James Bruce

News

Philips Hue prices have gone up: here are the best alternatives with Prime Day deals!

Philips Hue once led the smart lighting game, especially with immersive Ambilight TV setups—but skyrocketing prices and vendor lock-in make it hard to recommend today. With Matter-compatible alternatives from Govee, Linkind, and Aqara offering similar features for a fraction of the price, it’s time to switch.

Friday, July 11, 2025

Explainer

These are the best Matter-compatible smart lighting kits I've seen

I live for smart lighting—and after testing hundreds of bulbs, strips, and panel, these are the ones that truly shine.

Thursday, July 3, 2025

Review

The lava lamp makes a digital comeback: Govee Table Lamp 2 Pro x JBL Speaker reviewed

A bold fusion of RGB lighting and Bluetooth audio, the Govee Table Lamp 2 Pro with JBL speaker is a show-stopping centrepiece that syncs light to music.

Wednesday, June 25, 2025

Review

SwitchBot K10+ Pro Combo review: Does doing more mean doing less?

A clever combo of robot and stick vac with Matter support, the K10+ Pro Combo excels at convenience — but not at deep cleaning.

Monday, June 9, 2025

Review

The SwitchBot Hub 3 review: A universal remote with an identity crisis

The SwitchBot Hub 3 is a temperature and humidity sensor, motion detector, Bluetooth bridge, universal IR remote, virtual Matter buttons, and more… but is it too much?

Friday, May 30, 2025

Review

Govee Outdoor Lamp Post review: Bringing the magic to your garden

The Govee Outdoor Lamp Post is a dramatic and feature-packed smart outdoor lighting fixture post that shines best after dark – but won’t win any awards for elegance or brightness.

Thursday, May 22, 2025

Review

Govee Skyline review: the ambient light fixture your walls have been waiting for

The Govee Skyline is a beautifully subtle, wall-mounted ambient light strip that fills hard-to-illuminate ceiling gaps with soft, customizable projection lighting.

Monday, May 12, 2025

Explainer

What is the difference between Matter and eWeLink?

Matter and eWeLink both play key roles in the smart home ecosystem, but they tackle the problem from different angles. Matter is a universal standard for device compatibility, while eWeLink is a platform built to manage and control smart devices—especially Sonoff hardware, but also Matter devices.

Monday, May 5, 2025

Review

Flic Twist review: the ultimate all-in-one remote, button, and dimmer

The Flic Twist is a compact yet powerful smart home controller that combines a clickable button, a rotating dial, and 12 selectable modes into a single device. With support for up to 24 trigger and 12 analog controls, it offers an impressive level of scene and device management.

Friday, April 25, 2025

Review

Flic 2 Button review: Everything’s better with Matter (sort of)

Flic 2 brings physical control back to your smart home with customizable click actions and new Matter support—sort of. While still useful for niche scenarios, aging hardware, clunky app design, and limited integrations leave it feeling a little… stuck in 2015.

Monday, April 21, 2025

Review

Linkind A19 Matter Smart Bulbs review: cheap, colorful, Matter over Wi-fi that actually works

It’s a smart bulb. It does the thing that smart bulbs should do. Unlike some pricier options, the Linkind Smart Bulb just works — with Matter, colors, and no hub drama.

Wednesday, April 9, 2025

Review

SwitchBot Air Purifier Table review: genius dual function AND wireless phone charging

Why settle for a dumb table when your side table can also purify the air, charge your phone, and glow with mood lighting? The SwitchBot Air Purifier Table is a surprisingly clever multi-tasker that blends smart home features with everyday utility.

Wednesday, April 2, 2025

Review

These smart outdoor lights made my house look insane: Govee Flood Lights 2 review

Brighter, smarter, and now with Matter support — the Govee Outdoor Flood Lights 2 bring bold, dynamic lighting to your garden.

Friday, March 21, 2025

Review

Aqara Camera Hub G5 Pro review: almost perfect

The Aqara Camera Hub G5 Pro isn’t just a superb security camera with plenty of AI smarts—it’s a full-fledged Matter-compatible smart home hub squeezed into an outdoor-ready package.

Wednesday, March 12, 2025

News

What Is Alexa+? How Amazon Will Bring ChatGPT-Grade Conversational AI to Your Smart Home

Amazon’s Alexa has long been the best of a bad bunch when it comes to smart voice assistants, but in a world where ChatGPT-style AI is redefining what’s possible, it feels outdated. That’s about to change with Alexa+, a new AI-powered upgrade that promises natural conversations, memory, and actual intelligence.

Thursday, February 27, 2025

How To

What is Matter.js? How to Make a Virtual Device Switch

Matter.js is a JavaScript implementation of the Matter smart home protocol, letting you create, simulate, and control devices using simple code. In this guide, I’ll show you how to build a virtual PC suspend switch to remotely put your computer to sleep.

Saturday, February 22, 2025

Review

Govee Mini Panel Lights Review: All The Govee Goodness in a Compact Space

Want some of that Govee magic, but short on space? The Mini Panels offer a Tetris-like retro pixel wall display, with all your favorite Govee features: Matter-compatible, dynamic music and DIY scenes, plus full DreamView syncing.

Thursday, February 6, 2025

News

Are Your Zigbee Bulbs About to Get a Magical Motion Sensing Upgrade?

Zigbee smart bulbs could soon gain presence sensing capabilities thanks to new firmware that analyzes wireless signals. This "Ambient Sensing" tech, developed by Ivani, uses existing bulbs to detect motion, offering a potential upgrade for millions of existing devices.

Friday, January 24, 2025

How To

How to Use Cheap NFC Tags and Apple Shortcuts to Automate Your Matter Smart Home

You don't need fancy smart buttons to regain control of your smart home. Control all your devices by simply holding your iPhone to some 10-cent NFC stickers.

Saturday, January 11, 2025

Explainer

Why Are There So Few Matter over Thread Accessories?

Thread was supposed to be the brilliant new low-powered communications standard for the Matter smart home. So why are most devices still using Wi-Fi?

Thursday, November 28, 2024