TP-Link's all-in-one router for the smart home

Smart home systems are exciting. However, those connected light bulbs and other devices, often communicate with your mobile device using wireless protocols (like ZigBee and Z-Wave), not WiFi. As a result, they each require a separate hub to integrate with your home network, and in turn, their own separate apps. In the process, things get messy really fast.

But TP-Link's new SR20 is a well-appointed, 802.11a/b/g/n-compatible AC1900 router with support for 5GHz and 2.4GHz bands and speeds topping out at up to 1,300Mbps. Powered by a 1GHz dualcore processor the SR20 also boasts four gigabit internet ports, a 4.3-inch colour touchscreen on top and USB ports for attaching storage drives you want to make available on your network.

What makes TP-Link's new SR20 really stand out is that it also natively supports the ZigBee and Z-Wave wireless standards. So instead of having to connect your Philips Hue lightbulbs to its own hub connected to one of your router's internet ports, the SR20 can interact with them directly. This eliminates the need for a stack of smart home hubs sitting next to your WiFi router.

Lights, security cameras, smoke detectors and the endless flood of new smart home devices can all finally start to play nicely together. The SR20 even has an SD card slot so the router can record video from a connected security camera, and natively make that footage accessible to everything on your home WiFi network.

Having all of these wireless protocols supported by one box finally makes the prospect of managing an interconnected smart home a lot easier and more appealing.