Hisense U8QG Series LCD/LED TV (55-Inch) — Top Pick
Best Buy deal price: $700 (55-inch); street price: $880
Hisense U8QG Series LCD/LED TV (85-Inch) — Top Pick
Best Buy deal price: $1,700; street price: $2,400
What we like: The 55- and 85-inch versions of our top LCD/LED TV pick. Equipped with all the advanced technologies we look for. Delivers a great picture at a reasonable price. High native refresh rate of 165 Hz. Has three HDMI 2.1 inputs and one USB-C video input. Uses Google TV, our favorite smart TV platform. The backlit physical remote control is a plus.
Other things to know: Contrast and color accuracy aren’t as good as they could be. The viewing angles are fairly poor. Glossy screen is not very good at handling reflections. Isn’t the best choice if you still watch a lot of older content. Deal for the 55- and 85-inch sizes.
Read more: The Best LCD/LED TV
Google TV Streamer (4K) — Top Pick
Best Buy deal price: $75; street price: $100
What we like: Our top media streamer pick is beautifully designed. Pairs a zippy, reliable user experience with leading search and customization features. Supports 4K HDR streaming with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos. The Bluetooth remote control’s voice search works splendidly.
Other things to know: Pricey relative to competitors and even its own predecessor. Doesn’t include HDMI cable, which seems stingy for the price. Still relies on the older Wi-Fi 5 protocol. Android-centric (“Hey, Google”), with no support for Alexa, Siri, or AirPlay 2.
Read more: The Best Media Streaming Devices
Roku Streaming Stick 4K — Best For…
Best Buy deal price: $25 (free Best Buy membership required); street price: $39
What we like: The best media streaming device for Roku fans and anyone who prefers an HDMI stick design. Supports almost every major service. Clean, simple interface. Affordable 4K resolution. Draws power from your TV’s USB port. Good remote; better app.
Other things to know: Slower than larger streamers with beefier processors. More limited search and discovery features than our top pick. Aging, but a solid deal. Ships free with free account at Best Buy. Select store pickup at Target and Walmart to avoid shipping fees.
Read more: The Best Media Streaming Devices
Sonos Era 100 Speaker — Top Pick
Best Buy deal price: $170; street price: $220
What we like: Our top multiroom wireless speaker system pick for a variety of rooms. Produces a full, well-balanced sound and fits nicely in any room. Offers support for about 130 streaming services, plus Bluetooth, AirPlay, and Alexa voice control.
Other things to know: Sonos app can be glitchy and its own voice-control compatibility is limited. Difficult to add external, non-AirPlay-enabled audio players to the system. Available in black or white.
Read more: How to Build the Best Multiroom Wireless Speaker System for You
Samsung S95F Series OLED TV (65-Inch) — Best For…
Best Buy deal price: $2,300 (65-inch); street price: $3,000
What we like: The best OLED TV for bright rooms and hardcore gaming. Uses the same QD-OLED panel as the Sony Bravia 8 II, but it ditches Sony’s accuracy-focused subtlety for maximum brightness and Pop Art color presentation. Has a matte screen that scatters ambient light. Offers very low input lag, four HDMI 2.1 inputs, and native 165 Hz refresh rate.
Other things to know: Doesn’t reproduce older or lower-resolution content as well as our other picks do, and it occasionally struggles to render filmic (24p) content smoothly. Cannot play content in Dolby Vision, the highest-quality HDR format. Deal for the 65-inch size.
Read more: The Best OLED TV
TP-Link Tapo TP25 Outdoor Plug — Top Pick
Best Buy deal price: $16 (free Best Buy account required); street price: $20
What we like: Our top pick for the best outdoor smart plug. Independently controllable dual outlets. Features like schedules, away mode, and sunrise/sunset routines were painless to set. IP65 weather-resistance rating. Operating temperature range of -4 to 122 °F.
Other things to know: Works with Amazon Alexa, Apple Home, Google Home, Matter (with a compatible hub), and Samsung SmartThings. Only tracks device run time. Free Best Buy account required for free shipping.
Read more: The Best Smart Plugs
Samsung QN32Q8F TV (32-Inch) — Upgrade Pick
Best Buy deal price: $400; street price: $480
What we like: Our upgrade pick for the best 32-inch TV. Delivers a step up in performance, a more elegant design, and a solar-powered remote control. Offers 4K resolution, quantum-dot color, support for more HDR formats, and all-around better picture quality. Has low input lag and comes equipped with Samsung’s Game Bar.
Other things to know: Doesn’t support the Dolby Vision HDR format, but it does support the similar but less common HDR10+ format. A better gaming TV than our other 32-inch picks, though it’s still limited to a 60 Hz refresh rate.
Read more: The Best 32-Inch TV
Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 4 Bluetooth Speaker — Top Pick
Best Buy deal price: $60; street price: $80
What we like: Our longtime top portable Bluetooth speaker pick. Fun and practical, with great sound for its small size. 11-hour battery life. Incredibly tough — it’s dustproof, has an IP67 water-resistance rating, and survived a 5-foot drop test onto concrete. Plus, it floats.
Other things to know: It’s light on bass. This latest version comes with USB-C charging (finally). The design has not changed, so it’s still a little chunky and can feel slightly ungainly when you’re packing.
Read more: The Best Portable Bluetooth Speaker
Samsung The Frame QN65LS03D LCD TV (65-Inch) — Best For…
Best Buy deal price: $1,000; street price: $1,600
What we like: A larger version of our 43-inch TV pick for the style-conscious shopper. Stands out for its artwork-inspired presentation, but it’s also just a really good TV. Blends into any room’s aesthetic. Delivers the same bright, richly appointed image as many of Samsung’s upper-tier QLED TVs.
Other things to know: The 2024 model. Usually costs as much as our top picks but doesn’t quite match them in image contrast. Subscription needed to access the full range of art options. Deal price is for the 65-inch size, shipping is free for Prime members. One-year Samsung parts and labor limited warranty.
Read more: The Best 40- to 49-Inch TVs
Hisense U75QG Series LCD/LED TV (65-Inch) — Budget Pick
Best Buy deal price: $750 (65-inch); street price: $1,098
What we like: Our budget LCD/LED TV pick. In many ways, its performance is identical to that of our top pick, and it comes in six screen sizes. Supports all of the major HDR formats. A great choice for viewing HDR video via streaming, Blu-ray discs, or video games. Has four HDMI 2.1 inputs and a native 165 Hz refresh rate.
Other things to know: Isn’t quite as bright and colorful as our top pick. We still dislike this TV’s tabletop stand, but it’s better than last year’s. Out-of-the-box calibration could be better. Has issues with over-brightening HDR content. Horizontal viewing angles aren’t very good. Looks better with 4K HDR video than with lower-resolution sources.
Read more: The Best LCD/LED TV
Roku Plus Series 4K TV (55-Inch) — Best For…
Best Buy deal price: $350 (55-inch); street price: $450
What we like: The best 4K TV on a budget for people who prefer Roku. Offers good brightness and color, and we appreciate the simplicity of the Roku interface. The built-in Roku platform is snappier than the Google TV implementation. Two of the four HDMI inputs are rated for HDMI 2.1 features.
Other things to know: In overall performance, it’s a step down from our top pick. The local-dimming function is neither as quick nor as accurate. Limited to a 60 Hz refresh rate. Screen is reflective, and its off-angle performance is average. Deal for the 55-inch size.
Read more: The Best 4K TV on a Budget
Sony 65″ Class Bravia 9 Mini LED TV — Worth Considering
Best Buy deal price: $2,200 (65-inch); street price: $2,450
What we like: An LCD/LED TV worth considering if you’ll spare no expense for bright, cinematic accuracy. Almost as bright as our top pick, but handles screen reflections, viewing angles, and audio performance better. Supports Dolby Vision HDR. Outstanding color saturation. Upscales SD and HD content to 4K better than our top picks.
Other things to know: Worse for video games than our picks. When this Sony model is at full price, an OLED TV may be a better value. Deal price is for 65-inch model.
Read more: The Best LCD/LED TV
Govee Outdoor Spot Lights (4-Pack) — Top Pick
Best Buy deal price: $100; street price: $160
What we like: Our top outdoor smart spotlight pick for backyards, pathways, and more. Bright, 500-lumen output per light at a good price. App gives you adjustable white-light color temperature, the full color wheel of RGB options, and tons of features and settings to explore. Easy to set up, they work well, and it’s no problem to set schedules, sync the lights to music, and much more.
Other things to know: Compatible with Amazon Alexa and Google Home. Comes in a set of four spotlights.
Read more: The Best Smart Outdoor Lighting for Backyards, Pathways, and More
Nebula Mars 3 Air Portable Mini Projector — Top Pick
Best Buy deal price: $420; street price: $550
What we like: Our top portable mini projector pick. Offers good brightness and contrast with above-average sound and 1080p resolution, Easy to set up. Runs off an internal battery for true portability (up to 3.5 hours of run time in our tests). Uses Google TV, our preferred streaming platform.
Other things to know: Uses a standard DC power port that requires an external power brick. No USB-C port. The underside’s awkward design limits the tripods and mounts it can attach to. Not ideal for big-screen movie watching or serious gaming. Recurring deal price.
Read more: The Best Portable Mini Projector
Blueair Blue Pure 211i Max Air Purifier — Upgrade Pick
Best Buy deal price: $200; street price: $280
What we like: Our upgrade pick for the best air purifier. Stellar performance for large spaces around 500 square feet. Reduced smoke levels in our test room by more than 99.9% on its high and high-medium settings. Has an air-quality sensor, child-lock controls, and a display shutoff option, plus an app for more features.
Other things to know: The relatively high price is backed up by the performance, but this much purifier is overkill for medium and small rooms. Filters have a shorter replacement cycle than many of our other picks, at six to nine months (versus a typical year).
Read more: The Best Air Purifier
Amazon Echo Dot Smart Speaker (5th Gen) — Top Pick
Best Buy deal price: $32 (with store pickup); street price: $45
What we like: Our top Alexa smart speaker pick for beginners. Clear, loud sound in a compact form. All the standard features of other Echo models at half the price. Bluetooth connection. Built-in Eero Wi-Fi can extend an Eero router’s mesh network.
Other things to know: More expensive Echos offer better audio and call quality. Doesn’t make video calls. Also has Eero Wi-Fi built-in, meaning it can be used as an add-on extender (or mesh node) to extend an Eero router’s mesh Wi-Fi network.
Read more: The Best Alexa Smart Speakers
Samsung UN32F6000F 32-Inch TV — Top Pick
Best Buy deal price: $128; street price: $178
What we like: Our top pick for the best 32-inch TV. Strikes the best balance between picture quality and price. Delivers solid picture quality with decent contrast, good dark-scene performance, and fairly accurate color. Better brightness than other 32-inch TVs under $200. Solid build quality is sturdier than other TVs this category.
Other things to know: Brightness is decent at 250 nits, but won’t do well in a brighter-than-average space like the kitchen or porch. 60 Hz native refresh rate can cause movies (and other video at 24 fps) to be a little juddery. Only comes with two HDMI inputs.
Read more: The Best 32-Inch TV
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