Make working, playing, and chillaxing—whether you’re WFH or going into an office—more fun and exciting with these cutting-edge tools, toys, and gadgets.
Best Splurge Headphones
AirPods Max
Whether you need to zone out with a movie on your commute or zone in and focus at the office, the Apple AirPods Max deliver, with best-in-class adaptive noise canceling (thanks to nine microphones and two powerful H1 chips) and warm, dynamic sound.
Best Portable Gaming Unit
Nintendo Switch OLED Model
Beat stress (and bad guys) anytime, anywhere—including your commute and boring Zooms—with the portable Nintendo Switch OLED model. The likes of Super Mario and Animal Crossing shine on the seven-inch OLED screen.
Best Desk Speaker
Sony LSPX S3 Glass Sound Speaker
Sony amazon.com
$349.99
$248.00 (29% off)
In search of a speaker that looks as good as it sounds? See the Sony LSPX S3 Glass Sound Speaker. With this sleek Bluetooth device, which has 32 illumination settings, you’ll get clear 360-degree sound, thanks to its organic glass tube and 46mm speaker.
Best Automatic Coffee Machine
Smeg Automatic Coffee Machine
williams-sonoma.com
$999.95
Some imported espresso rigs look like hot-rod engines, bulked-out with doodads. Skip all that fuss with the Smeg Automatic Coffee Machine. It’s a lean coffee (and espresso and ristretto and…) maker that takes up less space than a toaster.
Best Indoor Garden
Personal Rise Garden
Water your vegetables from your office with the WiFi- enabled Personal Rise Garden. It’s self-contained, with lights and a water tank you fill weekly, and houses eight plants. Choose from 60 seeds, everything from basic herbs to exotic vegetables.
Best Drill
Dewalt Hammer Drill
This Dewalt Hammer Drill sure doesn’t feel cordless. Credit the tanklike 20-volt, 6Ah battery, which will last through long jobs (and typically only takes an hour to charge). Masonry, wood, metal—bring it on.
Best Lumbar Pillow
Purple Back Cushion
With a grid design that aligns with your spine so your posture stays correct, the Purple Back Cushion has, ahem, your back during marathon gaming and work sessions. Think of it as a cost-effective alternative to a fancy office chair.
Best Air Purifier
Coway Airmega 250S
The Coway Airmega 250S is slender but covers up to 930 square feet and removes up to 99.99 percent of dust particles. Smart mode adjusts the fan speed based on air quality.
Best Trail Runner
Nike Wildhorse 7
With a high-abrasion rubber outsole for traction and a responsive React foam midsole, the Nike Wildhorse 7 blends the best of all running worlds so you can enjoy every trail run.
Best Carbon Rec Running Shoe
Hoka One One Bondi X
A mutant of a running shoe, the Hoka One One Bondi X is both fast and smooth. That’s due to its midsole, which sandwiches a thin, responsive carbon-fiber plate between thick layers of cushioning.
Best Fitness Earbuds
Jaybird Vista 2
The Jaybird Vista 2 crushes other brands for three reasons: the 24-hour battery life, the snug fit, and what Jaybird calls SurroundSense, which pipes high-quality audio into your ears but also lets you stay aware of the people and cars around you.
Giro Aether MIPS Helmet
Beneath the roomy vents in the Giro Aether Spherical Helmet is new noggin-protecting tech, developed by Giro and Bell in partnership with the safety specialist MIPS. In a crash, the outer liner is designed to rotate around the inner liner so your brain gets much less of the impact.
Best Swim Goggles
Form Smart Swim Goggles
The original Form showed your pace and distance right inside the goggles. The new Form Smart Swim Goggles go deeper with the data: You can download and view a workout- endurance, power, sprint, or technique.
Best Fun Camera
Polaroid Now+
The Polaroid Now+ snaps classic Polaroid photos , but it also hooks up to your phone via the Polaroid app, so you can take more creative control with double exposures, funky filters, and more.
Best Portable Speakers
Ultimate Ears Hyperboom
Most outdoor speakers sound muffled at high volume, but not the Ultimate Ears Hyperboom. It delivers crisp tunes with plenty of bass. Connect up to four devices and you and your squad can play DJ- all night long (all night).
Best Drone
DJI Mini 2 Drone
The DJI Mini 2 Drone is a small (around half a pound) flying machine that can shoot 4K video, the gold standard for HD television. It can stay in the air 30 minutes, letting you nab a bird’s eye view of your kids’ sports game or your own short run.
Best Easy Surround Sound
Sonos Beam (Gen 2)
Immersive, theater-quality surround sound has never been available in a smaller, more user-friendly package. The sleek Sonos Beam (Gen 2) weighs all of 6.2 pounds , but it has five amps, four midwoofers, and one center tweeter delivering enough sound to fill a larger living room . The best part is setup: It takes barely 5 minutes to unbox and connect it to your TV. ($449; sonos.com)
Best Projector
LG HU70LA 4K UHD Projector
Too tired or anxious for a Friday night at the movies? Bring the theater to you by firing up the LG HU70LA 4K UHD projector, which beams crisp, 4K video to any wall in your house (or outside your house, too). The best part: The near-instant phone connectivity, which lets you watch home movies or the latest episode of “Hawkeye” on the big screen in a matter of seconds.
Best Home Icing Device
Hyperice X
Icing your knees is so 2020. Push your knee recovery (or pain relief) into the new era with the Hyperice X. Strap the sleeve onto your knee and alternate between hot and cold treatments. The process, known as contrast therapy, drives blood vessels to alternately constrict and expand, improving blood flow—and leaving your knee feeling great.
Best Pressure Cooker
Breville the Fast Slow Pro
bedbathandbeyond.com
$249.99
An extreme multitasker, the Breville the Fast Slow Pro can slow-cook short ribs fork-tender in 8 hours and it can quick-cook homemade chicken soup in 10 minutes! This crock pot crossed with an Instant Pot makes whatever you want in the time you actually have. Makes a mean dessert too.
Best Ice Cream Maker
Ninja CREAMi Ice Cream Maker
Yes, the Ninja CREAMi Ice Cream Maker churns smooth, creamy ice cream. But don’t discount its milkshake, gelato, sorbet, and smoothie bowl options too. Because you’re adding the ingredients, any flavor is possible. Even coconut-milk, pistachio olive oil chocolate chip. If that’s what you’re into.
Best Body-Hair Trimmer
Panasonic Men’s Cordless Electric Body Trimmer
Contoured V-shaped trimmer head on the Panasonic Men’s Cordless Electric Body Trimmer allows you to trim every nook and cranny you want without bending yourself into a human pretzel. Use it wet or dry without the guard for a close shave or pop on the dial attachment to easily choose from 10 different length settings without even turning the thing off.
Best Electric Toothbrush
Phillips One by Sonicare
Sleek and simple, the Phillips One by Sonicare has all the power you want in an electric brush but in a small package. Micro vibrations gently clean teeth better than your manual brush and the automatic two-minute timer lets you know when you’ve brushed enough. One battery lasts three months and the new rechargeable version gives you thirty days of brushing on a single charge.
Best Compression Vest
Therabody RecoveryAir PRO Compression Vest
Pro athletes increasingly swear by compression boots for lower-body circulation. Now with the Therabody RecoveryAir PRO Compression Vest, the company that put the massage gun on the map, is bringing sensation to your upper body. Get ready for a gentle air massage for your arms, shoulders, back, chest, and core.
E-asy Riders
Electric bikes now deliver more speed, more battery life, and more fun.
Yes, the wheel is being reinvented. A new breed of e-bikes let you ride faster and farther than ever. From Brompton’s commuter ready, six-gear, pedal-assist folding rig to Propella’s compact city explorer (with a 30-mile range and 18-mile-per-hour top speed) to Rad’s fat-tire beast (for blasting off-road at up to 20 miles per hour), there’s an e-bike for every desire.—Dale Chong
Best Commuter E-Bike
Propella Single-Speed Mini
Best Folding E-Bike
Brompton H6L
Best Off-Road E-Bike
RadRover 5 Electric Fat Bike
radpowerbikes.com
$1,599.00
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Training Partners
Fitness Trackers Get Swole With Features
The new fitness trackers do way more than count steps. They have built-in trainers, access to workouts and maps, and much more, so you’re never sweating completely solo. You also get health tools that can read your heart rate, track your sleep, and even measure your blood-oxygen level. Pick the right specialized tracker and it can help you better understand your body and achieve your goals for fitness, health, and running.—Brett Williams
Best Hardcore Fitness Tracker
Whoop 4.0
Best Overall Fitness Tracker
Apple Watch Series 7
Best Fitness Tracker for Runners
Garmin Venu 2
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Data Agents
Smart Scales Get Even Smarter
Call it an arms race: Smart scales that gather data by sending an electric current through your body are adding more and more features. KoreHealth measures body fat, water percentage, and muscle and bone density. Withings adds vascular age, an indicator of heart health. And InBody uses an ultrasensitive measuring system for best in-class accuracy. Pick the one that suits your health needs.—Ben Court
Best Budget Smart Scale
KoreScale Gen2
yourkorescale.com
$100.00
Best Cardio Smart Scale
Withings Body Cardio
bedbathandbeyond.com
$119.99
Best Fitness Smart Scale
InBody H20N
amazon.com
$349.00
$279.20 (20% off)
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Ben Court Ben Court is the Executive Editor of Men’s Health.