In a time of social detachment and digital competition, Hidrate also shows your friends and family’s stats if they have a bottle too, so you can turn drinking water into a rivalry. Yes, the bottles are still expensive, but if you like being able to track your own data, or want to save the planet from single-use plastics, or just have a healthy kick – says the School of Public Health from Harvard University drinking enough water has been linked to regulating body temperature, preventing infections, improving sleep quality, and keeping organs functioning properly – a smart water bottle is worth a try. —Saira Mueller
21st century audiovisual equipment
We all have our blind spots. My kitchen may be equipped with a top-of-the-line Vitamix and Kitchen-Aid stand mixer. But before the pandemic, my husband and I had the same huge, heavy, 55-inch Panasonic TV with frizzy, blown-out speakers we’ve had for the past 10 years. We just didn’t watch enough TV to think about it.
That all changed in March 2020. In April, desperate for a feeling that all was not lost, I started my upgrade for the time being by adding a soundbar. The improvement in sound quality made the hairs on my scalp stand out. A few months later, our A / V tester Parker Hall delivered a midrange TCL 6 series television for long term testing. The difference between the dusty, huge rock of our old TV and the light, sleek, bright one was obvious even to our 5-year-old. “Why does Paw patrol looks so much better now? she asked, hopping on the couch in her jammies. If you’ve also forgotten that your television is worth an upgrade, I highly recommend this one. —Adrienne So
Desktop guitar amps
I never realized how clunky guitar amps were until I owned one. Classic tube amps sound great, but they’re expensive, they weigh a ton, and they give off enough heat to heat small rooms (and enough sound to make a small house rattle).
This year I discovered the desktop guitar amplifier. Toolbox-sized light amps like the Yamaha THR30-II and Positive Grid Spark bring everything you love about a physical amp into the 21st century. With everything from wireless cable technology to built-in processing for convincing effects (sans pedalboard), these new digital amps finally sound too good to call them toys. Sure, I prefer my hand-wired Fender Bassman in the studio, but for most other uses, I reach for these little guys for convenience. Both the Spark and THR models come with USB and headphone outputs, as well as Bluetooth, making it easy to jam along to songs, record quick demos, or play during quiet hours.
I’m not the only one who hired them. I recently watched a documentary about Taylor Swift’s Folklore, and noted that the songwriter was messing with a well-known little Yamaha in an intro segment. If it’s good enough for her, it’s good enough for me. —Parker Hall
Ebikes
There was no turning point this year where ebikes made a technological leap forward. It was more of a gradual arrival. Perhaps it was that because of Covid-19, so many were pushed into service as grocery and commuter bikes and performed admirably. Or because you can now buy a decent ebike that weighs not much more than 40 pounds and costs not much more than $ 1,000 that, even after removing the hub motor and pedal sensor, is essentially a solid bike made with solid brand components.
I’m a biker at heart, so the early days of heavy-duty e-bikes with high speeds (for a bike) and high price tags (for any vehicle) didn’t catch my attention. I wanted them to compete with analog bikes and become a tool of the masses – without sucking. Ranges will increase, prices will drop, and electronics will move completely in-frame as affordable e-bikes get better, but this was the year I stopped telling people to “just wait a little longer” when they ask if they have one. must buy. —Matt Jancer
A hot water bottle
After moving to a new place last winter, I quickly discovered that the top vented oven in my apartment was good for heating exactly one corner of my living room and nowhere else. A friend suggested putting a hot water bottle in bed at night to keep me warm, which I thought sounded strange and not effective at all. I was wrong. For just $ 13 on Amazon, all the joys of non-modern heating become mine, a thermoplastic bag filled with hot water at night. As if it wasn’t cozy enough, it even comes with a knitted sweater. (To be clear, the sweater is for the water bottle, not for you.) Just know that you can’t put it in the microwave, nor is boiling hot water recommended. —Lauren Goode
A TV spacer
Pre-pandemic, I tried to watch TV from bed, but this year that rule went out the window. My Fire TV Stick became a self-sufficient necessity, but I would inevitably lose its little remote in my nest of blankets. This super cheap spacer was an impulse purchase and is now strangely indispensable. It can be attached with a screw or glue, and it helps me keep track of my remotes so I don’t have to panic rummage through the bedding of my candy wrappers to adjust the volume or skip a YouTube ad. Cheap thrills! —Louryn Strampe
A document camera
The Hue HD Pro ($ 100 on Amazon) is the most useful I’ve tested in 2020. If you’re teaching, demonstrating, or peer-reviewing on paper, or anything else that requires both a camera and another document, the Hue HD Pro is the device you’ve been looking for. It integrates with Zoom, Skype, Webex and Microsoft Teams, or you can record through the included software.