The Simba Hybrid Pro goes beyond a typical memory foam mattress as it features clever design to eliminate overheating and provide extra support and comfort.

The Hybrid Pro is available in a variety of sizes to suit most bed types, from Single up to Super King. Regardless of the size, all mattresses are 28cm deep so make sure your fitted sheets are able to cover this.

The Simba Hybrid Pro is shipped wrapped up in a box and should be left to expand once it’s opened. You should give the mattress around six hours to expand so we found it best to unpack ours in the morning and give it the day to settle.

Simba offers a 200-night sleep trial which means if at any point during this period you decide against keeping the mattress then Simba will send a two-person team to collect it for free and refund you. Otherwise Simba offers a decent 10-year guarantee against defects for extra peace of mind.

The Hybrid Pro is made up of a whopping seven layers including the Simbatex foam layer which is infused with graphite and has an open-cell design to increase airflow to prevent overheating, and two layers of Aero Coil springs to support your body. 

There’s also a harder edge support layer around the bed and multi zone foam base for extra depth and support. 

The layers are topped off with wool which aids the mattress against heat build-up, which is a common issue with memory foam mattresses. 

Overall we found the Simba Hybrid Pro to be a firm mattress that offers excellent support and comfort. We determined this by measuring how far we sank into the mattress in various sitting and sleeping positions. 

We found the Hybrid Pro was able to insulate movement well, much better than pocket-sprung mattresses, which means a restless partner won’t interrupt your own circadian rhythm. 

Although the Simba Hybrid Pro is an expensive mattress, it offers unparalleled support and excellent heat dissipation to help you get the best night’s sleep possible. If you prefer a softer mattress then we’d recommend the Nectar Sleep Premier instead.

Full review: Simba Hybrid Pro review
Reviewer: David Ludlow

A straightforward foam mattress, the Emma Original balances price, comfort and features neatly. One of the best things about this mattress is that its cover is washable.

Unzip the top, and it lifts off, ready to go in the washing machine, leaving the foam layers where they are. You can also remove the lower cover and wash that, although that’s a little trickier. We recommend flipping the mattress and removing the section that way.

The top cover is Emma’s UltraDry, which is moisture-wicking, removing sweat from your body. Inside are three foam layers: Airogell to regulate temperature, the memory foam layer which adapts to your body and offers support, and finally HRX Supreme Foam to give stability and support.

It generally works well, providing great levels of support when lying down. Edge support is decent, but the mattress did sink a little when we were sitting up (6cm), so those who read a lot or watch TV in bed may prefer a slightly harder pick.

Motion transference is minimal, with one person’s movements staying on their side of the bed. Heat dissipation is good, with most heat gone after three minutes and the bed returning to ambient temperatures a couple of minutes after that.

Overall, this is a great midrange mattress that’s easy to keep clean. If you want something with a more luxurious feel or a mattress that’s a bit firmer, check out the alternatives.

Full review: Emma Original Mattress review
Reviewer: David Ludlow

The Nectar Sleep Premier is the company’s top-of-the-range mattress-in-a-box, as you can probably tell by the relatively high price. A full 365-day trial period does mean that you get a long time to give it a go.

As with most premium mattresses, the Nectar Sleep Premier is chunky. Its 28cm depth means that you’ll want deep fitted sheets to go over it, and may need a hand getting it into position; fortunately, there are big handles on the side for this job.

There are six layers. On the outside is the quilted cooling cover, which feels nice and soft to the touch. There’s a zip, but the cover is not removable or machine washable. Next is the dynamic support layer, which is made of breathable foam; press-relieving memory foam is next; there’s a honeycomb layer built for spine alignment; and, finally, there’s the base material that keeps everything in place.

Edge support isn’t so good on this model, with the bed dipping 7.5cm with us sat on the side. Once in bed, things get better. There’s only a 4.5cm dip when sat up in bed, and support is excellent in all sleeping positions. That’s even though the mattress feels a bit softer to the touch than some rivals.

Movement isolation is very good. Even if you sleep with someone who’s quite restless, you shouldn’t be disturbed too much.

Heat dissipation is excellent, taking just three minutes for our outline to practically disappear in our thermal camera test.

If you like a softer-feel mattress, but one that still gives good support, then this premium example is a good choice.

Full review: Nectar Sleep Premier review
Reviewer: David Ludlow

The Emma Premium Mattress should suit anyone who wants a high-quality yet firm mattress. Firm shouldn’t be mistaken for uncomfortable, as this mattress provides a high level of support. Once we’d gotten used to it, we found it to be extremely comfortable to sleep on.

As with many premium mattresses, this one is very deep once it’s unwrapped and expanded to its full size. It’s likely you’ll need help unpacking this model. Help will also be needed when you turn this mattress regularly to prevent sagging.

There are six layers in this mattress. At the top is the breathable cover that gives comfort and acts a little like a mattress topper. This layer also helps regulate temperature and can be removed for washing.

Next is the Point Elastic Airgocell, which helps regulate temperature by absorbing and evaporating sweat. Then, there’s a memory foam layer that moulds to your body shape, followed by a foam layer that Emma says helps alleviate pressure. As this is a hybrid mattress, there’s a layer of springs, followed by a base foam layer.

We found that this mattress took a while to get used to, and we found it very firm at first. If you prefer a mattress with a softer feel, look elsewhere.

Edge support is excellent on this bed, with the mattress dipping just 4.5cm. There’s little dip from lying in sleeping positions either (enough to keep your spine aligned), but the mattress remains very firm.

Measuring the mattress with an accelerometer, we found that motion was quite well insulated, with little disturbance caused by one partner turning over. Getting out of bed proved even better: you probably wouldn’t even notice a partner waking up the morning.

Heat dissipation is very good. After three minutes, there was little trace of where we had been lying. This is a great mattress, but it’s better for those who like a firm-feel.

Full review: Emma Premium Mattress review
Reviewer: Max Parker

The Nectar Hybrid Mattress is a great-value hybrid mattress which is currently available for 60% less than its original price. As with most rivals, this mattress comes vacuum-packed and must be left to inflate back to full size before you can sleep on it.

Six layers are used to build up the Nectar Hybrid Mattress. First, there’s a quilted cooling cover, which can’t be removed, even though there’s a zip around the outside. It’s worth buying a mattress protector to use with it.

There’s a dynamic support layer, micro-spring layer, pressure-relieving memory foam, 7-zone supportive base and positioning base material.

Rated as a six on a firmness scale (out of 10), this mattress is about in the middle. We sat on the edge of this mattress, and it dipped 8cm, which is quite a lot. If you tend to sleep at the edge of the bed, then a firmer mattress would be better. Likewise, if you sit up and read in bed a lot, then another mattress may be better: this model dipped 6cm.

For sleep, the Nectar Hybrid Mattress is very good. It conforms to your body shape, keeping you and your spine well aligned, proving to be very comfortable.

Measuring motion isolation, we found that quite a lot of motion was transmitted from one side of the bed to another when getting in and out; the relatively soft edges are likely to blame. Once in bed, the Nectar Hybrid Mattress isolates one person from their partner’s movements.

Heat dissipation is good but not the best that we’ve seen: it took five minutes before our routine was hard to see in thermal camera photos.

This is a good mid-range choice for anyone who wants a medium-firm mattress.

Full Review: Nectar Hybrid Mattress review
Reviewer: Ryan Jones

The GP Ultra AA are a fantastic choice for most households as they offer great value for money, are available in a wide-range of pack sizes and are designed for all types of use. Although we’ve reviewed batteries that boasted higher capacities, the overall flexibility and price of the GP Ultra AA easily make them our most recommended choice.

GP states that the Ultra AA batteries have a service life of 19.5 hours based on a 10-Ohm discharge resistance, which essentially means they are designed for power-hungry devices such as remote-controlled toys and torches. 

To trial this ourselves we used an Ansmann Energy XC 3000 to drain the batteries to determine how long they take to consume power. We concluded that this resulted in one of the highest initial capacities we had seen across all our battery tests, with the batteries ending at 0.94V.

We then left the batteries to cool down and re-ran our test to check if there was any charge remaining. Impressively, the Ultra AA boasted the highest result of any alkaline batteries we’ve reviewed, as the total capacity was an average of 1680.5mAh.

Essentially this shows that the GP Ultra AA are not only optimum for high-drain applications but also low-drain devices such as remote controls and radios, and can keep them powered for a good amount of time.

As the GP Ultra AA batteries are versatile, can support both high and low drain capacities and has a generous RRP across all pack sizes, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better value set.

Full review: GP Ultra AA review

Reviewer: David Ludlow

When we tested AAA batteries, we were expecting a similar spread of results to the AA models, but we were wrong: the Amazon Basics Alkaline AAA batteries were by far the best at everything in our tests.

We performed an initial drain test and found that the batteries held 559.75mAh, which was highest by a lot. Running a second drain test after the batteries had cooled down, we found that they held an additional 25.25mAh, for a total of 585mAh. That’s second overall, but only 12mAh less than the GP Ultra AAA batteries.

That shows that pretty much the full capacity can be used by high drain devices, such as games controllers, toys and torches. Yet, the overall capacity is high, making these batteries suitable for low-drain uses, such as remote controls, where longevity is important.

The other batteries that we tested just weren’t as good: they had much lower results in the initial result, and most had lower overall capacities. That makes the Amazon Basics Alkaline AAA batteries the best overall at everything.

Full review: Amazon Basics Alkaline AAA review

Reviewer: David Ludlow

The word ‘budget’ often has bad connotations, but the Amazon Basics Alkaline AA batteries avoid that trap. While these are undoubtedly cheap batteries, particular when bought in bulk.

Running these batteries through our normal tests, we measured them with an initial capacity of 1376mAh, which is only slightly behind the Duracell Plus AA. This amount of power shows that these batteries are an excellent choice for high-drain uses, such as torches and toys.

We then ran the batteries through a second drain test, which delivered an additional 219mAh, for a total capacity of 1595mAh, which is only just behind the GP Ultra AA batteries. That makes these batteries a good choice for lower-drain use, such as clocks and remote controls.

While the GP Ultra batteries may be slightly more flexible, if you’re on a tighter budget, these are a great choice, particularly if you want to buy in bulk.

Full review: Amazon Basics Alkaline AA review

Reviewer: David Ludlow

If it’s raw power that you want, then the Duracell Plus AA alkaline batteries are for you. These proved to be real power-houses in our tests.

Our initial drain test showed that these batteries were capable of delivering 1442mAh: this is the highest that we’ve seen. We then performed a second test after the batteries had cooled down, and they delivered an additional 176mAh, giving a total of 1618mAh.

While this makes the GP Ultra AA batteries more powerful overall, the Duracell AA’s initial result shows that these batteries are much more powerful for high-drain use, such as toys and torches. If that’s the main use that you want batteries for, then there’s nothing better that we’ve tested.

These batteries are quite expensive, and the Amazon Basics AA may be better choice if you’re on a tighter budget.

Full review: Duracell Plus AA review

Reviewer: David Ludlow

The issue with electric heaters is that you only tend to use them at certain times of the year. The Dyson Purifier Hot+Cool Formaldehyde aims to fix this by providing a heater, a fan and a powerful air purifier all in one neat package, which means you can use it for all seasons. 

There are numerous features that make the Purifier especially versatile, including the useful Auto Mode which adjusts the speed and temperature of the fan automatically, according to the time of day and the environment. For example if the fan detects that the room needs to warm up then it’ll increase its temperature.

There’s also Diffused mode which reverses the airflow, and Nighttime mode which reduces the fan’s speed and the brightness of its display.

Working the fan is seamless, as you just use the fan buttons on the remote to select one of ten fan speeds and to adjust the temperature between 1-37°C. Once it hits the desired temperature the fan will then automatically switch to minimum speed to keep the room feeling more comfortable. 

Connect your Dyson Purifier to the Dyson Link app and you’ll have a choice between even more modes and features, or you can connect to Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant for hands-free use. 

On the front of the fan you’ll see an LCD panel which offers all the information you need, including the fan’s status and the quality of air in your home. 

The purifier can detect and remove anything from very fine particles (PM2.5), volatile organic compounds (VOCs) which are harsh chemicals found in cleaning products, and even formaldehyde which can be found in glues and paints.

Detecting formaldehyde has always been tricky because sensors degrade over time. Dyson has cleverly fixed this by using a solid-state sensor which will last the lifetime of the fan. 

Instead of having three separate appliances for heating, cooling and purifying, the Dyson Purifier Hot+Cool has everything you need for year-round comfort in one sophisticated device. 

Full Review: Dyson Purifier Hot+Cool Formaldehyde

Reviewer: David Ludlow

It doesn’t have a built-in air purifier, but as the Princess Smart Heating and Cooling Tower has both heating and cooling modes, it’s still useful for most of the year. You can control all of the features and set the fan speed and target temperature using the bundled remote control, but you get a few more options if you connect the fan to your Wi-Fi network.

Via the Climate app, you get all of the same options that the remote control gives, plus you can set a timer and schedule when you want the fan to become active. That’s very useful if you want to regularly heat a space and need smart thermostat-like controls. There are a few mismatches between what’s on the fan and what’s replicated in the app, but these are minor annoyances at worst.

In fan mode, the Princess Smart Heating and Cooling Tower is as powerful as its Dyson rival, although quite a bit louder – particularly as the lowest fan speed isn’t that low. Heat mode was enough to cope with a 30m2 test lab, getting it to a comfortable 21°C before the fan shut down.

Having an accurate thermostat is very helpful on a product such as this, as it means you’re only using a high amount of electricity (1983kW here) for a shorter period. Heaters with inaccurate thermostats will typically run for longer than you need them to run.

Well-priced and useful throughout the year, the Princess Smart Heating and Cooling Tower is a great option for anyone who wants a smart device with a high level of control.

Review: Princess Smart Heating and Cooling Tower

Reviewer: David Ludlow

Drawing just 352W, as read from our power meter, the De’Longhi Capsule Desk costs only 12p per hour to run. The reason it doesn’t use much power is because it’s a small electric heater – no bigger than a DAB radio – designed to warm one person at a time.

Drop this on a desk and angle its grille, and the De’Longhi Capsule Desk can push out an envelope of warm air. We found that it made it much more comfortable to sit in a drafty office, making us feel warmer and, crucially, keeping our hands warm.

The controls on this device are very simple: there’s a single dial on top that you twist to adjust the unmarked thermostat. We don’t think that the thermostat is that helpful here, as we tended to set this heater to maximum and turn it off once we felt warm, rather than letting it click off automatically.

This heater doesn’t have the power to affect the temperature of an entire room, but if you want a relatively cheap way to keep yourself warm, it’s a great choice.

Review: De’Longhi Capsule Desk review

Reviewer: David Ludlow

The Dimplex MaxAir is a full-on tower fan, producing enough cooling air to cope with a summer’s day. However, if you need warming up, there’s also a 2.5kW heater inside it that delivers top performance.

As well as being a versatile unit, the Dimplex MaxAir is also pretty attractive, so you’ll have no problem leaving this product out in your home throughout the year.

You can set the desired fan speed and, if required, the temperature using the simple on-body controls or via the provided remote control. There’s also a Bluetooth app, which lets you use your smartphone control when within range of the fan. The app provides the same controls, although they’re a touch easier to understand.

Performance was excellent, with the fan producing some of the most powerful airflow we’ve seen: it maxed out at 5.7m/s when measured from 15cm. Heat performance was just as good, with the Dimplex MaxAir warming our test bedroom by the largest degree of any heater we’ve reviewed.

At 44.9dB, the fan is a touch noisy on maximum power. So if you’re after a quieter unit, a convector heater might be a better choice.

With tip-over and overheating protection, the Dimplex MaxAir is a fan that can be left unattended without concerns about any accidents.

The Dyson Pure Hot+Cool is slightly more flexible and looks neater, but it’s far more expensive, making the Dimplex MaxAir an excellent-value alternative.

Full review: Dimplex MaxAir review

Reviewer: Simon Handby

Small but mighty, the Dreo Atom 316 is a nifty heater that boasts clever features that are rarely found in a heater of this price. 

Measuring just under 10-inchesand weighing just 1.3kg,the Dreo Atmo 316 is one of the smallest fan heaters you can find, yet it has a decent 1.5kW output which is enough to take the chill out of a medium-sized room. 

As it’s so small and lightweight, and features a moulded carry handle at the back, it’s easy to move around making it ideal for carrying from room to room without much hassle. 

The Dreo’s clever safety features are particularly noteworthy too. The Atom 316 has tip-over protection which means the power immediately cuts off if it gets knocked over. There’s also a child lock and a 24-hour cutoff by default which is useful if you ever forget to turn your heater off. 

Another useful safety feature is the automatic fan once the Atom 316 is turned off. Although its metal output mesh gets quite hot when in use, the fan runs for 30 seconds after being turned off, taking the remaining heat out of the device. 

There are five touch-sensitive buttons found at the top of the heater to control the appliance. One point to note is that the controls are carved into the top panel with no additional lighting or accessibility features which can make it hard to see which button you’re selecting. 

Performance-wise the Atom 316 is a decent heater for such a small device and we found that heat was well distributed around the room. We also tested that after just 30 minutes on its maximum setting, the air temperature in a medium-sized room was lifted from 17.6°C to 22.4°C, and rose to 23.1°C after an hour. 

In its Eco mode the Atom 316 works at full power and then lowers its heating effort as it approaches your set temperature. Once your target temperature is hit, the Atom 316 switches off until the room temperature starts to fall again. We also found that Eco mode consumed a decent 0.51kWh, which is equivalent to 15p, making it a good affordable heater to run. 

If you’re looking for a small but powerful heater that’s inexpensive to both purchase and run, then you can’t get much better than the Dreo Atom 316.

Reviewer: Simon Handby

Full review: Dreo Atom 316

The Devola Smart WiFi Platinum 1.5kW Glass Panel Heater demonstrates that even lower-priced heaters can look good and have tonnes of features. Able to be wall mounted or stood on feet, this glass panel heater looks fantastic, no matter where you put it.

A convection heater, we tested the 1500W model, which is suitable for rooms of up to 20m², but there’s also a 2000W version for rooms up to 25m² and a 1000W model for rooms up to 15m². Aside from the power requirements, all of the heaters operate in a similar way.

We love the large LED panel and touch controls on the front, which make it easy to see the current temperature and set a target temperature. When the target is reached, the heater turns off automatically, saving power. Want to change the heat from across the room? There’s a remote in the box.

For more advanced features, you can use the Smart Life app, which is also compatible with a large range of products from different manufacturers, such as the TCP products on this list. Using the app, you can set the temperature, heat mode and define a schedule; oddly, timers are not available and only work using the remote or touch controls.

We measured energy consumption at a maximum of 1443W on full power and 731 in Eco mode. The latter is useful if you just need a bit of gentle heat to warm up a room when there’s only a bit of a chill.

Running the heater all day, we found that it kept our office warm for a cost of 38p, which isn’t bad at all. If you’ve got a room that you want smart heating in, this well priced model is a great choice.

Full review: Devola Smart WiFi Platinum 1.5kW Glass Panel Heater

Reviewer: David Ludlow

Available at Devola and Amazon

Fan heaters tend to be ugly, large, or both. The De’Longhi Capsule Fit Fan Heater is different, as it’s been built to look great, and its small body can be stood horizontally or vertically, giving a wider range of places it can be placed in. We found it best to stand this heater on a sideboard or a table.

There’s no tip-over protection on this model, as a result of it being able to stand in two positions. However, if it’s knocked over when it’s vertical, the heater drops into horizontal mode.

Controls on the De’Longhi Capsule Fit Fan Heater are basic. There are three heat levels: 2.3kW (79p per hour), 1.3kW (47p per hour) and 982W (33p per hour). That’s handy, as this electric heater can be turned down when it’s not so cold, to provide a more gentle heat.

There’s a thermostat, too, although this isn’t marked. De’Longhi recommends setting the thermostat to maximum, and when the temperature feels right, turning it down until you hear a click.

We found that this fan took 20mins on maximum to take a cold office from 14°C to a more comfortable 19°C. It was also quiet at 44dB.

There’s a fan-only mode, although this is very gentle to the point of being worthless. If you want something you can use all year around, check out the hot/cold fans on this list.

If you’re after a quality electric heater that looks good and can fit into multiple spaces, this one is a good choice.

Review: De’Longhi Capsule Fit Fan Heater review

Reviewer: David Ludlow

The original Aeno Premium Eco Smart Heater brought oodles of style with it, but the lack of controls, bar an on/off button, restricted its use. The Aeno Premium Eco LED Smart Heater changes that: this model has a control box on the side, which lets you set a target temperature, with the heater turning off automatically.

It’s a useful addition, but just be careful where you mount the heater: in portrait mode, the screen could be hard to reach.

This infrared panel heater comes in two black and white glossy finishes and is slim at just 11mm in depth. 

It does take up a lot of space at 1000 x 365mm in height and width, meaning it may not be suitable for smaller rooms. For those looking for something smaller, a fan heater like the TCP Smart Heating Fan Heater Mini might be a better choice, though it won’t look nearly as slick. 

The Aeno Premium Eco LED has a versatile design that can be positioned either standing on the floor or mounted on the wall. It can be turned horizontally or vertically, and there’s even the option to mount it on your ceiling if you don’t mind calling in a professional to install it. And you have to use the app to turn off the tip-over protection.

As an infrared heater, the Premium Eco Smart directly heats objects in its path, including people and objects, causing them to radiate heat similar to how the sun would. This makes the heater more efficient than a convection heater which heats the air and can create a stuffy environment. 

Infrared heaters also prevent the air in a room from getting dried out, creating an unpleasant smell or producing unwanted noise. 

We found that the Aeno had a maximum draw of 794W and it took 1 hour and 19 minutes to raise the temperature of a room from 19°C to 22°C using just 0.332kWh. We also appreciated how the heat felt natural and warm as the Aeno didn’t deliver the same blast of hot air you might get from a fan heater. 

The heater is efficient too, automatically switching the panel off when the correct temperature has been reached and turning it back on when it drops again for better efficiency. Using it in our well-insulated office, we found it cost up 10.8p to run for the day.

The Premium Eco Smart is controlled entirely via the Aeno or Smart Life app (depending on which you prefer). These apps offer temperature controls, the option to create a schedule or set a timer and voice control with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant Skills. However, it’d be nice to have physical controls available as well. 

Review: Aeno Premium Eco Eco Smart Heater

Reviewer: David Ludlow

The Stihl RMA 448 TC is a self-propelled cordless lawnmower with a 46cm-wide cut designed for larger lawns. Its dual battery slots allow you to carrying around a spare, giving you enough power to cut even the largest areas of grass without having to traipse back to the garage.

Robust and well built, the Stihl RMA 448 TC has a single arm for pushing it. We thought that this would make the lawnmower uneven to push, but we’re happy to say that we were wrong. Driven by an independent motor, the Stihl RMA 448 TC moves comfortably, with the handle just used for steering.

There’s a generously sized bin on the rear, which fills up with compacted grass to the point where it’s really heavy to empty. There’s an optional mulching kit available, too. With excellent cutting performance, the Stihl RMA 448 TC is the best choice for large gardens.

Our one minor complaint is that the bundled battery charger takes the wrong side of four hours to charge – faster chargers are available if you want to recycle batteries more frequently.

Reviewer: Richard & Jackie Stevenson
Full Review: Stihl RMA 448 TC

A great budget lawnmower for smaller gardens

The Flymo Mighti-Mo 300 Li is one of the smallest, lightest and cheapest cordless lawn mowers that money can buy. With a 30cm cutting width and five cutting heights, this is a compact model aimed at those with smaller gardens. In our experience, we managed 125m² on a single battery charge.

When not in use, the handle folds down for storage – although it’s a bit of a pain to get it there – and you have to loosen the orange wing-nuts quite a way to get it to fold. The controls will be familiar to anyone with a Flymo, with two orange grab-levers. These are clearly from a corded lawnmower, since there’s still a clip for a cord: parts re-use helps keep the price down, so we can’t complain.

The provided battery lasted for 21 minutes, although in that time we had to empty the bin 10 times. This shows you that the Flymo Mighti-Mo 300 Li is an efficient collector and that the bin is a little small. To extend run-time you could buy a second battery, although they’re expensive at £106.99 plus £8.99. At these prices, you may as well put the extra cash towards a larger mower that lasts longer.

There’s a lack of power in long grass, but this isn’t likely to be so much of a problem in most UK homes where there’s just a small-ish lawn to contend with. If you’re on a tight budget and don’t have much grass, the Flymo Mighti-Mo 300 Li is a great budget choice.

Reviewer: Richard & Jackie Stevenson
Full Review: Flymo Mighti-Mo 300 Li

An outstanding compact cordless lawnmower

If you’ve got a small garden and don’t have much storage space then the Stihl RMA 235 is a great option as it’s designed for smaller lawns (up to 300m2) and boasts the power and performance of larger Stihl lawn mowers.

Despite its tough-feeling and robust body, the RMA 235 is lightweight at just 14kg. It also has a more traditional design with a handle attached on both sides for easy navigation. 

Thanks to the foldable handle and removable grass-catcher box, storing the RMA 235 is simple even in smaller sheds and spaces, and there’s a carry handle on top to make moving the lawnmower around easier. 

Naturally as a cordless model, the RMA 235 runs on Stihl’s AK batteries which conveniently power many of the company’s other tools. If you already own other Stihl products, such as the FSA 57 Grass Trimmer or BGA 57 leaf blower then you won’t need to splurge on extra batteries. 

Even so, if this is your first Stihl purchase then you don’t need to worry as there are numerous bundles available with accompanying batteries and chargers to best suit your needs. 

Stihl states that the best batteries for the RMA 235 are either the AK 20 and the AK 30, with the former better suited for smaller gardens under 200m2 and the latter designed for gardens under 300m2. However, there are other options for larger batteries if you find this necessary.

Offering a 33cm cutting width and fitted with a single blade, the RMA 235 has five marked cutting height options that range from 25mm to 65mm. We tested all height options across a variety of grass lengths and found the single blade was able to cut neatly with no clumps left behind. 

Unlike other lawn mowers, the RMA 235 doesn’t have a mulching option and instead cuttings are collected and compacted into the large 30-litre catcher.

Reviewer: David Ludlow
Full Review: Stihl RMA 235

For larger lawns, the huge Husqvarna LC 347VLi is a great choice. It has a massive 47cm cutting width for making short work of large spaces. It ships without batteries, but there’s a huge choice available to suit the area and use that you’ll put the lawnmower to.

Build quality is outstanding, with everything of the highest quality, feeling chunky and well made. It’s a huge lawnmower, weighing 25kg without a battery.

There are plenty of battery options. We opted for the BLi20 and QC330, which added £130 and £80 to the price respectively. The BLi20 gives around 20-minutes run-time at full-power and can be recharged in a swift 30 minutes. The Husqvarna LC 347VLi has storage space for a second battery, too, so you can do a quick swap in the middle of mowing.

There are five speed modes to choose from (3km/h to 4.5km/h), with the Husqvarna LC 347VLi propelling itself for easy work. There are also six height adjustments from 20mm to 75mm.

Cutting performance is excellent, although the 55-litre bag can get very heavy thanks to the compression of the grass cuttings. With the huge amount of power and excellent performance, the Husqvarna LC 347VLi is about as big a consumer lawnmower as you can get. Note, though, it can get expensive when you add in the batteries and chargers that you need.

Reviewer: Richard & Jackie Stevenson
Full Review: Husqvarna LC 347VLi

For the largest lawns, the EGO LM2122E-SP could be the right choice. With its 52cm cut width, this is a cordless lawnmower designed to make short work of even the biggest areas. That’s particularly true when you factor in the 1000m² of lawn that the EGO LM2122E-SP can tackle on a single charge. Given the price, this lawnmower is something of a bargain.

All of that power is manifested in the size of this lawnmower: at 30kg, it’s quite a beast. Part of this is down to the robust build quality, which we can’t knock. Despite the size, the handle folds over flat, making it easy to store the lawn mower in a shed or garage.

There are 11 speed settings for this self-propelled mower, although we found it hard to get quite the right balance: we found the EGO LM2122E-SP either a little slow for us or just a bit too fast to keep up with.

Cutting performance was excellent, with a nice clean cut and straight lines. It’s a shame there’s no “bag full” indicator, as you have to keep an eye out for grass being left behind before you make a change.

Minor speed niggles aside, if you need a big and powerful lawnmower for a large area, it’s hard to find anything that provides the same excellent value as the EGO LM2122E-SP.

Reviewer: Richard & Jackie Stevenson
Full Review: EGO LM2122E-SP

The Stihl RMA 248 Cordless Lawn Mower is a powerful cordless lawnmower with a long battery life, allowing you to keep mowing for longer.

The RMA 248 is a four-wheeled lawnmower that can be folded down for storage without completely disassembling the mower. The grass box is large and detachable, capable of holding 55L of grass. The box also has a pop-up flag that goes down to indicate when it’s time to empty the box.

There’s a chunky red jumper key that needs to be in place to start the mower, which we found both easy to pocket but still hard to lose compared to smaller keys.

There’s also an eco mode that automatically engages and slows the blades when cutting shorter grass to preserve power.

The battery life is the highlight here with two AK batteries allowing the mower to cut up to 500m² grass with a single charge. While this shows incredible endurance, the mower does take a while to charge up again once the battery is empty. Stihl only sells single battery chargers, with the AL101 taking 205 minutes to charge each AK30 battery and the AL301 doing the job in 60 minutes. That means it’ll take you at least two hours to get back to full power in the best-case scenario.

That being said, the mower has a 46cm cutting width, meaning it doesn’t take many passes over an area to get it cut. We found it able to tackle taller lawns and weeds, with the cutting height able to be altered in seven steps from 25 to 75mm.

However, long or unkempt grass can bind the blade, so that’s something to be aware of.

The Stihl RMA 248 isn’t the most nimble choice for smaller or more intricately shaped lawns, but if you have a large lawn and are looking for a mower that offers long endurance, a large grass box and a clean cut, this is a great choice.

Reviewer: Ian Evenden
Full Review: Stihl RMA 248 Cordless Lawn Mower

Not only does the Hotpoint Hydroforce H8I HT59 LS UK pack 10% extra usable space inside thanks to its Maxi Space tub, but it’s powerful and inexpensive to run too. As an integrated model you can’t do much better than this.

The Hydroforce H8I has three racks: a bottom rack for plates, middle rack and a top cutlery rack. Dive deeper and you’ll find there’s enough space for larger plates at the bottom and you can even fit up to six tall wine glasses on the middle rack. The top cutlery rack also offers space for more than just cutlery with a clever dip that’s designed to hold mugs and bowls.

Although its default setting is Eco mode which runs at 50°C, there are numerous options to choose from including Rapid Delicates, Auto, 3D Wash for especially dirty items, Half Load and Sani Rinse for sanitising items. You can also modify temperatures from 45°C up to 65°C.

We found that running the default Eco cycle cost just 21p each time, making it excellent value for an everyday appliance. Using the Auto mode with 3D Wash enabled costs 62p which, despite being quite a big leap, is only necessary for extra-soiled items. 

For faster cleaning you can select Rapid mode which runs for between 30 and 40 minutes, depending on what you select. This mode is more expensive at 41p, so isn’t a great option for everyday use but ideal if you need to wash dishes quickly.

Once the dishwasher comes to the end of a wash, a motor gently pushes the door open to allow steam to escape and help the plates to air dry.

Full review: Hotpoint Hydroforce H8I HT59 LS UK

Reviewer: David Ludlow

How annoying is it to remove a dish from a dishwasher and find it still covered in residue? Even worse, stains can even seem to be baked on my some dishwashers. That’s where the LG TrueSteam QuadWash DF455HMS Freestanding Dishwasher comes in, as this model uses steam to dislodge stains without the need for scrubbing or rinsing.

Does it work? Absolutely. In our tough dried-on scrambled egg test, the LG TrueSteam QuadWash DF455HMS Freestanding Dishwasher managed to remove every trace of dirt without any scrubbing at all. This shows how powerful the dishwasher is, and makes this a great choice for keen cooks that often have difficult messes to remove.

The slight downside is that with Steam, the cost per cycle is high: we measured this at 71p. However, if you don’t need Steam and are running a regular cycle, costs dropped down to 28p, which is pretty good, although not the cheapest that we’ve seen.

The LG TrueSteam QuadWash DF455HMS Freestanding Dishwasher is nicely designed, with two baskets and a cutlery rack at the top. Neatly, the left-hand-side of the cutlery rack can be dropped down using the slider control to take larger items.

As well as controlling the dishwasher via its front panel, it’s compatible with LG ThinQ, so you can remote control it and choose the additional wash programmes, such s for Casserole dishes or Glassware.

If you want a hassle-free, no-scrub dishwasher for tough dishes, this is a great choice.

Full review: LG TrueSteam QuadWash DF455HMS Freestanding Dishwasher

Reviewer: David Ludlow

The Loch Capsule Dishwasher is unlike any other traditional dishwasher we’ve tested. It can run plumbed like a typical dishwasher or through a moveable water tank which means it can be used almost anywhere.

At just 262mm wide and around the same depth as a kitchen counter, the Loch Capsule can squeeze into most available spaces and is easy to move around thanks to the carry handle on top.

Obviously a dishwasher this size is not ideal for larger families but we still managed to fit in enough place-settings for four people and found it all cleaned well. This is thanks to the well-designed inside space which includes a single wire rack that’s fitted with two sets of fold-down tines.

It’s worth noting that the Loch Capsule doesn’t contain salt as a water softener, so Loch recommends adding rinse aid or vinegar to the water tank and running a washing cycle once a week. Even so, if you live in an area with very hard water then you may struggle using this appliance and should opt for a model with an integrated water softener,such as the AEG L9FEB969C.

The default Eco setting takes two hours and 46-minutes at 67°C is suitable for most jobs but there are numerous other modes you can select, including a quick 15 minute wash at 70°C, 30 minutes at 50°C up to 152 minutes at 75°C.

Running on the standard Eco cycle used 2.5 litres of water and cost approximately 12.4p each cycle. When setting the Loch Capsule to quicker modes we found that despite costing less, dropping down to 6p a wash for the 30-minute cycle, it still cleaned impressively well. 

There’s also a Fruit Cycle which uses cool water to wash fresh fruit and vegetables in the extendible rack and a UV light mode to kill bacteria.

Full review: Loch Capsule Dishwasher

Reviewer: David Ludlow

If you don’t want to fork out on a dishwasher but equally need a reliable appliance that’ll see you through busy family life then the Candy CF 57CF0W is a great choice. 

The Candy CF 57CF0W is a freestanding dishwasher that is actually one of the biggest available thanks to its Maxi Tub which offers enough space for up to 15 place settings. 

Unlike other dishwashers available, the Candy CF 57CF0W only has two racks so you unfortunately lose the addition of a third cutlery rack. Both racks also don’t provide much flexibility either, with only half of the right-hand tines able to fold down on the lower rack, and all tines are non-adjustable for the top rack. 

Having said that, the top rack does have an adjustable height with a choice of two positions. 

Despite being a budget-friendly appliance the Candy 57CF0W comes equipped with a useful app that acts as a remote control and offers more information about what each cycle does. 

The beauty of the app though isn’t with its remote control but actually with its Eco Scheduling feature. This mode shows you the hourly time slots when power is cheaper and programs the dishwasher with the optimum start time so you can save money on your cycle. If you have a smart meter then this is a feature that can genuinely help save you money.

Otherwise we found the default Eco wash cycle cost 29.91p to run which is a touch higher than other models in this list. This rises to 54.43p for the Auto Mode cycle.

Full review: Candy CF 57CF0W

Reviewer: David Ludlow

The Hotpoint HF7HP33UK is perfect for larger families, thanks to its Maxi Space design which provides 10% more space than a standard freestanding dishwasher. 

Included are three racks which are flexible and can be adjusted accordingly to best suit the load. For example, the tines on the middle rack can be flipped up for stacking plates or flipped down to accommodate larger bowls. 

When loading the middle rack we found that even our particularly tall wine glasses fit comfortably underneath the cutlery rack that sits at the top, which is a common nuisance with most standard-sized dishwashers. 

Similarly the bottom rack has tines that are both spaced out at different intervals and are able to be folded down to accommodate larger dishes such as pots and pans. 

Away from its design, the Hotpoint features a wide range of programs and boasts brilliant cleaning results. The default mode is Eco at 50°C which we found is the most efficient programme but there’s also three Auto programs where the dishwasher cleverly detects the soiling level of the dishes and adjusts the program accordingly. 

Other programs include a Rapid 30-minute wash, Delicate and Self-Clean. There’s even a useful Active Dry option which automatically opens the door once a wash has finished, releasing steam and helping to air dry the dishes.

We found that running the default Eco cycle costs 28p, which places the dishwasher as a mid-priced option to run. This cost jumps up to 66p when using the intensive Auto mode with 3D Zone Wash switched on and even the Auto Fast Wash mode costs a dearer 42p per cycle.

Those with big families or who just tend to entertain often will appreciate the amount of space the Hotpoint HF7HP33UK has to offer, however it’s definitely not the cheapest to run. If you want a more energy-efficient and cheaper dishwasher that still has a good amount of space, we’d recommend the Candy CF 57CF0W.

Full review: Hotpoint HF7HP33UK

Reviewer: David Ludlow

If you don’t have enough space for a full-sized dishwasher but don’t want to compromise on the performance, then the Hotpoint HSFO3T223WXUKN is a perfect option. 

All its controls are listed on the outside which includes an LCD that displays the selected mode, time remaining for a cycle and ways to select a desired mode. 

There are a total of nine programs to choose from including an Eco 50°C, intensive clean, sanitising soak and self-clean. While the default Eco mode will work for most jobs, the Zone Wash 3D mode lets you select one of the two dedicated racks to wash for lighter loads. 

Both of the racks are flexible with adjustable tines, fold down wine-glass holders (on the top rack), two adjustable holders (on the bottom rack) and a moveable cutlery basket which can be placed wherever. 

To be expected with a slimline model, running the Hotpoint HSFO3T223WXUKN isn’t the most cost efficient option out there. Running the Auto Intense cycle cost approximately 50p whereas the Eco mode cost around 29p, with both cycles performing well and able to cope with dirty dishes. The 30-minute cycle costs just under 11p each time but is better suited for less-soiled items. 

Although the Hotpoint HSFO3T223WXUKN is a slimline dishwasher that offers more flexibility for smaller spaces, if you have a large family or simply want better value for money then we’d recommend going for a full-size dishwasher. 

Full review: Hotpoint HSFO3T223WXUKN

Reviewer:David Ludlow

The TP-Link Tapo P110M is a smart plug that’s exceptionally hard to fault. It’s been designed with the user in mind as it won’t block other plugs, cleverly monitors energy consumption and offers incredibly good value. 

The TP-Link Tapo P110M is impressively small, measuring at just 73 x 52 x 31mm, which means you can comfortably add it to a double socket without worry that it will block the second plug, which is a common frustration with bulkier smart plugs.

Download the compatible Tapo app and you’ll be able to control the plug remotely via your smartphone and access a host of advanced features. You can monitor how much energy is being consumed, and even download statistics to show how much power you’ve already run through. 

You can also set up a schedule to automatically manage your plugged-in devices and set timers through the app. There’s even an Away Mode which turns the plug on and off randomly to simulate that someone’s home. Simply plug in a lamp or radio and this will intermittently switch on and off, acting as a deterrent while you’re away.

This smart plug works with Matter, so it can be directly controlled from any compatible smart home system without needing to go through the cloud. This not only includes Amazon Alexa and Google Home, allowing you to control the plug with just your voice, but also Samsung SmartThings and Apple Home.

Although you’ll likely primarily control the smart plug either through the Tapo app or with your smart home system of choice, there is a manual override button on the left-hand side which turns the plug on and off.

Whether this is your first venture into smart home devices or you’re adding to an already established setup, you’d be hard pressed to find a better value device than the TP-Link Tapo P110M.

Reviewer: David Ludlow

Full review: TP-Link Tapo P110M

Designed to work with the Philips Hue lighting system, the Philips Hue Smart Plug can work with either Zigbee (if you have a Hue Bridge) or Bluetooth. The former is the best option, and we recommend this smart plug for those that have a full Hue system. There are two main reasons. First, Zigbee has better range and reliability than Wi-Fi and, secondly, if you have a network failure, you can still operate the smart plug using a Hue remote control.

Connecting to the Hue ecosystem gives this smart plug another advantage: it’s the only smart plug that we’ve tested that works with Apple HomeKit, so you can include this product in all of your automations. Otherwise, there’s Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa and IFTTT support.

Installation through the Hue app is a little fiddly and, if you just want to control this plug via a device, you’ll need to put it in its own room or Zone. If you don’t have Hue already, then one of the other products on this list will do a better job; if you do, then buy this one.

Reviewer: David Ludlow
Full review: Philips Hue Smart Plug review

The TCP Smart WiFi Plug is tiny and won’t obscure a second socket, so you can even use it next to larger plugs. Its default software is pretty good, but this plug is compatible with the Smart Life app, which opens it to working with tonnes of other devices from lots of other manufacturers.

In the app, you get basic control, but you can add automations, making your plug work how and when you want it to. Smart Life also brings IFTTT, Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant compatibility.

While one of these plugs is quite expensive, they’re cheaper if bought in a two- or four-pack, making them excellent value if you need more than one device.

Reviewer: David Ludlow
Full review: TCP Smart WiFi Plug

There are plenty of smart power strips, but the Meross Smart Fast Charging Power Strip MSP843P is different, as this model adds dual 65W USB-C charging ports into the mix. Able to power a regular laptop computer, this power strip is a great tool for any desk. There’s also one regular USB port for charging other devices.

Most of the smart power strips that we’ve reviewed have only three power sockets, but this one has four, which gives a bit more flexibility. And, the strip can be wall mounted using the anchor ports on the rear, if you don’t want to place it on a desk.

The Meross Smart Fast Charging Power Strip MSP843P connects via Wi-Fi, and can be controlled through the Meross app. This gives simple on/off control, plus you can set a schedule and add an automatic power off to each plug after a specified amount of time.

Want more control? This model supports SmartThings, Amazon Alexa, Google Home and Apple HomeKit, too. That’s a huge amount of flexibility. If you want to power a laptop through a smart plug, then this is a great way to do it, and it’s a brilliant smart power strip in all other regards.

Reviewer: David Ludlow

Full review: Meross Smart Fast Charging Power Strip MSP843P review

You can plug any multi-way strip into a smart plug, but what if you want to control multiple devices individually? The best way to do that is with the TP-Link Kasa KP303 Smart Wi-Fi Power Strip. This product gives you three individually controllable sockets all in one neat device, and you get two USB devices for charging, too. The main power cable is a little short but that’s our only complaint.

Controlled via the TP-Link Kasa app, each socket can have its own name and icon, giving you full individual control, including schedules and power toggling. Individual control spills over into other places, too, with Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, SmartThings and IFTTT support.

More importantly, the price of this product makes it cheaper than buying three individual smart plugs and plugging them into an extension strip.

Reviewer: David Ludlow
Full review: TP-Link Kasa KP303 Smart Wi-Fi Power Strip review

If you control your smart home through the Apple Home app, then the Eve Energy may be the smart plug for you. It’s built for HomeKit and the future, with support for Thread, the new low-power wireless mesh networking protocol. And, as of a recent firmware update, it’s now Matter compatible, so will work with other Matter compatible systems (we’ve tested it with SmartThings).

That does slightly complicate things: if you update to Matter, the plug will only use Thread, so you must have a Thread Border Router, such as a HomePod Mini. If you don’t update to Matter, you may find the product works better in your home.

On the standard firmware, if you don’t have a compatible Thread border router, the Eve Energy will default to using Bluetooth. If you have an Apple Home Hub in range, such as the original HomePod, then you’ll be able to control the plug remotely when you’re not at home.

Although it’s comparatively big, the plug should fit into a wall socket without blocking a second one. You can add the plug using the Eve app, although it’s automatically added to HomeKit, too. There’s no Android app, so this is strictly an Apple-only product. Via the Home app, you can toggle the plug on and off, or include it in Automations, say turning it off when you go out. HomeKit support also means you get Siri control, so you can turn the plug on and off with your voice. Schedules are saved to the device, so they’ll run regardless of whether you have a HomeKit Home Hub.

With the Eve app, you can also monitor power usage. By setting the current price of your electricity in kWh, the app can tell you how much money it’s cost you to run the device plugged in.

Reviewer: David Ludlow
Full review: Eve Energy review

Typical dual zone air fryers are incredibly useful and can save time and hassle at dinner, however most of these appliances are too wide for smaller kitchens and take up far too much counter space. Luckily Ninja has cleverly solved this problem with the Double Stack XL Air Fryer. 

While the Ninja Double Stack air fryer offers a massive 9.5-litres of cooking space, split evenly between two 4.75-litre drawers, it takes up the same counter space as a single-zone air fryer as the two drawers are stacked on top of each other, instead of side-by-side.

If you’re concerned that this will make the air fryer too tall then you needn’t worry as the Double Stack is only 38.5cm high. 

The drawers can be used individually (which effectively gives you two separate air fryers) or together to create multiple portions. With Sync Mode you can cook food on different settings but have the drawers timed to finish simultaneously. 

Ninja has also moved its heating element and fan from the top of the drawers to the back of the unit, allowing each drawer to cook on two layers, thanks to the provided wire racks. This means you can double up on capacity or even cook an entire meal in just one drawer.

There are a few things to keep in mind when using the Ninja Double Stack. The clever multi-layer cooking system works best if both layers cook at the same temperature for the same amount of time. We also found that turning food during cooking can be fiddly while using multi-layer cooking, so take precaution. 

You’ll find pre-set cooking modes including Air Fry, Roast, Max Crisp, Reheat, Bake and Dehydrate. To make things easier, Ninja conveniently provides an instruction manual with suggested modes and cooking times for the most common foods. 

Thanks to its multi-layer mode, up to 240°C temperature and some of the best cooking results we’ve seen, there’s no question as to why we’ve hailed this as the best dual-drawer air fryer to date. 

Reviewer: David Ludlow

Full review: Ninja Double Stack XL 9.5L Air Fryer SL400UK

The Ninja Foodi FlexDrawer Air Fryer 10.4L AF500UK is a huge air fryer perfect for when you need to cook a lot of food at one time. 

Unlike a conventional dual-drawer air fryer, the FlexDrawer features one massive container with an optional divider that effectively turns the appliance into a dual-basket cooker when needed. 

This means that you can cook large amounts of one food using the full drawer or separate it into two zones using the divider to cook multiple items with different settings and timings. There’s even a Sync mode that ensures the two zones finish cooking at the same time, allowing you to have a complete meal ready for when you need it. 

The machine is equipped with an array of cooking modes, each with their own temperature settings and timers. The list includes Air Fry, Roast, Bake, Reheat, Dehydrate and Prove. There’s also a Max Crisp mode which produces super crispy results by cooking at 240°C. 

We found that hash browns came out perfectly crispy using the Max Crisp mode, while the roast setting produced moist chicken breast. We also tested the air fryer’s Dehydrate mode on some fresh herbs to keep them usable throughout the winter. 

The AF500UK’s large capacity is both a huge perk and the biggest drawback to this air fryer. If you’re in need of a larger appliance to cook large portions and complete meals, the AF500UK is powerful enough to produce excellent results and features a versatile two-in-one design. 

However, if you’re looking to cook smaller portions and don’t want to clean both drawers when you’ve only used one, a traditional two-drawer air fryer such as the Ninja Foodi MAX Dual Zone Air Fryer AF400UK may be a better choice. 

Reviewer: David Ludlow

Full Review: Ninja Foodi FlexDrawer Air Fryer 10.4L AF500UK

Not just an air fryer, but a complete cooker, the Ninja Speedi 10-in-1 Rapid Cooker and Air Fryer ON400UK is built to deliver nutritious food in as little as 15 minutes. It does this with its two layer cooking: base on the bottom (pasta, grains, rice, potatoes and so on), and protein on top (meat and veg) that is crisped up by the grill.

It works brilliantly, too. Mid-week we made halloumi kebabs and rice in one pot, in just 15 minutes. That’s good going, and there’s very little mess at the end.

What makes this product so good is its versatility. As well as Speedi meals, it can also act as a slow cooker, and it can sear food with the lid open. That’s handy for starting ingredients off before slow cooking, or for finishing meals: I cooked rice, and then added some pre-cooked beef strips, onions and peppers, sautéing the food to get it piping hot.

This is a proper air fryer, too, although topping out at 210°C it can’t quite get the crispiest of results that air fryers with a higher temperature can reach. I do really like the steam air fry option: this creates perfect chips that are crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside.

My only minor issues are that the pot is hard to remove to shake ingredients (I used tongues instead), and that the crisper plate is fiddly to remove when using two-layer cooking. Those issues aside, this is a fantastically adaptable kitchen gadget, whether you want fast food or more traditional cooking.

Reviewer: David Ludlow

Full review: Ninja Speedi 10-in-1 Rapid Cooker and Air Fryer ON400UK

Perfect for large families, the Cosori Dual Zone XL boasts an impressive 8.5L cooking capacity which is evenly split between two 4.25 litre baskets, allowing entire meals to be cooked simultaneously. 

With six pre-set cooking functions including air fry, reheat, bake, grill and dehydrate, the Dual Zone XL is a versatile appliance and can cope with everything from a Sunday roast to cupcakes.  

Selecting one of the cooking modes is easy thanks to the intuitive on-device control panel. Each mode provides a preset time and temperature however this can be easily adjusted based on your recipe to offer you precise control over your cooking. 

To help you stay on top of everything, the Dual Zone XL will even audibly remind you to shake your food halfway through its timer. There are also useful windows on the device so you can keep an eye on your food, aided by lights inside which can also be adjusted via the control panel. 

It’s worth noting that unlike some air fryers, the Dual Zone XL doesn’t have an internal wall to divide the two 4.25L baskets. This means you can only use the grill function on one side at a time and using both zones simultaneously will require you to cook food for slightly longer. Even so, you’ll still find that the air fryer results in faster cooking than conventional ovens.

Once you’ve finished cooking, enjoy hassle-free clean-up as both the crisper plate and baskets are dishwasher safe. 

For a multi-functional air fryer that’s large enough to cater for the whole family and offers consistent and fast performance, the Cosori Dual Zone is a great choice.

Reviewer: Reece Bithrey

Full review: Cosori 8.5L XL Dual Zone Air Fryer

Most air fryers tend to look a lot like deep fat fryers, but the Sage the Smart Oven Air Fry looks a lot like a microwave oven. This design lets you spread out food, so that it’s evenly cooked, rather than having to shake food as you do in an air fryer.

The oven can also employ its Element iQ tech to direct power where it’s needed to eliminate cold spots in food. In practice, it worked perfectly, leaving us with evenly cooked home chips that had a crispy outside and fluffy inside.

And, the size the oven means that you can use it for larger items, including chicken legs or even an entire pizza. Just be careful with the preset options, as we found that our pizza began to burn after 15 minutes, although the programme was set for 20 minutes.

With a higher-than-average temperature option of 230C, rather than the usual 200C, the Sage the Smart Oven Air Fry can cook food faster than many other air fryers, although it does take a bit longer to heat up.

Comparatively expensive, this model won’t be for everyone, but its unique design lends itself to foods that other air fryers can’t even think about.

Reviewer: Rachel Ogden

Full review: Sage the Smart Oven Air Fryer review

The Tower T17076 Xpress Pro Combo 10-in-1 Digital Air Fryer can tackle an impressive range of cooking tasks, assisted by plenty of accessories. These enable the appliance to work as a grill, griddle, toaster or mini-rotisserie. It’s straightforward to operate, has an impressive 11-litre capacity and features a selection of automatic programmes for grilling, roasting and baking, as well as a function for dehydrating fruit.

The rotisserie oven-style window sets the Tower T17076 10-in-1 apart from other air fryers. Being able to view food while it’s cooking is a boon, even if you’re not grilling a whole chicken. Accessories include three air-flow racks (which allow you to cook food on three levels at the same time), a rotisserie fork with handle, 10 skewers with rotating wheels, a wire rack, a reversible grill plate (functions as a hotplate and a griddle), two heat-proof silicone mitts and a drip tray.

Performance was on the whole good: chips were nicely browned and crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. We also had great success cooking slightly oiled corn on the cob using the grill plate on top of the wire rack. To try out the rotisserie function, we put halloumi, courgette and pepper pieces onto the skewers fitted into the rotating wheels. The griddle also produced excellent results, making the Tower T17076 10-in-1 a fine all-rounder.

Reviewer: Helen Harjak

Full review: Tower T17076 10-in-1 Digital Air Fryer review

Everything from an air fryer to a slower cooker and pressure cooker, the Ninja Foodi Max OL750UK is an all-round brilliant multi-cooker. Thanks to its clever design, there’s no need to change lids for different modes, while the temperature probe adds a new level of precision cooking.

This sizeable cooker can air fry, grill, pressure cook, steam and more. Results across the board are fantastic, but you’ll need to ask yourself whether you realistically need this much cooking space and number of functions before you buy it.

Each mode offers different cooking options and is exceptionally easy to use via the simple controls. A temperature probe is included; stick this into your food and choose from the preset options (chicken, pork, lamb and beef, plus, where appropriate, target levels from rare to well done), and the OL750UK will automatically stop when your food is perfectly cooked. This helps take the guesswork out of cooking and got us perfectly-cooked steak.

Cooking for 20 minutes at 200ºC, with 125ml of water in the bowl, chips were evenly cooked and had a nice crispy texture to the outside, while the inside remained soft and moist. Quite possibly, this is the best that we’ve seen any air fryer perform. Frozen hash browns and grilling rump steak were also cooked to perfection. Pressure cooking works well, too, reducing the amount of time it takes to cook a lot of food.

The Ninja OL750UK is a bit of a monster, taking up a lot of space. However, it isn’t wasted space since this is a jack-of-all-trades multi-cooker.

Reviewer: David Ludlow

Full review: Ninja Foodi Max OL750UK

Combining and air fryer and grill in one appliance makes a lot of sense: it doubles up of the number of uses and, for the grill in particular, keeps smoke and smells inside the appliance. Mostly, products like this are very expensive, but the Salter Aerogrill is cheaper than a lot of air-fryer only cookers.

Inside, there’s space for a 6-litre air fry basket, which is enough space to cook for large families. For grilling, there’s a grill plate that drops into place, which is big enough to take large skewers of food, plus whole steaks and portions of fish.

Salter provides default programmes for common foods, such as chicken and meat, which set the Aerogrill to the correct temperature; you just have to select the cooking time. Alternatively, there are two options: you can set the Aerogrill manually, or you can use the provided temperature probe to shut the device down automatically when your food is at the right temperature.

General air fryer foods (chips, hash browns, burgers and the like) were cooked exceptionally well, although we did have to add a bit of cooking time beyond the recommend to some food types. Using the grill, we found that its heat was slightly uneven, but moving food around manually when turning it was enough to overcome this problem.

More expensive air fryers can cook faster and more evenly, but for the price, the Salter Aerogrill is hard to beat, adding versatility with its grill.

Reviewer: Simon Handby

Full Review: Salter Aerogrill

The Beko Expert Fry Dual Zone is a truly versatile air fryer that boasts dual drawers, a grill, multiple cooking modes and comes equipped with a variety of accessories. 

Its 8.5-litre capacity, spread across its two drawers, is big enough to cook meals for the entire family. You can choose to either match the cooking mode across both drawers, which is useful if you’re making a lot of the same dish, or with Smart Finish mode you can cook two different dishes simultaneously to streamline the process. 

Each drawer includes a crisper plate and a skewer holder for grilling which is equipped with five skewers. There’s also a multi-tier rack so you can place food for grilling or dehydrating on different levels accordingly.

There are nine pre-set cooking modes on the Expert Fry including manual mode, oven mode for baking, grill, reheat and dehydrate. All modes are also adjustable if necessary, so you have total control over the temperature and timer. 

It’s worth noting that isn’t particularly intuitive to use at first, due to the slightly unclear control panel on the device. Make sure you read the manual before use.

Unlike other air fryers, the Expert Fry has a fairly low maximum temperature of 200°C yet we still found it to perform well in all our cooking tests.

Once you’ve finished cooking, the drawers and crisper plates can also be placed in the dishwasher for a quick and easy clean-up. 

Reviewer: David Ludlow

Full review: Beko ExpertFry Dual Zone Air Fryer FRL5388

Perfect for couples or smaller families, the Dualit Air Fryer has a decent 5.5L single-drawer capacity. Its squat shape means it not only promises to cook food evenly, thanks to its flat bottom, but it’s short enough to tuck underneath kitchen wall units. If you aren’t blessed with space then this is a nifty option. 

A wonderfully uncomplicated device, using the air fryer is simple thanks to its on-device touchscreen panel which allows you to select a cooking mode and adjust the settings therein without hassle.

There are seven cooking modes found on the Dualit Air Fryer which include a french fry mode, vegetables, meat on the bone, frozen food, meat, bakery and fish. There’s also a manual mode that allows you to set your own time and temperature between 50˚C to 200˚C, which is perfect for reheating and dehydrating. 

We found that the Dualit Air Fryer handled each of our cooking tasks brilliantly, which included steak, fries and hash browns, and offered crispy and perfectly cooked meals.

The design isn’t perfect, as we found that the drawer doesn’t always pull in or out easily and required a bit of extra pushing to click it into place but despite this, the Dualit air fryer is a wonderfully simple yet perfectly capable and efficient device that’s perfect for smaller spaces.

Reviewer: Rachel Ogden

Full review: Dualit Air Fryer

With multiple cooking modes, a 6-litre basket capacity and a magnetic probe for ultra-precise results, the Dreo ChefMaker air fryer is a brilliant option for medium-sized families.

The Dreo ChefMaker is one of the only air fryers available that includes a temperature probe, which perhaps explains why it’s a more expensive option. Using the dedicated Probe Cook mode is easy as the ChefMaker assists you with guidance on setting temperatures for food, based on weight and type.

Alongside the Probe Cook Mode, there’s the exclusive Chef Mode which automatically adjusts cooking time based on the food type. It’s worth mentioning that although this is undoubtedly a clever mode, and one we favoured in our review, it isn’t foolproof and can be too conservative in some instances and too aggressive in others. 

For example when cooking two chicken breasts the ChefMaker estimated this would take 25 minutes, however we found that they weren’t quite cooked and needed an extra eight minutes of air frying to evenly cook. 

Even so, we found most foods from a sirloin steak to a lean beef roasting joint, a crackling pork loin joint and even vegetables cooked almost perfectly.

There’s also pre-set modes available for less complicated meals including Air Fry, Grill and Roast, which you’d expect from most air fryers.

Regardless of which mode you choose, using the ChefMaker is simple thanks to its intuitive control panel which clearly displays all the available functions and cooking modes. Operated by buttons, rather than a touchscreen, the control panel offers everything you need to use and maintain the device.

For a hard-working air fryer that makes light work of difficult-to-master cooking methods and boasts a stylish, modern look, the Dreo ChefMaker is a great choice. Although, it’s worth remembering that this is quite an expensive option so should definitely be considered as an investment.

Reviewer: Reece Bithrey

Full review: Dreo ChefMaker

The AEG L9FEB969C is a brilliant washing machine and great for large families, thanks to the 9KG drum. With its low running costs and built-in water softener, the AEG L9FEB969C is also an investment that’s built to last.

Like a dishwasher, the AEG L9FEB969C has a built in salt compartment that can be found in the detergent drawer. Using this is simple, as you need to input the water hardness level of your area into the washing machine (this can be ascertained online) and the machine will adjust the salt levels to best accommodate for it.

By including a water softener, the AEG L9FEB969C allows you to control the amount of detergent needed, and protect the inside of your machine from mineral build-up.

On the machine itself you’ll find a control panel which includes the standard selection of programmes plus special settings such as AEG’s MyWash for fast cleaning, Wool, Down Jackets and a 20 minute setting for 3kg of washing. There’s even a clever Steam option which you can add to a cycle to reduce creases.

Naturally as a smart washing machine the AEG L9FEB969C connects to the My AEG Care app which allows you to remotely select your desired programme. The app also lets you check on the time remaining on the cycle and, if you have an AEG smart tumble dryer, you’ll receive drying recommendations too.

We put the AEG L9FEB969C through a series of tests to determine its power, efficiency and how much it costs to run. We found that the standard Cotton 30°C wash used just 0.702kWh of power although the water consumption was slightly high at 76.4-litres. 

The Eco 40-60 programme which was designed to save energy drained 0.31kWh of power and just 43-litres of water. Results were mostly impressive however we did note some stains left after the Eco mode.

Overall we worked out that the AEG L9FEB969C has an annual running cost of around £34.39, making it exceptionally good value. Although it is a fairly high investment, if you want an energy efficient model that will help bring your costs down over time then the AEG L9FEB969C is a great choice.

Full review: AEG L9FEB969C review
Reviewer: David Ludlow

If you’re looking for a smart washing machine that offers remote access, the Hisense WF5S1045BW is a great choice. The compatible ConnectLife app gives you remote control over the machine’s cycle and settings, plus there are additional cycles found here too. 

The auto-dispensing drawer is a great accompaniment to the ConnectLife app, as it can hold enough liquid detergent and fabric softener to cater for up to 24 washes. This means you just need to load your washing machine, pick your settings and use the app to start the cycle.

You can also use the machine manually, with the easy to navigate main dial where you’ll find all the standard wash cycles, plus extras including a 49-minute wash, wool cycle and a baby care mode that uses steam to refresh. 

Boasting an A+ energy rating, the Hisense is also cheap to run, making it a good investment. We found in our tests that a cotton wash at 30°C cost 44p to run and this dropped to 25p with the Eco 40-60 cycle. 

Not only is the Hisense WF5S1045BW a smart washing machine, but it also features a large 10.5kg drum. Whether you have a larger family and frequently have bigger loads to deal with, or just want to wash larger items such as duvets, this is a great smart washing machine.

Reviewer: David Ludlow

Full review: Hisense WF5S1045BW

With a 10kg capacity that’s more than enough for larger items plus impeccable cleaning power to boot, the Indesit BWE101685XWUKN is perfect for busy households with lots of laundry to get through. 

The control panel at the front of the machine is intuitive and easy to use, with a numbered selector dial and corresponding programs displayed clearly on the detergent drawer. 

You’ll find all the regular washing cycles you would expect, alongside a few special features such as a 20°C wash, a wool cycle and a cycle for duvets. However, compared to other washing machines, this Indesit doesn’t have as many extra features. 

For each wash setting, you can adjust both the spin speed and temperature accordingly, depending on the load.  

We found that a cotton 30°C wash costs around 36p to run, which is a reasonable price, however what really impressed us was the cleaning ability. We found most of our notoriously difficult to remove stains, such as red wine and oil, nearly disappeared on this cycle. On the special 20°C program, we found the running cost dropped to just 29p per cycle. 

If you want a competitively priced, large capacity washing machine, the Indesit BWE101685XWUKNis a great option. Although it’s not the cheapest to run, it’s still a reliable washing machine that produces incredible cleaning results. 

Reviewer: David Ludlow

Full review: Indesit BWE101685XWUKN 

If you aren’t fussed about smart features or compatible apps and just want a reliable and efficient washing machine then this Hotpoint is one for you. We found this machine to be fairly cheap to run, with a 20°C wash costing just 28p for a 5kg load of washing and an Eco 40-60 wash costing just 30p. 

It’s worth noting the standard 30°C Cotton wash was a bit more costly than we’d have liked at 54p.

There’s also a clear LCD screen at the front that shows the estimated time for the cycle to complete. There are adjustable settings for each wash too which is particularly useful if you want to decrease the cycle time to save resources, or if your washing isn’t too dirty.

Speaking of settings, you’ll find all the usual trappings plus additional programs for wool, delicates and an impressive steam option too. The steam option is a useful addition to the machine, and one we rarely see at this price point, for either refreshing clothes or including in an existing setting.

With a 9kg sized drum, which is large enough to accommodate a big washing load from a large family and an initial cost of under £400, the Hotpoint NM11946WCAUKN is a great investment for those who don’t want to pay too much for a washing machine but still want it to get the job done. 

Reviewer: David Ludlow

Full review: Hotpoint NM11946WCAUKN

If you want a washing machine capable of tackling a lot of washing at once for a decent price, then this model gets a lot of things right.

While much of the competition has introduced fancy features such as smart apps, the Indesit BWE 101638X W UK N is a refreshingly simple machine to use, with all its features clearly labelled on its front panel.

To test the Indesit BWE 101638X W UK N, we put it through our standard tests with clothing that’s been soiled with red wine, orange juice, ketchup, oil and gravy. The results on the 30ºC wash were pretty good, with just the tough red wine stain remaining. On the Eco 40-60 wash, stain removal was among the best we’ve seen, with the stains all pretty much gone.

Under the new grading system, the Indesit BWE 101638X W UK N is classed as a D-rated appliance, so it isn’t the most efficient or cheapest of washing machines to run – we calculated running costs of £75.20 per year. But if you want great stain removal and simplicity, this model makes a lot of sense.

Full review: Indesit BWE 101638X W UK N review
Reviewer: David Ludlow

No company has as much experience in the heating arena as Honeywell, so it’s no surprise that its first smart product offering has been extremely comprehensive. Rather than replacing your basic smart thermostat, the Honeywell Evohome adds room-by-room control through smart TRVs, but also supports underfloor heating and even heat pumps.

Although this adds to the initial set-up cost – you’ll need a £59 TRV per radiator – it should save money thereafter, since you’ll only need to heat the rooms you’re using. Also, each room is set to its perfect temperature, making for a more comfortable home environment. You can even go beyond radiator control with support for underfloor heating and zone controls, too.

The level of control on offer is impressive, with the ability to set schedules per room. We love the Quick Actions, too, which let you make system-wide changes at the touch of a button, such as turning on the Economy mode (three-degrees colder in each room) to save money when you go out. There’s support for Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa, too. A recent addition is weather compensation, which can dial your heating up or down based on the temperature outside. It works brilliantly, making our home more comfortable.

Evohome continues to be a powerful multi-room system, ideal for larger homes featuring a range of heating sources.

Reviewer: David Ludlow

Full review: Honeywell Evohome review

The Nest Learning Thermostat is among the best-known smart thermostats around, and for good reason. This product has shown how powerful smart heating can be. Now in its third generation, it remains one of the best smart thermostats you can buy.

As the name suggests, the thermostat learns how you like your home heated, using this information to create an automatic schedule for you. Not surprisingly, there’s an initial learning curve – in the first few weeks, the Nest may not work quite the way you want it to. Over time, however, it should prove more effective than a manually set schedule on rival thermostats. In addition, the thermostat uses presence detection to turn on and off automatically, depending on whether anyone is at home.

With support for Amazon Alexa and Google Home (although HomeKit support doesn’t seem likely), Nest covers the basics; since Google turned off the Works with Nest programme, though, the thermostat has lost a few features.

This latest version supports dual-zone plumbing and can be extended to support hot water systems as well. Note that there are no smart radiator valves to add full zoning, however.

Reviewer: David Ludlow

Full review: Nest Learning Thermostat review

If you’re looking for the most powerful and flexible heating system, then the Genius Hub should be top of your list. Designed and built by a UK company, this is a seriously impressive heating system that can control practically all types of heat source, from combi boilers to electric. As you’d expect from such a system, control over individual rooms comes courtesy of smart radiator valves.

Genius Hub goes further than the competition, thanks to its motion sensors. In the app, you can use the motion sensors to automatically set up a heating schedule via room occupancy (Footprint mode, which is free forever), or you can use the new Sense mode (subscription required) to set a schedule as standard; but you can also choose to use the motion sensor to only turn on the heat when there’s someone in the room. For example, you could set your living room to use the motion sensor during the day, so if you do have the day off work then your heating can be set to turn on automatically. That’s what we call smart.

There’s an Amazon Alexa skill, but no dedicated Google Assistant skill – although you can connect the system via IFTTT for some basic control here. A high price may put off some, but the Genius Hub system is designed for the largest homes or for those wanting the biggest savings. In our experience, Genius Hub works brilliantly and is worth every penny.

Reviewer: David Ludlow

Full review: Genius Hub review

Tado launched with the goal of making smart heating systems easy to use, and it certainly succeeded. The Tado Smart Thermostat is designed to track your location so that your heating goes off when you’re out and turns back on when you’re on the way home. It works brilliantly and has the most reliable presence detection we’ve tested.

Since launch, Tado has updated the apps and web interface to add a new heating scheduler, so you can choose the home temperature that you want hour by hour. There are also options for when you’re out – choose from maximum savings (which may mean you return to a colder home) or maximum comfort (you’ll spend more to keep your home warmer). The app is simple to use, making the Tado Smart Thermostat one of the easiest systems to program.

Tado’s system is also super-flexible. With the launch of its smart radiator thermostats, the system can be as powerful as Evohome’s. However, Tado’s radiator valves aren’t quite as smart, and the app’s zone handling isn’t quite as easy to use as that of Honeywell.

The addition of Amazon Alexa and Google Home support, IFTTT and HomeKit (via the V3+ internet bridge) make Tado’s Smart Thermostat one of the most powerful available. The downside is that the new system requires a monthly subscription to enable automatically turning off of the heating when you go out, plus the window-detection feature, which turns off the heating when a door or window is open.

By thinking of the subscription as payment towards ongoing development of the app and system makes it easier to accept. And you may decide you only need to pay for the extra features during the winter months, as you can cancel your subscription at any point.

Reviewer: David Ludlow

Full review: Tado Smart Thermostat review

Most smart heating systems require an app to provide fancy programming options. That’s all well and good, but it can make things complicated. The Vestemi Radbot is different: this smart radiator valve learns how you use a room automatically via its sensors, and then controls your heating automatically.

The Radbot looks like a standard TRV, and has a simple control dial that moves from 1 to 5 – these numbers correspond to a room temperature of between 15ºC and 24ºC. It would have been easier if Vestemi had put the temperatures on the dial, to be honest. But that’s our only criticism; otherwise, Radbots are brilliant.

The system learns how you use a room by tracking how light changes during the day – such as when you open the curtains, or turn the lights on and off. It turns the heating up when you’re in a room, and down when you’re not. And if you get cold, there’s a boost button. Even better, the Radbot works with your existing heating system, so there’s nothing to hook up to the boiler. If you want a smart solution that’s simple and cheap, this is the product for you.

Reviewer: David Ludlow

Full review: Vestemi Radbot

Forget expensive installations and hassle – the Nest Thermostat E has been designed so that pretty much everyone should find it easy to install. The new Heat Link E battery-powered bridge attaches to the wires that were used by your old wired thermostat – and that’s it. Starting from scratch, most people should have the system up and running in under an hour. If you don’t have a wired thermostat, you’ll need to have the Heat Link E wired into your boiler, which will most likely mean a professional installation. While the system supports OpenTherm for increased energy savings, at this point your best option is probably a different product.

Nest has pre-programmed the Thermostat E with a schedule based on real data from existing Nest users. As you use the thermostat, it learns and updates your schedule.

The main thermostat has a diffused screen, helping it blend into the background. The screen displays the temperature, and you can use the outer dial to adjust it. The excellent Nest app provides even greater control, adding features such as geolocation to turn off your heating when you go out. True Radiant learns how your house warms up, so you can have it warm when you need to, and avoid overshooting your desired temperature.

If you’re looking for a simple, smart upgrade to an existing dumb, wired thermostat, then this is a great choice.

Reviewer: David Ludlow

Full review: Nest Thermostat E review

If you’re keen to make your home smarter but worry about the initial expense then the Drayton Wiser system is perfect. In fact, if your radiators have existing manual thermostatic radiator valves (TRVs) then you won’t even need a plumber to fix them in as Drayton provides all the required components. 

There are two versions of the Drayton Wiser kit available, one designed for combi boilers that’s used to turn the heating on and off and a second designed for conventional boilers and for homes with a hot water cylinder. 

The beauty of the Drayton Wiser system is that you can start with a standard kit and add more TRVs into more radiators in your home if you need to.

The thermostat is controlled by schedules which state what temperature should be applied throughout the day for specific rooms. This can be controlled with the accompanying app which is especially useful if you ever need to adjust the temperature.

You can also control the temperature by the TRVs themselves and adjust each room’s temperature by 2°C. However, as there aren’t any screens on the TRV, this can become a slight guessing game.

Like most smart home appliances the Drayton Wiser system supports Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant for voice control over room temperatures.

The Drayton Wiser system features extra modes which we found to be impressively clever. There’s Eco Mode which learns how your home heats up and takes outside temperature into account. Once it learns this information, Eco Mode will operate your boiler for the minimum amount of time it takes your home to heat, which should result in you saving money. 

In addition, there’s the Away Mode which automatically sets the temperature to a default setting, Boost Mode which increases each room’s temperature by 2°C for an hour and Comfort Mode which makes sure your home reaches the target temperature for a specific time. 

Full review: Drayton Wiser

Reviewer: David Ludlow