CNN Underscored is constantly testing products, from electric toothbrushes to pillows to mobile apps, to find the absolute best in each respective category. Our testing process is rigorous, beginning with spending hours of research to find the best products in each category. Once we create a test suite of products, we test and retest each product multiple times in real world settings over the course of several weeks or even months.
This year, we’ve already tested several products — from Macbooks to rice cookers to indoor home security cameras — to find the best products you need to improve your life. Here are the winning products from August.
Philips Sonicare 4100
Affordable, full-featured, effective, and compatible with many types of Philips replacement brush heads and third parties, the Sonicare 4100 is a great way to improve your oral hygiene routine. Gentle mode makes it easy for beginners to get used to high-tech brushing.
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Philips Sonicare for kids
Easy to use, with a built-in timer, multiple modes and a simple app that guides kids through their brushing session, Philips Sonicare for Kids makes brushing effective and fun.
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Arlo Essential . Indoor Security Camera
Arlo’s Essential Indoor Security Camera is designed with privacy in mind, easy to set up and inexpensive in terms of a monthly storage plan. The video quality is top notch, the motion alerts are fast and the audio sounds great.
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Zojirushi Neuro Fuzzy Rice Cooker
Zojirushi Neuro Fuzzy consistently achieved the best results in all of our cooking tests. It cooks perfectly fluffy rice every time and has practical features that make it a must for people who cook and eat rice regularly.
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Blender
KitchenAid Artisan Series 5-Quart Tilt-Head Mixer
The KitchenAid Artisan Series 5-Quart Tilt-Head Mixer delivered the best performance of the mixers we tested. With over 20 available colors and classic profiles, you’ll want to keep this tilt head mixer on display in your kitchen.
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LL Bean 280 Thread Count Pima Cotton Percale Sheet Set
LLBean sheets are the most beautiful feeling sheets we’ve tried. Breathable and crisp, they’re great for regulating the temperature all night long, and the wide brim along the top sheet and pillowcases make these sheets feel right out of the hotel.
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the umbrella
Among the most luxurious feelings we’ve tested, canopy linen sheets have a nice handy weight and unique feel. Canopy sheets come in a wide range of colors and sizes, and each different piece of the bedding set is individually available for replacement or to mix and match with other fabrics.
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Coop Home Goods The Eden
Soft and supportive without feeling too firm, the Eden pillow from Coop Home Goods was one of our favorite pillows in the test. The padding can be added or removed to suit different body types and preferences, which means it should suit just regarding anyone who sleeps on their back.
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Eli and Elm Side Sleeper
The Eli and Elm Side Sleeper supportive pillow has a U-shaped opening that allows room for your shoulder when sleeping on your side. It also hugs our necks really well when we sleep on our backs, so it’s great for anyone changing positions.
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sattva latex pillow
The Saatva pillow was a favorite and supportive enough while it was squishy and malleable in the best way. The outer layer is filled with alternative fibers down and the removable inner core made of shredded latex is completely wrapped so the filling does not spill out.
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Mavogel Cotton Sleeping Eye Mask
The Mavogel Cotton Sleep Eye Mask features a genius nose wire, so it blocks all—and we mean all—light. The mask is soft on the eyes and comfortable on the head, never being budgeted at night, no matter our sleeping position.
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Rosetta Stone
We loved the Rosetta Stone app’s easy-to-use design and logical lesson format. It helped us learn the basics of French fairly easily. It’s available in 25 languages, including Dutch, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, and Spanish. It also offers a free three-day trial.
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Apple Pay
While Apple Pay only works on iOS devices, its user interface is organized and easy to use. The app also offers strong security and authentication for all your purchases, and offers 2% cashback on P2P payments.
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Strava
Strava connects to a variety of heart rate monitors and provides powerful tools for creating custom playback methods. Application recommended for experienced runners and professional or semi-professional athletes; However, any runner is easy to use.
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Lose it! excellent
We found LoseIt! Premium is to be simple, intuitive, and affordable among the weight loss apps we tested. It offers strong support to its user community, with active user forum discussions related to nutrition and weight loss.
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Evolution of Capo S3
The Cabeau Evolution S3 is the perfect for travel pillows. We found it strong enough to support the head and neck, soft enough to sleep and perfectly portable, thanks to it being made of spring-loaded memory foam that lets you compress it to half its size.
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Airfon Air
We’ll make this very simple for you: If you want to spend less than $100 on wireless earbuds, you won’t find a better pair than the EarFun Air.
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MacBook Air M2
The MacBook Air M2 is the perfect MacBook for most people, offering the best performance you can get for the price in a slim, modern design with plenty of practical upgrades over the previous generation.
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Apple iPhone 13
Apple’s iPhone 13 has a modern chassis with an immersive display, with the best performance and one of the best cameras in all of the phones we’ve ever tested.
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