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I tested a pair of gaming earbuds that put my audiophile headset to shame — and they’re under $35
As a tech reviewer for Tom’s Guide, and an avid gamer, I’ve had my share of issues with headsets over the years. Whether I have to deal with headsets that can’t deliver on features like the Turtle Beach Atlas Air, or the huge prices of audiophile options like the Beyerdynamic MMX300. While not exactly new, I fell in love with…
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I tested more than 25 EVs this year — here’s the top 5 most efficient models
In 2024, I got to do something I didn’t think I’d do at the start of the year — and that’s testing electric cars. Today’s electric vehicles don’t just look good or come packed with self-driving features, they need to convince people to buy them in a meaningful way. One way they’re able to do that is to prove they…
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My 10 Favorite Smart Tech Devices I Tested This Year
We may earn a commission from links on this page. I review a lot of smart home tech, and my home is often full of robots rolling on the floor, voice assistants talking, and notifications chiming from my phone. Most smart home devices have a short lifespan in my house—once they’re tested, they’re out the door—but the ones I really…
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12 Best Laptops of 2024, Tested by Our Experts
Every year we test dozens of laptops in our labs just north of New York City, purchasing each one at retail to prevent manufacturers from trying to influence our findings. Tested samples are scored on processor performance, display quality, and a range of other objective criteria in a way that allows you to compare one model to the next. And…
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6 Best Espresso Machines of 2024, Tested and Reviewed
But buying an espresso maker can still be very expensive, and with a wealth of options on the market, it can be hard to know where to start. To get a better sense of what some of the options offer, we evaluated nine popular home espresso machines that cost anywhere from $90 to almost $2,000. They each operate a little…
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I just tested the new iOS 18.2 Apple Intelligence features — and I’m surprisingly underwhelmed
When talking about Apple Intelligence, it’s important to remember that Apple’s efforts to bring more artificial intelligence to its mobile device is a work in progress. Where we are today is not where we’re going to be a year from now — or even in a few months, given the pace at which Apple is rolling out updates to iOS…
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I just tested three sets of smart Christmas tree lights — here’s the winner
There’s nothing more festive than a Christmas tree adorned with lights and decorations, but a set of smart string lights can turn your tree into a shining, twinkling showcase. But which should you buy? To find out, I set up my Christmas tree this year with three sets of smart lights — Philips Hue, Govee, and Nanoleaf — to see…
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I tested ChatGPT Search vs Google with 7 prompts — here’s the winner
With so many AI learning tools, it can be hard to choose the right one as your go-to assistant for exploring new topics. That’s why I decided to put two of my favorites to the test. Google’s Learn About is a free tool built to encourage curiosity and inspire learning. The landing page has numerous topic suggestions for users to…
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Best Counter-Depth Refrigerators of 2024, Tested by Our Expe
Counter-depth refrigerators are less obtrusive. They sit almost flush with kitchen counters (like built-in refrigerators do), but they cost thousands less and get pretty close—much closer than standard-depth refrigerators. With a depth of less than 30 inches (and some all the way down to just 24), most counter-depth models stick out a mere few inches past the countertop or sometimes…
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10 Best Battery Lawn Mowers of 2024, Tested by Our Experts
Run times have improved. Several battery and self-propelled mowers in our ratings offer impressive run times of 70 or more minutes. (The average run time of battery mowers in our tests is 45 to 50 minutes.) Some manufacturers are designing new models with multiple battery slots. When one battery is spent, another can take over, a feature CR’s expert testers…
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