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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Lifestyle

10 high-tech gadgets to elevate your home

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From super-fast Wi-Fi to barista-style coffeemakers, here’s our pick of the 10 best gadgets that you need around your home.

Never run out of power

Power up your home with the Jackery Explorer 2000 Plus expandable power station, with independently solar-chargeable battery packs. With 2042.8Wh — which can be gradually expanded to 12kWh and up to five battery packs of 2kWh each — the latest Jackery 2000 Plus is the perfect partner for powering up your home. The intelligent battery management system ensures the utmost safety and extends the life of the batteries by up to 50%, achieving a service life of over 10 years with daily use. It is a must for DIY enthusiasts, giving reliable, portable power to all home improvement projects and garden makeovers.

For seasonal deals, visit uk.jackery.com or amazon.co.uk

Eliminate Wi-Fi dead spots with an extendable router

Ever got to the best part of a film, only to be hit by the loading wheel of doom, courtesy of low-speed Wi-Fi? ASUS is here to ensure your movie nights don’t get ruined again. The Taiwan-based, multinational computer hardware and consumer electronics company has over 30 years of experience in creating innovative, forward-thinking products and solutions: ASUS routers have won the PCMag.com Readers’ Choice Awards 11 years running. Its extendable routers provide a cost-effective method of growing a home network solution, eliminating internet dead zones and extending coverage throughout your home — a must for those that work from home or enjoy gaming. The router range, including the RT-AX59U, RT-AX53U and RT-AX58U V2, boasts one-tap safe browsing software, commercial-grade security and child security with easy in-app monitoring.

Get 15% off selected models from 14 August 2023 until 28 August 2023 asus.com

Get full Wi-Fi coverage for your home

Wi-Fi coverage doesn’t always reach your favourite spots at home, which can be incredibly frustrating when trying to work from your office or catch up on your favourite series. devolo cures weak Wi-Fi signals with ‘devolo magic’ — a Wi-Fi adapter that uses the building’s own power line to transmit data. The advantage of this adapter is that a hotspot can be created at any power socket, ensuring walls, ceilings and closed doors can no longer block the Wi-Fi signal. This is how devolo can guarantee super-fast Wi-Fi. And the eagerly awaited new episodes of your favourite series or online game can finally stream and load without a hitch!

Buy online at amazon.co.uk

Add the finishing touch to your bathroom or kitchen

Abode is an award-winning designer of market-leading kitchen taps, instant hot water taps, kitchen sinks, bathroom brassware and showering solutions. With core values centred on British design and quality, Abode is dedicated to bringing homeowners the best-in-class tap and sink designs with unique features, special finishes and cutting-edge technology. Those living in inner-city areas can particularly benefit from an Aquifier water filter tap, which allows you and your family access to fresh filtered water at the push of a handle, with its sleek handle designed to blend in with your kitchen. Those who rely on endless cups of tea and coffee throughout the winter months can make the process a whole lot quicker with a Pronteau instant hot water tap, delivering a stream of 98C filtered water and complete with a dual stage safety handle or patented HotKey. Elsewhere, the design-centred range of kitchen sinks, bathroom brassware and showering accessories will make the perfect finishing touch for your kitchen or bathroom.

Find out more at abodedesigns.co.uk

Give high energy bills the boot

Soaring energy bills getting you down? You could save up to 28% on energy and control costs thanks to tado°, the smart heating experts. The Smart Thermostat Starter Kit leads the way in intelligent climate control: its intuitive design and clever features allows for guaranteed savings. Having already been installed in more than three million homes throughout Europe, the thermostat works directly with the tado° app to help reduce your energy consumption for good. Unique geofencing technology reminds you to turn down the heating when the last person leaves home, while the open window detection helps to save you money whilst ventilating your home. It also boasts a smart schedule mechanism that lets you plan your desired day and night temperatures, as well as easily detecting heating system issues.

Get 25% discount on Smart Thermostat Starter Kits and add-ons such as room control. Available at uk.shop.tado.com with code tado25. Valid till 30 of September 2023

Discover unmatched Wi-Fi speeds

The Orbi 960 series is the world’s most powerful whole-home Wi-Fi system, providing unmatched Wi-Fi speeds for a premium internet connection. With speeds of up to 10.8Gbps, this mesh Wi-Fi system delivers lightning-fast performance for all your online activities. The exclusive quad-band technology and dedicated backhaul Wi-Fi guarantee maximum speeds for up to 200 connected devices. Whether you’re working from home, streaming videos or gaming, the Orbi 960 series offers a seamless and lag-free internet experience. Plus, with Wi-Fi 6E technology, it opens up a new 6GHz band, delivering dedicated top speeds to the latest 6E-ready devices like laptops, phones and tablets.

Discover more at netgear.com

Discover a new world of gaming

Stern Pinball creates compelling entertainment that inspires a lifetime love of games. Unleash a new world of fun with the all-new line of pinball machines featuring one of the most enigmatic and complex characters in the Marvel Universe, Venom. The Venom pinball game features more than 20 characters from the iconic tale of mayhem, including Eddie Brock, Flash Thompson, Gwen Stacy, Peter Parker and more. Brought to life with comic-book-style artwork from Jeremy Packer (AKA Zombie Yeti) and music tracks from GRAMMY Award-winning musician Mark Tremonti, the games immerse the players into the Venom world, also boasting Stern’s award-winning Insider Connected™ system, which enables players to interact with the game and a global network of players in a variety of ways. Track your progress, earn new game-specific achievements and engage with the player community via Insider Connected.

Registration for Insider Connected is available at insider.sternpinball.com/ - Venom pinball games and accessories are available now through authorized Stern Pinball distributors and dealers around the world at sternpinball.com/buy-a-game/ sternpinball.com

Make a barista-worthy coffee at home

Are you somewhat of a coffee addict? The L’OR Barista Sublime coffee machine allows you to brew a coffee-shop style beverage from the comfort of your own home. The double shot system means you can brew two single espressos or one double espresso at once, utilising up to 19 bars of pressure for the perfect coffee, every time. Choose from ristretto, espresso and lungo blends — and use the adjustable drip tray for cups of different sizes. Compatible with L’OR Espresso and L’OR Barista double shot capsules, the dual capsule recognition automatically detects capsule size for the perfectly sized coffee. Also compatible with Nespresso® capsules.

Shop the range at Argos and Currys or find out more at lorespresso.com

Create your dream outdoor space

Make the most of the British weather with a tasteful and contemporary outdoor solution from Fleming Verandas. Designed for year-round usage, every veranda is unique — whether it’s a bespoke, made-to-measure option or a fixed-size structure. They are highly customisable, with an array of colours and design options to complement your garden. Choose from glass and polycarbonate walls, glass sliding doors and louvred roof systems, all designed to help increase your overall living space, come rain or shine. More convenient and efficient than a conservatory or extension, verandas and glass rooms can be fitted within days, instead of weeks — and can help raise the value of a home while helping cut household bills in the long term.

If you’re interested in discussing your dream outdoor living space, call 01902 212331, or visit flemingverandas.com today

Juice up your travel gear with a reliable solar generator

Looking for a way to charge your speakers and devices simultaneously while on the go? In need of a trusty power source for your motor home’s appliances? What if we told you there was an affordable, eco-friendly power supply that you could power up no matter where you are? Believing that where there’s sunlight, there’s unlimited power supply, BLUETTI is on a mission to help create a sustainable future through budget-saving green energy storage solutions. Built with a next-gen MPPT solar inverter, the company’s AC300 + B300 allows a 2,400W maximum solar input. It can be charged by AC, solar, generator, lead-acid battery, dual or triple charging methods. Creating a solar system with compatible solar panels can bring power independence. Users can control and monitor the power consumption through the BLUETTI app.

Find out more at bluettipower.co.uk

This content is brought to you by Living360, a new digital lifestyle destination keeping you up to date with health and fitness, food and drink, homes and gardens, beauty, travel, finance trends and more.

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