I’m PCMag’s senior writer covering smart home and wearable devices. I’ve been reporting on tech professionally for nearly a decade and have been obsessing about it for much longer than that. Prior to joining PCMag, I made educational videos for an electronics store called Abt Electronics in Illinois, and before that, I spent eight years covering the smart home market for CNET.
I foster many flavors of nerdom in my personal life. I’m an avid board gamer and video gamer. I love fantasy football, which I view as a combination of role-playing games and sports. Plus, I can talk to you about craft beer for hours and am on a personal quest to have a flight of beer at each microbrewery in my home city of Chicago.
I tend to like mixing flavors from various companies. My personal computer is an Apple MacBook Pro. My phone is a Google Pixel 7a. On my wrists are an ever-rotating lineup of the latest smartwatches, and I sometimes wear two at once for testing and extra style. The Apple Watch Ultra 2 is a mainstay on my wrist because I use it as a control for evaluating the accuracy of other devices' fitness metrics.
I spend plenty of time in front of my entertainment center, which features a 55-inch LG OLED TV, a Yamaha soundbar, a Nintendo Switch, and a PS5. (I insisted on getting the PS5 with the disc slot when they were hard to come by and haven’t used the feature in more than a year.) I thought I’d have given in to temptation and snagged an Xbox to play Starfield by now, but Baldur’s Gate 3 saved me money by distracting me long enough for the Starfield hype to blow past.
I have two cats and sneeze plenty, so I have a Shark Air Purifier to help me fight back against their dastardly, shedding ways.
I use my aforementioned Pixel 7a and a Nest Hub for Google Assistant, an iPhone 16e and AirPods to talk to Siri, and an Amazon Echo Show 5 and Echo Show 15 for Alexa, so I’m not in danger of losing touch with any of the big three digital assistants.
With a slimmer titanium build, upgraded sensors, and proactive new Health Radar features, the Oura Ring 5 aims to widen the gap in the smart ring race.
1 day, 19 hoursWhoop started the screenless trend, but the Fitbit Air has a similar design and a much lower price. I've tested both, and I'm here to help you decide which one is worth a spot on your wrist.
2 days, 11 hoursRetire your old mop and bucket. The top robot mops we've tested keep your floors squeaky clean with little effort on your part.
2 weeksAfter a day of testing, I'd already call the $99 Fitbit Air one of the least intrusive fitness trackers I've worn.
2 weeks, 1 dayAliro is a new standard that promises to improve home access control, but don't worry—your existing smart lock isn't about to become obsolete.
3 weeksWith a simple, screenless design and long battery life, the Fitbit Air has a lot of similarities to the Whoop 5.0, but costs a lot less. It marks a sharp turn for the Fitbit brand under Google.
3 weeks, 1 dayTorn between the Apple Watch Series 11, Ultra 3, and Watch SE 3? We've tested each one to help you find the perfect match for staying connected and crushing your fitness goals.
3 weeks, 2 daysWant to keep your floors clean without lifting a finger? The top robot vacuums we've tested are more capable and affordable than ever.
3 weeks, 4 daysThe new Aliro standard promises to unify smart lock access across platforms, but for now, it mostly solves a problem you might not actually have.
3 weeks, 4 daysWhether you're training for a fitness competition or simply looking to lose a few pounds, our favorite smart scales can effortlessly track your weight, body fat, bone density, water percentage, heart rate, and more.
1 month, 1 weekThe Oura Ring and Whoop wristband are both screenless health-tracking devices that offer wellness insights while keeping distractions at bay. I tested the two trackers to find out which is a better fit for you.
1 month, 1 weekI spent a week trying Samsung's latest Galaxy Watch health feature—and while the numbers are decent, the experience isn't practical for most people.
1 month, 1 weekBoth Dyson and Shark are offering trendy portable fans to help you handle the summer heat, but which compact cooler will keep you the most comfortable? I compared the two directly to find out.
1 month, 1 week
