The £3 Aldi buy crowned among top 50 best products of the year beating top brands

A £3 Aldi household essential buy has featured in consumer website Which?’s best products of the year list.

The budget retailer's 20-pack of Almat Triple Chamber washing up tablets came ninth in Which?'s 50 best products of 2024.

Testers were impressed by the tablet's ability to remove stains, as well as its good value for money.

The product also received a high "sustainability" score due to its low number of environmentally-damaging ingredients.

The washing up product was joined by 49 other household or tech items including the Samsung Galaxy A15 5G phone, which came out on top.

The £169 smartphone was highlighted for its value for money and how long it lasts without breaking.

Which? also awarded the tech product a Which? Great Value endorsement, which it gives to affordable products that still do a great job.

Second place went to one of the most expensive products on the list, the Volkswagen ID.7 electric car, which costs £51,550.

The motor was the highest scoring car in Which?'s tests, and was credited for its suspension and spacey interior.

At number 13 was a rare microwave that doubles as an air fryer - the Daewoo SDA2618GE.

Priced at £195, it comes with 11 power levels and 25 settings for auto-cooking, reheating and defrosting.

Number 18 on Which?'s list was the Framework Laptop 16, costing £1,699, described by testers as "the most hi-tech Lego set you've ever seen".

Number 30 was a Morrisons Nutmeg Home Fluted Toaster, rated by Which? for making the perfect slice of toast and costing just £19. 

At number 36 was the £38 Philips STH3000, a steam generator, while the Samsung HW-Q930D soundbar came in 50th.

The soundbar was credited by Which? experts for making the sound better on slimmed down TV sets and providing crispy clarity and punchy rear speakers.

Harry Rose, Which? magazine editor, said: "Our experts have whittled down thousands of products and proved yet again that it isn’t just top-of-the-range cars or smartwatches that stand out. 

“The champion for 2024 is a great value phone that has been credited for its longevity.

"It’s just one of the products on this year’s list that should make everyone’s lives a bit easier.

“There is fantastic value at the cheaper end of the smartphone market now, exemplified by our winner, which means that buying brilliant phones outright and avoiding costly contracts by using sim-only deals is a more realistic option for many more people."

ALL CHANGE AT ALDI

Aldi is making its Too Good to Go "Surprise Bags" available for reservation earlier than usual over the festive period.

Shoppers will be able to reserve the bags for collection five days in advance this festive period.

Normally, you can only reserve them 24 hours ahead of collection.

The upcoming change to Aldi's Too Good to Go "Surprise Bags" is not the first to be announced by the retailer in recent months.

In August, it confirmed it was axing click and collect across 174 stores after launching the service just four years prior.

The £4.99 service let customers browse grocery items like canned goods and fresh produce online and choose a slot to pick up them up from the nearest branch.

Aldi launched the service at the height of the coronavirus pandemic in September 2020 and by 2021 it was offered across more than 200 stores.

But it started axing the service from dozens of branches, including 12 in July 2023 saying it had only launched the feature on a trial basis.

Aldi is also expanding its number of operational stores across the UK as well, with a number opening this month.

The supermarket has said it wants to invest £800million into its store network and eventually run 1,500 stores across the UK.

Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money-sm@news.co.uk.

Plus, you can join our Facebook group to share your tips and stories