Ok, I must get this out straight away: the nCube is not a cube! This bugs me way more than it should, but it could literally be called anything or be any shape, so there is just no excuse for the name and design to not correlate. This was, perhaps, an early sign of disappointments to come.

What the nCube aims to do is become the brain that links all your smart home-tech into one convenient place. You will need to download the app, connect the nCube to your home Wi-Fi and then add your smart-devices to begin using it. There are endless products you can attach that could allow you to control your energy consumption, security and entertainment. The nCube can send you an SMS message if a smoke/leak detector is triggered, turn your music on in the morning and even get the kettle going for your first coffee of the day. The nCube uses a unique box and technology to help protect your privacy. Your information is never sent out to central servers or stored in a cloud, it all stays on the device in your home making it more secure. Another unique trait is that the nCube can work offline, so if the internet connection is slow or goes down, you can still control security alarm systems, heating and everything else connected to the device.

The advantage of having a hub like the nCube to control all your devices means that they can interact with each other. The nCube is currently compatible with 120 devices, but more are always being added and you can allow multiple users to control the smart-devices in the home with the app. All sounds a bit too good to be true? Well the ideas behind the nCube are good, but in practise it has a long way to go: the app is buggy and slow, difficult to use, and some of the set-ups take ages. However, I will happily keep my eye on this product, as I think with a little bit of time it will greatly improve. RRP £149.00

3.5 out of 5

Buy now

Pros

Works offline

Compatible 120 products including Nest thermostat, Sonos player, LIFX lights and Philips Hue lights.

Works with devices using Wifi/Ethernet, Bluetooth and Z-Wave

Data stays in the hub in your home for more security

Manage all your devices via one app

Multiple users

Cons

Slow

Complicated set up

Buggy app