Whether you're going away for the weekend or in the office for the day, leaving your home unattended is often a source of anxiety.
Homes that look as though they’re empty can be targeted by thieves, so using smart tech to turn lights on and make it look like you're in is great for peace of mind. Smart plugs do just that, and I've spotted that the excellent Amazon Smart Plug, one of the top picks from our roundup, is reduced by 36% on Amazon in the Prime Day sale, down to £15.99 from £24.99.
The deal doesn't quite beat the previous discount during Black Friday when the device was down by 48%, but that doesn't stop this from being a bargain worth grabbing.
The one thing to note is that you'll need to be an Amazon Prime member to access these deals – you can still access the savings if you're taking part in the free trial. So if you're keen, sign up for Amazon Prime here to snap up all the great tech deals happening during the 48-hour event.
If you're new to making your home smarter, your plugs or light bulbs are a great place to start. I like the simplicity of a connected home with smart plugs, though, as they can schedule your lights to turn on and off or periodically turn on your radio while you're out, to mimic the appearance of someone being at home. This works via an app, which you can access on your phone or tablet, leaving you totally worry-free.
Smart plugs look the same as regular ones, except they have a socket on the front that you plug your electrical devices into – lamps, speakers, TVs, coffee makers, slow cookers and more. Once you’ve set the plug via your wifi network you're good to go.
As a bonus, they work with voice assistants (Siri, Alexa, and Google Home) but check that the model you want works with your particular setup. Amazon plugs, unsurprisingly, work with Amazon Alexa.
Want to go big? The Kasa wifi power strip is another favourite smart plug from our tests – it comes with three sockets and two USB ports for charging smartphones and other USB devices like wireless headphones.
Because each socket is separately managed in the app, you could set it up to turn off the TV or lamp at a certain time or start your slow cooker so dinner's ready for when you get home. That is pure convenience.
Simon Cocks is Good Housekeeping UK’s Technology Editor, overseeing tech shopping content and strategy for the title. He previously also worked across other titles including Esquire UK, Digital Spy, Men’s Health UK and Women’s Health UK.
Simon specialises in testing the latest smart gadgets, home entertainment gear, headphones, speakers, portable chargers, radios, e-book readers and smartphones. He's reviewed top tech products from brands including Google, Apple, Amazon, JBL and Bose.
A magazine journalism graduate from Kingston University in 2014, Simon also worked on the Discovery and Silkroad inflight magazines. He then gained experience writing about entertainment at SFX and Total Film. He also contributed reviews and interviews to TwitchFilm (later ScreenAnarchy), CultBox and Frame Rated.
He joined Good Housekeeping UK as the Editorial Assistant for Special Projects and was part of Good Housekeeping’s Consumer Affairs Team between 2014 and 2019. In this role, he conducted price comparison research, wrote detailed household and money-saving advice guides and edited thousands of in-depth reviews for the Good Housekeeping Institute.
He has focused on technology and gadgets since 2020, where he started by testing out power banks and instant cameras. He writes reviews, roundups, news articles and deals updates, and also covers top tech deals during sales like Amazon Prime Day, Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
When not testing out the latest gizmos, you’ll find Simon either catching up with the newest releases at his local cinema or out shooting with his beloved compact camera.
You can follow Simon on Instagram, on Bluesky, on LinkedIn and on Threads.
