Whether you’re buying a first or second monitor for your desktop computer or buying a big screen to use with your laptop at home, a good monitor is a wise investment. There’s no single monitor that will work best for everyone, but our monitor guides cover all kinds of different sizes, uses, and prices, from basic 24-inch budget models to big 4K screens to high-refresh-rate gaming monitors. Here are the best ones we can find, and what kinds of things they’re good for.
Let’s face it, we’re all a little bit of a mess in our own way, especially in the kitchen, which is why you can never have too many kitchen towels. Having a thick stack on hand will ensure you’re always ready to sop up messes, wipe down counters, and dry hands, dishes, and produce. We’ve wiped up gallons of spills and dried countless dishes with 25 towels since 2014, and the Williams Sonoma All Purpose Pantry Towels are our favorite. They’re absorbent, durable, affordable, and available in a rainbow of colors.
For people who love plants, in their homes and out in nature, there’s no better gift than one that complements their hobby. Plants are in constant conversation—not just with soils, light, temperature, and water, but also with us. To celebrate that relationship, we’ve curated gifts that will inspire the green thumb in your life to learn about, tend, and celebrate the plants around them in unexpected, delightful ways.
We know 2020 has been a looong year, and the holiday shopping season has been no exception. Amazon’s belated Prime Day finally got underway in October, complete with competing, anti-Prime Day sales from its retail rivals. Then, several stores kicked off a series of early Black Friday pre-sales soon after. Those were followed by Black Friday itself, which was more like a week of deals rather than a single, 24-hour span. So it’s understandable if you’re feeling all bargained out, but here’s the thing: Thanks to Cyber Monday, many of the best deals are still to come!
We're obsessively updating our list of the best Black Friday deals. For even more live deals this Black Friday, see the latest on our Wirecutter Deals page.
We're obsessively updating our list of the best Black Friday deals. For even more live deals this Black Friday, see the latest on our Wirecutter Deals page.
We're obsessively updating our list of the best Black Friday deals. For even more live deals this Black Friday, see the latest on our Wirecutter Deals page.
We're obsessively updating our list of the best Black Friday deals. For even more live deals this Black Friday, see the latest on our Wirecutter Deals page.
Wireless mice are convenient—they don’t clutter up desk space with wires, and they can make for faster and easier navigation than a trackpad. They’re also inexpensive and reliable enough to make more sense than a cheap wired mouse for most people. We’ve researched and tested mice for years with several different panels of testers, and we’ve found that the Logitech M720 Triathlon is more comfortable for a variety of hand sizes and grip styles than nearly every other wireless mouse we’ve considered.
We're obsessively updating our list of the best Black Friday deals. For even more live deals this Black Friday, see the latest on our Wirecutter Deals page.
We're obsessively updating our list of the best Black Friday deals. For even more live deals this Black Friday, see the latest on our Wirecutter Deals page.
We're obsessively updating our list of the best Black Friday deals. For even more live deals this Black Friday, see the latest on our Wirecutter Deals page.
We're obsessively updating our list of the best Black Friday deals. For even more live deals this Black Friday, see the latest on our Wirecutter Deals page.
We're obsessively updating our list of the best Black Friday deals. For even more live deals this Black Friday, see the latest on our Wirecutter Deals page.
We're obsessively updating our list of the best Black Friday deals. For even more live deals this Black Friday, see the latest on our Wirecutter Deals page.
Your home office should be a place where you feel comfortable doing your best work day after day. A team of work-from-home veterans spent more than 150 hours researching and testing equipment for a variety of workspaces and picked out a selection of great gear, including things that many of us use daily in our own home offices.
Feeling big-boxed out? Welcome to Small Business Saturday!
Of all the bedding we’ve tested—and we’ve tested a lot—nothing tops a fluffy comforter for coziness. Many of them will keep you warm, but an exceptional comforter should also be as light as a cloud, with a shell that keeps feathers and fluff tightly sealed inside. We’ve tried dozens of comforters, spending hundreds of hours sleeping on them, and our pick is the Riley White Goose Down Comforter. It’s well priced, built to last, and dreamy to sleep with.
Few sights are more unwelcome after a party than a backlog of dirty wine glasses rounded up like stained trophies. Washing all that stemware by hand is a slippery, tedious task—but as it turns out, hand washing is not the best way to clean wine glasses, anyway.
There’s no one smartphone that is best for everyone, but we’ve spent hundreds of hours testing scores of phones so that you can find the best one for you. The phone you buy will depend on your budget, your wireless carrier, and which of the major smartphone platforms—Apple’s iOS or Google’s Android—you’re already invested in. But whether you want a top-of-the-line phone or something more affordable, we have recommendations for iPhone and Android, and all of our picks are available for all the major US carriers.
On Black Friday, the usual expectation is that you can find almost anything you’re looking for at a deeply discounted price. But if you’ve ever tried to find a sale on Apple products, you know that the company can be notoriously stingy with its tech discounts. If you’re shopping with Apple itself, you’re more likely to see bundled Apple Store gift card deals than actual discounts on the company’s much sought-after gear. The good news, though, is that other sellers, such as Best Buy, Target, and Walmart, have no problem offering price drops on Apple Watches, iPads, and accessories like AirPods and Apple Pencils—and we’ve already found a few. Here are the best Black Friday deals we’ve found so far on Wirecutter’s favorite Apple products.
If you’ve spent the better part of the year working remotely—or helping your kids navigate distance learning—you know just how important a reliable laptop computer can be. Good gear can be pricey, but luckily, Black Friday is the best time of year to get your hands on the expensive stuff for cheap(ish).
When you’re a homeowner, your to-do list of current and future projects is often longer than a CVS receipt. If you’re looking to check off a few of those items, Black Friday sales might just provide the tools and gear you need. According to Wirecutter Deals editor Nathan Burrow, Lowe’s, The Home Depot, and other retailers that sell hardware and tools offer their largest slate of sales in late November.
There may be spots in your home where the Wi-Fi sucks, which is often more frustrating than no Wi-Fi at all. If you have a larger space, a mesh-networking kit may be the solution. Instead of using a single router, mesh-networking kits use multiple access points spread around your house to improve the range and performance of your Wi-Fi. After spending more than 200 hours evaluating and testing 24 mesh Wi-Fi networking kits in home and lab environments, we’re confident the Asus ZenWiFi AC (CT8) set is the best mesh-router choice for most people who need one.
Looking to smarten up your home but unsure where to begin? A smart home starter kit is the simplest way to begin assembling a smarter home or to expand your existing system with devices that you know will work together right out of the box. Starter kits (and bundles) can also be a ready-made way to address a specific problem or task, whether it’s keeping tabs on the kids, making your outdoor lighting more welcoming, or keeping package thieves at bay.
To find the best compression socks for most people, we consulted folks who wear them for all manner of situations: while working on their feet, during pregnancy, while running, after working out, while traveling, and just because. After considering dozens of socks, we tested nine pairs and found that the Sockwell Elevation Firm Socks (women's and men's) have the best balance of features: They are comfortably snug but still easy to put on, maintain their elasticity following multiple washes, come in ample size and color options, cost half what other top brands do, and are downright stylish compared with all of the other socks we considered.
Whether you’ve always considered yourself a gamer or spending all this time at home has turned you into one, you’ve probably come to terms with the fact that video games can be expensive. From consoles and controllers to headsets to graphics cards, high-quality gaming gear can really start to add up—and that’s exactly why the Wirecutter Deals team has spent Black Friday combing through all the would-be gaming “deals” to find you the discounts that are actually worth your time. Here are the best we’ve found so far.
If spending all this time indoors this year has taught us anything, it’s that a reliable, high-performing TV is key. So if a new 4K TV tops your must-buy list ahead of another winter indoors, you’ve probably been counting down the days until Black Friday.
Robot vacuums never get bored or distracted, and they don’t mind working every day. In most homes, they keep the floors tidy with barely any effort—pet hair and crumbs disappear before you even notice a mess. After testing dozens of bots, including pricey machines that can also mop, empty themselves, or try (in vain) to steer around pet waste, we think most people should look first at the simple, tried-and-true iRobot Roomba 600 series.
It’s always kind to give to charity, but in this year that has witnessed so much suffering, doing so seems all the more urgent. For your money to have the most impact, you’re probably better off simply giving directly to an organization, and there are many resources to help you find the brands and businesses that support the causes you care most about (we list a handful below).
A good scooter will help a kid learn to balance, turn, and brake, and—particularly these days—may also serve as a substitute for gym class, recess, and commutes via public transport. After recruiting six kids ranging in age from 1 to 10 to put nine scooters to the test, we concluded that the popular Micro Maxi Deluxe is well worth the investment. It provides the smoothest, quietest ride of any scooter we tested. Plus, it has the greatest ability to grow with a child, with the stability to help small kids gain confidence and skills, and the agility to keep older ones zipping along joyfully for many years. The Micro Maxi Deluxe also comes in a foldable version for easy carrying and storage.
If there’s one gift recipient you really don’t want to disappoint this holiday season, it’s probably a kid. Seeing a child’s face light up at the sight of a toy or game they “totally wanted!” is one of life’s sublime little pleasures, but it also means you may be feeling the pressure to deliver the perfect present (and perhaps more so now than ever, in this challenging year).
Keeping up with the rapidly developing skills and interests of a 2-year-old can feel like a sprint (at times literally). “Play is how they start to understand the world,” says Heather Singh, associate director of school and gallery education at the Thinkery, a children’s museum in Austin, Texas.
At the end of an unbelievably stressful year, is there anything more essential than a comfortable bed? We think not. Our list of 2020’s Black Friday mattress and bedding deals is made up of Wirecutter-approved picks (as well as former picks that we still like or future picks that are currently still being tested but have performed strongly in our initial assessments). If you need a bit more rest, a cozy setup can help. Here's to many future nights of Zzzzzzzs.
At the end of an unbelievably stressful year, is there anything more essential than a comfortable bed? We think not. Our list of 2020’s Black Friday mattress and bedding deals is made up of Wirecutter-approved picks (as well as former picks that we still like or future picks that are currently still being tested but have performed strongly in our initial assessments). If you need a bit more rest, a cozy setup can help. Here's to many future nights of Zzzzzzzs.
Being at home for the past (what feels like) tweleventeen months, you may have noticed that you and your human and/or animal cohabitants are dust-, dirt- and mess-producing machines. What can remedy all of that, of course, is another kind of machine: a dependable, high-performing vacuum. Luckily, there are bound to be loads of Black Friday deals in 2020 to help you nab the best-quality appliance for your needs at the best possible price.
Pro laptops fit the power of a gaming notebook into a sleek, understated design, along with decent battery life and a large, high-quality screen great for getting work done. If you edit photos or videos or render 3D graphics for a living and you want something that isn’t a MacBook Pro, we think Dell’s XPS 15 9500 provides the best combination of performance, weight, screen quality, and battery life.
Buying a new mattress can be intimidating if you’re on a tight budget. Most foam, innerspring, or hybrid mattresses (part coil and part foam) can cost more than $1,000—out of reach for many people. Although you can find countless cheaper mattresses online these days, many are uncomfortable, may sag after a few months, and can be a waste of money in the end. That’s why we decided to look at the cheapest mattresses available—to uncover the best beds in the bargain bin.
Everywhere from elementary-school music programs to retirement homes, people are taking up the ukulele in record numbers, and we think the Alvarez Regent Series RU22C concert uke is the best all-around choice for the average beginner. Our panel of instructors and students loved this model’s sound and styling, and its size is perfect for kids and adults alike.
