Semua Kabar

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The China NationalSpace Administration has shared the first image from its Tianwen-2 probe, which is en route to Kamo‘oalewa, a near-Earth asteroid.

The image was captured by a camera onboard the probe, which is currently more than 3 million kilometers from Earth, and shows one of its wings with its solar panels deployed. It is also the first glimpse the CNSA has offered of its space probe, which launched on May 29 on a Long March 3B rocket from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Zeyuan Town, China. The design of Tianwen-2’s panels is similar in appearance to those on Lucy,NASA’sspace probe that is exploringasteroidsfloating nearJupiter. These serve to meet the power demands required for the trip.

Tianwen-2’s mission is to land on the surface of Kamo‘oalewa, collect samples, and return to Earth. The spacecraft is scheduled to land on the asteroid’s surface in July 2026. Before then, it will spend several months studying Kamo‘oalewa from a safe distance, to determine its sampling area, before proceeding with landing maneuvers, a particularly difficult task given the asteroid’s low gravity.

Once the samples have been collected, Tianwen-2 will travel back to Earth and send its samples down to the surface in a capsule, before then attempting to use Earth’s gravity as a slingshot to head toward 311P/PanSTARRS, an unusual-looking asteroid beyondMarsthat has some of the characteristics of a comet, including visible tails. Tianwen-2 is expected to conduct this mission until 2035.

Kamo‘oalewa is one of Earth’s seven knownquasi-moons—objects that appear to be orbiting our planet, but which aren’t actually gravitationally bound to Earth, and are actually asteroids circling the sun in an orbit similar to Earth’s.

Discovered in 2016 by astronomers at the Haleakala Observatory in Hawaii, Kamo‘oalewa—whose name means “oscillating celestial object” in Hawaiian—is located approximately 4.65 million kilometers from our planet, 12 times further away from Earth than the moon. Kamo‘oalewa is estimated to be roughly 40 to 100 meters in diameter, has maintained its current orbit for 100 years, and will probably maintain it for 300 more.

It’s hoped that Tianwen-2 can solve the mystery of Kamo‘oalewa’s origin.One theoryis that it’s a chunk of rock that broke off from the moon millions of years ago. The sampling mission will help multiple scientific investigations into the composition of rocky celestial bodies, as well as aid scientists in the search for clues about the formation of the solar system.

Observational evidence and modeling suggest that Kamo‘oalewa has been orbiting the sun for millions of years, albeit with an unstable trajectory. A direct exploration of this asteroid could, in addition, expand knowledge about nearby celestial objects that might potentially pose a threat to Earth.

This story originally appeared onWIREDen Españoland has been translated from Spanish.

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Don’t doomscroll throughmore depressing news—use that phone to lift your mood instead. The best mobile games will bring a little joy to your day, whether you’re killing time on the commute or chilling on the couch. These games are all addictive slices of gaming pleasure we have been gorging on for years.

As smartphone screens and processing power have grown, the lines between mobile gaming andjustgaming have blurred, and you can find tons of great mobile games that have been ported or adapted from other systems (Minecraft,Call of Duty,Fortnite,Roblox,Stardew Valley,Grand Theft Auto, and the list goes on). But all of these titles are best enjoyed on other platforms. Our picks here are games that work especially well on your phone.

Snag one of thebest mobile game controllersto level up your smartphone gaming. You may also be interested in subscription services likeGoogle Play PassorApple Arcade. You can evenplay some Android games on your PCnow.

Updated June 2025: We added five games, includingFallout Shelter, Balatro,andWarbits+.

You might imagine a game featuring cartoon monkeys popping balloons would lack depth, but you’d be wrong.I love Bloons TD6, and there’s enough challenge here to keep you bursting balloons for months. Tower defense games are perfect for smartphones because they work well with touchscreen controls and are easy to dip into, and the levels are like mini puzzles to solve.

Described as a mashup of Solitaire and Poker, this deck-building roguelike is fiendishly addictive. You start out picking the best poker hand to score maximum points, but you’ll soon realize this is not poker, as you buy jokers and other cards that act as multipliers or provide special abilities to boost the value of your hand. Smart strategy and some luck are required to reach the point targets as you progress, and bosses pop up to throw wrenches into your plan. It’s all wrapped up in a retro psychedelic package, and it’s tough to stop playing.

Can you manage a rapidly growing subway system for a major metropolis? This incredibly addictive puzzler has a hypnotic flow as you build new stations and add trains to successfully shift passengers around each city. Seductively simple, this game sucks you in immediately, but the challenge mounts quickly, and it is hard to put down. The follow-up,Mini Motorways(iOS only), is also worth a look, but nothing beats the original.

This retro racer is a loving tribute to classic arcade racing games likeOutRunandChase HQ. You take part in races across the world with vibrant backdrops, nostalgic 16-bit tunes, and accessible gameplay that requires focus and fast reactions. Easy to pick up and exhilarating, this is the most fun I’ve had with a racing game on my phone. Although the base game is free, there are several in-app purchase expansion packs with new tracks. Apple Arcade subscribers can also tryHorizon Chase 2.

There are some great endless runners, fromCanabalttoSubway Surfers, butAlto’s Odysseytook the genre to new heights. The simplest of tap controls makes it very easy to grasp and play one-handed on your phone as Alto slides down massive randomly generated dunes, avoiding obstacles, performing tricks, and collecting coins. But the developers do a solid job of adding mechanics and changing up the gameplay as you advance, and it’s gorgeously atmospheric. If you enjoy this, the snowboarding predecessor,Alto’s Adventure(iOS,Android), is alsovery good.

Whether you’ve previously roamed the wasteland in Bethesda’s games, loved thesurprisingly goodFalloutTV show, or have no idea what I’m talking about,Fallout Shelteris an excellent 2D construction and management simulation. Can you keep a growing population of Vault Dwellers alive as you carve deep into the ground to build them a state-of-the-art bunker safe from the nuclear fallout and rampaging mutants above? It’s a bit like an upside-downSim Towerbut with fleshed-out residents to keep happy.

PlayingMonument Valleyis like stepping into an Escher painting and trying to navigate through it. Each pastel-colored chunk of geometry is a puzzle to solve, as you try to find ways to manipulate the environment and allow a princess to pass through. The simple story, chill vibe, and lovely style make this one of the best mobile games for all ages. It’s just a shame it doesn’t last longer, though the sequel,Monument Valley 2(iOS,Android), is almost as satisfying.

Wave after wave of increasingly tough, undead nasties come at you from all angles in this addictive survival shooter. Keep the hordes at bay, and you’ll unlock power-ups, snag gold and weapons, and gain access to new characters. For aRobotronandSmash TVaddict, this game scratches an itch I’ve had for a long time but features a hellish underworld setting that’s more reminiscent ofDiablo. This game is also available onGoogle Play Passright now.

As perfect asBloons TDis, there’s room for another tower defense series in your life, and it should beKingdom Rush. This medieval fantasy world is overrun with monsters, and you are just the hero to slay them by building defensive towers (archers, mages, artillery, and infantry). A super cute comic book style and humorous vibe that reminds me ofDungeon Keeperdetracts from the wanton violence, making this suitable for any mobile gamer. There are five main games in this series—Kingdom Rush: Alliance(iOS,Android) is the latest, released this year—and they are all beautifully made, deeply addictive, and genuinely challenging.

The impossibly cuteSneaky Sasquatchis an utterly unique adventure game where you must scavenge for food without getting caught by the park rangers. As you begin to explore, you learn that the park needs cash, and the only way to save it is to find all the missing pieces of the treasure map and uncover the bounty. Along the way, you can disguise yourself as a human and take part in activities, from snowball fights to golf tournaments. It’s every bit as charming and weird as it sounds. Sadly, this one is still exclusive to Apple Arcade.

With various army units, different terrain across many maps, and a major ramp-up in difficulty once you get the hang,Warbits+is a great turn-based strategy game. The original broughtAdvance Wars–style gameplay to a modern audience, and the revampedWarbits+features enhanced graphics and adds more replay value with a map editor and cross-platform multiplayer to tackle after you complete the campaign.

This sliding puzzle game casts you as the killer in an ’80s slasher flick; think Jason Voorhees. Things get gory, but the blocky voxel look allows the game to lean into comical territory. There’s plenty of variation as you send hapless teens to their doom and try to evade trigger-happy cops. The mechanics layer up nicely as you progress through the isometric levels, earning coins to help you on your murder rampage. There is a sequel,Slayaway Camp 2 Netflix & Kill, but only for Netflix subscribers.

InReigns, you play as the king with a stream of requests from your needy advisers, which you can accept or reject by swiping left or right, y’know, like Tinder. But be warned, heavy sits the crown, and most of your decisions will have unforeseen consequences down the line, many of which lead to your untimely demise. It can get repetitive, but there are two further releases in the series:Reigns: Game of Thrones(iOS,Android) is a must for fans of the show, andReigns: Her Majesty(iOS,Android) is a worthy sequel.

If you’re looking for a comforting, relaxing game,Game Dev Storyis tough to beat. The idea is to build a game development studio and ship as many games as you can. You’ll start shipping turkeys, but your staff can level up, you can hire better folks, and you can buy licenses to develop for new consoles as you progress until you start to earn rave reviews. All the Japanese developer Kairosoft’s simulations feature similarly charming pixel art, and many are just as fun to play. (I also recommendTV Studio Story,Grand Prix Story, andConvenience Stories.)

Endlessly inventive and genuinely amusing, it’s a shame thatWhat the Golf?is still anApple Arcadeexclusive. You go in expecting crazy golf but quickly realize the developers have thrown the rule book out the window in this physics-based parody. Witty enough to have you chuckling as you puzzle your way through a constantly expanding course of absolutely absurd holes, this is fantastically fun.

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As a professionalmattress tester, I’ve seen an upward trend in the past few years of people looking intoorganic mattresses,toppers, andsheets. Whether it’s because of a renewed focus on what is truly “healthy” and toxin-free, or a concern over the use of fiberglass (I know we all remember that blowing up onTikTok), more brands are increasingly getting products certified.

However, just because someone’s throwing on a label and using buzzwords like “natural” and “organic” doesn’t mean it’s the real deal. Nor does it mean it truly qualifies as organic—you really have to look closely to verify. If I see a brand doing only that, I give them some serious side-eye.

When it's truly the natural stuff, organic sleep products aren’t cheap because they involve top-of-the-line materials. Here are common logos and certifications you’ll see and what materials they’re often associated with, so that you can discern what kind of bedding you’re buying like a pro.

If any of these logos pop up on your search, it’s a good sign that the product you’re looking at is truly certified organic at a global scale. Each of these organizations has a database where you can look up brands and products, so to be 100 percent certain, I recommend you take that extra step just to verify.

Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS)is a certification that upholds rigid guidelines on the production of organic cotton and other textile fibers. Bottom line: GOTS verifies that non-GMO plants are used, along with no potentially poisonous farming pesticides. The organization also evaluates the environmental impact of growing these materials, production and human rights standards, manufacturing, and distribution. There is also third-party certification used to verify that materials are truly of the utmost quality. You can look up GOTS products within theorganization’s databaseto cross-check.

Global Organic Latex Standard, otherwise known as GOLS, is a certification specifically pertaining to latex products and the purity and quality of the raw material used. Latex is analyzed at every stage of the game—from being harvested on rubber sap farms to being processed into materials used in mattresses or other latex-involved products. GOLS-certified products have to prove that they followed these steps to a T, and that they generated minimal environmental impact in the process.

Eco-Institutis a German-based organization and laboratory that will test products for dangerous substances that can infiltrate air quality and compromise human health. These substances can include VOCs and formaldehyde. It also serves as cross-verification for other organic certifications, like GOTS. You can look up certified products within itsdatabaseas well.

The following certificationsare still good signs to see, but they aren't going to qualify a product as truly “organic” by itself. This could be because the evaluation process is handled at the final stages when the product is already made, as opposed to checking in throughout the entire supply chain process. You can also check on each site's database to see if a product or brand made the cut.

Oeko-Tex Standard 100 international certificationis awarded to products that are confirmed not to have 1,000 plus substances that are harmful to human health. The list is reviewed yearly for upkeep, and you can verify if a brand is truly certified by checking the label within the organization’sdatabase. Can never be too careful!

UL GreenGuard Gold certificationis tied to air quality—particularly the emissions generated by volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Since air circulation is a lot more retained inside than outdoors, there really is no “breathing room” so to speak for emissions to air out. For mattresses offgassing, followed by you then sleeping on them nightly, you may not feel so hot if there are high emissions. This is something to consider, especially with “natural” memory foams. There is a standard Greenguard certification as well, but the Gold certification passes higher standards.You’re going to see GreenGuard Gold certifications a lot in the organic certification sphere. It’s very important, but it’s equally as vital to understand that this doesn’t qualify a product as “organic” alone. You can use theUL SPOT database(Sustainable Products of Trust) to verify certified products.

UL also has a Formaldehyde-Free certificationthat gives a stamp of approval to products that don’t incorporate this harmful substance into its makeup.

EWG (Environmental Working Group)is an organization dedicated to understanding the long-term ramifications of certain chemicals and how they interact with our bodies, especially when they make skin contact. EWG measures whether these kinds of chemicals are used in products. Specifically, it looks for over 10,500 substances that could result in bodily harm, like cancer, and potential damage to your endocrine and reproductive systems. It’s a certification used for cosmetics, skincare, and of course,mattressesbecause they all directly touch your skin.

You may be wondering, why no US Department of Agriculture organic certification on this list? The bottom line is that many mattress and sleep product manufacturers have an international presence, which requires a separate set of rules and regulations outlining product quality.

But if you spot any of the above and the product fits your personal standards for what you need, you should be in good shape.

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To show offhow easy it is for users to earn money by using his newchatbotplatform, Pankaj Gupta offers to cash out $1 worth of Yupp credits, sending it to me over Venmo or PayPal. I’m talking with Gupta in the WIRED office during a prelaunch demo of Yupp, which comes out of stealth mode today. Journalistic ethics forbid accepting gifts from sources, so I politely decline. He proceeds to send it over PayPal to his Stanford alumni email.

Gupta is the CEO ofYupp, which is free to use and available globally. The website looks similar to othergenerative AItools likeChatGPT. There’s a prompt box, a way to attach files, and a log of past conversations.

The main difference is that every time users ask Yupp a question, they’ll see two answers, generated by two different models and displayed side by side. Yupp routes prompts to a pair of large language models, choosing from a pool of over 500 models that includes products from leading US generative AI companies like OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic, as well as international releases, like models from Alibaba, DeepSeek, and Mistral.

After looking over the two answers, users pick the response they like best, then provide feedback explaining why. For their effort, they earn a digital scratch card with Yupp credits.

"You're not being employed, but you can make a little bit of money,” says Gupta. In my testing, the Yupp credits on the scratch cards typically ranged from zero to around 250, though they occasionally went higher. Every 1,000 credits can be exchanged for $1. Users can cash out a maximum of $10 a day and $50 a month.

Not sure where to start while testing this web app, I turned to the range of prewritten topics flickering beneath Yupp’s prompt bar, which spanned from news topics, like David Hogg leaving the Democratic National Committee, to ideas for image-creation prompts, like generating a crochet-looking surfer. (Yupp’s models can generate text or images.) I eventually chose to have the bots explain different perspectives on the current Los Angeles protests.

I was interested in how it would pull from news reports and other sources to generate the analysis about a political issue. Yupp notified me that generating this answer would cost 50 of my 8,639 Yupp credits; users have to spend credits to make credits on Yupp.

It generated two answers, one fromPerplexity’s Sonar, on the left side, and one from an “AI agent” for news built by Yupp, on the right. AI agents are buzzy right now; they’re basically task-based AI programs that can perform a string of simple operations on your behalf when given a single prompt.

The output based on Perplexity’s model answered the question citing five online sources, including CBS News and aYouTubevideo uploaded by the White House titled “Third-World Insurrection Riots on American Soil.” The other answer, generated by the news agent, cited twice as many sources, including the socialist magazine Jacobin and MSNBC.

In addition to having more sources, the answer on the right side included more context about what Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass has been doing. I clicked the button saying I preferred that generation and gave my feedback, which Yupp anonymizes before aggregating.

A shiny card resembling a lottery scratcher ticket popped up afterward, and I used my mouse to scratch it off. I got a measly 68 credits for that feedback, not exactly a windfall. But since I spent 50 credits to run the prompt, it put me up by 18 credits.

After about an hour of messaging with the chatbot about different topics and giving my feedback on the models, the total points accrued equaled about $4. The cash-out options include PayPal and Venmo, but also cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum. “Crypto and stablecoin allow us to instantly reach anywhere in the world,” Gupta says.

While I didn’t earn much money, the free outputs did include answers generated by newly released models that are often locked behind subscription paywalls. If someone wants to use a free chatbot and doesn’t mind the friction of providing feedback as the web interface flips between models, Yupp could be worth trying out.

During the demo, Gupta asked Yupp where the WIRED office was located. Both models spit out wrong answers initially, though subsequent tries got it right. Still, he sees the side-by-side outputs as potentially helpful for users who are concerned about AI-generated errors, which arestill quite prevalent, and want another point of comparison.

“‘Every AI for everyone’ is kind of our tagline,” says Gupta. “We have organized all the AI models we can find today.” Yupp’s website encourages developers to reach out if they want their language or image model added to the options. It doesn't currently have any deals with AI model builders and provides these responses by making API calls.

Every time someone uses Yupp they are participating in a head-to-head comparison of two chatbot models and sometimes getting a reward for providing their feedback and picking a winning answer. Basically, it’s a user survey disguised as a fun game. (The website haslotsof emoji.)

He sees the data trade-off in this situation for users as more explicit than past consumer apps, like Twitter—which he’s quick to tell me that he was the 27th employee at and now has one of that company’s cofounders, Biz Stone, as one of his backers. “This is a little bit of a departure from previous consumer companies,” he says. “You provide feedback data, that data is going to be used in an anonymized way and sent to the model builders.”

Which brings us to where the real money is at: Selling human feedback to AI companies that desperately want more data to fine-tune their models.

“Crowdsourced human evaluations is what we’re doing here,” Gupta says. He estimates the amount of cash users can make will add up to enough for a few cups of coffee a month. Though, this kind of data labeling, often calledreinforcement learning with human feedbackin the AI industry, is extremely valuable for companies as they release iterative models and fine tune the outputs. It’s worth far more than the bougiest cup of coffee in all of San Francisco.

The main competitor to Yupp is a website calledLMArena, which is quite popular with AI insiders for getting feedback on new models and bragging rights if a new release rises to the top of the pack. Whenever a powerful model is added to LMArena, it often stokes rumors about which major company is trying to test its new release in stealth.

“This is a two-sided product with network effects of consumers helping the model builders,” Gupta says. “And model builders, hopefully, are improving the models and submitting them back to the consumers.” He shows me a beta version of Yupp’s leaderboard, which goes live today and includes an overall ranking of the models alongside more granular data. The rankings can be filtered by how well a model performs with specific demographic information users share during the sign-up process, like their age, or on a particular prompt category, like health-care-related questions.

Near the end of our conversation, Gupta brings upartificial general intelligence—the theory of superintelligent, humanlike algorithms—as a technology that is imminent. “These models are being built for human users at the end of the day, at least for the near future,” he says. It’s a fairly common belief, and marketing point, among people working at AI companies, despite many researchers still questioning whether the underlying technology behind large language models will ever be able to produce AGI.

Gupta wants Yupp users, who may be anxious about the future of humanity, to envision themselves as actively shaping these algorithms and improving their quality. “It’s better than free, because you are doing this great thing for AI's future,” he says. “Now, some people would want to know that, and others just want the best answers.”

And even more users might just want extra cash and be willing to spend a few hours giving feedback during their chatbot conversations. I mean, $50 is $50.

If you spendmuch time on the internet, you will see the same things pop up again and again. For me, it's these “cooling blankets” that people talk about on social media. I mean, it sounds great for summer—just like a blanket that warms you up but in reverse.

Sadly, these products don’t do what they claim. They might be breathable so they don’t make you as hot as an ordinary blanket would, but you’d still be cooler with no blanket at all. However, there is hope. Someone has created arealcooling blanket that's sort of awesome. Of course, there's a bunch of physics here, so let's get to it.

Temperatureis one of those words everyone uses and no one understands. In chemistry it’s the average kinetic energy, or vibrational motion, of the molecules in a substance. The greater the commotion, the higher the temperature.

But I like this more pragmatic definition: Temperature is the property two objects will have in common when they’re in contact for a long time. So, if you take a hot block of metal and set it against a cold block of metal, eventually they will have the same temperature. Heat flows from the warmer thing to the cooler thing until they equalize. (Note: It doesn’t work the other way around; you can’t transfer “coolness.”)

We also talk about objects having a certain amount ofthermal energy, which you’d get by adding up the kinetic energy of all the particles inside it. It depends on three things: the mass of the object, its temperature, and the material it’s made of. So for instance, focusing on mass, big potatoes have more thermal energy than small potatoes at the same temperature.

Now, if you look at the type of material, every substance has a “specific heat capacity,” which is the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of that substance by one degree. Try this at home. Find two objects that have been sitting in your room for a while, so they’re both at room temperature. Here, I have a block of wood and a block of aluminum.

Touch both objects. They’re the same temperature, but the woodfeelswarmer, right? Why is that? It's not about temperature but thermal energy. When your hand touches an object, there is a heat conduction interaction. Energy is transferred from your warmer hand to the cooler object until the two are the same temperature. However, with the metal block it takes way more energy to reach the temperature of your hand. It feels cooler because it causes your hand to lose more energy.

You’ll notice the same thing when you go swimming. An air temperature of 75°F feels nice and comfortable, but wading into water of the same temperature feels really cold. That's because water has a much higher mass and specific heat capacity than air, which causes you to lose more thermal energy and feel colder.

So, blankets, how do they work? A blanket is basically an insulator. That means it prevents energy transfer between objects at different temperatures. Wrapping yourself in a blanket on a cold day keeps you from losing body heat to the air around you, so you feel warmer. Similarly, if you put a blanket around a cold soda on a warm day, it will slow down the transfer of thermal energy from the air to the soda, keeping the sodacoldlonger.

But what if you feel hot and you put on a blanket? In that case, two things can happen at once. It can still act as a thermal insulator and slow down the transfer of energy between you and the air. Unless the ambient air is above 98.5°F, this is going to make you hotter, not cooler.

However, the blanket can also have a thermal interaction with your body. Suppose you have a 80°F blanket in contact with a 98°F person. This will raise the temperature of the blanket while reducing the thermal energy of your body. Yes, it will act as a cooling blanket—at least for a few minutes, until the temperatures are equalized.

So, what makes one blanket cool more effectively than another? First, it should have a high mass, so that it takes a lot of energy to warm up. Second, the blanket needs to make good contact with your skin to increase the thermal interaction. So, one of those light fluffy blankets won't cool you off that much. Other than that, it's just a normal blanket.

But I'm a sucker for trying these things, so I bought a cheap “cooling blanket” online. (I know, someone will say it doesn't work unless you get an expensive one.) For those who say their cooling blanket was out in the sun and they measured a 75°F temperature, I don't believe you. Check this out. I have three blankets on my sofa. One of them is the cooling blanket and the others are normal. In back is the same picture taken with an infrared camera so that different colors represent different temperatures.

Can you tell which one is the cooling blanket? Nope. You can't. There’s almost no difference in the temperatures. They are all cooling blankets. They are also all normal blankets.

But what if I told you it's possible to have a thermal interaction between two objects but one of them doesn’t change in temperature. Yes, this is a thing—it's called a phase transition. It happens whenever a material changes from solid to liquid or liquid to gas.

Here's an interesting experiment. Imagine I take a beaker with frozen water (aka ice) that's colder than the freezing point (maybe –10°C). Then I put the beaker on a hot plate and add energy to it, measuring the temperature of the water as I go. Here is what that would look like:

As you can see, the ice increases in temperature until it reaches the melting point, 0°C (32°F). At that point the temperature levels off, and it remains constant untilallthe ice melts—even though heat is still being added to the system. Why is that? It’s because the energy is being used to break the molecular bonds and turn the solid into a liquid. Once it’s entirely liquid, the temperature starts rising again—until it reaches the boiling point (100°C). Again, the temperature levels off until all the water turns to gas. (This is why it's nice to cook with boiling water—it stays the same temperature.)

You can see how this would make for a better cooling blanket. Because of these temperature plateaus during a phase change, you can keep transferring thermal energy from your body to the blanket without the blanket getting warmer and becoming ineffective.

Does this mean you could use an ice blanket, maybe with the water in a flexible lining, to cool yourself? Sure. But it would be excruciating and you might get frostbite. Also, once you melt the ice and heat up the water, you’d need to put your blanket back in the freezer before you could use it again.

But how about a material that has a melting point closer to the temperature of the human body? In this video from the YouTube channel NighthawkInLight,Ben Cusick makes just such a phase-change materialfrom common salts (sodium sulfate and sodium chloride).

Of course I had to try making some of this stuff myself. I'm not a chemist, but I think it turned out pretty well.

It depends on your mixture and the type of salts used, but these kinds of materials have a melting point somewhere around 18°C (65°F). Why does that matter? Well, first, it's not so cold that it hurts. Second, you don’t need a freezer; a cool place like a basement floor will make it refreeze.

And best of all, the high melting point means it will melt slowly at room temperature, so the phase transition lasts a long time—hours instead of minutes—and it will cool you off during this whole time. Put this stuff in the lining of a blanket and voilà! Pretty cool, right?

“No, this isnot an elaborate April fool”. This is how WIRED first reported on the Dyson Zone at the end of March 2022. The Zone was a wild reimagining of an established product type—a big, bulky pair of headphones with an integrated air-purification mechanism that presented rather unfortunately like a high-tech gimp mask. A solution to a problem no consumer seemed willing to acknowledge existed in the first place.

Worse was to follow. December 2022: “Dyson’s hellish-looking air-purifying headset will cost $950.” And in May 2023,our reviewmade liberal use of words like “embarrassing”, “troubling” and “derision,” and suggested the reviewer felt like “a Fisher Price Batman villain” while wearing them. “You can finally buy this bizarre, head-mounted contraption—but for pity’s sake, don’t”.

Zone marked the first time Dyson’s chief engineer (and son of James) Jake Dyson had been project lead for a product since he folded Jake Dyson Products into the Dyson portfolio. At the time, he was bullish about the Zone’s chances: “After six years in development, we’re excited to deliver pure air and pure audio, anywhere.” Since then, Dyson has gone eerily quiet on promoting the Zone, and now your chances of acquiring a pair are close to nil.

In the United States, everyone from SportPursuit to Best Buy is out of stock, and retailers show no sign of doing anything about the situation. At the time of writing, Walmart's website reckons there is one pair left throughout the entirety of the retail giant. In the UK, meanwhile, retailer John Lewis is unequivocal: “We will not receive more stock of this item”.

In fact, it seems the only place where you can still buy the Dyson Zone is at Dyson.com—and even here, the product is far from front and center. Should you find yourself able to navigate to the relevant page, you’ll have to scroll down along wayto get to an image of the headphones with their air-purification muzzle attached. Indeed, “black sheep” seems a reasonable enough way to describe the Zone’s position in the Dyson product family.

In an exclusive interview, WIRED sat down with Jake Dyson, who was disarmingly open about the fate of the Zone. So it seemed only right to discuss the Zone's fallout, look at Dyson's altogether more successful (and de facto replacement model) OnTrac headphones, and, considering that Jake’s first swing for the company has turned out to be such a high-profile miss, find out Dyson’s future plans in the audio world.

Jake Dyson at the 2023 London launch of the now discontinued Zone, a project he spearheaded.

“[With the Zone] we thought we could bring something better to the table than what’s currently out there," says Jake Dyson. "You get pure delivery of undisturbed air, and join that with headphones because you have to wear it on your head. So combine the two, you make it a more attractive proposition … there’s added value. It brings a bit of fun and spirit to the product. And, of course, the visor is detachable—it can be something you wear in your hour of need, and then take it off and you’ve got an audio headset.”

But it is this leap with the air-purifying Zone that many could not quite fathom: “You’ve got to wear it, so let’s make it headphones.” What made Dyson go there in particular? And, moreover, when it became clear this would be such a hard ask, many brands would rethink things—yet Dyson plowed on anyway.

“I’ll be completely honest, quite often we work in an obsessive nature," says Jake. "We want this product. We want to make this thing. Sometimes before actually evaluating what the market response might be. And the market didn’t exist. So you’ve got to take those risks.”

Those risks are thrown into stark relief when you consider the market response to Zone. A product that is only two years old, yet you seemingly can’t buy it anywhere now apart from on Dyson’s site. Has Dyson quietly killed the Zone?

“First thing: Zone was completely ahead of its time," says Jake. "It’s solving a problem that is quite niche—the amount of people that are neurotic about air pollution, that want to solve that problem, and are willing to spend an amount of money; coupled with the fact that it’s headphones, means your market is small. We have sold thousands. And we still have the tooling—but we’ve stopped manufacturing it. We haven’t thrown the tools away. It’s something we believe will come around in the future. It’s a brilliant product.”

It’s worth noting at this point that, outside of Dyson, the Zone isn’t universally regarded as being a brilliant product. According to one major retailer in the US, “most people read it as a gimmick or another Google Glass–type product. For price, aesthetic, and performance, the space already has highly compelling offers from brands established as experts. Why would Dyson want to do ‘that’ when what it is good at is ‘this’”?

Alan Sircom, editor of globally respectedHi-Fi+magazine, goes even further. “The Zone is too odd, in my opinion. Anything that reminds people of wearing masks duringCovidis dead in the water. I’d forgotten about it—that’s how little market penetration Dyson has [with the Zone].”

Dyson, of course, is a privately owned company and consequently not obliged to release any information regarding the success (or otherwise) of the Zone. But Ivan Lam, senior analyst at Counterpoint, doubts anyone can be happy with its performance.

Zone prototypes map the internal development of the air-purifying headphones.

“Zone was the result of six years of modeling and testing, of making maybe dozens of tooling models. Even if you just assume a team of 10 people, working on this project for six years, you’re talking about a lot of expense,” Lam says. “Sound tuning is expensive, prototype testing is very expensive. It’s hard to calculate exactly, but I’m sure it will have cost tens of millions of dollars. And the result is a product with no revenue, no profit margin, and no visibility. I haven’t seen a single pair being worn in Hong Kong.”

And Hong Kong is not the only Asian territory where the anecdotal evidence for Zone is uninspiring, despite the fact that Dyson is a revered brand name in Asia, with huge presence. No major retailer can help you. At theGain City Megastore, which at 11 stories is Singapore’s largest consumer electronics retail store, they’re not in stock. Ate-Earphone, Japan’s largest headphone retailer, they’re not available either.

Yodobashiis the world’s largest chain of electronics stores, but when WIRED visited the Kyoto branch recently the Dyson Zone was conspicuous only by its absence—and this is an electronics store with a “wireless headphones” department that has a footprint comfortably larger than that of the average Japanese apartment.

Dyson launched its OnTrac regular over-ear noise-canceling headphones with no wider innovative/unnecessary/bizarre (reader's choice) functionality in July 2024, just over a year after the Zone. And as a way of entering the market with a product that doesn’t actively scare people, and of competing with established brands on a like-for-like basis, it looks like a sensible move.

Certainly,our review of the OnTracdiscusses the excellent noise-canceling, the nicely balanced sound, and the interesting industrial design. We gave them an 8 out of 10, along with a coveted “WIRED Recommends” badge—a far cry from the Zone’s rating, and quite the turnaround. Jake is justifiably proud of them. Also, the move from Zone to OnTrac shows a definite path despite the poor fortunes of Dyson's first swing at audio.

“We’ve learned a lot of lessons. It would be stupid not to take things further in audio," says Jake. "Looking at other headphones out there, they all just look the same: black plastic, not very nice forms. Aesthetically, there’s something deeply missing in terms of headphones. We thought we could achieve the best noise-canceling out there, and also bring something more interesting in terms of design. Engineer a beautiful product, bring customization, and more of a fashion element.”

As OnTrac has clearly sold significantly more than Zone, does Dyson consider Zone to be a product that didn’t work, and OnTrac one that did? “[We've sold] ten-fold [more]—and we launched OnTrac last July, although you could say September was when it came to life. It normally takes about six months before people realize there’s something there. OnTrac worked. [As for the Zone] we never deem anything to be a failure, because we always learn something.”

To affirm this point, Jake Dyson says that OnTrac is not merely the same headphones as Zone but with the fan system removed. “We’ve taken the advancement of the noise-canceling and enhanced it even further,” he says. “We’ve increased the software capability, so the range of sound, from the treble to the bass, is expanded.”

Compared to the polarizing Zone, Dyson's OnTrac headphones have supposedly been a relative success.

If WIRED knows anything about the market for premium wireless over-ear headphones, though, it’s that the space is crammed with products from profoundly well-regarded brands—brands that have won their credibility through decades of experience in many areas of the audio market. Dyson, which is starting from a base of just about zero (if you accept that the relative success of OnTrac balances out the catastrophe of Zone), will need to establish a reputation for audio excellence pretty fast if it’s going to compete.

The impressive and numerouscustomization optionsfor OnTrac are a start (and more are on the way), but in the area of the market in which Dyson seems determined to compete, thoughtful industrial design is a minimum. Reputations are won and lost in every department: sound quality, obviously, and the standard of active noise-cancellation, ergonomics, extended functionality, and headline technologies are all important, too. It is a sad fact that many brands with greater audio chops than Dyson have floundered.

That’s not to say Dyson can’t make it happen, though. The company will have taken a lot of learning away from its (ultimately fruitless)N526 electric car project—and let’s not overlook the fact that Dyson is a brand that usually gets where it intends to go. The company’s hits hugely outweigh its misses—and there seems no reason to assume the combination of engineering expertise and sheer persistence that has made James Dyson a billionaire is about to desert the brand any time soon.

And perhaps most importantly of all, the whole Zone experience has led Jake Dyson to an extremely important realization—at least when it comes to headphones: “One of the things we’ve learned is obviously people really do bloody care about what it looks like when it’s on your head.”

All products featured on WIRED are independently selected by our editors. However, we may receive compensation from retailers and/or from purchases of products through these links.

Best Air Fryer OverallTyphur Dome 2Read more

Best Air Fryer With a Deep BasketInstant Pot Vortex Plus Air Fryer OvenRead more

Best Air Fryer Toaster OvenBreville Joule Oven Air Fryer ProRead more

Best Teflon-Free Air FryerNinja Crispi Portable Glass Air FryerRead more

The air Fryerarrived on American shores with all the subtlety of a sack of fried potatoes. The best air fryers promise a niche miracle: beauteously crispy fries and chicken wings within minutes without need of a deep fryer and a quart of oil.Do we really need this?sniffed the snobs. A decade later, the answer is clear:Yes, obviously.My top pick, theTyphur Dome 2(8/10, WIRED Recommends), can fry up two dozen crispy wings in 14 minutes flat.

Inventedin a Dutchman's garage, an air fryer is a supercharged convection oven that rapidly whisks hot air all around food to dry its exterior and quickly crisp it. Its speed, convenience, easy cleanup, and facility at making slightly healthier junk food have already made the air fryer a staple in a third of American kitchens. It's hardly a surprise. The air fryer takes the humble food of the plains and Rust Belt—wings, fries, onion rings, nuggets, yesterday's pizza—and crisps it up for you at home. It'll even char some lovely brussels sprouts and cauliflower, if that's your thing.

The air fryer's rise in popularity over the past decade has caused a vast reimagining of the American kitchen, as device makers fight for limited counter space. A previously specialized device may now slow-cook, sous vide (sorta), roast, grill, dehydrate, and maybe also bake cookies. TheBreville Joule ($500)adds an air fryer to an all-purpose accessory oven with autopilot cooking, while theDreo Chefmaker ($359)melds the crispness of an air fryer to a steam combi cooker that can reverse-sear a steak.

WIRED has tested dozens of air fryers over the years—including more than two dozen in the first half of 2025—and the technology is still evolving. Here are the best air fryers you can buy in 2025, from classic basket-style air fryers to the newest high-tech innovations.

Check out more of WIRED's top kitchen tech and accessory guides, including theBest Electric Kettles,Best Latte and Cappuccino Machines,Best Chef's Knives, and theBest Gear for Small Kitchens.

Updated June 2025: We've added the Typhur Dome 2, multiple Philips 3000 series air fryers, the Midea 26-quart air fryer oven, and the Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Compact. We've also updated links and prices, rearranged, and reassessed throughout.

The Typhur Dome 2 (8/10, WIRED Recommends) looks like a flying saucer from the 1960s and is the most powerful, fastest basket fryer I know. This thing will crisp up two dozen crispy wings in 14 minutes, and fry them hard in two more. It will bake up frozen pizza, with lightly crispy, char-speckled crust. It toasts bread surprisingly evenly, crisps bacon without smelling up the house, and its griddle function adds actual Maillard browning to chops and drumsticks. French fries end up golden, and unburnt.

The key is the dual top-and-bottom burners whose heat levels can be adjusted depending on the mode. The large surface area on the 5.6-quart basket allows for a lot of food in a single layer, and keeps it close but not too close to the heating elements (with the side effect you'll have to spatchcock the heck out of a broiler chicken to fit it in). Temp accuracy stays tight, within five or 10 degrees of target. The fan likewise adjusts its speed depending on cooking mode. And the smart app actually works, with a growing repertoire of about 50 recipes that can be queued up to the machine with a button-press.

The Typhur is more expensive than most other fryers on this list, but backs this up with performance (and an extra burner). The Dome 2 manages out-air-fryers all the other air fryers, by leaning as hard as possible into its air fryer-ness. Note you'll need the app for one of its coolest functions, a self-clean that'll burn grease off the heating elements at 500 degrees Fahrenheit.

The Vortex Plus is my previous top overall pick among basket fryers. If you need a deeper basket, it's still my top pick. It crisps up wings and brussels sprouts without gusting away the soul or moisture from either. It keeps temperature more precisely than a lot of thermometers, remaining within a 5-degree toggle of its advertised cook temp. French fries brown evenly. So do nuggets. Wings are crisped after 16 minutes. Such dogged predictability is rare amid an air fryer market whose shrine is often chaos.

Its 6-quart basket is big enough for a small broiler chicken, a dozen wings or 2 pounds of french fries—but still small enough that the basket preheats quickly and doesn't lose airspeed. Its display is blessedly simple, not larded up with useless presets. Temp and time are controlled with a dial, obviating the beepy button-pressing of far too many devices. The window lets you see your food cook. The odor filter means you won't smell a lot of old oil every time you turn the thing on.

Williams-Sonoma (Stainless Steel)

The Joule Oven Air Fryer Pro(8/10, WIRED Recommends)is the rare smart oven that's actually smart—an air fryer and oven that taxes the full capabilities of app-assisted cooking. What's this mean? It means, in part, that the hundreds of recipes on Breville's Joule phone app are often made and tested specifically for the device in your possession: a rare quality, among such things.

Anyway, this Breville is not a pure air fryer. (In fact it's ourfavorite toaster oven.) It's big, and this means it takes some time to preheat. It'stougher to cleanthan a nonstick basket, and won't crisp a wing as quickly as our favorite basket fryers. But it will crisp them, and also do seemingly everything else, including quick-proof the dough for a pizza you bake in it later. Its thermostat is a paragon of honesty. The Joule is a powerful device—one that can make you forget you even own a full-sized oven.

For $100 less, you can forgo the autopilot function and instead buy Breville'salso excellent Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro, which is pretty much the same hardware. But I find the connectivity and autopilot functions useful on multi-function recipes that best use the oven's full capabilities.

The Ninja Crispi (7/10, WIRED Recommends) is an ingenious exercise in economy: a portable air fryer whose borosilicate glass fryer basket trebles as a table-ready serving dish with handles, and a fridge or transport dish with a Tupperware-style airtight lid. The glass also has the merit of being easy to clean.

The 1,500-watt air fryer itself is actually just a lid for the glass basket. The Crispi weighs a mere 3 pounds or so and looks a bit like a Pilgrim hat with an 8-inch brim, slipping atop a 4-quart or a smaller 5-cup dish. The bottom of the “hat” is the air fryer’s fan and heating element. The top is the control panel. The borosilicate dishes and ceramic-coated cooking plate mean this Ninja is completely Teflon-free, unlike most basket fryers.

That said, the Crispi's thermostat is not fully trustworthy, especially because temp and airflow will be different depending on which fryer dish you use. This makes the Crispi a less-than-ideal first-line cooker, though it'll still crisp up wings and fries like a champ. But the Crispi’s real talent is compactness and portability—a luxury made for camping, a potluck, or an office. The “Recrisp” setting is genius at crisping leftover pizza or meat on its cooking plate, or even noodles and rice directly on the bottom of the glass dish. Keep a Crispi at your office, and ferry the airtight casserole dish back and forth, and it'll reheat quietly enough to be run in a cubicle.

The Dreo Chefmaker isn't just an air fryer. It's a miniature combi-steamer in basket fryer form, programmed by its engineers to mimic a cheffy reverse-sear on steaks, roasts, and chicken. This means it'll slow-cook to temp before blasting the meat at 470 degrees Fahrenheit to get browning. A ribeye cooked on the Chefmaker's probe-assisted autopilot mode won't reach the char and drama of a classic pan-sear, but my slab was still ably browned on its exterior and juicily medium rare within.

Combi steamers, which add steam to convection heat to preserve moisture and transfer heat better, often cost thousands of dollars and are the province of commercial kitchens. But this 6-quart Chefmaker costs more like $300, and cooks meat like a champ. But note the ambient thermostat's less reliable without using the included meat probe, however, and runs a bit hot. I've got high hopes for the next generation, due this year, which will add a bunch of AI-assisted recipes and maybe even lower the cost.

People forget so quickly. But more than a decade ago, Dutch giant Philips was the first company to bring an air fryer to market: They've gotten a lot of reps in to work out the kinks. Undernew Chinese ownership, Philips' old appliance wing still produces some of the most well-engineered fryers around. The temperature accuracy and crisping on this little 4-quart Philips was as good as any on the market. And this model's listed at $50 cheaper than our top deep-basket pick from Instant Pot.

Note this device is a bit loud, and the control panel is kinda beepy. A number of pre-sets clutter up the control panel but aren't overly useful (fish filets! Drumsticks but not wings!) And yet, this small air fryer will crisp chicken-skin till it crackles, and do similar with Brussels sprouts. Not just french fries but home fries will brown to delicacy. The temp control is near perfect. The Philips just plainworks.A larger6-quart versionis also available for $20 more.

This wee Cuisinart oven is the solitary oven-style air fryer I've tested that crisps wings and fries as quickly and well as a basket-style fryer—a function of both size and a well-designed fan. As a toaster, it browns evenly while retaining air and moisture within. (If you didn't know, toaster ovens are often quite bad at toast.) ItsForeman Grill-styleridged griddle also offers genuine char on chicken breasts, burgers, or zucchini.

The Cuisinart is a remarkably handy, low-tech but high-powered device. Dials are analog, turned by hand, but temperature is both accurate and even. he device preheats in a similar time frame to basket fryers, and yet will fit a broiler chicken or air-fry a couple dozen wings at a time. Note, it's not nonstick, so it can betough to cleanif you're not diligent about removing and wiping trays after each cook.

On my Pee-Chee folder where I write the names of those I want to marry, it'll still say “Breville Joule.” But this Cuisinart goes on sale often, punches far above its weight, and is easy to love.

Large-capacity and dual basket air fryers are a funny proposition: What you gain in space, you often lose in airflow, speed, and crispness. They split the same amount of power among multiple elements or covering more territory. Can of worms!

But life is full of trade-offs. For large families, added capacity and flexibility might be worth what you lose in precision and power. While this Instant 9-Quart Vortex “VersaZone” isn't as reliable or as fast as our top-choice Instant Vortex Plus, it remains the best-performing dual-zone basket fryer I've found. The operation is intuitive—hard to come by among dual-basket devices whose recipes sometimes require very strange math or irritating button-presses. It also offers trays for the baskets, which means you can

Note that while frying with one small basket is relatively quiet, two is louder. Temperature blered and airflow between chambers is real but relatively minimal, throwing off cooking temps by maybe 10 degrees. If you cook salmon next to french fries, the french fries won't taste like salmon. The salmon also won't taste like french fries.

What Type of Air Fryer Should I Get?

Most people only have space for one extra oven that's not their stove, so your choice is a function of what you value most—and the size of your kitchen counter.

Basket air fryerssuch as our top pick can be a remarkably specialized devices, quickly and easily crisping up traditionally fried or sautéed foods like wings and french fries, but with a minimum of oil. Look up the best air fryer on Amazon or Google or Bing if that's you, and a basket fryer is what you'll see. A basket fryer's shape is designed to maximize airflow and therefore both exterior crispness and distribution of heat—usually cooking significantly faster than traditional ovens. The air fryer baskets and cooking plates, usually made these days with PFAS- and PFOA-free nonstick surfaces, are also wildly easier to clean than the interior or racks in pretty much any traditional oven.

After the sudden advent of air fryers, makers of more traditional accessory and toaster ovens rushed to add air fryer baskets and “superconvection” fans to box-shaped ovens.Oven air fryersare less specialized, and so they may crisp less well or less quickly than a specialized basket fryer. But they may do a number of other things quite well, including bake a pizza from freshly proofed dough, rotisserie a chicken, toast bread, roast vegetables, broil chicken, and all the other things you might like an oven to do.

In short, they're an oven. They do all the oven things, and also air fry. That said, oven fryers will likely cause you to spend a lot more time cleaning racks, drip pans, and air fryer baskets (shudder) and squinting while reaching in to scrub the sides of the oven walls.

A newer category is acombiair fryer, combining the whip-quick airflow of a basket fryer with a steam function that maintains moisture. As you might guess, this can cook meat like a charm and is still just as easy to clean as any basket air fryer. On the flip side, they can be a bit more expensive.

Just make sure you have room for the air fryer of your dreams on your kitchen counter and that the cooking capacity is sufficient for your needs: A 4-quart fryer should be enough for singletons. A 6-quart fryer is generally good for four portions of whatever you're cooking in it. Larger, often dual-basket fryers add even more capacity for large families, but this size can come at the expense of preheating speed and airflow or temperature accuracy.

As with any kitchen device, we cooked a range of meat, fish, and vegetables in the air fryers we tested. But we paid special attention to traditionally fried foods that best showcase what makes air fryers distinctive.

For each fryer, we tested, tasted, and compared the air fryer staples of wings, french fries, brussels sprouts, and frozen breaded chicken—assessing the even cooking, moistness and crispness of each.

For wings, we tested whether a fryer could attain a lovely, skin-cracklingly crispy exterior without overcooking the wings, ideally within 18 minutes at 400 degrees. A french fry basket was an excellent test of how evenly the fryer cooked across the basket surface. Veggies can be touchy in an air fryer, and so brussels sprouts were often an excellent test of whether airflow was too intense, drying out the interiors of the sprouts and singeing their exteriors. For frozen nuggets and fingers, we made sure we got crisp breading and no sogginess.

We used a wireless meat thermometer to test the accuracy of each air fryer's thermostat, the consistency of temperature within the cooking chamber, and how fast each air fryer preheated. An accurate thermostat turned out to be a rare and wonderful thing, where air fryers are concerned, but our top picks performed better than the error range of many thermometers.

We judged each air fryer on its versatility of functions and cooking, its ease of cleaning, and the intuitiveness of its control panel. We also looked into our hearts to assess the overall pleasantness of using each air fryer, and whether we'd be happy to have it in our life.

Finally, we checked the decibels on each device using a phone app, to make sure you won't have to live inside an airplane hangar to get a nice basket of fries.

How much oil do I need in my air fryer?

Go easy on the oil. The beauty of an air fryer is that it offers a healthier way to cook with the similar crispy finish you’d get in a deep fryer, but with far less oil. So take advantage and limit the amount of oil you consume by using anoil sprayerthat evenly coats your food without drenching it. A shake midway through the cycle also ensures that your food gets evenly coated in oil for better results.

What size air fryer should I get?

A 4-quart air fryer can be enough for up to two people, while a 6-quart-plus air fryer is better for families of four or more.

An air fryer can work as a convenient alternative to your built-in oven—and potentially save you time and money off energy bills, because you won't have to heat up your whole oven. But if you find yourself having to use your air fryer multiple times to cook a complete meal, this defeats the purpose.

Unfortunately, air fryers can be bulky, so checking you have enough countertop space above and around your air fryer is a must, both to give the air fryer room to breathe when it’s in heating up and for ensuring you have enough room to prep your meals.

How do you calculate cooking time for something that doesn't have an air fryer recipe?

When you’re converting oven recipes for your air fryer, remember that an air fryer cooks faster because it speeds up heat exchange with the food. So air fryers may reduce standard cooking times dramatically.

If you’re not sure how long to cook in your air fryer, try reducing the temperature by 50 degrees Fahrenheit and cooking for 20 percent less time than you would in a standard oven. And check your food midway through the cycle to ensure things are cooking away evenly, turning or shaking as needed. But honestly, literally every basic food has an air fryer recipe online. Try it. Think of an edible thing that doesn't involve liquid, and Google it with the word “air fryer”

How to Clean a Basket Air Fryer

Air frying is healthier than deep frying, but it still involves blasting fat-misted air all over every available surface. Seems messy. But cleaning your air fryer is pretty easy. Nearly every basket air fryer nonstick coating. Sometimes this means a non-PFAS version of PTFE, better known as Teflon. Sometimes this will be a ceramic nonstick coating, as is true of our top-pick Typhur Dome 2 and pretty much all Ninja air fryers.

The real key is to actually bother to clean the baskets. Every time. Same as you would any other dish you put food in. Don't reheat an air fryer with yesterday's gunk or slick oil on it. It'll bake in, and your air fryer will smoke or stink, and turn gross. Most of the time smoke comes out of an air fryer, it is probably not because you have a faulty air fryer. It's because you heated up old rancid fat, or other awfulness.

Anyway, the process is pretty easy:

Philips Series 3000 6-quart air fryer for $120:So, this is a terrific air fryer. As with most fryers from the air fryer's first maker, the temp control is unimpeachable. The funny little peekaboo window is nice to monitor cooks, and the generous 6-quart capacity should suffice for most families (though there'sa 7-quart Series 3000 XXL model with even more room). I don't love the overall beepiness and the presets (air fryer chicken legs instead of wings?) that don't seem optimized for American food tastes, though the compact control panel is much appreciated. But otherwise this is a quite-well-engineered air fryer that keeps it simple, and I both like and recommend it—though thecomparable 2000 series fryerperforms about as well for a little less money.

Instant Pot Vortex Slim for $140:This 6-quart fryer has nearly the same excellent performance, and much of the same functionality, that we like in our top Instant Pot pick. But its lack of cooking window and odor-erase filter keep it lesser in our hearts. That said, the Slim's got a slimmer and deeper profile, about an inch less broad than the Vortex Plus. In some kitchens, this inch will matter.

Philips 3000 Series Dual Basket Air Fryer for $200:Big double-basket fryers are always a compromise. You give up some temp accuracy, and there's a bit of inevitable heat bleed between baskets. They also tend to preheat slower. This one is pretty accurate when one basket's going, but can cook a bit hot when both are really rolling. That said, I like the notion of splitting a double fryer into asymmetric baskets, making room for a big main course and then a little french fry side. It's smart. Philips often makes smart decisions. Once you figure it out (it'll take a second), the options to either match basket cooks—or time both baskets to finish at the same time—are also well managed.

Cosori 9-Quart Dual Air Fryer With Wider Double Basket for $170:This Cosori air fryer was a previous pick among large, dual-basket fryers, prized for its intuitive controls and a dual-basket syncing feature that's now become common among two-basket fryers. We now recommend the Instant Pot 9-quart fryer, among large fryers.

Gourmia 6-Quart Window Air Fryer for $70:The Gourmia budget appliance brand has a dizzying array of options, styles, and store-specific models. Of all the Gourmia air fryers we tested, this Target-only model performed best. Temp accuracy is not fully optimal, but not so far off it troubles me. And I wish its window didn't steam up. But the mix of a window for easy viewing and good airflow—which is to say, crispy wings—makes this a reasonable purchase at its low price. I'd still get theslightly more expensive Philips 6-quart,though.

Fritaire Nontoxic Air Fryer for $200:This looked promising—a large and charmingly retro-styled air fryer with a borosilicate glass bottom, a nearly plastic-free interior, a self-clean function, and an option on a rotating rotisserie spit. Wild! Alas, our union was not to be. Temps were haywire on the device we tested, ranging up to 90 degrees higher than settings, the exterior also got painfully hot, and the rotisserie tumbler and spit involved a separate battery-powered motor attachment and more parts than the collected works ofBulwer-Lytton. Fritaire representatives said the device was certified by international bodies for its temperature claims, and are looking into whether the model we received was part of a small production batch with a faulty thermostat.

Midea Flexify Toaster Oven Air Fryer for $149:On the one hand, this price is tough to beat for a 26-quart, French-door toaster oven fryer. On the other, the performance matches the price, with an unreliable thermostat, a lot of heat leakage through the doors and sides, and bread toasting that mostly involves scorching the bottom of the bread through the grate.

Ninja Doublestack XL 2-Basket for $250:On the one hand, this 10-quart Ninja offers a dramatic amount of cooking space with a relatively small footprint, plopping two 5-quart baskets atop each other. Each basket also has a crisper rack, offering the potential of putting together a four-component meal. We had good results placing wing flats atop the crisper, and letting them drip onto the drums beneath for a mix of extra-crispy and extra-juicy wings. But this stacked design also means putting the heating elements and fans in the back of each drawer rather than the top, leading to uneven cooking throughout the basket and equally uneven air circulation. Cooking with multiple zones also required difficult and often confusing recipe conversions, and cook times stretched quite long.

Cosori DualBlaze 6.8-Quart for $180andCosori TurboBlaze 6-Quart for $120are a bit like Jack Sprat and his wife. The DualBlaze runs too hot, and the TurboBlaze runs too cold. WIRED previously had the DualBlaze as a top pick, in part for a phone app that's now a common feature across the category. On recent testing, we're now more concerned about the wonky thermostat.

Ninja Doublestack XL Countertop Oven for $380:This doublestack looked like a versatile design, dropping a toaster oven atop an already spacious air fryer oven with a clever door design allowing the compartments to open together or separately. The reality was disappointing. The shut-off button on the top oven malfunctioned, meaning I had to turn the power off completely to shut off the top oven. And temperatures were all over the map. If the temp at the back of the main oven was 400 degrees Fahrenheit, the temp near the door might be 345, leading to wildly uneven cooking. And while Ninja touts FlavorSeal technology to keep odors and aromas from traveling between the top and bottom oven, the same was not true of heat: Heat from the bottom oven freely traveled into the top oven and vice versa. Also, toast burned even at medium-low settings.

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I lived wellover four decades of my life without thinking I needed packing cubes. I know how to pack, I thought. I can roll my things up tightly to fit inany carry-on suitcaseor backpack. Are packing cubes really worth it? Why would I spend money on something simply to separate my workout pants and pajamas from my daily outfits?

Then I bought a set, and I will never go back. Packing cubes are often scoffed at byr/onebagminimalists and those who can live three weeks out of a backpack with four outfits and a toothbrush. To their point, packing cubes do add weight (though just ounces), but compressible styles, like theEagle Creek Pack-It Reveal Carry-On Set ($104),Thule's Compression Packing Cube Set ($54), orBagsmart Compression Cubes ($40), are a game changer for overpackers. Even noncompression versions likeBeis' Packing Cubes ($68)have labels that will help you take your packing organization game to the next level.

Packing cubes are also critical for duffel bags and backpacks, where it’s harder to keep clothes folded and organized. They protect your things from dirt, damage, and sand. And they get your clothes to your destination with fewer wrinkles. They also provide privacy: If TSA decides to go through your stuff publicly right next to the security line (as happened to me one year when I packed an apparently suspicious-looking 20-ounce bottle of soda), they will only go through the offending cube instead of rifling through everything. You can also pack multiple family members’ clothes in the same suitcase using color-coordinated cubes. If you find you've overpacked your checked bag, it makes it easier to remove items to get it back to a proper weight.

Unpacking is also much quicker and easier with a set of cubes. You don’t even have to take your clothes out—you can put the packing cubes right in the hotel drawers. If you're ready to give the packing cube life a try, or upgrade a current set, check out our list of road-tested favorites for every situation.

For more travel gear, check out our guides to theBest Toiletry Bags,Best Luggage,Best Carry-On Luggage, andBest Travel Pillows.

Eagle Creek produces a wide range of excellent travel accessories, but these packing cubes are particularly well done. They're sturdy and thoughtfully designed, with good compression and high-quality zipper pulls. I also like that there’s just enough mesh for breathability, but the bottom and back of the cube is still opaque for privacy. (If you want even more privacy, there’s asolid-color “isolate" set, of which we've also tested a small cube, and it's just as sturdy.) There are also separate setsfor extended staysor slim shapes, or you canbuy cubes individually. The large cube in this set is split for putting dirty clothes (or clean clothes) on one side—or you can buy it alone for $35. As a bonus, they're also water resistant and come with a nice carry handle at the top.

An inexpensive alternative:Gonex Compression Packing Cubes ($30 for 4)aren't visibly as sturdy as Eagle Creek's and obviously don't come with the same warranty, but for the price they are one of the more decent budget dupes, with a water-resistant exterior and pretty decent compression. They also come in eight colors, including lesser-seen ones like pink and lime green.

The budget category was almost a direct tie betweenAmazon Basics' sturdy set and these similarly priced cubes from Bagsmart, but a compression feature, higher-end looks, and convenient label window kicked Bagsmart slightly ahead. I also like the finer mesh on the front of Bagsmart's cubes, which lends slightly more privacy, as well as the stylish charcoal fabric on the two-piece set I bought. I'm not sure the two pieces would be enough for a weekend trip, however, so I'd definitely opt for one of the larger sets.

These cubes, made by Swedish car rack stalwart Thule (pronounced TOO-lee, in case you were wondering), were a very, very close second to Eagle Creek's. (Eagle Creek won for being more versatile with their variety of sizes and functions and clean/dirty sides.) The Thule cubes' rigid construction and small sizes meant they couldn't be used for longer trips or too many bulky items like sweaters, but they still provided a shocking amount of compression.

I wasn't sure the medium size would even fit one pair of pants, but it not only fit my bulkiest pair of sweats with ease, but compressed them down to a tidy little package. The Bluesign-approved 100-denier ripstop nylon, which is translucent enough to identify the cubes' contents but not see them in their entirety, was also a welcome touch, as was the fabric's water repellence.

These were the fanciest-looking and -feeling packing cubes I tested. The outside is thick and satiny nylon twill, with an antimicrobial interior, TPU-reinforced mesh window, and gold-toned hardware. I love how they can be stored flat but pop up to be a generous 4.5 inches tall, and the compression is excellent. I couldn't fit as much in them as I could with the Thule or Eagle Creek cubes above, but I was still able to save a significant amount of space in a carry-on.

They're specially designed to fit perfectly inMonos luggage: The four-piece set fits in the carry-on, and the six-piece set fits the checked bags. You can also get atoiletry case ($95)in the same color to match, which is also beautiful and well made, though it did frustrate me on a recent trip with its lack of carrying handle.

When I first saw these shallow, all-mesh packing cubes with their stiff wire edging and little label windows, I wasn't initially impressed, given that they cost upwards of $30 per cube. But then I tested them. Not only do they hold more than they initially seem like they will, but I ended up loving how they kept their shape, allowing me to fit more in my bag and for my clothes to arrive at their destination perfectly wrinkle-free. The mesh is also breathable yet sturdy, private, and slightly padded, so I felt safe adding even hard items like jewelry.

To be sure, these aren't space savers, but if you want to ensure your items don't move around or get overly squished or wrinkled, these are a great option, and they come in four stylish colors.

If you're worried about packing cubes adding weight to your luggage or backpack contents, these Peak Design packing cubes are the ones for you. The smallest of the mesh cubes weighs only 1 ounce, and its Powernet nylon stretch mesh material means it can be folded or squished down to fit in a pocket when not in use. You can also attach a strap (not included) to carry any of the cubes like a crossbody bag. They're Bluesign-approved, Fair Trade certified, 100 percent breathable, and have a lifetime warranty. You can buy them individually, and they're handy for more than just travel—my husband uses one for keys and wallet at the gym. Be forewarned that they look small, but even the medium size fit my bulkiest pair of sweats with additional room for socks and underwear.

If you don't want full mesh, there's also an opaque version ($15 for 1L) made of 50D recycled ripstop-like fabric, as well as ashoe bag.

The ultralight backpacking companyGossamer Gearrecently launched its plane travel line, and I'm a big fan. This set is shockingly light and capacious, given the wide breadth of features it offers. The half- and full-size cubes have compression, mesh, and sturdy pull zippers. The dual-chamber dirty/clean cube has a shocking 15-liter capacity and the dirty side seals. If you're going to buy this bundle a la carte, I particularly like theclear cube ($20). It zips and has multiple mesh pockets. It works both as a clear bag for liquids when you're going through airport security, or a tech pouch for chargers, makeup, or lip balm and other sundries when you're camping. I never dreamed that such a thing existed!

For the past month, this has been my favorite set of packing cubes for everything from camping to work trips, just because it's so versatile. There is no situation in which this packing cube set doesn't work. The large dirty/clean cube fits a weekend's worth of clothes for a camping trip; the half-size compression cube fits underwear and my running clothes for a work trip.Andthe entire set weighs well under a pound. I should note that it does not have a warranty, which Gossamer Gear iscareful to noteis because ultralight fabrics tend to be a bit more fragile. Still, I took them camping in the desert for five days and they were fine, so I can vouch for their durability.—Adrienne So

Unlike most packing cubes, Cram's colorful collection is fully machine washable and can be tumble-dried. I was a little dubious that they'd hold up given that the mesh top felt a bit flimsy, but they came out no worse for wear in my top-loading washer and high-heat dryer. I didn't particularly love how they looked in my suitcase (the mesh-heavy design, floppy structure, and colors were giving inside-out ’70s swim-trunk vibes), but that's more of a personal problem. These are the best packing cubes I've found for camping, or trips where you know your clothes or the contents of your bag will get dirty.

Labels on packing cubes isn't a new concept (Dagne Dover and Calpak cubes recommended here both have them, for instance), but Beis takes it a step further and includes a whole collection of inserts for the label windows on its sturdy, mesh-window-sporting packing cube set. There's a sheet of cards denoting days of the week, as well as labels both practical (bras, pajamas) and not ("proceed with caution,” “so fresh & so clean”). Of course the labels center perfectly in the little windows, making for the ultimate accessory for GRWM content or just your own state of mind.

The cube sets are designed to go withBeis luggage, but they fit just fine in both my non-Beis carry-on and checked bags. I tested the noncompression set, which comes with a zip bag and two shoe bags, but there's also a compression set that includes the cubes only.

This is the first set of packing cubes I ever owned, and it’s what kicked off my obsession with travel organization to begin with. There's just something generally satisfying about the size and layout of these lightweight-polyester cubes with a mostly mesh front for visibility and breathability. There’s a little window where you can put a label for the contents (which is far more useful than you might think, especially when packing cubes are around the same size), and I love that they come in 18 different colors and prints.

Business trip with wrinkle-prone clothes that need to remain unwrinkled? No problem. This ingenious envelope-style packing cube helps you fold your clothes with an included folding board, and keeps them folded with four flaps with adjustable Velcro closures. I kept two button-up shirts and cotton pants in them for two weeks, and while they did develop some lines from being folded, they're still better than wrinkles. Note that the medium size is meant for a carry-on bag. The large will fit, but it will take up a sizable portion of space (as shown in the second photo).

This expandable soft-sided spinner from luggage stalwart Travelpro (maker of ourfavorite budget carry-on) comes with two approximately 9" x 2" packing cubes on a divider that clips in or out. Thick straps in the main compartment can be cinched down to provide compression, and there’s also an included laundry bag and two shoe bags. I was actually quite impressed with how much I could fit into this carry-on, especially when using other compression packing cubes. Which is kind of necessary, as the included packing cubes hold little more than a few T-shirts and some underwear.

Also be aware that when the bag is expanded, it's still slightly front-heavy, even though it's designed to be tip-resistant. A test of rolling it upright while running through the airport to catch the car rental shuttle found it does still have a tendency to tip over front-first.

Royce & Rocket (With Packing Cubes)

Royce & Rocket (Without Packing Cubes)

Bloomingdales (Carry-On, With Packing Cubes)

This bag is bound to be a godsend for anyone who's ever ended a trip with half their suitcase contents on the floor from days' worth of rummaging. It looks like a normal suitcase, but open it to reveal two fold-down shelves that are the perfect size for packing cubes. Royce & Rocket's Castle comes in carry-on size, mid-size, or full-size with a matching set of packing cubes ($75 for four). Or buy the suitcase alone and use your own packing cubes. (Though I have done this, and noted that only medium and small sizes will be able to fit.)

Do note, however, that this shelf feature adds a considerable amount of weight to the bag. I tested the mid-size version, and when I went to weigh it at Alaska Airlines' bag drop, I was shocked to find it was just a hair under the 50-pound weight limit, despite my only packing lightweight clothes and travel-sized toiletries. Also note that the shelves set up floppy and saggy when the bag is expanded, so if you arrived with your bag that way, you'll have to remember to remove items and zip the expander back up before reopening.

GoRuck Packing Cube for $25 (for 1, 10L flat):I loved the 15 x 10 x 3-inch size I tested of this rugged, 200-denier nylon cube with a mesh front. It fit almost anything I needed for any occasion, with a convenient carry handle and signature GoRuck American flag patch on the front. However, they are pricey, and unless you need them to match yourGoRuck gear, there's nothing about them that stands out above comparably priced cubes.

Amazon Basics for $16 (set of 4): This four-pack of cubes with sturdy-mesh windows and ripstop-like fabric was comparable in quality to brands four times the price. However, Bagsmart's cubes were the same price and even sturdier, so they just edged these out for the top budget slot.

Away the Insider Packing Cubes for $45 (set of 4):I like that these come in 10 trendy colors, many of which match Away'sluggage. However, after testing over 20 different brands and types at various price points, these cubes just didn't stand out. The material was very thin and was indistinguishable from those of some of the cheaper Amazon brands, and the zippers were small.

Shacke Pak Packing Cubes for $25 (set of 6):These were pretty good quality for an Amazon brand; there's a sturdy handle and the material is slightly thicker than other packing cubes at this price point. I like the mix of mesh for breathability and opaque fabric for privacy. They come in nine colors, but the colors are clownishly bright and the four-paneled mesh design reminds me of a jock strap. Shacke says it uses YKK zippers on all its packing cubes, but I peeled back the cord covering the zipper and could not find a YKK insignia anywhere.

Gorilla Grip Packing Cubes for $22 (set of 8):These were the least expensive packing cubes I tested, and unfortunately, it showed. The material was very thin, and the zippers were janky. I do like that they come with a shoe and laundry bag, however, and when not being used they fold down quite small. They come in a range of colors, with a nice mesh window while not being totally see-through. Hand wash only.

Calpak Luka Zippered Passport Wallet for $35: Whether you're traveling internationally or just neglected to update your driver's license before the US Real ID deadline (guilty), a passport wallet is a must. This stylish, puffy number from Calpak holds not only your passport, but cash, cards, and even your phone in a pocket on the front. The only down side is that it is quite large, about the size of a contemporary paperback book, and it doesn't have a handle or loop, so it is awkward to carry if you don't have a purse large enough to accommodate it.

Gorilla Grip Luggage Straps for $15 (set of 4): If you tend to travel with your hard-sided checked bag while it's expanded, you might have noticed the somewhat alarming lack of structure. Both hard sides contain their own strapped-down loads, flopping around while connected only by a thin fabric zipper. I rely on these straps to hold my precariously packed suitcase together when it's being launched off the scale onto the conveyor belt or thrown around on the tarmac. And as a bonus, the bright color (the company has nine to choose from) makes your bag easy to spot on the baggage claim carousel.

Kusshi Travel Jewelry Organizer for $49 (medium): I don't know how I lived so long just throwing jewelry willy-nilly into a toiletry bag, but I don't advise this unless you want to spend your first night on vacation untangling necklaces. For the ultimate in space-saving organization, you can't top this hanging model that folds down to be perfectly flat. The medium size features three tiers of soft-lined, PVC-fronted zippered pockets for earrings rings, bracelets, watches, and whatever else you might need, plus a nifty necklace holder with loops and snaps. The large size has the same, but with twice as many sections. When closed, it folds up flat about the size of an iPad.

I've been testingtoiletry bags and adjacent accessoriesfor the past seven months, using them daily in my bathroom and taking them on trips every few months. For the initial testing round for packing cubes, I inspected each cube or set of cubes for features and materials. I tested how smoothly the zippers zipped open and closed, and how easy it was to use any compression feature. I packed various cubes with bulky sweatshirts and sweatpants to see how many pieces I could fit in the largest cube. Then, at the end of the testing period, I packed a cube from each set in three suitcases and took them on a weeklong cross-country trip, assessing how easy they would be to pack or unpack, or if anything bothered me or my family amid the stress and unpredictability of travel.

This is the question I see most from travelers suspicious of using packing cubes. Ziplock bags are inexpensive, and you can see everything inside. Why would one spend $25 or even $100 on a set of packing cubes when a box of 2.5-gallon bags costs $5? It's a valid question, and one I set out to investigate by packing a couple of slide-lock Hefty bags along with my packing cubes for a weeklong trip. I discovered few things.

•Packing cubes are breathable.This is especially helpful on the way back home when most or all of your laundry is dirty. If your clothes smell like anything—anything at all—you will be hit in the face with that smell after they've been sitting in an airtight plastic bag.

•Packing cubes are durable.Unlike a plastic bag, packing cubes won’t rip, burst, or develop unexpected holes.

•(Some) packing cubes are compressible.Can you fit five days' worth of pants and shirts in a plastic bag? Probably not. But you definitely can in a compressible packing cube, like some of the options above.

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Teenagers are intimidating.They speak their own language, blurt out confusing jokes, and somehow havealwaysalready seen the TikToks you send them. It can be hard to keep up with the absolute coolest kids around, and that's especially true when it comes to holiday gift-giving. For the past few years, we've informally polled some of theterrifyingsupercool teens in our lives to find out what presents they really want. Everything in this list is teen-approved. These gift ideas are not one-size-fits-all, but they might help you get inspired and reach the ultimate goal: giving a gift the teen in your life actually likes.

WIRED's Reviews team has personally tested and vetted everything that appears in ourgift guides. Also be sure to check outBest Viral TikTok Gadgets,25 Amazing Gifts Under $25, andGifts for Coffee Lovers.

Updated June 2025: We added a weighted stuffed animal, a digital camera, and a gaming headset, and removed some older picks. We also double-checked for pricing accuracy.

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No matter how old you are, completing Lego sets is therapeutic and fun! There are abouta gazillion Lego kitsavailable, including this planter full of succulents. The resulting build makes very cute room decor, and we think most teens would love it—but if it's not up their alley, so many other sets available that we're nearly certain you can find one for your kiddo. If you're lucky, they might even ask you to help them complete it. Bonding time!

Swifties (aka Taylor Swift fans) started making friendship bracelets to trade during the Eras Tour, and they’veexploded in popularityas a result, spanning fandoms far and wide. (As an EDM enthusiast, I’ve always called them “kandi,” but that’s a story for adifferent guide.) You can never have too many vowel beads, and the type of elastic you use can make a big difference in the longevity of your bracelets.

I also like theBaubleBar Design Your Own Bracelet kit ($35), which comes with some fancier-looking beads and a handy rotating caddy that's perfect for bracelet-making parties.

Pro tip: UseStretch Magicstring! I’ve linked to the kit that I purchased most recently, but there aretons of other optionson Amazon. If the teen in your life is into making bracelets, this is a gift that will keep on giving.

This card game has remained popular for several years. It can be played with friends, family members, and significant others. It asks poignant questions that'll let teens deepen their relationships with their loved ones—and possibly themselves. It'd make a good gift for any kid with a social circle, but it might be especially appreciated by young adults moving out for the first time. There's no better way to break the ice with a new roommate than to play a round or two of We’re Not Really Strangers.

Being a teenager is hard. Aside from being trendy, weighted blankets can feel like a big ol' hug, helping to ease stressed-out feelings. Bearaby makes the best weighted blanket—it's available in many gorgeous colors, it's breathable, and the Tencel version is biodegradable. We have plenty of recommendations (and advice on which weight to buy) in ourBest Weighted Blanketsguide.

Hugz weighted stuffed animals are the best. They're available in a ton of cute, cuddly varieties. I've slept withShelly the Turtleevery night since she got to my house, andToffee the Highland Cowis great, too. Each critter weighs 3.8 pounds, which is just heavy enough to feel like a hug without feeling too heavy or overwhelming. They can be placed in the freezer or microwave for additional sensory goodness. Miniature sizes are available, but I think it's worth getting the bigger versions. And I like that I can get the benefit of a weighted blanket without all the bulk of one.

Vinyl records have been steadilyskyrocketing in popularity, and for good reason. In the era of streaming, it's easy to feel a disconnect with music, and it can be difficult to find new artists. Physical records let you play a whole album front to back, and there's a tactility thatmakes you appreciate the art more.

Victrola's new Re-Spin is an affordable way to bring the teen in your life in on thevinyl fun. This suitcaserecord playeris lightweight and easy to tote around from room to room (or to a friend's house), and the removable cover can convert into a stand forrecord covers. It has a built-in speaker that sounds pretty decent and can fill up a room. If they've gone through all theirrecords, there's a switch to turn the whole thing into a Bluetooth speaker to keep the party going via a connected smartphone. It's made of 25 percent recycled plastic.

These are some of our favorite smart ambient lights. From TikTok videos to gaming setups, they look good in any background. You can also place them on a bedroom wall or behind a TV for lighting that's easier on the eyes. The colors are customizable via an app, so your teen can set the mood with a rainbow of hues, as well as multiple white shades. The app also includes preset scenes, scheduling options, and voice control.

Added bonus: LED lights are cheaper to run than incandescent bulbs. Check out more recommendations in ourBest Smart Lightingguide. We also have a dedicated guide to help you decidewhich Govee smart lights you should buy.

There's no doubt that the Nothing Ear (a) Earbuds (8/10, WIRED Recommends) look cool. But they sound even better. They'reour favorite wirefree earbuds. With solid noise cancellation, fantastic touch controls, easy pairing, and customizable EQ, they're feature-rich as well as affordable.

If your teen just wants AirPods and nothing else will do, go for the great but priceysecond-generation AirPods Pro(8/10, WIRED Recommends). For additional recommendations, read ourBest Wireless Headphonesguide (or our guide to theBest AirPods Pro Alternatives.)

An iPad is seemingly superfluous—until teens start using it to watch shows, do homework, or hop on Zoom meetings. They're actuallyquite handy to have around. Apple's 11th-generation model (8/10, WIRED Recommends) has a slick, modern design and is available in many fun colors. It's fast and snappy, it has an improved base storage capacity, and it still charges via USB-C.

Check ourBest iPadandBest Tabletsguides for more options. Don't forget to read ourBest iPad Accessoriesguide to trick out their slate with keyboard covers and stands.

Does your teen already own an iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods? If their nightstand is cluttered with various chargers for all three devices, get them this Belkin treelike 3-in-1 wireless charging station. It will only work withMagSafe iPhones—anyiPhone 12,iPhone 13,iPhone 14,iPhone 15, oriPhone 16—which will stick to the circular pad and recharge the device at the fastest speeds available (15 watts). TheApple Watchwill attach magnetically to its puck, and they can plop theAirPodsorAirPods Proat the base to top ’em up. (Just make sure their AirPods have a wireless charging case.) There's also a pad version that doesn't take up as much vertical room.

Like a good set of sheets or yourfirst tools, a wallet is a gift you only get excited about when you're almost an adult. SlimFold makes great gear. My partner has used this wallet daily for over eight years, and it's still going strong. It has just enough room for cash and cards, preventing it from becoming bulky or obtrusive (or leaving a wear mark on pants pockets). The material is durable, stretchy, and flexible, and even when stuffed full the wallet remains lightweight. If your teen is preparing to fly the coop, this is a gift they'll use almost every day.

Note that there's an RFID-blocking option available from SlimFold's website for an extra $4, which you should avoid for two reasons. The first is that I don't love SlimFold's RFID blockers, which are basically removable cards that cause a nuisance when you're trying to store bills or credit cards. The second is that RFID-based crimes related to skimming credit cards arenearly nonexistent. Skip it and save your money.

Maybe your teen is already into skincare and stealing copious amounts of your expensive under-eye cream, despite the fact that they don't even have dark circles yet. Bubble is a gender-neutral, teen-friendly company that makes products specifically designed for adolescent skin concerns, like acne and sweating. The ingredients are simple, but there are Bubble products for every step of a skin-care routine (except for SPF). All of them are cruelty-free, vegan, fragrance-free, and gentle enough for sensitive skin. I'm also a fan of thelip balm—it feels like a traditional balm, but the packaging is extra-cute, especially the little charms that you can get.

This set includes the full lineup, but there are other kits available in smaller sizes and combinations. Bubble also has a fantastic resource calledSkin Schoolthat will teach teens about things like skincare myths, skin types, and how to safely add products into a routine. Hopefully, it'll help save your teen from the long-term consequences of using harsh cleansers or aggressively popping zits.

Phone games are getting bigger and better every year. This controller works with compatible apps to essentially morph a smartphone into a mini gaming console. We’ve tested the iPhone model with the Lightning connector (8/10, WIRED Recommends), but there’s also a version forUSB-C iPhones and Android phones. Both include robust social features that make it easy to play with others, record clips, and play console games.

If your teen giftee is always playing one mobile game or another, they’ll probably love this gizmo. We have other options in ourBest Mobile Gaming Controllersguide.

A smartwatch can help your gifteeleave their phone in their pocketmore often and only take it out when they deem a notification to be important. These wearable gadgets can also track health and fitness features, control smart-home devices, and can even detect if they've taken a hard fall (and contact emergency services). Plus, smartwatches are just plain cool.

If they have an iPhone, gift them the Apple Watch Series 10 (8/10, WIRED Recommends). It has tons of great features, like the aforementioned fall detection and mental health tracking, plus plenty more—read ourBest Apple Watchguide for help deciding on a model.

Alternative:Are they proud Android phone owner? Go with theGoogle Pixel Watch 3 for $400(8/10, WIRED Recommends). It is supremely comfortable and has a similar suite of fitness features. Our guide to theBest Smartwatcheshas additional recommendations.

The Asus Zenbook 14 (7/10, WIRED Review) isour favorite cheap laptop. It can get a little loud, but the screen and performance are both great, and the battery life is a whopping 15 hours. If your teen is interested in gaming (and you want them to game on it), you'll want to go withanother model, but when it comes to doing homework and falling down YouTube rabbit holes, this Zenbook is hard to beat.

Looking for a MacBook, a Chromebook, or a different Windows machine? We've got more recommendations in ourLaptops Buying Guide.

The MacBook Air M4 (9/10, WIRED Recommends) isour favorite laptopoverall. It strikes the perfect balance between performance, battery life, portability, and quality. It's ultra quiet, being fanless and all, and there's support for external monitors. There's also onboard AI processing forApple Intelligence, and the webcam looks nice too. Upgrades can be expensive, but this still offers excellent value at the base price, and it should last your teen well into college.

Find additional recommendations in ourLaptops Buying Guide.

A Kindle might make a fab gift for bookish teens. Thismodel is our favorite. If they're always hauling around a dozen paperbacks, this little portable library will lighten the load—it can hold literally thousands of electronic books. The battery lasts for weeks, too. Consider gifting aKindle Unlimited membershipto ensure they can download their favorite titles without spending their hard-earned allowance.

The methods of delivery may have changed over the course of a few generations, but teens still need a way to blare music. Maybe it's the perfect shower soundtrack, or maybe they just got into Pink Floyd and need everyone in the household to know. Whatever the case, a speaker will make a great gift (and save you from the pain of dealing with phone-speaker-quality angst).

The JBL Flip 7 (9/10, WIRED Recommends) is our new favoriteBluetooth speaker. It's water-resistant and durable, and there's a strap and a carabiner included. It's also available in many fun colors, like avivid purple.

Starface's hydrocolloid blemish bandages are undeniably cute. The unisex star shapes help normalize acne—if you treat pimples as an excuse to decorate your face, they're less likely to damage your self-esteem—and refills are inexpensive. The packaging is portable and adorable. It's easy to stash the case inside a purse or backpack, and a built-in magnet keeps the compact closed.

Hydrocolloid patches work to absorb fluid, which helps deflate zits and reduces both redness and irritation. They also act as a physical barrier to shield the skin from external bacteria (and picking). They're compatible with all skin types. Just stick a star on top of a blemish, wear it for a few hours, and remove it to reveal flatter, calmer skin.

The Owala FreeSip (9/10, WIRED Recommends) combines a couple of the biggest trends in teendom: sustainability and sticker-driven, color-coded customization. They come in a plethora of colors and capacities, and aside from being a status symbol, they'll also encourage the lucky recipient to stay hydrated throughout the day.Disposable water bottlesarenotin style and haven't been for some time.

Pick out acoordinating packfor your giftee and you'll officially be their favorite relative. Probably. Other trendy water bottles include the half-gallonHydro Jug Proand the classicHydro Flask. Read ourbuying guidefor more recommendations.

The last thing anyone wants is a teenager stranded with a flat tire and a dead phone—or conveniently MIA at a friend’s house because their “phone died.” Werecommend this compact portable charger. Despite the small physical footprint, it has enough juice to keep phones, tablets, and other gadgets topped off. It’s also made with more environmentally friendly materials than others we’ve tried. Pair the charger with thecompany's eco-friendly charging cablesfor a gift that’ll be used basically every day.

Lululemon's Scuba Oversized Half-Zip Hoodie is still trendy and cute, and it'sone of our favorites. It's breathable and comfortable, and the giant hood is perfect for taking a nap. Combine it with the exaggerated cropped fit and we canalmostguarantee that your kid will be thrilled when they unwrap this sweatshirt.

If your teenlikes making videos, this nifty mount will come in handy again and again. Its legs can be a tripod, but they're also flexible so they can wrap around basically anything, and they can be level no matter where they're filming. This mount isMagSafe compatible, but it comes with clamps for additional security if your teen doesn't have an iPhone.

Fragrance is having a big moment. Alt makes dupes—good ones—of the most popular, drastically more expensive scents.Simply Vanillesmells exactly like the hard-to-findLe Labo Vanille 44—"warm," vanilla, and mandarin—and theCreed Aventus dupesmells exactly like its triple-digitcounterpart.

Tom Ford ain't cheap, but it's probably on your teen's Pinterest board. I've been wearingCherry Smash, the alternative toTom Ford's Lost Cherry, for years. I compared it to a sample of the real thing and quite literally could not tell the difference. These perfumes and colognes are a great way to getcloseto the designer brand without spending your entire gift budget.

This camera is made from recycled waste. It’s amazing. It has automatic flash and cinema-grade 35-mm film. Simply snap your 27 photos and send the camera back to the manufacturer using the included return label. They’ll send you back your developed snaps, then refurbish the camera, load it with more film, and send it on to the next person. The camera is available in a few colors and includes a handy wrist strap. The affordable price is a nice touch, too.

This affordable, lightweight, screen-free camera is a good option for teens. It's stylish and mimics the feeling of a traditional disposable, but the built-in memory card holds up to 2,000 digital snaps. Transferring the photos is easy, too. The camera is rechargeable and has optional flash, and the resulting photos have a slightly dreamy look. Best of all, kids can take pics without getting sucked into their phone notifications.

This MagSafe phone mount is … how do the kids say it … low-key goated. You'll need aMagSafe casefor it to work. The accessory is composed of several rows of suction cups. Attach it to the back of your phone via the MagSafe magnet and then you can stick your phone basically anywhere. I've stuck it on mirrors, my shower door, and the window above my sink. It's less sticky on painted surfaces, but on glass or metal, it's so sticky that I usually need two hands to pry the mount off. I like that it's easy to switch your phone's orientation with a simple twist and that the mount comes in so many colors. Check out ourbest MagSafe accessories buying guidefor more recommendations.

Ohuhu alcohol-based markers are still all over TikTok. Due to the sheer popularity, this gift set fluctuates in availability, but themarkers are still available in various quantities. The dual-tipped markers leave behind a wash of matte, saturated pigment that's difficult to replicate with water-based markers. This set includes 104 markers with chisel and brush tips.

There are some nice additional touches, like a carrying case for taking the markers on the go. I think the mix of colors in the set is decent—you get a few transition shades and a blender pen as well as a wide range of hues. The only thing missing is awhite gel penfor adding highlights, but thankfully those are affordable. I recommendCocoWyo's Bold and Easy Coloring Booksas a good gift to pair with the markers if your teen doesn't have one already.

Lots of coloring books are highly involved. But anyone that's colored a mandala knows that after awhile, your eyes start to cross. CocoWyo's bold and easy coloring books are great for the soothing therapeutic benefits of coloring without the stress of working for hours on a project that still isn't finished. The big, open areas let you create fun patterns and lighting effects, putting your own twist on what might otherwise be standard coloring fare. Plus they're affordable! Just note that you'll want to put a barrier of some sort behind your current coloring page so the colors don't bleed through too much. I do think these are perfect for alcohol markers, although they'd work well with other types.

Gaming chairs are at the top of teen gift lists this year, and the Razer Iskur V2 (7/10, WIRED Recommends) is our favorite gaming option out of the many (many!)office chairswe've tested. It's easy to assemble and has durable materials, and there are nice height, backrest, and armrest adjustments (though we wish seat depth was adjustable as well). Overall it looks sleek and it might even coordinate with the rest of your teen's gaming setup. And importantly, it'll help support their spine when they're farming dungeons for eight hours at a time.

From our sister site, this tote bag from The New Yorker proves that status symbols don’t have to cost a kidney. With the New Yorker tote, you’re not just informed—you’rein the know. I scored mine when I started grad school and, naturally, subscribed to the magazine—because how else would I be in the know? It’s the tote you’ll spot in every major city and coffee shop, sported by students who might not read The New Yorker but certainly look the part. It’s also the kind of tote that hasmore thanoneInstagram accountdedicated to tracking its sightings. It’s iconic, a bit basic, and a cliché, but let’s be honest: We all want one. —Boutayna Chokrane

The Arctis Nova 5X Wireless (8/10, WIRED Review) works with every gaming console. The USB dongle comes with a switch that lets kids connect the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, or any other device that uses USB-C. There's Bluetooth, too, which means phones are included in this list. The earcups are soft and comfy, and the audio and mic quality are good. Your teen's teammates will be able to hear them clearly, no matter how frantic the fight gets.

Are gift cards tacky when shopping for your boss? Probably. When it comes to teens, though, an Amazon gift card offers immunity. You might be admitting that you're not the most thoughtful gift-giver, but it's better to give a gift card and cede the battle than give a cringeworthy T-shirt and lose the war.

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