In this review I’ll test them out here in my home and show you how they work, what they can do, and how they can make life a bit easier. I’ll also touch on improvements to this next generation model. I’ll wrap things up with the pros and cons and let you know if I think I can recommend this smart string light set for you.

I would like to thank Govee for supplying me with a set of String Lights 2 to review. While they have given me the lights at no cost they have not asked for, or received permission to have input into my content so you can consider these thoughts my own.

About Govee Christmas String Lights 2

The Govee Christmas String Lights 2 is a set of string lights specifically for your Christmas tree. This means you won’t get any special accessories like hooks, ties, or adhesives. Like ordinary Christmas lights, these Govee string lights use a green cable to blend with the holiday greenery and you could absolutely weave these in among a garland as well.

Because the lights use cool running LED bulbs, they don’t heat up making them incredibly safe for even real trees.

And if you use a white Christmas tree, you can pick the white wire version instead. That shouldn’t discourage you from using the Christmas lights for other occasions if you don’t mind buying extra accessories as the Govee app offers special light presets for other occasions like Easter.

Watch my FULL i-home review of Govee Christmas String Lights 2

Set up

Getting these lights set up and running is incredibly easy. Just plug them in and open the free Govee app and tap the plus sign in the top right corner to add the new light. It should recognize them right away and add them automatically to your app.

The app is going to be where you have full control over everything the lights can do. From applying simple single colors to adding moving light effects or even tying your lights in with every other light in your house, anything and everything is possible with these lights. At it’s very simplest you’ll never have to crawl under the tree again because you can simply tap to turn them on or off with the app, or set them up on a daily schedule so the lights will turn on and off all on their own. And of course because there is support for both Google and Alexa voice assistant, you can also ask your favourite digital butler to run the show for you.

New Features

While Govee continues to sell the older first-generation Christmas String Lights model, paying a bit more grants you some extra features with Christmas String Lights 2.

Extra Sizes

The first-gen version of the Govee Christmas String Lights was only available in 10-meter (33 feet) and 20-meter (66 feet) variants so if you want to decorate a tree taller than 2 meters, you’d have to buy a bundle which takes some extra steps to set up and uses an additional power socket. This newer second-gen version introduces 50-meter (164 feet) and 100-meter (328 feet) models for those larger trees— or even massive ones you might have outdoors, since, yes these are also outdoor rated.

Enhanced Durability

Govee made sure these lights can handle rougher weather conditions by redesigning both the lights and control box to meet the IP65 requirements. This translates to full waterproofing and dustproofing.

Integrated Chip

Govee made some internal improvements to the LED bulbs with each bulb featuring its own integrated chip as well as extra white LED beads allowing you to set the light color to a more natural warm white color. This opens up many new presets that utilize the white color. No matter what color or preset you pick, the overall performance and synchronization of the lights are better thanks to the finer control of each light through the IC chip.

Shape Mapping through Shape Camera

With less intelligent string lights, or even with Govee’s first generation model, if you weren’t careful about wrapping the lights around the tree precisely and evenly, or if you had a string that’s too long and you needed to just wind it in somehow, you could get a bit of an odd look.

Govee has solved this issue with what’s called Shape Mapping. Using the Govee app, it can intelligently analyze the entire tree through a video capture, which would pinpoint the location of each bulb on the tree- no matter where it ended up. Using the smarts integrated into this light and choosing a preset means that no matter what the effect is supposed to look like it will appear correct after you’ve completed Shape Mapping. So if you’ve got bands of light cycling around the tree, it’s always going to look smooth and even.

Here’s how to use it..

Open up the app and tap on the string lights. Then choose the settings gear in the top right. Scroll down until you see something called Shape Mapping or Lamp Bead Recognition and open that. It will have you capture a short video using the camera in the app and then it will save that information when it applies any preset lighting effect. It means almost any lighting colour or pattern that you apply to the tree will look correct… even if your wire wrapping is less than perfect.

AI Prompt

It seems like no product is safe from the clutches of AI, and the Govee Christmas Lights 2 is the latest victim. Certainly not a bad thing though, because you can chat with the app and ask recommendations for a lighting setup.

Custom Lighting Scenes Through AI

After you select your light, choose the AI prompt in the app to make text, image, and audio prompts to create some fancy scenes outside of the already diverse selection of presets. Just describe the type of effect you’re going for and let the AI bot figure it out.

Speaking of smart, these lights will also integrate into Govee’s AI-powered lighting synchronization, known as DreamView.

Coordination with other Govee lights

If you’re installing other Govee smart lights or holiday lights, it is possible to get them all working together on the same theme.

You can access this setting by choosing the Home tab at the top of the app and then scrolling down to DreamView, or there’s a second option; choose a light to start with, then select More, and scroll down to Sync All Lights, then select Go Create, and Create.

At the bottom you’ll first choose which lights you want to sync together. Then select the theme to apply. The app will start the show, and will tie it in with some music too if you want.

How do they look?

I think these lights look outstanding whether they are indoors or out. They are quite bright at full brightness and the extraordinary array of colors let you match any type of holiday decor. Whether you want simple single colors or a dancing light show, anything is possible.

If the AI features raise privacy concerns, you can still do things the old-fashioned way and choose from one of the 130+ lighting effects or make one yourself through the Govee app. Once you have familiarized yourself with some of the presets, you can switch to them on the fly via your Amazon Alexa-enabled or Google Assistant smart home product. You can also set timers to automate and trigger presets to your liking or have the lights synchronize to your favourite music beats.

Matter Support

Fans of the open Matter ecosystem rejoice! Govee is fully onboard with Matter allowing you to control the Govee Christmas Lights 2 through other ecosystems that support Matter like Apple Home.

Overall Thoughts: Govee Christmas String Lights 2

Overall, if you haven’t updated your holiday lights in a long time, now is definitely the best time to make an upgrade.

I’ll go over both the pros and potential cons so you can see if it might be a good choice for you.

On the pro side these lights are ultra easy to set up, and the app makes running and programming the lights incredibly easy. The fact that these lights will also coordinate with other newer Govee lights that you may have in your home means you can create a whole room or whole home display with just a few taps in the Govee app.

The lights are very bright or can be dimmed for a more subtle look, and they display thousands of colors. The Shape Mapping feature is absolutely genius for people like me who couldn’t wrap string lights straight around a tree even if you paid me. And the great thing about the Shape Mapping feature is that it’s incredibly easy even for a novice to use.

So what are the potential downsides? I think the biggest detractor for some might simply be the price. Getting this level of smart and coordination does come at a premium when compared to ordinary dumber Christmas string lights, but to some extent I think that’s expected.

Govee Christmas String Lights 2 starts at $129 USD / $179 CAD which is quite steep for mere Christmas lights. Fortunately, these products often go on sale so you might as well get them before the holiday season really kicks off. Both the internal and external improvements are worth the extra cost and the lights are impressively bright and vivid enough to use for other occasions too!

In short if you’re looking for a modern upgrade to your holiday home I can absolutely recommend Govee Christmas String Lights 2.

**A note about Affiliate Links: TechGadgetsCanada & TechGadgetsInternational is supported by our readers. Occasionally I will include affiliate links in my reviews. I do this partly for convenience of the reader (since I’ll almost always include a link to the company website or similar anyway) in case you want to read more or purchase, but I also may get a small commission from the click, which helps me keep the blog running. If you choose to use this link I thank you greatly for supporting the blog. There’s no obligation or cost to you for using these links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. 

The post Govee Christmas String Lights 2: full in-home review appeared first on TechGadgetsCanada.com.

I’d like to say a huge thank you to Govee for sending me a light at no charge for this review. While they have supplied me with the products, they have not asked for or received permission to have any input into my content so you can consider these thoughts all my own.

Watch my full video review of Govee Star Light Projector here

What is the Govee Aurora Star Light Projector?

The name explains a lot in terms of what this light does, so let’s get to the how.

Packed into a plastic housing on a swivel base, Govee Star Light Projector uses lasers to project stars onto walls and ceilings. A secondary light source uses dual RGBW lamp beads and a specially made projection sphere allowing the Star Light Projector to display a serene blended aurora lighting effect that mimics the Northern Lights, or the Aurora Borealis.

Compared to cheaper star projectors, this $79.99 USD / $119.99 CAD Govee Projector has a sleek look that resembles a stage spotlight where you can pivot the head up or down to find the right angle for maximum aurora and star coverage.

Unboxing & Set up

The Aurora Star Light Projector is the only thing in the box save for a power cable.

The Star Light Projector lacks a built-in battery so you won’t be able to enjoy it during that rare power outage, but thanks to the USB-C port, a powerbank can easily remedy that! This also means you can connect the included USB-C cable to any 3A charging adapter or a device such as a laptop with a USB port to power it up. There is no AC plug included so you may need one of your own depending on where you’re going to place it.

Once you plug it in and give it some power, turn it on and then open the Govee app. Choose the plus sign in the top right corner and connect to your light. I was online in a matter of seconds.

While the app will give you complete remote control over your light and it’s settings, there are also physical buttons on the side of the Projector.

Buttons or app control

Things are kind of poorly marked so it’s difficult to tell what they do; but from left to right there’s power, a button which will adjust color, volume up and down, a button to choose different white noise sound effect, and a play/pause button which controls the audio. Particularly in a dark room it’s quite difficult to locate the button you may need, and for that reason I recommend sticking with the app.

Features

Although the Govee Star Light Projector doesn’t offer as many customization options as some other Govee light products, the Govee Star Light Projector does hide a few tricks that may justify its price tag depending on your preferences.

Beautiful Aurora Effects Out of the Box

There are a few dozen different themed lighting effects that act as presets. While some are meant to pair with specific white noise, you can also operate both the light and the white noise separately.

The aurora effect can cover an impressive 60 square meters or 650 square foot area making it suitable for a living room all while maintaining a small footprint. If you have kids who have trouble sleeping, this might just end up in the bedroom instead!

Many of the settings are customizable including the speed at which the light changes, and you can also open up a menu which allows you to dial the intensity of either the star effect or the aurora up or down, and even turn either one on or off according to your preference.

Full Spectrum Aurora Customization

The dual RGBW lamp is the component that really brings out the value of the Govee Star Light Projector as it is Govee’s forte in smart lighting. Once you connect the projector to the app, you can conveniently choose any of the pre-built 52 aurora scenes from the interface.

If you want to have a bit more control, you can customize or create your own scene by adding anywhere from 1-8 colors to your aurora. The aurora animation looks impressively fluid and the effect also morphs to the style of your choosing with four different switching methods, known as gradient, breathe, rainbow, and twinkle, all which offer differing levels of movement. This opens all sorts of color combinations and effects. You could think of the app as a special virtual paint palette, and the resulting aurora effect you can generate kind of like a giant mural.

Limited Star Projection Functionality

Unfortunately, Govee doesn’t offer the same level of customization for the LED star projection, and it would be nice to see this in future updates, given its price. Its main weakness is its inability to change the color of the stars and they aren’t even white; they are green. Since this is the first time I’ve ever owned a star projector I probably don’t know any better, and this doesn’t bother me.

You can adjust the stars’ brightness and alter their twinkling and orbiting patterns, but the projector does kind of lay them out in a grid-like pattern that is noticeable if you stare at them for a long time and think too hard about it. This makes the star projection effect look less natural.

Ambient Sound and White Noise Generator

You probably won’t notice it at first glance, but this star projector has a built-in speaker too, technically making this a Bluetooth speaker. Govee doesn’t offer any dedicated Bluetooth speaker lineup so as expected, the sound quality isn’t as good as any of the Bluetooth speakers I’ve reviewed.

The audio does sound incredibly tinny and rather hollow and on some of the presets it can sound down right fake. But if you don’t have a Bluetooth speaker or audio system in the room, this feature is a welcome extra as the Govee app lets you choose from various ambient sounds, like the Govee Night Light I reviewed last year.

The ambient noise options run the gamut from the natural to manmade; from things like bird song and rainforest sounds, to water running or a crackling fire, a ticking clock, a fan and a bunch more. There’s plenty of options to play with so you should be able to find something you like.

Auto Shut off

The Aurora Star Light Projector will shut itself off after four hours. You can disable this function or adjust the specific shut off time by going to the device settings page and adjusting the ‘Auto Off’.

Smart Home Integration with Matter Support

The Govee Star Light Projector has both built-in Bluetooth and Wi-Fi 2.4 GHz integration as the bulk of the projector’s features hide behind the Govee app. I recommend you use Wi-Fi for connecting as the projector can integrate with your smart home network complete with Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and even Matter support!

Overall Thoughts: Govee Star Light Projector

Overall, the Govee Star Light Projector is a terrific aurora generator with the rest of the feature set feeling a bit tacked on. I’ll go over both the pros and cons so you can see if this might be right for your home.

On the pro side there’s no assembly required and it’s essentially plug and play with ultra easy set up in seconds. The Govee app makes adjusting every aspect of this light projector easy, and if you don’t happen to want to use the app the physical buttons on the side do allow for additional control.

The lighting effects are truly beautiful and magical and it goes a long way to creating a beautiful room. The effects can also be spread over a large area of the room making it feel even more immersive. I also like the fact it combines two different kinds of light with the colour wash Aurora effect and the LED starlight.

When it comes to the aspect of this light I enjoyed the least, the built-in speaker is a nice little extra if you don’t have a white noise machine, but I really hope future iterations of this product improve the audio quality, since it can sound quite artificial.

I also think there could be future customization of the star effects, with the option for more natural white or golden starlight as opposed to glowing green pinpoints.

Despite those few shortcomings, I don’t feel like either of those cons wrecks the light for me. I really loved my experience with the Govee Aurora Star Light Projector and I think it would make a great addition to your home also. Govee Aurora Star Light Projector sells for about $79.99 USD / $119.99 CAD and you can get it from Govee directly or any number of electronics retailers including Amazon, and if you’d like to pair this light with some other options, Govee has a lock on the smart light market right now with plenty of clever products!

**A note about Affiliate Links: TechGadgetsCanada & TechGadgetsInternational is supported by our readers. Occasionally I will include affiliate links in my reviews. I do this partly for convenience of the reader (since I’ll almost always include a link to the company website or similar anyway) in case you want to read more or purchase, but I also may get a small commission from the click, which helps me keep the blog running. If you choose to use this link I thank you greatly for supporting the blog. There’s no obligation or cost to you for using these links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. 

The post Govee Aurora Star Light Projector: full in-home review appeared first on TechGadgetsCanada.com.

Like most new floor cleaning bots these days, you’ve gotta have a couple features that make you stand out from the crowd, and on that Shark doesn’t disappoint. In this review I’ll take a look at what makes this robot floor cleaner different from the rest, what it can do and how exactly it cleans. I’ll run it through my full battery of cleaning tests and then I’ll wrap this video up with the pros and the cons of this device so you can decide if it’s going to be right for you.

I would like to thank Shark for gifting me this robot. While the company did send one to me, it did not ask for or receive permission to have any any input whatsoever into this review. So you can consider these thoughts my own.

What’s in the box

Let’s unbox this robot so you can see what you get.

The charging and self cleaning station is the biggest item in the box. Right on top you’ll see the special reusable cloth mopping pad.

Next up is a box holding the robot itself. There’s also two small corner brushes packaged in red plastic that you want to make sure don’t get lost or accidentally discarded. These simply clip into place on the robot; just one to begin, and the second one is an extra.

You’ll also find an odour neutralizer cartridge in here which is going to be installed in the base station shortly.

The robot comes with another mopping pad already installed.

There’s a sample size bottle of Shark cleaning solution which is a nice extra touch.

Lastly you want to remove and unwrap the base station. A plastic floor protecting plate that doubles as a bit of a ramp is also in here.

Flipping the robot over to get a closer look, you’ll see the mopping plate with cloth preinstalled, and the small single roller beater brush underneath.

Getting a look at everything all laid out, the only thing you really can’t see is the water tanks which are hidden under the lid of the base station.

This robot floor cleaner set has a pretty utilitarian look. While a lot of brands are opting to try to get their substantially sized robot floor cleaners to blend in to homes a little better, there’s no hiding what Shark POWERDETECT NeverTouch Pro robot vacuum and mop is all about.

Set up & assembly

Before you can start using the POWERDETECT, it needs to get a bit of a charge and you’ll need to connect it to the Shark Clean app.

Situate the base station near a plug and then dock the robot inside. You can also twist in the special odour neutralizing cartridge now, and fill the clean water tank with clean water and a couple ounces of cleaning solution.

Once it powers up you can open up the Shark Clean app and follow the instructions to get it connected to your Wi-Fi network. I was set up and ready to go in about five minutes.

The next order of business is to get the bot to map your home. The app will prompt you to do this and the robot will roam around your house at low speed until it generates a full map of the space.

Mapping took about 10 minutes, but it created a very accurate map. The robot will go out a second time to do what it calls carpet detection and then it will draw out all of the carpeted areas in the house —and it got them bang on.

The map is going to come in handy when you want to tackle room specific cleanings, have it clean certain areas within a room, or if you want to automatically schedule cleanings each day or each week.

One thing I should point out fairly early in the game is that when you call for a clean, you need to choose whether the robot will vacuum or whether it will mop; it’s not going to do both at the same time—at least not effectively. It seems like it might use a teeny bit of suction while mopping, but I wouldn’t expect it to clean thoroughly.

If it vacuums it’s going to leave the mopping pad in the base station, and if you ask for it to mop it will put it on like a pair of hammer pants.

Special features

Pad Drop

One of the chores associated with certain robot floor cleaners is that you may have to swap a vacuuming plate for a mopping plate. This can be tedious and kind of grungy. Shark solves the problem by having the robot manage the mopping plate for you. In essence, if it is programmed to mop, it will back into the base station and lock the plate in place. If it’s only going on a vacuum run, it will leave the plate behind. The technology is rather ingenious and I’ve never seen this in action before. But I can definitely say it works and I like the idea of letting the robot figure out what it needs to do on its own. And at the same time you should never have to worry about carpets getting wet.

Odor neutralizer

Shark is one of the only brands I can think of that uses an odour neutralizing cartridge in its filtration system. This is a unique concept since as it pulls air through the system to help evacuate the robots dustbin, filters keep dust from re-entering your home, and then as it’s exhausted back into your room, the odour neutralizer freshens it so that it doesn’t smell stale or musty. It’s extremely subtle but it is a nice touch and it does add a bit of freshness each time the vacuum empties itself.

Never Stuck Technology & Lifting

Shark POWERDETECT NeverTouch Pro robot vacuum and mop has a feature which shark refers to as “Never Stuck” technology.

How you’ll see this working is that if the robot encounters taller than average flooring transitions, thresholds, or obstacles, it can actually lift itself up to cross over or avoid them. This same technology can also lift the bot up and skate over carpets to avoid dampening them with the mopping plate in use.

Self cleaning

Once your robot has completed a clean it will always return to the base station for recharging. It will empty it’s onboard dustbin first, then automatically wash and dry the mopping pad with the fresh water and cleaning solution in the tank.

Shark says the POWERDETECT NeverTouch Pro robot vacuum and mop should only need maintenance and attention from you about every 30 days or so, but of course this will depend greatly on how dirty your home is and how often you’re running the robot. My testing period only ran about two weeks so I’m not yet able to say if it is actually this effective or not.

Cleaning tests

Now that you’re familiar with all the special features of this robot vacuum and mop, let’s test its cleaning power. I run all my robot vacuum devices through the same sets of cleaning tests. I will spill dry goods like rice, flour, and oats on both carpet and hard floors, and to test the mopping I’ll spill some wet messes and let others dry to test the scrubbing power.

Starting with its performance on hard floors, I was fairly impressed with the job it was able to do.

It was able to be extremely thorough; seeming to almost see spills and zero in on them, then spend a minute or two going over and over and over the same area until it was incredibly clean—I’d say it probably got about 100% of the dirt I left for it.

I will also note that this vacuum appears to run at a much quieter volume than some other competing models.

Scrubbing mop

The mopping is quite different on this robot. That’s because the robot will determine on its own whether or not it needs it’s mopping plate, and retrieve it if it does or leave it behind if it’s going to vacuum.

With the mopping feature, preparing for mopping does take some time. The robot fills it’s on board water tank and this takes about 1 minute and 15 seconds. It happens relatively silently so it shouldn’t be a bother.

The mop has a unique way of scrubbing the floor with a small back and forth motion.

I had it tackle a particularly difficult cleaning test which is dried on coffee. I was actually quite impressed that even on regular mopping mode it was able to tackle about 95% of this spill, leaving only the thickest and most dried on portions of the edges. This is a cleaning test that even extremely expensive and advanced floor bots can struggle with, but I’d say the shark NeverTouch matched them in cleaning prowess on this.

Unfortunately that back and forth mopping motion also resulted in a repetitive tap beat. The mopping pad makes an incessant clicking sound as it’s going around the house which I found rather annoying and distracting.

When in mopping mode if the robot detects carpet, rather than avoid it altogether, it pops its back up about an inch to create clearance and then continues over the carpet.

This is a bit of a strange way of doing things… particularly for a product that has the word “detect” in the name. Many bots simply recognize and avoid carpet when in mopping mode, but this one is determined to show off its lifting abilities I guess. And circling back to the topic of the noise, there is also a pop squeak noise every time the robot lifts and lowers itself which makes this robot in my opinion one of the noisiest floor cleaning bots I’ve ever tried, not even taking into account the vacuum motor sound.

There’s also quite a bit of water used on the floor. This didn’t bother me so much, as it seemed to help it do a more thorough job, but I know some folks with more dainty floors who wouldn’t want it to stay damp for as long as this one did.

I also tried out the spot cleaning feature, but I only got it to work once which allows you to clean about a 6 ft.² area. The single time I got it to work I will say it seemed the robot does an incredibly thorough job with this; essentially spinning itself in never ending circles across the floor to really power away anything that might be there. As it is extremely effective it does take a little longer, which is probably expected.

I realized something else while doing this test. If you have anything like large boxes on your floor while your robot is doing the mapping or you move furniture or other objects around, you’ll need to re-map your house. I had a large box sitting in the corner of my kitchen when I did the initial mapping. And later when I created a test spill in that area, the robot simply would not go to that spot to do any cleaning, despite the fact the area was now free and clear. It wasn’t until I had the robot re-map the entire house that it was able to fill in the holes.

For that reason I can’t emphasize enough to make sure your floors are clear of any objects even temporary ones, or there’s a high chance the Shark robot may never get to some areas.

Back to trying that spot cleaning…I tried this again so I could really have it tackle a tough spill, however the robot simply wandered all over the room, and then the house, multiple tries.

When it’s done the robot will return to the base and wash its mopping pad. In another minor annoyance with this, the mechanism makes a buzzing and repeated whaaa-whaaa-whaaa whining sound while it’s cleaning. Then it follows that up with much sloshing and plumbing noises as it drains the excess water into the dirty water tank. Since the cleaning cycle lasts for several minutes, it definitely does get annoying after a while.

I also didn’t see an option for cancelling the self-cleaning or being able to shorten it at all. So I had no choice but to wait it out.

Battery life & runtime

A typical cleaning cycle lasts for about an hour, but this will depend on the size of your home and if you’ve asked for a room specific cleaning.

The Shark POWERDETECT can take up to four hours to fully recharge from an empty battery.

A Recharge & Resume feature lets the bot return to its base to recharge if it reaches low battery charge (under 15%) during a cleaning mission, and still has area left to clean. When docked on the base, the robot recharges until the battery is 100%, and then resumes the cleaning mission.

Recharge & Resume is automatically activated on your robot by default, but it can be turned off in the Settings section in the app. You should also turn on Do Not Disturb if you’re going to use this feature, since the robot could decide to resume its clean after you’ve already gone to bed.

Overall review

The more time I spend with this robot the more conflicted I am about it. It does a great job at cleaning, but it’s both noisy enough and has enough small quirks that it might scare you off.

Let’s go over the pros and the cons so you can see if these may be dealbreakers for you.

On the pro side it both vacuums and mops incredibly well and was able to ace all but the most challenging cleaning tests; and even then it got about 95% of the dirt.

I also like the fact the dust bin doesn’t require a bag so I never need to worry about replacements, and it holds a lot of dirt so I also don’t need to tend to it constantly. While the robot has interesting lifting capabilities that do allow it to clear very tall thresholds and obstacles, I am a bit puzzled about why it needs to lift on carpets when it’s mopping at all; the smarts and carpet recognition in this bot should really mean that it simply avoids carpet in the first place when it has the mopping plate attached. And in another puzzle, the device couldn’t seem to recognize obstacles like cords and cables and tied itself up in them pretty good…though it was able to untangle itself after a couple of minutes.

That brings me to the downsides…two of my biggest complaints were about the noise level; both the click clacking of the mop while it was cleaning, the lifting mechanism, and the ultra loud and sloshy cleaning cycle were a major annoyance.

I’m not thrilled about the fact that it doesn’t vacuum and mop at the same time like a lot of other floor bots in this price range do. While I do think the mechanism and the leave behind plate are quite clever, sometimes there are times you just need to get everything done at once.

And on a more minor note, the mapping process during set up could be a lot more efficient; covering not just the mapping but the carpet detection too in one drive around the house.

I also struggled with getting it to do a proper spot clean, and I do find the design of this device to be pretty utilitarian.

I have to say for me, this is not one of my favourite robot floor cleaners. There are just too many things that put me off about it that would mean I’d take a pass on it.

The other deciding factor for me is the very high price. Selling for $1299 CAD/$1000 USD this should be a top of the line robot floor cleaner package, and I feel like it has enough knocks against it that that price cannot be justified. I’m kind of disappointed about that because I really like Shark as a brand.

**A note about Affiliate Links: TechGadgetsCanada & TechGadgetsInternational is supported by our readers. Occasionally I will include affiliate links in my reviews. I do this partly for convenience of the reader (since I’ll almost always include a link to the company website or similar anyway) in case you want to read more or purchase, but I also may get a small commission from the click, which helps me keep the blog running. If you choose to use this link I thank you greatly for supporting the blog. There’s no obligation or cost to you for using these links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. 

The post Shark POWERDETECT NeverTouch Pro Robot Vacuum & mop appeared first on TechGadgetsCanada.com.

In this review, I’m going to install the longer 65-foot string kit at my home… I’ll show you how they go up, what you can do with them, and what they look like. I’ll wrap things up with the pros and the cons and let you know if I think these are a good holiday light choice for you. I’d also like to thank Govee for gifting me a set of lights. While they have sent them to me the company hasn’t asked for, or received permission to have any input into my review so you can consider these thoughts all mine.

Smart icicle lights are even better as you can apply different color schemes to suit the mood. Search around your favorite online marketplace and you’ll likely find all sorts of brands selling lights for under $40 USD. Recently, popular smart light manufacturer Govee made its debut with the category offering its own Govee Icicle Lights product with a rather high $139 USD / $189 CAD starting price. Have we entered the era of the Govee tax or does this product offer something special? I have all the details!

Watch my full hands-on review and installation of new Govee icicle lights

About the Govee Icicle Lights

The Govee Icicle Lights is Govee’s attempt at putting a premium spin on the icicle lights category. At the time of writing, Govee offers two variants of this product – the 32.8-foot H70D1 model priced at $139 USD / $189 CAD and the 65.6-foot HD70D2 version (which I have) offering twice as many lights for a modest price increase to $249 USD / $349 CAD.

What’s in the Box?

In the box, you get two strings of Govee Icicle Lights, which feature individual strands hanging from a central wire. There’s also a power pack which has a split connection, allowing you to connect two strings separately.

In addition to the icicle lights, you also get 45 clips with hooks on both sides. If you prefer installing on a handrail or fence, you can also use the 45 zip ties that come with the kit instead.

My 65.6-foot version comes with a second string of icicle lights along with twice as many clips and zip ties.

The way this will work is you’ll need to run each string off the central power. Here at my house I had to run the central power up the middle of the house, and then one string goes off to each side.

While this actually works quite well here at my house, it may be problematic for other installations. Particularly because you cannot connect the two sections of icicle lights to each other.

These lights come with two bags of plastic clips, which initially seem kind of thin and flimsy… let’s see what they’re like in practise.

Installing icicle lights is like setting up typical string lights in the sense that you’ll be hanging the wire from the clips, which will attach to your eaves. You could also use wide staples or clips and affix them to the soffits or the siding.

I found the clips can work in a couple of ways, and they actually fit my eaves perfectly, they hold very firmly and they stay in place.

Having hung lights from subpar clips in the past, I have to say I wasn’t expecting these included clips to be so strong, versatile and useful, so major extra points to Govee for that. Here at my house the clips just snap over the lip of my eavestroughs, then the wire is held by a hook at the bottom of the clip.

The light strings of various lengths dangle vertically on the wire vaguely resembling dangling icicles.

Every “icicle” contains an odd number of lights from 3-7 lights. Govee laid out the icicles in such a way that no neighboring lights are the same length so you get this repetitive 3, 5, 7, 5, 3 pattern.

One thing that did stand out to me right away is that in some cases, particularly on the shorter strands, the wires are bent and don’t quite hang straight. I’ll give this a day or two for everything to stretch out before I get worried and we’ll see how it displays.

App control

To get them set up you need the Govee app. Sign in to or sign up for an account, then choose the + in the upper corner to Add Light. Once you plug the string of lights in, the app should see it immediately and prompt you to add it, as it did for me. I’ve reviewed more than a dozen different Govee lights over the years and in each case set up takes just seconds.

The app is going to be your central command for changing the color of the lights, setting automated schedules, and even applying dozens of different animated effects and colour patterns.

How do Govee Icicle Lights look?

I have to say from the moment I switched these lights on I was pretty impressed. Starting with just basic colors, the lights look really good, they’re quite bright, and even if some of the strands are a bit bent or twisted, it doesn’t pose a problem at all on the overall lighting effect.

Switching to use some of Govee’s presets, it’s easy to get different colours and patterns cycling through the light. There’s plenty of holiday options to choose from as well as different animated color effects. Once they’re installed and it gets dark, you can sit in the comfort of your warm home and play around with different options. There’s also quite a few other ways to control your lights. In the Govee app a setting called Finger Sketch will let you choose the colors of each individual light strand and bulb so you can get incredibly granular with your color scheme and effect. Drawing patterns and seeing them brought to life through the vibrant lights is quite the experience.

Another setting called DIY lets you choose animated lighting effects that will change the colors of the lights automatically.

Custom Lighting Scenes Through AI

You can also use AI to create custom light scenes, and have the Govee bot create designs for you.

After you select your light, choose the AI prompt in the app to make text, image, and audio prompts to create some fancy scenes outside of the already diverse selection of presets. Last September Govee announced AIGC or Artificial Intelligence-generated Content so you can expect AI to play a huge role in future updates.

Govee calling their product “Icicle Lights” really tells just half the story which I find relieving considering the price. In fact, Govee launched these lights alongside some other smart lighting products kickstarting a new wave of innovation for the company.

Even in the realm of smart lights, you often get what you pay for and the Govee Icicle Lights is living proof of this fact. Try out any preset and you’ll notice just how precise each light turns on or turns off to adapt to your chosen preset. The secret behind the lights’ impressive performance is the independent chips each integrated for every individual lamp.

Coordination with other Govee lights

If you’re installing other Govee smart lights or holiday lights, it is possible to get them all working together on the same theme.

Choose a light to start with, then select More, and scroll down to Sync All Lights, then select Go Create, and Create. At the bottom you’ll first choose which lights you want to sync together. Then select the theme to apply. The app will start the show, and will tie it in with some music too if you want.

Weather resistance

One major downside of going cheap with your smart light investment is the higher chances of failure forcing you to buy another set. Thanks to the IP65 waterproof rating for both the string lights and control box, you can confidently hang these lights outside and not worry about the rough rainy or snowy periods.

I already have several Govee lights installed outdoors including the Outdoor Ground Lights, and the Flood Light. You can check those reviews out also, but I can confirm these have survived harsh weather so I have no doubt my new holiday lights will be just as robust.

Expanded Smart Home Support

The Govee Home app for Google Play and iOS continues to be the central hub for controlling all Govee products in your network. But if you don’t feel like using your phone, you may issue voice commands through Google Home or Alexa if you have a supported smart home product. Govee has not announced official iOS support just yet, but iOS does support Matter and so do these icicle lights as well.

Overall Thoughts: Govee Icicle Lights

Govee made the right call, in my opinion, to launch a premium icicle smart lights product. Even if you are skeptical with the company’s AI push, Govee does deserve credit for making a set of lights that is both tough, durable and has many layers of smarts and customization.

Let’s go over the pros and cons.

On the pro side, Govee Icicle Lights were far easier to install than I thought they would be, thanks both to the robust build quality of the strings, and the versatile durable clips that are included.

Connecting to the app was easy and gives you instant control over not just the colour and the effect but also automated timers too. Plus with the addition of different levels of smarts and artificial intelligence, you can go as deep as applying the specific colours you want to each individual lightbulb, or let the Govee bot do it for you. And you can sync all your lights together for a yard-wide holiday effect, or just a consistent colour theme.

Plus with IP65 weather rating and my previous knowledge that these lights have stood up to Canadian winters, I’m confident I’ll have them for a long time.

When it comes to the downsides, I do wonder about the split design of the power on the longer icicle kit, for some applications. While it worked quite well on my home, it may be limiting in some spaces. If you aren’t able to install from a central point of power and go off in two directions, you’d probably be better off choosing two of the shorter light kits. And since additional strings of icicle lights cannot be connected to each other, this could also limit your installation options.

In short though, I’m super impressed with how these look on my home and how well they integrate with other lights in my Govee system.

At the time of writing, Govee offers two variants of this product – the 32.8-foot H70D1 model priced at $139 USD / $189 CAD and the 65.6-foot HD70D2 version offering twice as many lights for a modest price increase to $249 USD / $349 CAD.

**A note about Affiliate Links: TechGadgetsCanada & TechGadgetsInternational is supported by our readers. Occasionally I will include affiliate links in my reviews. I do this partly for convenience of the reader (since I’ll almost always include a link to the company website or similar anyway) in case you want to read more or purchase, but I also may get a small commission from the click, which helps me keep the blog running. If you choose to use this link I thank you greatly for supporting the blog. There’s no obligation or cost to you for using these links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. 

The post Govee Icicle Lights: Full review & how to install appeared first on TechGadgetsCanada.com.

Upright floor washers that can both vacuum and mop are all the rage. Today I’ll be looking at the Narwal S20 Pro, a vacuum and mop with strong suction, scrubbing pressure, smarts, and self cleaning. I’ll show you how it works by running several cleaning tests and then wrap up with the pros and cons of this device so you can see if it’s going to be right for you.

I’d like to thank Narwal for sponsoring this post. While it has paid me for my time, it hasn’t told me what I have to say or can’t say about this device and I got to test it out in my own home and devise my own cleaning tests, so you can consider these thoughts my own.

What you get

Inside the box, you will find the main vacuum-mop unit, plus a handle that clicks into place. There’s also a handful of extra accessories including a roller and filter, plus a bottle of cleaning solution and a cleaning brush. You also get a docking and recharging base with plug.

The dirty water tank is easily visible since it lives on the front of the main vacuum unit.

The clean water tank is actually very cleverly hidden as part of the cleaner head. Just pull out the back part of the head to remove it, and fill it with water. If you’d like to use cleaning solution, remove the small plastic plate that covers the roller on the front of the cleaner head, and then lift up the silver door. Add cleaning solution into here and then replace the covers.

Right away I can feel how light-weight the S20 Pro is: it feels a lot lighter than competing models, and I can confirm it’s very easy to lift and would be no trouble at all to carry up or down stairs.

Narwal S20 Pro also has a small color LED info screen which will show the remaining battery power, detergent level, as well as the current cleaning mode.

Lay-flat design

The Narwal S20 Pro is not only light and manoeuvrable but it also has a convenient lay flat design with a low profile. You can extend the handle all the way to the floor to get the S20 Pro underneath almost any piece of furniture, from sofas to sideboards, to tables and beds.

Narwal added an extra trick to bump up its agility just a bit. Narwal calls this the Smart Posture Detection technology which can help detect whether the vacuum is upright, turning, or flat and it will prevent any water from leaching out.

Anti-Tangle Technology

The S20 Pro also boasts anti-tangle technology so you don’t have to worry about unwinding strands of hair from the roller brush.

AI DirtSense

Narwal just couldn’t resist joining the AI era with its own dirt detection technology called AI DirtSense. The feature works with the vacuum’s built-in display; yellow for mild dirt and red for very dirty areas. How does it work? The vacuum’s cleaner head uses a blue light and some sensors which help the vacuum adjust the suction power for even better cleaning efficiency.

Cleaning Tests

Let’s get right to the cleaning…

In my daily use it was very easy to grab the Narwal S20 Pro to mop up spills in the kitchen. With 20,000 PA of suction power, it’s made to inhale anything in its path.

Higher suction power translates to better ability of cleaning up tough spills in a single pass. This is a big improvement over the 14,000 Pa suction power of its predecessor.

Whenever I test out a device like this I give it a handful of spills to contend with; I’ll spill liquids like coffee, ketchup soy sauce and jam and let some of them dry, so I can see how well it cleans a variety of spills. I also do things like spill chunkier messes like milk and cereal or rice soup just to see how it’s able to manage.

In my cleaning tests you can see that with the wet spills it’s able to mop everything up in just a single pass.  Even sticky syrup didn’t seem to gum up the machine, nor did spilled BBQ sauce.

With its edge to edge roller brush it gets right up against baseboards and edges.

With dried-on spills it does take a couple of additional passes over the area to get them clean, but this is not uncommon. You can see it was even able to power away dried coffee.

When it comes to thicker and gummier dried on ketchup or BBQ sauce, it does take a few runs to get everything from a dried-on sticky stain off the floor, but this is expected with a device like this… and the Narwal easily matches the performance of other upright mops I’ve reviewed.

Self-propelled

One of the other features I really liked is that there is self propulsion built into this machine. Essentially it gives it push – pull assistance so that there is less effort required by you to push it across the floor and drag it back. That translates to making it even easier to maneuver with a lot less effort.

Cleaning Modes

The Narwal S20 Pro has five special cleaning modes. Smart Mode can adapt on its own to deliver the best clean based on your floors dirt level and will automatically adjust things like suction power, and water volume.

If you just want to suction up a spill or excess water from the floor you can put it into Suction Mode. Quiet Mode tackles the noise level above all, while Turbo Mode offers increased water flow and more suction. At the top of the cleaning modes is what’s called Max Enhancement Mode. This is the most powerful cleaning used for extremely stubborn or dried on stains, and this mode is accessed using a small trigger under the handle.

Self Cleaning

The worst part about a wet-dry upright is usually the emptying process, and trying to keep it clean. With the Narwal S20 Pro the filter basket design on the inside of the dirty water tank makes it much easier to separate solids and liquids, and then dump out debris, hair and particles right into the garbage, while you’ll just pour the dirty water away.

This S20 Pro also runs its own self cleaning cycles whenever it sees that’s necessary.

Using warm, fresh water and cleaning solution, it flushes its insides then deposits the dirty water in the tank. The wash runs about 2 minutes, and it spins the roller in both directions to get it thoroughly clean. Then it will dry the mop with warm air to keep the roller from developing musty smells. With a full tank, the detergent can last up to 40 days, and a small indicator light will let you know if it’s low.

Battery Life

Narwal S20 Pro is rated for a 60-minute battery life, which is almost double what some other similar devices offer. This means you can do a lot more cleaning on a single charge; and even keep the S20 Pro stored close by without having to necessarily leave it on its charging base, if a plug isn’t nearby.

Overall review

Overall the Narwal S20 Pro is a capable and convenient upright wet-dry mop-vac that makes cleaning floors easier. Let’s lay out the pros and cons.

On the pro side, it cleans well and tackled all the challenges I laid out for it. Plus it cleans and dries itself.  With the option of adding cleaning fluid, you’re getting a better-than-just water clean, and the S20 Pro will let you know if it needs topping up. With its lay-flat design it easily gets under all kinds of furniture.

It’s easy to set up and with different cleaning modes, you can always find a balance between powering away dirt, and protecting floors. The battery lasts a long time and the package came with extras like a roller filter and brush.

So what are the downsides? The full recharge time may take a while. Even so, this shouldn’t be an issue for most people because the cleaner will usually be stored on its base station. The only other consideration might be the base station does need to be placed somewhere it can be plugged in at all times, so that might limit where you are able to store it, but again with its longer than average battery life you can keep it handy without needing to keep it constantly charging.

Those really just feel like considerations to be aware of as opposed to true downsides or defects, so for that reason I can definitely recommend the Narwal S20 Pro to you.

It sells for about $499 USD/$699 CAD which is less than some of it competitors. You can get it from Amazon.

**A note about Affiliate Links: TechGadgetsCanada & TechGadgetsInternational is supported by our readers. Occasionally I will include affiliate links in my reviews. I do this partly for convenience of the reader (since I’ll almost always include a link to the company website or similar anyway) in case you want to read more or purchase, but I also may get a small commission from the click, which helps me keep the blog running. If you choose to use this link I thank you greatly for supporting the blog. There’s no obligation or cost to you for using these links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. 

The post Narwal S20 PRO upright vac-mop appeared first on TechGadgetsCanada.com.

When I bought the new Dyson Supersonic Nural hair dryer, I wanted to try one of Dyson’s other highly anticipated new hair care options. But this is no machine…Dyson is now making hair products!

Dyson Chitosan is a two-part line of hair care products. There’s a pre-style cream, and a post-style serum. At $70 Canadian per 100 mL bottle, these are probably some of the most expensive hair care products on the market, so my expectations are extremely high.

In this review I’ll take a look at what you get, and how the product worked for my hair. I’ll go over the pros and the cons including what the products feel and smell like and let you know if I think I can recommend them for you.

Chitosan comes in two different options; a version for straight to wavy hair, which I chose, and one for curly to coily hair.

When the products arrived I have to say they look pretty chic. With a peach and violet package these look like they’re going to be something special. Unboxing them I can see the bottles and packaging are extremely unique. A clear plastic cover protects the dispenser which is in the base of the bottle. Pushing that funnel shaped plunger onto your hand will dispense the product.

Interestingly Dyson has gone the eco-friendly route and made these bottles refillable. By unscrewing the interior from the outer cover you can replace the bottle with a refill. Rather hilariously though, a refill will still set you back $65, really only saving you about five dollars per bottle.

And because this is Dyson you won’t be surprised to learn that the instructions for use are not printed on the bottle but come in the form of technology. Holding your phone near the top of the bottle will activate a RFID chip that will take you to Dyson’s website where you can read more on how to use the product. I have to say though the interface is kind of clunky and the website doesn’t really look like it’s mobile optimized.

Further disappointment came when I tried to click through to the website and simply got an error message.

So what is Chitosan? More than just a fancy Dyson name this is a key ingredient in both hair products. Derived from oyster mushrooms it’s supposed to be good for your hair, by locking in styles without crunch, reducing frizz and giving a soft shiny finish.

Using Dyson Chitosan

Dyson says its Chitosan haircare range has been made to use on their own or are even better when used together.

What are they like to use? Dyson Chitosan Pre-style cream is made for use before styling, on towel-dried hair. Dyson says it’s for priming, hold and conditioning. The Post-style serum is designed for use on dry, styled hair to define, hold and hydrate your locks.

I quickly learned the dispenser isn’t ideal. If you press it flat you can’t really see how much product you’re getting, so you kind of have to press it at an awkward side angle. It dispenses tiny amounts, which is probably fine, but if you have longer hair and need more product, you’re going to be pumping a while.

I found the Pre-style cream was smooth and silky, and used it on my towel-dried hair before I blow dried with the Supersonic Nural.

Scent

Right away though I found the smell really off-putting. It’s not super strong, but it does smell very chemically, which surprised me. Dyson claims the creams have a “fresh, delicate fragrance with citrus notes of sparkling bergamot and mandarin. Tempered by green tea and floral notes, with hints of musk and cedarwood.” If that sounds like a lot, trust me it smells like a lot once it’s all mixed together. I think the result is none of the individual scent notes come through and it just smells like an unidentifiable mishmash.

I actually quite disliked the scent.

After I finished blow drying I have to say I was further disappointed. I don’t feel like it added anything to my hair care routine, and it certainly did not help my hair feel smoother on its own. I did definitely still need to use my flat iron to get that sleek and shiny look.

After a day or so, I also feel like the pre-style cream weighed down my hair and whereas with my regular styling product I can go several days without a wash if I need to, after Chitosan, I felt I definitely needed a wash in two days.

Post-Style Serum

I’m really disappointed to report that the post-style serum was also not a keeper for me. I’ve used plenty of different after-style treatments and serums and I know these can make a huge difference. Unfortunately, the post-style serum didn’t seem to have an effect on my hair at all. It didn’t add softness or shine that I could see and it didn’t make my hair feel better or softer than before.

It also had the same chemical tang as the pre-style cream.

After using each of these over about 2 weeks, I was so disappointed with the results that I initiated a return to Dyson. For $140 CAD in total value for both of these I was expecting a lot more.

Let’s go over the pros and cons so you can see where these fell short for me.

On the Pro side the products look high end and they’re certainly unique when it comes to the packaging. The dispenser is also unique, and the refillable bottles are a good idea environmentally.

Sadly, that’s really it for the pros.

On the cons side, I found the smell was unpleasant and chemically, the dispenser was awkward and stingy, and in the end, most importantly, neither product made a noticeable difference in my hair. And it made me feel like I needed to wash my hair more often.

Plus, the RFID instructions didn’t work and while the product is refillable, the discount on a refill is only $5, and the cost at about $70/bottle is incredibly high.

As I noted earlier, I sent these both back to Dyson for a refund and for that reason I can’t recommend the Chitosan lineup for you.

You can learn more about the lineup from Dyson’s website, and while this is a rare miss for Dyson, it’s not the first time I’ve been disappointed… check out why Dyson’s wet mop didn’t get a recommendation, or find out why I AM a big fan of the Supersonic hairdryer.

**A note about Affiliate Links: TechGadgetsCanada & TechGadgetsInternational is supported by our readers. Occasionally I will include affiliate links in my reviews. I do this partly for convenience of the reader (since I’ll almost always include a link to the company website or similar anyway) in case you want to read more or purchase, but I also may get a small commission from the click, which helps me keep the blog running. If you choose to use this link I thank you greatly for supporting the blog. There’s no obligation or cost to you for using these links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. 

The post Dyson Chitosan Styling products review: NOT what I thought! appeared first on TechGadgetsCanada.com.

There are two types of people who enjoy sous vide cooking . One is a the foodie type, for obvious reasons. The other is the folks out there who can’t cook. That may seem weird, but hear me out. Sous vide machines have the ability to control the final temperature of your food to within half a degree, so you really can’t overcook anything. And if you knew it was possible to turn out perfectly perfect food every time with almost no work on your part, wouldn’t you suddenly have an interest in cooking more? The new Anova Precision Cooker Nano is a compact sous vide cooking device that I recently had the chance to test and review, along with the Anova Container. I’ll tell you all about how it works and what kind of food you can make with it, and a bit about what sous vide cooking is and why people like it.

Watch for the video review soon, or subscribe to my YouTube channel here to get notified when it’s posted!

What is Anova Precision Cooker Nano?

The Anova Precision Cooker Nano is a compact, app-connected sous vide machine. You plug it in and place it in water and using the onboard controls or a smartphone app, you can adjust your cooking temperature to within 0.1 degrees. The Nano version is a smaller and more compact version of the previous generation Anova.

There’s a small digital readout on top of the unit so you can see temperature and time at a glance. Or you can use the app to program and manage your cooking.

You can use the Anova Precision Cooker Nano in a pot filled with water, a bucket, or with the custom made Anova Container, which lets you stack food and hold it under water, while creating an area for the machine to sit unobstructed. It all gets covered with a lid to keep the heat just right.

What is sous vide cooking?

Sous Vide cooking is a technique that uses a hot water bath to cook food to a precise temperature. More accurate than steaming and not as bland or imprecise as boiling, sous vide is a whole different method of cooking food.

Cooking sous vide involves sealing food inside a watertight bag, and immersing it in that precisely controlled hot water for an extended period of time—often an hour or a couple of hours, depending what you’re making.

After, you may want to give the food a quick sear coming out of the sous vide bath, since while the food is perfectly cooked, it can be a little pasty looking. Searing it gives colour and makes it more appealing on the plate.

Why cook sous vide?

Sous vide cooking has numerous advantages:

You can cook proteins, and other food to within 0.1 degree; because you pre-set the temperature, and the sous vide cooker holds it exactly there, there’s no danger of overcooking.

By the way, did you know the temperature difference between rare and medium rare in a steak is exactly three degrees? That;’s pretty close. No wonder so many of us over or undercook meat. The Anova gets it to witin 0.1 degrees of that perfect temperature and holds is precisely there.

You can leave food unattended, without worrying about overcooking it. Some sous vide machines like the Anova Nano here have connected apps that allow you to monitor time and temperature from a distance.

Another plus of sous vide cooking? Temperature and doneness is uniform all the way through the meat. If you’ve ever tried to cook a perfect medium steak, you know you can get it medium in the centre, but the outsides are cooked more thoroughly. Because your target temperature is precise, you can make an entire steak that is the perfect medium temperature all the way through, not just in the centre.

Sous vide cooking allows you to hold food at temperature; in some cases for hours. If guests are late, or you’ve mis-timed the cooking time on your other dishes, you don’t have to worry. You can hold food in the sous vide bath. The app will let you know for exactly how long.

 How do I set up Anova sous vide?

You’ve got a few things to do before you’re ready to sous vide. First off, download the Anova app from the App Store or Google Play. Next you’ll want to encapsulate your food in something that seals well for the cooking. Typically this is a ziplock bag or vacuum packed package. You want something that doesn’t leak, or melt.

To zip lock or to vac pack?

Many sous vide enthusiasts will vacuum pack heir foods for the sous vide process, and that’s because this removes all the air from the bag and seals it tightly, preventing leaking food or juices that can damage the sous vide machine, while also preventing the bag from floating in the water.
There are a couple of ways to hack this if you don’t have a vacuum sealer. You can put food in a ziplock or other durable, self-sealing bag and try to push all the air out of it as best you can (try sucking it out with a strew) , or you can cook in a Mason jar.

Are Ziploc bags safe for sous vide?

Ziploc backs are perfectly safe for sous viding. They’re food safe and tend to be durable enough to hold up to the heat involved, so consider them an inexpensive and easy option. You’ll want to push all the air out of the bag as best you can to keep the bag from just floating to the top of the water bath. You can even suck out the air with a straw.

What can I cook in a sous vide?

The short answer is almost anything! Vegetables, meats, fish and seafood, eggs, desserts; you can even infuse vodka with natural essences!

Preparing the Anova Precision Cooker Nano

Place the machine in water and secure it to the side of your container using the attached clip and thumb screw. I will say I hate this clip. It’s locked in one place and it doesn’t fit most of my medium pots. The previous generation anova had a removable ring that you could adjust the position of for almost any pot or container.

A heads up you’ll need a LOT of water with this device; it has a fairly high water level threshold and you’ll get an error message if your water level is too low and your cook won’t start. If you use the Container, it obviously takes even more, so if you’re doing small batches, a smaller pot is probably preferable.

Cooking with Anova sous vide

Cooking with the Anova is pretty straight forward, even for novices. Choose a recipe from the Anova app, or look up instructions for how to cook any type of food or protein. The app does it all for you but you can dial in any temperature you like.

Package up your food; and add any oils, herbs or flavours to the bag to really infuse it. Then start your water, either manually on the machine or get the app to do it for you. The water will heat up. I’m happy to say the water heats up pretty quickly (mine took less than 10 minutes when I used a big pot) and a small, single beep on the machine will alert you it’s ready.

I didn’t care much for this; I got no push notification to my phone when it was ready and when I walked over to the pot following the beep, the timer had already started counting down. I was left with the feeling the machine doesn’t wait for you. If you miss your alert, you’d have to adjust your cook time, and I couldn’t see how to do that. More investigation is needed…

When the bath is ready, you’ll get a message that it’s time to add your food. Place it in its wrapping into the water bath and tell the app your cook has begun, or mark the time if you’re going manual.

Now, shake a martini and relax—your cook will likely take an hour or two.

I’ve cooked numerous things sous vide:

• Eggs: soft boiled, hard boiled
• Sous vide egg bites
• Chicken
• Fish: (salmon, trout)
• Steak:
• Vegetables: carrots

When it came to the eggs I tried cooking hard boiled and they came out what I’d call medium poached. It’s also important to note there’s two sets of instructions in the app; the Anova guide version, which I used, and a bunch of crowd sourced recipes. You’ll want to look carefully at the ratings on those before you try them.

My “hard boiled” egg.

Features of Anova Sous Vide

There are a couple of features that set this machine apart. The big one is the digital display—something not found on a competitor’s model. The Nano is also slightly smaller than previous versions, though not quite as compact as said competitor. The Anova also comes with a built in clip for attaching your sous vide machine to a pot to keep it upright, and this clip is a bit more versatile than what you’d find on that other model.

Using the Anova app

The Anova app is a wealth of information. It’s got recipes, cooking guides and inspiration for your meals. It will tell you at a glance what temperature to cook foods at, or you can tap to load a recipe and the app will connect directly to the Nano and handle management of the cook for you. There are a few bugs with the app in my opinion. I never seemed to get a push notification or alert that the water was ready. Sometimes I’d walk over to check on it and find the time had just started counting down with no alert to me to put the food in now that the water was heated.

Other times, I’d walk over to find the water was at temperature, but I got no beep and no notification from the machine. When I went into the app to start the cook, there was no way to do that; no “Start cook/start timer” option.

Overall review: Anova Precision Nano Sous Vide machine

Overall I’ve been pretty happy with the Anova Precision Nano Sous Vide machine. It’s easy to use and the app takes a lot of the guesswork out of the precision needed to cook sous vide because it recommends temperatures and sets them for you.

If there are any downside to this device, I’d say its the terrible design of the clip which doesn’t let you adjust it; I much preferred the previous version which had a moveable collar. The device has a rounded bottom that won’t sit flat on its own in your pot and it has no magnet to stabilize that anyway. I also think the cord is also very short. I also had a lot of trouble with the app.

Even so, the Anova Precision Nano Sous Vide does exactly what you need, and it’s a lot of cooking power in a smaller package. The app is helpful and like that it’s easy to operate on-device without needing your smartphone too.

I can recommend the Anova Precision Nano Sous Vide. It sells for about $119CAD.

The post Review: Anova Precision Cooker Nano sous vide machine appeared first on TechGadgetsCanada.com.

The trouble with a lot of battery-powered yard tools is they’re weak sauce, and can’t stand up to serious maintenance tasks. So what to make of Husqvarna’s Combi Switch 330iKL interchangeable yard tool; is it a lion ready to rule the backyard jungle, or a lamb? Backyard maintenance can be serious work if you have a lot of different chores—and it can be expensive if you need a new tool for edging, trimming and cutting tall branches. The ideal solution is a Swiss Army knife type of tool that can handle a variety of backyard maintenance tasks. Meet the Husqvarna Combi Switch 330iKL . This battery-powered multitool is designed to manage several different chores with one core tool and optional extensions.

In this review I’m going to try out the Husqvarna Combi Switch 330iKL kit with a few different attachments including the Pole Saw and Lawn Edger. I’ll test out each one here in my yard and show you what they can do, walk you through what the kit and the options are like, and then I’ll wrap things up with the pros and the cons and let you know if I think I can recommend this tool for you.

About the Husqvarna Combi Switch 330iKL

Let’s take a look at what you get, and you’ll want to pay close attention to the model I’m reviewing here because every digit and letter matters. The Husqvarna Combi Switch 330iKL specifically, is a kit that includes the Husqvarna 330iK combi tool, which is the base component of the kit that comes with the handle which holds the rechargeable battery, a charger and allows you to connect other different attachments. This version comes with the String Trimmer attachment. Husqvarna sells other bundles with the same 330iK base motor and different attachments. The other attachments I got are the Pole Saw and Lawn Edger.

Watch my full hands-on review of Husqvarna Combi Switch with Trimmer, Edger, Pole Saw

Husqvarna 330iK Tool

The Husqvarna 330iK motor handle serves as the heart of the Combi Switch’s power. The arm measures 39.76 inches without attachments and has a powerful 8,500RPM motor. This might sound weak compared to your average gas-powered chainsaw which hovers around 12,000RPMs, but the Husqvarna Combi Switch 330iKL fully relies on the included 40-B140 36V lithium-ion battery so you don’t have to dabble with those oil and gas mixtures. The kit I received contains just one battery, but extras are available to buy for about $189CAD.

A word about the power and the motor here… this being a battery powered device I wasn’t entirely convinced it was going to be powerful enough to tackle more challenging yard maintenance. I am about to be proved wrong…

Battery and Charger

The large 36V battery is a big brick and it must be removed from the Combi Switch to charge. It slides into the charging cradle and lights will update you on the charging status.

Assembly & Set up

Before you get to the fun stuff you do have a little bit of assembly to do. Mainly attaching the ergonomic handle at the mid shaft. I was ready to go in just a few minutes. The battery will need a full charge before your first use which does take several hours.

The kit I received includes the String Trimmer attachment which you can also call the weed whacker. The trimmer head includes 22-feet of pre-wound 0.095-inch Husqvarna Titanium Force cord which should last you quite a while. To get set up, just charge the battery fully, then connect the String Trimmer attachment to the Combi Switch handle base.

I’ll take you through how the trimmer works first, and then take a look at the two other attachments I received.

String Trimmer

I wasn’t expecting much from a battery powered string trimmer. The last time I used one was many years ago, and it was a lacklustre tool at best, limited to short jobs that didn’t require a whole lot of cutting power. So I was pretty surprised when I powered it on. It actually feels like there’s an incredible amount of power in this tool. That was proven when we started trimming the yard.

The trimmer head is able to power through tall grasses, and even small shoots easily. In action, the string trimmer boasts a large 18-inch cutting path so it took us less time to do the trimming.

While the battery is large and heavy on its own, the motor handle is actually quite well-balanced with the string trimmer attachment loaded and it doesn’t lead to quick fatigue.
I can say that with the attachment in, the Combi Switch does seem almost comically long; almost a kin to a commercial landscape tool as opposed to something for residential use.

The string trimmer made quick work of all of the grass that doesn’t get cut by my Husqvarna Automower 315X robot lawn mower, and it actually makes an ideal companion.

For the last couple of years we’ve been using an electric string trimmer which has required dragging a long cord all over the yard. And if I’m being honest, though it is a plug-in, it’s not particularly powerful.

I actually found the Combi Switch was far more powerful than my electric version. It goes without saying you should be wearing safety glasses anytime you’re using a device like this, but it was absolutely even more important with the Combi Switch because high powered rocks and debris were being fired in all directions. The cast-aluminum gear box features large buttons including a dedicated button for adjusting the speed.

Simple Line Replacement

The Combi Switch uses what Husqvarna calls Titanium Force line that’s meant to be more durable and long lasting, and less prone to shredding when encountering things like rock, brick and concrete. Replacing the line involves a simple alignment, feeding the line, and twisting. Husqvarna calls this the Rapid Replace trimmer head and it completely eliminates the need to disassemble the head to reload your string, so I’m a huge fan of that.

A new roll of line costs between $10-15.

Lawn Edger Attachment

The next tool I tried was the lawn edger. I’ve always wanted one of these to create a tidier looking lawn, but never took the plunge; in part because I don’t need any more tools taking up space in the garage. So I found having the interchangeable lawn edger with the Combi Switch was actually an excellent compromise.

I swapped the tool in with a quick click and was ready to get to work. With the Combi Switch’s powerful motor, the edger is a beast on dense hard-packed lawns like mine.
I’ve never used an edger before, so we experimented a bit with using it. The big, sharp edging blades made really quick work of the major overgrowth of lawn that had spilled onto the sidewalk.

We were able to get a very clean cut that only required a little bit of finishing and removing of the lawn cuttings. I love the way the nice clean edge looks at the front of my house and think this attachment did a masterful job.

Pole Saw

With plenty of dead branches on a couple of trees in my yard, I was looking forward to testing out the pole saw. We were going to hire someone to come in and trim the dead branches for us, but that came with a price tag of nearly $1,000. By comparison the $299CAD price tag of the pole saw seems like a much better investment.

The pole saw is essentially a tiny chainsaw attached to the end of a long pole. Being familiar by now with how powerful the base motor of this tool is, I was fully confident I would have no trouble chopping branches with this cordless device.

The Husqvarna Combi Switch + Pole Saw 330iKP can reach up to 12-feet, and saw limbs up to 8″ thick.

Husqvarna says the proprietary X-CUT® chain delivers a superior cutting performance, with the optimized cutting angle and long-lasting sharpness. Well I can’t weigh in yet on how long the blade will stay sharp and what its long-term durability is, I can say the Combi Switch made quick work of removing the dead branches and then chopping them into manageable pieces.

I was also easily able to tackle a previously out of reach dead branch on one of our aspen trees.

The Combi Switch pole saw is super handy and it’s going to come in even more so this fall and winter when it comes time to do some cold weather pruning also.

Battery life and charging

The battery life may come as a surprise to some folks. On a full charge you’re getting only up to 28 minutes of runtime. Having experienced the power from this tool, I’m not surprised; it’s going to eat a lot of battery to run at this level.

Battery life does also vary by attachment. Husqvarna pointed out to me that the majority of jobs with a Combi tool are momentary jobs (quick on and off of the throttle), so the usage should be able to get you through the work you need to get done.

In truth I was able to carry out all of my review tests from the trimming of the grass, to the edging, and even the removal of those dead branches on a single charge, and even then the battery still had about 2/3 of its charge left.

If you do want a second battery, those retail for about $198USD, which is quite substantial; about half the cost of buying the entire kit.

Overall review: Husqvarna Combi Switch 330iKL

The Husqvarna Combi Switch 330iKL is a battery-powered powerhouse and the included String Trimmer is a good way to test the motor’s capabilities. Once you have made progress in quickly trimming your yard thanks to the large cutting path and powerful cutting abilities, you can swap in whatever other attachments you need.

Let’s go over the pros and the cons.

On the pro side, the motor is beyond powerful, particularly for a rechargeable battery powered lawn tool. I love the good range of different attachments available and find this type of swappable combination tool allows me to take care of more chores without having too much gear taking up space in the garage. Each of the attachments was incredibly effective at its core task. The motor base seems durable and well-made, and the handle is well balanced to manage the weight of the attachments and battery. The removable battery means you can swap in a fresh one to keep on working if you want to purchase an extra.

On the con side, the tool does seem a bit bigger than it needs to be for me personally. But that larger size did come in handy when I was trying to reach up for tall tree branches. I think some buyers might also be put off by the relatively short battery life, but the truth is I was able to tackle all of my household chores on a single charge with plenty left over. Of course if you’re going to be using this for bigger jobs and longer durations, investing in the extra battery might be very worthwhile.

The Husqvarna Combi Switch Sells for about $540CAD for the base motor with string trimmer. The Pole saw attachment costs about $299 while the edger is $169 CAD.

**A note about Affiliate Links: TechGadgetsCanada & TechGadgetsInternational is supported by our readers. Occasionally I will include affiliate links in my reviews. I do this partly for convenience of the reader (since I’ll almost always include a link to the company website or similar anyway) in case you want to read more or purchase, but I also may get a small commission from the click, which helps me keep the blog running. If you choose to use this link I thank you greatly for supporting the blog. There’s no obligation or cost to you for using these links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. 

The post Hands-on review: Husqvarna Combi Switch: Trimmer, Edger, Pole Saw appeared first on TechGadgetsCanada.com.

If you need a video monitoring solution that takes you a step further than a standard static camera, Ring has just brought out a brand new option, meet the Ring Pan-Tilt Indoor Cam.
In this review I’ll take a look at what you’re getting with this dedicated moveable camera, what it’s now designed to do, and how it’s changed drastically from the original version, plus how well the Pan-Tilt mechanism works to help it see into more places or if it has limitations. I’ll wrap things up by going over the pros and the cons and let you know if I think I can recommend this set up for you.

Ring Pan-Tilt Indoor Cam – What you get

Ring’s indoor home security cameras, whether battery powered or plug in, have been massively popular. Ring Pan-Tilt Indoor Cam is the replacement for what used to be a two part camera. While the original consisted of a Ring camera and separate pan-tilt mount, this version is a single unit where the camera is already connected to a sturdy motorized base that allows the camera to pan 360° around the room, as well as tilt 169° from floor to ceiling. With 1080 HD video and night vision, the camera requires an AC plug for all of its power.

It can sit on a table or piece of furniture or be mounted to a wall or ceiling.

Also new with this version is a manual audio on off switch as well as a privacy cover that allows you to ensure even if someone could perhaps hack into your system, you have a way to completely shutter the camera.

Helpfully, Ring now offers this camera in five different colours so it can blend in a little better with your space.

Ring does not seem to declare an IP rating for this camera, saying only its maximum operating temperatures are -4°F to 113°F (-20°C to 45°C). Since this is billed as an indoor camera, temperature and water shouldn’t really be an issue.

Watch my full hands-on review of Ring Pan-Tilt Cam

Set up & Installation

Setting up all Ring devices is incredibly simple, even for novices. I’ve reviewed literally dozens of Ring products over the years and can count on one or two fingers the number of times I’ve had trouble. With this camera it was as simple as plugging it into the wall outlet and letting it power up. You’ll sign into or sign up for a Ring account using the Ring app. Then you’ll just follow the steps in the app to connect your camera to your home Wi-Fi network. I was ready to go in about five minutes.

Once your camera is ready you can create your own default or Home position where the camera will rest and do most of its observations.

Control with joystick

I can definitely say the camera is easy to maneuver using the 4-way virtual joystick inside the Ring app. The movement also responds quite quickly.

The motion of the camera is completely silent; it makes a very subtle humming sound as it is changing positions, but it’s barely perceptible.

At any time you can take a live look through the camera and pan it around your space or tilt it up and down to see anything you need. Having this type of motion is incredibly helpful particularly if you can place it in a central area of your home. It would allow you to do things like check whether or not you’ve left the door unlocked, the stove on, or your important papers on the counter.

Once you have finished with your live look, if you exit the Ring app the camera will return to its default home position on its own.

Limitations

I should mention that the camera won’t spin in a complete 360° circle endlessly; it will only go to the edge of its field of 360-view before you will have to pan it back all the way around to get to the other side.

One of the features I was really hoping for with this camera was automatic motion tracking. Sadly while the camera has seen a few feature upgrades, this is not one of them. That means that if something moves through the field of view, you would have to get the motion alert, then open the app and manually use the controls in the app to follow it around the room; the camera can’t do that on its own.

Some other similar devices, such as the Echo Show 10 can do this.

I will say I am a bit surprised by that. Ring, through its partnership with Amazon is clearly using this technology in other places, so I’m a bit surprised to find Ring still has no dedicated motion tracking home security camera… despite having just refreshed this version.

Ring Protect Plan

I don’t want us to get too much further into this review without touching on an important point. To get the most out of this camera and really the entire Ring system expect to pay a monthly fee. Ring has monthly cloud recording and storage plans known as Ring Protect plans. If you don’t opt for one of these plans you really only get the ability to take a live look at your cameras. While the Basic protect plan costs just about $5USD per month, it only allows you to operate one camera or doorbell. Any more than that and you will need to upgrade to a more robust plan (Plus gives you unlimited cameras for $10USD/month).

I have had a Plus plan for years and I think it’s been worth it. Before you hit add to cart, I do recommend going to Ring’s website and checking out the options before you commit.

Video

Most of the Ring’s camera lineup uses 1080 HD resolution cameras, and this is common across most of the home security spectrum. HD video pales in comparison to 4K video which many of us now have the ability to record on our phones and watch on TV. But using HD video is actually a good balance of clear image quality and efficient bandwidth usage, and if you typically look at this footage on your phone screen, it works just fine, but identifying faces beyond about 5 feet away might be a little difficult because of the limited resolution.

Ring cameras use Advanced Motion Detection with Customizable Motion Zones to alert you to any motion within range of the camera. You can set your camera to alert you to any motion or just at certain times of day or certain types of motion. These alerts will come as push notifications to your phone depending on which type of notifications you have enabled or prefer. Once you receive a motion notification you can go in and take a live view and use the camera to pan or tilt across the space.

Plus, the camera has Color Night Vision to help you see better in all types of spaces.

My primary use for this camera was for watching my dogs, and it was more than enough for me to keep an eye on them.

Two-way talk

For an entry-level security camera, the two-way audio of the Pan-Tilt Indoor Cam is a welcome feature. You can turn on the microphone or speaker and talk or listen.
The audio from the camera is surprisingly good. It’s not going to replace your phone anytime soon, but it’s entirely capable of giving a few ‘good girls’ to the pups.

Adjustable motion zones

A cool feature of many of these Ring cameras are the adjustable motion zones. What these let you do is essentially tell the camera that certain parts that are visible in the frame don’t need to trigger alerts.

With an indoor camera, this would be helpful if you want alerts only when someone appears in the doorway, and not when they walk across the living room.

You can combine Pan-Tilt Indoor Cam with Alexa so that when anyone triggers Ring’s built-in motion zones, your Echo device will jingle and make an announcement, and your Echo Show will let you see, hear and speak to anyone captured on camera.

Real time alerts

I will say the alerts from Ring cameras come to my phone fairly quickly. While they are sometimes delayed a couple of seconds, it’s not usually a problem. And of course if you’re subscribed to one of the Ring protect plans you’re going to get recorded video footage of that stuff anyway so you’ll have a chance to review it after the fact. Yet another good reason to subscribe to the plan.

Overall review

Overall I’m glad Ring has created a dedicated pan-tilt camera, but I’m also a little bit surprised that it didn’t give it as much functionality as I think it could have. Let’s go over the pros and the cons so you can understand what you might be getting and if it’s right for you.

Like all the Ring devices I have reviewed this one is easy to set up and integrates perfectly into my Ring and Alexa enabled home. The resolution is standard for home security cameras of this type and includes night vision. Being able to move the camera to view any direction goes a long way to increasing the available view. Using the joystick in the Ring app it’s easy to move the camera around, and even with all that motion, you’ve got a couple of options for mounting it. I also appreciate that the electronic motor that moves the camera operates silently. I also think the addition of the physical privacy shutter adds peace of mind, and the new colour options will help these devices stick out less like sore thumbs.

When it comes to the downsides, on its own merits the camera delivers on exactly what it promises. I do have to admit that I am quite surprised there is no integrated automatic motion tracking in this device. I do think that may limit its usefulness for some users since it can literally only alert you to what happens directly in front of the lens while it’s in its home position. Otherwise, the other limitation might be that you do need to have it connected to AC power at all times, and the 6 foot cord may not be not long enough for many installation applications.

As long as you understand what you’re getting with this camera and know that you will have a roll to play in helping the camera access all 360° of your space, this camera will probably work just fine. If you are looking for more of a fully automated, smart, home security solution, you might find this option rather limiting.

I will however give kudos to Ring for pricing this all-in-one unit lower than the previous version which required the purchase of both the mount and the camera separately. Ring Pan-Tilt Indoor Cam for about $79 US or $109 Canadian and you can get them from a variety of electronic stores or from Amazon.

**A note about Affiliate Links: TechGadgetsCanada & TechGadgetsInternational is supported by our readers. Occasionally I will include affiliate links in my reviews. I do this partly for convenience of the reader (since I’ll almost always include a link to the company website or similar anyway) in case you want to read more or purchase, but I also may get a small commission from the click, which helps me keep the blog running. If you choose to use this link I thank you greatly for supporting the blog. There’s no obligation or cost to you for using these links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. 

The post Ring Pan-Tilt Indoor Cam: hands-on review in my home appeared first on TechGadgetsCanada.com.