Should You Subscribe to Garmin Connect+? (2025)

It’s so annoying. You’ve just spent hundreds of dollars on a new Garmin Fenix 8 or Forerunner 970, only to find out you might have to hand over even more money to get the full Garmin experience. Earlier this year, Garmin introduced Connect+, a subscription element to its Connect companion app earlier. It stirred up…

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Most Reliable Laundry Appliance Brands

Keith Flamer Keith Flamer has been a multimedia content creator at Consumer Reports since 2021, covering laundry, cleaning, small appliances, and home trends. Fascinated by interior design, architecture, technology, and all things mechanical, he translates CR’s testing engineers’ work into content that helps readers live better, smarter lives. Prior to CR, Keith covered luxury accessories…

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Best Refrigerator Temperature to Keep Food Fresh

When a new batch of refrigerators comes into our labs, we start by setting the ambient temperature in our climate-controlled chambers to 70° F to simulate conditions in a typical home kitchen. Then we determine which thermostat setting on each refrigerator will get the internal temperature in the center of the unit to between 36°…

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23 Best Power Banks (2025), Tested and Reviewed

Other Portable Chargers We Tested Photograph: Simon Hill There are so many portable chargers out there. Here are a few more we like that just missed out on a place above for one reason or another. OnePlus Slim Magnetic Power Bank for $70: Sleek in silver grey aluminum with a chamfered edge, this power bank…

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How to Prevent Ice Dams From Damaging Your Home

Don’t try to remove the ice dam yourself. Few outdoor home repairs are as dangerous as working on a ladder resting against an icy gutter. The solution is to call a professional roofing contractor. They can remove excess snow from the roof and melt the ice that’s causing the backup. Climbing onto a slick and…

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Some Newer Cars Are Missing a Spare Tire

Since 2020, about 9 percent of the cars tested by Consumer Reports have come with a full-sized spare. Studying our database, we found that 46 percent came with a temporary (aka space-saver) spare tire, and the rest were equipped with a sealant kit (34 percent), a run-flat tire (7 percent), or nothing at all (4…

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Meta Wins Blockbuster AI Copyright Case—but There’s a Catch

Advocates for the idea that AI training is transformative still see Chhabria’s ruling as a win. “Judge Chhabria ruled today, bottom line, that training generative AI models on copyrighted material is clearly transformative, and absent proven market harm is fair use,” says Adam Eisgrau, the senior director of AI, Creativity, and Copyright Policy at the…

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The 40 Best Movies on HBO Max Right Now (December 2025)

As the birthplace of prestige TV shows like The Sopranos and The Wire, HBO—and, by extension, HBO Max—is best known for its impressive lineup of original series. The network has also been upping the ante with feature-length content that is the stuff of Oscar dreams. Below is a list of some of our favorite films streaming on HBO…

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