Create AI social media posts across major platforms

Circleboom is fantastic for anyone who wants the very best social media management tools without breaking the bank. With a simple UI and tons of features, Circleboom stands alongside Hootsuite and its rivals. While the cheaper tiers are sometimes light on features, the medium and high tiers are reasonably priced, and Circleboom often has a deal on the go.

Pros

• +Simple to use and easy to get to grips with
• +Powerful features
• +Lots of pricing tiers
• +ChatGPT integration

Cons

• -Competitors offer more features for basic tiers
• -24 hour support is limited to higher tiers

Circleboom is one of the most exciting entrants into the best social media management tools since its 2019 launch. Alongside the likes of Hootsuite and Buffer, Circleboom stands up as one of the more complete and comprehensive platforms, especially for managing Twitter (or X) accounts.

Almost every modern company engages with social media in some form, whether to hear from customers, solicit new business, or tell users about something new, and that makes managing those channels a high priority task.

Gone are the days when companies had a blog, updated whenever there was a new announcement, replaced by an ability to have more insight into users and readership than ever before, across an array of platforms that reach more people than ever in human history.

For Circleboom, the goal is to make intuitive and easy-to-use products, mostly focused on managing Twitter accounts and publishing across social media. The service isn’t focused on adding tons of random features, just offering the best.

Sign up for a Circleboom plan

Circleboom boasts that it offers the “most intuitive” social media management tool and, after using the service, it’s hard to disagree. While some competitors offer a much wider variety of different dials and knobs, Circleboom delivers on the basics (with some advanced features sprinkled in).

Combine that with some really reasonable pricing – as little as $210 per month for large enterprise customers, and much less for smaller businesses – and you get a very compelling offering.

Let’s dive into our Circleboom social media management review.

CIRCLEBOOM: PLANS AND PRICING

Circleboom splits its offering into two sections: Twitter Management, focused on Twitter (or now X) as the name implies, and Publish, which lets users design, plan, and automate their posts across a ton of platforms.

Starting with the X-focused offering, there is a very limited free offering that mostly serves to promote the other offerings. We’ll break down each plan and what it offers.

Limited Plan: mostly for tweet and like deletion, costing $9.99 per month

Pro: offering the basic set of features, like Follower Insights, Tracking, and other analytics, with support for accounts up to 25,000 followers, costing $16.99 per month

Plus: the most popular plan, which has all of the benefits of Pro plus dedicated 24/7 support, two accounts, and up to 100,000 followers, costing $23.99 per month

Premium: everything above plus support for 1 million followers and 150 account/keyword searches per month, costing $29.99 per month

(On top of these tiers, users can also pay an extra $1.99 per month for X unfollower notifications.)

The more advanced Publish option follows a fairly similar pattern to the Twitter-focused tool, except for higher prices due to the expanded nature of its features.

Pro: up to five social accounts, 300 scheduled posts, standard support, and ChatGPT integration for $24.99 per month

Premium: up to 10 accounts, unlimited posts, and ChatGPT for $34.99 per month

Business: up to 30 social accounts, unlimited posts, ChatGPT, and 24/7 support for $79.99 per month

Enterprise: up to 100 accounts, unlimited posts, and more for $209.99 per month.

For more details on the pricing and to find the best tier for your organisation, head to Circleboom. Right now, the company is offering money off many of its plans when you pay annually, so keep that in mind, especially if you’re thinking about Circleboom for a larger business.

CIRCLEBOOM: FEATURES

Circleboom covers a lot of ground for many of the key tools of social media management. Creating, scheduling, and managing posts is really easy and comes as part of all of the tiers except the most basic Limited Plan.

Analytics, follower tracking, advanced search, deleting tweets or posts, and a lot more comes as standard on most of the plans, too. Twitter Management is also handily available via an iOS app, for on the go tweeting, although the Publish suite requires a web browser.

On top of that, the Publish tool offers OpenAI’s ChatGPT AI smarts to create social media posts – which can then be vetted by humans before reaching the real world. Circleboom includes AI integrations in the cheapest level of Publish, too.

According to the company, support for TikTok is on the horizon, meaning you can easily measure your audience and post to the it-platform of the moment. There is already support for LinkedIn, X, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and other platforms.

Because of the focus on a simple and understandable UI, Circleboom really excels on the basics and we had no trouble managing our accounts via the platform. Everything worked smoothly.

But what about when you needs get a bit more complicated?

If you’re a social media professional then deleting posts, checking analytics, and so on are things you can do in your sleep. You want more!

Luckily, Circleboom delivers when it comes to adding a ton of really technical features for managing the minutiae of the social media world. For this part, we’ll mostly focus on Publish, the more advanced of the two.

Let’s reel off some features: a Canva design tool, image and gif creation tools, advanced Instagram features (including Reels support, a hashtag generator, tagging, and AI content generation), a similar set of features for Facebook, X polls, LinkedIn document posts, advanced Pinterest posts, and “best time to post” features.

There’s a huge amount there and we recommend checking out Circleboom’s own list to see if your specific niche has been catered too. Suffice to say, whether you want to share insights on LinkedIn or corporate outtakes on TikTok, Circleboom has you covered.

One thing that’s worth repeating is the addition of OpenAI-powered smarts, which could make a big difference, especially if your social media department is small (or even a single person). Having a way to test ideas and concepts, and everything else we know AI can do, could prove to be an edge in 2024.

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CIRCLEBOOM: ANALYTICS AND REPORTING

The higher your tier goes the more choices of analytics tools there will be, but all of the plans come with the absolute basics of follower counts, suspected fake/spam followers, unfollower alerts, and similar insights for friends.

Users can also track follower growth, characteristics, language stats, gender stats, how each post is performing, and see the best time to tweet. Circleboom will also generate an interest cloud for your followers and create reports on rival accounts.

What you’re looking for will be different from company to company, but it’s highly like that Circleboom will have you covered on some level.

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CIRCLEBOOM: USER INTERFACE

This, really, is the big one for Circleboom: the website screams at every opportunity that their tool is an “intuitive and easy-to-use social media product”, created with a “keep it simple” mindset, a focus on intuitive design, and only adding features that are deemed essential.

Now, for the most hard-core user, that might not sound ideal, but for everyone else, especially those who want an easy way to just get on with social media without having to invest too much time, Circleboom is really, really good.

All of the various widgets and dials are well thought-out and, importantly, in obvious places around the user interface. I never found myself having to search for too long to find something specific, which is somewhat rare among its competitors.

CIRCLEBOOM: SUPPORT

Circleboom offers dedicated support but only for its more expensive plans, starting at the Premium plan for Publish and Plus for Twitter Management. What you get is high quality 24 hour phone and video support, helping solve most problems.

The company also publishes an extensive help section on its website, with a ton of different details from the very nooks and crannies of its app. Anything you’re unsure about will likely be covered there. You can, of course, also get in touch with Circleboom directly about any issues.

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CIRCLEBOOM: THE COMPETITION

While Hootsuite, for example, offers some of the most complex and detailed features for any of the apps, as do Buffer and Zoho Social, there is a beauty to the simplicity and ease with which you can use Circleboom.

We’ve taken an extensive look at the best social media management tools going right now, comparing them across a huge array of categories, so check that out if Circleboom didn’t quite scratch your itch.

CIRCLEBOOM: FINAL VERDICT

There’s a reason that NBC News, Netflix, BBC News, SoundCloud, the American Red Cross, L’Oreal, and a ton of other big-name companies use Circleboom: ease, efficiency, and integration across an array of apps.

The addition of AI-generated posting options via ChatGPT is really exciting and will give social media managers a new way to brainstorm ideas and concepts. All of the basics are there, too, from detailed analytics to support for all major services.

Big companies will definitely want to consider the more expensive, fully featured plans but we feel like there’s a level for everyone, and Circleboom is running some very exciting promo deals for many of its tiers, so don’t wait too long.

The post Circleboom Review appeared first on Review Products.

Give your video projects the AI wow factor

Videoleap is a good mobile video editor which stands out from the crowd with interesting, fun, and well integrated AI tools, which can help make your projects stand out. Well worth exploring if you’re in the market for something fresh and new.

Pros

• +Great integration with AI tools
• +Good interface
• +Fun to use

Cons

• -Yet another subscription to pay for
• -Mobile and tablet versions offer different project size options
• -AI voice wants money to work
• -The app wants to track you

Lightricks make a couple of interesting AI-laden apps for your mobile or tablet device, including a photo editing app called Photoleap, and Videoleap, a simple-to-use video editing app for your mobile. We’ve tested quite a few of the best video editing apps, and we have to say – this one is more fun to use than you might think.

You can try Videoleap by clicking here

VIDEOLEAP: PRICING & PLANS

Why would developers of a video editor want to track your activity outside of the app?

Another subscription to pay for, but at least you can choose to pay for the product outright too if you want

There is a free version of the app, but as you’d expect, its best features, effects and tools are kept behind a paywall. You can however try out everything Videoleap has to offer free for seven days, but that will mean you agreeing to a subscription after the trial period, so don’t forget to cancel if you decide this app isn’t for you. But why does this app want to track your usage on other apps and websites?

You can opt for a monthly or annual subscription – but the monthly payments are quite a bit steeper compared to the yearly equivalent if you pay in full. But, like the more pro-focused app LumaFusion, you have the option to pay a one-off cost and own Videoleap forever. Unlike LumaFusion, it’s about double the price.

You do need to log in with your Facebook account, Apple or Google ID, but if you’d rather keep all of that separate, they do accept you using your email address instead.

Pricing & plans:3/5

VIDEOLEAP: OUR EXPERIENCE

Videoleap has plenty of eye-catching templates for you to use

A good video editor with interesting and original AI integration.

We found the app very easy to use. You’re restricted to the portrait orientation when working on a phone, but we found a tablet offers more flexibility, letting you work in either position. On a phone, any new project takes on the dimension of the initial clip you add to it, so make sure you use the right one first to match the style you’re after. The tablet version offers you aspect ratio options by default.

Considering the limitations of a mobile device, editing works very well, with elegant support for touch gestures. The icons are small but big enough to handle on a small screen. You have the main preview window that takes up most of the interface, beneath that is your timeline, which you can zoom in and out effortlessly through touch commands, and at the bottom, your various tools.

Like many of the best video editing software for beginners we’ve looked at, you’ll find good in-app support. If you get lost, or are unsure what to do, the help button (top left) will give you various examples of what’s possible, from the basic to the advanced, through a series of simple animations.

If you’re not sure what to do, the Help section will inspire you

Our experience: 4/5

VIDEOLEAP: FEATURES

The video AI Filters are impressive and a lot of fun – but they take a while to render

AI Filters and Uncrop are the standouts of this app and are great fun to use

Videoleap’s biggest standout is the AI integration. You’ll find it in many of its tools, such as ‘AI Image’, which is the – mostly traditional by now – text field where you write what you want to see, and end up with various results, which you can expand on until you find the perfect image for you. But that’s not all, there’s AI Recolour too. There’s also AI Voice which we gather allows you to use your voice to create an AI counterpart. Sounds fun, but after having spent a while talking to it, you’re then asked for money to save the result. Hardly the friendliest of interfaces.

One great AI feature is ‘Uncrop’. With it, the app will expand an image beyond its boundaries, based on the content of the image itself. It’s actually great fun to use, but it doesn’t work with video, or we should say, it only works on a clip’s first frame. It’s brilliant with photos, and you can then use the app’s keyframes to zoom in or out of this AI expansion over time. But we really enjoyed using AI Filters, which alter a photo or video (with the version 2 options) for some genuinely impressive and fun changes.

SHOULD I BUY?

Editing is clean, simple, and well implemented

BUY IT IF…

You’re looking for a video editor that’s easy to use with clever AI integration.

DON’T BUY IT IF…

You don’t want to pay for yet another subscription, and wish more tools were on offer for free.

HOW WE TESTED VIDEOLEAP

We installed the app both on a phone and a tablet, and tried it out for several hours, using our experience in video editing to put it through its paces, as we created a few projects and checked how easy – or frustrating – it was to work with, all while exploring the original features which caught our eye.

The post Videoleap Review appeared first on Review Products.

Edit PDFs at work, on the go, and elsewhere.

PDFgear is a highly versatile collection of apps capable of editing and manipulating PDFs, annotating them, converting them to other formats, or changing those formats into PDFs. Better still, it’s a powerful desktop app, a good mobile app, and an ok web service, so wherever you are, and on whichever device you’re on, you can make use of PDFgear to work on your PDF documents.

Pros

• +Multi-platform
• +Free
• +Powerful tools

Cons

• -Works best on the Desktop
• -Web service option feels slow
• -Potential privacy issue for the mobile version

PDFgear is a multi-platform app whose Singapore-based developers claim offers everything you need to do to a PDF, all under one roof, and all for free. We’ve tested plenty of the best free PDF editors, and when you consider some of these hide more advanced features behind a subscription, or lack specific tools altogether, this is certainly an attractive proposition.

With apps available on desktop, mobile, and the web, we took a look at each one to see what it can do.

PDFGEAR: PRICING & PLANS

No charge whether you use the service offline or online, no watermark, no need to create an account.

OK, the advertising says it’s free, but there’s got to be a catch, right? Apparently not. We’ve looked around and tried various features, but it looks like the developers are true to their word: not only is PDFgear totally free to use, it won’t watermark your work, nor will you need to create an online account.

We contacted the company about this, and their response hinted at the possibility this might not be the case in the future: “PDFgear is free to use at the current stage, and there are no other versions that contain more functions.” So for right now, everything is free, and that’s worth celebrating.

Pricing & plans: 5/5

PDFGEAR: DESKTOP APP

So many features and possibilities – PDFgear lets you edit, annotate, fill in and sign, as well as offering numerous conversion tools

We tested out version 2.1. And like all the best PDF editors we’ve tried, you’ll find the interface clean and simple. Most of the welcome page is dedicated to various shortcuts which will allow you to perform quick, one-step functions, such as rotating a PDF, taking a screenshot and using the OCR software. As you[‘d expect, there’s also conversion tools and a PDF merger.

You can display the ‘hottest’ tools, narrow down the results to merely ‘convert’ from or to PDFs, or simply focus on the ‘split & merge’ tools, or just display everything. Click on the tool you need, locate the file you wish to alter, use fields to input your instructions, and save the results. It’s simple, but it’s not drag-and-drop-simple.

For instance, when splitting a PDF, you need to state which pages you wish to split and put that information in a field. You don’t have a visual representation of the file, or thumbnails of the pages, so no way to just click on the ones you need. Most of the conversion tools don’t need much input, so when it comes to them, such a basic interface works great.

But these are just the appetisers. To the left is a simple sidebar with a single button: ‘Open File’. This enables you to load a PDF into PDFgear, and gain access to all of its tools. This is where editing the text contained within PDFs is possible. Highlighting text, adding shapes, overlaying images, inserting new URL links, notes, it’s all there for you to use.

You’ll find some tabs at the top of the page. This is from where you can access the signing and form filling options for instance. There’s even a way to set a password to access your document, or redact certain sensitive sections of it. PDFgear covers pretty much all the bases.

Desktop app: 4.5/5

PDFGEAR: MOBILE APP

A good number of options while you’re on the go, but the potential privacy issue when it comes to accessing your camera from within the app could be a concern for some.

On Android and iOS, PDFgear lacks the shortcut feature that is so prominently displayed in the desktop version. We also couldn’t find a way to edit the text already present in a PDF. However, the annotation options are vast. The interface works in either landscape or portrait orientation, you can highlight and underline text in multiple colours, draw, add shapes and notes, pretty much the same as what you can do with the Desktop version.

There’s a cool feature when adding a Text Box: you can turn on your phone’s camera and grab any text it sees. PDFgear will automatically OCR said text and insert it into your document as a moveable and resizable text box. The character recognition isn’t perfect, but thankfully, you’ll be able to edit the content, font size and colour.

There is however a privacy concern when using an iPhone (we couldn’t check this on an Android device). Usually, when you choose to access your camera for the first time from a new app, your iPhone asks you for permission for it to do so, but here, no such permission was requested. Maybe something Apple should look into?

Additional features include organising pages, creating new ones, and splitting pages from a PDF, as well as built-in eSignature software. It’s a great tool to have when you need to annotate a PDF on the go, and you get to import documents directly from your iPhone, iCloud Drive or Dropbox.

Mobile app: 3.5/5

PDFGEAR: WEB APP

If you need to annotate or fill in a PDF and you’re nowhere near your computer or phone, this would be a godsend.

If you don’t have your computer or mobile device handy, but still need to work on some documents, you can do this without having to download an app onto the machine you’re borrowing: just use PDFgear straight from the developers’ website under the ‘Products’ menu, then select the online tool you’d like to use.

When it comes to annotation, form building, conversation, splitting and merging, and more, the online tools are very similar to the Desktop version. The only drawback is an interface that isn’t ideally suited for the purpose: you constantly have to visit a dropdown menu to choose the tool you need, and doing so overwrites whatever document you might’ve had on the page at the time.

The service’s forte lies in its desktop app, so it isn’t too surprising the online version isn’t as polished. PDFgear even quietly urges you to download their app, with a prominent red button, top right of the page. Despite this, you can do everything you’d expect, aside from editing the text of a PDF. We weren’t able to find a tool that does that. The ‘Edit PDF’ option is actually the annotation tool.

The biggest drawback is of course having to be online to use the service, which isn’t surprising, but it’s worth noting that if your internet drops, so will your ability to work in PDFgear, and if you’re not comfortable uploading a document in order to work on it, then this version is a no-go for you.

PDFgear works best and is the most feature-rich on a desktop (or laptop), but it’s good to have options, as the mobile version can be fantastic when you’re on the go, while the online version could save your bacon if you’ve got no other option. The fact this app is free and so feature rich is most impressive, just as long as it remains that way.

SHOULD I BUY?

PDFgear free PDF editor as we test out each app.

The various manipulating and conversion tools are easy to access, but lack the visual element that would make them truly easy to use  (Image credit: PDFgear)

BUY IT IF…

You’re in the market for a powerful and versatile PDF editor, that works on any device you happen to be in front of when you need it.

DON’T BUY IT IF…

You don’t need to edit, annotate or fill in a PDF, or you view free services with deep suspicion.

PDFGEAR: ALTERNATIVES

If PDFgear doesn’t do what you need, check out Adobe Acrobat. Soda PDF Online, Nitro PDF Pro, and Foxit PDF Editor. If you’re on a Mac, give Apple Preview a look. It’s fairly basic, but contains many common features for free.

The post PDFgear Review appeared first on Review Products.

Digital engagement in physical spaces.

Nsign.tv is a CPaaS that integrates smart content with digitization projects through AI, Big Data and IoT. It offers a variety of features and has won awards. It has a 30-day free trial, but pricing is not clearly listed. Support is limited to phone and self-help, and its social media links are lacking.

Pros

• +30 day free trial
• +Direct phone support

Cons

• -Opaque pricing
• -No free tier
• -Limited support options

Nsign.tv is a communication platform as a service (CPaaS) that integrates smart content with digitization projects through AI, Big Data and IoT. It allows developers to create and customize digital signage solutions for various sectors and industries. In case you are wondering, the company does put its name in all lowercase letters for reasons unknown, perhaps to buck the trend of many other companies almost randomly capitalizing letters in their name just to look different, but we think it makes it a little bit difficult to read.

Founded in 2007, and located in Spain, nsign.tv has won several awards for its innovative projects, such as the digital signage circuit for the HLA International Clinic in Barcelona, the best DOOH project at the AV Integration Awards 20231. nsign.tv also offers a player application that is compatible with the main operating systems on the market, such as Windows, Android, Linux and WebOS. It counts among its users notable organizations including Electronic Arts, Domino’s and Nespresso.

NSIGN TV: FEATURES

Nsign.tv is a digital signage platform that offers a variety of features for creating and managing engaging content for different sectors and industries.

Some of the features of nsign.tv are:

System-on-chip (SoC): Nsign.tv can run on multiple multi-brand devices without the need for an external media player, reducing complexity and costs.

Layout Configurator: Nsign.tv allows the creation of more zones on a screen, directly from the platform, without the need for external graphics or video editors.

Menu board: Nsign.tv enables the digitalisation of menu boards for the foodservice sector, allowing dynamic and interactive content that can be updated in real time.

LED: Nsign.tv supports LED screens of different sizes and resolutions, and can integrate with other technologies such as IoT, AI and Big Data.

DOOH: Nsign.tv has won awards for its innovative digital out-of-home (DOOH) projects, such as the digital signage circuit for the HLA International Clinic in Barcelona.

Compatibility: Nsign.tv offers a player application that is compatible with the main operating systems on the market, such as Windows, Android, Linux and WebOS.

NSIGN TV: PRICING

Up and down the Nsign website, there is no upfront pricing, and rather they take the opaque route. This is frustrating as it is much easier to shop for a plan when the pricing and the features are all laid out, preferably with an informative chart. If this sounds like too much of a request, its competitors provide this, so it is unclear why Nsign goes this route.

 Alternatively, they go with the plan for a trial, and 30 days for free to decide if this is for your business, or not. Really though, Nsign should not get people just to try the service to have to then decide if the price works for them or not. Furthermore, there is no free tier. At least we do not see that a credit card is required in order to access the trial which makes going ahead to try it considerably more palatable than the fear of getting a recurring charge for a service that you did not end up wanting.

Without Nsign laying it out, it is unclear if there are tiers to choose from, or just the one subscription. All we could find is that there is a Basic plan for the cloud based subscription, and it has a cost of $20/month/screen. We also did not find any info on an annual discount.

NSIGN TV: SUPPORT

If you are looking for Nsign.tv support, there are a few options available for you.

Direct support options for Nsign appear to be somewhat limited. We appreciate that there is a direct phone number easily findable on the website, with for Spain, or also a US based phone number in Miami. However, there are no hours or days of operation indicating when we should call. Also, there are no other direct support options limited, such as email, a support portal, a fax or a chat so this is limiting in our modern time when many users appreciate the multiple options to get support.

Following somewhat analogously, there is some self help support, but overall just a few options. We did find a blog of articles, with three posts in the last month which is encouraging. We also found an Nsign Academy area which was over promised, as this academy has just six courses, including Introduction, Widgets and Pro Features. We needed a sign in to proceed further and actually see the course so we will reserve judgment on the quality and usability of the course. We did not find a FAQ, nor a user forum.

We also think that the links to social media are lacking as well, with just Instagram, Facebook (last post in September 2023), and LinkedIn.

NSIGN TV: FINAL VERDICT

Nsign.tv is a communication platform as a service (CPaaS) that integrates smart content with digitization projects through AI, Big Data and IoT. It allows developers to create and customize digital signage solutions for various sectors and industries. It has won several awards for its innovative projects, such as the digital signage circuit for the HLA International Clinic in Barcelona. It offers a variety of features, including System-on-chip (SoC), Layout Configurator, Menu board, LED, DOOH, and Compatibility. It has a 30-day free trial, but pricing is not clearly listed on its website. Support options are somewhat limited, with direct support available by phone only. Self-help support is available through a blog and an academy with six courses. Social media links are also lacking.

The post Nsign TV Review appeared first on Review Products.

Easy Digital Signage.

Yodeck is a digital signage software with four pricing plans: Free, Standard, Pro, and an Enterprise plan available for businesses with specific security requirements. Yodeck offers a variety of features, including content management, scheduling, and analytics. The help center has articles and user manuals, making this overall an attractive choice in the digital signage space.

Pros

• +Free tier
• +Player included with annual subscription
• +Free apps and templates

Cons

• -Single direct support option
• -No phone support

San Francisco based Yodeck is a powerful digital signage software that allows you to create, manage, and display content on screens, making it an excellent solution for various industries. The company’s mission is to help people build better relationships with their customers, students, employees, and community members. It started in 2015 with three people, and has grown to over 6,000 employees, serving the needs of over 5,000 clients worldwide, with their tens of thousands of screens. Yodeck serves many businesses and organizations, including IcelandAir, Domino’s, McDonald’s, and Ford.

Yodeck: FEATURES

Yodeck can literally turn any screen or TV into a digital sign via its powerful digital signage software, which makes this cloud-based solution an enhancement to your organization’s communication and engagement capability.

Like other players in the digital signage space, Yodeck’s has a suite of features.

These include:

Remote View: Yodeck allows you to monitor what’s currently playing on your screens in real time directly from your web browser.

Apps and Customization: Choose from over 100 free apps to create engaging and dynamic content for your screens. Additionally, you can create your own custom apps using the free SDK and seamlessly integrate them with Yodeck.

Redundancy: Set up backup players and content to ensure your screens never go blank, providing uninterrupted display.

User Management: Easily create and manage multiple users and organizations with different permissions and access levels.

Touch Support: Enable interactive content and gestures on your touch screens, enhancing user engagement.

GPS-Based Triggers: Trigger content based on the location of your screens, such as weather, traffic, or nearby events.

IoT Integration: Connect your screens with sensors, cameras, and other devices to create smart and responsive signage.

Server Integration: Integrate Yodeck with your own servers and databases to display custom data and information.

API Automation: Use the Yodeck API to automate tasks and integrate with other platforms.

Offline HTML File Support: Even when not connected to the internet, you can upload and display HTML files on your screens.

Yodeck: PRICING

Yodeck offers a range of pricing plans to suit different needs. They range from a free starter tier, to the top tier Enterprise plan.

At the bottom is the Free Plan, which makes Yodeck completely free to use for a single screen. You can enjoy all the features such as the included apps and templates without any cost for your first screen. Also keep in mind that this free tier also serves as the trial as we did not see any mention of a free trial on the higher tiers, but that it is not time limited and can be used long term for a single screen.

Next up is the Standard Plan, which is targeted at multi-screen installations. The Standard Plan costs $7.99 per screen per month. It provides essential features for managing digital signage across multiple screens such as overlays, an interactive kiosk, free stock images and videos and live streams.

Moving up further takes us to the Pro Plan, recommended for managing large volumes of content, at a price of $9.99 per screen per month. It includes everything in the Standard Plan with additional features and capabilities beyond that include sub-playlists, volume schedules, media tag filtering by the screen, and advanced media scheduling.

At the top is the Enterprise Plan, which features pro-grade security and is available for $12.99 per screen per month. It includes the functions of the lower plans, and then offers advanced features and robust security measures that include login IP and password restrictions, custom user roles, security session policies and audit logs.

Additionally, Yodeck provides free hardware with all annual plans, making it an affordable choice for implementing digital signage projects. Also keep in mind that for 60 screens and over to call for a custom quote at that higher volume.

Yodeck: SUPPORT

Yodeck has but a single option to get in touch for assistance, a contact portal. There is no direct phone number, an option for chat, a fax number, or a to be found on the website; technically we did find a direct snail mail address, but we doubt anyone is sending a letter for technical support, and also an email, but it starts with “info@” which is usually more for sales than support. The contact portal also does not include an option to include an attachment, which can be useful to markup a screenshot of an image and explain the issue that you need help with. However, it does have a space to include both your email and your phone number, so we can take the leap that they call you back if a phone call makes more sense for the problem. We should also keep in mind that the support is included for no additional cost with each of the plans.

On the self help side of the support equation, we are pleased to report more options. There is a mature help Center, with articles written on a variety of topics, including General Questions, Pricing and Features. There is also a separate documentation area that includes more user manual style content. Users are also encouraged to input on new feature ideas. A shortcoming is that we did not find a user forum, or any ebooks or webinars on the Yodeck site. However, investigating further, Yodeck does have a YouTube channel with over 130 videos, and there are some random links to this content, but in this day and age an embedded video player would probably be an expectation for most users.

FINAL VERDICT

Yodeck is a digital signage software with four pricing plans: Free, Standard, and Pro. The Free plan is for single screen installations and the Standard and Pro plans are for multiple screens. The Enterprise plan is available for businesses with specific security requirements. Yodeck offers a variety of features, including content management, scheduling, and analytics. The help center has articles on a variety of topics and the documentation area includes user manuals. Yodeck also has a YouTube channel with over 130 videos. Overall, Yodeck is a good option for digital signage software. It offers a variety of features at a reasonable price. The free tier is a great way to try out the software before committing to a paid plan.

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Digital Signage Made Easy.

NoviSign offers a powerful digital sign platform to allow organizations to connect with their users on multiple different levels. We like the large feature set, and choice of tiers for plans, along with the option to build a custom plan for an enterprise deployment.

Pros

• +Free 30-day trial without credit card
• +Direct phone and email support
• +Annual discounts available

Cons

• -No chat support
• -Unspecified hours of operation for support
• -No free tier

Privately held NoviSign is an Israeli digital signage software firm with field sales offices in Japan, Portugal, France, Germany, and the United States, and headquartered outside of Tel-Aviv, Israel. Digital signage software from NoviSign is offered as Software as a Service (SaaS) hosted by Amazon’s S3 server, making it simple to manage dynamic campaigns for IP-based and cloud-based digital signs that are located anywhere in the world. You can broadcast tailored messages in real-time to an infinite number of signs at an infinite number of places from any PC. NoviSign has successfully aided in the deployment of dynamic digital signage solutions on over 20,000 displays throughout five continents.

Disney, Ikea, Home Depot, NASA, and Ferrari are just a few of NoviSign’s clientele.

Novisign: FEATURES

NoviSign is a software for digital signage intended for small and medium-sized enterprises. It has some standout features such as content management which allows users to exchange web screens and manage content, the integrated monitoring and reporting to have users create historical reports and monitor devices (with the option to expert reports as CSV files), along with templates which gives users the ability for building out screen layouts with ease. Sound good? We think so also with over twenty widgets available for users to drag and drop, for example custom text tickers, live weather from a choice of over 1,200 cities, Google Slides, interactive polls, with even more available.

Other features to note are the support to display ads so that the screen can be monetized. Existing calendars can also be included and shown. We also like the option for a dashboard, which can show stats in visual form, and also to show off unlimited third party HTML integrations which are available online. Social media can also be included to engage the audience further, such as a Yammer feed to increase internal communication, an X/Twitter feed which can choose a specific hashtag, or the posts from an Instagram account. It also does the basics well, such as displaying a clock, with granular control to display the date and/or time in a choice of formats.

Novisign: PRICING

NoviSign is sold as a subscription model, and is based on four tiers. We appreciate the free 30 day trial, with no credit card required, for users to decide if this meets their expectations. We also like the annual discounts, or the option to pay monthly. We are less impressed that each screen gets priced the same in the subscription, with no discount for additional screens on the subscription. There is also no free tier.

The bottom tier is appropriately called Business, and has a cost of $20/screen/month for each screen monthly, with a discount to $18/screen/month when paid annually. This basic plan supports a single user, offers 500 MB of storage, and 100 MB max for each file upload.

Moving up takes us to the Business Plus plan, which has a cost of $29/screen/month when paid monthly or $26/screen/month when paid annually. For the relatively small price difference, users step up to support for up to 5 users, 1 GB of storage, and a 500 MB max per file upload. It also brings in multiple features, such as an ad service, custom fonts, allows for remote events, reports API, and upgrades to premium support.

Then there is the Premium plan, which raises the cost to $49/screen/month when paid monthly, or $44/screen/month when paid annually. This plan supports an unlimited number of users, and up to 3 GB of file storage, along with the max file upload size increasing to 1 GB. We also note that it supports audit logs, a private cloud option, an admin module, and also a dedicated account manager.

On the top of the tier is the Enterprise plan, which supports unlimited users, 10 GB of storage, and 1 GB of max file upload file size. It also has professional features for larger organizations, such as custom branding for the domain, and support is via mail and phone with a service level agreement. As this plan can be custom tailored to the needs of an organization, there is no price given, but rather company contact is needed to build the plan and provide a quote, which is reasonable for this type of plan.

Novisign: SUPPORT

There are plenty of support options for NoviSign. We appreciate on the direct support side of things that there is a direct email address, along with a support portal, but it is indicated that emails are answered within two business days, a considerable wait when you need some help. We also like that there is a direct phone number for the US to call, although the hours and days of operation are not indicated. Missing support options do include the lack of chat support, no fax number, and no snail mail address, although admittedly the last two options only a few folks will ever miss.

There are also some ways to get self-serve support. These includes tutorial videos, user guides such as the Quick Start Guide to walk a novice user through the process, and a comprehensive Q&A.

FINAL VERDICT

NoviSign is a digital signage software that offers a variety of features, including, customizable templates, interactive media configurations, active web spaces, and dependability. NoviSign offers a variety of support options, including direct email, a support portal, a phone number, and self-serve support. Overall, NoviSign is a powerful and user-friendly digital signage software that offers a variety of features at a competitive price.

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Zyxel’s WBE660S Brings Fiber-like Performance To Access Points.

The WBE660S lives up to the expectations brought by the arrival of Wi-Fi 7. With three radio channels, the unit supports legacy standards such as Wi-Fi 2.4G and 5ac.

Pros

• +Speedy with an aggregate throughput of 22Gbps
• +Ethernet port supporting 10 Gbps PoE
• +Seamless cloud integration

Cons

• -Expensive
• -Big footprint
• -No power supply

Zyxel’s new WBE660S Wi-Fi 7 access point quickly and reliably brings fiber-like transfer rates to wireless devices in only a few steps. With an aggregated bandwidth of over 22 Gbps, the AP is no longer the bottleneck around the office. The three-radio system, each with four streams, increases utilization by providing a dedicated backhaul channel in a mesh configuration.

Wi-Fi 7 technology increases power consumption. The higher frequency means more energy is wasted as heat, which helps explain the sizable heatsink at the back of the AP. In fact, with its 1.4kg, it is one of the heaviest units we’ve seen at TechRadar Pro. The mobile app makes integration into Zyxel’s cloud infrastructure straightforward. The AP supports up to 8 SSIDs with over one thousand simultaneous clients.

Since the Wi-Fi 7 standard has been out for less than a year, expect the price to be much higher than Wi-Fi 6 or 6e access points. The WBE660S is four times as fast as previous generations, justifying the hefty price tag of $799, which also carries a two-year warranty. The WBE660S is on special right now on Amazon for $499.

ZYXEL WBE660S: TESTING

To thoroughly test the WBE660S access point, we used a BE200 Wi-Fi 7 WLAN card to exercise the new 6GHz channel in both directions. An Iperf Linux server connected to the AP through the 10Gb interface tested clients’ throughput at one meter.

ZYXEL WBE660S: DESIGN

Right out of the box, the Zyxel WBE660S Wi-Fi 7 access point shows many differences from the previous generation. The white oblong-shaped unit has a gray metal back, which doubles as a heatsink. It is twice as wide as the previous Zyxel Wi-Fi 6e model, measuring 31 cm x 17.8 cm x 5.6 cm and weighing 1.4kg. The mounting kit includes a backplate that secures the AP to a wall or ceiling. Another difference from previous APs is that the Wi-Fi 7 model can quickly dismount from the backplate by rotating a blue locking knob.

SPECIFICATIONS

Model: Zyxel WBE660S

CPU: Quad-core Qualcomm 1220 CPU

RAM: 2GB

Storage: 256MB NAND

Radios: One 4×4 for 6GHz Wi-Fi 7 / 6e, One 4×4 for 5GHz Wi-Fi 6, One 4×4 for 2.4GHz

Wireless throughput: Theoretical 22Gbps

Ports: 10Gb Ethernet with PoE, 1Gb Ethernet

Weight: 1.4 kg

Dimensions: 31 cm x 17.8 cm x 5.6 cm

Power Consumption: 17W with one client connected; 41W maximum consumption

The WBE660S utilizes three radios, offering an aggregated bandwidth of 22 Gbps. In addition to the regular 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands, the new 6GHz frequency allows 11.5Gbps in optimal conditions by using a channel bandwidth of 320MHz, twice what is available in Wi-Fi 6 and 6e. A 10G Ethernet port supplies power over PoE and the necessary bandwidth to drive such a high data rate. Zyxel offers a secondary 1G Ethernet port on the access point, which can turn the AP into a rudimentary 10G/1G switch.

A single multicolored LED on top of the case provides information about the AP’s operation. Full green means clients are connected, while blue indicates that the AP is boot-up. The built-in antenna offers a maximum of 5dBi of gain, which, together with -104dBm of RX sensitivity, translates into a speedy connection even when located far from the access point. Connected devices can reach throughputs of 500Mb/s at ten meters or more.

The WBE660S features a Qualcomm Pro 1220 chip, which includes a quad-core A73 CPU clocked at 2.2GHz. The platform offers up to 12 spatial streams to sustain the 22 Gbps bandwidth. Coupled with 2GB of DRAM and 256MB of storage, the IPQ9574 CPU can easily accommodate over one thousand clients connected to eight SSIDs. The enclosure, which serves as a heatsink, becomes warm over time, reaching a peak of 50 degrees Celsius.

ZYXEL WBE660S: IN USE

The easiest way to power the WBE660S is through the Uplink port, which provides up to 45W using PoE. Even without a power injector or switch supporting PoE, the device can still be powered through the built-in Type-C connector, requiring 12V at 45W. The AP boots in less than two minutes when connected to a 10G Ethernet port. The front LED slowly blinks green if everything goes well, indicating that clients can connect. With one client connected, the AP consumed only 17W.

Unlike the previous WBE from Zyxel, the new Wi-Fi 7 model is surprisingly more tolerant of regular Ethernet cabling, even at 10G. We had no linkup issue using a five-meter Cat-5 cable connected to a Zyxel 10G switch. The unit does not provide any visual means of knowing the Ethernet speed, so we used the Nebula portal to see if the connection was optimal.

Configuration can be done using Zyxel’s mobile application by scanning a QR code on the back of the unit. Adding the access point to the app is recommended before performing the hardware installation. The Nebula portal allows users to configure and update other Zyxel network devices besides the WBE660S.

ZYXEL WBE660S: PERFORMANCE

The yet-to-be-ratified Wi-Fi 7 standard improves on the 6th edition by having higher throughput per channel and more channels in the 6GHz band. This results in an upper limit of 46 Gbps, more than four times Wi-Fi 6 aggregated bandwidth. We validate the performance of the WBE660S with a BE200 module, supporting a maximum speed of 5Gbps provided by two streams. At one meter, the maximum throughput was 2.5Gbps downstream and 3.7Gbps upstream. Latency is 1 ms with a jitter of 0.1 ms.

ZYXEL WBE660S: THE COMPETITION

The Ubiquity U7 Pro access point offers Wi-Fi 7 connectivity on a budget. At $239, it is one of the cheapest APs available. However, if one invests in Wi-Fi 7 technology, one will likely favor throughput over monetary savings. The U7 Pro has six spatial streams compared to the twelve offered on the WBE660S, resulting in half the throughput. The Ethernet connection is also slower at 2.5Gbps instead of 10Gbps.

ZYXEL WBE660S: FINAL VERDICT

The WBE660S lives up to the expectations brought by the arrival of Wi-Fi 7. With three radio channels, the unit supports legacy standards such as Wi-Fi 2.4G and 5ac. The 6GHz radio sets it apart with four simultaneous streams, each having a higher bandwidth than Wi-Fi 6. The access point does not suffer from range loss since it covers over 1000 square feet with throughput degradation similar to previous generations. Using the WBE600S is straightforward, thanks to its flawless integration into the Nebula ecosystem.

Having an extra channel with higher bandwidth comes with its challenges. The WBE600S uses much power, about twice as much as previous generations. As a result, the metal case is much bigger and heavier. The higher power will also hurt the wallet and increase the electricity bill. This access point remains an excellent tool for applications requiring high bandwidth, such as augmented reality and 8K videos.

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An Immersive Bedtime Experience.

The Aura smart sleep mask combines total blackout with integrated sound and light to create an immersive wind-down experience. The sunrise alarm clock offers a gentle wake-up, while the buildable soundscape provides customization options. However, the high price tag is hard to justify, especially as it’s not a particularly user friendly design.

Pros

• +Blocks out all light
• +Stays in place overnight
• +Sunrise alarm function
• +Large sound library
• +Immersive meditation

Cons

• -Limited app functionality
• -Awkward button placement
• -Not suitable for front sleepers

AURA SMART SLEEP MASK: TWO-MINUTE REVIEW

The Aura smart sleep mask uses light and sound to transform a basic eye mask into a mindful, immersive experience. I tried sleeping with the Aura mask for a week, and as someone uses an eye mask every night, I was excited to see whether a smart upgrade really could improve my rest.

Crafted with integrated speakers and an in-built ‘glow’ light, the sleep mask connects to the Aura app to provide a customizable sleep experience. You can mix and match ASMR sounds, guided meditations, and nature soundscapes to craft a meditative wind-down routine, while in the morning, the sunrise function gently wakes you up with light and sound.

The basic design of the Aura mask is excellent. The sculpted interior ‘Hug’ cushion keeps the pressure off your face and blocks light completely, while the anti-slip straps hold the mask in place even over restless nights. Back and side sleepers should be able to get comfortable, but stomach sleepers are likely to find the mask presses into the face.

Thanks to the blackout effect and calming sounds, it’s easy to get immersed in the Aura experience. If you’re struggling to find a mindful headspace before bed, the Aura separates you from the outside world while encouraging relaxation. And with a lightweight build and easy charging method, you can take the Aura’s calming techniques with you when you travel.

However, it’s expensive for a sleep mask, and I’m not sure the features entirely justify the price. There are some issues with the user experience and the app is basic, which seems at odds with the price tag. The Aura is a product like no other, and if you want a more mindful bedtime routine (especially on the go) it might be worth the money. But if it’s just better sleep you’re after, a basic eye mask is probably the better starting place.

I tested the Aura smart sleep mask in Midnight Black, which is available for pre-order and will be released 14th March. The Aura smart sleep mask original was launched in November 2023. and is available for purchase from Aura.

Buy the Aura Smart Sleep Mask in Midnight Black from Aura

AURA SMART SLEEP MASK: PRICE

• MSRP US$358 / £285 / €339.95, often discounted to US$229 / £182 / €218.95
• Aura app is free to use
• 1 year warranty for the mask, Hug insert has a 3 month warranty

The Aura smart sleep mask has an MSRP of $329, although it’s regularly discounted, so don’t expect to pay full price. Aura has previously discounted the original sleep mask by up to 40 per cent, taking it down to $199.

Even at a discount, this is an expensive buy, especially considering a basic sleep mask is only a few dollars. However, the Aura is pretty unique. While blackout masks, sleep masks with integrated speakers, and sunrise alarm clocks exist separately, as far as I can tell the Aura is the only one that combines all three.

Aura offers a one year warranty for the mask, while the interior insert has a three month warranty. The app is free to download and doesn’t require a subscription to use it. This gives you access to the full range of features at no extra cost – a welcome bonus, as you can’t use the mask without the app. It’s not unusual for smart products to charge an app subscription cost on top of the original price, so I certainly appreciate that the Aura doesn’t require this.

Is the Aura mask worth it? Thinking of it less as a sleep mask with some added features and more as a sunrise alarm clock with a speaker, a blackout design, and excellent portability, the cost is somewhat justified. There are limited uses to the Aura, but for those after improved mindfulness before bed, the mask delivers.

AURA SMART SLEEP MASK: DESIGN

• Magnetic 3D Hug insert relieves pressure at the eye area
• Velcro strap for a secure fit
• USB-C charger included

The Aura looks like a bigger, bulkier version of a standard sleep mask, but the simple design hides everything interesting happening underneath. Available in two colors – gray and black – the Aura has a sleek appeal. A few interesting colorways would be welcome, especially considering the price, but the overall look is stylish.

Inside sits a detachable 3D Hug band. This is a sculpted, cushioned band that sticks to the interior of the mask with a magnet, taking the pressure off the face while blocking all light. The outer material and the interior Hug are both soft against the skin, and the 3D effect prevents the mask from damaging the eyelashes. Straps at the back use velcro for an adjustable fit, with an anti-slip design to prevent the mask from moving around in the night.

The interior of the Aura smart sleep mask, including hug cushion and glow bar.

Hidden inside the mask is a set of ultra-slim speakers. Because the speakers aren’t set directly over the ears, there is some sound leakage – if you share a bed, your partner is likely to hear what’s coming from your mask, although not clearly.

Sitting just in front of the eye line on the interior of the mask is a small ‘glow’ bar. This is a gentle light, but when the mask is closed, it does flood the space. It’s also not visible from the outside when wearing the mask.

Aura claims the battery lasts for seven nights of normal use, which I found accurate. However, the battery life does depend on usage – if you choose a particularly long soundscape, expect the battery to drain quicker. A light on the mask indicates when the battery is running low, and you can check battery life by connecting to the app. As the Aura charges directly via the cable, you can’t comfortably use the mask when it’s charging.

Weighing 4.59oz (130g), this is heavier than your average sleep mask, but feels surprisingly light on the face. It’s also light and compact enough to travel with. The Aura does come with a small bag that I assume is for traveling, but it’s very hard to actually get the mask in there, so it might serve some other purpose I’m not aware of. (Aura reached out to me to explain that this bag is a laundry bag for the Hug cushion, to keep it protected during a machine wash. Even without the bag, I maintain it would be easy to travel with the Aura.)

The interior Hug band is removable and can be machine or hand washed with mild detergent. Leave it to dry completely before reattaching to your mask. The mask itself is spot clean-only, and you should avoid getting it wet.

AURA SMART SLEEP MASK: FEATURES

• 100 per cent blackout eye mask
• Integrated speakers play customizable soundscapes
• Glow light provides a sunrise alarm effect

At a basic level, the Aura is a 100 per cent blackout sleep mask. Thanks to the thick fabric and molded shape, no light can get in from any side, leaving you in total darkness. While it does rely slightly on the contours of your face roughly matching the Hug insert, for most people, the Aura should block essentially all light.

But this is the simplest function of the Aura. The Aura is a smart sleep mask, able to connect via Bluetooth to the Aura app to play sound, light, and act as an alarm. As well as white noise for sleep, the Aura offers guided meditations, nature soundscapes, and ASMR, which you can schedule and customize depending on whether you’re waking up, going to sleep, napping, or meditating. Because it uses Bluetooth, you can also play your own music through the Aura…  although I wouldn’t recommend it, as I’ll discuss in the performance section below.

The glow bar on the inside of the Aura smart sleep mask, surrounded by the 3D hug cushion

As well as soundscapes, the Aura also contains a sunrise light. This gentle glow bar is located on the interior of the mask, and it pulses along with certain meditations and noises. It also acts as a sunrise alarm clock, with the light gradually increasing at your chosen wake-up time, for a gentle start to the morning.

The Aura app has its own set of features, but it’s primarily used to control the Aura. While there’s a small sleep diary, its functions are minimal, and it primarily tracks your chosen wake-up and sleep times. The app also sends occasional notifications, indicating it’s time to nap, get ready for bed. These need a bit of fine tuning – I received a wake-up notification several minutes after the alarm had gone off, when I’d already disconnected the Aura and closed the app, for instance.

AURA SMART SLEEP MASK: PERFORMANCE

• Comfortable fit that stays in place during the night
• Immersive experience from blackout design and speakers
• App is basic and not particularly user-friendly

First, let’s talk about the Aura as a sleep mask. It’s soft against the face, with the velcro strap allowing you to create a close and secure fit. The inner Hug cushion is sculpted to the eye area and even with the straps as tight as they would go, it’s comfortable and won’t press against your eyes. An anti-slip coating prevents the Aura from moving during the night if, like me, you toss and turn.

This contoured fit prevents light from leaking in around the edges of the mask, creating a 100 per cent blackout effect. With the mask on, it’s honestly hard to tell if it’s day or night. As someone who struggles to sleep with even small amounts of light in the room, this is a real bonus. But this close fit did come with a slight downside – it could get warm. However, this is an issue with many eye masks.

The 3D cushioned Hug mask, removed from the Aura smart sleep mask.

With the Aura you get the basic benefits of a sleep mask, plus a lot more additional features. Using the Aura app, I designed a series of soundscapes for meditation and to help me fall asleep. With white noise, meditation tracks, ASMR, and nature sounds to choose from, there’s enough variety to suit the majority of sleepers. It was fun to craft these soundscapes, and while I normally kept my sessions under the 30 minute mark, you could push it much longer if you wanted sounds to last for most of the night.

The in-built speakers gave the Aura something of a surround sound effect which, combined with the total blackout, made for a deeply immersive experience. I often struggle to concentrate during meditation – the urge to peek is just too strong. With the Aura, it was much easier to get into the serene headspace and stay there. Plus, because the mask was already on my face and the alarm was set, at the end of the soundscape, I simply had to lie down and go to sleep. No disruptions to my calm mood.

That’s at the start of the night. For the morning, you can use the app to set an alarm for your chosen wake-up time. When the time comes, the ‘glow’ light will gradually illuminate, simulating a sunrise, before the sound kicks in.

The Aura Smart sleep mask in the box it came in.

The wake-up is impressively effective, with the light and sound coming together to create the feeling of a natural beginning to the morning. I did find it a little slow at waking me up, but that’s by design – this isn’t the jarring alert of a standard alarm. However, I always set the alarm to start a few minutes before I actually wanted to wake up, so it had time to work.

Aura claims the mask is side sleeper-friendly, and I found this largely accurate. Sometimes it took a minute of adjustment to get my head, the mask, and the pillow just right, but after that, the mask stayed comfortably in place.

I also found it much easier to get comfortable when I switched my pillow. I usually sleep on a medium-firm, all-foam pillow. The foam gently contours to your head, but it doesn’t have a huge amount of give (read my Levitex pillow review to learn exactly what it’s like). When I used a feather pillow with more yield, there was less pressure from the mask overall. If you’re interested in the Aura, consider what’s the best pillow to suit this smart mask.

The tester using the Aura sleep mask while lying on their back.

Back sleepers shouldn’t have any issues with the mask, however, it’s not recommended for stomach sleepers. The sides of the mask press into the face, so unless you twist your neck all the way around, it’s pretty uncomfortable in this position.

Connecting the Aura to the app was easy, although I question why the power button is in the middle of the face, rather than along the top bar with the rest of the buttons. With the mask on, it’s hard to locate just where the button is. I spent the first part of any mindfulness session randomly pressing my face and hoping for the best. It’s easier to find when you don’t have the mask on, but then it’s a rush to get comfortable before your soundscape starts.

As it uses a Bluetooth connection, you can also use the Aura to listen to your own music or meditations. However, I don’t recommend it. While the speakers are fine for meditations and white noise, there are some obvious issues with sound quality when listening to music. It’s definitely not good enough to replace a set of headphones.

The buttons at the top of the Aura smart sleep mask.

The app itself has room for growth. There’s a sleep diary with space to record my wake up time and sleep time, plus an emotion and a gratitude prompt. It doesn’t record any additional information about sleep quality – you’ll need one of the best sleep trackers for that – but this isn’t a major downside, as the mask isn’t equipped to note that sort of data. The bigger issue is that the sleep diary function is limited and not particularly intuitive. Overall, the app could be more user-friendly – the design seems to prioritize minimalism over navigation, which did not put me in a very mindful place. However, I appreciate that this is a free app, and as the Aura is a relatively new product, there’s plenty of time for development in this area.

The mask isn’t the most user-friendly design and it has limited uses. For example, while the immersive experience is great for meditation, the blackout effect means it’s no good during yoga.

But used before bed, the Aura has some real benefits. The combination of blackout and sunrise light allows you to really tap into your circadian rhythms. At night, I could drift off in darkness, while in the morning, natural-seeming light helped gently wake me up. For meditation, the Aura can improve concentration for anyone with wandering thoughts, and I could see the same benefit if you’re struggling to sleep from stress or anxiety. By balancing mindfulness with real-world features, the Aura can be a helpful addition to the pre-bed routine.

AURA SMART SLEEP MASK: SHOULD I BUY IT?

Buy it if…

You’re sensitive to light: Sleep masks are excellent at blocking light in the evening, making it easier to fall asleep. However, that same blackout effect can be problematic in the morning, when you need light to wake you up. The Aura navigates this issue by incorporating light into the mask itself, waking you up with a natural seeming daylight.

You struggle to concentrate during meditation: As someone who gets distracted easily during meditation, the Aura sleep mask helped me add some mindfulness to my bedtime. Surrounded by sound and with a total blackout, you’re pretty much forced to concentrate. And with the velcro straps keeping the mask close to your face, there’s no temptation to peek.

You travel frequently: A lightweight build makes the Aura easy to travel with, while the total blackout effect and immersive soundscapes can help you relax even in unfamiliar, noisy, and bright environments. And thanks to the glow effect alarm, early morning flights might feel less disruptive (there’s even a pre-flight anxiety meditation).

Don’t buy it if…

You’re on a tight budget: You could buy a lifetime’s supply of standard sleep masks for the same price as the Aura. Of course, you won’t get the light and sound functions that make this smart mask standout, but if you just want a darker night, it’s not worth the money. And if only one of the smart features appeals to you (for example. Integrated speakers) there are cheaper options available.

You sleep on your stomach: The sculpted face of the Aura sleep mask presses into the face in most stomach sleeping positions, requiring multiple adjustments to get comfortable. Whether you spend the entire night on your front or you’re a combination sleeper who moves around, there are some sleep positions that just don’t work with the Aura.

You want all your sleep tracking in one place: The Aura app is free but basic and the sleep diary is bare bones. While I didn’t expect the app to track my sleep, I would have appreciated a little more functionality. Overall, it’s not the most intuitive design to use, and it seems like a missed opportunity. A functioning sleep diary plus more space to record your thoughts and mood would have really added to the experience.

AURA SMART SLEEP MASK: HOW I TESTED

I tested the Aura smart sleep mask for a week, using it both before bed as part of my wind-down routine and in bed to help me sleep and wake me up in the morning. I tested during a mild spring in Wales, in a room without blackout curtains. I also used the Aura around other people, to see how much sound traveled.

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