Tech Guide’s 2018 12 Days of Christmas Gift Ideas – Day 8: Smart/IoT devices

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas and we’re presenting our 12 Days of Christmas Gift Ideas to suggest the perfect choice of gift for your friends and family this year.

Today is Day 8 and we’re covering smart and IoT (internet of things) products that will make your life easier and your home more secure and energy efficient.
Here are Tech Guide’s 12 Days of Christmas Gift Ideas:

Day 1: Cameras

Day 2: Smartphones

Day 3: Wearables/smartwatches

Day 4: Headphones/speakers

DAY 5: Gaming

DAY 6: Tablets/e-readers

DAY 7: Drones/Gadgets

DAY 8: Smart/IoT devices

DAY 9: In-car gadgets

DAY 10: TVs/Blu-Ray/4K

DAY 11: Appliances

DAY 12: Computers

DAY 8: Smart/IoT devices

Google Home Hub – $219

Google Home was always pretty smart but with the new Google Home Hub, which now includes a 7-inch display, it’s just as smart but now even more versatile.

Having that screen adds a whole new set of capabilities and possibilities.

The 7-inch screen is just the right size to make it suitable for various places in your home from the kitchen bench, to the office desk on the bedside table.

Read Tech Guide’s complete review of the Google Home Hub.

Echo Show – $349

What do you get when you combine a tablet with a smart speaker? Answer: Echo Show – the latest Amazon device which can both show AND tell thanks its 10.1-inch display.

This device combines the usual audio elements of an Echo product and complements that with a vibrant screen so users can see and hear their information.

Design-wise, the Echo Show only presents the display to the user but tucked in the back is an impressive speaker as well which makes this product looks good and sound good as well.

Read Tech Guide’s complete review of the Echo Show.

Lenovo Smart Display – $349

Lenovo’s Smart Display is the latest smart speaker to include a screen and also one of the better devices in its class that can provide a great all round experience in your home.

The device is available in two sizes – 8-inch and 10-inch – with a speaker placed beside the touchscreen display.

For our review, we took a look at the 10-inch Lenovo Smart Display which has a beautiful bamboo pattern on the exquisitely shaped rear panel.

The 8-inch model comes a grey soft touch backing.

With Google Assistant on board, the Lenovo Smart Display adds a lot more convenience because it combines the smarts of the speaker with a screen to give you visual feedback as well.

Read Tech Guide’s complete review of the Lenovo Smart Display.

D-LINK DCS 8525LH PAN & TILT – $249.95

This camera has full high definition 1080p resolution, two-way audio, sound and motion detection, 5m night vision and cloud and local recording on a microSD card.

The pan and tilt functionality allows the camera to be panned through 340-degrees and tilted through 110-degrees.

Both cameras also support Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa so you can check in on your cameras just by using your voice.

ECOVACS ROBOTICS DEEBOT N79T – $299

Ecovacs Robotic Deebot N79T makes cleaning easy using Google Home and Amazon Echo.

A simple voice command can direct the DEEBOT to start cleaning, pause cleaning, and return to its charger.

With the Ecovacs app, users can schedule a clean, monitor sessions, and start cleaning sessions at the touch of a button, allowing you to enjoy your day whilst your floors are being cleaned.

The N79T’s 3-stage cleaning system sweeps, lifts and vacuums in a single pass, and with specialised cleaning modes such as Edge Mode for corners, Spot Mode for stubborn messes, and Max Mode for deeper cleans, you can return to a clean home without having to lift a finger.

Available from Harvey Norman and Bing Lee.

Nanoleaf Canvas – $319.99

The Nanoleaf Canvas is here to change the way we think about lighting.

It is the first-ever touch controlled modular smart light with built in music sync and the ability to create truly immersive lighting experiences.

The Nanoleaf Canvas is a light that can change, shift and grow with you.

With interactive touch technology engineered to react to your unique gestures, touch to turn on, off, adjust brightness, switch animations and activate the music visualiser.

shop.nanoleaf.me

Ring Spotlight Camera – $329

Ring has certainly expanded its range of products from its successful doorbell and now includes a range of cameras including the Spotlight Cam that helps you keep an eye on every corner of your home.

While the doorbell showed us the “always home” connectivity and the ability to talk to whoever was at our front door, the Spotlight Cam lets you extend the vision and security beyond the front door.

The battery-powered version of the Spotlight Cam can be positioned and installed in a matter of minutes.

Read Tech Guide’s full review of the Ring Spotlight Cam.

Arlo Light – from $249

Arlo has just released its latest product – a security light system – which can be integrated into the company’s existing portfolio of devices.

The Arlo Security Light System, like the Arlo cameras, are 100 per cent wire free and weather resistant.

They are designed to illuminate outdoor areas around your home or office and allows users to receive alerts whenever motion is detected via the Arlo mobile app.

The new Arlo lights are powered by a rechargeable battery and, unlike traditional sensor lights, can be placed anywhere around your home within range of your wi-fi network.

Read Tech Guide’s full report on the Arlo Light.

Uniden Guardian App Cam XLIGHT –  $199

Uniden’s latest in smart security cameras, the Guardian App Cam XLIGHT is a 2nd Generation Full HD Smart security wi-fi camera and spotlight in one.

It features the innovative Thermo Sense Technology and uses a smart heat sensor that detects motion from people as opposed to movement from tree and false alarms.

The Thermo Sense feature on the App Cam XLIGHT allows you to receive notifications from actual events giving you the ability to act quickly and call the police when needed.

But what makes the XLIGHT so special is the integrated spotlight built into the camera, this is a great deterrent and will automatically turn on when it detects motion or alternatively can be turned on through the smartphone app.

www.uniden.com.au

Elgato Eve Aqua – $179

Eve Aqua attaches to your outdoor faucet and turns it into an intelligent outlet so you can monitor and automate your irrigation systems.

You can create schedules in the Eve app or with HomeKit as well as track your water consumption as well.

Eve Aqua also makes it possible to activate and stop your sprinklers via your iPhone is using your voice with Siri.

Read Tech Guide’s full report on the Eve Aqua.

Sensibo Sky – $159

A good smart product is one that can add control and convenience to your life. Sensibo Sky is one of those products and it makes it possible to control your air conditioner from anywhere at any time.

Sensibo is a small device that can be linked to your home network and turn your existing air-conditioning set up into a smart system that can be controlled using an app.

Whether you’ve got a split air conditioner, a mobile air-conditioner or ducted air-conditioning, Sensibo will now let you take complete control as well as monitor and automate the process and even help you save energy.

The device is compatible with any air-conditioner that comes with an infrared remote control.

Read Tech Guide’s complete review of Sensibo Sky.

Yeelight strip light – from $US45

A big part of today’s smart home is lighting and a cool new way to illuminate your home is with strip lighting. The new Yeelight Aurora is an ideal choice to really change the mood and look of your house.

The Yeelight Aurora is a product that was quickly crowd funded through Indiegogo and is now available for customers to purchase.

This universal light strip can display more than 16 million colours to enhance the mood of a room, highlight furniture, artwork and other architectural features of your home.

It can be used under an entertainment unit, along a room’s skirting board, on a staircase or under a kitchen countertop.

Read Tech Guide’s complete review of Yeelight.

Netatmo Weather Station and Rain Gauge – $299.99 and $149.99 

The Netatmo Weather Station and its accessories offer a complete solution to observe the ultra-local weather conditions.

The Netatmo Weather Station monitors indoor and outdoor environmental elements, including temperature, humidity, air pressure, air quality and noise pollution.

The information provided by the Weather Station pairs users’ smartphones and empowers them to improve their indoor wellness and adapt their outdoor activities.

The Rain Gauge, accessory for the Weather Station, is most convenient to adapt outdoor activities and to know when to water the plants.

Green-fingered users can now measure the level of rainfall from their smartphone, the Netatmo Rain Gauge accessory records the amount of rainfall per hour or cumulated over longer periods of time. The rain gauge is sold separately.

JB HiFi, Australian Geographic & Office Works and Kogan online and more.

Netatmo Presence and Welcome

Netatmo’s Presence and Welcome products offer security monitoring both inside and outside the home.

Presence offers real time information about what is happening outside the house and also has its own smart floodlight for night time ($499.99 – JB HiFi, Australian Geographic) and Welcome is an indoor security camera which alerts users on their phones about intruders using face recognition technology ($349.99 – JB HiFi, Australian Geographic).

They are Home Kit/Google Home compatible and work on any Smart device.