having dimmed over the duration of several minutes, helping you nod off.

Since I’d set up my Hue Lustre smart light bulbs in different rooms, I made use of the option to tailor the app settings so only the bulb in my bedroom applied these Wake Up and Night Time routines. By toggling which smart bulb I wanted to customise, I was also able to apply settings for the downstairs light to come on at set times, effectively using it to suggest someone is at home. The countdown timer is a neat idea, but I wandered out of the room at the critical moment that it visually reminded me to check on dinner by flashing the nearest Hue bulb on and off for 30 seconds. I’ll stick to my Alexa kitchen clock for that task.

Performance: 4.5 / 5

Should I buy the Philips Hue Lustre White?

Buy it if…

Don’t buy it if…

Also consider

Read more about how we test

[First reviewed September 2023]

Philips Hue Lustre White smart bulb review: ambiance-creating smart bulbs with Bluetooth bonus

8:30 pm |

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Home Smart Home Smart Lights | Tags: Amazon Alexa, Australia, Google Home, UK | Comments: Off

Philips Hue Lustre White: one-minute review

Philips Hue Lustre White: price & availability

From £19.99 / AU$54.95
Available in the UK and Australia at the time of writing
Warm-to-cool-white and colour versions available

The Philips Hue Lustre smart bulbs have the advantage of cost. This entry-level smart bulb is affordable for most people.

Unfortunately, while the Hue Lustre smart bulbs are available in the UK and Australia, it’s not being sold in the US at the time of writing.

Value: 4.5 / 5

Philips Hue Lustre White: specifications

Philips Hue Lustre White: design

Range of light fitting versions
Bluetooth connectivity for straightforward setup
Provides powerful 470 lumens illumination

Design: 4 /5

Philips Hue Lustre White: setup & app

Attractive design and easy to navigate
Rich user experience with plenty of preset light options
Google Home, Amazon Alexa and ZigBee supported

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Setup and app: 4.5 / 5

Philips Hue Lustre White: performance

Ample brightness, very responsive
Lovely range of light effects
Needs Bridge to work with Apple HomeKit

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Performance: 4.5 / 5

Should I buy the Philips Hue Lustre White?

Buy it if…

Don’t buy it if…

Also consider

Read more about how we test

[First reviewed September 2023]

Breville the InFizz Fusion review: a fizzing fantastic way to carbonate all things

6:25 am | October 16, 2023

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

Breville the InFizz Fusion: Two-minute review

The Breville InFizz Fusion – which would be the Sage InFizz Fusion when it makes its way to the UK – is a SodaStream alternative that can do more than just make sparkling water. It one-ups its popular competitor by allowing you to carbonate any drinkable liquid… as long as it’s not a hot beverage. Whether it’s a juice you want to add some fizz to or prepare a big batch of sparkling sangria, the InFizz Fusion can handle it.

There is a risk of overflow when you’ve mistakenly over-carbonated a particular beverage and are about to open the bottle, but the InFizz Fusion has an unique solution for that. Breville calls it the FusionCap and it’s essentially the gas delivery system as well as the cap that holds the carbonation inside the bottle till you’re ready to serve. It’s a solidly built screw cap that features a tube that’s just about long enough to dip into a minimum of 600ml of liquid and a locking mechanism on the top.

Breville the InFizz Fusion sparkling beverage maker in Brushed Steel — (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

The FusionCap fits into the InFizz Fusion via a simple tilt-and-twist action – you just align the two arrowheads (one on the cap, the other on the machine) and twist a little. When you’re done fizzing your beverage, move the tilt head up and twist the bottle to release it.

If you’re worried about over-carbonating a drink, listen carefully for a slight popping sound when you press the lever – that’s an indication that ideal fizz levels have been reached. Anything more and you’ll see froth build up inside the bottle.

To serve your drink, simply move the red switch on top of the cap to the center position before opening – this releases any extra pressure from within the bottle and prevents overflows by reducing the foam inside. When the hissing has stopped, move it all the way to the right to unlock the FusionCap. There’s a failsafe here if the foam rises too quickly to the top when you’re releasing the pressure – you just move the red switch back to the left position to lock the FusionCap in place again to prevent mishaps.

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The FusionCap – as good as it is – takes a little getting used to. It’s not always clear whether you’ve locked the cap in place correctly when screwing onto the bottle, and occasionally the fit into the machine may not be accurate either. The bottle doesn’t fall when it’s not locked into the machine, so there’s no visual indication you’ve done it correctly. I learnt this the hard way when I was re-fizzing some flat Coke and half the bottle overflowed the moment I pressed the carbonation lever.

There is a pictorial user guide in the box but, like a lot of manuals, it doesn’t always make things clear. Once you get your head around using the FusionCap – which for me was largely experimentation than help from the user manual – you’ll be fizzing up drinks in no time at all!

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During my testing, I fizzed up orange juice (which isn’t very nice I have to say), some apple, pear and watermelon juice (all three of which I would highly recommend), coconut water (the jury is still out on whether this is good or not) and some wine. I carbonated bottles (700ml) of rosé and an Italian Lambrusco.

The former was a light carbonation to make sparkling wine and I was able to save the remaining in the Breville’s bottle with the FusionCap on to save some of that carbonation after serving myself a glass. It stayed in the fridge for a couple of days. The Lambrusco, on the other hand, was already lightly carbonated, and adding more fizz brought out the flavours and made it a little sweeter.

There aren't specific fizz levels on the InFizz Fusion – you can repeatedly press the carbonating lever till you hear the pop sound and go beyond too, but watch out for the foam getting too much inside the bottle. For light carbonation, a single push on the lever can suffice, but it's all up to you.

Carbonating a drink – alcoholic or non-alcoholic – drops the overall pH of the beverage and makes them sweeter. It’s exactly why sodas are so sweet and addictive.

Breville has opted to use any standard screw-type 60L gas canister for the InFizz Fusion (and the InFizz Aqua, its sparkling water maker; see the price section for more information). While the machine itself doesn’t ship with a gas cylinder when you purchase it, you can get a 60L screw-type SodaStream canister to use with the Breville. These are easy to refill or exchange for a new one at several stores in most markets.

As well as being a good beverage maker, the InFizz Fusion is also a good-looking appliance. It’s available in three finishes – I was sent this Brushed Stainless Steel version for this review – and, at first glance, you’d be forgiven for wondering why a kitchen faucet handle is on top of a beverage maker. But that’s the carbonation lever and, honestly, it’s a design aesthetic that easily grows on you. There’s a drip tray carved into the base and is hidden under a filigreed magnetic cover. It’s not boxy, like a lot of SodaStream models, and would look good on any kitchen countertop or home bar.

As with any Breville or Sage kitchen appliance, the InFizz Fusion isn’t cheap. It’s a lot more expensive than a SodaStream alternative, but I think it’s worth the extra cost considering it’s more versatile than being just a sparkling water maker.

Breville the InFizz Fusion review: price and availability

Announced October 2023, first in Australia
US and UK availability and pricing TBA
Australian RRP of AU$299

The Breville InFizz Fusion was first released in Australia on October 15, 2023, just in time for summer Down Under. It hasn't yet been launched in the US or the UK, but it’s possible that it might be available to purchase in other markets by June or July next year when summer comes calling in the Northern Hemisphere. We'll update this review when we know more about global availability.

There are two models in Breville’s InFizz range – the InFizz Aqua that makes only sparkling water like a SodaStream, and the InFizz Fusion that has been reviewed here. The former is cheaper at AU$249 (US and UK price TBA, but that converts to about $160 / £130), while the InFizz Fusion will set you back AU$299 (around $190 / £155).

The InFizz Fusion ships with a 1L plastic bottle that is not dishwasher safe, plus a long-handled bottle cleaning brush, a strainer (or sieve) and a funnel.

Additional bottles can also be purchased – a 2-pack of 600ml bottles is priced at $39.95 (about $25 / £20) and a 2-pack of 1L bottles is $49.95 (about $32 / £26).

It’s important to note that the Breville InFizz machines do not come with a gas cylinder. This will need to be purchased separately and will cost $14.99 / £12.99 / AU$35. The good news is these can easily be refilled at several stores or petrol/gas stations and you just pay for the gas.

Should I buy the Breville InFizz Fusion?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Also consider

There aren’t too many big brands making sparkling beverage makers, but SodaStream is the closest and most popular competitor. There are quite a few SodaStream models to choose from, and they’re all priced quite reasonably. We have done the SodaStream Spirit One Touch review here at TechRadar but are yet to try other options, but considering we gave it four stars, we think most SodaStreams are a good purchase.

Another alternative would be the Twenty39 Qarbo, that’s available from Amazon US, Amazon UK and Amazon Australia. We haven’t tested this brand for ourselves, but we have seen it in action and tasted a beverage at an Amazon event in Sydney in July 2023.

Note that both brands are specifically only sparkling water makers, so you will need to purchase flavourings to get creative.

How I tested the Breville InFizz Fusion

Used it for a few days each week for three weeks
Carbonated different types of cold beverages
Purchased flavourings to make my own beverages

When I heard that the Breville InFizz Fusion could be used to fizz up any kind of drinkable liquid, I decided to put that to the test as much as I could. While I did make sparkling water for highball cocktails quite often, I also carbonated different store-bought fruit juices. These were specifically orange, apple, pear and watermelon. I also fizzed coconut water once.

I also carbonated a bottle of rosé wine lightly, then was able to store it in the fridge for a couple of days with the FusionCap to seal in the fizz. I did the same for an already-sparkling Italian Lambrusco wine. I think a lot of non-dry whites and moscatos would be great with a touch of carbonation for summer, while some chilled reds can be fizzed up to make refreshing sangrias.

I usually have a batch of homemade cold-brew iced tea at home when it gets hot, and I fizzed about 600ml of this as well.

While I had to handwash the bottle each time I made a drink, it was good to know that the smell from the previous drink does not get absorbed by the plastic as it is wont to do on some food storage containers.

Read more about how we test

[First reviewed October 2023]

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