This article was taken from the June 2015 issue of WIRED magazine. Be the first to read WIRED's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by subscribing online.

WIRED kitted out a three-bedroom home with three of the latest security monitors. Using an iphoness 6, we timed how long it took to set up and connect each camera to its relevant app. Live-feed picture quality and time taken to send an intruder alert were assessed, as were how well the live feeds and alerts functioned when WIRED wasn't home.

Made from European white oak, this is the most aesthetically pleasing camera in our test. It has 12x zoom and auto enhancement, and its live video feed was the sharpest in the group. Set-up was simple, but at present the Home only works with Apple devices. Any motion or audio alerts from the live feed are stored as video and photo footage on a timeline – you can recap the last 12 hours as a time-lapse. After 48 hours of initial calibration, the Home also monitors air quality. And, if you have young children, it can serve as a baby monitor and night light. 9/10 £170

Setting this model up over WiFi was a little fiddly, but once connected, the accompanying app is simple to navigate. You can access live video footage, with playback of recent events on a timeline. Up to 12 hours of cloud storage comes free, but for more, you'll need to be US based, as the subs packages aren't yet available in Europe. Canary has three settings: "Armed Mode" for when you leave the house; "Disarmed Mode" whereby it learns the habits of household members so it can spot unusual events; and "Privacy Mode". The app lets you remotely respond to an intruder by sounding a 90+ dB siren and making a one-touch emergency call – useful features the other cameras in the test group didn't have. 8/10 $249

You'll first have to pair the camera to a QR code on the app to register, which was a bit trial and error when setting up. But, once done, you can switch between high, mid and low sensitivity settings to receive motion and audio detection alerts, schedule notifications -– or just turn them off completely. The In.Sight can track movement and sound in a partial area of a room -- handy if you are in and out of the living room but want to monitor a sleeping baby in the corner. Should someone unexpected enter your home, you can talk to them via the app.7/10 £130

This article was originally published by WIRED UK