Home

Projectors get smart and simple: Checking out the new Hisense laser projector range shows just how much easier owning a projector gets these days. With two short throw options, PX2-Pro and PL1H, to suit subtle differences in needs plus a long range option, the C1, the way they run and the features they offer make for a fast trip from unboxing to watching whatever you want.

Crispy colours, Dolby Atmos (both pictures and audio), Game Modes for gamers, and full smart TV features so all your streaming apps are built in and you can be having a good time without plugging any other devices into this one (but of course you can if you want to)? It's a good time to explore projection if it's never been on your radar before.

Smart lighting is getting smarter, thankfully, but the new Nanoleaf outdoor string lights show it's also getting prettier. This will launch in both 15M and 30M lengths in June, and they are 'addressable' which means you can build colour settings across all the bulbs in the string. RRP is $199/$329.

Eat the grass: I missed this when it launched last year, but wanted to pay respect to the great name for a robot mower – the Goat. The Ecovacs Goat G1 does away with the need for wire boundaries and instead uses beacons to track lawn edges and promises a traditional neat lawn cutting motion instead of randomly driving around all day and hoping it eventually cuts everything. Plus nice bonuses like remote camera access. RRP is $2,999 with specials dropping it closer to $2,500 now and then.

Nanoleaf started out with a range of clever wall mountable panel lights, then shifted into options like light strips and smart bulbs. This year the range expands into new territory. The GU10 and Downlight give smart options for track and recessed fixtures, and the new Skylight offers a very new approach to ceiling smart light design. Lots to play with for those getting serious with their smart lighting.

Great designs stand out yet again. In a mesh wireless router setup, you need a few devices dotted around the house. But usually that means very "router" looking devices sitting here and there. But these? The D-Link Aquila Pro M30 just look like lovely little sculptures that also happen to spread Dual-band Wi-Fi 6 around the house. They come in 2-pack and 3-pack setups (but they're selling out with hot demand).

The LG StanbyME is a very clever smart TV you can wheel to wherever you need it around the home. A 27-inch Full HD touch screen with webOS offering all the important streaming apps built-in. It rotates and tilts to suit your needs and just generally oozes cleverness. At $1,999 it feels like a high utility extra TV that is quite an alternative to sticking an iPad on the kitchen counter.