Mattress companies pitch hybrids (which are part coil and part foam) as being the Goldilocks of beds: not too springy, not too foamy. But that middle range is vast. A few coils sandwiched between thick cuts of foam won’t add much resilience. A sliver of memory foam deep below the surface can’t tame the jiggle of a thousand springs.
Compared with our regular bathroom scale picks, smart scales are more finicky and less reliable. However, if you want a smart scale—one that connects to your phone and automatically tracks weight measurements and other biometric data—we recommend the Greater Goods Wi-Fi Smart Scale. After more than 1,000 total weigh-ins on 18 different smart scales, we’ve found that it provides the most consistently accurate readings (though it is generally less accurate and consistent than our regular bathroom scale picks), and its app is one of the few that actually recorded our weight each and every time we used the scale.
Most people don’t really need an all-in-one printer—a good scanning app and a cheap, print-only laser machine can handle occasional jobs. But if you have a school-age kid or do work that requires a lot of copying and scanning, an all-in-one might make sense—and several months’ worth of testing has convinced us that the HP OfficeJet Pro 9015e is your best option. It’s easy to set up and cheap to run, it works with all kinds of devices, it produces beautiful prints and scans, and it has a long two-year warranty for added peace of mind.
If you’ve ever scrambled out the door with your phone’s battery in the red, you know that power is precious, and the faster you can get it, the better. Anker’s PowerPort III Nano (20W) and Aukey’s Omnia Mini 20W USB-C Charger (PA-B1) are the best options for charging any phone fast: They’re tiny and inexpensive, and they’ll get a fully drained phone battery up to about 50% full in half an hour.
As of November 2020, all iPhones come with the USB-C–to–Lightning cable necessary to take advantage of the faster charging the USB-C port offers. (If you got your iPhone before that, you may have to get one separately.) If you have an Android phone and a USB-C cable already, you don’t need to buy anything extra to fast-charge with our USB-C picks.
Whether you realize it or not, Trader Joe’s knows you better than you know yourself. The beloved grocery chain has an uncanny knack for discovering flavor combos that its devout customers never even realized they craved. The promise of finding a new culinary delight has been especially appealing over the past year, as so many people have been beholden to their kitchens and cooking skills (or lack thereof).
Making café-quality espresso drinks on a home machine used to take a lot of practice, but the best new models have made it so much easier. Better yet, you can get a machine that’s capable of making excellent drinks for well under $1,000. After more than 80 hours of research and testing, we think the Breville Bambino Plus is the best option for new and moderately skilled enthusiasts alike. It’s powerful and easy to use, and it’s capable of yielding consistent, rich shots and steaming perfectly textured milk. The Bambino Plus has a sleek, compact design, too, so it fits nicely in most kitchens.
Electric kettles provide a swift and easy way to heat water without a stove, and many have the extra advantage of allowing you to set a precise temperature—key for getting the best flavor from coffee and tea. Out of all the models we’ve tested since 2013, the Cuisinart CPK-17 PerfecTemp Kettle is our favorite thanks to a winning combination of speed, accuracy, and simple controls.
If you’re trying to get as close as possible to re-creating a genuine movie-theater experience at home, there's just no replacement for a good AV receiver. Think of it as the traffic cop of your audio-video system, routing video from your sources to your display and sending audio to your speakers. Some AV receivers do much more than that—for a price. Which AV receiver is right for you depends on your needs, so we offer multiple recommendations for different situations.
Shopping for sex toys can be intimidating, especially for people who have never bought one before. After putting in 110 cumulative hours of research and testing—interviewing sex researchers, crowdsourcing opinions from enthusiasts, and analyzing data from 10 volunteers who have tried more than 20 different models since 2014—we’ve concluded that the cordless Magic Wand Rechargeable is the best vibrator for clitoral stimulation.
If you’re a side-sleeper, you need a cushy mattress to relieve pressure on your shoulders and hips. But it shouldn’t be too cushy because the gravitational pull will strain your spine. For most side-sleepers, that means choosing a medium-soft to medium mattress.
Anyone who goes through more than a couple of gallons of drinking water a day will probably be happiest with an under-sink filtration system like the Aquasana AQ-5200. If you prefer (or need) filtered water, this provides a continuous supply of it on demand from a separate tap. We recommend the Aquasana AQ-5200 because its certifications are among the best of any system we’ve found.
If you turn in for the night by belly-flopping onto your bed, you should consider a mattress that’s on the firmer side of medium-firm to support and cushion your midsection while keeping your spine properly aligned. We’ve tested dozens of mattresses over the past three years, and we recommend six specifically for stomach-sleepers. Given that firmness levels are subjective, consider this guide a starting point. We also encourage you to explore brands beyond the ones we suggest, and to read about other mattresses in our foam and innerspring mattress guides.
If you want a desktop PC rather than a laptop for working or learning at home, if you don’t plan to play high-end games, and if you want to choose your own monitors and other accessories, consider a mini PC rather than a full-size desktop computer or an inflexible all-in-one. Mini PCs are fast enough for anything other than high-end gaming, and unlike some laptops, they include all the ports you need to connect multiple monitors and your favorite keyboard and mouse. You can find lots of good mini PCs, but Lenovo’s ThinkCentre M70q Tiny offers the best combination of performance, ports, and price.
Every cloud backup service we tested is a pain to use for one reason or another, but we still recommend using one. A good backup system starts with a local backup, but it should end with a subscription to an online backup service. After years of testing, we think Backblaze is the easiest to use and the best cloud backup service for most people.
After researching nearly 100 cable modems over the past five years, we recommend the Motorola MB7621 if you have cable internet and you want to stop paying your internet service provider a separate modem rental fee. You can recoup the cost of the modem in as little as eight months—and then start saving up to $12 each month.
Chirping birds titter outside your window. A warm breeze brushes your cheeks when you step outside. The sun shines just a bit brighter and, with each passing day, sets later. It’s official: Spring has rescued you from winter’s icy clutches.
I first became familiar with kettlebells a couple of years ago at a gym called Krank (yes, two Ks), housed on the eighth floor of a concrete storage facility off the Tillary Street exit of the Brooklyn–Queens Expressway. True to its name, the gym encourages a no-frills masochism I came to enjoy—communal but not cultish. The rows of kettlebells, spotted with various colors of spray paint, fit in with the spartan surroundings. The kettlebell is intimidating in its simplicity: a ball with a handle, like a Biblical weapon or a giant bull’s testicle. The off-center weight distribution (which sits mostly in the base rather than the handle) allows for more aggressive, ballistic movements like swings and snatches. At the start of the lockdown, Krank sent us each home with a loaner kettlebell from CAP Barbell, the same brand as Wirecutter’s budget pick, and began live-streaming workouts structured around it. Suddenly, the kettlebell and I were tethered to each other. Tom Hanks had Wilson in Cast Away, and I had this dumb, beautiful, 45-pound hunk of metal. My rock, my witness.
The built-in microphones on most computers don’t do your voice justice—they’re likely to pick up too much room tone, add too much fuzz, and miss out on the warm tones of being in the same room as someone. Whether you’re on a conference call or recording a podcast, a standalone mic connected over USB will help you sound your best. After testing more than 25 different USB microphones over the past six years with the help of audio professionals, we’ve found that the Blue Yeti is still the best microphone for most people.
After years testing 17 laptop stands at work and in our home offices, we found that the Rain Design iLevel 2 is the best stand for anyone who spends hours every day hunched over a laptop at their desk. None of the other laptop stands we tested matched the iLevel 2’s combination of stability, adaptability, and sleek style. Paired with a wireless mouse and an external keyboard, the iLevel 2 can help fix your posture and reduce neck and arm pain.
If you want to incorporate standing into your work routine but a full-sized adjustable standing desk isn’t an option, the Kangaroo Pro Junior is the next best thing. After building, testing, and comparing 15 standing desk converters, we found our pick of more than five years offers the most stable, ergonomic, and adjustable standing setup while taking up less room than most converters.
Team messaging apps have become an essential part of work over the past decade and are now especially crucial for remote workers during the pandemic. For many people, these tools have become their workplace. Need proof? Consider the chaos that ensues whenever Slack has a rare outage: Many users are left wondering how to instantly communicate with their colleagues or what to do when the virtual watercooler is broken. After over two months of researching 19 of these apps and testing 11, we can say with confidence that Slack is superior to its alternatives. It has everything we want in a tool for keeping co-workers and colleagues connected on a daily basis, and its slick interface is far less painful to use than those of most competitors.
Your office chair shouldn’t be a literal pain in your butt. If your chair doesn’t offer supportive, comfortable padding for working long hours at your desk, an ergonomic seat cushion is the best budget alternative to buying a better chair. After nearly three months of researching 17 seat cushions and testing 11 of them, we recommend the Purple Double Seat Cushion because it offers two levels of firmness, stays cool, and holds its shape all day thanks to its unique gel-lattice construction.
A kettlebell merges the strength-building benefits of dumbbells with the opportunity to use them for specific exercises that involve lots of movement—a singular combination that makes for a well-rounded and versatile training tool. We tested five top-rated kettlebells for seven weeks (accumulating more than 2,500 repetitions with each bell) and determined that the best kettlebell for all types of kettlebell workouts is the Metrixx Elite Precision E-Coat Cast Iron Bell from Kettlebells USA because it’s the most comfortable kettlebell to use. Its wider handle makes it easier to grip with two hands (for the classic swing move), and its smoother finish is less likely to injure your skin. These factors made this bell immediately more comfortable than cheaper models, and more comfortable over time than its more expensive competition.
Any vacuum can clean hardwood floors—this is the simplest possible task for a vacuum cleaner. You don’t need anything special to get dust, hair, crumbs, or anything else off your wood, tile, or laminate floors. But some vacuums do it a little better than others. To avoid scattering debris or possibly damaging sensitive flooring, look for a model that either lets you switch off the spinning brush roll or has a special soft-fabric brush roll or no brush roll at all.
In November 2020, Apple began making a big change to its Mac lineup. Although Macs have used processors from Intel since 2006, new Macs from here on out will feature Apple-designed chips like the ones in iPhones and iPads. Apple says that using its own “Apple silicon” chips will improve performance and battery life for Macs and provide less tangible benefits relating to security and privacy. This transition started with the MacBook Air, the 13-inch MacBook Pro, and the Mac mini, and Apple expects its full lineup of Macs to complete the changeover within the next two years.
This is the start of a yearslong transition period, during which Apple will support both Intel Macs and Apple silicon Macs with new features and software updates for a while, before eventually dropping Intel Mac support in favor of focusing on newer, faster models with its own chips. So the question is: In the early phase of this transition, when some Intel Macs are still hanging around but Apple silicon Macs aren’t all here yet, is it still a good idea to spend money on an Intel Mac?
The short answer is yes, if you need one. The long answer is it depends. We’ll do our best to help you make that decision, and we’ll continue to update this guidance as the transition to Apple chips plays out and the company makes more public comments about how much support Intel Macs will receive over the next few years.
Amazon’s Alexa is like a best friend: It remembers important appointments, offers restaurant recommendations, and always has a joke for you. And like a best friend, this voice platform can also drive you bonkers. We often get questions (and complaints) about Alexa playing the wrong podcast, turning on the wrong lights, or just failing to understand what someone is asking. Here’s a cheat sheet to better understand how Alexa works, as well as some helpful tips for you to use it better.
The best Mac laptop for most people is the 13-inch MacBook Air with Apple’s M1 processor. It’s more than fast enough for the things most people use a computer for—web browsing, working on documents, and light photo and video editing—but the M1 even handles professional work like 3D rendering or compiling code pretty quickly. Plus, it has a great keyboard and trackpad, a colorful high-resolution screen, and outstanding battery life.
If you prefer to lie flat on your back as you snuggle in for a long night’s rest, you’re likely to find that a medium-firm mattress will suit you best. That’s because as a back-sleeper, you typically need a mattress that’s supportive enough to align your spine but cushioned enough to keep your shoulders, hips, and lower back comfortable. We’ve tested dozens of mattresses over the past several years for both our foam and innerspring guides, and we recommend seven specifically for back-sleepers. We also interviewed doctors and mattress experts to highlight the pros and cons of back-sleeping, so you’ll know exactly what to look for to get the best possible sleep.
Outdoor speakers bring the music, radio, and podcasts we most love to one of the places we most love: the backyard. We think the OSD Audio AP650 is your best choice in an outdoor speaker because it is built to tolerate harsh weather and ward off invasion by dust and bugs, it mounts easily in all sorts of situations, and it can play loudly even when connected to a small, low-powered amplifier.
Prime Day, Amazon’s annual deals extravaganza for Prime members, is likely still months away this year, but it’s never too early to start pulling together your wish list. Last Prime Day, which Amazon held in October, we saw some of the best prices of 2020 on everything from our top blender pick to Echo smart speakers. We expect Prime Day 2021 to return to the event’s typical summer kickoff date, so readiness is key.
For frequent flyers or commuters on public transit, reducing the noise around you is the difference between enduring a trip and enjoying it. Noise-cancelling headphones can make your music easier to hear and your world a little more peaceful. We recommend the over-ear Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 and the in-ear 1More Dual Driver ANC Pro, depending on which headphone style you prefer.
A good humidifier creates a comforting indoor condensation level that can soothe your cracked skin and help you breathe more easily—but even the best ones still require more maintenance and attention than you’d expect from such a seemingly simple device. We recommend the Honeywell HCM-350 Germ Free Cool Mist Humidifier because it’s quieter, more durable, and easier to clean than any other evaporative humidifier we’ve tested, with a 1-gallon tank that will last all day.
Few things are more important to a new parent than their baby’s sleep, and the American Academy of Pediatrics says the best place for that is in a safety-certified crib, play yard, bassinet, or bedside sleeper in the parents’ own room. After making it through eight weeks of nights and nap times, and a lot of times when no one was sleeping at all, we think the Arm’s Reach Concepts Clear-Vue Co-Sleeper is the most convenient choice for parents who want to sleep with their baby right next to their bed. As for the $1,300 Snoo, we found that the ultra-pricey motorized bassinet won’t make every infant “The Happiest Baby on the Block,” but our testers had generally positive experiences with it.
An immersion blender (also called a hand blender or a stick blender) isn’t as powerful as a countertop blender, but it can be more convenient. You can use it to puree a soup directly in the pot or make a quick and easy mayonnaise, and throw it in a drawer when you’re done. We’ve blended gallons of soup, smoothies, and sauces with more than a dozen immersion blenders since 2013, and the Breville Control Grip has always come out on top. It produces smoother textures, has a design that’s more comfortable to use, and comes with whipping and chopping attachments that actually work.
Kids are superheroes for enduring the COVID-19 pandemic, and they have the gear to prove it. Cloth face masks are easily one of the most important accessories for kids right now, but they’re also among the most challenging. We looked at some 90 cloth masks for kids, pored over scientific studies, spoke with health experts and researchers, and tested the finalists with a panel of 10 kids, ages 3 to 10.
Leesa launched its bed-in-a-box business in 2014 with one supposedly perfect mattress (the all-foam Leesa Original). And it distinguished itself from other mattress companies by pledging to donate one mattress to families in need for every 10 mattresses purchased. Leesa still does all of this, but now it also offers multiple bed options. You can find the newer options at Leesa’s sites and showrooms, as well as at multiple retail partners nationwide, including Macy’s and West Elm.
In terms of bang for your fitness buck, there are few pieces of exercise equipment that offer a better value than a jump rope. An excellent cardio workout, jump-roping burns the equivalent calories to running a 7:30 mile yet is something that most anyone can do. Plus, ropes are inexpensive additions to a home gym and easily stashed in a gym bag. After researching, measuring, shortening, boiling (!), and jumping ropes, we’re confident that the XYLsports Jump Rope—with its smooth rotation, comfortable handles, test-topping durability, and value price—is the best rope for most people.
We also looked into jump ropes for kids and found three different styles that should help budding jumpers feel comfortable and confident as they learn the, ahem, ropes.
Are seasonal allergies bringing those tears to your eyes, or is it just the sheer relief that winter has finally met its icy end? Either way, we’ll pretend we didn’t notice. For many people, spring signifies a fresh start—and to celebrate, you might be thinking of using those extra few hours of sunlight to declutter, streamline, and brighten your home. Studies have shown that clutter makes it hard to think clearly, and disorganization brings your productivity levels to a standstill. Clearing your desk, livening up the room with fresh flowers, or replacing your pillows can go a long way‚ and these deals on Wirecutter picks can help.
My dryer is older, so it doesn’t have fancy settings. It gets the job done—eventually. That’s because I overdry all of my laundry. Towels, pajama pants, sweatshirts, delicates—I cook them all till they’re dry, and then I cook them even longer. (I’m convinced the one sock that’s always missing actually spontaneously combusted.) That’s how much I am drying, and it’s a problem. It wastes energy, costs me money, and damages all of our fabrics.
Cordless vacuums cost so much more than traditional plug-ins and rarely last as long, but they’re incredibly convenient. If that sounds like a fair trade-off, and you’re ready to go cord-free, we’ve found a handful of models to suit different homes and budgets. First, consider the cheapest Dyson you can find, which is often the Dyson V7 Motorhead.
In an era of ultrathin laptops, a big, boxy desktop can feel downright archaic. But a cheap desktop PC is a great option for anyone who needs to work from home, for kids who have to do remote learning and want to play games, or for entire families who want to share. For the price of a cheap laptop, it’s possible to get a desktop computer and a roomy monitor that perform just as well—and often a little better. And thanks to easier upgrades and repairs, desktops can last longer than laptops, too, delivering even more value over the long term.
A surround-sound speaker system gives movie lovers a home audio experience that’s more like what they hear in the theater. We picked the Polk Signature Series as our favorite because it delivers the best combination of performance, design, user-friendliness, and affordability. The speakers sounded as good as anything we tried in their price range, and they look terrific.
