Unsurprisingly, the Pop strips out some features found on pricier smart speakers to hit its bargain price. It offers fewer sensors than the fifth-gen Echo Dot, for example, and omits the physical action button found on most other Echo models, allowing you to tell Alexa without saying a wake word. Nonetheless, the Pop is the cheapest Matter controller you can buy right now, making it as future-proof as it is colourful. Plus, it features fast performance and plenty of Alexa-based intelligence, making it a great choice if you’re looking to upgrade from an older Echo model or dive into Amazon’s vast ecosystem of smart home devices.
Spring cleaning season may be over, but there has rarely been a better time than now to take iRobot Roomba i3 Evo. Normally $349.99, the budget robot vacuum is on sale on amazon right now for just $250almost matching its best price to date.
Several years after making its debut, the i3 Evo remains our favorite robovac for those working on a tighter budget. It lacks many of the premium bells and whistles associated with our top pick, the poop-dodging iRobot j7, but it still offers the same suction power and a similar set of software features. It has a physical spot clean button for quick jobs, along with smart mapping, which puts you in control of which rooms you’d like it to clean. What it lacks is the j7’s larger battery and AI obstacle avoidance, two features that are by no means deal breakers given that the i3 Evo is currently half the price without its optional self-emptying station.
