Bulbrite Solana G25 Smart Light Bulb

Editor Latifah Miles uses this filament-style lightbulb in her living room. She appreciates the convenience of being able to adjust the temperature of the lamps from a bright blue-white light to a warm yellow glow when her son passes out on the couch.

Although the bulbs can be set on a timer to automatically switch on and off, Miles said she prefers controlling them with her phone or with voice commands through her Alexa-enabled Echo Show speaker.

“I can barely link my wireless headphones to my phone, but these bulbs were super easy to set up,” she said. “I tell Alexa to turn the lights down and up — or off, which I like the most when I'm dashing from one corner to another in the morning trying to get myself and my sloth 7-year-old out of the house."

ecobee SmartThermostat

The ecobee SmartThermostat uses room sensors to monitor the temperature in your home. Depending on the size of your living space, you can connect multiple sensors for the best results.

The device's smart features include full Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant support via a built-in speaker and microphones so you can easily turn down the AC with your voice. The SmartThermostat also offers compatibility with Samsung SmartThings, Apple HomeKit, and the IFTTT home automation standard.

KEEP Cannabis Storage

We're leaping from the future back to the present, where cannabis is getting prettied-up to ease its path to legalization and social acceptance. The new KEEP storage container for cannabis is discreet on the outside—its display has a clock and weather info—but it opens to reveal multiple storage spaces for different kinds of cannabis products and a rolling tray. The kicker is its locking system, which works via facial recognition or a data-encrypted app. If someone who isn't you is trying to get into your stash, then you'll get a notification, which is very practical if you have house guests, kids, or greedy roommates. —S.R.

Build Your Own Telescope

Do you or the kids fancy a spot of astronomy but shudder at the idea of splashing out on an expensive telescope? The Build Your Own Cardboard Telescope kit is a neat way to get started at stargazing on a budget.

Except for the lenses and mirror, the kit is made entirely out of sustainable cardboard and is designed to slot together with no glue. Admittedly, that’s easier said than done as there were occasional points I found too fiddly to do on my own, so any 8-year-olds would struggle without an adult’s help.

However, once everything was slotted into place (with the help of a little sticky tape due to my cack-handedness) all the difficulty I had in putting it together was worth it for the ‘wow’ moment I had when I finally got it working.

The end result is a 72cm telescope with a sliding tube to focus, a viewfinder and an angle finder. Getting a glimpse of the Moon through a telescope I built myself was enchanting, and with 16x magnification, the view was clear enough to distinguish craters you can’t make out by eye.

As much of a challenge as it was to build, this cheap telescope seems like a great way to give budding astronomers their first taste of stargazing. 

£19.99, buy now from Amazon UK

Arlo video doorbell

Offering a good balance between price, premium features, and usability, Arlo’s Video Doorbell is our top choice for the best video doorbell if you want a high-quality smart doorbell that works reliably without being annoying.

Its standout feature – telling the difference between people, animals, vehicles, and packages, and only sending you the notifications you want – means you don’t get an alert every time a strong breeze sends a plastic bag down the street.

Being able to create motion zones – so you get alerted only when someone (or the neighbour’s cat) is in them – and the option to turn off all alerts when you are home (using the location of your phone to figure this out) ensures a smart doorbell doesn’t become just another electronic annoyance but a useful security tool.

Along with some of the best quality video we tested and a nice square video shape that shows you more of your doorstep than most, we like that it has a built-in siren you can set off from the app if you spot someone suspicious.

Another thing that sets it on top of the pile is an answering machine option. While no one ever left us a message outside of testing – possibly because most people aren’t used to talking to a doorbell – we can see potential here as smart doorbells gain popularity.

£179, buy now from Amazon UK