Modern mirrorless cameras now come with more bells, whistles and buttons than ever. That’s why it’s been so refreshing to review the OM System Tough TG-7, a rugged all-in-one that you can take out shooting without the worry of damage from water, dust, dirt, sand, or clumsy drops.
The TG-7 is reminiscent of the compact cameras I grew up with on family vacations (and took to nightclubs as a late teenager). They’d easily slip into a pocket and come along to the beach, or on hiking and camping trips, and their built-in zoom and scene modes meant you’d be set to capture you adventures largely regardless of skill level.
The waterproof, shockproof TG-7 is equally versatile, equally designed for use in challenging conditions, and equally as good a fit for families as it is for construction workers and surveyors – not to mention hardcore adventurers who push their gear to the limits.
The TG-7 only offers modest improvements over its predecessor, however. The popular Olympus Tough TG-6 compact, released in 2019, had a spot in our best waterproof camera guide, but has been discontinued to make way for the new OM name with the TG-7. On the outside, the cameras look very similar (aside from the updated branding) and much of what's inside is familiar too.
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With a 4x zoom lens, the TG-7 offers a versatile focal range and macro focus (Image credit: Lauren Scott)
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The majority of the buttons are on the right hand side at the rear (Image credit: Lauren Scott)
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The OM Tough TG-7 is compatible with a wide range of accessories such as flash modifiers and floating cases (Image credit: Lauren Scott)
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The Log/Off switch at the top of the TG-7 is used to toggle GPS. It can also record information in the image metadata like temperature and elevation (Image credit: Lauren Scott)
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A screw-on fisheye converter adds new creative effects and possibilities (Image credit: Lauren Scott)
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Focus modes (Image credit: Lauren Scott)
The Tough-series build is IPX8-rated and can withstand 15m dips underwater (an extra underwater case lets you go deeper), drops from 2.1m, and temperatures down to 14F / -10C. Oh, and just in case you manage to stand on the camera, it’s crushproof to pressures of 220lbs / 100kg.
So the TG-7 is still tough, and it's lightweight at a very pocketable 8.8oz / 249g. But what about the camera specs themselves? The 12MP BSI CMOS 1/2.3-inch sensor (similar in size to those in typical smartphones) is unchanged from the TG-6, and video recording is limited to 4K at 25 or 30fps, or 1080p at 25 / 30 / 50 / 60fps. Those options are a bit dated, and I found that the stabilization struggled to keep up when I shot video while walking. The quality is fair if you just want to capture record footage, but don't expect sharp, cinematic footage.
The camera has an internal 25-100mm zoom lens with a variable aperture of f/2-f/4.9, plus 1cm close-macro focusing, which sets it apart from most action cameras. The ISO range runs from 100-12800, although during testing I found this was best kept below 1600.
Several new features bring the TG-7 up to date, but they’re arguably too niche to entice current TG-6 users into upgrading. There's a handy USB Type-C connector for charging, although the camera can’t be powered up while plugged in (and I couldn't shoot while attached to a power bank). A full battery should be good for around 340 shots – I was able to get about 250 images with GPS activated.
What's great is that remote shooting is now possible using the O.I. Share app or the RM-WR1 wireless remote. You also get the option of vertical video recording – great for social-first content – a timelapse mode, and three Construction modes that further establish the TG-7 as a practical camera for builders, project managers and those with messy work to do.
In the Construction modes, most of the work happens after you press the shutter, as computational processing steps are designed to reduce dust particles in the scene and enhance clarity. I didn’t get to test these modes out, but I’m sure they'll benefit workers needing photos on-site who don’t want to risk damaging their smartphones.
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(Image credit: Lauren Scott)
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The Tough TG-7's controls and somewhat guided interface are great for beginner and intermediate photographers. Up top, there's the GPS Log toggle, power button, shutter, zoom rocker and a scrolling dial for changing settings depending on your mode. The zoom rocker is slightly slow to spring into action, but the raised buttons make it easy to change settings with wet hands, although it becomes more fiddly with gloves on.
The four-way nav pad with the familiar ‘OK’ button in the center lets you bring up and change settings outside of the main menu, and this is where I set raw and continuous shooting (you can max out at 20fps, but focus and exposure remains the same throughout). The mode dial illustrates each mode sensibly, with a fish for Underwater mode, for example. I suspect many users will just stick to auto mode, so it's a good job that this works well in daylight. In trickier lighting situations, users might want to try out the 22 Scene modes, which include Indoor, Candle, Children, Documents, and Panorama. Most of these adapted to the shooting environment admirably, although the focus did hunt noticeably for me during night scenes.
You get some more control over the exposure by switching to aperture priority, as you can choose f/2, f/2.8 and f/8 at 25mm, or f/4.9, f/6.3 and f/18 with the lens set to the full 100mm. As a nature lover, I made a lot of use of macro focusing with the Tough TG-7. With the Super Macro Mode allowing for a 1cm minimum focusing distance (the closest is 10cm without this) I was able to get some colorful, sharp shots when I had enough light between the camera and the subject. Using the Olympus Guide Light helped with extra illumination, while the in-built flash was a little too harsh for close-ups without a diffuser attached.
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Ultimately, the Tough TG-7 isn't the best action camera for photo and video quality, and its sensor lagged behind my aging iPhone 12 in many situations. But it undeniably lets you shoot in situations where you couldn't otherwise, and is versatile thanks to the zoom lens and a wealth of additional accessories like lenses and lights. The array of buttons also makes it more tactile to handle than a phone or GoPro, even if the 3-inch screen isn't touch-sensitive.
The Tough TG-7 is likely to be the best travel camera to buy if you’re an off-the-beaten-track explorer who needs a light, reliable companion to document your tales – the highlights and the tough bits. The TG-7 will never compete with my mirrorless camera for sheer specs or quality, but I don’t need it to. It serves a different purpose altogether; to break down the barrier between you and nature, so that you can shoot more precariously and more freely.
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OM System Tough TG-7: Price and release date
Available in the US, UK and Australia for $549.99 /£499.99 / AU$799
Available in red and black colorways
The OM System Tough TG-7 began shipping in October 2023, and is available now in black or red. In the US its list price is $549.99, but some retailers have been offering the camera at $499.99. In the UK the TG-7 is £499, while in Australia the price is AU$799.
In the unassuming cardboard box that the TG-7 comes packaged in, there's an LI-92B battery (the same as the battery in the TG-6), a USB-C charging cable, a wrist strap – also red if you have the red model – and a user manual.
Although the TG-7 doesn't ship with any additional accessories, there are plenty of extras you can buy to add to its functionality. All TG-6 accessories are compatible with the TG-7, and therefore some still have the Olympus branding. For example, the Olympus LG-1 LED Light Guide effectively illuminates macro subjects more evenly than flash, and it's around $50 / £40. The Fish Eye Converter will set you back $195 / £130, while a dedicated underwater housing is more than $300 / £300.
OM System Tough TG-7: Should I buy?
Buy it if...
Don't buy it if...
OM System Tough TG-7: also consider
If this OM System Tough TG-7 review has you interested in rugged cameras, here are a couple of alternatives to consider.
OM System Tough TG-7: How I tested
Shot in the rain and underwater, in daylight and at night
Used Olympus accessories such as the guide light and fisheye converter
I carried the OM System Tough TG-7 in my coat pocket for several weeks, taking it out on wet and rainy hikes, while dining with friends, and out at night in the city where I live. It was submerged in several rivers to test out the clarity and focus underwater, as well as the effectiveness of the anti-fog lens cover.
I used the camera's Auto, Aperture Priority, and Program modes, along with Microscope mode for close-ups and Nightscapes for photos in low light. I also experimented with Olympus' add-on accessories, including the guide light, flash diffuser and the fisheye converter which screws onto the front lens.
I shot raw and JPEG images, and tested out the video quality and stabilization by capturing handheld footage of children, my dog, and birds in my local park. Lastly, I used the O.I Share app to see how the remote shooting and image transfer worked.
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
(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.
(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.
(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.
(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.
It was not love at first sight with the Dyson Purifier Big+Quiet Formaldehyde, but after just one day of using it in my own home, I don’t want to ever be parted from it – strong words for a rather big and bulky purifier fan, but I stand by it. It’s completely different from any of Dyson’s previous home purifiers – in terms of both design and functionality – although it shouldn’t be confused with the HEPA Big+Quiet that’s specifically for commercial spaces.
Like its name suggests, it is big and it is quiet. It’s been made to circulate clean air in large rooms while standing in a corner instead of in the center of a space to be at its most effective. Dyson says it can service spaces that are up to about 100sqm / 1,000sqft in size, projecting filtered air up to 10m. Moreover, the angle of the propelled air can be adjusted (there are three to choose from), so it doubles up as a powerful fan as well which, at full bore, isn’t louder than 56dB.
Dyson has adopted cone aerodynamics to more than double the Coanda effect the brand uses in its other purifiers. According to the British brand, this allows the Big+Quiet to process as much as 87 liters of air per second. This is a hard metric to measure, so I’m taking Dyson’s word on this, but it’s easy to believe if you happen to be in the path of the propelled air.
At this point, I think it’s important to point out that there are two Big+Quiet Formaldehyde models identified by their color schemes. For this review I was sent what is the Dyson-exclusive model and is more expensive because it has an additional CO2 sensor and a second filter inside (see the price section below for more details). I found the CO2 sensor very useful as you can never tell if your home needs ventilating or not. I was a little horrified at how quickly CO2 can build up in a space – if I leave my windows closed for about an hour for any reason, the CO2 levels can go from under around 400ppm (which is good) to about 1,500ppm (which isn’t that good). If left in Auto mode, the Big+Quiet will dynamically change its fan speed to circulate the stale air but that’s also an indication that you need to open some doors or windows as high CO2 levels can cause fatigue, headaches and loss of focus.
What the two models share are a whole bunch of other sensors that detect several common pollutants, including dust, pet dander, pollen and formaldehyde (emitted from several household products including new furniture and mattresses), as well NO2 (nitrogen dioxide) from car fumes and volatile organic compounds (or VOCs) from aerosol sprays like deodorants. These are then filtered by a HEPA filter that complies with the H-13 standard, the highest rating for a purification system. This means that the Big+Quiet has a fully-sealed filtration system that can capture up to 99.95% of air particles as small as 0.1 microns, and Dyson promises that the filter used in the Big+Quiet Formaldehyde will last you up to five years.
A tiny onboard display can cycle through the metrics of the different pollutants it’s filtering and shows you what the levels are in your home. These metrics can also be viewed on the MyDyson app if you wish to connect your device to your phone – which is advisable as that will also push out automatic firmware updates to the machine.
That’s a lot of features that will cost you a lot of money – it is Dyson’s most expensive domestic-use purifier to date. If you have the budget for it – and, more importantly, the space for it in a corner somewhere – it could well be worth your while if you’re concerned about your health, especially during wildfire season that’s becoming more common with each passing year.
(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)
Dyson Purifier Big+Quiet Formaldehyde review: price and availability
Announced May 2023
Two models available in US, Australia and Singapore; UK availability TBC
Price starts at $999 / AU$1,499
While Dyson announced the Purifier Big+Quiet Formaldehyde range in May 2023 globally, it was released for Australian shoppers first.
There are two colorways – Bright Nickel / Satin Dark Blue and Satin Dark Blue / Gold, with the latter being a Dyson exclusive only and will not be available to purchase from a third-party retailer. It’s also the model that will get you all the bells and whistles the Big+Quiet can offer, including the CO2 sensor and an additional K-Carbon filter that can capture three times more NO2 than Dyson’s other purifiers. This model will set you back $1,099 / AU$1,599 (around £830).
The cheaper model – which misses out on the above two features – can be purchased from Dyson and authorized retailers for $999 / AU$1,499 (about £780).
Dyson says that the HEPA filter in the Big+Quiet will not require replacing for about five years – five times longer than the ones used in its other air purifiers – which could make it a little more cost effective than spending on, say, the Dyson Purifier Hot+Cool Formaldehyde that costs $849 / £599 / AU$1,149, although this is also a heater and, thus, more versatile than the Big+Quiet.
Dyson has promised that the Purifier Big+Quiet will be available in other markets subsequently, but no timeline has been revealed and neither have the prices.
There’s no denying that the Big+Quiet range is expensive, especially when you consider alternatives like the Shark Air Purifier 3-in-1 – which is only available in the US at the time of writing – is $400. But if you have a large, open home whose air you’re keen on keeping clean – or at least monitoring – then this could be worth investing in.
When I first laid eyes on the Dyson Purifier Big+Quiet Formaldehyde at its Sydney unveiling, I really wasn’t impressed by its looks. ‘Big’ and ‘bulky’ were the words that occurred to me. Then the Dyson engineer moved the machine… gently, with one finger. Yes, it’s big – but only compared to Dyson’s other home purifiers and bladeless fans – and looks a little clunky, but it’s not as heavy as it appears. Even then, it's a good thing there are hidden wheels that move very smoothly over hard floors (wood and tile). They don’t move as well over carpet, though, and that’s when the Big+Quiet really feels bulky.
It looks unlike any other Dyson purifier that has preceded it – it’s basically a large bowl that sits atop a perforated metal cylinder, each of which is packed separately in the box for shipping. You simply adjust the bowl over the cylinder till it clicks into place. It looks heavy, but it’s not and can easily be lifted.
The rim of the bowl is large, enclosing a smaller dome inside, in the middle of which is a square display that shows the metrics of the different pollutants it’s filtering. You can cycle through them by using the information button (denoted by a lowercase i) on the remote control. Below the display is a small power button – it’s black on black and barely visible. Between the rim and the inner dome are perforations from where the jet of clean air is propelled into a room.
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(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)
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The perforated cylinder houses the filters – two in the case of the more expensive blue-and-gold model (SCO and K-Carbon filter) and the one SCO filter in the cheaper option. When you need to replace or check a filter, you can quickly unclip the bowl using the toggle switch at the back, then lift off the cylinder by pressing on the two red buttons located across from each other on the inside. A small unperforated strip on the cylinder is where the machine’s tiny remote attaches magnetically.
As I’ve mentioned, there are wheels on the base of the Big+Quiet, but they have been designed to be invisible unless you turn the whole machine upside down. They’re extremely smooth on hard floors, needing just the slightest push to roll, but require some elbow grease to move on a low- or medium-pile carpet. I’m guessing it’s going to be nigh on impossible to move over a high-pile carpet or rug.
While you’ll either love or hate the overall design aesthetic of the Big+Quiet, you have to keep in mind that it's been built so it can do its thing while standing unintrusively in a corner somewhere. Other purifiers will need to be placed in the center of a room and the fan kept at its most powerful for them to be at their most effective in a small space. But how many of us really plop our purifiers in the middle of a room?
Design score: 4 / 5
(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)
Dyson Purifier Big+Quiet Formaldehyde review: Features
Three-phase whole machine filtration
Breeze mode
Modified filter and the CO2 sensor is handy to have
The top of the Big+Quiet has been designed to harness the power of cone aerodynamics that, Dyson says, more than doubles the airflow passing through the machine in comparison to its other purifiers. Dyson promises that this machine can process up to 87 liters of air per second which, while being a hard metric to measure, is easily believable when you consider the size of the machine and feel the jet of air being projected at full force.
This propelled air is supposed to be mimic the movement of a spring breeze – a Dyson engineer has apparently cracked the code on how to make this happened. I, however, am not quite sure I'd call it a 'breeze', but I found the air circulation very pleasant.
This air movement is what Dyson is calling the Big+Quiet’s Breeze Mode and there are 10 fan levels to choose from. The air can be projected in three different angles – 0º or parallel to the floor, 25º and 50º. I found that having it set at 0º was ideal for using in the bedroom at night, while the other two suit larger spaces like living rooms. During my testing period, it hit 37ºC / 98ºF on a few days in springtime in Sydney, and I didn’t need to switch on my air conditioning as the Breeze mode was more than enough to keep me comfortable in both a smaller bedroom at night, as well as in a larger living room space with the fan going at the highest setting.
(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)
The Big+Quiet’s main function, however, is air purification. Filtration here is the same three-step system we’ve seen from Dyson’s best air purifiers, but with significant improvements. It adheres to the HEPA H-13 standard, which means 99.95% of particles as small as 0.1 microns will be captured, and it’s fully sealed so none of them can escape back into the air.
The HEPA filter, according to Dyson, is made up of 21 meters of borosilicate microfibers pleated 459 times to make it fit within the cylindrical base, while also giving it plenty of surface area to capture pollutants and last a few years. It uses selective catalytic oxidization (SCO) to break down the certain pollutants, particularly formaldehyde, and promises to capture them at a molecular level – again, something that’s not possible to test chemically outside of a lab, but I’m willing to take Dyson’s word for it.
(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)
According to Dyson, the Big+Quiet’s formaldehyde sensor is powerful enough to detect molecules that are “500 times smaller than 0.1 micron”. The filter then breaks it down into CO2 and water, which then gets let out into the room as part of the stream of cleaned air. It’s important to note that the CO2 from formaldehyde breakdown is so negligible that it won’t be an issue at all.
If you opt for the more expensive Big+Quiet model, you’ll get an additional K-Karbon filter inside that uses a layer of carbon to capture odors, some organic compounds as well as up to three times more NO2 from car fumes (handy if you live on or near a main thoroughfare) than the standard SCO filter.
(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)
While you get full control of the Big+Quiet via its little remote control, you can also control it via the MyDyson app. A virtual remote control is displayed on the app and everything you can do with the physical remote, you can do on the app. You can also get graphical representations of what the machine is filtering. However, you can only get a per-day look. I wish Dyson would create a way to see a weekly or monthly report to get a broader overview of its performance.
You need some specialized spaces and equipment to properly test a purifier, but I used it in my own home for a couple of months before coming to the conclusion that the Dyson Purifier Big+Quiet Formaldehyde does everything it promises.
Image 1 of 2
(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)
Image 2 of 2
(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)
While you can choose a fan setting between 1 and 10, there’s an Auto mode here that can be your default setting when it’s not too hot. In Auto, the Big+Quiet carries on filtering if it needs to, but will power down to Breeze mode level 1 if ventilation isn’t needed. The moment it detects too much CO2 build up or more household pollutants while you’re cooking, the power of the fan automatically increases. If there’s nothing for it to do, it will idle but not switch off. However, the automatic increase of Breeze mode setting occurred only once during my testing period and I have since not been able to replicate this scenario… which is probably for the best as the CO2 was in the red that time.
Where other purifiers don’t necessarily pick up particles in the air unless they’re really close by, the Big+Quiet is capable of detecting pollutants from a couple of meters away. For example, it was able to pick up that there were more VOCs in the air when I was sitting two meters away using some nail polish remover. I usually have the screen displaying CO2 (which is also its default), but the display changed to the VOC screen automatically to indicate the rise and that it was actively filtering certain particles. I even found that the smell of the remover didn’t linger as long as it usually does when no purifier or fan is on.
(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)
With the Big+Quiet, I found a lot of food odors tend to stay indoors for a long while unless there's good cross-ventilation – these also disappeared quicker than before I started using the Dyson.
What I really like is how quiet it is. Considering I have to shout to be heard over the Dyson Pure Hot+Cool when it’s at full power, I fully expected to do the same again. On the contrary, the hum of the Big+Quiet, even at full bore, disappears into the background as white noise.
I don’t have a sound meter to make accurate measurements, but by using a smartphone app to measure the decibels, I got 60dB at level 10. This is with the phone’s mic held just below the main jet of air and standing less than a foot away from the machine. In comparison, the Pure Hot+Cool, which is half the height and a fraction of the diameter of the Big+Quiet, clocked up 62.9dB. The smaller machine’s sound is also higher pitched in comparison to the big one, making it harsher.
Image 1 of 2
(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)
Image 2 of 2
(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)
Dyson says it’s been able to lower the noise levels in the Big+Quiet by redesigning the motor for its purifiers. Sharp edges have been reduced and rough surfaces smoothened out to reduce air turbulence inside the machine, thus lowering noise levels.
Performance score: 4.5 / 5
Should I buy the Dyson Purifier Big+Quiet Formaldehyde?
Buy it if...
Don't buy it if...
Also consider
Perhaps the best alternative to the Dyson Purifier Big+Quiet Formaldehyde would be another Dyson – the Purifier Hot+Cool Formaldehyde. Not only is it cheaper, it’s also a fan and heater, making it a little more versatile for a little less money. However, it won’t do as well in a large space as the Big+Quiet. You can read our in-depth Dyson Purifier Big+Quiet Formaldehyde (HP09) review to know more.
If you’re in the US, you could consider the Shark Air Purifier 3-in-1 as an alternative that costs a fraction of the price of the Big+Quiet. This is also a multifunctional purifier that can cool and heat as well, and it’s quiet too. Our tester was quite impressed with this purifier – read our full Shark Air Purifier 3-in-1 with True HEPA review to know more. This purifier, however, isn’t available in all markets.
If you’re in Australia, perhaps the Breville The AirRounder Plus Connect could be a good alternative. It’s got a strange, fully rounded design, but it is quite effective in purifying, heating and cooling a space up to 40sqm. While we haven’t reviewed it on TechRadar, I tested the Breville AirRounder Plus Connect for our sister publication T3 a while back.
(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)
How I tested the Dyson Purifier Big+Quiet Formaldehyde
Used every day for about two months
Left it running continuously for 3 days on Auto mode
Exposed it to various products, like deodorants and nail polish
I used the Dyson Purifier Big+Quiet Formaldehyde for about 8 weeks almost every single day. During that period, I tested it in different rooms, including a bedroom, the living room, open-plan dining and kitchen, plus a home office nook.
I tested all three Breeze modes and also left it in Auto mode to see how it would perform. During this time, I monitored how well it detected aerosols like deodorants, as well as how it handled strong odors from perfumes and food. I also had it running while I was cooking to see if the metrics changed.
I closed doors and windows to see how the CO2 sensor would perform and to see if the fan would automatically power up to ventilate the room.
I used an iOS app to measure the noise levels emitted when it was at full power (level 10) and used the same app to see how loud the Dyson Pure Hot+Cool can get when running at full bore as a comparison. I also compared the sound level to the Breville The AirRounder Plus Connect.
It was not love at first sight with the Dyson Purifier Big+Quiet Formaldehyde, but after just one day of using it in my own home, I don’t want to ever be parted from it – strong words for a rather big and bulky purifier fan, but I stand by it. It’s completely different from any of Dyson’s previous home purifiers – in terms of both design and functionality – although it shouldn’t be confused with the HEPA Big+Quiet that’s specifically for commercial spaces.
Like its name suggests, it is big and it is quiet. It’s been made to circulate clean air in large rooms while standing in a corner instead of in the center of a space to be at its most effective. Dyson says it can service spaces that are up to about 100sqm / 1,000sqft in size, projecting filtered air up to 10m. Moreover, the angle of the propelled air can be adjusted (there are three to choose from), so it doubles up as a powerful fan as well which, at full bore, isn’t louder than 56dB.
Dyson has adopted cone aerodynamics to more than double the Coanda effect the brand uses in its other purifiers. According to the British brand, this allows the Big+Quiet to process as much as 87 liters of air per second. This is a hard metric to measure, so I’m taking Dyson’s word on this, but it’s easy to believe if you happen to be in the path of the propelled air.
At this point, I think it’s important to point out that there are two Big+Quiet Formaldehyde models identified by their color schemes. For this review I was sent what is the Dyson-exclusive model and is more expensive because it has an additional CO2 sensor and a second filter inside (see the price section below for more details). I found the CO2 sensor very useful as you can never tell if your home needs ventilating or not. I was a little horrified at how quickly CO2 can build up in a space – if I leave my windows closed for about an hour for any reason, the CO2 levels can go from under around 400ppm (which is good) to about 1,500ppm (which isn’t that good). If left in Auto mode, the Big+Quiet will dynamically change its fan speed to circulate the stale air but that’s also an indication that you need to open some doors or windows as high CO2 levels can cause fatigue, headaches and loss of focus.
What the two models share are a whole bunch of other sensors that detect several common pollutants, including dust, pet dander, pollen and formaldehyde (emitted from several household products including new furniture and mattresses), as well NO2 (nitrogen dioxide) from car fumes and volatile organic compounds (or VOCs) from aerosol sprays like deodorants. These are then filtered by a HEPA filter that complies with the H-13 standard, the highest rating for a purification system. This means that the Big+Quiet has a fully-sealed filtration system that can capture up to 99.95% of air particles as small as 0.1 microns, and Dyson promises that the filter used in the Big+Quiet Formaldehyde will last you up to five years.
A tiny onboard display can cycle through the metrics of the different pollutants it’s filtering and shows you what the levels are in your home. These metrics can also be viewed on the MyDyson app if you wish to connect your device to your phone – which is advisable as that will also push out automatic firmware updates to the machine.
That’s a lot of features that will cost you a lot of money – it is Dyson’s most expensive domestic-use purifier to date. If you have the budget for it – and, more importantly, the space for it in a corner somewhere – it could well be worth your while if you’re concerned about your health, especially during wildfire season that’s becoming more common with each passing year.
(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)
Dyson Purifier Big+Quiet Formaldehyde review: price and availability
Announced May 2023
Two models available in US, Australia and Singapore; UK availability TBC
Price starts at $999 / AU$1,499
While Dyson announced the Purifier Big+Quiet Formaldehyde range in May 2023 globally, it was released for Australian shoppers first.
There are two colorways – Bright Nickel / Satin Dark Blue and Satin Dark Blue / Gold, with the latter being a Dyson exclusive only and will not be available to purchase from a third-party retailer. It’s also the model that will get you all the bells and whistles the Big+Quiet can offer, including the CO2 sensor and an additional K-Carbon filter that can capture three times more NO2 than Dyson’s other purifiers. This model will set you back $1,099 / AU$1,599 (around £830).
The cheaper model – which misses out on the above two features – can be purchased from Dyson and authorized retailers for $999 / AU$1,499 (about £780).
Dyson says that the HEPA filter in the Big+Quiet will not require replacing for about five years – five times longer than the ones used in its other air purifiers – which could make it a little more cost effective than spending on, say, the Dyson Purifier Hot+Cool Formaldehyde that costs $849 / £599 / AU$1,149, although this is also a heater and, thus, more versatile than the Big+Quiet.
Dyson has promised that the Purifier Big+Quiet will be available in other markets subsequently, but no timeline has been revealed and neither have the prices.
There’s no denying that the Big+Quiet range is expensive, especially when you consider alternatives like the Shark Air Purifier 3-in-1 – which is only available in the US at the time of writing – is $400. But if you have a large, open home whose air you’re keen on keeping clean – or at least monitoring – then this could be worth investing in.
When I first laid eyes on the Dyson Purifier Big+Quiet Formaldehyde at its Sydney unveiling, I really wasn’t impressed by its looks. ‘Big’ and ‘bulky’ were the words that occurred to me. Then the Dyson engineer moved the machine… gently, with one finger. Yes, it’s big – but only compared to Dyson’s other home purifiers and bladeless fans – and looks a little clunky, but it’s not as heavy as it appears. Even then, it's a good thing there are hidden wheels that move very smoothly over hard floors (wood and tile). They don’t move as well over carpet, though, and that’s when the Big+Quiet really feels bulky.
It looks unlike any other Dyson purifier that has preceded it – it’s basically a large bowl that sits atop a perforated metal cylinder, each of which is packed separately in the box for shipping. You simply adjust the bowl over the cylinder till it clicks into place. It looks heavy, but it’s not and can easily be lifted.
The rim of the bowl is large, enclosing a smaller dome inside, in the middle of which is a square display that shows the metrics of the different pollutants it’s filtering. You can cycle through them by using the information button (denoted by a lowercase i) on the remote control. Below the display is a small power button – it’s black on black and barely visible. Between the rim and the inner dome are perforations from where the jet of clean air is propelled into a room.
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(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)
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(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)
The perforated cylinder houses the filters – two in the case of the more expensive blue-and-gold model (SCO and K-Carbon filter) and the one SCO filter in the cheaper option. When you need to replace or check a filter, you can quickly unclip the bowl using the toggle switch at the back, then lift off the cylinder by pressing on the two red buttons located across from each other on the inside. A small unperforated strip on the cylinder is where the machine’s tiny remote attaches magnetically.
As I’ve mentioned, there are wheels on the base of the Big+Quiet, but they have been designed to be invisible unless you turn the whole machine upside down. They’re extremely smooth on hard floors, needing just the slightest push to roll, but require some elbow grease to move on a low- or medium-pile carpet. I’m guessing it’s going to be nigh on impossible to move over a high-pile carpet or rug.
While you’ll either love or hate the overall design aesthetic of the Big+Quiet, you have to keep in mind that it's been built so it can do its thing while standing unintrusively in a corner somewhere. Other purifiers will need to be placed in the center of a room and the fan kept at its most powerful for them to be at their most effective in a small space. But how many of us really plop our purifiers in the middle of a room?
Design score: 4 / 5
(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)
Dyson Purifier Big+Quiet Formaldehyde review: Features
Three-phase whole machine filtration
Breeze mode
Modified filter and the CO2 sensor is handy to have
The top of the Big+Quiet has been designed to harness the power of cone aerodynamics that, Dyson says, more than doubles the airflow passing through the machine in comparison to its other purifiers. Dyson promises that this machine can process up to 87 liters of air per second which, while being a hard metric to measure, is easily believable when you consider the size of the machine and feel the jet of air being projected at full force.
This propelled air is supposed to be mimic the movement of a spring breeze – a Dyson engineer has apparently cracked the code on how to make this happened. I, however, am not quite sure I'd call it a 'breeze', but I found the air circulation very pleasant.
This air movement is what Dyson is calling the Big+Quiet’s Breeze Mode and there are 10 fan levels to choose from. The air can be projected in three different angles – 0º or parallel to the floor, 25º and 50º. I found that having it set at 0º was ideal for using in the bedroom at night, while the other two suit larger spaces like living rooms. During my testing period, it hit 37ºC / 98ºF on a few days in springtime in Sydney, and I didn’t need to switch on my air conditioning as the Breeze mode was more than enough to keep me comfortable in both a smaller bedroom at night, as well as in a larger living room space with the fan going at the highest setting.
(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)
The Big+Quiet’s main function, however, is air purification. Filtration here is the same three-step system we’ve seen from Dyson’s best air purifiers, but with significant improvements. It adheres to the HEPA H-13 standard, which means 99.95% of particles as small as 0.1 microns will be captured, and it’s fully sealed so none of them can escape back into the air.
The HEPA filter, according to Dyson, is made up of 21 meters of borosilicate microfibers pleated 459 times to make it fit within the cylindrical base, while also giving it plenty of surface area to capture pollutants and last a few years. It uses selective catalytic oxidization (SCO) to break down the certain pollutants, particularly formaldehyde, and promises to capture them at a molecular level – again, something that’s not possible to test chemically outside of a lab, but I’m willing to take Dyson’s word for it.
(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)
According to Dyson, the Big+Quiet’s formaldehyde sensor is powerful enough to detect molecules that are “500 times smaller than 0.1 micron”. The filter then breaks it down into CO2 and water, which then gets let out into the room as part of the stream of cleaned air. It’s important to note that the CO2 from formaldehyde breakdown is so negligible that it won’t be an issue at all.
If you opt for the more expensive Big+Quiet model, you’ll get an additional K-Karbon filter inside that uses a layer of carbon to capture odors, some organic compounds as well as up to three times more NO2 from car fumes (handy if you live on or near a main thoroughfare) than the standard SCO filter.
(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)
While you get full control of the Big+Quiet via its little remote control, you can also control it via the MyDyson app. A virtual remote control is displayed on the app and everything you can do with the physical remote, you can do on the app. You can also get graphical representations of what the machine is filtering. However, you can only get a per-day look. I wish Dyson would create a way to see a weekly or monthly report to get a broader overview of its performance.
You need some specialized spaces and equipment to properly test a purifier, but I used it in my own home for a couple of months before coming to the conclusion that the Dyson Purifier Big+Quiet Formaldehyde does everything it promises.
Image 1 of 2
(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)
Image 2 of 2
(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)
While you can choose a fan setting between 1 and 10, there’s an Auto mode here that can be your default setting when it’s not too hot. In Auto, the Big+Quiet carries on filtering if it needs to, but will power down to Breeze mode level 1 if ventilation isn’t needed. The moment it detects too much CO2 build up or more household pollutants while you’re cooking, the power of the fan automatically increases. If there’s nothing for it to do, it will idle but not switch off. However, the automatic increase of Breeze mode setting occurred only once during my testing period and I have since not been able to replicate this scenario… which is probably for the best as the CO2 was in the red that time.
Where other purifiers don’t necessarily pick up particles in the air unless they’re really close by, the Big+Quiet is capable of detecting pollutants from a couple of meters away. For example, it was able to pick up that there were more VOCs in the air when I was sitting two meters away using some nail polish remover. I usually have the screen displaying CO2 (which is also its default), but the display changed to the VOC screen automatically to indicate the rise and that it was actively filtering certain particles. I even found that the smell of the remover didn’t linger as long as it usually does when no purifier or fan is on.
(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)
With the Big+Quiet, I found a lot of food odors tend to stay indoors for a long while unless there's good cross-ventilation – these also disappeared quicker than before I started using the Dyson.
What I really like is how quiet it is. Considering I have to shout to be heard over the Dyson Pure Hot+Cool when it’s at full power, I fully expected to do the same again. On the contrary, the hum of the Big+Quiet, even at full bore, disappears into the background as white noise.
I don’t have a sound meter to make accurate measurements, but by using a smartphone app to measure the decibels, I got 60dB at level 10. This is with the phone’s mic held just below the main jet of air and standing less than a foot away from the machine. In comparison, the Pure Hot+Cool, which is half the height and a fraction of the diameter of the Big+Quiet, clocked up 62.9dB. The smaller machine’s sound is also higher pitched in comparison to the big one, making it harsher.
Image 1 of 2
(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)
Image 2 of 2
(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)
Dyson says it’s been able to lower the noise levels in the Big+Quiet by redesigning the motor for its purifiers. Sharp edges have been reduced and rough surfaces smoothened out to reduce air turbulence inside the machine, thus lowering noise levels.
Performance score: 4.5 / 5
Should I buy the Dyson Purifier Big+Quiet Formaldehyde?
Buy it if...
Don't buy it if...
Also consider
Perhaps the best alternative to the Dyson Purifier Big+Quiet Formaldehyde would be another Dyson – the Purifier Hot+Cool Formaldehyde. Not only is it cheaper, it’s also a fan and heater, making it a little more versatile for a little less money. However, it won’t do as well in a large space as the Big+Quiet. You can read our in-depth Dyson Purifier Big+Quiet Formaldehyde (HP09) review to know more.
If you’re in the US, you could consider the Shark Air Purifier 3-in-1 as an alternative that costs a fraction of the price of the Big+Quiet. This is also a multifunctional purifier that can cool and heat as well, and it’s quiet too. Our tester was quite impressed with this purifier – read our full Shark Air Purifier 3-in-1 with True HEPA review to know more. This purifier, however, isn’t available in all markets.
If you’re in Australia, perhaps the Breville The AirRounder Plus Connect could be a good alternative. It’s got a strange, fully rounded design, but it is quite effective in purifying, heating and cooling a space up to 40sqm. While we haven’t reviewed it on TechRadar, I tested the Breville AirRounder Plus Connect for our sister publication T3 a while back.
(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)
How I tested the Dyson Purifier Big+Quiet Formaldehyde
Used every day for about two months
Left it running continuously for 3 days on Auto mode
Exposed it to various products, like deodorants and nail polish
I used the Dyson Purifier Big+Quiet Formaldehyde for about 8 weeks almost every single day. During that period, I tested it in different rooms, including a bedroom, the living room, open-plan dining and kitchen, plus a home office nook.
I tested all three Breeze modes and also left it in Auto mode to see how it would perform. During this time, I monitored how well it detected aerosols like deodorants, as well as how it handled strong odors from perfumes and food. I also had it running while I was cooking to see if the metrics changed.
I closed doors and windows to see how the CO2 sensor would perform and to see if the fan would automatically power up to ventilate the room.
I used an iOS app to measure the noise levels emitted when it was at full power (level 10) and used the same app to see how loud the Dyson Pure Hot+Cool can get when running at full bore as a comparison. I also compared the sound level to the Breville The AirRounder Plus Connect.
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.
(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
(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
(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.
(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
(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.
(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.
(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)
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.
(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.
(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
(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.
This week the world welcomed the OnePlus Open, so we have a look at its pre-order offers and how it compares with other horizontal foldables. There are flip foldables too, some of them at tempting prices, and no shortage of bar phones in the flagship and mid-range categories.
USA
The UK
Germany
India
USA
The OnePlus Open was announced this week and there is a short pre-order period before the company’s first foldable becomes available next week. You can put down a $100 deposit now to secure a $200 discount when sales start. You will also score a free pair of...
This week the world welcomed the OnePlus Open, so we have a look at its pre-order offers and how it compares with other horizontal foldables. There are flip foldables too, some of them at tempting prices, and no shortage of bar phones in the flagship and mid-range categories.
USA
The UK
Germany
India
USA
The OnePlus Open was announced this week and there is a short pre-order period before the company’s first foldable becomes available next week. You can put down a $100 deposit now to secure a $200 discount when sales start. You will also score a free pair of...
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
(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.
Image 1 of 2
(Image credit: Future / Rosie Hattersley)
Image 2 of 2
(Image credit: Future / Rosie Hattersley)
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
(Image credit: Future / Rosie Hattersley)
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.
Image 1 of 2
(Image credit: Future / Rosie Hattersley)
Image 2 of 2
(Image credit: Future / Rosie Hattersley)
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.
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
(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.
Image 1 of 2
(Image credit: Future / Rosie Hattersley)
Image 2 of 2
(Image credit: Future / Rosie Hattersley)
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
(Image credit: Future / Rosie Hattersley)
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.
Image 1 of 2
(Image credit: Future / Rosie Hattersley)
Image 2 of 2
(Image credit: Future / Rosie Hattersley)
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.
I really like the Huawei Watch GT 4. It’s an impressive-looking device with a wide variety of materials and colorways available, and every one of these iterations looks fantastic. The big AMOLED screen’s refresh rate is nice and smooth, colors pop, and the speaker is loud – embarrassingly loud, if you leave workout notifications on during a class.
It’s functional too, with highly accurate metrics. TruSleep tracking was accurate and the metrics in the Huawei Health app were pleasantly detailed, although I was missing some actionable advice on that front. Huawei’s TruSeen 5.5+ algorithm offers great heart rate tracking that extends to workout tracking, too, and the GPS was comparable to the best smartwatches (we tested it against an Apple Watch Ultra 2), so you’ll get great results on runs and rides.
Having said all that, I won’t be using it again. Under normal circumstances, I’d be giving such a watch a glowing review, perhaps even full marks, but it’s languishing on 80% here. The watch itself is fantastic, but it’s impossible to ignore the frustrations that come with it being saddled with Huawei’s baggage.
The limits imposed by the US and every smartphone manufacturer, and Huawei’s refusal to abandon its AppGallery store, which most phones will only support in-browser, means you have a watch that can’t interface with lots of popular apps. Apple Pay, Google Wallet, Spotify, and more are on the no-go list, although others like Strava were fine.
However, if you can get over these flaws, you’ll find a gorgeous watch waiting to be loved. If you already have a Huawei phone and are used to a few workarounds, it’s probably the best smartwatch for you.
Huawei Watch GT 4: Specifications
Huawei Watch GT 4: Price and availability
(Image credit: Future)
From £229.99 in the UK
From €249.90 euros in the EU
Unavailable in the US and AU
For starters, let’s address the elephant in the room: Huawei technology is unavailable in the US or Australia, due to ongoing disputes with the Chinese telecoms manufacturer (and the Chinese government) over security concerns.
The UK has removed Huawei devices from its 5G network but hasn’t banned the sale of these devices entirely. The EU still allows Huawei devices to be sold. While UK and European fans can access Huawei tech, some functionality, such as NFC contactless payments, is limited.
It’s a shame because the Watch is terrific value. Both the 46mm with silicone black strap and the 41mm with silicone white strap cost just £229.99 in the UK and €249.90 in the EU, which is a great price for a chunky fitness watch with a stainless steel case. Prices rise with a variety of different options, including a rose gold version with Milanese straps or leather straps on the 46mm.
The most expensive is the 41mm steel-and-gold edition watch, which costs £349.99 / €399.90 euros, followed by the stainless steel 46mm with stainless steel strap, which costs £299.99 / €369.90 euros. It’s a very well-priced watch that looks gorgeous and could be an absolute powerhouse with the right support; it’s just a shame about the lack of availability. Unless you’re an existing Huawei user, there’s almost always a better option.
Value score: 3/5
Huawei Watch GT 4: Design
(Image credit: Future)
Seven different looks
Beautiful, premium designs belying price
OS is simple enough to use
From an external style standpoint, Huawei watches as a whole have virtually no consistency. When comparing the Watch GT 4 models to the thick, boxy, plastic cases on the gimmicky Huawei Watch Buds and Huawei Watch D, it’s like night and day. Whereas the Watch D and Watch Buds were quirky at best and unsightly at worst, Huawei Watch GT 4 models look fantastic, with in-built microphones and speakers allowing you to take and receive calls on-wrist.
These watches evoke different styles of traditional watches, from delicate circular fashion and dress watches to field and diving units. The unit I tested, the 46mm with stainless steel strap, looked very much like an analog dive watch when I picked the right face. Like all the GT 4 models, it has a circular digital crown on the top right and a secondary button on the bottom right, which combined with the very responsive touch-screen, made it easy to navigate around the watch. It was a pleasure to use.
The screen gets a lot of real estate, and it’s a fantastic screen on both sizes of the watch. The full-color AMOLED screen offers a fantastic refresh rate, ensuring a smooth swiping action, and pops with color. The AMOLED screen was better than many Garmins (although not quite up to Apple’s Retina Display) and output around 600 nits of brightness. This is enough for most people, though it’s a far cry from the Apple Watch Series 9, which can output an impressive 2,000 nits.
Some watch faces (the free ones, at least) are pretty dross, but I found one I liked that echoed an analog watch face and carried several on-face complications, including step count, the moon’s current phase, and a calendar. It echoed a classic chronograph and complemented the stainless steel aesthetic.
Speaking of the stainless steel, I have to share a grievance about changing the band. It might be because of my short nails, but after removing the silicone band, applying the stainless steel band to the watch took 15 minutes of effort, accompanied by lots of grunting and profanity. It was not a painless experience, but the watch looks ace with it on.
Design score: 5/5
Huawei Watch GT 4: Features
(Image credit: Future)
Lots of workout profiles
Lacking payments in many regions
Forced to sideload apps
The Huawei Watch GT 4 is entirely dependent on the Huawei Health app, which isn’t available on the iOS or Google Play store, but can be easily downloaded via your browser and the QR code provided. From there, you can customize your watch faces, toggle various notifications streams on and off, and view all your health data in greater detail. The Huawei Health app is excellent at what it does, showing you comprehensive information and offering actionable advice on your workout and sleep.
For example, I am a light sleeper, so Huawei Health recommended I cut out caffeine in the evening before bedtime – not groundbreaking advice, but nice to have. The Watch GT 4 has a load of workout profiles, from outdoor and indoor cycles to pool and open-water swims that count your strokes and lengths as you go.
The workout profiles interact with Huawei Health nicely and offer bonus features like AI-generated plans to help you train for specific goals in common exercises such as running, which you can follow along on your watch. TruSleep and TruSeen 5.5+ sensors offer advanced heart rate monitoring and ECG functionalities. A temperature sensor, blood oxygen measurement, and a stress metric round up the useful suite of health features on offer here.
All the Huawei-native stuff is great: it’s the lack of compatibility with other phones and operating systems that’s the problem. You can get WhatsApp and email notifications, but not respond to them, and good luck trying to use apps like Gmail without considerable sideloading jiggery pokery. Want Google or Apple Maps on your watch? Tough, you’re stuck with Huawei’s own Petal Maps. Unless you live in a country that supports Huawei NFC payments, you won’t be able to use contactless cards on your watch either. As I used the watch, I noticed more and more features either missing or not gelling, and while getting a Huawei phone would go some way towards solving this (if you don’t live in the US or Australia), in the UK you can’t use Huawei telecoms devices on a 5G network, so the phone won’t live up to its potential.
Features score: 3/5
Huawei Watch GT 4: Performance
(Image credit: Future)
Great battery life
Excellent sleep/workout metrics
GPS matched an Apple Watch Ultra 2 for accuracy
During my time testing the Huawei Watch GT 4, the battery life performed as expected. I tested it over five days, and each day the watch depleted between five and 10 percent, depending on GPS usage. I’m very satisfied the watch lives up to its bold claims of up to 14 days, and I can see the average user getting 10 days out of the watch with a few GPS workouts thrown in.
Sleep and workout metrics held up very well, and I was happy with the results I got. Running Ability index, Training Load and Training index metrics take a lot of your stats (if you’re a runner, of course) and boil them down into simple numbers. Running Ability will tell you if you’re running, for example, 44% better than users of a similar age, gender, height, and weight. Huawei is good at condensing complex statistics into easily accessible nuggets of information – it’s reminiscent of the best Fitbit watches in this way.
When I tested the GPS tracking against an Apple Watch Ultra 2, the main noticeable difference was that the Huawei Watch GT 4 took far, far longer to connect to a network. The Apple Watch Ultra 2 was almost instantaneous, while the GT 4 took at least two and a half minutes, during which it encouraged me to be in an open area, probably at the place the workout is starting. It doesn’t sound like much to ask, but you either stand stationary for around 150 seconds in front of your house before you start running, or you just run and the watch starts tracking you halfway through your first kilometer.
Other than that, the Watch GT 4 matched the Ultra 2 closely in terms of both heart rate and distance covered when I wore them simultaneously, so I’m satisfied with the watch’s accuracy.
