The iPad Is the Best Tablet

Apple’s iPad has long been better than any other tablet you can buy, and each new iPad is a little better than the last. That’s still true with the 10th-generation iPad, which introduces USB-C and a number of quality-of-life improvements. But those new features come with a big jump in price, and Apple is still selling the great 9th-generation iPad, which is familiar, affordable, and offers plenty of power for most people. It’s still great for tablet-y things like consuming content or playing games, and Apple greatly improved the front-facing camera for video calls. That makes the 9th-gen iPad the first one to consider before looking at an iPad Pro or iPad mini, or even the 10th-gen iPad. For most people, it should be the one you end up with.

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The Best Men’s and Women’s Cashmere Sweaters

Incomparably soft and wonderfully indulgent, a great cashmere sweater is a welcome and worthy addition to any wardrobe. It’s also an investment—so finding one that looks great, feels comfortable, and will last a long time is especially important.

We tested 25 cashmere sweaters—ranging in price from $50 to $500 each—and came away with six favorites. Our recommendations include an under-$100 men’s and women’s crewneck; a toasty under-$200 women’s turtleneck; a rugged men’s sweater blended with a hint of wool; a stylishly boxy women’s sweater; a long, lightweight women’s cardigan, and a splurge-worthy unisex sweater with personality to spare.

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The Best Nintendo Switch and Switch Lite Accessories

The Nintendo Switch's flexibility is a large part of what makes it great. It’s a handheld console, but it can turn into a living room gaming experience—and it even has a kickstand. But it doesn’t come with everything you need, and a lot of the Switch accessories you can buy are junk. We’ve researched and tested dozens of Switch and Switch Lite accessories across all kinds of categories—cases, controllers, microSD cards, stands, and more—to find the things that are actually worth spending your money on.

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The Best Smart Thermostat

What’s so smart about smart thermostats? They not only ensure your home’s temperature is comfortable, but they also do that while saving money and—not coincidentally—fighting climate change by better conserving energy resources. And the smartest ones do all that automatically.

Our pick, the Ecobee Smart Thermostat Premium, kept the temperature more consistently pleasant year-round than any other model we tested, likely because of its ability to calculate the effects of humidity on comfort. It comes with a remote SmartSensor, which balances temps in your home, and it has a built-in smart speaker for use with Alexa or Siri. Ecobee’s privacy policy is best in class, and the company still provides support for even its earliest years-old models.

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The Best Home Bluetooth Speaker

Using a Bluetooth tabletop speaker is the simplest way to get satisfying sound in the home, since it will work with almost any mobile device and doesn’t require a network connection or the use of a special app to set it up.

Klipsch’s The One Plus is the best all-around home Bluetooth speaker. It has a full, clear sound with surprisingly strong bass for its size, and its operation couldn’t be simpler. Plus, the Klipsch speaker’s handsome, retro design should make it a welcome addition to practically any room.

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The Best All-in-One Computer

An all-in-one computer can be a great family PC or a centerpiece for a home office because the all-encompassing design helps you avoid a mess of display, power, and peripheral wires. However, all-in-ones typically cost more than a laptop or a mini PC plus a monitor, so keep in mind that you’re paying more for that streamlined design.

Although the Apple 24-inch iMac is expensive, it offers the best combination of display quality, performance, and design for the price. For a less expensive alternative with a touchscreen, we also recommend the HP Envy Move.

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The Best Business Laptops

You don’t have to run a business to benefit from a business laptop. They’re easier to repair and upgrade than other laptops, and they’re built with sturdy materials that hold up well to travel and frequent use. We’ve tested dozens of business laptops over the years, and the Dell Latitude 5430 is the best option for most people: It has plenty of ports, it offers all-day battery life, and it comes with a comfortable, reliable keyboard and trackpad. But if you don’t care about being able to upgrade or fix your laptop yourself, a good ultrabook is usually cheaper.

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The Best Mechanical Pencils

Confession time: I’ve never liked mechanical pencils. The lead breaks as soon as it touches paper, or it never leaves the pencil body in the first place. The thin plastic barrel makes your fingers cramp within a few minutes. And the whole thing rattles like a baby toy.

At least, that’s what I remember from my school days of filling in ovals for multiple-choice tests. But if you’ve also had a poor experience with mechanical pencils, it may be time to reconsider. After researching 28 mechanical pencils and writing and drawing meticulously with more than a dozen of them for two months, we have picks that are a joy to use rather than the disasters of yore.

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The Best Water Flossers

Water flossers, also known as oral irrigators, cost a lot more up-front than string floss. And they can still be pretty uncomfortable to use—get ready to drool. Also, there’s no clear evidence that they’re superior to traditional floss. Yet some people really like the way the water jets feel between their teeth, and some find it’s easier to work with a wand than a piece of string. Of the 14 models we’ve tested, we recommend the Waterpik Ion, a compact traditional water flosser with a cordless charging base. It cleans mouths thoroughly and takes up less counter space than most of its competitors.

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The Best Bike Helmet for Commuters

No one ever plans on crashing their bike.

But if you ride long enough, even the most casual commuter will take a tumble, which is why you should always wear a helmet. (Case in point: I crashed six times while working on this guide.)

Over the past nine years, we’ve tested more than 30 helmets to determine that the Met Downtown Mips is the best bike helmet for most commuters.

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The Best Wine Glasses

Proper glassware is more than just a flourish for your dining table. The right glass changes how you smell and taste wine, and it should inspire confidence as you swirl, sniff, and sip. With the help of experts, we’ve tasted wine out of nearly 100 brand-concealed wine glasses since 2014 and we think the best everyday choice is the Libbey Signature Kentfield Estate All-Purpose Wine Glass. It’s inexpensive yet elegant, and in our testing it enhanced the aromas of both red and white wines better than most of the competition.

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Stop Murdering Houseplants. Try Lego Flowers Instead.

I feel awful whenever I inadvertently kill a houseplant. But most fake plants, even decent ones, remind me of dreary dentist waiting rooms. Thankfully, the Lego Botanical Collection solves my problem.

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The Best Tricycles

The world of tricycles is wild and weird, with hundreds of options ranging from convertible 4-in-1s to fancy drifters to trikes that become balance bikes.

We considered more than 50 of today’s most popular tricycles, and along with several dozen kids, between the ages of 1 and 7, we test-drove 21 models. In the end, we think families with toddlers should get the Radio Flyer 4-in-1 Stroll ’N Trike. This lower-cost, convertible tricycle is loaded with extras, and it offers significantly more versatility than its competitors.

We also like the slightly pricier yet more durable INFANS Kids Tricycle. The Schwinn Roadster Tricycle is a stylish low ride for bigger kids. And the Angeles MyRider Midi is an upgrade that will likely outlast the rest.

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The Best Gear for Travel

Traveling well can be one of life’s great pleasures, whether you’re alone or with family and friends.

But what does it mean to travel well? We’d say that along with traveling safely (of course), traveling well involves avoiding hassle, carrying a single bag (if possible), and bringing only the necessities.

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The Best Coffee Grinder

If you want to make better coffee at home, the most important tool you can buy isn’t an expensive brewer or fancy filters, but a good burr grinder. No matter how you choose to make your coffee, even the best beans won’t be as delicious if they aren’t ground consistently. We’ve been testing grinders (and using our picks daily) since 2015, and we’ve found that the no-frills Baratza Encore delivers high-quality, ultra-consistent grinding. It is also easy to maintain, clean, repair, and even customize, all for a fair price.

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The Best Smart Water-Leak Detector

Cool water can be refreshing—except when it’s in the form of a puddle that seeps from a toilet. A smart water-leak sensor can lessen the impact of plumbing problems by alerting you the moment they’re detected, whether you’re at home or away. We have yet to find a smart water-leak sensor that is perfect in every way, but the D-Link DCH-S1621KT Whole Home Smart Wi-Fi Water Leak Sensor Kit includes the features and capabilities that are most important. It responds to potential danger quickly, it has a loud onboard siren, and it integrates with other smart devices.

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The Best Lego Sets for Adults, According to Our Staff

When I began picking up occasional Lego sets as an adult, I’d hide the purchase in my bedroom and build with the door shut. The finished diorama would fill me with nostalgic joy—but should an overnight guest arrive, I’d swiftly banish it to the closet the way most folks might do a speed sweep of strewn-about dirty laundry.

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5 Cheap(ish) Things to Upgrade Your Coffee Experience

“Oh! The coffee’s good today,” is something my husband or I murmur on occasion as we slowly come alive with our first sip of the morning. On most days, though, the coffee we make at home is just good enough. We make it the same way every time, but whether or not we achieve coffee nirvana on any particular day is anyone’s guess. It mystified me for years—until I decided to get to the bottom of it.

It turns out that even with quality beans, it’s hard to be a good home barista without the right tools. Some of these things are admittedly pricey but also entirely worth it, according to coffee experts. For instance, a burr grinder, which chops and grinds beans into a consistent coarseness, starts at about $100. Meanwhile, a reverse-osmosis filtration system, which reduces the mineral content in hard water (check the United States Geological Survey site to see if you have it), can cost well over $100.

Luckily, just about everything else is quite affordable. Here are five cheap(ish) things that can vastly improve your coffee-drinking experience.

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This Deep Tissue Massager Looks Like a Medieval Torture Device. But It Works Like a Dream.

After 21 years as a (middling) long-distance runner, I’ve made peace with the fact that some part of my body will always be sore, tight, injured, or in desperate need of massaging. I’ve spent hundreds of hours poking myself with lacrosse balls, squeegeeing all of my limbs with a foam roller, and bending myself into a pretzel with resistance bands, chasing that elusive rush that comes with finally untwisting a knot, but nothing ever really seemed to hit that deep aching spot in the muscles.

Relief finally came three years ago when I got the Roll Recovery R8 Deep Tissue Massage Roller—one of our recommended gifts for runners—which is a plastic clamp that looks more like a medieval torture device than a massager. Around my house it is affectionately known as “The Clamp.”

The R8 is a spring-tensioned clamp with grooved rubber rollers on each side that squeeze and massage limbs. It applies so much pressure that some people may find it uncomfortable to use. However, if like me you’re someone who loves deep massages and the kind of poking and prodding that others may even think painful, you might find the R8 to be an excellent self-massage tool.

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The Shovel That Beat the Snowpocalypse and Saved My Back

I am the last person who should need a snow shovel.

Sure, I grew up in New England, clearing my share of front walks and pond ice, but now I live in San Francisco. The closest I get to a blizzard are the drifts of camellia blossoms from the tree in our backyard.

Then my partner bought a ski condo in Mammoth Lakes, in California’s Eastern Sierra. The condo’s maintenance crew usually shovels the balconies, but in 2022–23, the snowpocalypse hit. Storms dropping six to eight feet of snow arrived one after the other. The crews were working full-time clearing the complex’s roofs, to keep them from collapsing.

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How to Adjust Your Office Chair

Regardless of whether an office chair costs $200, $500, or $1,000, if it isn’t set up right, it’s not doing you any good.

Taking the time to adjust it for your body and the type of work you do is a necessity. A good chair lets you customize the height, seat depth, and armrests and reclines to your body so you’re comfortable no matter your task.

But it isn’t always obvious how to dial in those options for comfort and ergonomics.

Your first step should be pulling out the instruction manual for your chair or looking for an adjustment diagram online. Once you have that, here’s how to dial in all the adjustments for the best ergonomics.

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The Best Memory Foam Mattresses You Can Buy Online

If you crave a slow-sinking, pressure-relieving mattress that will cradle you all night, a foam mattress might be just right. We’ve weeded through dozens of foam-mattress options to recommend five that we think will work for most people.

For a traditional coil mattress or for a mattress that combines springs and foam, see our reviews of the best innerspring mattresses and the best hybrid mattresses.

If you’re on a tighter budget, check out our guide to the best cheap mattresses (under $500).

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The Best Chest Freezers

Chest freezers generally all perform about the same and tend to be reliable, so any model you buy should work fine. That said, we like the GE FCM11PHWW because it has all the most critical features you should expect from a chest freezer, including a power-on indicator light, a safety lock to keep kids out, and an interior light. It also has leveling legs for uneven flooring, three sliding storage baskets, and front temperature controls.

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The Best microSD Cards

Most brand-name microSD cards are fine most of the time if you need extra space for storing videos or games. But some cards are a bit faster or more reliable, which can make them more versatile and a better long-term value.

After evaluating a dozen new microSD cards, we’ve found that the Samsung Pro Plus and the SanDisk microSDXC Card for Nintendo Switch are the best microSD cards for the majority of phones and tablets, as well as portable gaming consoles such as the Nintendo Switch and the Steam Deck.

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The 30 Best Gifts for 4-Year-Olds

[Need gifting help? Text us. Using one word only, describe your recipient (try “Dad” or “Kid”) to (646) 350-0385 and receive a handpicked recommendation from our gift experts.]

Many 4-year-olds are learning to master their environments, and they’re starting to negotiate boundaries, push limits, and question everything. Some of the best gifts for 4-year-olds engage their endless curiosity, rapidly developing physical skills, and desire to understand everything around them.

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The 33 Best Gifts for 3-Year-Olds

[Need gifting help? Text us. Using one word only, describe your recipient (try “Dad” or “Kid”) to (646) 350-0385 and receive a handpicked recommendation from our gift experts.]

When kids reach the age of 3, the gift-giving game changes. Many children in this age group are likely to know what they want. Lots of them will have more interests, opinions, and language to express their excitement than they had in the past. But that doesn’t negate the thrill of a good surprise. “Often the idea of receiving a gift is what’s exciting for them, not necessarily what the gift is,” said Heather Singh, director of educational programs at the Thinkery, a children’s museum in Austin, Texas, at the time of our interview.

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