As a yoga teacher and decades-long practitioner, I've been living in yoga pants — on and off of the mat — since long before COVID-19.
After years of informal testing, I went on a proper search for the best yoga pants and tried eight of the top choices on the market.
To cover my bases, I determined not only a best overall yoga pant, but also the best for hot yoga, outdoor yoga, a high-waist fit, and for a non-legging look.
Over the past decade, yoga pants have become a staple in women's wardrobes. And since the pandemic moved many of us to work from home, even more people are wearing these comfy leggings daily — as long as the Zoom camera only needs to be from the waist up. But all yoga pants aren't created equal. And the difference between poorly and expertly-made leggings can determine whether your yoga practice is distracted and fidgety or calm and blissful.
As a yoga teacher and decades-long practitioner, I've seen the good, the bad, and the ugly of yoga pants with my fair share of ill fits and too-thin see-through fabric. These years of informal testing led me to know exactly what to look for when formally sampling the yoga-pant market. Specifically, the comfort of the fabric and the cut are the two most important factors.
As a yogi watches their breath and tackles challenging physical postures, a nagging fold of fabric that needs to be adjusted (and readjusted) takes them right out of the peaceful moment that they were working so hard to achieve. The best yoga pants are the kind that you don't notice you're wearing.
The ideal fabric, on the other hand, can vary based on what you want your yoga pants for. For example, the ideal hot yoga pants won't be made from the same material as those for a winter outdoor class. With those considerations in mind, we tested some of the most popular and newest pants on the market.
How we tested
To assess how the cut and fabric felt and moved in different situations, I wore each for a diverse range of activities. I sported each pant for three yoga sessions and one non-yoga workout. Each pant was also my attire for one full day of varied activities, from running errands to watching Netflix. Each bottom was washed twice.
Everlane's Perform Legging is comfortable for all-day wear, yoga, and other workouts. Its high quality and relatively low price distinguishes it from comparable pants.
Pros: Comfortable, ethically made, affordable
Cons: Thin material, so these aren't great for outdoor yoga (or wear) in cold weather.
Sizing: XXS — XXL
When most people think of yoga pants, Everlane isn't among the first brands that come to mind. But since discovering this legging, I have been recommending it widely.
As a nod to their focus on ethical production, the bag that housed the leggings announced that it "is made from recycled plastic," and the tag on the pants invited me to visit their website to learn more about the "ethical manufacturing process." I took them up on the offer and the site took me to a factory in Sri Lanka and told their story. Yoga is more than a physical practice. It's also a philosophy and way of life, which has a strong focus on ahimsa, or non-harming. It felt good to know that the pants' production was aligned.
But it wasn't just the backstory that made me fall in love with these pants. They're thin and sleek with few seams and made from recycled nylon and elastane. The light compression from the extra-high waist, reminded me to use my ab muscles, even in simple poses like tadasana (mountain pose). And, most importantly, when I put them on, they felt so good that they made me want to get on my mat and practice yoga. Not all pants can inspire a workout.
During my yoga practice, the leggings checked all the boxes. They were flexible, so easy to move in, and they were comfortable. They lived up to the hype of being made from a "premium performance fabric from a renowned Italian mill."
I also appreciated that these pants have no visible logo. My yoga practice is a time to step away from the material world, and the absence of a small symbol of consumer culture was a nice touch. They're also well below the $100+ yoga pant price point at $58 per pair, leaving more cash to fit in the cute pocket in the waistband.
The best outdoor yoga pant
The Alo High-Waist Lounge Leggingis ideal for outdoor yoga classes in cooler climates, or for indoor low-intensity yoga classes and workouts.
Pros: Warm, soft
Cons: Not great for indoor high-intensity yoga or exercise
Sizing: XXS (00-0) — XL (16-18)
As the pandemic has shuttered studios, many teachers have moved classes to parks and parking lots with socially distanced mats. This has been great for those of us who need to practice with others so can't just Zoom a class. But what do we wear? Thin yoga pants are great for feeling free and agile during practice, but they're not great for winter walks or outdoor classes in cooler weather.
Of all of the pants that I tested, the Alo High-Waist Lounge Legging was the only one that had a level of thickness to provide strong protection from the wind chill of cold days. They're still flexible, though, with Alo's signature four-way stretch.
When I wore these outside, they were perfect, and for lounging indoors or doing light movement, like restorative yoga or stretching, they were also great. But when I wore them indoors for more intense workouts, they were too hot for my comfort.
Overall, these pants with Alo's "velvety" Alosoft fabric are a dream. As the name would suggest, they feel incredibly soft against your skin, and the ribbing at the waist and ankles make them even cozier and more flattering.
The best non-legging yoga pant
The Sweaty Betty Gary Yoga Pants are a great alternative to leggings on days when you don't want to feel constricted.
Pros: Comfortable, great for modesty
Cons: The thin material is not great for outdoor classes or colder climates
Sizing: XXS — XXL
While you may be questioning your decision to ever wear skin tight jeans after months of quarantine, the question about why we wear tight pants is especially relevant in yoga. When I went to India to study with my yoga school, they warned us Americans that our idea of "yoga pants" wouldn't be acceptable attire there. Looser pants were the norm.
But the problem with baggy yoga pants can sometimes be that the fabric flies all around and makes movements clunkier. And in inversions, loose trousers may even succumb to gravity and fall down from your ankles to your hips.
I love Sweaty Betty's Gary Yoga Pant because they've thought of all of that. These pants are loose, comfortable, and lightweight, but they also work well for practice. They're tapered at the ankles, so they didn't fall when I was upside down. Plus, the polyester/elastane blend fabric was roomy and stretchy enough that I could move into deep poses carefree. As Sweaty Betty advertises, they're "100% squat proof."
When in-person yoga becomes the norm again, I'll probably mostly wear traditional leggings, but on days when I want to feel less constricted, these would be my go-to pants.
Cons: Prominent branding, too thin and airy for cold weather, can't be tumble dried
Sizing: XS — 2XL
Even with most hot yoga studios temporarily closed, many aficionados find ways to get in a heated practice at home by blasting space heaters and shoving blankets underneath doors. For these steamy classes, the right yoga pants can make a big difference. When drenched, certain fabrics' compression and thickness leads to too much weight and cling to be comfortable. The adidas x Karlie Kloss Primeblue High-Waist Long Tights are a great thin option that avoids those pitfalls.
The pants are great for any workout, but especially good for sweaty activities like runs and heated classes. They're made from primeblue, a material partially made of upcycled plastic, which would have otherwise ended up in oceans. They also have elastane.
These pants were comfortable for cardio workouts and unheated yoga as well. But they were less ideal for outside wear, at least in the fall and winter. Each leg has six small holes about half way down, and there's a thinner, ribbed fabric interspersed with the main material. These touches made the leggings ideal when my heart was pumping but less so for running errands on a windy day.
Also, the branding made these pants feel less able to switch from a workout to a dressier engagement. The branding, a small "Aeroready" on the back waist, and 10 inches of "Karlie Kloss" and the Adidas logo down the hip make it clear that these are exercise leggings.
When I first tried on the Alo High-Waist Airlift Legging, I felt like I was getting dressed up. The double-knit Airlift fabric's silky sheen and high waist made them feel more sophisticated than the yoga pants I had been wearing every other day.
High waists vary. Some land below my belly button while others nearly reach the bottom of my sports bra. I appreciated that these pants were of the higher variety. Having a higher waist supports my yoga practice because the touch of pressure on my stomach nudges me to engage my core. I'm not sure if it was that engagement, the micro-performance fabric, or both, but the pants did smooth my mid-section. And with the higher high waist, I didn't have to worry about the pants rolling down during forward-folding poses like uttanasana or paschimottanasana.
Another advantage of these pants is that they're thin, but not too thin. The light fabric and its four-way stretch is great for postures that call for deep stretches, like split pose, but they're not so light that they expose what's under them — in other words, no visible underwear lines. The front smoothing panel is great for that protection or, as Alo says, "commando comfort."
What else we considered:
Lululemon Groove Pant Flare Super HR ($98, sizes 0-14): As expected from Lululemon, these pant's Nulu™ fabric is light and soft. They're great for all day wear, and the high waist adds to their comfort. They weren't a top choice, though, because their flare cut makes them less ideal for a fast-paced yoga practice. In inversions and seated forward folds, the excess fabric was a bit distracting.
Outdoor Voices Springs 7/8 Legging ($78, sizes XXS to XXXL): These were the only yoga pants that I got compliments on. Outdoor Voices' signature color block design helps these leggings to stand out from competitors and is a creative way to have their pants be immediately recognizable as Outdoor Voices without needing a logo. I was comfortable in these leggings working out, running errands, and practicing yoga, and I also loved how they looked. But they didn't make the top list, because I found the textured polyester and spandex fabric less comfortable than that of the other pants.
Beyond Yoga Heather Rib Jogger ($110, sizes XS to XL): These are another great option for a non-legging yoga pant. They're very comfortable, and when I put them on I didn't want to take them off for days. That said, they didn't make the top choices, because they're more fitted than I would like when I'm looking for a non-legging pant. A large part of the appeal of the non-legging pant to me is to not have a form-fitting shape, and these felt a little too close to leggings for me.
A reliable dishwasher is one of the most time-saving products you can buy for your home.
After researching dozens of popular dishwashers and interviewing four experts, we determined theBosch SHEM63W55N to be the best.
It's quiet, has an adjustable middle rack for larger items, and a strong reputation among experts.
Table of Contents: Masthead Sticky
As a homeowner, a dishwasher will give you the biggest return on investment. Instead of spending time washing, rinsing, and drying dishes by hand, a dishwasher accomplishes the same goal with just a few minutes of your time, so you're free to relax.
And these convenient machines don't just save time, they also greatly reduce water usage. In fact, according to Energy Star, the average modern dishwasher uses less water than hand-washing dishes and because it can use much hotter water, it can sanitize and more effectively remove bacteria. Considering these time-saving, water-conserving, and sanitizing benefits, it's easy to see how valuable a dishwasher can be to your home.
I was a residential carpenter for four years and have experience installing, removing, and repositioning dishwashers. I used my experience, along with the insight of four experts, to curate this list of the five best dishwashers. I consulted a food safety expert, Kaylyn Brunskole, the technical manager of Food Equipment at NSF International. I also reached out to an appliance retailer, Albert Safaradi of Albee's Appliances, and a home remodeling expert, Nick Yahoodain, CEO of Advanced Builders and Contractors, and an appliance repair expert, Alexander Gurfinkel of Appliance Repair LA. For a look at my research methodology, head over here.
The sleek design, ultra-quiet operation, and the unanimous support of its brand by our experts make the Bosch SHEM63W55N the best dishwasher you can buy.
Cons: Exterior is not smudge-proof, not ADA compliant
When I consulted my experts on their most recommended brands, Bosch came up time and time again. Gurfinkel of Appliance Repair LA specifically praised the brand's usability, reliability, and technical support, putting Bosch in the top tier of residential dishwashers.
The Bosch SHEM63W55N features a stainless steel interior tub and a roomy third rack for smaller items and utensils. The upper rack can also be adjusted to three different height settings to accommodate tall wine glasses, large pots, baking sheets, and more. The top and bottom racks are also outfitted with tines that fold down to customize their storage capacity. However, the extra room translates to a unit that isn't compatible with those needing special height requirements.
The Bosch SHEM63W55N boasts some valuable special features, like a quick-wash cycle that gets your dishes cleaned and dried in about an hour. It also has a sanitizing setting, ensuring that cutting boards and knives are safely cleaned after coming into contact with raw meat.
It also has a leak protection feature, which is essentially a system of sensors that can detect when leaks occur and instantly shuts off the water supply if it senses anything. I've personally come home from a long weekend to find my dishwasher had leaked onto my parents' hardwood floors for days, which ended up costing a fortune, so this can be an extremely helpful feature.
This model is Energy Star-certified, and its estimated yearly energy use is 269 kWh, according to the US Government Energy Guide. This comes out to about $25 per year, assuming you run four wash loads per week.
Another notable feature of the Bosch SHEM63W55N is its quiet operation. At only 44 dB, this dishwasher makes around the same amount of noise as a refrigerator— which is to say it's one of the quietest options you can buy.
The stainless steel exterior and recessed handle give it a sleek, high-end look, and the front-facing control panel allows you to monitor its operation easily. Some people prefer the minimal look of hidden controls, but I personally prefer the convenience of being able to easily see how much time is left on the wash cycle. The exterior is not fingerprint-resistant, however, so if you have active kids around, you might want to give that some thought or have a bottle of good stainless steel cleaner on hand.
If you're comfortable doing it yourself, the included installation instructions are really well thought out and informative. I was impressed that it spent a significant amount of time explaining what not to do while installing, something that I always appreciate with instructions. It even included techniques for not scratching up your floor when scooting the dishwasher into place.
Whether or not you decide to install the Bosch SHEM63W55N yourself, you should probably avoid repairing it yourself. Its one-year limited warranty is automatically null and void if anyone other than an authorized service provider does any work on the unit.
The best budget dishwasher
Despite its reasonable price tag, the Frigidaire FGID2466QF still provides a lot of the valuable features you see on high-end models, like a sanitizing wash cycle, fold-down tines, and a drying mode.
Pros: Smudge-proof stainless steel, sanitizing cycle, StayPut hinge ensures the door will not fall open or closed
Cons: Slightly louder than others, plastic interior tub, not ADA compliant
The fact that the Frigidaire FGID2466QF doesn't look like a budget model is one of the reasons Nick Yahoodain, CEO of Advanced Builders and Contractors recommended it so highly. Its hidden control panel and stainless steel exterior give it a clean, modern look, similar to what you'd get with our top Bosch model. The front panel and bar handle also have a smudge-proof finish, making it a good choice for busy kitchens or those with small children. This finish is a coating which, as my research shows, can make the stainless steel appear darker than uncoated stainless steel. This might not be a huge deal, but if you're planning on matching your dishwasher to existing stainless steel appliances, you might want to visit a showroom or appliance store if possible to take a look yourself.
The main drawback of the Frigidaire FGID2466QF is its plastic interior tub. Unlike the stainless steel tubs of our other models, plastic tubs are less durable and are harder to keep clean. This plastic construction is most likely a big reason why this machine is relatively affordable, but if you're not going to use your dishwasher too frequently, it might not be a dealbreaker. The height also isn't ADA compliant, which can be another drawback.
I was impressed by its door hinge, which maintains the position of the door and prevents it from falling open or closing shut when you don't want it to. The Frigidaire FGID2466QF also features fold-down tines and has a high-temperature sanitizing setting as well.
The Frigidaire FGID2466QF uses sensors to determine how much water pressure is needed based on how dirty the dishes are — a feature you often see in high-end models. Its dual drying options allow you to choose whether you prefer heated drying or not; non-heated drying isn't as effective, but it also uses less energy. It can also be programmed to clean only half loads, which can be used on either the top or bottom racks. This energy-saving feature is one of the reasons why Yahoodain recommended this model specifically.
On the topic of energy, the US Government Energy Guide states that the Frigidaire FGID2466QF uses 268 kWh per year, an estimate based on households that run an average of four loads per week. This comes out to an estimated yearly operating cost of about $32.
If you want to install this yourself, the Frigidaire installation instructions are really informative and have a ton of illustrations and diagrams to guide you along the process. However, you'll want to make sure to closely inspect the warranty agreement if you decide to do it yourself. I found that its one-year limited warranty does not cover any damage caused during installation, which includes any issues that arise from using incorrect parts or wiring.
The best compact dishwasher
The Bosch SPE53U55UC is an ideal combination of efficiency and convenience, thanks to its slim 18-inch size, a 24-hour delay start timer, and a water softener to produce spotless, clean dishes.
Pros: Doesn't take up much space, ADA compliant, includes water softener
Cons: Not as spacious as full-size models, not fingerprint resistant
Another Bosch model specifically recommended by Gurfinkel, the Bosch SPE53U55UC has a durable, stainless steel interior tub, and like the Bosch SHEM63W55N, a top rack that can be adjusted up and down.
Unlike full-size models that use a single motor, the Bosch SPE53U55UC uses twin brushless motors to operate the unit. These smaller motors, and the rubber suspenders that hold them in place, work together to produce a relatively quiet 46 dB noise level, somewhere between the hum of a refrigerator and an air conditioner.
The Bosch SPE53U55UC has four wash cycles, which is fewer than larger dishwashers, but still has the capacity to organize and clean nine place settings worth of dishes — when you consider that each plate setting consists of a dinner plate, small plate, saucer, bowl, coffee cup, drinking glass, and four utensils, that's a lot of dishes. It also features a sanitizing rinse that reaches 160 degrees, eliminating 99.9% of bacteria. Its leak protection feature shuts off the water automatically and pumps it out of the tub in the event of a leak. Again, as someone who's experienced damaged floors due to a faulty dishwasher, I consider this feature to be incredibly valuable.
The included water softener makes this a great option for areas that have hard water. It has a salt reservoir to adjust the water to the ideal softness for washing, eliminating the spots caused by the lime deposits in hard water. The reservoir has to be refilled from time to time, but there's an indicator light on the control panel that will let you know when it's time to do so. Bosch recommends using one from Finish.
Another perk of this unit is its energy-saving benefits. It's Energy-Star certified and since it's smaller than a typical dishwasher, it should only use 259 kWh per year. This comes out to about $31, which is less than the other models in this guide, though only by a few dollars.
You're probably already tight on space if you're choosing an 18-inch model, so you'll appreciate the space-saving pocket handle of the Bosch SPE53U55UC. While the face of the unit isn't fingerprint-resistant, its front-facing control panel has large, easy to use buttons, and a variety of indicator lights to keep you updated on how much time is left on a cycle. This model is also slightly shorter than most other models at around 20 inches, so it's ADA compliant.
Since this is a compact unit, you'll need some cabinetry filler if your kitchen has a standard 24-inch opening for a dishwasher. You might need to hire a carpenter for this task, but chances are your cabinetry company will have ones you can order to match.
The Miele 24" Fully Integrated XXL might have an intimidating price tag, but if money's no object, its top of the line components, reputation for quality, and Wi-Fi connectivity are worth it.
The Miele 24" Fully Integrated XXL is another model recommended by Gurfinkel, who stressed its high-quality and impressive five-year warranty. It also features a stainless steel tub and a third rack that can accommodate cutlery and small dishware. This rack is designed with three sections that can be slid around to accommodate tall glasses, larger utensils, or bowls. It also uses four LEDs to illuminate the entire interior of the unit, making it easy to see what you're loading and unloading, as well as spot any small utensils that may have fallen below the bottom tray.
The Miele 24" Fully integrated XXL has a few special features that I haven't seen in other models — most notably, the Wi-Fi connectivity. By controlling the dishwasher from your smartphone or tablet, you can start the wash cycle even when you're not home. You can also use it to pre-set times so you can start a cycle at the same time every day. This feature could come in handy if you forget to start the cycle before you leave for work, or if you accidentally leave a load of dirty dishes in the washer before leaving on a trip. It also features a QuickIntenseWash, which thoroughly cleans and dries your dishes in 58 minutes. For comparison, the average normal dishwasher cycle is about two hours long.
The Miele 24" Fully Integrated XXL runs even quieter than the Bosch, and at 38 dB will be barely noticeable. This whisper-quiet operation makes it a great choice for those with open kitchens.
It has an ultra-modern, minimal style thanks to its hidden controls and stainless steel bar handle. The white LED readout gives it a high-tech look and really separates it from other models that use black or red. The surface should also be easy to clean and maintain.
It's definitely worth noting that this model is not officially NSF-certified to sanitize glassware, cookware, and dishes, though according to the specs, its SaniWash cycle reaches 167 degrees. This exceeds the 150 degrees that NSF requires for its certification and the Miele manual describes this cycle as intended for "baby bottles, cutting boards, and preparation dishes" but you won't have the peace of mind that comes from an official NSF certification.
If you're up for it, the installation instructions for the Miele 24" Fully Integrated XXL are straightforward and feature a huge amount of informative diagrams that walk you through the entire process.
According to its energy label, the Miele 24" Fully integrated XXL should use about 230 kWh per year, which, when used with an electric water heater, comes out to about $30.
The best portable dishwasher
Even though it's a portable model, the GE GPT225SGLBB has the sleek look of a built-in unit, features a hard food disposer, and is mounted on four swiveling casters for easy transport.
Pros: Hard food disposer, stainless steel tub, the top can be used as extra counter space
Cons: Louder than most models, must be hooked up to the sink to operate, will need an additional wastewater receptacle if your sink is higher than 34 inches
My favorite feature of the GE GPT225SGLBB is its hard food disposer. This heavy-duty stainless steel blade grinds up any large food particles that may have been left on your dishes and empties the waste into your sink as the unit operates. It also features a durable stainless steel interior tub — something you wouldn't expect from a portable design.
Another surprising aspect of the GE GPT225SGLBB is that it uses a beam of light to determine how dirty your dishes are and adjusts the water temperature to set an ideal cycle time, instead of having you manually select a cycle. It also has a sanitizing cycle which uses high temperatures to reduce bacteria by 99.999%.
Because they lack the noise-deadening benefits of surrounding cabinets, portable dishwashers tend to be louder than built-ins. The GE GPT225SGLBB runs at 54 dBA, which was the loudest of all the units I researched and a little under the level of a normal conversation. When I consulted Gurfinkel for his opinion on different types of dishwashers, he recommended the GE GPT225SGLBB as his top portable option.
According to the US Government Energy Guide, the GE GPT225SGLBB is reasonably energy-efficient and should use about 270 kWh/year. This adds up to about $35 with an electric water heater or $23 with a natural gas heater.
Since portable dishwashers are freestanding and all four sides are exposed, I personally prefer the all-black finish of the GE GPT225SGLBB. This is, of course, all up to your personal preference. Its controls are hidden, which also gives the unit more of a modern, utilitarian look, instead of just a dishwasher on wheels. It also has a laminate wood top, which you can use as additional countertop space.
One of the biggest perks of having a portable dishwasher is its simple installation. Unlike built-in models that need to be connected to existing plumbing fixtures, the GE GPT225SGLBB just needs to be plugged into an outlet and connected to your sink faucet with a unicouple. The unicouple is essentially two hoses: one attaches to the faucet and brings hot water into the dishwasher and the other expels wastewater back into the sink.
According to the GE GPT225SGLBB manual, if your sink is 34 inches or higher off the floor, you won't be able to drain wastewater into the sink because it's too high, so you'll have to use a separate receptacle, like a bowl or pitcher, that's lower than the height of the sink.
Our research methodology
I wasn't able to physically test these dishwashers myself, so I leaned on my kitchen remodeling experience and background as a general contractor. I also consulted four experts for brand and model recommendations, as well as criteria that I could use to compare and contrast models as I did my research.
Three of these experts specialize in appliances: Nick Yahoodain, CEO of home remodeling company Advanced Builders and Contractors; Albert Safaradi, vice president, Mof marketing at Albee's Appliances, and Alexander Gurfinkel, an appliance repair expert at Appliance Repair LA. The fourth was a food safety expert, Kaylyn Brunskole of NSF International who recommended criteria for food safety.
After consulting experts, I developed a set of criteria to use to compare potential options, including their appearance, construction, installation details, special features, energy use, noise levels, certifications, and repair and warranty details.
I then spent hours rigorously researching the most popular options from online retailers and read countless best-of lists and customer reviews, developing a list that I vetted with my experts and removing ones that didn't meet their criteria. The result is five expertly-vetted dishwashers.
FAQs
What types of dishwashers are there?
Built-In: These are the most common types of dishwashers. They are designed to be installed in a dedicated area under your kitchen counter and are connected to permanent plumbing hookups. They're typically sandwiched on both sides by cabinetry or drawers, which muffle the noise of its operation.
Portable: Unlike built-in models that are permanently installed, portable dishwashers are freestanding units that sit on wheels and can be moved around as you like. Since they don't have any dedicated plumbing connections, they typically get their water supply by hooking directly to your kitchen faucet. The wheels allow you to roll them into a closet or storage area after use. Plus, since they're not located underneath a counter, you can usually use their top as a kitchen workspace.
Countertop: For those who are really tight on space, countertop dishwashers are even more convenient than portable options. They connect right to your kitchen faucet and use considerably less water than full-size dishwashers. They're on the smaller side so they wouldn't be a great choice for households that produce a lot of dirty dishes. We didn't feature any countertop models in this guide, but I look forward to testing them in the future.
How do you install a dishwasher?
Dishwasher installation is a pretty straightforward process, so if you've got a reasonable amount of experience working with appliances, you should be alright to DIY. Gurfinkel explained that a YouTube video and proper equipment like a hose and a wrench can be enough. Issues may arise if your original dishwasher wasn't installed properly and can't be removed — this will require breaking countertops and floors, and above all else, a professional.
If you'd rather have a professional install your dishwasher entirely, Gurfinkel recommended going with a local installer, rather than a big box store. He explained that local installers usually care more about how the installation goes since they rely on positive reviews and word of mouth, unlike big box stores.
If you decide to install your dishwasher yourself, Yahoodain said the most important things to remember are to make sure everything is connected properly and the machine is level. "You also want to check with the manufacturer to make sure that a professional installer isn't required to uphold the warranty," he said.
What sizes are dishwashers usually?
Safaradi said, "Dishwasher dimensions are standard: 23 ¾ inches wide by 33 ⅝ inches high by 24 ⅝ inches deep, except for handicapped-enabled (ADA-compliant) units which are 24 incheswide by 34 ½ inches high by 24 inches deep." Compact-sized dishwashers tend to be about 18 inches wide.
Even though portable versions are freestanding and don't need to fit into an opening, you still want to get a good idea of how they'll fit in your kitchen. These dishwashers run about 24 inches wide, 27 inches deep, and 37 inches high (a bit taller than the rest due to their rolling casters).
How long should you expect a good dishwasher to last?
"On average, you can expect a dishwasher to last you about 10 years with potential maintenance in between," Yahoodain said. Gurfinkel's caveat to that is how you use them, so make sure to follow the manufacture's guidelines for optimal operation. One thing our experts stressed was the durability of stainless steel tubs over plastic, so that can be a large factor in the lifespan of your dishwasher.
Is a front or top-mounted control panel better?
Most dishwashers offer the option of having the control panel located either on the front of the unit or on the top of the door, which is hidden from view when the door is closed. This is really just a matter of personal preference as some people like the minimal look of the top-mounted design, and it also prevents curious kids from pressing buttons at random. I personally prefer the convenience of the front-facing panel since I can always tell how much time is remaining on the cycle just by glancing at the unit. Top-mounted units will sometimes direct a red light on the floor to indicate that it's not finished yet, but that's not enough information for me.
Brunskole said, "The certified sanitizing cycle on your dishwasher means it has been tested to reduce 99.999% (5-log) of bacteria. Cleaning is removing visible soil from a surface whereas sanitizing is reducing the bacteria on a surface. It is not always necessary to sanitize dishes; however, it is important to choose this cycle on your dishwasher when you have raw meat juice, for example on a cutting board, that you put in the dishwasher to clean."
All of our top picks are NSF-certified, except for the Miele 24" G 7566, though it uses water temperatures that meet NSF guidelines to sanitize dishes.
Yahoodain also recommended prospective shoppers look for dishwashers with a certified Energy Star rating which means the unit is more efficient than ones that meet just the federal minimum standard for energy efficiency. All of the options I chose are Energy Star certified.
Depending on where you live, you might qualify for certain rebates to cut costs and energy use, said Yahoodain.
How do you clean a dishwasher? How often?
This can vary depending on the machine, according to Yahoodain, who explains that cleaning "depends on the type of dishwasher, finish (stainless, plastic, or a mix), and the type of filter which catches leftover food in the machine." I have personally had success using a simple mixture of warm water and vinegar and using a dishrag to wipe down the interior components. That being said, make sure to read the manufacturer's instructions first.
Do you need to rinse dishes first?
Even though you might think you're helping by rinsing off your dishes before putting them in the dishwasher, you could actually be making it less effective. This is because the sensors that some dishwashers use to determine how long a cycle should run and how much water to use can be fooled by pre-rinsed dishes. It assumes that the load is cleaner than it actually is and ends up running a lighter wash cycle.
When should you use the sanitizing cycle?
If your dishes, knives, or dishwasher-safe cutting boards have been in contact with raw meat, you should disinfect them with the sanitizing cycle. The same goes for any baby-related items such as bottles or toys. Brunskole said, "A good rule of thumb is to use the sanitizing cycle on your dishwasher when dishes inside have sat for more than two hours. Food left at room temperature can be a breeding ground for bacteria leading to potential foodborne illness."
Can you wash plastic takeout containers in a dishwasher?
Brunskole said that plastics are commonly loaded on the uppermost racks away from the lower heating element, but you should always refer to the manufacturer's recommended washing cycles and rack loading guidelines. Even if plastic take-out containers have a dishwasher-safe label on them, check the manufacturer's manual first to see what can and can't be washed.
Where do you put dishes, cups, and utensils?
Yahoodain said that loading your dishwasher is specific to your machine and typically mapped out in the user manual, especially for machines that have specific wash zones or half-load options.
Generally, according to Brunskole, "It's a good idea to position items at an angle to help with drainage, with the top rack commonly used for smaller items and larger on the bottom. For utensils, some dishwashers have an upper utensil rack or a silverware basket on the bottom. Whichever style you choose, review the manual before you get started to learn the best way to load your dishwasher."
Glossary
Wash zone: Your dishwasher has multiple areas that can be washed in different ways — these are wash zones. Typically a dishwasher will have two wash zones, the upper and lower racks, giving you the option to wash both or just one. This comes in handy when you only have half a load of dishes to clean.
Filter: Your dishwasher filter prevents pieces of food from ending up back on your dishes or clogging your drain. These can be either self-cleaning or manual versions, so make sure to follow the manufacturer's instructions on how to keep them clean.
Sensor wash: Using a beam of light to analyze your dishes, sensor wash dishwashers can determine the best cycle, temperature, and duration to clean specific dish loads.
Lower rack: This is the main storage area of the dishwasher and is used for items like plates, pots, pans, and larger bowls.
Top rack: This is the second rack of the dishwasher and is used for cups, glasses, and oddly shaped utensils that may be too tall for the bottom rack.
Third rack: Located at the top of the dishwasher, this is a thin tray that slides out and provides the ideal space to lay down smaller or irregularly shaped items. A third rack can sometimes act as the utensil basket, freeing up valuable space on the bottom rack.
Settings: Each machine has different settings, but these are among the most common based on my research.
Normal: The standard cycle that should be used on typical, moderately soiled loads. The duration can vary depending on the machine, but on average lasts about two hours.
Eco: Lower washing and rinsing temperatures to minimize the amount of energy and water used. This cycle can take longer than normal, up to 2.5hours.
Auto: A sensor analyzes how soiled the dishes are and selects the best cycle.
Quick Wash: This setting uses more water and higher temperatures to get your dishes done quickly, though this can sometimes result in less effective results than a normal wash. This cycle can usually run between 30 and 60 minutes.
Sanitize: Uses extra-hot water (above 150 degrees F) to sanitize your dishes and destroy bacteria. This is recommended when washing dishes that have come in contact with raw meat or any other source of potential bacteria. This cycle is usually used in addition to another cycle and should add about 30 minutes to the wash time.
Pots & Pans: This setting uses extra water to ensure your extra-large cookware is cleaned effectively. This cycle tends to run about 2.5hours.
Check out our other great guides to kitchen appliances and fixtures
Insider Reviews tests a lot of products each year, so when something stands out, we take note.
There's nothing we love more than a random product that turns out to be incredibly practical.
From a lemon juicer to a utility cart, these are the most useful products we've tried so far.
The Insider Reviews team has tested out a lot of products over the past few years. There are plenty of items that stand out for being innovative, practical, comfortable, and adding value to our lives in a plethora of other ways. Then, there are the products that are so useful we cannot imagine what we'd do without them.
These items, whether we've purchased them ourselves or tested them out for work, have become mainstays in our lives, helping us to solve even the most mundane of life's inconveniences. From big-ticket items like a $200 robot vacuum to small ones like a $10 nylon bag, these are the most useful products we have tried or bought, and know we will continue using for years to come.
Check out our list of the 33 most useful products we've discovered, below:
A robovac that vacuums your home even when you really don't want to
I've saved probably five hours a week worth of cleaning time because of this vacuum. All I have to do is set it on an automatic timer to run its course every day, and it travels around my apartment, clearing molding between rooms with ease. This one isn't advanced enough to track its route so sometimes it'll go over the same spots, but the ones with all those special features tend to cost a lot more than this one (which is pretty reasonable in my opinion). In addition to scheduling cleanings, you can also use the remote control to clean a specific area by directing the vacuum's route yourself. It's slim enough to make it under dressers and couches with low clearance, and strong enough to suck up all the cat hair and litter in my apartment. — Sally Kaplan
A headband that makes falling asleep to music easy
I like to fall asleep to music, but it's a notoriously difficult task to find headphones that are comfortable (ie. slim enough) to sleep on top of at night without waking up with a sore neck. These AcousticSheep headphones look a bit like a science experiment, but they're the best ones I've found yet: comfortable, loud (but not loud enough to disturb others), and a battery life that lasts all night. You can listen to soothing sounds from an app or your favorite Spotify playlist via Bluetooth. — Mara Leighton
A button-up duvet cover that is convenient and comfortable
I can't praise Casper's duvet cover enough for its superior design details that solve for the annoying inconveniences of typical duvet covers. There's no way you'll button up the wrong buttons and have to start all over again because there are no buttons, just a zipper and snaps in the corners. And if your duvet shifts around inside, there are hidden openings that let you adjust the duvet without having to undo the whole cover. — Ellen Hoffman
My favorite bedding brand Brooklinen recently updated the design of its pillowcases to include envelope closures, which means there are no open ends, and there's never any annoying pillow spillage. It's small, clever improvements like this that keep me coming back to the brand time and again for new sheets, comforters, bath towels, and even scented candles. — Ellen Hoffman
A set of packing cubes that are great organizers and space savers
Eagle Creek Pack-It Specter Compression Cube Set, $33.99 (two-pack), available at Moosejaw
If you're planning on traveling anytime soon, do yourself a favor and pick up some of these packing cubes before you go. These water-resistant, nylon bags help you keep clothing organized so you won't waste time digging through your suitcase searching for what you need. Most importantly, they are great space-savers thanks to compression zippers that help you squeeze a lot of clothing into your small luggage.— Remi Rosmarin
An easy, affordable device that centralizes your favorite streaming platforms
Life in my apartment would be much less interesting without our Fire TV Stick, which makes it easy to browse and watch almost any show or movie we feel like. Since each of my roommates subscribes to a different streaming service (Hulu, Netflix, Prime, etc.), we can combine them all into one central hub and never miss out on the latest film or episode. The menus are easy to navigate, it's Alexa-compatible, and the Fire TV app lets you control everything from your phone when you can't find the remote. The stick is compact and portable, and you can bring it with you when you travel as long as your hotel room has a TV and WiFi. — Connie Chen
If your cooking calls for a lot of juiced lemons or limes, or you just make a lot of guacamole, you need this $8 tool in your life. It's a serious game changer. Lemon seeds falling into your food will be a thing of the past. — Ellen Hoffman
A pair of wireless headphones that stay put while you run
Jaybird RUN True Wireless In-Ear Headphones, $99.99, available at Amazon and Best Buy
I spent a long time looking for wireless earbuds that both felt secure and were loud enough to drown out the monotony of pounding feet on a treadmill, and these are the best I've ever come across. They fit the bill perfectly, and they're tiny enough to fit in my jacket pocket or purse even in their charging case. They never fall out – or feel like they could – and they've got a great battery life: 12 hours on a full charge, and only five minutes in the charging case equaling one hour of playtime. They're also dirt-, sweat-, and water-resistant. Thanks to their convenience, I've even started using them on my commute or as a space-friendly travel alternative to bulky headphones for short trips. If I lost them, I'd easily fork over $150 to replace them. — Mara Leighton
A stylish reusable bag that is an eco-friendly alternative to plastic
Nothing fancy here — it's a nylon bag, but a sturdy, stylish, and versatile one at that. I carry one with me to lug heavy groceries (which I inevitably overbuy at the market every time) and to pack random knickknacks when I travel. Coming from a state where plastic bags are banned, I'm used to carrying reusable bags. They're so much better for the environment, and they're light and won't weigh you down. BAGGU's even folds down to a 5" x 5" square. — Connie Chen
An adhesive that gives you get the best grip on your tech
PopSocket grips are honestly one of the greatest inventions known to humankind. They make holding your tech a heck of a lot easier, especially when commuting. I avoided using them for a long time because I'm a contrarian and I hate giving in to popular trends, which was honestly no excuse. They are incredibly useful, and now I have one on every device including my phone, tablet, and Kindle. I even use the one on my phone to neatly wrap and store my headphones sometimes. — Sally Kaplan
I don't do trendy things as a rule, either, so I'm relieved I got my PopSocket before it was cool. I can't imagine using my phone without one now. The PopSocket grips aren't just cute and fun to look at, they're incredibly practical. They make holding and navigating your phone one-handed a breeze, and PopSockets double as a stand when you want to watch a video on your phone. — Malarie Gokey
A well-thought-out dish rack that will motivate you to wash your dishes
A large dish rack may not seem like a worthwhile investment, but believe me, it is. I bought Farberware's dish rack last summer, and it's changed my kitchen cleaning game. The rack has three holders for utensils, three spots on the side to dry glasses, and enough room in its main section to dry a sink-load of dishes. The rack itself is slightly slanted, so water can drain from your dishes directly into the sink. I realized that I wasn't doing my dishes as often as I should have because the idea of doing it in several loads was annoying. Now that I don't have that problem, the only thing I see when I look into the sink is the drain. — Brandt Ranj
A great water bottle for keeping beverages ice-cold on the go
40 oz. Wide-Mouth Vacuum Water Bottle (available in 11 colors), $29.93, available at REI
After using the Hydro Flask Rocks Cup and True Pint Glass for my hot and cold drinks at work, I wanted to get something that I could use when I'm not in the office. I went with the 40 oz. Wide-Mouth Vacuum Water Bottle and I've used it just about every day since purchasing it. Originally, I thought I'd only carry it to the gym since it holds enough water to get me through my workouts, but I've started to carry it with me whenever I know I'll be away from home for a while. Compared to normal water bottles, the Hydro Flask keeps my water cold for a much longer time. If I fill it with water and ice cubes in the morning, the ice cubes are usually still in there by the end of the day — even if it's very hot outside. — Amir Ismael
Quick-drying, lightweight towels that are great for humid weather
One of the worst things about humid, hot weather is that nothing dries — least of all the towels you have to use to dry off from multiple cold showers each day. I was lucky enough to get Crane & Canopy's lightweight Fouta Turkish cotton towels just in time for a heat wave, and I love them. They dry super quickly, they don't feel heavy on your body when it's hot, and they're really cute in your bathroom. —Malarie Gokey
I am not super tall (quite the opposite), but get cold very easily, which means that the moment I get out of the shower, I'm freezing. These bath sheets are huge (40 x 60), soft, dense, and warm me right up. I also like that they're not so plush that they don't dry easily or anything like that. You can also have them monogrammed for $8.— Grace High
A book membership service that will satisfy avid readers
Scribd is a reading app that gives subscribers unlimited access to hundreds of thousands of audiobooks, e-books, magazines, sheet music, and more for $9 per month. You can download titles for offline reading and add highlights and notes. In my experience, it's the best and broadest collection of titles for less than I pay for coffee in a week. It helps me read more, and it's about the only subscription I've been loyal to for a year and remained totally content with. — Mara Leighton
As an avid home chef I've accumulated way too many tools and utensils to fit in my kitchen drawers. I bought OXO's rotating utensil holder earlier this year, and never looked back. The holder is partitioned into three sections, so you can easily organize your tools based on which ones you use for certain types of cooking. And as silly as it may seem, the fact that this holder rotates makes it easy to get quick access to every tool you have stored inside. — Brandt Ranj
Hydrocolloid patches that help pesky pimples disappear
Mighty Patch Hydrocolloid Acne Absorbing Spot Dots, $13, available at Kohl's
These Mighty Patch stickers are the most effective acne weapon I've ever found, and both myself and fellow Insider Reviews reporter Connie Chen have sung their praises many times. Stick the spot dot over a blemish at night when one crops up, and you'll find that it is either gone or vastly diminished in severity and inflammation the next morning. The Hydrocolloid – originally used for treating wounds – draws impurities out from pores without harsh chemicals or drying products, and the sticker cover protects blemishes from your wandering hands as well as dirt, dust, and germs so it can recover quickly and effectively. If you ever get a blemish and want the power to gently solve it overnight, you should try these. — Mara Leighton
Sunscreen that won't ruin your makeup or make you feel greasy during the middle of the day
I don't love applying sunscreen, but I know I need it, so I do each morning. Even as an avid SPF-user, unless I'm lounging on the beach or doing some other outdoor activities in the sun, I'm usually not applying as frequently as I should. This setting mist delivers SPF 50 with an easy-to-apply spritz. It won't ruin your makeup, make your hands greasy, or add an unwanted white cast to your skin, but it will protect your skin and give your skin a nice refresh in the meantime. — Remi Rosmarin
My apartment is small and it operates with master switches — meaning one switch controls every outlet in a given room. Since most of my outlets are covered by furniture, I got the Philips Hue smart bulbs (after hearing so many positive recommendations from colleagues) so I could control the lights by my Amazon Echo or Hue app on my phone, and wake up to a warm glow on dark and dismal winter mornings. I've said it before, but the Philips Hue smart bulbs have surprised my by being one of the best and most convenient home upgrades I've ever made — not to mention fantastic for creating the ideal atmosphere (these have 50,000 shades of white light for you to play with, from night light to "energize").— Mara Leighton
An all-natural sunscreen that is better for your body and the environment
Raw Elements Face and Body Natural Sunscreen, $18.95, available at REI
Chemical-based sunscreen is really noxious stuff, and as someone who spends a lot of time outdoors, the last thing I want to do is poison the very reefs which both dazzle and feed me. Oxybenzone, one of the primary ingredients in chemical-based sunscreens, is a chemical that we know almost nothing about, other than it kills corals.
The other side of the coin is that natural, mineral-based sunscreens are predominantly made with thick, gloppy zinc that leaves us looking like The Friendly Ghost. Raw Elements' Face and Body is among the best solutions I've tried, and if you make sure to apply it well ahead of your day outside, it will soak in very well, and stay there better than most chemical-based alternatives. Their plastic-free tins are also a nice touch, and I reuse them for just about anything and everything. — Owen Burke
Boxes that help easily organize a big shoe collection
The Container Store's Drop-Front Shoe Boxes are easily the best investment I've made in keeping my large (and growing) shoe collection organized. Stacking regular shoe boxes turns out to be a total mess when you want a pair from the bottom, but with these clever shoe boxes, that's not a problem. They're designed to stack as high as you'd like and since you can open them from the front, you'll never have to unstack boxes to get a pair of shoes out. You can read my full review here. — Amir Ismael
This cooler has become one of my best friends this year. It's so compact and well-sealed that I can take it just about anywhere, and transporting food and drink — be it on the train, to the park or beach for a picnic, or anywhere, really — has become much less of a chore. Backpack coolers have been a big hit recently, and I'm also a big fan of the IceMule BOSS for bigger, longer trips, the YETI BackFlip has been my all-around favorite this year. Oh, and it also holds ice for a really long time. — Owen Burke
A dry bag that keeps your belongings easily accessible and dry
The Sidekick Dry has to be one of my favorite innovations from YETI yet. If there's one issue I've had with every dry bag I've owned, it's been opening and closing it, especially with wet or dirty hands in the outdoors. Dry bags require about three or four even rolls at the top in order to seal properly, and if you find yourself needing to get in and out of them repeatedly, they become a real pain. The Sidekick Dry eliminates that conundrum as much as anything could. A sturdy Velcro tab and a zip-lock-like magnetic seal accommodate even the most debilitated, preoccupied hands, and I've been able to pull out all sorts of essentials in a heartbeat thanks to it. — Owen Burke
A small hand steamer and iron that perks up your clothes in a pinch
This hybrid iron and steamer has taken the place of two devices for me. Though it's not ideal for ironing large pieces of clothing or linen sheets, it's perfect for steaming out wrinkles on most things in my closet and crisping up collars and sleeves. — Sally Kaplan
A drain protector that catches all hairs that cross its path
Much to my partner's chagrin, my hair is constantly clogging the shower drain. So on a whim, I bought the internet famous TubShroom (it has nearly 15,000 reviews on Amazon and a 4.2-star rating) to mitigate the problem. And it's not a gimmick. It works like a charm, it's easy to clean, and best of all, it's only $13. — Ellen Hoffman
I wear pants a lot and this is my absolute favorite pair. They are not cheap at $138 per pair and they seem to be immune to Bonobos' sales, but I still love them anyway. In November of 2017 I called them "the perfect pair of pants" and I stand by that. I bought two more pairs this year. They look professional but feel like casual pants so I even find myself wearing them on weekends. These pants are water and stain resistant, stretch, fit great and once you buy a pair you'll see what I'm talking about. We've featured them in a few other stories, one of which you can read here, if you need further convincing. — Breton Fischetti
A pair of glasses that protect your eyes from the harsh blue light of computers, phones, and other tech
These under-$20 blue light reflecting glasses were among the most life-changing accessories I've acquired this year. I only wish I'd gotten them sooner. I've always noticed that my eyes were exhausted by the end of a day's worth of glaring at a computer screen, but I never really thought to do anything about it. I've tried a few different pairs, but ZENNI's have been my favorite, far and away. I don't feel like I have to go find some sort of dark chamber in which to regather my vision after a day in the office. — Owen Burke
Peak's 20L EveryDay Backpack is basically the perfect backpack for, well, every day. It doubles as a camera bag, but works for just about everything else, too. Movable, adjustable shelves let you reconfigure the bag on the fly, and comfortable, well-designed padding and straps make it easy to carry even when it's full. It's become my go-to commute bag, as well as my camera day bag for when I'm traveling. You can read my full review here. — David Slotnick
Instant coffee that works when you need a good brew in a pinch
Starbucks Via Medium Roast Colombia Instant Coffee, 8-count, $6.49, available at Target
When I'm out and about and can't rely on the freshly-brewed coffee of either the Insider office or at home, I love the Starbucks VIA Columbia as a great backup. All I have to do is mix this instant-coffee packet into a cup of hot water, and it mixes to the perfect strength and texture. — Shalom Goodman
My posture gets worse and worse, especially when my job requires me to be posted over my computer all day. This Ikea laptop stand angles my laptop during meetings and forces me to acknowledge my slumped position. — Jacqueline Saguin
It's so great I bought two. I keep one in my room as a makeshift bar cart and bookshelf. Each shelf is roomy and gives a lot of space to both store and display items. I typically throw necessities on the top like keys and purses so I can grab them as I'm heading out the door. The other cart is nestled in my bathroom because I ran out of cabinet room. It makes my overflowing skincare stock easy to reach, which helps me get ready faster in the morning. — Jacqueline Saguin
Since I've been working entirely from home, my kitchen table area turned into a mess of laptop, phone, and tablet charging cords. I hated the tangled eyesore it created. These cable management boxes were such a simple but revolutionary solution. Now all my cords are tucked neatly out of sight, but my kitchen table can still act as a functional work space. Plus, it comes with zip ties, cord keepers, and more so you can actually keep the cords rolled up and tidy within the box. I like the look of the wood-print top, but they also come in plain black and white. — Hannah Freedman, associate travel editor
A handheld milk frother that whisks your drink in seconds
I'm obsessed with this little milk frother. It's so much easier to clean than the fancier (and much more expensive) versions and it makes my morning coffee taste so much better! Plus, it's just fun to use. I'll forever be grateful to the friend who recommended it to me. — Ashley Phillips, style and beauty editor
Anthony Mackie's new Netflix original movie, "Outside the Wire," was the streamer's most popular movie this week. And Robert Rodriguez's "We Can Be Heroes," which topped the list last week, is still holding steady at No. 2.
Every week, the streaming search engine Reelgood compiles for Insider a list of which movies have been most prominent on Netflix's daily top-10 lists that week. On Reelgood, users can browse Netflix's entire movie library and sort by IMDb or Rotten Tomatoes ratings.
Below are Netflix's 9 most popular movies of the week in the US:
Description: "On a farm outside New York, Max aims to boost his confidence while in the city, Snowball attempts to rescue a tiger cub and Gidget pretends to be a cat."
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 61%
What critics said: "It's never a great sign when the biggest laughs a movie gets are during the end credits."— New York Post
8. "Homefront" (2013)
Description: "When an ex-DEA agent is widowed, he moves with his young daughter to a small town, but his quiet life is shattered by a meth-making drug trafficker."
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 43%
What critics said: "A maniacally muddled and maudlin thriller, co-written and produced by Sly Stallone."— London Evening Standard
Description: "A cheap, powerful drug emerges during a recession, igniting a moral panic fueled by racism. Explore the complex history of crack in the 1980s."
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 67%
What critics said: "The movie takes us back and also forward, into the sadder and wiser present day, when we can now see how crack changed the culture."— Variety
6. "Good Burger" (1997)
Description: "Working at a neighborhood fast-food joint, two teens try to save the restaurant when a giant burger franchise fires up the competition."
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 32%
What critics said: "If you like your burger well-done, you're in for a disappointment."— New York Daily News
5. "Pinkfong & Baby Shark's Space Adventure" (2019)
Description: "Joined by new friends from other planets, Pinkfong and Baby Shark explore outer space and search for missing star pieces to return home."
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: N/A
What critics said: N/A
4. "Penguins of Madagascar" (2014)
Description: "Elite penguin spies Skipper, Kowalski, Rico and Private join forces with the suave agents of the North Wind to defeat power-mad genius Octavius Brine."
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 73%
What critics said: "These penguins really are cute, the animation is consistently appealing, and the movie is obviously bound for megamoolah at the box office."— Wall Street Journal
3. "The Vanished" (2020)
Description: "When their daughter disappears during a family vacation, two terrified parents launch their own investigation that soon exposes local secrets."
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 15%
What critics said: "The Vanished does its best to entertain, yet with two central protagonists who ultimately are more like villains, the movie never really works."— CBR
2. "We Can Be Heroes" (2020, Netflix original)
Description: "When alien invaders capture Earth's superheroes, their kids must learn to work together to save their parents — and the planet."
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 73%
What critics said: "We Can Be Heroes is a cheerful and colorful take on the superhero genre with a powerful message about empowering younger generations to take the reins and do better than their parents."— IGN
1. "Outside the Wire" (2021, Netflix original)
Description: "In the near future, a drone pilot sent into a war zone finds himself paired with a top-secret android officer on a mission to stop a nuclear attack."
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 37%
What critics said: "Despite strong lead performances and some intriguing themes, this rarely rises above being a serviceable action thriller."— Empire
Having the right putter in your bag can help dramatically improve your overall golf game and improve your putting accuracy.
The best putters provide a high level of feedback that allow you to feel out and correct any mistakes in your form and technique.
Our top pick, the Titleist Scotty Cameron Select Newport 3, offers a customizable weight and feel, is forgiving on mis-hits, and has a milled face that delivers true ball roll.
Table of Contents: Masthead Sticky
Golf can be a highly frustrating sport as nearly every aspect of the game affords a wide range of potential outcomes, both good and terrible. A poor drive off the tee can make your golf ball disappear, while any number of slices and draws on the fairway may lead to hazards like sand, water, or knee-high grass.
Then there's the green. This small patch of well-manicured grass is the last hurdle you need to clear to move onto the next hole — so long as you're able to reliably putt. Though plenty of this comes down to skill, some of it concerns the type of putter you choose to keep in your bag. What seems simple enough in design can actually have a dramatic impact on your game.
To help take the guesswork out of which putter fits your game best, we've compiled the following guide of the best currently available. Our picks feature noticeable brands like Titleist but also smaller companies like Odyssey and Pinemeadow. At the end of this guide, we've also included some tips on how to shop for a putter, as well as some insight into the different putter types and what features to keep in mind.
Pros: Forgiving on mis-hits, removable weights in the heel and toe for customizing the putter's feel, milled face of the putter gives you a true ball roll, new left-handed version will be available
Cons: Takes practice to dial in the desired distance consistently, top of putter may reflect sun's glare, very expensive
The Titleist Scotty Cameron Select Newport 3 putter delivers the latest materials and technology you'd expect in a high-end putter, yet it all fits into a sharp-looking design that resembles classic putters.
At the bottom of the putter, you'll find two round weights that you can swap out to give the putter a different feel. These weights, which range from 10 grams to 20 grams apiece, allow you to control the heel/toe weight of the putter. This putter provides a great toe flow in the stroke because the shaft is connected to the putter's heel with a 3/4-inch offset.
The head of the Select Newport 3 consists of stainless steel, while the putter face is made from milled aluminum. The face's material helps to give you a higher level of feedback in the putting stroke than most metal faces.
Best mallet-style putter
If you struggle to properly align your putts, the Odyssey O-Works Red 2-Ball putter gives you a visual clue with circles that look like golf balls printed on the mallet head.
Pros: Favorable design, marked improvement over past versions, red color gives you a clear contrast with the two white circles, the design is extremely forgiving of mis-hits
Cons: Expensive putter, some people find the red color and the two white circles on top of the blade distracting
Golfers aren't shy about providing opinions on putter designs. But when it comes to the 2-ball design of the Odyssey O-Works Red 2-Ball putter, those opinions increase quite a bit.
Some people don't like the look of the 2-ball putter design, which features two white circles about the size of golf balls directly in the center of the putter face. Other people like the way the two white circles help them visualize the path the putter should follow, moving those white circles through the white golf ball during the putting stroke.
Those who like the design and find it easier to use swear by it. The latest version of the Odyssey 2-ball putter is a high-level performer that will be a popular choice among those who like a mallet-style putter.
One of the biggest improvements in this new version of the Odyssey O-Works is the micro hinge face insert, which consists of stainless steel and delivers a high level of topspin on your putting strokes, even when you have a mis-hit. The insert also should deliver a bit more distance than you may have received in the past.
Pros: Great price point for a mallet style putter, extra weight gives the PGX a high-quality feel, white color of the putter head contrasts nicely with the alignment lines, no concerns with sun glare on putter head
Cons: Longevity of this putter is questionable, doesn't contain high-end materials found in more expensive putters that help with feel and vibration reduction
For some people, gaining confidence in a putter requires spending $100 or more. Oddly enough, you could hand them an inexpensive putter and it's as if their confidence disappears.
But if you are more worried about what a putter does versus what it costs, the Pinemeadow Golf PGX putter features a heavy mallet-style putter that should give you confidence. It delivers some of the same looks and putting feel that you'd find with a putter that costs two or three times more.
Certainly, the PGX doesn't have some of the high-end materials in the faceplate and in the insert behind the putter face that you'll find in the high-quality putters elsewhere on our list. But for beginners still learning how to develop a feel for putting, this one is a nice introductory putter.
You can get the PGX in both left- and right-handed versions, as well as in both men's and women's versions.
Shape and weight balance play a key role in the design of modern putters and some putter designs aim to compensate for oddities in your putting stroke.
Different shapes of putters can also help people gain more confidence in their stroke. On the other hand, some may find certain shapes distracting to the eye. It's important to try to match the type of putter you're using to your natural putting stroke path and to your personal preference on putter head shape.
Here are the different putter styles to keep in mind while shopping:
Blade: This style of putter has been around for more than a century. It has a rectangular-ish shape. The shaft extends from the heel of the putter, while the toe of the putter can have some an upward angle or curve to it. Its design works well for a golfer with a straight putting swing path.
Heel/Toe: A heel/toe style putter, which has extra weight at either end of the rectangular putter, is an evolution of the blade-style putter. The weight distribution should help you to keep the putter online better. With a heel/toe putter, you may have the ability to remove or add weight to the putter as well. This allows a golfer to adjust the weight of the heel/toe putter to match multiple types of swing paths.
Mallet: The mallet putter uses a deep shape in the back of the putter. This design creates a lower center of gravity which reduces spin when you have an off-center ball strike. Many different shapes of mallet putters are available, including those with a rounded back or a squarish look.
Key features to keep in mind
Although all putters have a flat area that makes contact with the ball when putting, they use different materials to generate feel when putting. When putting on especially fast greens, for example, you may want a softer material in the putter face.
However, the best advice is to take some time to figure out which type of material gives you the best feel when putting, as each golfer can have different needs.
Metal Face: The face of the putter may consist of almost any type of metal, including steel, bronze, aluminum, or titanium. A metal face will deliver a solid feel of contract. Some metal faces include a milled (or rough or grooved) surface, designed to help eliminate skidding and deliver the proper topspin on the ball.
Insert Face: An insert face consists of softer materials than metal. Through the insert, manufacturers can redistribute the weight across the face of the putter to help you keep the swing path on-center. An insert face should give you a softer feel in the ball-strike than you'll have with a metal face.
Combination Face: Some putters have an insert inside the putter, providing the benefits of that softer material, while also including a metal face that covers the softer insert. Some golfers prefer the feel of this type of putter.
A comfortable bra is something you can never own too many of.
Tommy John, the popular underwear brand, makes some of our favorite bras ($48-$72).
They're soft, supportive, and currently available in two fabrics and four silhouettes.
There was once a time when I was positively itching to release myself from the shackles of my bra by the time I got home. I don't have that problem anymore, thanks to bras from new brands like ThirdLove, Lively, and True&Co. I don't even mind wearing my bra the whole day.
I believe you can't have too much of a good thing, at least in the case of a comfortable bra. That's why you should be excited by the newest bra launch by undergarments brand Tommy John.
As product testers and reviewers, there are brands we like, and then there are brands we revere; Tommy John certainly belongs to the latter. The new bra collection is the final nail in the trophy case of Tommy John's greatest hits, which include boxers, underwear, and loungewear.
The bra collection currently consists of two types of fabric (Cool Cotton and Second Skin) and these four silhouettes:
It took two years to develop, during which time the team considered important features like support, fit, breathability, and flexibility, and how they would come together in one all-around comfortable bra.
The Cool Cotton Lightly Lined Wireless Bra, for example, has a perforated cup lining to keep you sweat free on the muggiest days. Meanwhile, the Second Skin version has one single, seamless back band, rather than a hook closure, a design that works better with the silky nature of the fabric.
If you don't need as much support but still want to cover up, Tommy John also makes bralettes — casual but no less functional undergarments. You can refer to the diagram below to decide which style is best for you.
In terms of style, the bras are simple. Nowadays, however, comfort — usually driven by simple, pared-down design — is the new sexy, and the Tommy Johns and ThirdLoves of the world are overshadowing traditional brands like Victoria's Secret as a result.
We tested four of the bras and you can find our detailed thoughts on each below. The bottom line is that they live up to their claims of comfort, albeit with a couple minor fit concerns.
I was excited to meet the bra envisioned by the same minds behind the most comfortable underwear in my closet, and — for the most part — the bra lived up to high expectations.
The Second Skin Bralette, like the Second Skin underwear, is next-level soft, cool, and comfortable for a full day of wear. While I typically avoid bralettes as a 32DD, this gave me ample support thanks to substantial materials, adjustable straps, and the overall combined strength of an unbroken system (sort of like a sling) that results from a wide, non-clasped band in the back.
However, that latter bit also happens to be my singular complaint. As a 32DD with a relatively narrow band size and a comparatively larger chest, getting this on without a clasp was not enjoyable. For a few seconds, it felt like squeezing into a plastic straw. But, given all the other pros, that certainly isn't a deal breaker. Maybe just skip it if you're a similar size and doing eight backstage changes per night. — Mara Leighton, senior reporter
I was a bit nervous to try this bra, as I've never had success with wireless bras. But I had a great experience with the Cool Cotton Lightly Lined Wireless. It feels super light, and offers excellent support; I even prefer it to some of my underwire bras. As a 34DD who often finds straps and bands to be uncomfortably tight, these were no trouble to get into, and fit perfectly on the first try. I also enjoy the underwear, which is an excellent fit (I'm comfortable wearing it with spandex and tight dresses), and made of unbelievably soft material. — Monica Chin, former senior tech reporter
I have two distinct temperatures: freezing cold and overheating, which is why I was excited to try this ultra-breathable bra that claimed to keep me perspiration-free. I wore this bra on a warmer day while running errands and was so happy because this bra wasn't drenched in sweat at the end of the day.
However, I was expecting the bra to be lightly padded, but the padding was thicker than every other bra I own. I chose my size in this bra based off of the company's size guide and actually wound up sizing down from my typical size, 32C, so I was even more confused as to why the padding was so thick. I loved how this bra was soft and kept me cool, and if it wasn't quite as thick, it could have been comfortable enough to wear often. — Ciannah Gin, former editorial fellow
I pretty much live in bralettes during the weekend — especially after trying Tommy John's, I can't imagine going back to bras. The Scoop Bralette is comfortable for many reasons. Individually, they seem like small details, but they all add up to an undergarment that's the whole package. The Second Skin fabric, my favorite of the brand's, is buttery soft, smooth, and stretchy. There are no itchy, annoying tags. The pads are removable. And there's a "Power Mesh" that supports my chest without squishing it. — Connie Chen, senior reporter
I'm a big fan of Tommy John underwear. My underwear drawer is almost exclusively filled with Cool Cotton Briefs ($22), so I was excited when the team found out the company was launching women's bras. I decided to try the Second Skin Triangle Bralette as a replacement for the sports bras I normally wear when I'm home; the first time I tried it on I didn't love it, but once I removed the pads (I hate really any amount of padding in bras) everything changed. The bralette is soft and stretchy with adjustable straps and offers comparable support to the sports bras I typically gravitate to for at-home comfort. The small size fits my 34C bust perfectly. — Ellen Hoffman, excutive editor
If rice is a staple in your diet, a rice cooker is a convenient appliance to own. As someone who frequently makes sushi, I know firsthand that cooking rice perfectly is an art form. You need to carefully choose your rice, rinse it multiple times, and ensure an airtight seal as it simmers. While world-class sushi restaurants use a pot on a stove to cook their rice, your typical home chef just needs an easy way to cook well-textured rice. This is where rice cookers reign supreme.
With most rice cookers, you just measure out the rice, pour in water to the appropriate line, press a couple of buttons, and wait for the machine to let you know your rice is ready. Basically, you can set it and forget it. Even if you are a seasoned pro when it comes to cooking rice on the stove, a rice cooker is indispensable when you want to free up burners or if you simply don't have access to a stovetop.
The rice cookers included in our guide are durable, have intuitive functions, and can be used for several varieties of rice. If you're not sure where to begin your search, jump to the bottom of this guide for helpful info on what to look for when buying a rice cooker.
If you are looking for a cooker that produces delicious results no matter what type of rice you put in, the Zojirushi Neuro Fuzzy Rice Cooker is the best.
Pros: Adjusts to the type of rice, uses "fuzzy logic," produces tender rice, small footprint
Cons: Somewhat slower than other options
What sets the Zojirushi Neuro Fuzzy Rice Cooker apart is its use of "fuzzy logic." Basically, a microcomputer adjusts the cooking time and temperature to adapt to the rice, whether it's brown, sweet, white, or porridge. At the bottom of the inner body of the cooker, there is a thermal sensor that keeps tabs on the rice and reports back to the microcomputer, which makes the appropriate adjustments.
The nonstick internal cooking pan features handy lines indicating how much water to add for each type of rice. Both the cooking pan and inner lid can be removed for easy cleaning, though they are not dishwasher-safe.
Other features include a large LCD screen, programmable delay timer for having your rice ready when you get home from work, handle and retractable cord for easy transport, reheating cycle, and an extended keep warm mode. There are two sizes: 5.5-cup and 10-cup. Both come with a one-year warranty.
Senior guides editor Les Shu grew up in a household where rice was served nearly every night. His family has relied on Zojirushi cookers because they consistently make perfect rice and rice porridge. The 5.5-cup model is actually the model his parents now use after downsizing from a larger cooker.
Senior reporter Connie Chen has also used Zojirushi cookers in her family home for many years and loves their reliability, compact size, and ease of use.
The best on a budget
The Oster 6-Cup Rice Cooker is affordable, doesn't take up much space, and has a detached glass lid that is easy to clean.
Pros: Inexpensive, glass lid, great for white, sushi, and sticky rice
Cons: No timer, actually only produces about four standard cups of cooked rice
The Oster 6-Cup Rice Cooker is the only option with a tempered glass lid. The compact size of the appliance allows for faster cooking, and the lid lets you monitor the progress of your rice. The "6-cup" size mentioned in the name of this appliance does not refer to a standard US cup but rather the slightly smaller cup that comes with most rice cookers.
There is only one button so the Oster rice cooker couldn't be easier to use. Yet, there is no timer or alarm that lets you know when the rice is ready. Instead, you might be able to hear the audible click that occurs when the device switches from Cook to Keep Warm mode. You'll also see an indicator light switch modes as well. Both the inner pot and lid are removable for hand washing. Oster backs this product with a one-year limited warranty.
Expert testers have found the Oster to clean up effortlessly and the rice quality to be terrific, particularly white rice and sushi rice. Brown rice, however, can be somewhat dry.
This cooker doesn't take up much space and is ideal for one- or two-person households.
The best multipurpose rice cooker
The Aroma Housewares Digital Rice Cooker is an affordable appliance for cooking 20 cups of rice as well as steaming vegetables and slow cooking.
Pros: Large capacity, several uses, including steaming vegetables
Cons: The attached lid can be difficult to clean
The Aroma Housewares Digital Rice Cooker is unique in that it can steam vegetables and meat while rice cooks. There are easy-to-program controls for slow cooking, flash rice (speeds up the cooking time for grains that usually take longer), steaming, brown rice, and white rice.
It also has a keep warm function and a 15-hour delay timer, which is useful for when you want your rice and vegetables to be ready when you get home from work.
The Aroma rice cooker yields 20 cups of cooked rice and comes with a serving spatula, rice measuring cup, and steam tray. The inner cooking pot features measurement lines that make it easy to determine how much water to add. And, the pot is removable for cleaning.
Thanks to its Saute-Then-Simmer function, the cooker is great for any recipe that first requires sauteing your ingredients. You can save time and space by switching directly to the simmer step to make dishes like risotto or chili.
The best for GABA rice
If you are looking for an affordable fuzzy logic cooker that can help you enjoy the health benefits of GABA rice, the Cuckoo Electric Heating Rice Cooker is an excellent solution.
Pros: Uses fuzzy logic, keeps rice warm without drying out for 24-plus hours, has GABA rice cooking function
The Cuckoo rice cooker produces up to 12 cups of cooked rice. The inner pot has a non-stick surface and is removable for easy cleaning, though it's not dishwasher safe. The company offers a one-year warranty on parts and labor.
Impressively, it can keep your rice warm for an entire day, so you'll have fresh rice whenever you want it.
What to consider when buying a rice cooker
Based on our research and survey of home cooks, here's what to look for when shopping for a rice cooker.
Basic or advanced
We find that rice cookers typically come in two forms: basic models with a heating element at the bottom and simple, one-touch operation, and more advanced variants that utilize a computer that better regulates the cooking process. Regardless, both automate the rice-cooking process.
If you're looking to cook rice quickly with no-fuss, a basic rice cooker should suffice. However, it won't cook rice evenly (in our experience you'll need to adjust the rice-water ratio to find the sweet spot), the rice tends to crisp at the bottom of the bowl, and it loses heat during the post-cooking/warming stage. When shopping, you may also find basic rice cookers that incorporate a sealed lid and heating elements all-around the unit to ensure more even cooking, such as this option from Zojirushi.
For those who must have perfectly cooked rice or like to prepare different varieties of rice, you may want to look at more advanced cookers that utilize a microcomputer, typically labeled as "fuzzy logic." The most popular brands include Panasonic, Zojirushi, Tiger, and Cuckoo. With smart technology, these high-tech rice cookers ensure even cooking by better regulating water, pressure, and steam. They have dedicated settings for rice type, as well as oatmeal and porridge. Some even chime when the rice is ready to eat and are better at keeping rice warm. However, they aren't fast as the computer requires time to make adjustments, and some people may find the operation to be cumbersome. Still, we find that these advanced rice cookers consistently churn out the best-cooked rice.
Capacity
Household rice cookers come in various sizes — as small as 3 cups, and up to 10 cups. (There are commercial-grade rice cookers that hold up to 45 cups if you're feeding an army). Note that a cup is a lot of rice after it has been cooked, so a 3-cup cooker could suffice for a small family. Ultimately, choosing the right capacity will depend on your household size and eating habits, as well as budget and kitchen counter space.
Multicookers
Nearly all multicookers (or electric pressure cookers), such as those from Instant Pot, offer a rice function. In somes ways, a multicooker is really just a souped-up rice cooker: there's a heating element at the bottom, and it uses steam to cook the rice. However, multicookers are sealed and also utilize pressure cooking, which speeds up the process. But like a basic rice cooker, you'll need to be mindful of the water-rice ratio, as well as the pressure setting. Check out our guide for the best multicookers.
Accessories
The most basic rice cooker should include a lid, metal bowl (preferably nonstick), measuring cup, and either a spoon or spatula, which are all you really need. As you move up in price, you may get accessories like vegetable steaming trays, a holder for the spoon or spatula, and nonstick bowls made from high-quality materials.
Budget
A basic, 3-cup rice cooker can be had for around $15. Of course, the price climbs when you up the capacity and features. We find that you shouldn't have to spend more than $30 for a basic rice cooker. If you want a "fuzzy logic" rice cooker, expect to pay at least $120 and as much as $300 or more.
Measuring cup size
It's also worth noting that the measuring cups that come with rice cookers typically are smaller than a standard eight-ounce cup. Instead, they are about six ounces in volume. This is important to keep in mind when measuring out rice as you put it in your cooker. If you use a standard cup, you are likely to end up with tough, undercooked rice.
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Although school may look different this year, a lunch box is still essential for on-the-go learning.
Our picks give you the best lunch boxes for kids ranging in age from preschool to college and everything in between.
Heading back to school this spring looks different everywhere, which means some products on your back-to-school shopping list may be omitted. For the most part, however, a good-quality, well-designed lunch box is a lifetime staple. It's perfect for packing lunches for all school years. And, even if in-person learning is on a halt this season, these portable picks we rounded up are still practical — from snacking on a sandwich at a local library to bringing homework to a park nearby.
And, while staying safe is first priority, putting together a nutritious and well-balanced lunch is another healthy practice to adopt. Jennifer Hyland, RD, a pediatric dietitian at Cleveland Clinic, shared lunch meal prep ideas for school goers of all ages and how to include younger children in packing their plate, too.
To hold a school lunch, drinks (and also snacks — let's not forget snacks), our top lunch box picks are designed to fit everything you need, easy to transport, and prevent leaks. We put 12 lunch boxes through rigorous testing, which included drop tests, "smush" tests, leak tests, and more.
The Bentgo Kids Lunch Box comes in a variety of colors and designs, has multiple compartments for different foods, and didn't pop open in our drop test.
Pros: Multiple color options, leak- and drop-proof design, dishwasher- and microwave-safe, stayed closed in our drop test
Cons: Small compartments might be too small for kids with big appetites
Bentgo offers bento boxes in different sizes, but one of its most popular boxes is the smaller Bentgo Kids Lunch Box. The box has four main compartments and one smaller compartment that's perfect for dips and sauces.
This is the only box on our list that didn't fit a full sandwich. We were able to get half a sandwich in the biggest compartment. For most preschoolers, this isn't a problem. The bento tray can be removed from the box itself, and the tray is dishwasher- and microwave-safe.
The outer box has rubber edges and a drop-proof design, which is perfect for younger kids. In our drop test, the Bentgo box stayed shut — something that can't be said for many of the other boxes we tested. It was also one of the few bento-style boxes that my two-year-old was able to open herself.
Unlike many other bento boxes, the compartments in this box are leak-proof, making it much more convenient to pack any food without worrying about it ruining the other foods in the box. In our water test, water did not leak out of individual compartments. It took an ice cube 2.5 hours to melt in our temperature test.
This is a smaller lunchbox, with just the right amount of space to pack a filling meal for a preschooler, but it will be too small for older kids. We also tried the similar Bentgo Fresh, which is bigger for older kids.
The best for elementary school
The Wildkin Lunch Box comes in more than 30 unique prints, and it has a simple design that's user-friendly for elementary school students.
Pros: Over 30 prints, simple design, inexpensive, held shape in smush test
Cons: Personalization not available
Sometimes, simple is best, and that's certainly the case with the classic design of the Wildkin Lunch Box. It has one main rectangular compartment, an internal mesh pocket, and an external zipper pocket. The top carry handle is the right size for little hands.
Elementary school kids will love that there are several designs and colors available. From pink glitter to construction vehicles, there is a Wildkin Lunch Box to match every style. The material inside the lunch box can be wiped down and the seams are covered with the same slick material for easy cleaning.
The Wildkin Lunch Box is also the cheapest option on our list, making it great for families on a budget. It's a good size for elementary school, and if you need to stretch your money, it could easily work for preschool through middle school. The bag easily fit our full meal with room to add a water bottle.
This lunch box fared well in our smush test. It has the thickest insulation of any bag-style lunch box we tested, which helped it hold its shape when we piled books on top of it. That thick insulation kept the ice cube from melting for two hours in our temperature control test.
The main drawback of this bag is that it can't be personalized, which is something many elementary school students enjoy.
Pros: Multiple print options, holds temperature well, very spacious
Cons: No 'bells and whistles' (simply a standard lunch box)
The Pottery Barn Kids Dual Lunch Box comes in many different print options and can be personalized. Middle school can be a time of great self-expression and independence, which is why a bag with so many options will work for a wide range of middle schoolers. Kids can carry it with a handle, a longer shoulder strap, or they can hook it onto the Pottery Barn Kids Mackenzie Backpack.
The dual lunch box is a bigger bag, suitable for kids who need a lot of food as they experience rapid growth during their middle school years. We packed a full lunch in this bag and still had plenty of room to add a water bottle and some snacks to eat during after-school practice.
In our temperature-control test, an ice cube took 2.5 hours to melt in this bag, which was longer than most. It held up well in our smush test as well; the bag held its shape and didn't smush food when we piled books on top.
The interior of the bag is lined with food-safe vinyl that's easy to wipe down. The vinyl even covers the interior seams.
This is a relatively pricey bag, especially when you consider that it's only a bag. If you want reusable food containers or bento-style boxes to go in the bag, you'll need to purchase those separately.
The best for high school
The PlanetBox bento-style boxes are made of stainless steel, feature unique designs with interchangeable magnets, and they didn't pop open in our drop tests.
Pros: Stainless steel, stayed closed in drop test, can add personality with magnets or leave plain
Cons: Rover might not be big enough for larger appetites, expensive
We recommend PlanetBox's stainless steel bento-style boxes, which come in two sizes: Rover and Launch. I tested the smaller of the two: the Rover Box. I was able to fit a full lunch, but I had to squeeze the sandwich a bit. The Launch Box is best for bigger appetites. The Rover has five smaller compartments while the Launch has three larger compartments.
Usually, by high school, kids ditch the cute lunch boxes in favor of simplicity, but they don't want to completely give up their individuality. This is one of the reasons PlanetBox is our top pick for high school. Each box is plain stainless steel, but kids can choose unique magnets at no additional charge to add some personality.
The box itself is not leak-proof; water dripped right out in our test. You can buy leak-proof containers designed to fit into the compartments of the box. In our drop test, some of the magnets fell off, but the box did not pop open. In our temperature control test, ice took 2 hours and 45 minutes to melt, second only to PackIt, which has built-in ice packs.
I highly recommend pairing the Rover or Launch box with a carry bag. It includes internal elastic straps and pockets, as well as an external water bottle pouch and snack pocket. The bags come in many colors and patterns, some of which might even match school colors, like red, red and blue, purple, or green and yellow. Cleaning is easy: take off the magnets and pop the box into the dishwasher. It's also easy to wipe the bag interior.
PlanetBox isn't cheap, especially when you add on the carry bag and leak-proof containers. However, with such a durable stainless-steel design, this box can transition into college or serve as a solid hand-me-down. You can even purchase new magnets for less than $5 if you pass the box off to someone else.
Pros: Transfers well to professional life, durable stainless steel, fits plenty of food for a full meal or a whole day of snacks
Cons: Compartments aren't leak-proof
A lot of people don't think about lunch boxes when they're headed off to college. Most college freshmen are focused on the all-you-can-eat dining commons for their meals, but you shouldn't underestimate how much a lunch box will come in handy in college. Meal plan points run out, sometimes there isn't time to go to the dining hall between classes, and when students move off campus, they usually don't have a meal plan.
We love the LunchBots Large Trio Stainless Steel for college because it's simple, durable, and versatile. The lid didn't budge in our drop tests. The plain design won't have college students feeling like a middle-schooler toting around a lunch their mommy made, and it transfers well to professional life. It can also be used to carry just a few snacks for a long day on campus.
It's a stainless-steel bento box that's ideal for a large main dish and two sides. The main compartment is large enough to fit a sandwich and then some. If you're lucky enough to have a dishwasher in your apartment, it is dishwasher safe.
In our water test, water didn't leak out of the box as it did with the PlanetBox, but it also didn't stay contained in each compartment. Don't plan on packing runny or watery food without an upgrade to a bundle with silicone leak-proof containers.
You might want to buy a bag as well, especially if you need to add an ice pack or if you won't be able to get back to your dorm or apartment all day. The box fits neatly in the bottom of the bag, and the top leaves plenty of room to add extra food. Like PlanetBox, LunchBots can get pricey with all the add-ons.
Yumbox: Yumbox was my front-runner, and I really wanted to name it best for preschool … until it popped open in my drop test. My favorite thing about this bento box is that each section is labeled with a different food group. As a parent, I know how much easier this makes lunch prep. Unfortunately, that doesn't matter if your preschooler drops it and their lunch scatters across the floor.
OmieBox: This box holds the right amount of food for younger kids, and it even has a built-in compartment for hot foods. It has a handle on the box, making it easy for kids to carry without a bag. Unfortunately, this one also popped open in our drop test.
PackIt: This bag has built-in ice packs, so you can fold it up, pop it in the freezer overnight, and it's ready to keep lunch cold all day. What I didn't love is that it tends to stay in its folded freezer position even when you unfold it. Freezing it overnight also makes it impossible to pack lunches at night, unless you buy two that you switch out.
Skip Hop Zoo: The Zoo bag has friendly animal designs for young kids, and this bag is very inexpensive. However, the structure is flimsy, and it didn't hold up well in our smush test.
Sistema Klip-It Lunch Cube-To-Go: This is an inexpensive bento-style box that has three large main compartments. The large square shape doesn't fit well in many standard lunch bags, and it's awkward to carry without a bag.
Our testing methodology
We considered the following qualities and conducted the following tests with each lunch box:
Durability
As a former high school teacher, I've seen how students treat their school supplies, and it isn't pretty. A lunch box should be able to stand up to getting tossed in lockers, stuffed in backpacks, and dropped in the hallway. We conducted the following tests for durability:
Bento-style: We dropped lunch boxes from desk height and threw them against a wall.
Bags: We piled books on top of each bag to see if the lunch got smushed.
Capacity and containment
You may be surprised how much variation there is in the amount of food lunch boxes can hold and how well they hold the food. When determining our picks, we packed an average-sized lunch in each box.
With the exception of our pre-school pick, each lunch box in our guide fits the following meal: 1 sandwich, ½ cup strawberries, ½ cup carrots, some ranch dip, a string cheese, and a piece of chocolate.
We tested how well each bento-style box contained liquids by putting water in a section of the box then threw the box around.
Appearance
This can make all the difference. Younger kids might be more likely to eat their lunch if it's in a cool container with their favorite character, and older kids wouldn't be caught dead with a juvenile lunch box.
Temperature control
Keeping food at the proper temperature is important for your kid's lunch to taste good and for it to remain safe.
To test this, we put an ice cube in each box and monitored how long it took to melt. Without adding any ice packs or other temperature control items, the ice remained solid for at least two hours in each box.
How to pack a school lunch
According to Jennifer Hyland, RD, lunches should include a variety of nutrients to get kids through the day. Hyland recommends getting kids involved in packing lunches, as well as everything you need to know to pack a wholesome school lunch.
Remember that a school lunch needs to get your child through their day, so it's a good idea to pack a little more than what you think they'll eat in each main food group. Hyland provided some ideas for what to pack in each category:
Grains: whole wheat bread, whole-grain crackers, popcorn, wheat wrap, tortilla chips, cooked sweet potato, brown rice, or quinoa
Proteins: lean deli meat (turkey, chicken, ham), hard-boiled eggs, packets of tuna, nuts/nut butter, beans/chickpeas
Vegetables: carrots, cucumbers, celery, bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, snap peas, salad, cooked veggies leftover from dinner
Dairy: string cheese, yogurt (try greek), cottage cheese, low-fat white milk, milk alternatives like soy milk or almond milk
Don't forget to pack a drink, too! Avoid packing sugary drinks like juice or soda. Hyland recommends water, white milk, or naturally flavored sparkling waters.
Here are a few other tips to make packing school lunch a breeze:
Follow your child's cues and communicate. For example, if your child never eats oranges at school but always does at home, ask why. Maybe he or she struggles with the peel or the temperature is too hot or cold.
Prepare some mixed dishes at the beginning of the week. "Try a cold pasta salad with meats, cheese, cut up veggies and Italian dressing; or a Mexican quinoa salad with black beans, corn, bell peppers, tomatoes, and a cilantro vinaigrette," Hyland recommends. "These can help cover the grain and protein section of lunch and then all you need to do is add a few sides!"
Involve your kids. When they help pack their lunch, they take more ownership and are more likely to enjoy and eat their food. "Set up a lunch packing station where you have options from each of the food groups," she said. "Then they can pick something from each group and mix and match to create their own lunch.
Don't forget about temperature control. Try an insulated Thermos container or OmieBox for hot foods. For cold foods, try a PackIt freezable lunch bag or use two ice packs.
The 2020-21 NFL season is just one round away from the Super Bowl, with the AFC and NFC Championships set for Sunday.
Broadcast rights for the season are spread across several networks, including ESPN, NBC, Fox, CBS, and the NFL Network.
HD antennas and streaming services all offer select NFL games without the need for a cable subscription.
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Whether you're interested in watching Tom Brady whip the pigskin in his new Florida digs, checking out how professional football looks in Las Vegas, or you happen to be a fool like me still holding out hopes that the Detroit Lions can win a Super Bowl (cue the uproarious and hurtful laughter), you can use at least one of the methods outlined below to watch the 2020 NFL season.
With that said, the right NFL streaming option for you will vary depending on your fandom priorities. Basically, the games are spread across five primary networks: ESPN, NBC, Fox, CBS, and the NFL Network. Your location also determines which games get aired on your local stations. Additionally, you can stream all your local in-market games on your mobile device for free using the Yahoo Sports app or the NFL app.
To help ensure you get access to all the games you'd like to watch, we've broken down the ins and outs of watching the NFL without a cable subscription.
Updated on 1/22/2021 by Danny Bakst: Added details about the AFC and NFC Championship games.
How to watch NFL games without cable
You can access many of these channels without a cable subscription via several streaming services, like Hulu + Live TV, Sling TV, FuboTV, YouTube TV, CBS All Access, and NFL Sunday Ticket. Additionally, some services offer NFL RedZone as an add-on for fans who want to watch all the best action from across the league simultaneously rather than sit through one game. If you want to watch games on your local stations without cable, you can also opt for an HDTV antenna.
The 2020-21 NFL season began on September 10 with a Thursday night game between the Houston Texans and Kansas City Chiefs on NBC. Subsequent games are being spread across different channels, and there are several options available to stream each network.
Sunday afternoon games with an NFC home team are being aired on Fox, and Sunday afternoon games with an AFC home team are shown on CBS. Meanwhile, Sunday Night Football airs on NBC, and regular Thursday Night Football is broadcast on NFL Network all season long. Thursday Night Football will also be shown on Fox and streamed via Amazon Prime or Twitch starting week five through the end of the season. Finally, Monday Night Football is on ESPN.
Depending on the service, you can stream through smart TVs, game consoles, and streaming devices, like Apple TV, Roku, and Amazon Fire TV. Some platforms can also be streamed on-the-go via smartphones, laptops, and tablets.
How to watch the NFL Conference Championship games
After an exciting two rounds of the NFL playoffs, only four teams remain. Unlike last season's postseason darling Tennessee Titans, there aren't many major surprises in this year's Conference Championship games.
While the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are technically the fifth seed in the NFC, it's no shock that Tom Brady has reached another shot at the Super Bowl. Otherwise, the playoffs went as expected with both first seed teams advancing as well as the 12-3 Buffalo Bills. Both Conference Championship games will be played on January 24.
Here's a full roundup of all the services you can use to stream NFL games without cable.
HDTV Antenna
You can purchase an antenna, like this 1 By One model, to add to your TV for about $24, giving you access to local channels within a certain distance.
What you get:
Hooking up an HD antenna to your TV gives you access to local over-the-air (OTA) signals in your location. This means that you will be able to access the local affiliates of major broadcast networks, like Fox, CBS, and NBC.
This lets you watch all the regional games broadcast from wherever you're located. You also get the Sunday Night Football matchup that airs on NBC. Because it's only a one-time payment, this is a great option if you're solely interested in watching the team in your area. However, you will not get access to any out-of-market games or games that air on ESPN or the NFL Network.
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Sling TV
If you're looking for a live TV streaming service to watch football, Sling TV is a great budget option that gives you most of the channels you need at a cheaper price than Hulu or FuboTV.
There are three different plans, depending on what channels you prioritize. Sling Orange and Sling Blue each cost $30 per month, while the combined Sling Orange + Blue plan costs $45 per month. Additionally, you can purchase the Sports Extra package to add NFL RedZone to your plan for $10 per month.
What you get:
Sling Orange has ESPN, while Sling Blue has Fox and NBC in select markets as well as the NFL network. CBS is not currently offered by Sling. While there is a Sports Extra package, it does not include any channels that air live NFL games.
Your best bet to get access to the most NFL games via Sling is to sign up for the Sling Orange + Blue plan and cash in on Sling's current promotional offer of a free antenna for local channels. The free antenna requires that you prepay for two months of the Sling service. Plus, if you want RedZone you can add the Sports Extra package to the Orange + Blue Plan for a total of $60 per month.
If you don't want it all, you can just sign up for Sling Blue to gain access to Sunday afternoon games on Fox and Sunday Night Football games on NBC, or just Sling Orange to gain access to Monday Night games on ESPN, in addition to the local offerings included with the antenna. As with all streaming services, game availability is subject to blackouts.
With Sling's channel listings, add-ons, and the fact that they provide a free antenna, you can gain access to all local channels, the NFL Network, ESPN, and NFL RedZone, making it one of the most cost-effective ways to watch the NFL without cable.
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Hulu with Live TV
In addition to all of its other offerings, Hulu + Live TV has nearly everything you need to stream NFL games for $54.99 per month. However, like Sling TV, there's no option to add the NFL Network or NFL RedZone as a channel, which could be a deal-breaker if you're hoping to watch and monitor action across the league.
What you get:
Like an HD antenna, Hulu + Live TV gets you access to all the local affiliates of the major broadcasts, meaning Fox, CBS, and NBC. These will show the games that are within your regional broadcast map with the exception of any blackouts. In addition, you also get ESPN, which gives you access to all Monday Night Football games, and some of the best NFL coverage and analysis on TV.
While you don't get access to watch out-of-network games from across the country like you do with NFL RedZone or NFL Sunday Ticket, this is a comprehensive way to tune into most locally and nationally televised games. Hulu does not offer a way to watch the first three regular Thursday Night Football games, however, since those will be aired on NFL Network.
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FuboTV
At $64.99 per month for the Family Plan, FuboTV is one of the most comprehensive yet expensive live streaming options for NFL football. You can also spend an extra $10.99 per month to add the Sports Plus with NFL RedZone package or sign up for the Ultra Plan, which includes NFL Redzone and several other extra channels, for $84.99 per month.
What you get:
In terms of NFL games, the Family Plan includes access to local CBS, NBC, and Fox stations (regional availability and blackout restrictions apply). FuboTV's Family Plan also grants you access to ESPN to watch Monday Night Football, and NFL Network to stream Thursday Night Football all season long.
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YouTube TV
With a base price of $64.99 per month, YouTube TV is another service that offers access to most NFL games. Additionally, the service just announced an agreement with the NFL to offer NFL Redzone as an add-on included in their Sports Plus package for an additional $10.99 per month.
What you get:
Like other services at this price range, YouTube TV offers access to all the local channels you need to watch NFL games, including CBS, Fox, and NBC. YouTube TV also offers ESPN and NFL Network in their base package, so you'll be able to watch all Monday Night Football and Thursday Night Football games. And with the news of the new Sports Plus package, you can also watch NFL Redzone for an additional $10.99 per month.
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NFL Sunday Ticket
NFL Sunday Ticket used to only be available with a cable subscription, but NFL fans in non-DirecTV markets anywhere in the country can now gain access to every Sunday afternoon game.
Both plans give you access to all out-of-market Sunday afternoon games. This means that you do not get access to Thursday, Sunday, or Monday night games. You also won't be able to stream locally televised games with only an NFL Sunday Ticket subscription. However, this is the only way for people hoping to watch full live games of their favorite teams out of market. A fun feature included in both plans is that you can watch four games at once on your screen.
In addition to the normal features, NFL Sunday Ticket Max adds in NFL RedZone and the DirecTV Fantasy Zone, which is a new channel solely dedicated watching games through the lens of fantasy football.
If you're just interested in watching locally televised AFC home games, then a CBS All Access subscription could be all you need. The service lets you stream live CBS television, as well as a growing library of on-demand shows and exclusive titles. CBS All Access is available for $5.99 a month with commercials or $9.99 a month with ad-free streaming. With that said, all live broadcasts, including NFL games, still feature commercials with the ad-free plan.
What you get:
CBS All Access offers live streaming for every NFL game that airs on the regular CBS channel in your local market. However, since CBS All Access only offers CBS content you won't be able to watch any games that air on other networks or any out of market matches. You can see a full schedule of NFL games set to air on CBS here.
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Amazon Prime Video
Though yon won't get local channels, NFL Network, or in-depth analysis, Amazon Prime Video members can watch select Thursday Night Football games with their subscription for no additional cost. A standalone Amazon Prime Video membership costs $8.99 a month, and the service is included as part of an Amazon Prime subscription for $119 per year.
What you get:
Amazon Prime Video will stream 11 Thursday Night Football games staring the week of October 8. These game will also be broadcast on NFL Network and Fox. Since Amazon won't be streaming any additional games, Prime Video on its own is really only suitable for very casual football fans who just want to stream a few games this season.
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Yahoo Sports app and NFL app
If you're only interested in watching in-market games without cable or an antenna, then you can stream live local and primetime games on a mobile device using the Yahoo Sports or NFL app. Both options are free and each app is available on iOS and Android smartphones and tablets.
What you get:
These apps provide live streaming for regular season local and primetime games, playoffs, and the Super Bowl. With that said, you can only watch the games on a mobile device. You'll also need to ensure that your location services are activated on your phone or tablet.
Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge are the gateways to Great Smoky Mountains National Park, a stunning area straddling North Carolina and Tennessee defined by picturesque views, fresh mountain air, and winding hiking trails. The rugged beauty of the mountain and river landscapes makes for an enchanting getaway, particularly amidst the pandemic as socially distant getaways and outdoor activities continue to reign supreme.
Beyond the national park, there are plenty of unique draws to keep visitors busy. If you're hoping to fulfill your spelunking fantasies (or maybe realize ones you didn't know you had) you can take a boat ride tour of The Lost Sea, which is America's largest underground lake.
If handcrafted goods are more your speed, the eight-mile loop that constitutes the Gatlinburg Arts & Crafts Community is a must-stop where you'll find works made by the organization's independent artisans, including pottery, paintings, and sculptures. Not to mention the iconic Dollywood theme park, which is set to reopen this year on March 13.
While there are hotels in the area, these mountain towns are particularly known for their cozy cabin rentals, many of which boast alluring amenities from hot tubs with views to movie rooms. Plus, private cabins are a particularly appealing option right since experts and the CDC note that vacation rentals are a safer option than hotels.
However, it's important to note that COVID-19 continues to spread across the US and there's no guarantee of safety when it comes to travel right now. We always recommend following guidelines from the CDC, practicing social distancing, washing hands frequently, and wearing a mask in public spaces. Additionally, take extra precautions if you plan to travel to or from a hot spot area, and read up on local and state guidelines.
With that said, if you're planning a vacation to explore the Great Smoky Mountains, these cabins make for a comfy and entertaining place to decompress after a day out exploring.
We've selected some of the best cabin rentals in Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge based on the following criteria:
All listings are for entire cabins, per current expert recommendations.
Every listing is highly rated with a 4.8 rating or higher.
All Airbnb listings participate in Airbnb's Enhanced Clean Program, while listings from other sites have reviews noting the cabin's cleanliness.
We've made sure to keep affordability in mind, but included a range of starting prices from $120 to $393 per night.
All cabins have unique and exceptional amenities and design features that make them standout stays.
Here are the best cabin rentals in Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, sorted from price low to high.
This studio cabin is ideal for couples and solo travelers. Tall ceilings and an abundance of large windows allow for plenty of natural light, helping the cabin feel spacious and airy despite its small size. A jacuzzi and corner fireplace ensure a cozy stay, while accents like a vintage trunk and bright flowers add character.
A back porch with a hot tub, rocking chairs, and a grill, offers an array of opportunities for enjoying the fresh air. It's also an Airbnb Plus listing, meaning it's a vetted property recognized for outstanding quality, design, upkeep, and overall character. A standalone cabin located on a resort, guests have easy access to activities from horseback riding to whitewater rafting.
This cabin has open availability starting in March.
Rating: 4.90
COVID-19 cleaning procedure: This home participates in Airbnb's Enhanced Clean program, meaning the host is committed to a rigorous cleaning protocol developed with leading health and hospitality experts.
A romantic cabin to fulfill your kitschy daydreams, $144
For those who appreciate a good kitsch moment, this cabin isn't pulling any punches when it comes to creating a romantic atmosphere. A heart-shaped jacuzzi is the star of the home's design. The jacuzzi faces a small fireplace and is surrounded by tiered candles, a lantern, and houseplants, offering the ultimate calming ambiance while you soak.
Of course, you probably aren't visiting the Great Smoky Mountains just to decompress in a heart-shaped jacuzzi. Enjoy the surrounding scenery from an abundance of outdoor seating options, including adorable rocking chairs with little bear cutouts in the backrests. There's also an air hockey table, board games, and plenty of nearby hiking trails to keep you entertained.
This cabin has limited availability over the next few months, but opens up in April.
Rating: 4.98
COVID-19 cleaning procedure: This home participates in Airbnb's Enhanced Clean program, meaning the host is committed to a rigorous cleaning protocol developed with leading health and hospitality experts.
When you arrive at this two-story cabin, you'll be greeted by bear decals adorning the siding in true homage to the Smoky Mountains' ecosystem. Continuing the theme of embracing its location, one of this home's most notable features is the spacious and well-curated outdoor hangout space. The multi-level patio setup is akin to an entire living room and includes cushioned seating, curtains, a fireplace, and a hot tub.
The indoor living space is just as decked out, boasting a fireplace, record player, and vintage arcade game systems like a pinball machine, multicade, and classic Nintendo mini. With a steam shower and whirlpool tub, this cabin is also ideal for anyone who is looking to stay somewhere with spa-inspired amenities.
This cabin has plenty of availability starting in March.
Rating: 4.98
COVID-19 cleaning procedure: This home participates in Airbnb's Enhanced Clean program, meaning the host is committed to a rigorous cleaning protocol developed with leading health and hospitality experts.
Grand yet homey, this cabin is the epitome of mountain glamour. The epic game room makes it a great rental for families or groups of friends. The room harbors numerous game tables from pool to shuffleboard to foosball, in addition to a substantial collection of board games. Just outside the game room is a covered upper deck where you can take in stunning mountain views while warming up by the fire pit.
The lower deck is also covered and boasts its own coveted amenities, including a hot tub, grill, and complete outdoor dining area. If you prefer to enjoy your meals inside, the indoor dining room is a spacious knockout, well-designed with an antler chandelier, exposed beams, and nature-inspired artwork.
The organic vibe that defines the kitchen reverberates through the rest of the home via accents like a coffee table that resembles a tree stump and antler lamps that match the kitchen's chandelier.
This popular cabin is mostly booked over the next few months but opens up from May onward.
Rating: 5
COVID-19 cleaning procedure: Not specified, but the hot tub is cleaned in between stays and multiple reviews note the cabin's cleanliness.
Indoor pools are already a luxe amenity, but this cabin takes blissful relaxation to the next level by including a waterfall feature and lounge chairs. The luxury doesn't end there — the pool area also includes a smart projector so you can watch your favorite movies from the water, as well as a garage door you can easily open to create the ultimate indoor/outdoor setup.
For some post-swim entertainment, there's an indoor basketball shooting game a few steps away from the pool and a Golden Tee 2019 game up in the living area. You can also opt to warm up in front of the living room's fireplace, or unwind on the balcony nestled among the surrounding trees. The cabin's decor includes subtle nods to the Smoky Mountains' landscape, from depictions of babbling streams to black bear details.
This cabin has scattered dates open over the next few months with more dates opening in April.
Rating: 4.9
COVID-19 cleaning procedure: This home is cleaned with disinfectant and follows industry health association SafeStay (AHLA - USA). The rental also guarantees that check-ins and check-outs are complete without person-to-person contact and all towels and bedding are washed in hot water at a minimum temperature of 60ºC/140ºF.
There's a romantic literary ambiance to this A-frame cabin— and it's not just because of the ampersand pillow crowning the King-sized bed. With a gothic color palette, spiral staircase, and bed canopy, this cabin could easily be the setting for a modern fairytale. The freestanding soaking tub, complete with a bath tray and surrounded by an abundance of houseplants, further adds to the lofted bedroom's ethereal aesthetic.
Tucked into the mountains, this cabin offers incredible privacy. Head out to the balcony and relax in the hot tub or take a seat on the porch and relish the peaceful setting. While staying here, you will also have access to nearby tennis courts, walking trails, and a scenic stream.
This cabin has open availability starting in March.
Rating: 4.8
COVID-19 cleaning procedure: Not specified, but multiple reviews note the cabin's cleanliness.
This roomy abode can accommodate up to 12 guests, making it the ideal space for family bonding and larger pod stays. King rooms come with private bathrooms, and the master bedroom includes a jacuzzi tub. Kids will love the bunk beds tucked into a cozy alcove in the game room, which also includes an old school multicade and a collection of board games.
The kitchen's open layout and luxurious inclusion of a fireplace make it easy to spend quality family time bonding over meals. You can also enjoy time outside taking in sweeping views of Mt. LeConte thanks to the array of seating and outdoor dining spaces on the private deck.
This cabin has open availability throughout February and beyond.
Rating: 4.9
COVID-19 cleaning procedure: Not specified, but multiple reviews note the cabin's cleanliness.
Expertly mixing vintage and modern design concepts, this home has a quirky but chic aesthetic. Soaring ceilings, a floating staircase, and the pastel blue and white color palette keep this home from feeling stuffy, while fun touches like a vintage phone, an old-fashioned stove, and a barrel accent table make it unique. The lighting fixtures alone are something to be lauded, from exposed bulbs to atom-like sconces in the living room to mason jar hanging lights above the kitchen island.
As inviting as the interiors may be, you'll surely want to step outside onto the deck, where you can enjoy views of Mt. Leconte and soak in a hot tub under string lights and stars.
This cabin has plenty of open availability starting in February.
Rating: 4.92
COVID-19 cleaning procedure: This home participates in Airbnb's Enhanced Clean program, meaning the host is committed to a rigorous cleaning protocol developed with leading health and hospitality experts.
This cabin is cheerfully bright, with colorful accents throughout floor-to-ceiling windows that allow sunlight to blanket the home. There's an undeniable playfulness to the setup, from the swing chair and tic-tac-toe board adorning the living area to the pool table and vintage arcade games downstairs. There's even a home theater room complete with a huge projector screen and made extra cozy by beanbag chairs and a sectional couch.
If you're someone who enjoys an impeccable view, the private deck and outdoor hot tub looking out at the Smoky's are prepared to help you with your scenic endeavors.
This cabin has open availability starting in March.
Rating: 5.0
COVID-19 cleaning procedure: This home participates in Airbnb's Enhanced Clean program, meaning the host is committed to a rigorous cleaning protocol developed with leading health and hospitality experts.
This cabin's contemporary interiors may stray from the traditional cabin decor, but its backdrop of verdant trees and mountain ranges, as well as the home's half-log, half-stone exterior still give it a classic feel. A large deck makes enjoying time outdoors easy and comes furnished with a picnic table, a swinging bench, a hot tub, and plenty of rocking chairs.
This capacious cabin includes playful and fun accents from the bear statues outside to the sink and table with a barrel base inside. There's also a game room with a pool table, foosball table and several arcade games. But it's the home's show-stopping theater that's the real star. It comes equipped with tiered recliners and movie posters to create an authentic viewing experience.
This cabin has limited availability over the next few months but is wide open starting in April.
Rating: 4.99
COVID-19 cleaning procedure: This home participates in Airbnb's Enhanced Clean program, meaning the host is committed to a rigorous cleaning protocol developed with leading health and hospitality experts.
Good-quality headphones can be expensive, but they often go on sale.
We've rounded up the best headphone deals for January 2021.
Right now, the Apple AirPods Pro are on sale for $200 — that's $50 off their full price.
A great pair of headphones can change the way you listen to music. Sure, the random earbuds that you have in your bottom drawer may do the job just fine for some, but if you want to hear nuanced details, well-rounded bass, or a sparkling high-end, you'll need something a little more versatile.
If you are in the market for a new pair of headphones, it's worth figuring out exactly what kind of headphones you want. The first step is to determine whether you want in-ear headphones, on-ear headphones, or over-ear headphones.
In-ear headphones are more portable than any other headphones, while over-ear headphones are the most comfortable and deep-sounding. On-ear headphones are often considered a good compromise between the two. If you hate wires, you could also get true wireless in-ear headphones, like AirPods, which cut the cables completely.
It's also worth looking into a few headphone brands. If you're an audiophile who wants the best-sounding headphones, companies like Sennheiser, Klipsch, and Shure are worth considering. If you want incredible noise-cancelling headphones or those that work great for day-to-day use, consider those from Sony or Bose. And, if you want plenty of bass and tight integration with your Apple products, look into headphones from Beats or Apple itself.
Once you've determined the type of headphones you want, you'll want to figure out what your budget is. These days, you can get solid headphones for under $100, but as with anything, you get what you pay for — and the more you're willing to spend, the better headphones you'll be able to get.
Of course, you don't necessarily have to spend as much as you normally would if you can find a great deal. And that's exactly why we put together this guide for the best headphone deals that you can take advantage of right now.
Over-ear headphones may not be the most portable headphones out there, but they generally sound a whole lot better than in-ear headphones, thanks to their larger drivers. They also boast long battery lives and plenty of padding for a comfortable fit. Some models even include smart features — like integration with your digital assistant, noise cancellation, and more.
On-ear headphones are a good compromise between portability and sound-quality. Sure, you won't be able to fit them in your pocket, but they're light-weight enough to easily carry around in a bag or backpack without noticing much of a difference. Unlike over-ear headphones, on-ear headphones rest on your outer ear, but good ones don't do so uncomfortably.
Product Card (medium, Preferred: Amazon)Product Card (medium, Preferred: Best Buy)
In-ear headphone deals
Looking for something portable that you can easily put into your pocket? In-ear headphones are the way to go. We have technically split the in-ear headphones into two categories — so if you're looking for modern true wireless headphones, skip ahead to the next section.
The deals below are for wired in-ear headphones, which connect through a cable to your listening device, and wireless in-ear headphones which connect via Bluetooth to your listening device. Unlike true wireless headphones, however, regular wireless in-ear headphones still feature wires to connect each earbud together.
Perhaps you want to avoid wires all together with a pair of true wireless headphones. These headphones feature separate earbuds that connect wirelessly to each other and to your listening device. A good example of true wireless headphones are Apple's AirPods Pro— which are on sale right now for $200.
It's happened to the best of us: You decide to unzip your suitcase to get one thing and suddenly, your suitcase has erupted and all your belongings are in an unkempt pile on the floor. This is why packing cubes are handy and functional.
Although some might argue that packing cubes add unnecessary weight to a suitcase, as a former travel editor and current freelancer who travels full-time, I've found keeping my clothes in packing cubes helps me stay organized and easily find what I need, right when I need it.
Packing cubes serve numerous functions, including separating your underwear from your socks, compressing those bulky items to give you more packing space, and keeping formal wear safe. And, when you arrive at your new destination, moving the cubes from your suitcase to the drawer makes unpacking a breeze.
For this guide, I tested 18 different packing cubes to find the best. For more detailed info on the testing process, as well as what to consider when buying packing cubes, jump to the bottom of this guide.
The pop-up design of the eBags Hyperlite Packing Cubes means these lightweight packing cubes fit nicely in any suitcase and are easy to fill.
Pros: Spring-loaded design helps cubes hold their shape, material is very lightweight, zippers are easy to grip
Cons: Cubes are mostly opaque and can be hard to see into
Maybe I'm a bit of a perfectionist, but I like my packing cubes to be, well, cubical. As simple as it may sound, what set these packing cubes apart was that they stayed cube-shaped even when I filled them to max capacity. And while many other cubes I tested that also held their shape did so by using heavier materials, these are made of a lightweight nylon material, which totals just 10.2 ounces for the whole set.
When I used these cubes to fill up my suitcase on a recent trip, I didn't have to worry about missing out on any extra space in the corners, because these cubes sat perfectly flat on the bottom of my luggage.
Additionally, many sets come with just two or three cubes, but the eBags set comes with five. That variety allows for more customized packing options, whether you use the whole matching set for a checked-bag trip or chose a few key cubes for a shorter, carry-on only trip. I found the small cubes are perfect for socks and underwear, while the slim cubes are great for lining up your T-shirts and tank tops. I liked using the big bags for formal shirts, pants, dresses, and skirts.
An additional feature that made these stand out was the spring-loaded frame, which means you won't have to fiddle around with the material to start packing. The frame also adds to the durability of the bags and the zippers provide a solid and easy grip.
The mesh top across the cubes also allows for air-flow, but the all-black material does make it a bit difficult to see what's inside.
The best budget packing cubes
You might be able to find cheaper cubes on the market, but for a set of six, LOJEL Packing Cubes deliver quality and quantity at the right price.
Pros: Great price for a full set of quality cubes, solid mix of variety in size and cube type, very durable with reinforced seams and quality mesh material
Cons: Material is a bit heavier, zippers can be difficult to hold on to when the bag is full
The six-piece set from LOJEL comes with two sets of large, medium, and small bags in both mesh and opaque styles. The variety offers a lot of opportunities for customization because you can use the mesh cubes for clothes that might need to breathe more and the opaque cubes for formal wear you want to safeguard against stains.
While many sets come with just two or three packing cubes, the fact that you get six cubes in a range of styles and sizes makes this set an excellent value when you break it down to cost per cube.
The cubes are made of a light, but sturdy material and the seams are reinforced to prevent tearing. They are easy to pack and hold their shape well when both full and empty. The mesh material is also strong and durable.
However, the zippers are small and a little awkward to hold — and that's coming from someone with small hands.
Editor's note: When the eBags 5-piece set is at full price, these are a solid lower cost option. However, because the eBags are currently on sale for 20%, we recommend buying that set as the better value right now.
The best lightweight packing cubes
The ghostly-thin material of the ultra-lightweight Eagle Creek Specter Packing Cube Set won't add pesky extra weight to your luggage.
Cons: Can be difficult to pack clothes into the flimsy material
Of all the lightweight packing cubes I tested, nothing was lighter than the translucent material of Eagle Creek's Specter Packing Cubes. The set comes with three cubes of different sizes that collectively weigh less than 2.2 ounces. If you're a chronic over-packing or worried about cubes adding extra weight to your luggage, the scale will hardly register these barely-there packing cubes made of silnylon ripstop fabric, which is both water- and stain-resistant.
The set comes with a large, medium, and small bag, which have a capacity of 16.7 liters all together. Each bag is labeled with a large L, M, and S to indicate the size, which in my opinion is an unnecessary feature.
However, I did like that the fabric is see-through so you can easily distinguish what's in each one. Additionally, the bungee-style zippers are easy to grip. There was a little give when I pulled on the seams, but they still held up well and the wraparound construction of the cube also minimized potential weak points.
While the cubes don't hold their shape when completely filled to the brim, they stay square enough that fitting them together in a suitcase isn't an issue.
Pros: Hold shape when compressed, compress even bulky sweaters easily, mesh top allows air in, durable fabric
Cons: Only comes in a set of two, not lightweight
Most compression cubes use a double zipper to help squeeze down clothes to their smallest possible volume so you can enjoy some extra space in your suitcase. However, in many of the cubes I tested, compression also meant the cubes became less cube-like. Since the zippers compress from the outside in, most compression cubes end up looking like bloated cuboids and when trying to fit these in your luggage, you end up with an awkward amount of space at the corners instead of something more modular.
However, Eagle Creek's compression cubes held their shape the best out of all the compression cubes I tested and, most importantly, were powerful enough to compress even my largest and wooliest cardigan into a solid brick.
The mesh top allows breathability and the micro-weave material is incredibly sturdy. Unfortunately, it's only available in a set of two — one medium and one small size cube — which have a combined capacity of 11.7 liters. While these packing cubes will come in handy for sweaters and other bulky items, you'll probably need another set of cubes for the rest of your clothes.
The best high-end packing cubes
With structured sides, leather handles, and an embossed logo, the Zero Haliburton Packing System is built for the sophisticated traveler.
Pros: Stylish without compromising on function, made from extremely durable nylon, leather, and mesh material
Cons: Heavier material may weigh down luggage, the capacity is limited compared to other cubes on the market
There are a surprising amount of fancy packing cubes out there that run the gamut from patent leather to designer prints, but if you're looking for the set that's most worth spending extra on, consider the Zero Haliburton Packing System.
This set comes with large, medium, and small cases that feature semi-structured sides and are made with a combination of nylon and breathable mesh. The embossed leather logo is mostly for show, but the leather handles on the largest case are incredibly useful for effortlessly maneuvering your cube from the suitcase to the hotel room drawer.
Made from quality materials, the cubes hold their shape perfectly, but they are rather heavy and the capacity is somewhat limited. However, they will fit tidily in luggage and if you do wind up needing to impress someone, the leather touches and businesslike blue and black color combination will do the job.
The best durable packing cubes
For packing cubes that are ready for the long-haul and will endure the test of time, Monos Compressible Packing Cubes are made with premium-quality materials.
Pros: High-quality and long-lasting material used in every part of the design, compress clothes without losing rectangular shape, stand upright when empty for easy packing
Cons: The heavy material adds some extra weight to your suitcase
These compression cubes work very well, compressing down to 60 percent of their previous size. But the real strength of the six-piece set of Compressible Packing Cubes from Monos is in their construction. Made with premium nylon twill and TPU-reinforced mesh, you can instantly feel the difference in the quality of these packing cubes and the extra hem reinforcement on the seams is an added bonus that ensures they'll last through numerous trips without tearing.
In addition to the high-quality material, these compression cubes hold their shape well when fully compressed and are quite stylish. Plus, the interior fabric is made with an anti-microbial material that will work with the ventilation of the mesh top to keep your clothes fresh.
However, they are heavier than some other options and may add some extra weight to your luggage.
What else we considered
In addition to the six we recommend, we also tested other packing cubes. While these products are good options, they didn't make our final cut for a variety of reasons.
TRIPPED Travel Gear ($38): I loved their graphic designs and the variety that comes with this six-piece set. While our other picks edged these out, they are still a solid option.
AmazonBasics Travel Organizer ($24): Amazon's four-piece packing cube set is one of the most affordable out there, but while the nylon material is sturdy enough, they're heavier and the cubes don't offer much capacity.
Away's Insider Packing Cubes ($45): The Away brand is famous for stylish carry-on luggage. Their set of four nylon and mesh packing cubes are lightweight and sturdy but do not hold their shape as well as some of the other cubes I tested.
Bagail Packing Cube Set ($25): This is a great price for a set of six cubes and the mesh design is cool, but it doesn't have the benefit of either compression or being lightweight.
Cal Pak Oh Joy! Packing Cubes ($58): I loved the beautiful pattern and the high-quality feel of these five cubes, but they are some of the heavier cubes I tested and are a better fit for long-term storage rather than travel.
Leatherology Travel Organizers ($125): One of the most expensive sets of packing cubes I tested, these leather cubes are made with high-quality materials, but don't hold much compared with other options.
Six Moon Designs Multi-Sized Pack Pod Set ($30): While not quite as light and spacious as our lightweight winner, this three-piece set is still extremely lightweight and a great choice for backpackers.
Travelpro Essentials Packing Cubes ($70): This set of three opaque cubes are designed with a small strip of mesh, which allows for some airflow, but the higher price point didn't seem worth it.
How we tested
For this guide, I narrowed down the field based on research, user reviews, and my own experience with packing cubes. I then tested 18 different sets of packing cubes, which I received from each brand for review purposes.
I looked for durability, breathability, packability, and style. I filled each cube to capacity, checking to see which held its shape the best and put the zippers and seams through rigorous stress testing. I also considered how it looked, the quality of the material, and any unique innovations that took my packing experience to the next level.
What to consider when buying packing cubes
Material: Good packing cubes should be made out of a type of nylon, which is a material that is flexible, durable, water-resistant, and thin. Ripstop nylon is a kind of reinforced nylon that is even stronger. This material usually has a cross-hatch pattern.
Mesh vs opaque: Mesh packing cubes are preferable to allow air to flow through the cube, which can keep bad smells from marinating. However, your clothes could get wet or stained if something spills in your bags. Opaque bags might hold onto bad smells longer, but they're better for protecting your clothes.
Weight: If the weight of your luggage is a concern, avoid using compression cubes which are made from heavier materials. Not to mention, if you have more space in your suitcase, it's easier to overpack. A good set of lightweight cubes should be made of a thin material that doesn't weigh more than a few ounces.
If you enjoy freshly baked bread but don't have the time or baking skills to make it entirely from scratch, a bread machine or bread maker is a valuable kitchen tool.
Most basic bread maker recipes require about 10 minutes of prep work, and you're rewarded with a fresh loaf three to four hours later.
After testing nine bread machines, the Zojirushi Virtuoso Plus is our top pick for most home bakers thanks to its reliability and versatility.
It kneads thoroughly, bakes evenly, features customizable settings, and, unlike many bread makers we tested, turns out loaves that are about the same size as what you'd find at the grocery store.
Table of Contents: Masthead Sticky
While I like the concept of making bread entirely from scratch, the lag time between realizing that warm carbs are what's missing in my life and actually holding a freshly-baked brioche can be significant. Many recipes involving yeast require kneading, refrigerating, or babysitting, making spur-of-the-moment bread out of the question. That is, unless, you have a bread machine.
Most bread machines require about 10 minutes of prep time, which is mostly spent measuring ingredients and putting them into a pan. After that's done, you pick a setting, turn on the machine, and three or four hours later you (ideally) have a warm, golden-brown loaf. But with so many bread machines on the market, how do you choose the right one?
"At a minimum, I'd want a machine with a standard cycle, a whole grain or whole wheat cycle (if you enjoy whole-grain bread) and a dough cycle, which simply mixes and kneads the dough, then keeps it warm as it rises," said P.J. Hamel, senior digital content editor for King Arthur Flour and author of the James Beard Award-winning cookbook "The King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion.""After that, you can make pizza crust, cinnamon buns, or any number of yummy treats."
That's why I put each bread machine in this guide through a series of tests to see how they handled basic white bread, wheat bread with mix-ins (in this case, sunflower seeds and flax seeds), and gluten-free bread. I also assessed the ease of use, setting options, baking times, noise levels, and special features like pre-programming. You can read a more in-depth explanation of my testing methods here, and a few tips for getting the most out of your bread machine here.
This bread machine kneads thoroughly, bakes evenly, and, unlike many of its competitors, turns out standard-sized loaves.
Pros: Produces standard-sized loaves that rise evenly and are a consistent color, a wide variety of settings, ability to customize your own settings, pre-programmable, 1-year warranty Cons: Expensive, takes up a lot of counter space
The Zojirushi Virtuoso Plus is my top pick for home bakers, thanks to its stellar reliability, variety of settings, and standard-sized bread loaves (a rarity among bread machines). After putting nine different machines through three rounds of tests (or two, for machines without gluten-free settings), I found that this was the only one to turn out perfectly domed, uniformly browned, consistently fluffy bread with evenly distributed mix-ins every time. To check for consistency, I made two more loaves of white bread after those initial tests, and both were slam dunks.
It was also one of the few bread machines to pass the gluten-free test with flying colors, producing bread that was similar in color, size, and texture to your standard white loaf. For her own experiment, the Bread Machine Diva blog's Marsha Perry — who name-checked the Virtuoso Plus when I asked her for a bread machine recommendation — made one gluten-free loaf using the "Gluten-Free" setting and another using its regular "White" setting, and said the first loaf was markedly better.
Speaking of settings, there are 14, including Multigrain, Sourdough Starter, Cake, and Vegan, in addition to standbys like Whole Wheat, and Rapid. The Virtuoso Plus also allows you to program three of your own bread cycles, which is an especially helpful feature for those who have moved beyond the machine's guidebook recipes. Interestingly, Hamel of King Arthur Flour uses her Zojirushi's "Jam" cycle to make risotto — a technique that I'm curious to try.
The Virtuoso Plus can be pre-programmed 13 hours in advance (a feature that worked perfectly and allowed me to wake up to the smell of fresh bread during testing), and the machine's 5-minute power backup means you won't automatically lose your bread-in-progress if the power flickers, as Hamel noted.
The Virtuoso Plus also stops kneading when you open the lid, which is useful if you want to add mix-ins to your bread. And if you need to measure those mix-ins, the machine comes with four nested measuring cups, one liquid measuring cup, and a double-ended measuring spoon — add-ons that are unnecessary (I used my own measuring cups and spoons), but appreciated.
This machine makes two-pound 9-by-5 loaves that are, as I mentioned, about the size and shape of sandwich bread you'd find at the grocery store. Timing-wise, the white and wheat loaves of bread took about 3.5 hours to bake, while the gluten-free loaf was done in 2.5 hours. The clock displays the time your bread will be done, rather than the hours left, which I found helpful when planning my day.
All of this being said, the Zojirushi is on the expensive side, so if you're just trying out bread-making before you fully commit to the hobby, I'd recommend the budget pick, below. It's also probably not the best choice if you have limited counter space, given its 9 by 18 by 3-inch dimensions; the other machines in this guide are more compact.
The best on a budget
The Oster Expressbake is a solid starter machine that mixes, kneads, and bakes evenly, and with 13 settings, it's notably more versatile than competitors within its price range.
Pros: produces bread with an even rise, makes three loaf sizes, affordable, compact, fast baking time, variety of settings, window, pre-programmable, 1-year warranty Cons: Somewhat noisy, loaf size isn't quite standard, slightly thicker crusts than our top pick
The Oster Express Bake's name refers to the fact that it can turn out a two-pound loaf of bread in less than an hour on its Express Bake setting (for comparison, our top pick's "Rapid" cycle takes about 2.5 hours). While the results are certainly better than your standard grocery store loaf, I found that bread baked on this machine's namesake setting turned out denser and shorter than loaves made on its Basic cycle (a near-universal bread machine problem, according to experts we spoke to).
But most people don't choose a bread machine based on its ability to bake two loaves of bread in the time it takes to watch an episode of "The Bachelorette," and Express Bake results aside, the Oster's white, wheat, and gluten-free loaves of bread were the best — by which I mean, golden brown and evenly risen with a fine crumb, a smooth, domed top, and evenly distributed mix-ins — out of the five machines in its price bracket that we tested. The only flaws that placed its loaves under the Zojirushi's in testing were their unconventional shape (shorter in length and taller in height, with bread slices whose tops stick out slightly from your average toaster) and thicker crusts.
The Oster was also a bit more finicky in terms of exact measurements; when I relied on measuring cups instead of a kitchen scale, my loaves turned out flatter on top — a problem I didn't have with our top pick. And while this machine's gluten-free bread was solid, it was a bit less soft than the Zojirushi's.
I also tested the Express Bake's predecessor and found that loaves baked in the original turned out slightly darker on the sides and paler on top. Oster has improved its popular model in other areas: the latest iteration has 13 settings instead of 12, the new one being a much-requested gluten-free cycle. The brand also swapped the Express Bake's Bagel Dough setting for Pasta, which isn't necessarily an improvement but does seem more practical, given the complicated process of making bagels from scratch.
Like the Zojirushi Virtuoso Plus, the Oster Express Bake comes with a liquid measuring cup and a double-sided measuring spoon (but no set of nested dry measuring cups). At 14 by 12 by 13, it's less bulky than our top pick, although perhaps not ideal if kitchen space is tight (if compactness is a priority, check out the Zojirushi Maestro, below). It can be pre-programmed 13 hours ahead and will beep instantly after finishing its bread cycle before switching to the warm mode for 60 minutes, then beeping again and automatically shutting off.
The best compact bread machine
This bread machine is specifically calibrated to bake excellent one-pound loaves of bread, making it a solid choice for one or two-person households.
Pros: Produces an even bake, perfect for small households, variety of settings, ability to customize cycles, pre-programmable, compact, 1-year warranty Cons: Loaves are oddly-shaped, bread can be difficult to remove from pan
Since I'm typically baking for one or two people — and as the novel coronavirus continues, sharing baked goods with neighbors and friends has become more difficult — most standard two-pound loaves of bread go stale before I can finish them. (In other words, I've made a lot of croutons lately.) Typically, bread machines offer 1.5-pound loaves as their smallest option, and those that do begin at one pound aren't necessarily calibrated to excel at loaves that small. When I tried making a one-pound loaf in Cuisinart's Compact Automatic Breadmaker, for example, the results were dense, with a thicker crust than I would have liked.
Zojirushi's Maestro, however, is designed with small households in mind, and during my tests, it consistently turned out solid one-pound loaves that ticked every box on my bread checklist: golden-brown color, domed top, fine crumb, evenly risen, and evenly-distributed mix-ins. That being said, the Maestro's pan is aligned vertically, meaning its loaves are oddly-shaped — even cube-like – and the bread is a bit more difficult to pry from inside.
Like its bigger cousin the Virtuoso, the Maestro features 14 settings with the option to customize three of your own. I appreciate the fact that Zojirushi didn't scale down its flagship breadmaker's features just to make smaller loaves; the Maestro can also be pre-programmed in advance and includes a 5-minute power backup (as mentioned in our Virtuoso review, this can really save your loaf in the event your power flickers).
The Maestro measures 14 by 9 by 13, and its narrow dimensions make it easy to store in my tiny Brooklyn kitchen. It's also the only bread machine I tested that features a convenient top handle, making it easy to transport. Its interior top handle, however, isn't as solidly constructed; I yanked it off the first time I pulled the pan from the machine (although it popped back in easily).
What else we recommend
Breville Custom Loaf ($299.95): This was a close second to the Zojirushi, but my first attempt at white bread came out slightly darker at the sides than on top, and the gluten-free bread wasn't quite as fluffy as our top pick's. The Breville Custom Loaf has 13 automatic settings, nine customizable settings, and two features we didn't find in any other machine: a paddle that collapses after kneading, so there's no paddle-sized hole when you pull the baked bread from the pan; and a fruit and nut dispenser that will automatically add any mix-ins at the appropriate time in the bread cycle. I'd recommend this machine for confident bakers who are interested in programming their own bread cycles to match go-to recipes.
Cru X GG Bred ($169.95): A collaboration between Cru and Ghetto Gastro, a collective of chefs who use food to empower communities and advance social justice, the Bred was definitely the boldest, sleekest, and most compact out of all the machines we tested. And, with 15 settings, it was also one of the most versatile. Since the bread it produced was on par with the significantly cheaper Oster Express Bake, it didn't make the cut, but perhaps you're willing to pay a little extra for an appliance that's attractive enough to leave out on the counter.
What else we tested
I tested four bread machines that underperformed in certain areas. Here are machines I tested that didn't make the final cut.
Oster Express Bake (older model, $68.55): While the previous iteration of the Oster Express Bake is still available online, we found that the newer version performs better in terms of producing evenly-baked bread. And, importantly, the latest Express Bake includes a gluten-free setting – a feature commenters on retail sites had been asking for.
Cuisinart Convection Breadmaker ($127.65): With 16 settings, this is one of the most versatile machines I tested. However, while my white and wheat loaves were top-notch, both of my attempts at gluten-free bread resulted in collapsed domes.
Cuisinart Compact Automatic Breadmaker ($87.97): Again, my gluten-free bread didn't rise as I had hoped, and the machine's white and wheat loaves of bread weren't quite as professional-looking as those from the latest version of the Oster Express Bake.
Hamilton Beach Artisan Dough and Bread Maker ($89.99): The white and wheat came out slightly underbaked in the middle, while the gluten-free bread was somewhat dense compared to the ones our top three picks made.
Methodology
Before I began testing, I spoke to Marsha Perry, the writer behind the popular Bread Machine Diva blog, and P.J. Hamel, senior digital content editor for King Arthur Flour and author of the James Beard Award-winning cookbook "The King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion." Both have decades of experience testing and adapting bread machine recipes and providing their respective readers with bread machine tips.
On their recommendation, I followed the recipes featured in each bread machine's guidebook, since they're calibrated to accommodate unique temperatures, mixing speeds, proofing techniques, and baking times. In future testing rounds, I plan to see how each machine fares using a universal bread machine recipe. I baked, at most, two loaves of bread per day in each machine, waiting several hours between baking sessions to allow the breadmakers to cool completely.
Here are the criteria I looked for during each test:
Bread quality: A bread machine has one job — to make good bread. I tested how each one handled basic white bread, wheat bread with mix-ins (in this case, a combination of sunflower seeds and flax seeds, to see how the machines dispersed mix-ins of different sizes), and, for the machines with a gluten-free setting, gluten-free bread. I used the same ingredients throughout testing, all of which are basic ingredients you'd find at any grocery store.
I dialed the crust setting to "Medium" on each breadmaker. White bread was baked on the "White" setting (sometimes labeled as "Basic," depending on the machine), wheat bread was baked on the "Whole Wheat" setting, and gluten-free bread was baked on the "Gluten-Free" setting.
Each loaf of bread was then examined for consistency of texture, a golden color throughout, and an even rise; points were docked if the domed top fell. I cut several slices of bread from each loaf to look for air pockets and under or over-baked spots.
Size: Most bread machines take up a lot of counter space, so while it wasn't a deciding factor, extra consideration was given to more compact options.
Capacity: While every bread machine I tested — aside from the Zojirushi Maestro — was built with a two-pound loaf in mind (aka the size you'd find in a grocery store), I made note of the models that had the ability to bake loaves in three or four different sizes; one pound was the smallest I saw, and 2.5 pounds was the largest.
Noise: Extra noisy machines were dinged, as were ones that "hopped" across the counter during the kneading cycle. The top three picks above all operated at a low hum, and were, as far as I could tell, motionless.
Unique features: I noted setting options (some machines had special cycles for things like jam, yogurt, and pasta dough), especially fast baking times, and special features like pre-programming or auto-dispensers for mix-ins.
Getting the most out of your bread machine
Don't throw out the manual
Most breadmakers come with a few recipes, and they're often tucked away in the back of a guidebook. These are crucial since they're calibrated to work well with that particular machine's features and specifications. "Once you've made some of those and understand how the machine works — how much flour it can handle, how long each rise cycle and bake cycle are — you can start to adapt any of your own favorite yeast bread recipes to bake in the machine," P.J. Hamel, senior digital content editor for King Arthur Flour, said.
Have fun with the dough cycle
By taking care of the mixing and kneading, it allows you to start a little closer to the finish line if you're making other yeast-based baked goods. The Bread Machine Diva's Marsha Perry recommends it for pizzas and dinner rolls.
Experiment with settings
But master the basics first. "If your machine is programmable — that is, you can program in your own mixing kneading, rising, and baking times — you're golden," Hamel said. "Your machine is then simply a mini oven, ready to bake macaroni and cheese, apple crisp, bread pudding, cheesecake — even soup, stew, or lasagna! Once you get to know your machine, and if it has that 'homemade menu' capability — it becomes so much more than a machine that bakes bread."
Use good ingredients
"Cheap ingredients yield a crummy (rather than crumb-y) final product. Flour and yeast quality are super-important," said Hamel. "You don't have to use bread flour in your bread machine, so long as you use flour with a protein content higher than 11.5% or so." All of my bread were made with King Arthur bread flour and gluten-free flour (both of which I purchased before reaching out to PJ) and Whole Foods 365 whole wheat flour.
Bread machine baking is all about precision, and measuring your ingredients by weight will clear up any confusion as to whether or not that tightly-packed cup of flour is more like a cup and a half.
FAQs
Is bread from a bread machine different from oven-baked bread?
Yes. In terms of appearance, most loaves made in a bread machine will have a hole in the bottom where the mixing paddle was. Taste-wise, bread machine bread is pretty universally light and fluffy.
"You won't be making crusty artisan bread in your bread machine (though you can certainly make the dough for them on the machine's dough cycle)," Hamel said. "Bread machine bread may taste a bit yeasty, but beyond that, it's up to you to add flavor with spices, herbs, dried fruit, and nuts. Most bread machines won't deliver loaves with the rich, nuanced flavor of an artisan loaf, since that flavor comes from a series of long rises, some of which may be in the refrigerator. Bread machines simply don't have that capability."
How long does homemade bread last?
If kept at room temperature, homemade bread will be noticeably stale by day three. If you're pretty sure you're not going to finish an entire loaf in that amount of time, you can always wrap a portion tightly in plastic wrap and put it in the freezer.
How do I store homemade bread?
If you're storing homemade bread for a day or two, plastic or foil will help lock in moisture. Since direct sunlight can cause bread to overheat, it's best stored in a cool, dry place like a bread box or cupboard.
Any tips for keeping homemade bread fresh?
There is one slicing technique that can help extend the life of your bread. As Hamel wrote on the King Arthur blog, "If you start slicing at one end, you'll always be dealing with an open-end 'leaking' moisture. But if you slice the loaf in half down the middle, cut a slice from one of the halves, then press the two halves back together before wrapping, no open surface will be exposed — which means less chance of moisture evaporating."
One of the biggest draws of Disney Plus is the massive collection of Marvel movies and TV shows available for streaming, ranging from classic '80s cartoons to the latest entries in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
After a full year without a new Marvel movie in theaters, Disney Plus will debut four new MCU original series in 2021. "WandaVision" premiered on January 15 and will be followed by "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier" on March 19. "Loki" will debut in May, followed by "Ms. Marvel" in late 2021. An animated series titled "What If...?" is also scheduled for summer 2021.
Those exclusive shows will join the dozens of Marvel movies already on Disney Plus, including most of Fox's "X-Men" and "Fantastic Four" films. Disney plans to release "Black Widow" and "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings" in theaters during summer 2021, but you can expect to see them on Disney Plus later in the year.
Disney detailed all the upcoming Marvel movies and shows during its Investor Day 2020 presentation in December. In the year since its launch, Disney Plus has amassed more than 86 million subscribers, exceeding Disney's expectations and analyst projections. Successful original shows, like "The Mandalorian," have helped Disney Plus surge in popularity, and the latest additions to the Marvel Cinematic Universe are certain to bring in even more viewers.
Updated on 1/22/2021 by Kevin Webb. We've updated this article to mention new Marvel titles that have premiered on Disney Plus.
What is Disney Plus and how much does it cost?
Disney Plus is Disney's ad-free streaming service with tons of movies and TV shows from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, National Geographic, and 20th Century Fox.
A monthly subscription costs $6.99 a month, and an annual subscription costs $69.99 a year. There's also a $12.99 bundle with ESPN+ and Hulu.
What Marvel movies and shows can I watch?
Disney Plus is home to nearly every Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) movie released so far. With that said, certain titles, like "Spider-Man: Homecoming," aren't included since they were produced by a different studio.
Beyond the studio's movie lineup, new spin-off series focused on various Marvel characters will be available on Disney Plus as well. The first new Marvel show, "WandaVision," premiered on January 15.
Are 'X-Men' and 'Fantastic Four' films available on Disney Plus?
Though Disney Plus initially launched in the US without any of 20th Century Fox's Marvel movies, the service now includes select "X-Men" and "Fantastic Four" titles from Fox.
20th Century Fox produced several Marvel films featuring the X-Men, Fantastic Four, Daredevil, and Deadpool characters before the studio was acquired by Disney in 2019. It's possible that additional Fox movies from these franchises will be added to Disney Plus in the future. With that said, any R-rated films, like "Logan" and "Deadpool," are unlikely to ever be included.
What order should I watch the Marvel films in?
Though different Marvel Studios movies take place at different points in the MCU's timeline, the best order to watch the movies in is the same order that they were originally released in theaters. The filmmakers designed the overarching storyline to be best viewed this way.
A breakdown of the Marvel movie release timeline can be found below, along with a full rundown of every Marvel film and show available on Disney Plus:
Marvel Cinematic Universe movies
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Below is a complete list of MCU movies in the order they were originally released. This is the order that we recommend watching the films in.
Due to existing licensing agreements, some Marvel movies are not yet available on Disney Plus, and certain films are not expected to arrive on the service at all. We've denoted the missing titles in bold, along with details on when/if they are coming to Disney Plus.
All of the other movies listed below are available to stream right now on Disney Plus.
"Iron Man" (2008)
"The Incredible Hulk" (2008) - not planned for Disney Plus
"Iron Man 2" (2010)
"Thor" (2011)
"Captain America: The First Avenger" (2011)
"The Avengers" (2012)
"Iron Man 3" (2013)
"Thor: The Dark World" (2013)
"Captain America: The Winter Soldier" (2014)
"Guardians of the Galaxy" (2014)
"Avengers: Age of Ultron" (2015)
"Ant-Man" (2015)
"Captain America: Civil War" (2016)
"Doctor Strange" (2016)
"Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" (2017)
"Spider-Man: Homecoming" (2017) - not planned for Disney Plus
"Thor: Ragnarok" (2017)
"Black Panther" (2018)
"Avengers: Infinity War" (2018)
"Ant-Man and the Wasp" (2018)
"Captain Marvel" (2019)
"Avengers: Endgame" (2019)
"Spider-Man: Far from Home" (2019) - not planned for Disney Plus
20th Century Fox Marvel movies
In addition to MCU movies, Disney Plus also includes a few Marvel movies from 20th Century Fox. Here are the Marvel movies from Fox that are available on Disney Plus in the US:
"X-Men" (2000)
"X2: X-Men United" (2003)
"Fantastic Four" (2005)
"The Wolverine" (2013)
"X-Men: Days of Future Past" (2014)
"Fantastic Four" (2015)
"X-Men: Apocalypse" (2016)
Here's a full list of Marvel movies from 20th Century Fox that are still missing from Disney Plus in the US:
"Daredevil" (2003)
"Elektra" (2005)
"X-Men: The Last Stand" (2006)
"Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer" (2007)
"WandaVision" features Wanda Maximoff aka Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany) post "Avengers: Endgame." The two characters find themselves living a seemingly perfect suburban life, but soon begin to question the reality of their idyllic world.
Characters like Jimmy Woo (Randall Park) from "Ant-Man and the Wasp" and Darcy Lewis (Kat Dennings) from "Thor: The Dark World" will also make appearances in the show.
'The Falcon and the Winter Soldier'— March 19, 2021
"The Falcon and the Winter Soldier" will be the second MCU show to hit Disney Plus next year.
The new series reportedly takes place after the conclusion of "Avengers: Endgame," in which Captain America gave his shield to Sam Wilson, aka Falcon (Anthony Mackie). The Falcon's partner is Bucky Barnes, a rehabilitated assassin once known as the Winter Solider.
Though originally scheduled to premiere in August 2020, the series was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Details about the plot are slim so far, but based on the heroes' roles in the "Captain America" films, we can expect plenty of action.
Spoiler alert: Loki and all his mischief are coming back.
This is excellent news for those who have been mourning Loki's death in "Avengers: Endgame." Tom Hiddleston returns as the Nordic trickster, most likely due to the tesseract that enables him to travel through space and time.
"What If?" is an animated series based in the Marvel Universe with the premise that changing one small thing in the narrative of the superheroes could change the course of the character and the world.
Chadwick Boseman (Black Panther), Josh Brolin (Thanos), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Mark Ruffalo (the Hulk), Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury), and many more lend their voices to the series.
"Ms. Marvel" is a live-action show following the origin of Muslim superhero Kamala Khan, who first appeared in Marvel comics in 2013. Kamala is an Avengers super-fan and eventually finds herself struggling to control her own superpowers while balancing her teen life in Jersey City.
Kamala also stars in the "Marvel's Avengers" game released in September 2020, and the animated movie "Marvel Rising: Secret Warriors" on Disney Plus.
'Hawkeye' - TBA
In the "Hawkeye" original series, Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) will mentor and pass the mantle to another young sharpshooter, Kate Bishop. Actress Hailee Steinfeld, who voiced Gwen Stacy in "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse," will play Kate.
'She-Hulk' - TBA
"She-Hulk" will focus on Jennifer Walters, a lawyer who happens to be the cousin of the Hulk, aka Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo). In the comics, Walters becomes She-Hulk after receiving a blood transfusion from Banner. However, the She-Hulk is in much greater control of her personality when she transforms.
Marvel producer Kevin Feige says the new show will be a 30-minute legal comedy, drawing comparisons to the "She-Hulk" comics written by long-time "Spider-Man" author Dan Slott and Charles Soule. In those books, She-Hulk worked as a defense attorney in cases involving superpowered people.
Tatiana Maslany has been cast to play the title role. Maslany is best known for starring in the sci-fi series "Orphan Black."
'Moon Knight' - TBA
"Moon Knight" is one of the upcoming Marvel projects we know the least about, though it's been rumored that "Star Wars" star Oscar Isaac will play cloaked avenger Mark Specter.
The "Moon Knight" mythos is more complex than most Marvel heroes, with the character's mental health and connection to reality frequently coming into question. We'll have to wait and see which version of the character will be coming to the MCU.
'Armor Wars' — TBA
"Don Cheadle" will return to his role as James Rhodes, aka War Machine, in "Armor Wars." Borrowing its name from a major comic book event, "Armor Wars" explores what happens when Tony Stark is no longer able to protect the weapons he created from those who would use them to do harm.
'Secret Invasion' — TBA
"Secret Invasion" is a major Marvel comics event that saw multiple heroes replaced by alien impersonators called Skulls. The Marvel Cinematic Universe introduced the Skrulls in "Captain Marvel" in 2019, but the MCU version of "Secret Invasion" is sure to include a much different set of characters.
Samuel Jackson will appear as Nick Fury for the first time in an MCU show, while Ben Mendelsohn will appear as his Talos character from "Captain Marvel" and "Spider-Man: Far From Home."
'Ironheart' — TBA
"Ironheart" will star Dominique Thorne as young inventor Riri Williams, who creates a dynamic suit of armor inspired by Tony Stark's Iron Man.
In the comics, Riri has fought alongside the Avengers and is a member of the teenage superhero team Champions, with Miles Morales and Kamala Khan.
'The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special' — Holiday 2022
The cast of "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" is filming a holiday special on the set of the upcoming movie. The film isn't due out until 2023, but the holiday special is due out in fall 2022.
James Gunn, writer and director for all three "Guardians" films so far, will also be in charge of the holiday special.
'I Am Groot' — TBA
"I Am Groot" will be a collection of animated shorts featuring the fan-favorite character from "Guardians of the Galaxy." It's not clear how long or how frequent the shorts will be, but they're said to star Baby Groot and several new characters.
'Marvel Hero Project' - now available
One of the reality programs on Disney Plus is "Marvel Hero Project," which highlights extraordinary kids who have helped their community.
In each episode, the heroic kids get surprised with the honor of being drawn as superheroes in their very own Marvel comic. The comics will then be available via Marvel Unlimited and the Marvel Digital Comic Store for free.
Marvel TV shows - currently available
"Spider-Woman" (1979)
"Spider-Man" (1981)
"Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends" (1981)
"X-Men: The Series" (1992)
"Iron Man" (1994)
"Fantastic Four" (1994)
"Spider-Man"(1994)
"The Incredible Hulk" (1996)
"The Silver Surfer" (1998)
"Avengers: United They Stand" (1999)
"Spider-Man Unlimited" (1999)
"X-Men: Evolution" (2000)
"Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Heroes" (2006)
"Iron Man: Armored Adventures" (2008)
"Wolverine and the X-Men" (2009)
"The Super Hero Squad" (2009)
"The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes" (2010)
"Marvel's Ultimate Spider-Man" (2012)
"Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H." (2013)
"Avengers Assemble" (2013)
"Agent Carter" (2015)
"Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy" (2015)
"Spider-Man (2017)
"Inhumans" (2017)
"Runaways" (2017)
"Marvel Rising: Secret Warriors" (2018)
"Marvel 616"
Read everything else you should know about Disney Plus here:
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The early generations of Chromebooks were lacking compared to Windows laptops in terms of design and performance.
But, modern Chromebooks have made advancements on these fronts, with certain models offering great performance at a more affordable price.
After much research and personal testing, we believe the Google Pixelbook Go to be the best Chromebook for most people.
The best Chromebooks have evolved quite a bit in recent years. Today, they offer performance and build quality that's almost on par with Windows and MacBook laptops. We've used a number of different Chromebooks over the years and conducted plenty of research to find the best ones. Whether you're in need of a cheap laptop for casual browsing or need a daily work machine, there are several great options worth considering in this list depending on your budget.
Lost on what exactly to look out for when buying a Chromebook? We have some detailed advice for you right here, beneath all of our picks.
The Google Pixelbook Go is the best Chromebook pick overall for how it brings high-end, premium sensibilities to a much more affordable price point. With all-day battery life and an amazing keyboard, it's the one to beat.
Pros: Excellent display, incredible keyboard, lightweight and slim, long battery life
Cons: Fanless CPU, pricey upgrades, no biometric login, small-capacity storage
Google's latest Chromebook to date, the Pixelbook Go, is also the one we'd recommend to most people who want the quintessential Chromebook experience.
With its approachable starting price, the Pixelbook Go offers up a surprisingly premium mobile computing experience that comparable laptops don't even bother to. For instance, the Pixelbook Go features a 1,920 x 1,080-pixel (1080p) touchscreen with an embedded 1080p webcam as well as 8GB of memory (RAM). Some of these features, aren't even seen on the new entry-level Dell XPS 13, which comes with a non-touch display and 720p webcam.
Where the Pixelbook Go falls is storage, with just 64GB of space to start, relying heavily on the fact that Chromebooks utilize cloud storage via Google Drive (online connectivity required). Still, it's more storage than most Chromebooks offer at this price point. Also, with a rated battery life of 12 hours, it's one of the longest-lasting Chromebooks around.
We love the Pixelbook Go for its incredibly quiet and comfortable typing experience as well as how it brings high-end sensibilities to a more approachable price. At its starting price (our recommended configuration), this is the absolute best Chromebook for the price. However, if you're considering the most expensive configuration — with an Intel Core i7 CPU, 16GB of RAM, a 256GB SSD, and a 4K Ultra HD display — we'd suggest looking for a flagship Windows or MacBook laptop instead.
The best value Chromebook
Samsung's 15-inch Chromebook 4+ packs the most value into a budget laptop that we've ever seen, with many modern niceties for so much less than most laptops with similar features.
Pros: Decent display, long battery life, lots of ports
Cons: Small local storage, low amount of RAM
For those looking to squeeze the absolute most value possible from a Chromebook purchase, it's difficult to beat the 15-inch Samsung Chromebook 4+. You're getting an incredible amount of laptop for its asking price — no question.
What you get is a sleek, subtle platinum-colored frame housing a 15.6-inch, 1080p display, with power from an Intel Celeron CPU backed by 4GB of RAM and a 32GB SSD. That's supported by two USB-C ports, one USB 3.0 port, and a microSD card reader — along with Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) and Bluetooth 4.0 — for connectivity.
All of this comes within a device that can last for up to 10 hours and 30 minutes on a single charge, and can search the web for you and answer questions with just your voice using Google Assistant. Save for biometric login and more local storage, there's nothing else that this budget laptop leaves off the table.
The best 2-in-1 Chromebook
With a premium design, long battery life, decent performance, and plenty of ports, the Asus Chromebook Flip excels in all the right places.
Pros: High-quality design, long battery life, solid performance for the price
Cons: Most affordable models only have 64GB of storage
Chromebooks have grown a lot over the years, particularly when it comes to build quality. While early Chromebooks had plastic designs that made them feel like budget laptops, some newer models are just as premium as full-fledged Windows notebooks.
The Asus Chromebook Flip C434 is one such example. It comes with an aluminum design with slim bezels that enable it to cram a 14-inch display into the size of a 13-inch laptop, resulting in an 87% screen to body ratio. You also have the option of purchasing the Asus Chromebook Flip C434 with an 8th-generation Intel Core i5, Core i3, or Core m3 processor.
Although those processors are a bit old, they're still more than enough for casual computing tasks like browsing the web, watching Netflix, word processing, and managing spreadsheets. We'd recommend the $600 configuration running on an Intel Core m3 with 8GB of RAM since it offers the right balance of affordability and performance for most use cases.
The 14-inch display has a 1,920 x 1,080 resolution and a 360-degree hinge that allows it to function in tablet, tent, or laptop mode. There are also plenty of ports — in fact, Asus' 2-in-1 Chromebook has more connections than certain laptops. The notebook comes with two USB-C ports, one USB-A port, a microSD card slot, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Reviewers at Wired and Tom's Guide also gave it high marks for its long battery life, which is said to last for about 10 hours.
All told, the Asus Chromebook Flip is a well-built laptop with enough flexibility and power for casual computing. Unfortunately, the more affordable configuration we recommend only comes with 64GB of storage, which is less space than most smartphones offer but still more than you'll find on cheaper Chromebooks. That means you should only opt for this model if you don't need much local storage and keep most of your photos and documents in the cloud.
Otherwise, the more powerful model with 128GB of storage and an Intel Core i3 chip will run you $800. That's fine for those who are certain that they want a Chromebook, but it's also not much cheaper than a Windows laptop at that point.
The best 11-inch Chromebook
Lenovo's 100e Chromebook is the laptop we'd recommend to anyone with a restrictive budget, bringing a bit of quality to the web computing basics that the lowest price possible today offers.
Pros: Excellent price, long battery life, spill and drop resistant
Cons: Low power, tiny storage
Some folks out there still want the smallest laptop possible in spite of developments making 13 and even 15-inch laptops incredibly thin and light. For them, the best Chromebook we've found is the Lenovo 100e Chromebook.
This diminutive machine (for a computer, at least) is designed for nothing more than the basics of web-based computing: checking email, getting school work done, watching Netflix at 720p, and more. Because this is aimed for education primarily, the keyboard comes in a spill-proof design, and the frame can resist drops from as high as 29.5 inches — roughly the height of a student's desk.
Inside, you're getting a MediaTek CPU backed by just 4GB of RAM and 32 of storage . These are the absolute minimum requirements in terms of Chromebook hardware, hence the laptop's next-to-nothing price at most retailers online. Don't expect glorious computing experience here, though it does have up to 10 hours of battery life and a USB-C charger.
But, it is absolutely amazing for a kid's first laptop or even an older adult just getting into technology. And, the Lenovo 100e Chromebook is one of those laptops that's easy to recommend to almost anyone with a restrictive budget.
The best 13-inch Chromebook
The HP Chromebook 14 is an excellent buy for those looking for that traditional laptop experience without spending a ton of cash. With lots of basic features but also versatility, we think it's a winner.
Pros: Excellent price, lots of ports, long battery life
Cons: 1080p costs extra, tiny local storage
For those seeking a little more screen size and power from their Chromebook than a mere 11-inch device can offer, we suggest considering the HP Chromebook 14. This has many of the same features as your average 11-inch Chromebook, but with more space and a 14-inch, 720p screen crammed into a 13-inch-sized laptop.
The HP Chromebook 14 is both drop and spill resistant to a minor extent, and comes packing an Intel Celeron CPU, 4GB of RAM, and a 16GB SSD for storage. Again, this device is assuming that you'll be using cloud storage via Google Drive to supplement your local space. The included microSD card slot can help expand that local storage as well.
On top of that, the laptop has two USB-C 3.1 and two USB 3.1 ports, offering plenty of room for expansion in all sorts of ways, including displays. Finally, just like the Lenovo 100e, this Chromebook can last for up to 10 hours on a charge.
If you're after a more traditional laptop experience but aren't looking to spend a fortune, then this is the best Chromebook for that job.
The best Chromebooks for schoolwork
The same Chromebook that might do for most people isn't necessarily going to cut it for schoolwork. Some Chromebooks might be over-the-top for middle school assignments, while the most basic Chromebooks could have a hard time keeping up with the demands of high school and college coursework.
There are some features that students also can largely benefit from that not all Chromebooks have. A compact and lightweight design is one thing, since students will likely be toting their Chromebook around more than just about anyone else. That means durability is also a chief consideration, as is battery life that can make it through a long day away from power plugs.
Touchscreens are all well and good, but when it comes to taking notes on scientific formulas or mathematical equations, jotting down all the special characters or diagrams will be a lot easier and quicker with a stylus. So, active stylus support is definitely a more worthy consideration for a school-bound Chromebook than display resolution.
So, if schoolwork is on the agenda, it's important to consider what kind of schoolwork this device will need to be ready for. And, since these Chromebooks should last at least a few years, don't ignore classwork that may be further in the future. We've selected a few different Chromebooks that can meet the varying demands students may have, so you can easily find one to do the job:
The Acer Chromebook Spin 713 has the can-do attitude. It features a sizable 13.5-inch display with extra vertical space for working on documents, and it's plenty sharp for easy readability. A modern Core i5 processor with 8GB of RAM will handle the multitasking for research papers with ease and won't struggle to keep up with video calls for class. Plus, the 360-degree hinge design and stylus support make it a strong note-taking companion. All that's wrapped into a durable chassis built to last.
Where power isn't as much of a priority as portability, the Lenovo Chromebook Duet is best. It offers modest specs in a compact design that weighs less than a pound. You can detach the keyboard for maximum portability and easier note-taking in tablet mode or snap the keyboard on for convenient typing.
Portability is undeniably important, but sometimes you really need the bigger screen to see what you're doing or to multi-task. The HP Chromebook x 360 14 offers this without making the rest of the chassis too big, and it does so at a decent price. It even still delivers a 360-degree hinge and stylus support for total flexibility.
If having a durable laptop that you can toss in a backpack without concern is a top priority, Dell's Chromebook 3100 is worth considering. Dell says it's been tested to survive 5,000 micro-drops and 30-inch drops onto steel, and it also has a spill-resistant keyboard. Trusted Reviews put this to the test after accidentally spilling coffee on the keyboard, dropping it on a hardwood kitchen floor, and putting it in the hands of a four-year-old, finding that it held up. Dell's Chromebook comes in either 2-in-1 or standard clamshell options, with the convertible starting at $369 and the regular notebook beginning at $249. Both starting options come with an Intel Celeron processor, 4GB of RAM, and an 11.6-inch 1,366 x 768 display. It's not a computing powerhouse by any means, but it's a reliable machine for getting basic work done that should be more than capable of taking a tumble or two.
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Chromebooks we look forward to testing
Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2: Samsung's original Galaxy Chromebook from last year's CES had an attention-grabbing design that's uncommon for a Chromebook, but its high price and short battery life limited its appeal. Now, Samsung has addressed those criticisms with the Galaxy Chromebook 2, a revamped version of its Google-powered laptop that comes at a cheaper starting price of $549.99 compared to the previous model's $999.99 price tag. With a premium design, 13.3-inch QLED touch screen, and hopefully longer battery life, the Galaxy Chromebook 2 seems like it could be a promising option for those on a budget.
Acer Chromebook Spin 14: Powered by the latest AMD's latest mobile processors and offering 10 hours of battery life according to Acer's claims, the new Acer Chromebook Spin 14 has potential to become one of our top picks for a budget laptop in 2021. It features a 14-inch 1,920 x 1,080 touchscreen and aluminum build that could make it a compelling choice as a general-purpose laptop. It's launching in March 2021 starting at $479.99.
What to consider when buying a Chromebook
Chromebooks aren't designed like Windows or Mac machines. Instead of using an operating system (OS) with software that resides on the computer, Chromebooks run on a cloud-based OS called Chrome OS. It's very simple and easy to use. In place of a productivity suite like Microsoft Office, you get Google's services like the Chrome web browser, Gmail (email), Docs (documents), Sheets (spreadsheets), Slides (presentation), and Drive (cloud storage); all these applications and others are accessed via cloud.
This means all of your files will save to the cloud in Google Drive, so you never have to worry about losing them or saving a physical copy to your Chromebook's storage. As you can guess, much of Chrome OS's core functions work through the Chrome web browser.
Although Chromebooks are cloud-based laptops, they can work offline. There are some Chrome OS apps and programs you can download; Google's office suite has an offline mode; you can read or save files locally on a local solid state drive (SSD), external hard drive, USB flash drive, or SD card (if the Chromebook has a memory card reader); and even install Android apps from the Google Play store (Chromebooks released in 2017 or newer). But, most of your activity will be online through Google's apps or the Chrome web browser. If you need specific programs, like Adobe Illustrator, Premiere or Logic Pro X, that are only available for Mac OS or Windows, then a Chromebook isn't the best buy for you.
Some of the newest Chromebooks are quite high-end, with sharp, vibrant screens, comfortable keyboards, latest ports (USB-C and USB 3.0), and fast processors (CPUs). Couple that with the fact that just about any Chromebook available today supports the majority of Android apps through Google Play, and you have some awfully capable machines. However, not all Android apps perform well on a Chromebook, and we recommend using the web-based option instead, if there is one. For example, streaming Netflix through the web browser is preferable to using the Netflix Android app.
Here are some key hardware specifications to look out for when shopping for Chromebooks:
Displays: If you're concerned about how the text, images and video will appear on the Chromebook screen that you'll be looking at while using it, we recommend looking for a 720p (1,280 x 720) resolution at a minimum, with 1080p (1,920 x 1,080) being the gold standard. There are also 4K UHD (3,840 x 2,160) Chromebooks, but those are exorbitantly expensive whereas you can get a 1080p Chromebook for even $500. If you're looking for a touchscreen, the majority of those come in 2-in-1 hybrid designs and generally start at around $700 for ones with decent hardware inside.
Processors: A benefit to Chrome OS is that it doesn't require much power to run swiftly and efficiently, so most Chromebooks come with fanless processors either from Intel's Pentium and Celeron lines or ARM-based chip designs. If you need more power for some reason, makers like Google and HP do sell Chromebooks with Intel Core processors at the highest end.
Memory: The memory (RAM) in your Chromebook dictates how many programs or browser tabs you can run simultaneously before the machine has to reload your content when accessed. Most Chromebooks come with just 4GB of RAM, though some higher-end models offer 8GB or as much as 16GB. We'd feel the most comfortable and free to work without limits using 8GB of RAM, but basic users will get away with 4GB easily.
Storage: Chromebooks rely heavily on the cloud storage services that Google provides via Drive, so most models come with between 16GB and 64GB of onboard space, which is usually expandable via a microSD card. More premium models in recent years have begun shipping Chromebooks with more storage via faster solid-state drives (SSDs) rather than cheaper flash memory. With Google Drive accessible in the Chrome OS interface as if it were local storage, we would strongly consider a subscription with your Chromebook purchase to save some upfront cost. If you're that concerned with local storage, grab a microSD card or a thumb drive.
Ports: Most every single Chromebook is going to come with at least one standard USB port, likely the 2.0 edition in terms of data transfer speed. However, more modern and premium models have made the move to the sleeker, faster, and more versatile USB-C standard, so keep that in mind if you want the latest and greatest. Finally, don't expect to see a lot of ports on Chromebooks, being inherently focused on simplicity and portability. Much of what Chromebooks lack in wired connectivity can be made up for with Bluetooth and Wi-Fi.
The UK is the latest country to approve Elon Musk's Starlink internet as the billionaire reaches closer to his goal of covering Earth with up to 42,000 satellites to create a superfast global broadband service.
Northern US, southern Canada and now parts of Europe are taking part in Starlink's "Better Than Nothing Beta" test, which costs $99 a month, plus $499 for a kit with a tripod, a WiFi router, and a terminal to connect to the Starlink satellites.
In the UK, this translates to £439 for the kit and £89 subscription fee for 150 megabits per second (Mbps). But this is expensive considering some national providers offer speeds of up to 516 Mbps for £79 per month.
Philip Hall, in rural Devon, south-west England, told Insider he was one of the first people in the UK to receive the Starlink kit and test out its internet connection.
Hall has barely any internet connection where he lives, making running a business and contacting the family extremely challenging.
Despite the connection dropping out from time to time and the limited range of the signal, he said Starlink was "a hope and a prayer."
Here's how he set up Elon Musk's internet service in his own home.
Philip Hall and his partner live in Brithem Bottom, a rural village located in Devon, south-west England. Before Starlink, they were getting 0.5 Mbps download speed and had no reception. Even the government initiative to provide internet fell through. Hall said he felt "powerless."
"Without broadband, you've got your arms behind your back," said Hall, who runs an IT business from home. He said his partner has only been able to access a Microsoft Teams call when every internet device in the house is switched off.
Hall said he subscribed to the "Better Than Nothing Beta" test in early 2019. It was "quite challenging" to enrol in because it was designed for American citizens with zip codes, but he managed his way through.
He received an email on December 22nd asking if he'd like to place his order and pay £439 for the kit and £89 for the monthly subscription. He said the price included VAT, indicating it possibly came from a UK office.
The confirmation email came through on December 27th and it arrived on New Years Eve. Hall said he "very excitedly" posted a picture of the kit on the Starlink Reddit community but didn't open the box until the next day because he was with his family.
Within an hour of opening it on New Year's Day, Hall ran a Zoom quiz for his grandchildren. "It was wonderful," he said.
Hall is now seeing average download speeds between 85 and 90 Mbps. "It is absolutely transformational," he said. The connection has dropped out a couple of times but he said it's not a problem for people living in rural communities.
After unpacking it from the box, Hall installed the Starlink app on his smartphone. He plugged in the terminal, which positions itself so it's facing the sky and then tilts to align with the satellites. "It's like an appliance," Hall said. "You literally just plug it in and follow an app."
But the Starlink price is a fall back for some UK users. Starlink costs £89 a month for 100-150 Mbps, while some national providers offer download speeds of up to 516 Mbps for just £79 per month. Hall said he understands that fibre is cheaper, but where he lives, he can't get fibre so Starlink is the only alternative.
Without Musk's internet, Hall said that it was "like a chocolate teapot in terms of watching a video." Starlink has allowed Hall to stream TV series on Netflix and other services including Chromecast.
But like many other Starlink Reddit users, Hall said the range of the router doesn't stretch that far and the signal can be weak. "When we went to the other side of the house, we weren't picking it up."
For people living in rural areas, such as Hall and even indigenous communities in Canada, Starlink can be transformational. "Elon Musk has transformed the whole thing. It's a very exciting time," Hall said.
Lin-Manuel Miranda seemingly came out of nowhere. After creating "Hamilton," he became a household name, and his career has skyrocketed in the years since.
"Hamilton," which he wrote and starred in, made its off-Broadway debut in 2015, and it quickly became one of the most popular and most profitable musicals of all time. It easily ranks among modern classics like "The Phantom of the Opera,""The Lion King," and "Wicked."
Before Broadway shut down in March 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, "Hamilton" was still one of the most popular shows on Broadway. Tickets were still hundreds of dollars (or thousands on resale websites), and had to be purchased months in advance.
But "Hamilton"wasn't Miranda's first big hit. He also wrote and starred in "In the Heights," a musical combining hip-hop and salsa that he started to work on while he was in college, which also has a theatrical version all lined up for 2021. In just over a decade, he has won the MacArthur Genius Grant, a Pulitzer Prize, an Emmy, three Tonys, and three Grammys. He's just an "O" away from earning an EGOT — one of the most impressive feats in show business.
As he turns 41 on January 16, we've profiled the rise of Miranda's booming career, to see how he did it and how he continues to aim higher every day.
Carrie Wittmer contributed to a previous version of this article.
Lin-Manuel Miranda had been interested in musical theater from an early age.
Miranda was born in New York City and grew up in upper Manhattan — specifically Washington Heights.
He credits his inspiration for a career in musicals to "Les Misérables," the first show he saw on Broadway. He saw it with his family when he was 7 years old — you can see him praise the show during his Carpool Karaoke appearance.
His music tastes eventually evolved to include R&B and hip-hop, but musical theater was always a passion. When he attended Hunter College High School, he participated in musical theater.
Most importantly, in college, he started writing his first musical, "In the Heights," that would eventually make it to Broadway.
In college, Miranda wrote the music and lyrics for his first musical, "In the Heights," which he also starred in. It would go on to debut on Broadway in 2008.
Miranda's non-stop work ethic started in college at Wesleyan University. He wrote an early draft of his first musical, "In the Heights," when he was a sophomore in 1999. The show was added to Wesleyan's student theater company, Second Stage, and played in April 2000.
The lively musical combines hip-hop with salsa and Latin sounds, and is set in the Manhattan neighborhood of Washington Heights, a Hispanic-American neighborhood close to where Miranda grew up.
After the show's debut, Miranda was approached about expanding the show into a Broadway production. After a run in Connecticut in 2005, "In the Heights" made its premiere on Broadway in February 2008, when Miranda was 28 years old. The show received mostly positive reviews, with many critics noting Miranda's emotional lyrics as its strength.
"In the Heights" was nominated for 13 Tony Awards and won four, including Best Musical and Best Original Score, and the show ended its run in 2011. By then, Miranda was already two years into his work on his biggest hit to date, "Hamilton."
But while he was developing his first musical, Miranda was hustling to support himself with other jobs.
After college, when Miranda was in his 20s and supporting himself while working on "In the Heights," he wrote political jingles.
Miranda wrote the jingles in English and Spanish for ads for politicians including Eliot Spitzer, the former governor of New York. He got the work through his father, who worked as a political consultant.
Even when Miranda was supporting his career in music, he was writing it.
In between "In the Heights" and "Hamilton," he also wrote music for the musical adaptation of "Bring It On."
With "Bring It On: The Musical," Miranda notched another Best Musical nomination under his belt, as well as a Drama Desk nomination for Best Lyrics.
Miranda began working on "Hamilton" in 2009 — it took six years for it to premiere on Broadway.
Miranda began working on "Hamilton" in 2009. He was inspired to write a hip-hop musical about founding father Alexander Hamilton after reading the 2004 biography"Alexander Hamilton" by historian Ron Chernow.
He "saw Hamilton's relentlessness, brilliance, linguistic dexterity, and self-destructive stubbornness through his own idiosyncratic lens,"wrote The New Yorker in 2015. "It was, he thought, a hip-hop story, an immigrant's story."
Miranda has said that Hamilton reminded him of rapper Tupac Shakur, which is how he came up with the idea for a diverse hip-hop musical about Hamilton's life.
Miranda worked on "Hamilton"— a project people, including his mentor and famed lyricist Stephen Sondheim, told him would never work — for years. He has said that he worked on the songs"Alexander Hamilton" and "My Shot" for an entire year each. But Miranda never let anyone's opinion discourage him, and it ultimately made its debut at the Public Theater in 2015. Months later, it went to Broadway.
The musical earned him Tony Awards, a Pulitzer Prize, and Kennedy Center Honors.
"Hamilton" became an overnight hit, with tickets selling out and being resold for thousands — if you could even find one. In 2016, "Hamilton" won the Pulitzer Prize for drama.
Sondheim, who was sent Miranda's lyrics before the show came out and didn't think it had a chance, later told the New York Times, "The wonderful thing about [Miranda's] use of rap is that he's got one foot in the past."
After over five years on Broadway, "Hamilton" still sells out theaters, and audiences have to buy expensive tickets months in advance. In 2018, the show made a record-breaking $4 million in one weekend. The show has since been expanded to other cities in the United States and the world, including Los Angeles, London, Chicago, Sydney, and more.
One of the major draws of "Hamilton" is its emphasis on diversity, rather than historical accuracy in its casting.
As the son of Puerto Rican immigrants, Miranda has made diversity an integral part of his work. "In the Heights" was about a Hispanic-American neighborhood in Manhattan, and the musical was cast accordingly.
But if anyone else had written a musical about Alexander Hamilton and his peers, it would have probably featured an all-white cast, since these historical figures were white. With "Hamilton," Miranda opted for color-conscious casting. He chose non-white actors, save for the campy role of King George III.
For Miranda, representing the spirit of Alexander Hamilton, the spirit of the Founding Fathers, and the spirit of the American Revolution, which emulates that of American hip-hop, was more important than visual historical accuracy.
'The idea of hip-hop being the music of the Revolution appealed to me immensely,'' Miranda told the New York Times in 2015. ''It felt right.''
While the original cast has left "Hamilton," the show has continued its color-conscious casting, and does so in its touring productions as well.
After he left the show as a cast member, Miranda kept the "Hamilton" content coming with "The Hamilton Mixtape."
He left in 2016 to move on to other things, but he still hasn't lost one bit of his passion for "Hamilton." That year, "The Hamilton Mixtape," an album that features covers of songs from "Hamilton" by popular artists including Alicia Keys, Kelly Clarkson and John Legend, was released.
"The Hamilton Mixtape"debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, and marked the largest sales in a week for a compilation album since "Cruel Summer" by GOOD Music in 2012.
In December 2017, Miranda announced yet another "Hamilton"-adjacent project, the "Hamildrops."
The first Hamildrop was "Ben Franklin's Song" performed by the Decemberists — it was a cut song from the show that never got set to music, and was just lyrics written by Miranda. Almost every month for the next year, Miranda released a song, 12 in total.
In addition to "Ben Franklin's Song," there was a remixed version of "Wrote My Way Out" by Royce Da 5'9", Joyner Lucas, Black Thought, and Aloe Blacc (the original appeared on the "Mixtape"), a polka medley of songs from the musical by Weird Al Yankovic, a mash-up called "Found/Tonight" that put together a song from "Hamilton" and one from "Dear Evan Hansen" performed by Miranda and Ben Platt, "First Burn," which is an alternate version of the song "Burn" from the show performed by various actresses who played the role of Eliza, a cover of "Helpless" by The Regrettes, a song "Boom Goes the Cannon..." by Mobb Deep that sampled from the musical's song "Right Hand Man,""Rise Up, Wise Up, Eyes Up" by Ibeyi, "A Forgotten Spot (Olvidado)," which was released on the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Maria hitting Puerto Rico and performed by Miranda and Puerto Rican musicians Zion & Lennox, De La Ghetto, Ivy Queen, PJ Sin Suela and Lucecita Benítez, a cut song called "Theodosia Reprise" performed by Sara Bareilles, a new "Hamilton"-inspired song performed by Miranda as his character called "Cheering For Me Now," and — lastly — a rendition of "One Last Time" called "One Last Time (44 Remix)," which has Christopher Jackson (the original George Washington on Broadway) and former president Barack Obama reciting Washington's real-life farewell address.
Also in 2017, Miranda got drunk and talked about Alexander Hamilton for so long that Comedy Central's "Drunk History" had to extend his episode.
"Drunk History," created by Derek Waters and Jeremy Konner, is Comedy Central's liquored-up version of our nation's history. Comedians and actors get drunk and retell a historical event. Then A-list actors, from Michael Cera to Winona Ryder, act out the narration.
In a 2017 episode, Miranda got drunk and told the story of Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr. Speaking with Business Insider, Emmy-nominated "Drunk History" production designer Chloe Arbiture said that Miranda talked so much about Hamilton that his episode was extended. Usually "Drunk History" episodes feature a few historical events per episode.
"For the Lin-Manuel Miranda episode, we knew he was going to talk about Hamilton," Arbiture said. "But we didn't know it would be a long standalone episode. But there was so much great footage that we couldn't cut. So to do it justice, we morphed it into his own episode."
Arbiture mentioned that the extended episode length was a challenge for the production design team, especially for budget reasons.
Miranda has lent his songwriting abilities to various other films, like "Moana,""Star Wars," and "The Little Mermaid."
In addition to his theater and TV work, Miranda collaborated with Opetaia Foa'i and Mark Mancina on the music and lyrics for the 2016 Disney film "Moana," which earned him an Oscar nomination for the song "How Far I'll Go" in 2017. He started to work on the music for the film in 2014, a year before "Hamilton" came to Broadway.
He also co-wrote and contributed vocals to the cantina song, "Jabba Flow," which was featured in 2015's "Star Wars: The Force Awakens."
In 2017, it was confirmed that Miranda is working with songwriter Alan Menken on new music for Disney's live-action version of "The Little Mermaid." He is also writing music for a Sony animated film, "Vivo," which will be released in 2021.
He's also been acting more as well, with starring roles in "Mary Poppins Returns" and "His Dark Materials," and a guest spot on "Brooklyn Nine-Nine."
In the 2018 sequel to the iconic Disney film, Miranda played Jack, a Cockney lamplighter and former apprentice to Dick Van Dyke's character from the original film. Miranda received a Golden Globe nomination for his performance.
Miranda also took on the role of Lee Scoresby in the HBO adaptation of the Philip Pullman "His Dark Materials" trilogy that premiered in 2019. It has been renewed for a third and final season.
In addition to those main roles, he's popped up in "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" as the brother of Melissa Fumero's character, Amy Santiago, as Julián Castro on "Saturday Night Live," as real-life actor Roy Scheider in an episode of "Fosse/Verdon" (which he also produced), among other roles. He also hosted an episode of "SNL," making him one of the few Broadway stars to host the show — proving how mainstream "Hamilton" has become.
As if he's not busy enough, he also wrote a book, "Gmorning, Gnight!: Little Pep Talks for Me & You" with Jonny Sun.
For years, almost every morning and night, Miranda famously tweeted sweet little messages and affirmations, telling his followers that everything will be OK. He worked with illustrator Jonny Sun to compile his tweets into a book with drawings. It was released in October 2018.
"The real joy of it was really working with Lin to make sure that the illustrations were reflective of him. We spent some time going through each of the tweets, and he kind of gave me like the director's commentary of each kind of passage, and told me here's how he was feeling this day, here's what he was thinking of. And the joy for me was taking all of that stuff and trying to fit it into the image,"said Sun of working with the playwright.
Miranda also makes time for advocacy and charity work for Puerto Rico, especially after Hurricane Maria. He returned to the part of Alexander Hamilton when the musical was in Puerto Rico in 2019.
In September 2017, Hurricane Maria brought devastation to Puerto Rico. His parents had grown up on the island and in his youth, Miranda had spent summers there visiting his grandparents.
Since the hurricane hit, Miranda has used his platform and voice to raise awareness and funds for disaster relief. He visited Puerto Rico and saw what little remained of his grandparents' beloved home. "My job is to amplify the concerns of Puerto Rico," Miranda told CBS News in November 2017. Miranda said that there are still towns in Puerto Rico struggling to get aid.
The day after Maria hit, Miranda wrote a song, "Almost Like Praying." It features Puerto Rican artists, including Jennifer Lopez. The song was released in October 2017, and became the No. 1 song on iTunes in 17 countries. All proceeds from the song went to hurricane relief.
In 2018, Miranda announced he will be making his directorial debut with the movie adaptation of the Jonathan Larson musical, "Tick, Tick ... Boom!" It's set to premiere on Netflix in 2021.
"Tick Tick ... Boom!" is Larson's other musical — the late playwright is more well-known for megahit "Rent." Miranda was announced to be directing an adaptation of the musical in 2018. It was later picked up by Netflix, with Andrew Garfield starring. On Twitter, it was confirmed that Miranda's directorial debut will premiere on the streaming service this year.
Last summer, the theatrical adaptation of "In the Heights" was supposed to be released, but it was pushed back due to the coronavirus.
While Miranda is not reprising his role as Usnavi, he will be making an appearance as a side character, Piraguero, or the Piragua Guy.
The movie was supposed to be released last summer, but due to the pandemic, it was pushed back a full year. Now, it's part of HBO Max's larger plan to release all films simultaneously in theaters and on the streaming service.
Just five years after its debut, a filmed version of "Hamilton" was released on Disney Plus on July 3, 2020.
Perhaps to make up for the lack of Miranda-approved musical content, the filmed version of "Hamilton," complete with its original cast, was pushed from an October 2021 theatrical release to a surprise July 2020 drop on Disney Plus.
According to IMDb, the film is "centered on a young girl and her family in Colombia, who all have magical powers [while], sadly, the young girl has no powers."
Silicon Valley is a breeding ground for rivalries.
In a place where world-changing ideas are born and billions of dollars are at stake, it's only natural that rivalries develop between Silicon Valley's power players, ranging from friendly sparring to pointed critiques.
While some feuds, like the one between Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff and Oracle founder Larry Ellison, appear to be born out of a close friendship and mutual respect, others — like the one between Mark Zuckerberg and Evan Spiegel — started over a spurned acquisition offer.
Here are some of the long-standing feuds, friendly or otherwise, between some of the world's most powerful execs.
For over four years, Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg have clashed over topics as varied as artificial intelligence and rockets.
The two moguls — one of whom leads Tesla and SpaceX, and the other of whom leads Facebook — haven't exactly kept their rivalry a secret. When a SpaceX rocket explosion destroyed a Facebook satellite in 2016, Zuckerberg issued a heated statement saying he was "deeply disappointed" about SpaceX's failure.
And when Facebook became embroiled in the Cambridge Analytica scandal, Musk publicly deleted his companies' Facebook pages, tweeting that the company gave him "the willies."
Then, following the riot at the US Capitol earlier this month, Musk used Twitter to share memes linking the riots to Facebook. On the evening of the rampage, Musk tweeted, "This is called the domino effect," along with an image of dominoes, with the first one labeled "a website to rate women on campus," a reference to Facebook's inception at Harvard University. The last domino was about the rioters.
Elon Musk and Bill Gates
Elon Musk and Bill Gates don't appear to have a warm relationship, at least if their comments about each other over the last six months are any indication.
Things heated up in February when Gates said during an interview with YouTuber Marques Brownlee that while Tesla has helped drive innovation and adoption of electric vehicles, he didn't buy a Tesla when making a recent vehicle purchase — he bought a Porsche Taycan.
In response, Musk tweeted that his conversations with Gates have always been "underwhelming."
Then, in July, Gates said in an interview on CNBC's "Squawk Box" that Musk's comments about COVID-19 are "outrageous," as Musk has frequently downplayed the severity of the virus and questioned how the US has handled its coronavirus response.
"Elon's positioning is to maintain a high level of outrageous comments," Gates said. "He's not much involved in vaccines. He makes a great electric car. And his rockets work well. So he's allowed to say these things. I hope that he doesn't confuse areas he's not involved in too much."
Musk took to Twitter a few days later to taunt Gates, tweeting, "Billy G is not my lover" and "The rumor that Bill Gates & I are lovers is completely untrue."
Kevin Systrom and Jack Dorsey
Instagram founder Kevin Systrom and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey started out as close friends, but had a falling out around the time Instagram sold to Facebook.
According to the book "No Filter: The Inside Story of Instagram" by Sarah Frier, the pair met when they were early employees at Odeo, the audio and video site created by eventual Twitter cofounders Ev Williams and Noah Glass. Dorsey expected to dislike Systrom when he joined as a summer intern in the mid-2000s, but the pair ended up bonding over photography and expensive coffee.
Systrom and Dorsey stayed in touch even after Systrom got a full-time job at Google. Systrom was an early proponent of Twitter (then known as Twttr) and when he started working on Burbn, the precursor to Instagram, he reached out to Dorsey for guidance. Dorsey ended up becoming an early investor, putting in $25,000. When Burbn pivoted to Instagram, Dorsey became one of the app's biggest fans, cross-posting his Instagrams to Twitter and helping the app go viral soon after it launched. Dorsey eventually attempted to buy Instagram, but Systrom declined, saying he wanted to make Instagram too expensive to be acquired, according to Frier.
The Dorsey-Systrom relationship appeared to have soured in 2012, when Dorsey found out that Instagram had signed a deal to be acquired by Facebook, Twitter's biggest rival. According to Frier, Dorsey was hurt that Systrom hadn't called him first to discuss the deal, or to negotiate one with Twitter instead.
Dorsey hasn't posted to his Instagram account since April 9, 2012, when he snapped a photo of an unusually empty San Francisco city bus — according to Frier, it was taken the morning he found out Instagram had sold. While Systrom had been quiet on Twitter for the last few years, he's recently begun using the platform again, and the pair even recently had a pleasant tweet exchange.
Marc Benioff and Larry Ellison
Oracle founder Larry Ellison and Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff met when Benioff began working at Oracle when he was 23. He was a star early on, earning a "rookie of the year" award that same year and becoming Oracle's youngest VP by age 26. He spent 13 years at Oracle, during which he became a trusted lieutenant to Ellison.
Benioff began working on Salesforce with Ellison's blessing, and Ellison became an investor, putting in $2 million early on.
But since then, the duo has publicly feuded on multiple occasions. In 2000, Oracle launched software that directly competed with Salesforce. Benioff asked Ellison to resign from Salesforce's board, and Ellison refused (he eventually left the board, but Benioff let him keep his stock and options).
Over the years, Benioff and Ellison have sparred off and on: Ellison once mocked Salesforce, calling it an "itty bitty application" that's dependent on Oracle, while Benioff has called Oracle a "false cloud." And in 2011, Ellison ordered that Benioff be removed from the speaker lineup of Oracle's OpenWorld conference, which Benioff said was because Oracle was afraid he'd give a better speech.
But throughout it all, Benioff has described Ellison as his mentor. "There is no one I've learned more from than Larry Ellison," Benioff said in 2013.
Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk aren't competitors in any earthly pursuits, but they're bitter rivals when it comes to outer space.
Bezos founded his rocket company, Blue Origin, in 2000, while Musk founded SpaceX in 2002. Two years later, the pair met for dinner, and even then, things were getting testy.
"I actually did my best to give good advice, which he largely ignored,"Musk said after the meeting.
In 2013, their rivalry heated up when SpaceX tried to get exclusive use of a NASA launch pad and Blue Origin (along with SpaceX rival United Launch Alliance) filed a formal protest with the government. Musk called it a "phony blocking tactic" and SpaceX eventually won the right to take over the pad. Months later, the two companies got into a patent battle, and soon after, Bezos and Musk took their feud public, trading barbson Twitter.
Once, when the BBC asked Musk about Bezos, he responded, "Jeff who?" For his part, Bezos has frequently criticized the idea of colonizing Mars — a main goal of SpaceX — describing the idea as "un-motivating."
In May 2019, Musk jabbed at Bezos again, calling him a copycat for Amazon's plan to launch internet-beaming satellites. And last week, Musk repeated the claim, tweeting that Bezos is a copycat after Amazon acquired self-driving-taxi company Zoox for a reported $1.2 billion.
"The rate of progress is too slow and the amount of years he has left is not enough, but I'm still glad he's doing what he's doing with Blue Origin," Musk said.
Tim Cook and Mark Zuckerberg
There is no love lost between Apple CEO Tim Cook and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
Shortly after, Zuckerberg appeared noticeably tense in an interview with Time when the subject of Cook's comments came up, saying, "'What, you think because you're paying Apple that you're somehow in alignment with them? If you were in alignment with them, then they'd make their products a lot cheaper!'"
But the tension between Cook and Zuckerberg came to a head in the aftermath of Facebook's Cambridge Analytica scandal, in which private Facebook user data was stolen from 50 million users. In 2018, Recode's Kara Swisher asked Cook what he would do if he was in Zuckerberg's shoes, to which he responded: "What would I do? I wouldn't be in this situation."
In a company blog post in 2018, Facebook confirmed the feud between the two execs: "Tim Cook has consistently criticized our business model and Mark has been equally clear he disagrees."
Steve Jobs and Bill Gates
In the early days of Apple and Microsoft, Steve Jobs and Bill Gates got along — Microsoft made software for the Apple II computer, and Gates was a frequent guest in Cupertino, where Apple is headquartered.
But the tides started to turn in the early '80s, when Jobs flew up to Microsoft's headquarters in Washington to try to convince Gates to make software for the Macintosh computer. Gates later described it as "a weird seduction visit" and said he felt like Jobs was saying "I don't need you, but I might let you be involved."
"They just ripped us off completely, because Gates has no shame," Jobs later told his biographer, Walter Isaacson, to which Gates replied: "If he believes that, he really has entered into one of his own reality distortion fields."
The duo traded barbs for years, with Jobs calling Gates boring and Gates calling Jobs "weirdly flawed as a human being." Tensions remained high even after Microsoft invested in Apple to keep it afloat, with both Gates and Jobs insulting each other and their companies' products time and time again.
Still, they clearly respected and admired each other, despite their animosity. When Jobs died in 2011, Gates said: "I respect Steve, we got to work together. We spurred each other on, even as competitors. None of [what he said] bothers me at all."
Mark Zuckerberg and Jack Dorsey
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and Zuckerberg have never seemed particularly chummy, but the rivalry between the two execs seems to have grown worse in the last few years.
Facebook has come under fire during the last several months over its decision not to fact-check political ads. In response, Dorsey announced last October that Twitter was suspending political advertising altogether, saying "political message reach should be earned, not bought."
Dorsey also said at an event that month that Zuckerberg's argument that Facebook is an advocate for free speech "a major gap and flaw in the substance he was getting across," and that "there's some amount of revisionist history in all his storytelling."
For his part, Zuckerberg hasn't been shy about criticizing Twitter, saying in an all hands that "Twitter can't do as good of a job as we can," according to leaked audio obtained by The Verge.
Gates and Ellison may have patched things up these days, but back in the late '90s and early 2000s, they were enemies.
While it seems like there's no real bad blood currently between the two, there definitely appears to have been a touchy relationship between the them throughout the '90s, mostly defined by Ellison trying to outdo Gates.
"He's utterly obsessed with trying to beat Bill Gates," former Microsoft CTO Nathan Myhrvold once told Vanity Fair. "I mean, the guy's got six billion bucks. You'd think he wouldn't be so dramatically obsessed that one guy in the Northwest is more successful. [With Larry] it's just a mania."
Their animosity partly stemmed from Ellison's close friendship with Steve Jobs, a frequent opponent of Gates. But things took a more serious turn in 2000 when Microsoft was being investigated by the federal government over antitrust violations. At the time, several groups were openly supportive of Microsoft, and Ellison suspected they were being funded by Microsoft itself. He hired private investigators to in an attempt to out Microsoft and help out the feds.
Eventually, Microsoft lost the suit, and Gates stepped down as Microsoft CEO.
Evan Spiegel and Mark Zuckerberg
Snap CEO Evan Spiegel and Mark Zuckerberg seemed to get off on the wrong foot right from the start, beginning with what may have been a Spiegel brush-off in 2012.
Snap had reportedly turned down an acquisition offer from Facebook on threeseparate occasions.
Spiegel and Zuckerberg haven't been friendly since. Facebook has mimicked many of Snapchat's features over the years — both on its own app and its subsidiary, Instagram — and the CEOs have made jabs at each other in public. In 2018, after Facebook cloned yet another Snapchat feature, Stories, Spiegel said: "We would really appreciate it if they copied our data protection practices also," a dig at Facebook's various privacy scandals.
Steve Jobs and Michael Dell
In 1997, Dell founder and CEO Michael Dell was asked for his opinion on Apple, which, at the time, was in dire straits. He responded that he'd "shut it down and give the money back to the shareholders."
That comment irritated Steve Jobs, who told his team in response: "The world doesn't need another Dell or HP. It doesn't need another manufacturer of plain, beige, boring PCs. If that's all we're going to do, then we should really pack up now." At an Apple keynote shortly after, Jobs said Dell's comments were "rude" and told him that Apple was coming for him.
Dell later softened his comments, saying that he was trying to make clear that he wasn't for hire.
But Dell rankled Jobs enough that, in January 2006, Jobs sent around this memo to the entire company: "Team, it turned out that Michael Dell wasn't perfect at predicting the future. Based on today's stock market close, Apple is worth more than Dell. Stocks go up and down, and things may be different tomorrow, but I thought it was worth a moment of reflection today."
Mark Zuckerberg and Kevin Systrom
Mark Zuckerberg and Instagram founder Kevin Systrom used to get along well — so well that Zuckerberg bought Instagram for $1 billion in 2012.
But in the intervening years, the relationship between the two executives seemingly fell apart. When asked why he left, Systrom said, "no one ever leaves a job because everything's awesome."
According to an April 2019 piece from Wired's Nick Thompson and Fred Vogelstein, Systrom and cofounder Mike Krieger left because of increasing tensions with Zuckerberg. Zuckerberg reportedly became increasingly controlling, banning Systrom from doing magazine profiles without approval, taking away Facebook tools that helped Instagram grow, testing location-tracking while Systrom was out on paternity leave, and adding a new button to Instagram that Systrom detested.
Automakers and tech companies have spent billions over the past decade preparing for a future dominated by electric cars and automated-driving technology.
When looking at the auto industry, investors should focus on how well companies are positioned to capitalize on those trends, according to Deutsche Bank analysts Emmanuel Rosner, Edison Yu, and Conor Walters, who shared their 2021 stock picks for the automotive industry in a January 20 research note.
"We expect Autos 2.0 (electrification, autonomy, and connectivity) to remain the most powerful investment trends again this year," the analysts wrote.
Six of the eight companies included in the analysts' 2021 picks have the potential to benefit from the shift to electric and increasingly automated vehicles, the analysts said. The analysts also picked two suppliers, Adient and Dana, that can make parts for electric or gas-powered vehicles and could benefit from improved demand for vehicles and additional fiscal stimulus measures.
These are Deutsche Bank's automotive stock picks for 2021.
Why Deutsche Bank recommends it: "We continue to be very encouraged by GM's aggressive EV strategy, which could ultimately give it a strong market position. Investors have shown increasing willingness to give the stock credit for robust EV technology and efforts, and we believe GM stock could further re-rate as the company demonstrates success in electrification and new ways to monetize it."
Why Deutsche Bank recommends it: After talking to two Luminar executives on January 7, Rosner and Yu wrote, "Luminar's comments about its sensor cost trajectory were particularly encouraging, as management indicated its current bill of materials already is in the three-digit $ range per unit, and should comfortably get to $500 by 2023 based on signed volume-based supply agreements, and < $100 by mid-decade. With regards to its strategic partnerships and customer agreements, Luminar continues to progress well through sample B/C validation testing and believes it is well on track to convert numerous development programs to series OEM production awards over the next ~24 months. All in, we believe Luminar's superior system performance at the right cost and deep relationships with automakers continue to justify our Buy rating and $37 price target."
Why Deutsche Bank recommends it: "We believe that 2021 is shaping out to be a pivotal year for Tesla as it begins production at two new facilities and launches a number of new products in the lineup. To start, the company has already begun delivering made-in-China Model Y vehicles, and will ramp through 2021. Additionally, Tesla anticipates that it will complete the construction on both Berlin GF and Austin GF, with vehicle production beginning at both facilities in 2021. Mid-term, we believe Tesla's impressive target trajectory for its technology, capacity, and especially cost could help accelerate the world's shift to electric vehicles and extend Tesla's EV lead considerably. We strongly believe that Tesla's battery plan is a bold attempt to inflect down battery costs much faster than their current trajectory, which could give Tesla a large competitive advantage."
Why Deutsche Bank recommends it: "Continues to showcase its best-in-class automotive technology and moat with 70%+ win-rate in high-voltage awards, considerably above its 30% market share globally in power distribution. Management expects high-voltage sales to grow at 40% CAGR through 2022, leading to $1bn in revenue. Aptiv's content per vehicle on BEV is >$1k or 2x typical low voltage vehicle, with over 50% wallet share at Tesla. Valuation-wise, we could see Aptiv re-rating based on an EV/Sales multiple which is still very low compared to other EV comps (our new price target assumes just 3.0x 2021E EV/sales)."
Why Deutsche Bank recommends it: "With expectations running high into the [January 9 Nio Day] event, we believe NIO provided customers and investors alike with a bold roadmap for the next two years including an impressive high-end flagship sedan, new 150 kWh solid-state battery pack, and very ambitious vision for autonomous driving ("NAD') that will shift to a software subscription model...Overall, we think achieving all these targets will without a doubt be challenging but believe NIO is among the best positioned to do so."
Why Deutsche Bank recommends it: "First Battery Management System win with GM's important Ultium EV platform validates its latest technology, unlocks a large new TAM for Visteon, and positions it well to benefit from the trend towards vehicle electrification, which could carry large positive implication for its stock's valuation. GM's accelerated launch schedule would boost Visteon growth ($350-500 CPV)."
Droves of tech talent from Silicon Valley and beyond continue to head to Austin, Texas — if they haven't landed there already.
In what many have called an exodus from the Bay Area, many tech workers — now untethered to their now-shuttered corporate offices — are able to work remotely and pack up for more affordable locales. Miami and Austin have turned out to be two of the most popular relocation spots.
Oracle is moving its headquarters to Austin, and Palantir cofounder Joe Lonsdale, who already lives in Austin, confirmed in early November that he is moving his venture capital firm, 8VC, there as well. Tech executives like Dropbox CEO Drew Houston have announced they're moving to the Texas city. Tesla founder Elon Musk is building a new Cybertruck factory in Austin, and news recently surfaced that his Boring Company bought an industrial site in Pflugerville, a town just outside of Austin. Musk himself said he has moved to Texas, though it's unclear where exactly.
Google, Facebook, Atlassian, and Oracle have thousands of workers in Austin collectively. And Apple is shelling out $1 billion for a new campus in North Austin, with the potential to add 15,000 more workers to its existing 7,000.
Austin's considerably lower cost of living offers a nice reprieve from the sky-high costs in the Bay Area. But the recent tech boom isn't Austin's first rodeo — the industry has a long history in the capital city.
Here's how the tech industry has ballooned in Austin — and why "Silicon Hills" is so appealing to workers and companies alike.
But Austin is still leagues behind San Francisco in many respects, which might be why the Texas city has increasingly become a favorable relocation destination for San Francisco techies.
And a 2018 Brookings report cast Austin as No. 6 in a list of US cities attracting the most millennials, making Austin a hotbed for young professionals specifically.
And although Texas is typically a red state, the city of Austin skews left. As the Austin-American Statesman's Eric Webb writes, Austin is a "blueberry in the tomato soup of Texas."
IBM's Austin track record traces all the way back to 1937 with the opening of a sales office. It was an early move that cemented the city as a future tech hub.
The same goes for Dell Technologies, the Austin area-based company established by now billionaire Michael Dell in 1984. Dell currently employs 138,000 workers worldwide, a reported 13,000 of which are in the Central Texas region.
And in 1983, Austin won a national competition to host the country's first for-profit computer research consortium, providing a resource pool for the top tech companies in the US.
Known as the Microelectronics and Computer Technology Corp, or the MCC, it helped establish Austin as a bigger player in the tech world. The MCC stopped operations in 2000.
In the 1990s, the Capital of Texas Highway, to the northwest of downtown, was a stretch where many tech companies set up shop. They started congregating in downtown Austin instead in the early 2000s.
And as far as the Silicon Valley lineup goes, Apple has had a presence in Austin for over two decades now. There are 7,000 workers currently employed by Apple in Austin.
The new 3-million-square-foot campus will be less than a mile away from its current location that it opened in 2016, and will add an immediate 5,000 employees to Apple's existing 7,000 Austin workers.
And Apple isn't the only California company to have moved into the Texas city.
Mountain View-based juggernaut Google entered Austin's tech ecosystem in 2007 with its acquisition of the email security and archiving service Postini.
A good portion of them work in Google's swanky new offices down the street from the Fiber space. Teams here work on everything from Android and G Suite operations to finance and marketing.
The 35-story tower will stand right next to the Austin Public Library. When the tower is complete, it will open up hundreds more Google jobs in the capital city.
Job site Indeed occupies 10 floors in a downtown office building, with more locations to the north of downtown in The Domain shopping center. There are more than 1,600 Indeed employees in Austin.
The $19 billion software maker Atlassian opened an Austin office in 2014 for its then-150-person team. The company now employs more than 400 people in its Austin office. And earlier this year, Atlassian said its employees can work from home permanently.
And thousands more are employed by other tech giants. Facebook has over 1,000 employees in the Austin area, Amazon has 5,600, and software company Oracle has 5,000 in its new waterfront campus.
The newer tech fledglings have also sprouted up in recent years. Local Austin startups, including RigUp and DISCO, raised a collective $400 million in venture capital in January 2019.
The city's established tech sector has also helped attract the US Army. Austin was chosen out of 150 US cities to house its new high-tech futures command center.
The unit's goal is to develop new defense technology — and it purposefully chose Austin in hopes that its "weirdness" culture could inspire some out-of-the-box thinking.
...specifically, in the area's real estate market: Austin's median home value currently sits at $427,116, compared to the national average of $262,604.
The blossoming tech presence has spurred an affordability crisis, just as it has in San Francisco. As tech companies and workers continue to pour into the city, demand and home prices have increased as a result...
The Barton Creek neighborhood has historically been one of the city's priciest zip codes and has seen its share of tech elite move in within the past couple of decades.
Renters in the city don't have it much easier. The average price for a one-bedroom apartment is $1,284 a month, but that jumps to $1,992 in Downtown Austin.
And as more millennials, who usually rent instead of buy, flock to the city, the market will grow even more saturated, raising the rent in the process.
Granted, Silicon Valley salaries are the largest in the industry. But even for the highest-earning Bay Area tech workers, the area's cost of living ensures that property-owning and other aspects of a higher quality of life may remain just out of reach.
Austin's zoning restrictions are also more lax than San Francisco's, so developers have a better chance of keeping up with housing demand by building new inventory throughout the city.
Some of that inventory leans more toward luxury than affordable, like the Austonian downtown, where condos sell for anywhere between $1,490,000 and $6,995,000.
Though with so many high-earning techies in the city, there likely is a market for high-priced living.
With a wealth divide comes a homelessness crisis, which Austin has been grappling with. Homeless encampments on city streets have grown more and more pronounced recently.
The city of Austin made it legal for homeless people to sleep and set up camps in public areas that aren't parks or sidewalks. The city council told Fox 7 Austin that helping to solve the homeless crisis in Austin was its No. 1 priority for 2019.
Another side effect of Austin's growing tech presence is the industry's pervasive culture, which has brought a bout of change to the fabric of the city.
Case in point: electric scooters.
In April 2018, California-based electric scooter startups Bird and Lime illegally dropped hundreds of the dockless vehicles onto the streets of Austin before the city could impose regulations.
And now, the city is crawling with licensed scooters, with locals and tourists alike taking to them to get around town.
Iconic Austin sites are speckled with them...
...like the "i love you so much" wall in the South Congress district.
Younger workers will likely continue to make up Austin's workforce, especially with the nearby University of Texas serving as a talent pool for companies seeking to recruit freshly minted tech workers.
And South by Southwest, an annual music festival that kicked off in 1987, is held every March. The event was canceled in 2020 due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Since its inception, SXSW has evolved from a music-only event and to include, among other things, a prominent tech conference, where techies and startups discuss industry trends and new innovations.
For adventurous folk, there's Barton Springs Pool, the Greenbelt, and plenty of outdoor spaces.
But it's Austin's bar and eatery scene that keeps Austinites entertained morning to night.
There's the city's Sixth Street stretch in downtown Austin.
Not far away is Rainey Street, a drag of historic houses turned into bungalow bars.
And Austin's East Side, although having been increasingly gentrified in recent years as a result of the influx of workers, also sports a hip bar scene.
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