I didn’t expect 2025 to be the year that my longtime favorite vibrator would be replaced, but here we are. The winner of such a regal spot in my bedside table drawer? The Lelo Dot, a clitoral pinpoint vibrator. I’ve come across a few pinpoint vibrators in my life as a sex toy reviewer, but…
If your spare tire is on the exterior of the vehicle, such as underneath an SUV or pickup truck, you’ll want to be extra vigilant because the tire is exposed to the elements. Bolts exposed to the weather, and especially road salt, can corrode, making it difficult to lower the tire. It’s smart to remove…
Over several years, consumer advocacy groups criticized Ring’s RFA program, with many asking CR and other product review outlets to stop recommending Ring products. (CR’s evaluations are based on its own independent product testing, and we did not change our ratings.) In 2021, the company completed a two-year audit of its Neighbors network with the New…
While Dolby imposes no hard limit on the number or type of speakers (or subwoofers) you can use in a single FlexConnect system, each manufacturer’s choice of processor determines what’s feasible. What you can’t do is use any other company’s wireless speakers—whether they’re FlexConnect-compatible or not. Naturally, this raises the question of compatibility. When other…
We rate refrigerators based on their thermostat performance, temperature uniformity, noise output, ease of use, energy efficiency, crisper performance, and icemaker performance (if they have one). Every refrigerator we test gets wired with 15 temperature sensors. We then monitor those thermocouples for more than a month in one of three temperature-controlled chambers, collecting more than…
In figure skating, the quadruple axel is generally considered the most difficult jump. Until 2022, when US skater Ilia Malinin—currently riding high as the “Quad God” at the 2026 Winter Olympics—started doing them, they seemed impossible. Landing one, naturally, can give an athlete a higher score. But for skaters who aren’t generational talents like Malinin,…
In 2017, Hulu made television history by becoming the first streaming network to win the Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series, thanks to the phenomenon that was The Handmaid’s Tale (which returned in April for its sixth and final season). While Netflix has largely cornered the streaming market on original movies—and even managed to persuade A-listers like Guillermo del…
There is a $100 price difference between the Artisan Plus and Artisan models. However, the Artisan Plus’s features are small but mighty, and make the cost difference seem like a bargain, especially in higher-stakes recipe scenarios. This upgraded model has a more powerful 350-watt motor compared to the Artisan series model’s 325 watts. With the…
“If you live in an apartment with all hard-surface flooring, you could get one of the stick vacuums that are very compact,” says Frank Spinelli, who oversees CR’s vacuum testing. “If you have a lot of carpeting, then you’re going to need a vacuum that can deep-clean, but you could get by with a bagless…
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…