BEST SECURITY CAMERA SYSTEM: ARLO
By: April Glover
In the security camera arena, Arlo consistently outperforms its rivals. The company has the best ecosystem, from Ultra 4K security cameras, video doorbells and spotlight cams, and all of them work seamlessly within an app for easy home security management. SmartHouse has reviewed several Arlo security products in 2020 and found them far superior to main competitor Ring. From picture quality and reliability to ease of installation, Arlo is a definite winner in the home security category.
BEST MANAGEMENT SYSTEM: BRILLIANT NEXUS
By: April Glover
Melbourne-based Brilliant offers a game-changing smart house controller, the Nexus Gateway.
The product is pre-programmed to control over 200,000 products from 500 different brands.
Nexus is incredibly easy to configure and eliminates the need for multiple apps or different controllers, consolidating the smart home ecosystem into one remote control. Users can also operate and control the system from one location either via the app or Google or Amazon Alexa voice control.
This product will revolutionise smart home management.
BEST VOICE ACTIVATION SYSTEM: GOOGLE ASSISTANT
By: April Glover
Google Assistant is the superior AI-powered voice activation system by a country mile. Not only is it readily available through Android phones and is compatible with most smart house products, but it is also the most easy-to-navigate voice system out of the big three: Amazon Alexa, Siri and Google.
It also has the power of Google search behind it, making it all the more formidable. Research has even proven Google Assistant is the more accurate voice assistant, with its queries answered correctly 93.2 per cent of the time.
Google products such as the Google Home and Nest are also clever little devices thanks to the power of Google Assistant.
BEST LIGHTING SYSTEM: PHILIPS HUE
By: April Glover
Philips Hue is a wide-ranging family of smart light bulbs, lamps, fixtures and accessories and is the most sophisticated lighting system available on the market. It’s the only smart lighting brand that works with all the major voice assistants on the market and can be controlled easily with an app.
BEST VIDEO DOORBELL: ARLO ESSENTIAL WIRE-FREE VIDEO DOORBELL
By: April Glover
Arlo’s flagship video doorbell is a well-rounded product with easy installation and killer security features such as a super-wide 180-degree field-of-view, night vision and 1080p HDR recording. It has six months of battery life on a single charge, so you have peace of mind the device won’t fail when you really need it, and it also sends footage directly to your smartphone via the Arlo app.
For $300, Arlo’s Essential Wire-Free Video Doorbell is a premium, sophisticated system which won’t break the bank.
BEST HOME HUB: LENOVO SMART DISPLAY
By: April Glover
Lenovo’s answer to the humble home hub is the sophisticated Smart Display, which comes in 7, 8 and 10-inch models. Smart Display uses Google Assistant in a visual, more engaging way. It is designed for the home, it lets you stream music and videos, check the weather and traffic and control your smart home such as dimming the lights.
Lenovo Smart Display lets you use your voice to control over 30,000 household products, making it a fantastic and affordable alternative to Google-branded products at just $129 for the 7-inch.
BEST NETWORK SYSTEM: NETGEAR NIGHTHAWK
By: Jake Nelson
There’s a reason Netgear’s Nighthawk brand of premium networking and Wi-Fi products is such a strong contender. Featuring a minimum of AC1900 dual-band wi-fi at the lower end, the Nighthawk range extends right up to the blistering X10 R9000, with a combined speed of 7.2Gbps.
What’s more, Netgear has just made a big push into the Wi-Fi 6 space with what it calls the world’s first all-purpose tri-band Wi-Fi 6E router, the Nighthawk RAXE500, which adds the 6GHz band to the existing 5GHz and 2.4GHz bands to free up room on the network and reduce congestion. It also looks like a space fighter, so there’s another selling point for you.
BEST MESH ROUTER: D-LINK COVR AX1800
By: Jake Nelson
D-Link fired a big salvo against archenemy Netgear in the Wi-Fi 6 mesh wars this year with the release of its Covr AX range. A three-pack of the Covr AX1800 sells in Australia for just $549 – leagues cheaper than any of Netgear’s Orbi Wi-Fi 6 offerings. The AX1800 system offers speeds up to 1.8Gbps (1200 + 574), with its Wi-Fi 6 technology reducing network congestion. A three-pack can cover 740 square metres, with the mesh giving you seamless connection as you move from room to room – and with built-in Ookla Speedtest, you can easily check that you’re getting the speeds you’ve paid for. All that makes D-Link Covr AX a great way to get Wi-Fi 6 mesh across your whole home without needing to remortgage it in the process.
