Tag: household

5 Best Smart Christmas Lights (2024), Tested and Reviewed

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Other Christmas Lights to Consider

Photograph: Nanoleaf

Nanoleaf Essentials Smart Holiday String Lights for $100: These lights work with Google Assistant, Alexa, and HomeKit, and they’re similar in look, style, and price to our top pick. The only major difference is that the cord splits in two—the idea is you start from the middle of the tree, not the bottom, and wrap one cord to the top and the other down to the bottom. It’s a little disorienting, and the cords might be more of an eyesore depending on your tree placement.

Ollny Christmas Cluster Lights for $56: If you want something a bit simpler, Ollny’s warm and welcoming Christmas lights are affordable. I tested this 49-foot light string, which has 1,000 LEDs in a lovely warm white color. They are IP44 rated and they come with a handy wee remote control that makes them ideal for outside your home. You can choose from eight effects, four brightness levels, and set timers to switch them on or off automatically after several hours.

Govee Outdoor String Lights (48 feet) for $49: I love the look of big-bulb outdoor lights for the holidays. These lights from Govee have a little too much space between each bulb to be the perfect outdoor Christmas light, but they’re great for hanging off a fence or pergola. I like that you can combine ropes of these to make them longer or shorter, depending on your needs.

Twinkly Net Lights for $100: These net lights work well, with a larger bulb and net style to make it easy to throw over your yard’s foliage and not lose the lights in the leaves. It’s a good size for a single hedge, but there’s no easy way to connect several of them if you have a lot of bushes you want to cover.

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December 1, 2024
Best Black Friday Deals on LED Face Masks (2024)

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If you’ve been hoping to jump on the LED train, there’s no better time than right now. These masks and tools have been gaining in popularity for their promise to erase fine lines and brighten your skin, and some even treat acne. In the past couple months that I’ve been using red light devices, compliments on my skin have certainly gone up, and my acne spots have healed up faster than ever. There’re a few masks and gadgets we’ve found that we love to use after testing several, and lucky you, they’re on sale.

A quick primer on how LED therapy works, if you aren’t familiar: Near-infrared light stimulates the proteins collagen and elastin to reduce your wrinkles. Some devices also have a blue light therapy option, which penetrates the top layer of skin to kill acne-causing bacteria, and can reduce inflammation to clear up your skin. Check out our guide to the Best LED Face Masks for more details.

WIRED’s Black Friday 2024 Coverage

LED Device Deals

Photograph: Nena Farrell

WIRED staffers have been pretty happy using this handy little LED wand to tighten up the skin around their eyes. It’s a manual device with a three-minute treatment you do on a specific area, so it’s perfect if you have a certain spot you want to treat versus your whole face. The wand alone isn’t on sale, but the wand kit is on sale that includes a serum to use with the wand.

I’m currently testing this neck gadget and am a little too excited about it, since neck lines are the biggest area I’d like to treat on my skin. It’s still too early in testing to report results—I’m on week two of testing—but it’s been easy and comfortable to test, and I love that I can wear it while doing my hair or eating a snack since it doesn’t cover my entire face. Like the wand above, Solawave’s sale is for the Kit that includes a serum that works with the neck and chest mask.

LED Face Mask Deals

Photograph: Medea Giordano

Omnilux is similar to our top LED mask pick, with a soft form that you essentially wrap around your face. It’s comfortable and fairly affordable, and the only reason it’s not a top pick is that it doesn’t have a blue light mode. If you aren’t worried about acne, though, this is a great time to buy this more affordable mask, especially since it’s extra affordable right now.

Photograph: Medea Giordano

This mask does it all: it’s comfortable, has the shortest treatment time with just three minutes, and not only has both a red light mode and a blue light mode, but has a combined mode to let you get both lights at the same time. It’s also the biggest discount on an LED mask you can find right now, so don’t miss out getting this great mask on sale.

Photograph: Nena Farrell

My overall favorite LED mask is soft and flexible, easy to wrap around my large noggin, and packs both a red light mode and a blue light mode so you can treat lines and acne as you please. You won’t be able to do it at the same time like with the SpectraLite, though. LED Esthetics is usually the cheaper choice to get both features, but these two masks are a pretty similar price right now, so you may want to go for the mask that can do two in one while you can. But if you prefer a soft mask, this is a great choice with both options.

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November 29, 2024
Amazon Just Dropped the Biggest Echo Show Ever

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Nothing says it’s the holiday season like a brand-new Amazon device. Amazon has been expanding its product lineups left and right this year, from its speaker options with the revived Echo Spot to a relaunch of the entire Kindle line (with some hiccups). Now the Echo Show family is getting a big update. Literally—it’s getting a massive, 21-inch device added to the roster.

The Echo Show 21 ($400) is the newest member of Amazon’s vast list of Echo-powered devices, with a 21-inch display. It’s a larger version of the Echo Show 15 ($300), a 15-inch display, which also got its second generation today. If you aren’t familiar with the world of smart displays, think of a smart speaker, but add a screen that can display your smart home devices, let you play music and TV, and make video calls with the built-in camera. Both these new devices promise an upgrade in audio quality compared with the first-gen Echo Show 15, with more bass and room-adaptation technology. It’s a smart move, since these large displays sit somewhere between smart display and small TV. Amazon includes an Alexa Voice Remote with both devices so you can actually use it like you would a TV.

I’m a little surprised to see Amazon expanding its massive Echo Show devices. There are some easier wins, like announcing a new Echo generation or restocking the popular Echo Dot speaker with clock, especially since the Alexa department is known for having posted massive losses a couple years ago. We’ve seen Google and Apple move toward making smart displays out of existing devices rather than launching an entirely separate device. But there are rumors of a mountable Apple TV screen, so perhaps a new massive Echo Show isn’t so out of the blue. If a TV-like smart display sounds up your alley, here are the most interesting updates promised in Amazon’s new devices.

Stream On

Photograph: Amazon

Amazon says that the inspiration behind adding the Show 21 and updating the Echo 15 were customer requests for better audio and a larger screen. Amazon did include both of these features; in addition to the 21’s 21-inch screen, it added an extra inch of speakers between the original Echo Show 15 and the new model. Plus, both the Show 21 and second-gen 15 will have two 0.6-inch tweeters and two 2-inch woofers.

It’s still not as impressive of a speaker array as other Echo Show devices with a larger base. For example, our favored Echo Show 8 ($150) has two 2-inch stereo speakers plus a passive bass radiator, and the bulbous Echo Show 10 ($250) has two 1-inch tweeters and a 3-inch woofer. The Show 21 and second-gen 15 are both limited by their thin profiles, since they’re designed to look more like a digital photo frame that happens to double as a family calendar and TV device.

Instead, you get larger screens that you’re more likely to mount on your wall like a small TV. Amazon is including its remote for a reason, after all—so you’ll turn to this device not only for your Alexa questions and to control your smart home, but also for your TV-related needs. All Echo Show devices offer this, but these larger screens are the only ones it makes sense to watch something on. I wasn’t super impressed by the experience of using the TV features on the original Show 15—a real TV and streaming device work much better—but I’ll be retesting these devices soon to see if the experience has improved.

There’s also a camera included at the top and a microphone built in, so you can use these screens for video calls or as an indoor security camera. Amazon says there’s a bigger field of view and 65 percent more zoom on the Show 21 and second-gen Show 15 compared with the original, and Amazon has added noise reduction technology to make calls clearer. If you don’t want to use the camera, there’s a physical shutter to cover it.

Screen Grab

Photograph: Amazon

The best feature of the original Echo Show 15 was the widgets. You can find them on any Echo Show device now, but the Show 15 had them first and still uses them best. With so much more screen real estate compared with the smaller Shows, you can really take advantage of widgets and make the screen your own. Plus, the Echo Show 15’s screen stays static, so you aren’t waiting for your widgets of choice to appear in the carousel of content.

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November 20, 2024
11 Best Gifts for Men, Manly Men, and Menly Man Men (2024)

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Some companies try to be subtle when marketing products aimed at grooming your junk, with euphemisms like “Look your best, all over.” Others will be cheeky, like the aforementioned Crop Soother. Then there’s BALLS. Cofounded by Matt Edge and Tyler Ball (what are the odds?), this company makes electric razors like the Archibald trimmer specifically aimed at trimming hair in hard-to-trim places.

What makes this different from a typical razor? It’s completely waterproof, so you can even use it in the shower. It also has a small LED under the razor, so you can better see what you’re doing down where the sun doesn’t shine. Beyond that, the razor performs pretty well in terms of shaving without nicking sensitive skin, which would be enough to recommend it without all the bells and whistles.

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November 15, 2024
The 7 Best Milk Frothers for Your Home Espresso Setup (2024)

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Cortado. Caffe Latte. Caccionis. Affogato. Hot Wet. Flat White.

Two of those six drinks are fake, but that shouldn’t stop you from ordering one and expecting the barista to nod politely and whip something on the fly to avoid coming off as behind the times. Cafés in touristy regions of Italy began adding milk to coffee to make it more palatable for normies more than three centuries ago, and simple lattes and cappuccinos have been staples at American coffee shops since the late ’80s. Yet the obsession with tinkering and renaming subtle variations on this winning formula scans as a very third-wave development that feels less like innovation and more like beleaguered “riffing” for riffing’s sake.

The market for electric milk frothers is abuzz. A mechanized pitcher that automatically heats and froths milk is not a new concept, but a recent spate of boutique options that claim they can create the type of microfoam needed to pour latte with little effort is an exciting development. To borrow an aphorism my local barista rattles off daily while pouring flawless rosettas without batting an eye, “Big if true!”

Across the span of a month, I tried out eight milk frothers to see whether any of them could turn a cup of whole milk into that silky smooth microfoam that glistens under the ceiling lights before you knock it on the counter, swish it around, and pour it over a shot of espresso. This turned out to be a near-impossible task, but a few pleasant surprises gave me hope that a milk frother may one day be an indispensable part of my at-home coffee kit. Nouveau riche cortado junkies won’t find much to love in this list, but Gen Xers who pine for the days of cozy second-wave shops that serve foam-heaped cappuccinos in soup bowls while an Ani DiFranco clone sings slam poetry in the corner will be absolutely stoked on almost every item here. Busy moms with a brood of cocoa-slurping kiddos will find a worthy addition to their Christmas list too, which is not nothing!

To further hone your home espresso artistry, check out our guides to the Best Espresso Machines, Best Latte and Cappuccino Machines, Best Coffee Grinders, and Best Nut Milk Makers.

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With each unit I used 8 ounces of organic whole milk that was pulled from the fridge at 45 degrees Fahrenheit. I did not test any nondairy milks because of the wild variance in fat and sugar content, viscosity, and availability of each. Besides, we’ll probably be done with the hip alternative milk of the hour by the time this is published, rendering my extensive testing with fair-trade bird-safe macadamia milk useless.

I followed the instructions or quick-start guides that materialized after shaking out the box, and aimed for “wet froth” or a “flat white” if the instructions explicitly offered a process oriented toward that outcome. I swooshed the milk around in the frothing pitcher to get a better sense of the froth texture, decanted it into a Brewista Precision Frothing pitcher, and attempted to pour an 8-ounce cappuccino with latte art. I did this three times with each frother and made note of the average time of its frothing cycle, the final temperature of the milk, and the consistency and texture of the frothed milk.

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November 15, 2024
The 7 Best Mattress Toppers We’ve Slept On (2024)

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I remember my first mattress topper. It was bright blue and made of foam, and I used it to try and relieve some of my back pain on the superthin mattress I owned in my post-college days. It didn’t do much, though, since it was just a thin sheet of foam thrown over a bad mattress.

These mattress toppers, however, are game-changers. While a mattress topper can’t save you from needing a new mattress, it can easily improve the feel of a too-firm mattress. All of these mattress toppers were tested against uncomfortably firm mattresses to see how much cushion they provide, if they can add any extra support or cooling, and if they really can make your sleep better. As someone who’s been unimpressed by mattress toppers in the past, I’m hooked now on having one.

From supersoft wool and memory toppers to hybrid toppers that will make your mattress feel new and firm again, we’ve got a pick for every kind of bed and sleeper. If you’re looking for more gear to improve your sleep, don’t miss our guide to the Best Pillows, Best Sheets, and Best Mattresses.

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November 15, 2024
This Self-Heating Mug Keeps Things Warm—and Simple

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The Ember also came with a proprietary charging base that worked with its mugs only, while the Ohom has a wireless charging pad. The Ui3 mug has metal infused in the base that is heated by Ohom’s dual wireless charger. It works like an induction hob to heat the mug at 22 watts but can also charge phones, AirPods, and other small gadgets that support Qi wireless charging at up to 15 watts. This dual use helps reduce clutter on my desk, and I often use the pad to charge something else once my drink is finished.

As the temperature outside has started to drop, having a constantly warm mug of coffee at hand has been lovely. Crucially, unlike the Ember, the Ohom Ui3 is virtually indistinguishable from normal mugs. It’s the kind of Goldilocks mug I would pick out of a cupboard because it looks nice and sturdy, holds the right amount, and is pleasant to sip from.

The Ohom Ui3 comes with a USB-C cable that’s just shy of 5 feet long and a power adapter. The LED on the front pulses purple when it’s heating your drink and blue when it’s charging a gadget. Although the charging base can act as a regular Qi wireless charging pad, you can’t use other Qi pads with the mug. The pad heats a little to the touch when in use but not dangerously so, and it cools quickly.

Off the Boil

As much as I like the Ohom Ui3, there is room for improvement. The charging pad is ugly, with a safety warning on the top that tells you not to place any other metal objects on it and, weirdly, not to try wirelessly charging your phone face down. While the former is an understandable safety concern, I can’t help wondering who needs the second warning. It’s a shame, with such a lovely and unobtrusive mug, that the pad couldn’t emulate a regular coaster (many wireless charging pads do).

Photograph: Simon Hill

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November 14, 2024
The 5 Best Bamboo Sheets for Silky-Soft Sleep (2024)

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Honorable Mentions

Photograph: Nena Farrell

Quince Linen Bamboo Deluxe Bundle for $255: This set would be a pick, but it’s been out of stock for weeks. It’s a fantastic combination of linen and bamboo that gets the best of both worlds: the softness and cool touch of bamboo with the structure and airflow of linen. It’s a great pick for hot sleepers—when you can buy it, that is. Right now only the deluxe version with the duvet cover can be found on the site, but you have to join the wait list.

My Sheets Rock for $199: These sheets are super soft. They promise to regulate your temperature, but I found myself waking up a little too warm some nights. If you aren’t a hot sleeper, these are overall soft, comfortable sheets to sleep on.

Ettitude Airy Sateen+ Sheet Set for $449: These sheets are fantastically soft and use a combination of bamboo lyocell and bamboo “biochar” to make them antifungal and odor-resistant. They ran a little warm for my liking, but if you’re looking for something to keep odors and fungi away, these could be the splurge for you.

Pom Pom at Home Bamboo Sateen Sheet Set for $345: These are great bamboo sheets, but for the price, we were more impressed by others we tested.

Sunday Citizen Bamboo Sheet Set for $225: WIRED reviewer Louryn Strampe found these sheets to be super soft and fantastic to sleep on. But even with the claimed deep pockets they tended to pop off her mattress, and our top pick is cheaper with straps that will avoid that problem.

How I Test Bamboo Sheets

For our bamboo sheets guide, I compared our picks both overnight and side by side for softness, cooling properties, and price. Each set of sheets was slept on anywhere between one and seven nights, depending on how it performed, and was washed multiple times to check for pilling or design flaws. I’m a hot sleeper living in Southern California, with my bedroom on the third floor of my home, so it’s been easy to discover if sheets can’t keep me cool all night long. I also looked at each sheet’s quality in reference to the price to see what sheet sets were really worth investing in after testing each one.

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November 14, 2024
AeroGarden, a Pandemic-Era Phenomenon, Is No More. What Happens Next?

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If you’re unconcerned about the company’s demise and are able to get an AeroGarden cheaply, don’t expect to get any customer support past that 90 days.

In my experience, AeroGardens are pretty modular. Replacement parts are easy to find, and they’re easy to repair as long as the lights and the electronic parts keep working and as long as you keep your devices cleaned and well-maintained.

Of the three AeroGardens I owned, only one still functions normally. A Bounty Elite model I owned developed problems with its LED lighting, and since the device was out of warranty, the company told me it couldn’t repair or replace it. I haven’t bothered to seek out a replacement part on Ebay or other third-party seller sites.

A Harvest model I previously owned that stopped operating was within its warranty period and was replaced by the company. I kept the older model for spare parts. The replacement Harvest is still running fine after two years.

If you’re worried about running out of seed pods and the company’s proprietary nutrient liquid, don’t be. The plastic seed pods can be reused (I have so many of them in my house, I’ll never run out), and there are a lot of online sellers offering compatible off-brand pods and the conical sponges that go with them. You can drop any off-the-shelf garden seeds into these pods, as you can with AeroGarden’s Grow Anything kits.

For the liquid nutrient, you can either stock up on large containers of the plant food, which contains 16 minerals, or use an alternative mix. Astute growers have figured out and posted online about what’s in the mix, but since hydroponic growing is popular beyond the AeroGarden community, it’s not hard to shop for or find information on how to make your own alternate nutrient mixes that will work with whatever types of seeds you’re trying to grow.

As long as your AeroGarden keeps working, you should be able to find supplies and parts to continue growing plants for years to come.

What Happens to the AeroGarden App?

The answer to that question is much less clear. The company updated its apps for iOS and Android this year but only says the app will continue working “for an extended period of time” that is undetermined.

AeroGarden models that use Wi-Fi and Bluetooth can be operated without the app, as the company describes in its user manuals. If you’re concerned about AeroGarden disappearing from the web, it wouldn’t hurt to save a copy of the electronic manual for your model just in case.

What if I Want to Move on From AeroGarden?

If you still would rather grow your plants inside instead of transitioning to outside gardening or other types of soil-based planting, there are other hydroponic devices.

Click & Grow makes indoor planters comparable to AeroGarden’s starting at about $80 with its current discounts. Ingarden makes a line of microgreen growers and nutrients that sell for $149. Modern Sprout and Gardyn are other options starting at $239 and $499, respectively, if you want something app-enabled and hydroponic.

AeroGarden might be going away, but don’t let that rob you of the joy of growing your own plants, whether you do it with or without soil, indoors or outside, or even (gasp!) without any technology at all.

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November 11, 2024
The Best Veterans Day Mattress Deals (2024)

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Black Friday, my friends, is coming. Like a looming storm of deals, it can feel stressful waiting for the impending holiday’s arrival to finally get the things you want and need on sale.

But good news: Plenty of sales are starting early, so you can start checking things off your shopping list. Why not check off getting a new mattress while you’re at it? You can add a little “From Santa” tag and stick it next to the Christmas tree, or unbox it early so that you’re more rested than ever for this holiday season. Whether you need a mattress that will keep you cool or one that can keep away your back pain, or just a better mattress in general, these picks are all editor-tested to confirm they can solve your sleep woes. All prices listed are for queen sizes.

Don’t miss more early Black Friday deals we’ve spotted, and our tips for navigating Black Friday. Looking for more sleep gear? Catch our guides to the Best Mattresses, Best Organic Mattresses, Best Sheets, and Best Pillows.

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Best Veterans Day Mattress Sales

Photograph: Helix Sleep

Helix

We’re big fans of Helix around here. The Midnight Luxe mattress from Helix managed to stay at the top of our Best Mattresses guide for a reason, and you’ll find other great mattresses and toppers recommended in our other mattress and bedding guides, too. (The topper in Luxury Firm will be one of our favorite mattress toppers in our upcoming guide!) Helix is running a 25 percent off site-wide sale for early Black Friday shoppers, but you can get an even better deal with our custom code WIRED27 to get 27 percent off. You’ll also get a free set of sheets and a pillow set with every mattress purchase, too.

Birch

Birch is Helix’s organic sister brand, and the code WIRED27 will get you 27 percent off the entire site. We have many favorite products from Birch after sleeping on nearly everything the brand has to offer, from some of our favorite organic mattresses to a mattress topper that will be our top recommendation in a brand-new guide. These prices are even better than we saw for major holidays like Labor Day, so don’t miss the rare opportunity to get such a good discount.

Saatva

Saatva is another great place to find fantastic mattresses. We’re especially big fans of their mattresses for back pain and lumbar support, but they’ve also got great sheets. Saatva is running some early Black Friday sales on its site with fine deals, but the best price you can find is by clicking through our exclusive link (click here) to get up to $400 off any mattress purchase. We’ve also got an exclusive 10 percent discount on Saatva’s percale sheets, which are one of my favorite sets I’ve ever tried.

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November 9, 2024