CNN Underscored is constantly testing products — from electric toothbrushes to pillows to mobile apps — to find the absolute best in each respective category. Our testing process is rigorous, starting with spending hours of research to find the best products in each category. Once we’ve created a product testing pool, we test and retest each product multiple times under real-world conditions over weeks or even months.
This year, we’ve already tested dozens of products – from Macbooks to rice cookers to indoor security cameras – to find the best products you need to make life better. Here are the winning products for the month of August.
Philips Sonicare 4100
Affordable, comprehensive, efficient and compatible with many varieties of replacement brush heads from Philips and third parties, the Sonicare 4100 is a great way to enhance your oral hygiene routine. A gentle mode makes it easy for beginners to get used to high-tech brushing.
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Philips Sonicare for kids
Easy to use, with a built-in timer, multiple modes and a simple app that guides kids through the brushing session. The Philips Sonicare for Kids makes brushing efficient and fun.
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Arlo Essential Indoor Security Camera
The Arlo Essential Indoor Security Camera is designed with privacy in mind, is easy to set up, and offers an inexpensive monthly storage plan. Video quality is top notch, fast motion alerts and sound are excellent.
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Zojirushi Neuro Fuzzy Rice Cooker
The Zojirushi Neuro Fuzzy has always had the best results in all of our cooking tests. It cooks perfectly fluffy rice every time and has convenient features that make it a must-have for people who cook and eat rice regularly.
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stand mixers
KitchenAid Artisan Series 5 Quart Tilt-Head Stand Mixer
The KitchenAid 5-Quart Artisan Series Tilt-Head Stand Mixer offered the best performance of the mixers we tested. With over 20 colors available and a classic profile, you’ll want to keep this tilt-head mixer prominently displayed in your kitchen.
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LL Bean 280 Thread Count Pima Cotton Percale Sheet Set
LLBean sheets are the nicest sheets we’ve tried: breathable and crisp, they’re great for regulating temperature throughout the night, and the eyelet hem along the top sheet and pillowcases gives these sheets feel like they’re straight out of a hotel.
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Parachute
Among the most luxurious feels we’ve tested, Parachute linen sheets have a pleasant weight in the hand and a unique texture. Parachute sheets are available in a wide range of colors and sizes, and each different piece of bedding is available individually for replacements or to mix and match with other fabrics.
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Coop Home Goods L’Eden
Soft and supportive without being too firm, the Coop Home Goods Eden Pillow was one of our favorite pillows in testing. Padding can be added or removed to suit different body types and preferences, meaning it should work for almost any back sleeper.
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Eli and Elm Side Sleeper
The Eli and Elm Side Sleeper Support Pillow has a U-shaped cutout that allows room for your shoulder when you sleep on your side. It also cradled our necks well when we slept on our backs, so it’s great for anyone changing positions.
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Saatva Latex Pillow
The Saatva pillow was a favorite, supportive enough while being squishy and malleable in the best way. The outer layer is filled with down-alternative fibers and a removable shredded latex inner core is fully encased so the fill won’t spill out.
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Mavogel cotton eye mask
The Mavogel Cotton Sleep Eye Mask has an awesome nose wire, so it blocks out all – and we mean all – light. The mask is soft on the eyes and comfortable on the head, and it never moved during the night, regardless of our sleeping position.
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Rosetta stone
We liked the Rosetta Stone app’s easy-to-use design and logical lesson format. This allowed us to learn the basics of French quite easily. It is available in 25 languages, including Dutch, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean and Spanish. It offers a 3-day free trial.
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Pay Apple
Although Apple Pay only works on iOS devices, its user interface is clean and simple to use. The app also offers robust security and authentication for all your purchases, and offers 2% cashback on P2P payments.
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Strava
Strava connects to a variety of heart rate monitors and offers robust tools for creating personalized running routes. The application is recommended for experienced runners and professional or semi-professional athletes; however, it is easy enough for any rider to use.
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Loose it! Prime
We found LoseIt! Premium for being simple and intuitive, and the most affordable weight loss app we’ve tested. It offers strong support to its user community, with active discussions on nutrition and weight loss related user forums.
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Cabeau Evolution S3
The Cabeau Evolution S3 is the goldilocks of travel pillows: we found it firm enough to support our head and neck, soft enough to fall asleep to and perfectly portable, thanks to its elastic memory foam that allows you to compress it to half its size.
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Ear Fun Air
We’re going to make it easy for you: if you want to spend less than $100 on wireless headphones, you won’t find a better pair than the EarFun Air.
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Macbook Air M2
The MacBook Air M2 is the go-to MacBook for most people, delivering the best performance you can get for the price in a slim, modern design with plenty of handy upgrades over the previous generation.
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Best smartphone overall: Apple iPhone 13
Apple’s iPhone 13 has a modern build with an immersive display, with the best performance and one of the best cameras of any phone we’ve ever tested.
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