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Microsoft and the NBA are teaming up to deliver personalized game broadcasts that use machine learning and AI to learn fans’ preferences. To start, they’ll broadcast live and on-demand games via Microsoft Azure and add personalized real-time stats overlays. They’ll also explore new ways to share clips from historical video archives, reward viewers for participation and catch fans up on their favorite teams without having them search through all scores, headlines and highlights.

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Why you should trust us

I’ve been a dog owner for most of my life, from growing up with mutts to adopting my current pup, Jerry, in January 2015. Having a 45-pound pit bull in the house has given me a lot of practical experience. Thankfully he’s not an escape artist, and the one time he did get out, I found him waiting patiently in the front yard.

I’ve also been professionally reviewing gadgets for more than six years, including authoring Wirecutter’s guide to the best Bluetooth trackers, a somewhat similar category.

Who this is for

A GPS pet tracker, like most emergency gear, is something you hope you never have to use. The device uses an embedded GPS transponder as well as cellular data signals to communicate your pet’s location at a given time. The idea is that if your pet escapes, you’ll receive a notification via an app, have the ability to track its location in real time, and be safely reunited. These trackers are mainly for people who know their pet is likely to get out and get lost, rather than the average pet owner. You might also like a pet tracker if you have an outdoor pet (a cat, most likely) and you’d prefer to keep tabs on its adventures throughout the day.

Because these trackers use GPS, they are much more accurate than Bluetooth trackers, which communicate their location only if they’re within Bluetooth range of your phone, or if someone else running on the same tracker ecosystem happens to wander past.

Some of these trackers also monitor your pet’s activity, much like a fitness tracker a person might wear. That’s a fine feature to have, and something you may find useful, but we focused solely on the tracking aspect.

How we picked

The GPS pet trackers we tested. Photo: Michael Hession

Few GPS pet trackers are available right now, and the collection of models actually worth testing is even smaller. After combing through sites like Amazon and Chewy, and looking for reviews of such devices, we found a handful worth considering. From there, we dismissed trackers that relied on T-Mobile’s 2G network rather than AT&T’s 3G network (they all work on older-generation GSM networks). While data speed isn’t a primary concern with these devices, T-Mobile’s network is simply smaller than AT&T’s—when you’re dealing with an issue like finding your pet, you want the largest possible network. We eliminated another tracker based on its high initial cost and low owner ratings. That left us with four models to test.

How we tested

Our faithful testing pup, Jerry. Photo: Nick Guy

A good pet tracker should be easy to set up and must stay on your pet, so we started by evaluating the hardware itself. We looked at how large each tracker was, how easy it was to attach securely to a dog’s collar, and if it had any power controls to worry about. Then we went through the setup process with each model, ensuring there were no major hurdles in getting it to work.

But because the primary concern with GPS pet trackers is whether they’re effective at letting you find your pets, that’s where we focused our testing efforts. All the trackers we tested supported some sort of “safe zone,” based on maintaining a connection to a particular Wi-Fi network or base station, or staying within a defined area. When the trackers are in this zone, they don’t activate their GPS radio, saving significant battery life. We tested to see how long each tracker lasted on a charge while inside a safe zone, which revealed the best-case-scenario figure—how long the battery will last when your pet doesn’t leave the house.

To see how quickly and accurately each tracker was able to update its location, we sent the trackers on a 35-mile bike ride in upstate New York, periodically checking where the trackers were during the trip. At the end of the ride, we also noted the remaining battery life, gaining an idea of how long a tracker may last on an escaped pet.

The Paby (left), Tractive (center), and Whistle (right) apps. Screenshots: Nick Guy

Finally, we wandered around Manhattan to five different locations with the trackers in tow. At each stop, we turned off Bluetooth and Wi-Fi on our test phone (to make sure the trackers weren’t making a direct connection with the phone, but rather relying on their 3G and GPS radios to communicate their position). We recorded both how accurate each tracker’s reported locations were and how quickly each tracker’s companion smartphone app updated.

Our pick: Whistle 3 GPS Pet Tracker & Activity Monitor

If you’re concerned about your pet getting away and you want a tool to help you more easily find it, the best option is the Whistle 3 GPS Pet Tracker & Activity Monitor. This tracker is as accurate as any model we tested, quickly transmitting its GPS signal back to your phone. It lasts longer on a charge than any of the other contenders we tried, its hardware design is the best by a long shot, and its smartphone software is equally well thought out.

The most important aspect of any of these trackers is the ability to find your pet’s location, and to do so quickly and repeatedly, since it might be on the move. While the Whistle 3 didn’t stand head and shoulders above the rest of the pack in this regard, it did tie for the best. Throughout our tests, we were able to get the tracker’s location within a matter of seconds, and that reported location was always close enough to the actual location that we’d be able to find our pet easily. But as with pulling up Maps on your phone, the accuracy can shift due to cell phone coverage, large buildings, and other factors outside of your control. We especially like that the Whistle 3’s smartphone app shows you not only where the tracker is but also where you are in relation to it, which is handy if you’re trying to find your pet in an unfamiliar area. The app also has a button to refresh the location manually, something other trackers’ apps lack.

Where the Whistle 3 most sets itself apart from other models is in battery life. When we left the Whistle 3 undisturbed inside a home Wi-Fi safe zone, it didn’t just last longer than any other tracker—it even surpassed the amount of time we had allotted for the test. Thirteen days into the test, and six days after the next-longest battery gave out, the Whistle 3’s battery was still at 69 percent.

In our bike-ride test, the Whistle 3 performed as well as the three other trackers in location reporting, but it again bested the competition in battery life. We removed all four from their charging stations at 8:21 a.m., and at 8:00 p.m. the Whistle 3 reported 78 percent of full charge, with the next-closest competitor (the Tractive) at 65 percent. Having a longer-lasting battery is important, because it means you have to charge the device less frequently and you have a longer window to find your pet if it gets lost. There’s also the combination of the two: Unlike with a smartphone, where you can wait to charge your handset until it’s almost dead, you have to recharge a tracker well before the battery is low so you have time to find your wandering pet.

The Whistle 3 also has the best physical design of any pet tracker we tested. It’s the lightest we tested at just under an ounce, which for a small cat could make a real difference in comfort. At 1.4 inches wide by 1.2 inches tall, it’s not too obtrusive. Whistle says the tracker is designed for pets heavier than 8 pounds, and while we don’t think small animals will have issues with the weight of the tracker, its bulk may prove more frustrating for a toy dog or a cat. The collar mount has a sturdy band that holds it securely—even on small collars—though Whistle recommends a collar at least 1 inch wide. (We had something of a hard time getting the band off to put the mount on the collar, but we’d rather have it be a little difficult to put on and take off if that means it’s less likely to fall off.) The Whistle 3 itself then securely snaps into the mount with a twist. It won’t come off unless you hold down a spring-loaded button and twist a quarter turn, an action your opposable-thumb-lacking companion is unlikely to take purposefully or accidentally. The Whistle 3 is also rated IP67, meaning it’s dust-tight and can survive being immersed in up to a meter of water. If your dog gets out and swims through a river, the Whistle 3 will still work.

The band that holds the Whistle 3’s mount to the collar is sturdy and not particularly easy to remove, which is a good thing. Photo: Michael Hession

The Whistle 3’s charging base uses the same attachment system to hold the tracker in place, save for the button to release it. We like this secure mount, especially compared with competing trackers that can easily dislodge from their chargers or be ambiguous about their charging state.

Whistle’s app (for iOS and Android) is among the easiest to use. At the forefront is the most important thing: your pet’s location. A tray at the bottom of the screen displays the current battery life, the distance from home, and when the location last updated. When your pet is lost, the app offers an option to update the location manually right on the map, as well as a tracking mode that updates the location every 90 seconds. The app also has an activity panel that tracks how much exercise your pet has gotten, as well as a screen that lets you set up additional safe zones or alter the original zone.

Like most competing trackers, the Whistle 3 requires a 3G service plan. You can choose to pay $10 a month with no commitment, or save by paying for a year ($100) or even two ($170) in advance. That’s more expensive than the plans for some other trackers, which means that some pricier models are actually a bit less expensive to own over, say, two years, but considering the Whistle 3’s performance, we think it’s worth it.

Few sites review pet trackers, but the Whistle 3 is the recipient of PCMag’s Editors’ Choice designation for its “strong combination of performance and price,” with the publication citing long battery life and great hardware.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

Like all GPS pet trackers, the Whistle 3 is limited by its battery life and its access to a cellular network. If your pet gets out when the battery happens to be low, or in an area with poor AT&T coverage, your chances of finding Fido decrease greatly. None of these trackers, not even the Whistle 3, can claim to be a panacea for pet escapes. Consider one as an extra line of defense that may help you in a worst-case scenario.

All the trackers we tested are also pretty chunky, meaning they might not be a great fit for cats or toy dogs who may not tolerate having such a (comparatively) big device around the neck. Whistle recommends its trackers for pets 8 pounds and larger.

Despite its name, the Whistle is totally silent. Unlike with the Link AKC and Paby trackers we tested, or Bluetooth trackers, you can’t use the app to trigger a sound to help you find your pet hiding in the underbrush.

Two Wirecutter writers testing the Whistle 3 found the setup process to be a hassle, with the app crashing multiple times. Eventually, each tester was able to complete the steps and was happy with the actual service provided, but some people may be turned off by this initial interaction.

In one of our test locations in Manhattan, the Whistle 3 was unable to update its location. We don’t know the exact reason it didn’t update, but we had no issues in subsequent trials. Other trackers had more severe or more prolonged service interruptions in our testing, as we note in the Competition section.

What about a Tile or other Bluetooth tracker?

A Bluetooth tracker may seem appealing for pet tracking. A Tile Mate, for example, costs less than half the price of even the cheapest of these GPS pet trackers, and you don’t have to pay an ongoing subscription fee. Battery life is roughly a year, not days. A Tile is smaller than any of the pet trackers we tested, and the Tile app provides an experience similar to that of the Whistle app. If you’re in an urban area with a decent number of other Tile owners, the tracking can be fairly accurate.

The problem is that a Tile or other Bluetooth tracker would help you find your pet only if you’re very close to your pet, or if someone else who uses that brand of tracker—and thus is part of that tracker’s crowd-finding system—is very close. And with the latter, there’s usually a delay before you get a notification, at which point your pet may be long gone. At best, the crowd-finding feature of a Bluetooth tracker can give you an idea of the general area your pet is (or was) in.

A Bluetooth tracker may work in the right scenario. But if you’re concerned about finding an escaped pet, we think the peace of mind a GPS tracker offers is worth the extra cost, as substantial as it may be.

What to look forward to

Whistle released two new GPS pet trackers: the Whistle Go and Whistle Go Explore. The Whistle Go’s battery lasts for up to 10 days, while the Whistle Go Explore can run for up to 20 days. Both versions offer live tracking, as opposed to the Whistle 3’s 60-second interval. We’ll update this guide with our results when we’ve finished testing.

The competition

The Paby 3G GPS Pet Tracker & Activity Monitor was our runner-up pick, but it’s since been discontinued. It was fast and accurate at telling you your pet’s location, but its battery didn’t last nearly as long as our top pick’s. Its design also looked cheaper and felt more plasticky.

The Link AKC Smart Collar is perhaps the nicest looking of the tracker models we tested, but unfortunately that’s all it has going for it. With this model’s American Kennel Club branding, we expected better performance, but we ended up disappointed. The Link AKC is the most expensive tracker that requires a service plan, currently coming in at about $100 more than the competition before you factor in the $10 monthly fee (one- or two-year plans offer a cheaper rate). Part of this cost is surely due to the leather dog collar included in the kit. The collar is available in four sizes, and the company will replace the collar for free if your dog grows out of it. The tracker itself is also the largest we tested, and Link AKC representatives told us it’s specifically for use with dogs weighing 15 pounds or more. Cats need not apply.

In our battery testing, the Link AKC collar was dead within two days on a home Wi-Fi network. Rather than showing the percentage charge left, the app shows battery level in one-quarter increments, which isn’t very useful. During our bike-ride test, the Link AKC collar simply didn’t pick up a signal, so at no point could we track where it was or compare its tracking against the others. And because of the lack of a granular battery indicator, we couldn’t tell exactly how much battery remained at the end, but it was in the red, suggesting it had less than 25 percent. (Link AKC recommends charging the collar every night alongside your phone on the included base station, but given our results, we’re not sure even a full charge would be enough to make it through a “lost day”—not to mention if your pet is lost for longer (or if your dog runs off in the middle of the night). PCMag had a better experience with the Link AKC collar, going so far as to say the device “comes so close to being a dream tracker in many ways.” But even if the tracking had worked perfectly, the size, price, and battery life put this one out of the competition. (As we were preparing this guide for publication, the company informed us of an upcoming firmware update with “improved Bluetooth connectivity and faster, more accurate GPS tracking.” But, again, the issues we noted are too problematic for us to recommend this tracker, even if the improvements are significant.)

The Tractive GPS Pet Tracker was unreliable in our tests. During our bike ride, it didn’t update for several hours, and we found that it took longer to provide its location than the other trackers while travelling through Manhattan. And because it offers no option to update the position manually, you’re at the whim of when the app chooses (or is able) to do so. The Tractive also has the least secure-feeling clip, a plastic bracket that feels like it could get knocked off pretty easily.

We considered testing the Nuzzle pet activity and GPS tracker. It’s the only tracker that doesn’t require a monthly service plan, but that cost is front-loaded into the price of the device itself, which is the most expensive of any we found. The current review scores on Amazon are also significantly lower than those of any other tracker we considered, with a majority giving the Nuzzle only one star. At this writing, the Nuzzle has gone out of stock on Amazon and the price has shot up even higher, which in our experience usually isn’t a good sign; it is still available at its official retail price from Nuzzle’s website.

This guide may have been updated by Wirecutter. To see the current recommendation, please go here.

When readers choose to buy Wirecutter’s independently chosen editorial picks, Wirecutter and Engadget may earn affiliate commissions.

Why you should trust us

I am a lifelong photography enthusiast and journalist who has spent the past six years writing about emerging camera technology such as drones, 360-degree cameras, and light field cameras. I’ve spent hundreds of hours flying drones, and I’ve seen the benefits that a gimbal can provide for stabilizing footage.

Who should get this

Smartphones that shoot 4K video are now common enough that even amateur videographers can capture high-quality videos. A gimbal—a pivoting suspension device that mechanically stabilizes a camera—can replace an expensive tripod or dolly to make cinematic video effects accessible to anyone. Primarily, gimbals smooth out hand tremors or a bumpy gait if you are filming while walking. They can also make pans look smooth and consistent, or automate time-lapses and other tricky shots. Additionally, they can serve as souped-up selfie sticks that allow you to hold a phone farther away from your face for better framing.

Gimbals consist of two parts: On the bottom is a handle, which you hold much as you do a selfie stick. The handle usually includes a mix of buttons, joysticks, and wheels. The gimbal sits on top of the handle and looks like an arm with a gripper that holds your phone or attaches to a built-in camera. When you wiggle the handle, the phone or camera stays in place.

If you like filming video with your existing smartphone and don’t mind spending around $100 to achieve more professional-looking results, a gimbal can be a good choice. It’s a nice tool to bring along for filming scenery on vacation or for an active hobby like snowboarding. The ability to film yourself also makes it useful for social media and live streaming.

Though a gimbal for a smartphone is likely to be less expensive, gimbals are available for nearly every type of camera, including DSLRs and GoPros. If you use a different type of camera more than your phone, consider investing in a gimbal for that camera instead.

For this guide we also tested the DJI Osmo Pocket, a camera with a built-in gimbal, and the GoPro Hero7 Black action camera, which approximates a gimbal’s performance digitally (rather than physically); we plan to look into more cameras like them in the future. We like the Insta360 One X, which we recommend in our guide to 360-degree cameras. It lets you shoot spherical videos that you can edit into shake-free regular videos, complete with gimbal-like pans. This type of setup costs a bit more but could be a good option if you don’t have a high-quality camera in your smartphone or if you want something you can pull out of your pocket and start using. It can also be a better option if you don’t want to risk damaging your $1,000 smartphone while filming.

How we picked

We read Amazon and B&H reviews to find the most popular smartphone gimbals currently available. We also watched YouTube reviews and footage shot with different gimbals to find promising options. Going by what we learned, and keeping our own habits in mind, we determined that the following features are most important:

• A three-axis gimbal: A three-axis gimbal provides stabilization superior to that of a two-axis gimbal because it stabilizes on the pitch (up and down), roll (rotation sideways), and yaw (left and right) axes. A two-axis gimbal usually forgoes the yaw axis. We skipped testing stabilizers that did not have a true three-axis gimbal.
• Autonomous modes: Preprogrammed shooting modes make getting some types of shots, including time-lapses and dolly zooms, dead simple. Many gimbals can also autonomously track a moving subject.
• Great customer service: Reaching a customer service representative and receiving a response should be easy; the faster, the better.
• Warranty coverage: Manufacturers should be willing to repair or replace gimbals that develop problems outside the owner’s control. A yearlong warranty is standard.
• Easy setup: An instruction booklet or a link to a video that shows how to set up and operate the gimbal is essential, as every gimbal operates differently. If the gimbal needs adjustment so that the phone balances correctly, it should take just one or two steps. The gimbal, phone, and app should all connect to one another without much fuss.
• Compatibility with a wide range of phones: Companies usually list a range of phone sizes and weights that work with their gimbals. We looked for options that worked with a wide selection of phones, but especially with our top iPhone and Android picks.
• A great app: The best apps are easy to use thanks to clear design, and they should come with lots of options for customizing camera settings. The app should be available for both iOS and Android devices.
• Easy-to-use buttons: Whether you prefer more or fewer buttons on a gimbal’s handle, each button should have a clear purpose and be relatively easy to learn and use. However, if you dislike a gimbal’s buttons you can usually accomplish the same tasks by touching your phone’s screen instead.
• Long battery life: Unless you’re especially worried about weight, a longer battery life is better because it means you have to charge the gimbal less often. Gimbals can usually charge a phone too, so a bigger battery means a longer life for your phone.
• Comfortable design: A light gimbal with an ergonomic grip is much easier to hold during lengthy shoots.
• Accessories: It’s nice, but not essential, to get useful accessories such as a carrying case and a small tripod along with your gimbal.

How we tested

Many gimbals performed similarly, so app design and button placement became of extra interest to us during our testing. Photo: Signe Brewster

In 2018, we tested five smartphone gimbals by filming videos with an Apple iPhone 8 and a Samsung Galaxy S8. We used the front-facing camera while walking down a street and used the back-facing camera combined with the gimbals’ object-tracking modes to film a moving drone. We examined the footage for its smoothness.

We also timed how long it took to set up each gimbal, ranked how much we liked the iOS and Android apps, noted our experience using the buttons on each handle, recorded how easy (or difficult) it was to balance each gimbal, and noted any included accessories. Finally, we asked customer service at each company how to balance the gimbal, and we recorded how long a representative took to respond and how helpful they were.

In early 2019, we tested the DJI Osmo Pocket, a gimbal that has a built-in camera, against the GoPro Hero7 Black and its electronic image stabilization. We tested the DJI Osmo Mobile 3 in late 2019.

Our pick: Zhiyun Smooth 4

Photo: Signe Brewster

The Zhiyun Smooth 4 creates stable video that will elevate any hobby videographer’s style. It has a nice selection of autonomous shooting modes and the best-designed videography apps. We liked using the large number of buttons on its handle (once we learned their purposes) because they integrated so flawlessly with the apps.

The footage we shot with the Smooth 4 while filming a drone looked shake-free and smooth. The gimbal autonomously tracked the drone’s movement; it also comes with other preprogrammed shooting modes such as motion-lapse and hyperlapse.

Compared with our also-great pick, the Smooth 4 has more buttons, which we preferred because we did not have to touch the phone as often. Photo: Signe Brewster

Our Smooth 4 came with a slip of paper that directed us toward a YouTube tutorial. The piece of paper didn’t look professional, but the video is well done and helpful. It clearly lays out how to set up the gimbal and use its many buttons. Setting up the gimbal for the first time took us only about three minutes, as it came already balanced.

The iPhone 8 and Galaxy S8 fit in the Smooth 4 gimbal’s gripper without issue. The gripper is also compatible with modern phones such as the iPhone XR, iPhone XS Max, Google Pixel 3, and Google Pixel 3 XL. While iOS users should have no problem using Zhiyun’s ZY Play app, we recommend that Android phone owners download the Filmic Pro app instead because the Zhiyun app does not currently support filming in 4K on Android devices. We preferred the Filmic and Zhiyun apps to DJI’s app because we could more easily find different features and quickly adjust settings.

While the Osmo Mobile 3 has a minimal amount of buttons on its handle, the Smooth 4 is packed with buttons. This array can be overwhelming at first, but over time we found ourselves using the buttons more. Not having to touch the phone screen when the phone was oriented at an awkward angle was nice, and hitting a physical button when your thumb is already on the handle is faster. The buttons are well placed, and they integrate with the app seamlessly. We recommend watching the video tutorial a few times to learn the basics of how to use each button. If you’re still overwhelmed, you can always interact with the digital buttons on the phone screen instead.

Zhiyun says the Smooth 4’s battery lasts up to 12 hours; that’s a few hours shy of the Osmo Mobile 3’s battery life, but it still ranks among the longest-lasting batteries of the gimbals we came across in our research. The Smooth 4 also comes with both a carrying case and a tripod. Made of Styrofoam, the carrying case felt cheap compared with the cloth cases some of the other gimbals came with, but it fit the Zhiyun gimbal just fine. The tripod is just a few inches tall, which works if you plan to place it on a table but is mostly useless if you don’t have a raised place to set it. You may want to invest in a full-size tripod.

The Smooth 4 comes with a one-year warranty. Just make sure to buy directly from Zhiyun, as its warranty covers only devices that it sells directly.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

In customer service, Zhiyun fell short of DJI. We reached out via email and Zhiyun’s support page on Facebook. In both cases a representative took about 10 hours to respond, as the company is based in China and responds only during local business hours. Instead of helping us troubleshoot our problem directly, the representatives linked us to a relevant tutorial. The response was helpful—just not as personal.

Although we found the Smooth 4’s handle comfortable enough to hold, its flatter shape made it feel less ergonomic than the Osmo Mobile 3’s rounded handle. This model is also heavier than the Osmo Mobile 3 (547 grams versus 405 grams), but we didn’t really notice the difference. If you plan to shoot many hours of video a week, the handle could be something to consider before you make a purchase.

As with any gimbal, it takes some time to learn all of the vocabulary associated with operating the Smooth 4. We recommend watching the tutorial and experimenting with modes you don’t fully understand to improve your skills.

Also great: DJI Osmo Mobile 3

Photo: Signe Brewster

We liked using the DJI Osmo Mobile 3 almost as much as using the Smooth 4, and we found that it benefits from the best customer service of any gimbal we tested. If you expect you’ll need some help due to inexperience or heavy use, the Osmo Mobile 3 could be a safer choice. It also shoots smooth-looking footage that makes your videos look more professional. It has a nice selection of autonomous shooting modes, a straightforward app, and a comfortable handle with just a few buttons, so it’s one of the easiest gimbals to learn how to use.

The Osmo Mobile 3’s three-axis design allowed us to shoot footage that looked smooth and shake-free, similar to what we got from the Smooth 4. We also liked the selection of autonomous modes, including ActiveTrack, which cues the gimbal to automatically track a moving object (or a still one while you move around it with the camera). The gimbal can also help you make a time-lapse or keep the camera steady while you zoom or film in slow motion. The hyperlapse and motion-lapse options combine the camera moving with a time-lapse, making for even more sophisticated shots. We also thought this model’s rounded handle was more comfortable to hold than the Smooth 4’s flatter shape, and the buttons are all within easy reach of a thumb.

Most people have never used a gimbal because until recently the devices cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars. As a result, easy access to helpful customer service, a decent warranty, and easy-to-follow instructions for setup and operation are especially valuable. When we reached out via live chat on DJI’s website, a customer service representative responded almost instantly. They also walked us through steps to diagnose our stated problem, instead of just pointing us toward a tutorial as the other gimbal companies did. Like all the other gimbals we tested, the Osmo Mobile 3 comes with a one-year warranty.

The Osmo Mobile 3 has only a few buttons, which makes it easier to learn how to use but also requires you to touch the phone screen more often. Photo: Signe Brewster

DJI offers a quick-start guide for the Osmo Mobile 3 plus a more thorough instruction manual. You can also find a wide variety of DJI and third-party tutorial videos online. Overall, this gimbal comes with the most thorough set of documentation of any gimbal we tested. Setting up the Osmo Mobile 3 for the first time, including connecting the phone and gimbal via Bluetooth, took less than a minute. The gimbal was already balanced, and we were not able to unbalance it (not even purposely).

DJI says the Osmo Mobile 3 is compatible with phones ranging from 58.6 to 84.8 mm wide and up to 8.4 mm thick. It fit our iPhone 8 and Galaxy S8 without issue, and it can accommodate larger modern phones such as the iPhone XR, iPhone XS Max, Google Pixel 3, and Google Pixel 3 XL. Like the Smooth 4, it has a weakness when it comes to Android phones: Users of the Android DJI Mimo app can shoot a max of 30 fps, while iOS users can shoot at up to 60 fps. Finding different features and setting up shots was easy, but even so we preferred the ZY Play and Filmic Pro apps because they allowed us to more easily make quick adjustments to the settings. Filmic Pro is also compatible with the Osmo Mobile 3, so if you’d like a slight upgrade for less than 20 bucks, that app could be worth purchasing.

The Osmo Mobile 3 has a trigger, two buttons, a joystick, and a slider, which amounts to few buttons compared with the assortment on other gimbals we tested. Fewer buttons equals a shorter learning curve, which is nice if you are picking up a gimbal for the first time and prefer to use the easier-to-decipher digital buttons in the DJI Mimo app. One button allows you to turn the gimbal on, and once it’s on you can press it one, two, or three times to select different camera modes. Press the other button to take a photo or start recording. The joystick moves the gimbal to point the camera left, right, up, or down. The slider lets you zoom in or out without touching the phone. You can complete any other tasks by manually moving the gimbal or navigating within the DJI Mimo app. Although learning how to use the few Osmo Mobile 3 buttons is easier, we discovered that as we grew more comfortable with the gimbals we preferred having the large array of buttons on the Zhiyun Smooth 4. Touching the phone screen when the phone is at an odd angle can be annoying, so we opted for a gimbal’s physical buttons when possible.

DJI says the Osmo Mobile 3’s battery lasts up to 15 hours, which is the second-longest battery life of any gimbal we tested. It beats that of the Zhiyun Smooth 4 by three hours.

The base version of the Osmo Mobile 3 comes with a cloth bag. A more expensive bundle includes a tripod and a nice carrying case. We think the bundle comes at a good price (at this writing) for what it offers, but for the money it might make more sense to buy a more versatile smartphone tripod or a taller travel tripod. The Osmo Mobile 3 folds up to the size of a sandwich, and we think it’s sturdy enough to toss into a backpack or camera bag without a specialized case.

Upgrade pick: DJI Osmo Pocket

Photo: Signe Brewster

If you want the benefits of a gimbal in a standalone package, consider upgrading to the DJI Osmo Pocket, which has a built-in camera. Its pocket-friendly form and its ability to begin filming in seconds brings back memories of the Flip Video camera era, with the bonus of video stabilization and autonomous modes. In our tests it was as good at stabilizing video as the Smooth 4. We also think its portability makes it an interesting competitor to the GoPro Hero7 Black action camera: We found that the Osmo Pocket is a better stabilizer, though people who are more concerned about a device being waterproof or are interested in live streaming might still prefer the Hero7 Black.

The videos we filmed with the Osmo Pocket looked shake-free and smooth. We were able to use features such as ActiveTrack, where the camera autonomously follows a moving object, and MotionLapse, which condenses long shots into short, smooth videos. The built-in camera is capable of capturing 4K, 60 fps videos. We noticed that the raw videos from the Hero7 Black had brighter colors (not to mention GoPro’s signature wide-angle look), but you can make adjustments to your Osmo Pocket videos in the DJI-built Mimo app.

As we found with the Osmo Mobile 3, DJI’s customer service is easy to access and responsive. We almost didn’t need an instruction manual to get started with the Osmo Pocket. The gimbal has just two buttons: one that turns on the device and one that starts and stops filming. You can access other features, such as adjusting the video quality, by swiping the Osmo Pocket’s touchscreen. The smartphone app also lets you control more specialized settings such as white balance and noise reduction.

DJI says the Osmo Pocket’s battery lasts up to 2 hours, 20 minutes. That’s not very long compared with the battery life of our top smartphone gimbal picks, but it’s longer than the Hero7 Black’s 45 to 90 minutes. Thanks to the smaller battery, it weighs a slight 116 grams—nearly identical to the Hero7 Black. It comes with a plastic case that is still small enough to slide into a pocket or purse.

The competition

We tested five gimbals, including two that turned out to be identical. Photo: Signe Brewster

The DJI Osmo Mobile 2, our previous also-great pick, is still a nice gimbal for most of the same reasons as the Osmo Mobile 3. If you see it significantly discounted before it goes out of stock, it could be a worthwhile buy.

The Evo Pro is identical to the Zhiyun Smooth 4 in looks and operation. Its customer service is US-based, and a representative answered our request within a few minutes. However, this model didn’t come with an instructional video link as the Smooth 4 did, so its setup might be more confusing for a beginner. We recommend following the Zhiyun Smooth 4 setup video for the Evo Pro. The Evo Pro sometimes costs more than the Smooth 4, but if you find it for a lower price or are willing to spend a bit more for better customer service, you should consider buying it instead.

The FreeVision Vilta-M has the simplest handle of any gimbal we tested and an exceptionally long 17-hour battery life. It took less than a minute to set up. We also liked its easy-to-use app and cloth carrying case. However, it typically costs a bit more, and our customer support request via an online form didn’t seem to go through.

The Moza Mini-Mi is the least expensive gimbal we tested, and it has some interesting features such as wireless charging, but we couldn’t figure out how to connect it and the phone over Bluetooth, so it never worked correctly and we never got a chance to put this gimbal through our full tests.

This guide may have been updated by Wirecutter. To see the current recommendation, please go here.

When readers choose to buy Wirecutter’s independently chosen editorial picks, Wirecutter and Engadget may earn affiliate commissions.

eBags Professional Slim Laptop Backpack

Street price: $120; deal price: $70 w/ promo code SPRING

The eBags Professional Slim Laptop Backpack holds everything you’d need for most workdays, keeping it all organized and accessible without bulging. This intelligently designed bag features wide shoulder straps for distributing weight better, and is made up of a series of pockets, the main (and biggest) one featuring a sleeve that’s suitable for a laptop up to 17 inches. Down to $70 with code SPRING, it’s down to a price that matches the lowest we’ve ever seen. The current deal extends to all available colors, so if you’re in the market for a bag with multiple compartments to hold and organize all your stuff, this is a great time to save.

The eBags Professional Slim is our pick for holding the most tech in the most accessible way in our guide to our favorite laptop backpacks. Wirecutter Updates Writer James Austin wrote, “If you’re living the dongle life or have the compulsion to carry every piece of tech with you on your back, the eBags Professional Slim Laptop Backpack does more than hold everything—this pack keeps stuff organized and available for you when you need it. This bag holds and organizes an impressive amount of gear without bulging or becoming disorganized. And although some people don’t like its techie aesthetic, its ultra-functional organization is great if you carry many small things and want each of them to have a dedicated spot.”

Samsung RU8000 4K TV (82-Inch)

Street price: $1,800; deal price: $1,650 w/ on-page coupon

Available for $1650 from around $1800 when you clip the on-page coupon, this is a nice drop on an 82-inch version of our top TV pick for video games. With stellar picture quality, low input lag, a built-in smart-TV platform that allows you to control your game console with the TV remote, and HDMI 2.1 support, this is a great pick for gamers. So whether you want to feel completely immersed in your gaming environment or you’ve always dreamed of being able to watch your television from the ISS, this is a good opportunity to save.

As mentioned above, the Samsung RU8000 is the top pick in our guide to the best TV for video games. Wirecutter Senior Staff Writer Chris Heinonen wrote, “The best TV for video gaming is the Samsung RU8000 LCD/LED 4K TV. It offers low input lag, can automatically switch into game mode with newer consoles, supports variable refresh rate to render more fluid motion, and has frame interpolation to produce even smoother motion for gaming. Plus, the Dynamic Black Equalizer function can make enemies hiding in the shadows more visible. The RU8000 also provides good picture quality, though its contrast, color, and HDR performance are not as good as those of the much more expensive LG C9 and Samsung Q80R TVs. Still, it’s a great all-around choice for anyone who desires premium gaming performance but doesn’t want to pay a premium price.”

Anker Nebula Mars II Pro

Street price: $550; deal price: $460

Down to $460 from $550, this is a solid discount on a portable mini projector we recommend. Although it’s not the lowest we’ve ever seen, it’s the first deal in about three months and, at almost $100 off, it’s not to be ignored. The Anker Nebula Mars II Pro offers the best combination of performance, ease of use, and features; if you’ve been considering a mini projector, this is a nice time to save on one that delivers.

The Anker Nebula Mars II Pro performed better than any of the competition we tested, making it the top pick in our guide to the best portable mini projector. Daniel Varghese and Wirecutter Editor Adrienne Maxwell wrote, “Of all the mini projectors we tested, the Anker Nebula Mars II Pro is the easiest to set up and use, and it delivers a fairly bright, accurate image with solid contrast and detail. The Mars II Pro has a clean interface, a well-designed remote, and an optional iOS/Android control app—all of which let you easily navigate between connected sources and built-in streaming video apps such as for Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. Its internal speaker is good enough that you shouldn’t need to hook up external speakers for a casual movie night, although you can easily connect speakers directly or through Bluetooth. And if you want to use the Mars II Pro unplugged from the wall, note that its internal battery lasted over three hours in our test.”

HooToo USB-C Hub HT-UC001

Street price: $36; deal price: $16 w/ on-page coupon and promo code PK33JWLX

Down to a new low, this is a big drop in price on one of our already-affordable USB-C hub picks. It has three USB 3.0 ports, HDMI, an SD card slot, and USB-C power passthrough, but lacks the Ethernet port or microSD card reader that our top pick has. But if you’re just looking for a few more ports and want to spend a quarter of the price of our top pick, this is a fantastic deal to pick up. Make sure to clip the on-page coupon and use code PK33JWLX to get the deal price.

The HooToo USB-C Hub HT-UC001 offers similar performance to our top pick for a fraction of the price, making it the budget pick in our guide to the best USB-C Hubs and Docks. Wirecutter Senior Staff Writer Nick Guy wrote, “HooToo’s USB C Hub HT-UC001 isn’t quite as full-featured or compact as our top pick’s hub, but it offers many of the same ports for about two-thirds of the price. Providing three USB-A ports, HDMI output, USB-C power passthrough, and a full-size SD card slot, it’s a good option if you want to be able to use wired accessories and hook up to an external display but aren’t concerned about using a wired network connection.”

Because great deals don’t just happen on Thursday, sign up for our daily deals email and we’ll send you the best deals we find every weekday. Also, deals change all the time, and some of these may have expired. To see an updated list of current deals, please go here.

Why you should trust us

I’ve been testing smart locks, as well as a wide range of smart-home hubs and accessories, since 2015. As a reporter and editor, I’ve been covering technology and trends—and testing and reviewing a wide range of consumer electronics—for two decades at a number of respected national publications. At this writing I have four smart locks installed in my home, as well as three smart thermostats, five smart bulbs, five smart switches, two smart outlets, two smart smoke detectors, two smart water valves, a smart security system, a smart doorbell, two smart cameras, a smart noise detector, six smart speakers, and a smattering of sensors. None of them work perfectly all of the time.

Who should get this

Smart locks are both the most useful and the most potentially risky smart devices you can install in your home. In the plus column, they make entering and leaving your home far more convenient by freeing you from having to carry keys (and in some cases a smartphone, too). Most make it possible to securely grant access to your home not only to family and friends but also to tradespeople or even your mail carrier or package delivery people. And when paired with a smart-home system such as Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit, Google Assistant, or Samsung SmartThings, they can tell other smart devices to turn on or off, or even spark a series of automated actions among a few devices—for instance, having your lights turn off and the heat or AC kick on when you arrive home and unlock the door.

That convenience comes with a price, though, as smart locks cost considerably more than their non-smart counterparts. More important, connecting your front door lock to the Internet adds at least a theoretical new way for thieves to infiltrate your home. Such security concerns are a particular source of contention for smart-home skeptics, who worry that allowing your door lock to be accessible over the Internet makes it fundamentally vulnerable.

Our view is that, although there is no question that it is technically possible for any smart lock to be infiltrated electronically (and also mechanically), the real-world odds of a potential burglar using a sophisticated hack to enter your home versus simply relying on the most popular manner of breaking into a door—by force, using something like an old-fashioned crowbar—are vanishingly slim. (We’d also point out that everyone now lives in a ubiquitously connected world, and everything from your utilities to the entire global financial system is fully Internet-connected.) In short: It’s important to consider security, we do our best to recommend only products from companies that are responsible and competent, and the smart locks we recommend are as safe as or safer than their mechanical counterparts (which, for instance, can’t alert you when your front door is unlocked or opened).

Here are a few ways a smart lock might be a useful addition to your home:

• You don’t need to carry your keys anymore, whether you’re popping out for a quick run or you’re off to work for the day.
• You can create and share a custom code (or virtual e-key) for a houseguest, or even a last-minute visitor—no need to make physical copies of keys. This feature is especially attractive for owners of rental properties.
• Parents with latchkey kids can keep track of when they get home from school (or a late-night party).
• You can give a babysitter, nanny, or house cleaner ongoing or last-minute access.
• You can receive notifications whenever the door opens and closes, and keep tabs on who’s coming and going and when.
• If you’re out and about when a trusted contractor or plumber comes by, you can unlock (and then relock) the door remotely or give that person a time-restricted e-key.

Smart locks, especially keypad models, are perfectly suited for rental-property and vacation-home owners, such as Airbnb hosts, who tend to have to deal with frequent key exchanges (in fact, with some locks, Airbnb now offers to automate code creation for guests). Similarly, smart locks can be a useful tool for small-business owners who want to keep tabs on who might be coming and going through their doors when they aren’t around.

One especially important buying tip: If your door has a mortise lock, with the latch and bolt in an integrated unit, or a door handle and latch that are a single unit, none of the smart locks we reviewed will fit (we hope to test some soon). In most of these cases, to accommodate a new smart lock, you need to replace that integrated unit with a standalone doorknob or lever and possibly a deadbolt—and all that extra work and hardware may end up being cost-prohibitive.

How we picked

For homes, there are two main categories of smart locks. The first type is an add-on device that replaces the interior thumbturn of your door’s existing deadbolt but not the deadbolt mechanism itself. The second type is a full deadbolt replacement, which requires removing your existing deadbolt assembly and installing all-new hardware. You can set up and manage almost all models in both categories by using a companion smartphone app, and some can integrate with smart-home platforms and controllers such as Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit, Google Assistant, or Samsung SmartThings; they might also allow you to control them through a third-party app that consolidates multiple smart devices into a single interface. Most smart locks can now trigger other smart devices as well as automated actions—such as turning lights on or off or changing the mode of a thermostat. And while some smart locks work only when you are in close proximity (usually by relying on a Bluetooth signal from your smartphone), others let you control and monitor them remotely through an Internet connection, which for most of the locks we tested requires using a device called a hub; this is changing, however, as many new and soon-to-arrive locks can connect directly to your home Wi-Fi and so are directly accessible over the Internet.

Our goal was to find a lock that offered the best balance of convenience, security, and useful smarts while requiring as little technical complexity, ongoing management, or troubleshooting as possible. That last point deserves special emphasis, as models we’ve dealt with in the past have suffered from some reliability issues. We chose test models with a trigger or lock/unlock method that was quick and reliable—and one that didn’t require directly using a smartphone app to lock or unlock the door, because we’ve found that, functionally, using a phone is no faster or barely more convenient than using a physical key. We also restricted our selections to models that you can monitor and control remotely via smartphone, regardless of whether that involves pairing them with a separate hub or gateway device (which typically is a separate purchase).

All of the smart locks we tested can integrate with other smart devices. For example, if you have a HomeKit-compatible smart thermostat or, say, light switches, you can have them adjust whenever you unlock your Yale Assure Lock SL. If you value such an ability, be sure to check a model’s compatibility with your existing (or intended) smart devices before buying.

To aid in our selection process, we consulted professional reviews from sites such as CNET, PCMag, Reviewed.com, and Tom’s Guide, as well as owner feedback on Amazon.com and other retailer sites. It’s noteworthy that while a handful of models consistently made reviewers’ short lists, no lock seemed to be a consensus winner. Based on our research, we added a few existing models to our current lineup of picks, as well as a couple of brand-new models. We then ran intensive real-world tests on this final group of nine models and cross-checked our findings with both the professional and customer reviews.

How we tested

A sampling of some of the smart locks we have tested. Photo: Jon Chase

In the many thousands of hours of use spread over about two dozen smart locks since 2015, we’ve had just one lock suffer a mechanical malfunction (specifically, the spring in the deadbolt dislodged after a freak gust of wind slammed our door shut). So while mechanical quality and proper installation of a lock are absolutely key factors, our focus in testing continues to be on the experience of using these devices, most especially their consistency, reliability, and ease of use.

For this round, we installed each test unit in one of a few modern, factory-made doors and tested it for at least a week, in most cases for several weeks or even months. During that time we used the locks during everyday activity, but we also methodically triggered the locks up close using our smartphone via Bluetooth, as well as over our home Wi-Fi network, and then again remotely by connecting via cellular signal. Our regimen included countless entrances and the experiences of a family of users (including two kids). We also installed several of the locks on a rig for longer-term testing.

In each companion app, we tested the various settings and preferences available—such as turning audio signals or LED lights on and off and enabling auto-lock and auto-unlock functions when applicable—and we took note of the speed, reliability, and usefulness of the notifications and the ease of adding and managing codes. Our tests included the use of companion apps on both iOS and Android smartphones.

In assessing the physical hardware, we took a close look at the ease of installation and the feel and quality of the various components. We also considered the physical robustness of each lock and, where applicable, the keyway. More informally, we also attempted to pick the locks using readily available lockpicking tools. To our surprise we found that the Yale Assure Lock Touchscreen Deadbolt (YRD226), an alternative to our top pick, was easily lockpicked in under a minute, a feat we managed to repeat several times. We weren’t able to broach any of the other devices that we ended up naming as picks, though we did successfully unlock two other locks that had been previous test subjects.

Locks are graded on their ability to withstand brute-force entry attempts based on criteria devised by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). For deadbolts, Grade 1 is the top ranking, reserved for a commercial-use lock with a 1-inch-thick latch bolt that’s able to take 10 strikes of 75 pounds and a million open/close cycles. A Grade 2 lock is considered consumer level, with a bolt that is ⅝ inch thick and able to withstand five strikes of 75 pounds and 800,000 cycles. With the exception of the Ultraloq U-Bolt Pro, which is not ANSI-graded, all of the locks we tested were at least Grade 2, and a few—the Schlage models—were Grade 1.

A major security consideration with smart locks is whether to enable auto-lock and auto-unlock. These features trigger the lock based your location (also known as geofencing), via some combination of Bluetooth, cellular signal, GPS, and Wi-Fi. Having your door automatically trigger as you walk up to it is the essence of convenience, but it necessarily puts you at risk of an accidental trigger that leaves your front door open to anyone. Some models include a little magnet, which you install near the lock, to determine when the door is closed or open; that ensures you don’t lock the deadbolt when the door is left ajar, which is helpful. Another option for some locks is to use HomeKit geofencing as a trigger, which requires that you confirm the unlock signal on your phone before it can activate, which is a far more secure but also less convenient approach.

In our testing over the past few years, we’ve had multiple instances when devices auto-unlocked when they shouldn’t have—both when we were home and away (the worst case was late at night when we were at home and in bed). More recent testing has shown greatly improved accuracy, but overall we believe carte blanche geofence triggering is essentially risky, most especially for city dwellers who are more susceptible to an opportunistic thief. If you live in a suburban or rural location, we think the risks are more of a personal judgment call.

Our pick: Yale Assure Lock SL Connected by August

The Yale Assure Lock SL (YRD256) Connected by August narrowly edged out our runner-up pick, the Ultraloq U-Bolt Pro, because it comes closest to hitting all the right notes in terms of convenience, reliability, and just plain good looks. It’s a keypad model that is completely keyless, and you can trigger the lock using a code or an app. Once you set it up, you can use it without ever bothering with your smartphone, as long as you can remember a four- to six-digit entry code—useful if you have kids who lose keys (or haven’t earned smartphone privileges yet). Its tidy glass touchscreen keypad, the handsomest we’ve seen, wakes with a finger press, is second nature to operate for virtually anyone, and unlocks a door quickly and quietly. Sharing access with other people is as simple as telling them a code of your choosing, which you can restrict or delete as necessary using the August app—no need to force guests to download an app or register for anything.

An extremely similar model, the Yale Assure Lever (YRL256) Connected by August, works almost identically and fits single-hole doors that lack a deadbolt. It is significantly larger because it contains a complete door-lever mechanism, but otherwise it worked wonderfully and was also noticeably quieter than typical smart locks we have tested in the past—just a brief whir. (Yale also makes a version of this model with a keyway, which we do not recommend—see How we tested for more details.)

The package includes a small Bluetooth radio module that you physically insert in the Assure Lock SL during setup; the module allows the lock to integrate with Apple HomeKit, which includes voice control via Siri (HomeKit works only with Apple devices). If you have a recent Apple TV or an iPad, or an Apple HomePod smart speaker, you can set it up as a hub, which enables remote access to the lock and the ability to run automated actions. Also included is a plug-in Connect Wi-Fi bridge, which becomes the middleman between the lock and your home’s Internet network. Installing the included Connect Wi-Fi adapter is another way to enable remote access as well as compatibility with Alexa and Google Assistant voice control. One extremely important note: Because the Assure Lock SL (YRD256) does not have a keyway, if the lock malfunctions for any reason, you will be locked out of your house. As a result, you should install it only if you have ready access to another entrance to your home. (If not, consider another lock with a keyway as a fail-safe.)

Installation of the Yale Assure Lock SL is an easy, DIY task for most anyone who can hoist a screwdriver. We strongly recommend following the guided instructional video in the companion August app because doing a step out of order or incorrectly can hose your installation, and then you have to start from scratch. (Yes, I learned this from experience—don’t bust my chops.) Another important note: Use the August app as instructed, not the Yale app, which a few readers have found to be problematic or even nonfunctional.

The included Connect adapter plugs into an electrical outlet and wirelessly pairs with the lock. During installation it measures and confirms that you are within adequate range of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, an especially nice touch. Within the August app you can swipe through your August devices and see and control the lock status—a big red circle means locked, and green means unlocked. In our tests, we could trigger the lock astonishingly fast—in a few seconds—over a cell signal, and in just five to 10 when on Wi-Fi.

Because the Yale Assure Lock SL is HomeKit-enabled, you can use the August app (left), the iOS Home app (right), or both, depending on your preferences.

A number of useful settings within the August app let you turn sound on and off, change the volume level, enable one-touch locking, and so on. Also available are useful security settings, such as timed lockouts based on too many incorrect attempted entries, a feature designed to thwart suspicious guessers. In addition, you have the convenience of creating individual codes for guests or family members and customizing when they are active, from always-on to recurring times or a set window—a great option if you have a housekeeper, a pool maintenance person, a babysitter, and so on. Through the app you can track who locks and unlocks the door and when, based on which codes they use for entry.

When you’re accessing the lock from outside, the glass touchscreen is dark by default. You wake it with the press of three fingers or your palm, and then the keypad numbers appear. Once you input your code correctly, pressing the checkmark causes the screen to flash, and with a gentle whir the lock activates. The whole process takes about four seconds. To exit, either enter your code or, as we did, enable one-touch locking and then press and hold the screen for a second until it locks (this method, however, prevents you from knowing who specifically has locked the door).

The August Connect allows the lock to work wirelessly with other smart devices and platforms, though not as many as the August Smart Lock Pro. For our tests we were able to control the lock by voice using Alexa and an Echo device, as well as Siri via an iPhone, but we had issues getting Google Assistant to cooperate. With the lock acting as a HomeKit device used with a free third-party iDevices app, we were able to create an automation that would turn on a Lutron light switch and adjust an Ecobee thermostat when the Yale Assure Lock SL was unlocked, which worked fine.

Of all the locks we tested, including our other picks, none offer the same convenient, easy, and—most important—reliable access, with the same set of features, as the Yale Assure Lock SL (YRD256) Connected by August. We love not having to force guests to download an app to use the lock. Creating new codes, whether at home or away, for arriving guests is wonderfully useful. Though remote access isn’t as crucial as with other locks—anyone with the numerical code can open it—the ability to receive notifications is handy. With different codes for different people, you can know who’s coming and going in your house. More than anything, not dealing with an app or periodic Bluetooth failures just to get in through the front door is a welcome relief.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

To our taste, the glass touchscreen of the Yale Assure Lock SL (YRD256) Connected by August offers an inferior experience compared with the keypad of Schlage’s line of keypad locks. The white numbers are small, and with the sound off it’s hard to tell if your key press has registered. And we much prefer simply being able to press in our code rather than waking the lock, inputting a code, and then having to hit the checkmark, which seems like a needless step. We initially would forget that step and wait for the lock to open, only to have it time out. However, once you get used to the process, you hardly think about it.

We wish the Yale Assure Lock SL had some form of audible alarm (as the Schlage Encode does) to scare away attempts at brute-force entry—the only way to get past this keyway-less lock.

Runner-up: Ultraloq U-Bolt Pro (with Bridge)

Photo: Michael Hession

If you’ve ever felt a burning shame for wantonly lusting over an inanimate object, you might understand our relationship with the Ultraloq U-Bolt Pro. This is the closest we’ve come to finding The One: It offers multiple ways of quickly getting into your home—including a mostly great fingerprint system—all of the hardware is precision-made and hardy, it’s just the right size and good looking (or at the very worst inoffensive), and it’s the quietest lock we’ve ever tested. It’s not our top pick because it isn’t as widely compatible with leading smart-home platforms as the Yale Assure Lock SL (in particular, it’s not HomeKit compatible) and because its companion app is generally good but occasionally flaky, as is its signature feature, a fingerprint reader. None of those problems are major, though—we think the U-Bolt Pro is a great option for anyone who doesn’t mind its modest shortcomings.

The face of the U-Bolt Pro has durable but soft rubber number buttons that encircle a fingerprint reader in the center; the front face pulls down to reveal a hidden keyway, a nifty design move. The internal housing is thinner than that of any of the other models we tested and has a thumb turn. Setup of the lock is on a par with the process for all the other locks we’ve tested, and involves fully removing your existing deadbolt to replace it with the U-Bolt Pro. The companion app, which is very similar to the August one in terms of organization, walks you through the necessary steps and lets you manage users and codes in a straightforward way, without fuss or confusion. (On occasion, when we opened the app, it would take us to a login screen rather than logging us in automatically; we’d then restart the app to have it load correctly.) In our tests, we found using the app to control the lock and create codes—both while we were standing in front of it and when we were away from home—to be quick and easily understandable to anyone who has used a smartphone app.

Technically the U-Bolt Pro provides six methods of triggering the lock (including shaking your phone when you’re in front of it); however, the most useful and, we think, the most likely to be used are the fingerprint and door code methods. The process for scanning a fingerprint will be familiar to anyone who has done it with a smartphone: You repeatedly place, adjust, and then reposition your finger over the scanner, and you can store two fingerprints per user. Then, when you arrive home, you push your finger onto the reader, and in half a second or so a ring around the scanner lights up green and the lock opens with a gentle whir (or it turns red and you have to rescan). We found that sometimes we needed to push harder, and if the scanner was dusty or our skin was especially dry, it wouldn’t always register and we’d eventually resort to using a numeric code. To use a code, you push the button with the Ultraloq logo, enter your PIN, and push the logo again. One clever security feature lets you choose to press a string of random numbers before and after you enter your real code, so that someone observing you won’t be able to see the code and memorize it (unless the observer can memorize long strings of numbers—in which case, use the fingerprint reader).

In order to access the U-Bolt Pro remotely, and to receive notifications when it locks and unlocks, you need to purchase and install the plug-in Ultraloq Bridge, which we highly recommend as we think those features are a large part of why smart locks have value. The Bridge also gives you the ability to use Alexa or Google Assistant with the lock, which in our tests worked well—we could ask Alexa if the door was locked or unlocked, and also have Alexa unlock it (to do so, you have to state aloud a custom PIN).

One final not-small note of concern about the Ultraloq U-Bolt Pro is that the company that makes it, U-tec, is just a few years old, so unlike established brands such as Yale, Schlage, and Kwikset, it may not have the same ability to handle customer support, security testing, and software updates, among other things. In the company’s favor, it has a growing line of products, and in our experience it replied quickly to a customer service request and responded to questions about its security practices and policies with detailed information. Note too that all startups begin in the same position and many go on to become established brands—August, founded in 2012, to name just one.

We think that if you aren’t interested in using a smart lock to trigger or automate other smart devices (or if you’re content with the Alexa or Google Assistant ecosystem), the U-Bolt Pro is the lock to get. It’s the one I plan to keep on my front door for long-term testing.

Also great: Schlage Encode Smart WiFi Deadbolt

Photo: Michael Hession

If you’re looking for a low-profile, no-fuss lock with a foolproof keypad and the ability to connect to Wi-Fi without requiring a plugin adapter, we like the Schlage Encode Smart WiFi Deadbolt. The capacitive keypad is nearly identical to those on previous picks from Schlage, the Sense and Connect, and we think it’s the most intuitive version to use, as the numbers have a textured surface and give ever so slightly as you press them. It’s also the only lock in our test group with a built-in alarm, a soul-shattering shriek powerful enough to rouse the deceased—you can arm it to trigger if someone attempts to bust the lock or if the door is rammed. The Encode is smaller than its Schlage forebears (though not as small as the U-Bolt Pro), and it installs quickly. Unlike most smart locks, it has Wi-Fi built-in, so it connects directly to your home network (whereas most locks use Bluetooth to connect to a plug-in adapter that then connects to your Wi-Fi network). Amazingly, the Wi-Fi doesn’t seem to especially tax the batteries, which in our tests lasted several months without fail. The Encode doesn’t have the smart-home chops of the Yale Assure and is compatible only with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, so if you hope to have a smart lock as part of a comprehensive smart-home array, our top picks are better options.

Even without using third-party smart platforms, the Schlage Home app sends notifications when the Encode locks or unlocks, and you can use the app to add or alter existing lock codes. With those basic skills, we think the Encode is the best pick as a simple but smart gatekeeper for a vacation or rental property, especially as it’s the one lock we’ve tested that needs no explanation for anyone to figure out: Just enter your code, and it opens. Simply press the padlock button to lock it when you leave.

Keep your existing deadbolt: August Smart Lock (3rd Gen)

Photo: Jon Chase

The August Smart Lock (3rd Gen) is an affordable choice if you want to use your existing deadbolt (which means you also get to keep your existing key). As with all August devices, the instructions and setup process are almost delightfully friendly and thoughtful, with straightforward video instructions. The all-metal housing offers reassuring bulk and heft, and the traditional thumb turn has precise movement. You control this August lock solely through Bluetooth and a smartphone—unlike its widely compatible big sibling, the August Smart Lock Pro—which explains the steep price cut. With the purchase of an August Connect Wi-Fi bridge (buy them together and save some money), you can control this August lock using Alexa or Google Assistant and access it remotely when you’re not at home. August sells an optional keypad as well, but we don’t recommend it due to the frequent connection and stability issues we encountered in our testing.

The August Smart Lock is a fine budget pick and suitable for most renters, but it doesn’t come close to our top picks in terms of convenience or reliability. In order to make it easier than using a key, you need to turn on auto-unlock, which as we’ve noted can be unreliable and is thus problematic (and if you arrive home without a phone, or with a dead battery, you’re locked out). In our tests, on a few occasions the August auto-unlocked when we were already home, or when we were several blocks from home—or it failed to unlock at all, requiring the use of our app, which ended up being annoying. Installation of the included DoorSense module, which detects when the door is open and closed, does somewhat solve the problem of accidental unlocks in that you can set the August to automatically lock when the door is safely closed after a customizable period of time. If all of that sounds confusing, consider this scenario: You’re on your way home but still several hundred feet away, and then you decide to pop by the deli, where you get stuck in line. If the August lock detects you and auto-unlocks prematurely, your home is sitting unlocked—but if you have auto-lock set up to happen after say, 30 seconds, your door will lock itself and there’s no real security issue.

It’s a nice option, but in principle we don’t recommend auto-locking unless you’re using the DoorSense modules and you’re confident, as it creates a serious risk of your locking yourself out of your home if anyone shuts the door when your phone is inside or elsewhere. The August’s auto-unlock feature has been greatly improved overall, though, so that the trigger zone is now much smaller; in the past it was far too wide and would trigger when we were several blocks from our home in an urban environment, making it a nonstarter for use in cities.

August’s native app is spare and easy to decipher, with basic controls that don’t have you searching through menu settings. The app is dominated by a button that lets you lock or unlock (depending on the current state), and you can quickly view recent activity or invite guests and determine their level of access.

The August Smart Lock doesn’t compare with our top picks in versatility or reliability, but as a budget model it’s a good option, and for renters especially.

What to look forward to

image

A number of new locks have been released or announced.

The August Wi-Fi Smart Lock is nearly half the size of the company’s Smart Lock Pro. It functions almost identically but also has built-in Wi-Fi, which enables you to connect to it remotely without having to rely on a plug-in Connect hub.

Igloohome has released the Smart Deadbolt 2S Metal Grey, a touchscreen keypad model that has a clever token system for letting owners share new PIN codes remotely without having the lock connect to the Internet. The company also has the Mortise smart lock, which we hope to test, and it will release a model with a fingerprint reader later this year.

Kwikset released a new keypad lock with built-in Wi-Fi, the Halo Touchscreen Wi-Fi Smart Lock. It also announced a follow-up model, the Halo Touch, a Wi-Fi–enabled lock with a built-in fingerprint reader that is compatible with Alexa and Google Assistant. It will be released sometime in 2020 and should cost $250.

Lockly announced the Lockly Vision, a keypad and fingerprint-reading lock with a built-in smart doorbell camera. It will be compatible with Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and Apple HomeKit, and will cost $400.

The Level Lock is an interesting model with unique hardware: Unlike most smart locks, which are designed to mount to an existing lock (or completely replace it), the Level is a mini assembly that replaces the internal portion of the deadbolt and the bolt itself while leaving your existing keyway and internal thumb turn. We haven’t tested it yet, but it could be a good option for those who want the ability to unlock their door remotely in an emergency—or who plan to have it automatically unlock via HomeKit—while maintaining the aesthetics of a traditional lock.

The competition

Our experience with the smart locks we tested was largely positive, though we should note that every smart lock we’ve ever used has had instances where it didn’t function correctly or required troubleshooting of some variety—an inevitability to be aware of when you’re choosing to install one of these devices in your home. We have yet to meet a set-it-and-forget-it smart-home device.

Though we’re confident that the Yale Assure Lock SL Connected by August is the best pick for most people, several of the models we have tested would certainly satisfy people with specific needs:

The August Smart Lock Pro is the most widely compatible smart lock we’ve ever tested, and August has consistently updated and improved its products over time. Our experiences using the Smart Lock Pro’s signature auto-unlock feature have been inconsistent, however, and without that you need to whip out your phone to open the door every time, making it not as convenient to use as our other picks, especially the non-Pro August Smart Lock, which is usually $80 cheaper. If you live in a non-urban environment and are comfortable using auto-unlock, it’s a good and versatile option (though be sure to keep an eye out for the soon-to-be-released Wi-Fi model).

The Nest x Yale Lock is largely identical to our pick, the Yale Assure Lock SL, except that it is compatible only with other Nest smart devices. If you have a smart-home system that is entirely Nest-based, especially a Nest Hello doorbell, it’s a great option.

A previous pick for HomeKit users, the Kwikset Premis is a great and reliable device but was eclipsed by the Yale Assure Lock SL, which is compatible with both Android and iOS smartphones and supports Alexa and Google Assistant in addition to HomeKit. If you want only a HomeKit keypad lock, it’s worth considering.

The Lockly Secure Plus keypad lock (deadbolt version) is in many ways a great smart lock, but we found it to be oversized and the plastic internal components to be of inferior quality compared with the metal ones of our top picks. In addition, when we tested it, the lack of remote access made it a nonstarter. The newer Secure Pro model is available for purchase with a wireless bridge, but at $300 it’s not a good value compared with our picks.

The Schlage Sense, a HomeKit-enabled model virtually identical to the Schlage Connect, was previously one of our picks. Like the Connect, the Sense has a terrific keypad and top-quality ANSI Grade 1 hardware, but over many years of testing it has suffered from Bluetooth range issues that make it unreliable when we’re trying to connect to it remotely—despite being within spitting distance of both our Wi-Fi beacon and an Apple TV acting as a hub. A $60 Wi-Fi adapter, which also enables Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant compatibility, is available but strips HomeKit compatibility. Still, the Sense is a solid model and a good option for rental properties. The Schlage Connect is a low-cost option for anyone who already uses a Z-Wave hub.

The Kwikset Kevo was a previous pick but has become notably dated, and as some commenters have pointed out, it is seemingly unique among smart locks in that it isn’t compatible with a large variety of popular Android devices—you can render it incompatible if you buy a new phone. (We haven’t encountered this issue with any other lock we’ve tested.) Considering that, coupled with the sheer length and breadth of the support-issue reports and complaints we continue to receive, as well as the expense and extended wait period for the gateway (which is required for remote access), we no longer recommend the Kevo.

The Yale Assure Lock Touchscreen Deadbolt (YRD226) was an alternative to our top pick (the YRD256), and we were pleased with its performance and looks. Unfortunately, in the course of long-term testing we found that we were able to pick its keyway with very little effort and with only novice lockpicking skills, something we have been able to do repeatedly. Although we understand that home thieves generally use brute-force methods to enter homes (or simply enter unlocked doors), low-cost, effectively unpickable keyways are widely available as a standard feature, so we recommend choosing another model that uses those technologies.

This guide may have been updated by Wirecutter. To see the current recommendation, please go here.

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Before we jump in, it’s important to understand what components and technologies you need to get the music from a vinyl record into your speakers (you can find more detailed definitions of terms in our guide to the best turntables). Unlike the audio signal coming out of your phone, computer, or CD player, the audio signal coming from your turntable’s cartridge (the part that holds the stylus or needle) first needs to pass through a specialized processing device called a phono preamp. A phono preamp can be a standalone component, or it might be built into a turntable, a receiver, or a set of powered speakers (check the specs or look for a port labelled “phono”). If neither your turntable nor the audio system you want to connect it to has a built-in phono preamp, you need to add one. (Both of the top picks in our best turntables guide have built-in phono preamps.) Any phono preamp will work with the moving-magnet (MM) cartridge that comes fitted onto most turntables. Many audiophiles like to retrofit their turntables with moving-coil (MC) cartridges; these require a phono preamp that’s designed to work with both MM and MC cartridges.

Turntables without a built-in phono preamp also require a ground cable between the turntable and the phono preamp (or the receiver or speakers with a built-in phono preamp) to eliminate any potential hum or noise between components. This can be a separate ground cable or one combined into the audio cables. The turntable and the phono preamp both have screws for attaching the ground cable (see the photo below).

Connecting to receivers and other old-school audio gear

Most receivers, including all of the models in our best stereo receiver guide and most of the top picks in our best AV receiver guide, have phono preamps built in, so you can connect your turntable directly to the receiver’s phono input (pictured below). If your turntable also has a built-in phono preamp, you should connect it to one of the receiver’s other analog inputs—otherwise you’ll be “cascading” the phono preamps, and the sound will be extremely boomy and distorted.

Photo: Brent Butterworth

A few powered bookshelf speaker pairs, such as the Klipsch R-51PM, have phono inputs, so they can connect directly to turntables that lack phono preamps. But with most powered speakers, you need to use a turntable with a built-in phono preamp or connect an external phono preamp between the turntable and the speakers.

Connecting to Bluetooth speakers and headphones

As we mentioned above, a few turntables now incorporate Bluetooth wireless transmitters, which can stream audio directly to your wireless speakers or headphones. Examples include Audio-Technica’s AT-LP60XBT and Sony’s PS-LX310BT. With either of these models, you simply pair the turntable with your audio device, and you’re ready to play. Every record player with built-in Bluetooth also has a built-in phono preamp.

For turntables that lack built-in Bluetooth, one option is to bypass the Bluetooth function in your wireless speakers or headphones and instead use the analog input, assuming they have one (many do). If your turntable has a built-in phono preamp, you can run a basic RCA stereo interconnect cable from its analog output to your audio device’s analog input. Most wireless tabletop speakers and all wireless headphones lack a phono preamp, so if your turntable doesn’t have one built in, you need to connect a standalone phono preamp between the turntable and the speaker system or headphones, which adds a second set of cables to the chain.

Of course, the drawback to that approach is that your system is no longer wireless when you’re listening to records. If you wish to have your turntable on a table or shelf that’s not close to your speakers, you need to connect the phono preamp (or the turntable with a built-in phono preamp) to a Bluetooth transmitter. Many of these are available, for prices starting at less than $20. Once you’ve done that, you simply pair the transmitter with your speaker or headphones.

Connecting to Wi-Fi–based speakers (Sonos, Amazon Echo, AirPlay)

Connecting a turntable through Wi-Fi can be difficult and costly, depending on how you choose to set things up. The easiest and cheapest way to use a turntable with Wi-Fi–based wireless audio systems is to bypass the Wi-Fi and make an analog connection. Many Wi-Fi speakers have an analog input that you can connect directly to a phono preamp or a turntable with a built-in phono preamp.

If you wish to keep the Wi-Fi speakers wireless, you have two possible approaches. If your Wi-Fi speaker also offers Bluetooth and your turntable has Bluetooth, you can use that wireless connection method instead of Wi-Fi. If not, you need to buy a device that bridges your turntable and your wireless audio system. For Sonos, that device is the Port (you can also use the analog input on a Sonos Play:5 speaker to send signals from your turntable to your entire Sonos system). For an Amazon Echo, it’s the Echo Link. For DTS Play-Fi or Apple AirPlay systems, it’s the MartinLogan Unison. The big advantage of this approach is that the system can stream sound from your turntable to multiple speakers throughout your home, and the result can sound slightly better than on a Bluetooth connection. The drawback is that this bridge device may cost more than your turntable, and none of them has a built-in phono preamp—so unless your turntable has one, you have to connect a phono preamp between the turntable and the wireless interface.

If you’re building a system from scratch, there is currently one turntable that offers built-in Wi-Fi: the Yamaha MusicCast Vinyl 500. The Wi-Fi connectivity works only with Yamaha’s MusicCast speakers and audio components, though, so you have to build your system around that brand.

Connecting to wired headphones

If you own headphones that require a cabled connection, you have a couple of options. If you have a receiver with a headphone jack, just connect the receiver as described above and plug in the headphones. You can also use an external headphone amp, as long as it has an analog input; simply connect the output of the phono preamp (or the turntable with a built-in preamp) to the headphone amp, and then plug the headphones into the amp. A few phono preamps, such as the GOgroove Phono Preamp Pro, have headphone amps built in, so you need only the one box between your turntable and headphones.

By now you can see that, although the connections might be a little complex (and, in the case of Wi-Fi–based systems, expensive), there really is a way to connect your new turntable to the audio gear you already own—and to bring the tactile experience and classic sound of vinyl records into your life.

This guide may have been updated by Wirecutter. To see the current recommendation, please go here.

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Panasonic Electric Body Hair Trimmer and Groomer for Men ER-GK60-S

Street price: $55; deal price: $40

Back down to $40, this matches the low price we’ve seen on our runner-up pubic hair trimmer pick, the Panasonic Electric Body Hair Trimmer and Groomer for Men ER-GK60-S. We like its vertical orientation, coupled with the V-shaped head, making it a very maneuverable trimmer that can easily navigate the bends and folds of your body. Though they found our top pick serviceable, both of our female testers slightly preferred this more powerful option, even if it meant a shorter battery life than our top pick. If you’re in the market for a versatile and easy-to-maneuver trimmer, this is another great chance to save. This pricing ends after today, 2/13.

With its improved maneuverability and greater power, the Panasonic Electric Body Hair Trimmer and Groomer for Men ER-GK60-S is the runner up in our guide to the best pubic hair trimmer. Dorie Chevlen wrote, “The Panasonic Electric Body Hair Trimmer and Groomer for Men ER-GK60-S scored well with our panelists, thanks to its perfect blend of power and maneuverability, and it was the favorite trimmer of our two female panelists. It cut through all panelists’ pubic hair in a single pass over each section, but they still felt protected from nicks and cuts, even when using this model without a guard (because of the trimmer’s round-edge blades). In fact, this was the only trimmer that didn’t cause one nick on any panelist over the course of our weeks of testing.”

iOttie Easy One Touch Wireless

Street price: $50; deal price: $39

In our guide, we praise the iOttie Easy One Touch Wireless for its extendable neck and fully rotational base. The cradle design offers more support than our other picks, and this deal makes it about $20 less comparatively. Though this isn’t the lowest price we’ve ever seen, it’s still a worthwhile deal on a pick that doesn’t see discounts often. If you’re interested in a wireless charging phone mount for your car, this is a solid discount on one of our recommended options.

The iOttie Easy One Touch Wireless is the extra-secure pick in our guide to the best wireless charging phone mounts for cars. Wirecutter Associate Staff Writer Thom Dunn and Senior Staff Writer Nick Guy wrote, “If you need a mount that’s more adjustable than other models, we recommend the iOttie Easy One Touch Wireless. It has a 4-inch neck that can extend out to 8 inches (compared with about 2 inches for our top picks), so you can position your phone closer to you, if needed. This can be handy if you tend to sit further back from the dash or have a car with a deep, sloping windshield. The suction cup on this dash-mounted model also works better on textured materials than our top pick, and both the base and the attachment that holds the phone can rotate 360 degrees. The neck can also rotate in an arc of 270 degrees, offering a wide range of options for setup and positioning.”

Monoprice Certified Premium High Speed HDMI Cable

Street price: $18; deal price: $14

As sad as it is to acknowledge, many AV add-ons in your setup that may need an HDMI cable still don’t come with one. This is a great chance to stock up if you’re short. Down to $14 from a typical price around $18, this is a new low price for a three-pack of six-foot Monoprice Certified Premium High Speed HDMI Cables. It’s just as good as our top pick but typically a bit more expensive. This deal makes the Monoprice option less expensive than a similar set of our top pick.

Available in many lengths and thicknesses, these HDMI cables are the wider variety pick in our guide to the best cheap, great HDMI cables. Geoffrey Morrison wrote, “The Monoprice Certified Premium High Speed HDMI Cable performs just as well as our top pick, but is a little more expensive when you include shipping. It too is rated (and as we tested, passes) the 18 Gbps required for 4K HDR. If you need very long or short cables to make your setup work, they come in more lengths and thicknesses than Amazon’s cables, and they also come with a lifetime warranty.”

Fibaro Motion Sensor

Street price: $60; deal price: $50

If you have a HomeKit smart home system, or are interested in starting one, this is a nice discount on our HomeKit compatible motion sensor pick. With recent street pricing around $60, this drop to $50 is a nice discount and a new low. This is also the first deal we’ve ever seen for the Fibaro Motion Sensor since adding it to our tracking it last July, so it’s a good chance to pick one up.

The top pick in our guide to the best smart home sensors for HomeKit, the Fibaro Motion Sensor is eye-catching and has a wide, 30-foot range. Jennifer Pattison Tuohy wrote, “We like the Fibaro Motion Sensor because it’s small, customizable, and, unlike competing models, also capable of detecting temperature, light, and vibration—for some people it may be able to do the work of multiple sensors all at once. And if you use the free Fibaro companion app, you can get even more functionality out of it: You can adjust the motion sensitivity, set the blind time (the amount of time the sensor will pause after being triggered before triggering again), and customize the LED eye, including turning it off completely—which is essential if you have the sensor in a bedroom. It also has, in our opinion, a great design that allows it to fit securely and discreetly on nearly any surface, and it’s the smallest motion sensor we tested by a long shot.”

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Charging output: 100 W AC

Total capacity: 22,000 mAh, or roughly 81 Wh

Weight: 26.7 ounces (756 grams)

Dimensions: 7.5 by 4.5 by 1.1 inches (19 by 11.4 by 2.8 centimeters)

The RAVPower 27000 is the most affordable charger we tested and has power on par with the Mophie, but it feels less refined overall. The RAVPower feels much bulkier and has a more finicky interface, and its unwieldy charging cord and power brick are a chore to haul around. It’s also about a quarter of a pound heavier, and its grippy rubber finish collects fingerprints. These details aside, the RAVPower offers great performance for its price. Its maximum power output is just 4 watts lower than that of our pick, and it can fully recharge a MacBook Air once. It has the same output-port options as our pick too, plus an extra USB-A port. It’s the one we’d get if we needed one of these in a pinch and the Mophie wasn’t available.

Charging output: 70 W AC

Total capacity: 27,000 mAh, or roughly 100 Wh

Weight: 29.9 ounces (848 grams)

Dimensions: 6.9 by 1.4 by 5.3 inches (17.5 by 13.5 by 3.6 centimeters)

Why you should trust us

Before working at Wirecutter, I was a science writer and fact checker for over four years. At Wirecutter, I’ve reported on the best USB-C cables, portable solar battery packs, and more. I spent 56 hours researching and testing portable laptop chargers for this guide alone. The editor of this guide, Mark Smirniotis, has written about batteries and charging for Wirecutter for over three years.

We also consulted with Lee Johnson, an electrical engineer with more than 10 years of experience designing and testing electronics. Sterling Robison, engineering supervisor at Goal Zero, provided some helpful context about the product-development side of the industry.

Who this is for

Portable laptop chargers aren’t just for laptops. They are power banks with AC outlets that can provide on-the-go power for a long list of devices—from phones and tablets to breast pumps and baby monitors. But since most people who buy these are mainly looking to charge their laptop, we wrote this guide with them in mind. (If you really only need USB-C and USB-A ports, our favorite USB-C power banks are powerful enough to charge a MacBook Pro, Dell XPS 13, and other laptops that charge via USB-C.)

If you work remotely, you may not have consistent access to a wall outlet. Competition for outlets can be stiff at coffee shops, libraries, and coworking spaces. And if you have a long commute, travel frequently, or regularly attend off-site meetings and conferences, an alternative source of power like one of our picks can relieve charge anxiety. This is especially true if your laptop is near the end of its lifespan or if you run a lot of apps and programs at once.

Even someone who is rarely away from their desk might want a portable laptop charger in case of a blackout or other emergency. Ready.gov recommends keeping “a back-up power source on hand to recharge your phone so that you can stay connected even during an extended power outage.” You could always use one of our favorite USB-A or USB-C power banks for this, but a portable laptop charger gives you more types of output ports and, in most cases, more power.

This guide doesn’t cover larger portable power stations, which weigh as much as 50 pounds and can output hundreds of watts—the type of thing you’d want for off-grid living, car camping, or fieldwork. You can read about those in our separate guide.

How we picked

Photo: Sarah Kobos

To find the most popular power banks that include AC outlets, we scanned the top results on Amazon, Google Shopping, and major retailers like Target and REI. We also considered models recommended by news outlets like the Verge, Popular Science, Forbes, and Lifewire.

We catalogued a range of features for each model we found, and narrowed our search with these requirements:

• An output rating of at least 65 watts: Most MacBooks (except for the 15-inch MacBook Pro) need about 60 watts to charge at full speed, so we set our minimum limit at 65 watts just to be safe.
• Capacity between 60 and 100 watt-hours: Per FAA and TSA regulations, you need airline approval to transport “spare” or “loose” lithium-ion batteries exceeding 100 watt-hours. Even then, you are limited to two batteries and can only bring them in a carry-on bag; lithium-ion batteries of all capacities are banned from checked luggage. Since some people like to work (or watch movies) on their laptop on long flights, we capped our capacity limit at 100 watt-hours. On the lower end, we set our minimum at 60 watt-hours because that’s equivalent to running a 60-watt device (like a 13-inch MacBook Pro) for one hour; most of the models we considered are rated for 75 watt-hours or more.
• Light and compact enough to fit in a briefcase, backpack, or laptop bag: Although we didn’t set strict size and weight requirements, we wanted something small and lightweight so it would as easy to bring to a coffee shop as it would be take on a plane. We didn’t end up testing anything heavier than 2 pounds (like a hardcover novel) or bigger than 60 inches in volume (about the size of a standard brick).
• At least a one-year warranty and readily available customer support: If you’re spending upwards of $300 on something and relying on it in tight situations, you want to know that the manufacturer is reachable in case something goes wrong.
• At least one USB-C port: USB-C ports are starting to replace older USB-A ports, in part because the new standard is capable of transmitting roughly eight times the amount of power—up to 100 W for compatible devices. Since a portable laptop charger is an expensive investment, we think a fast-charging USB-C connection is key to future-proofing the purchase so it still works great with the new devices you’re likely to get in coming years.
• At least one USB-A port with at least 12-watt charging per port: Even though USB-C is becoming more common, most of us still have standard USB-A charging cables, so we insisted that our picks had at least one USB-A port—handy for charging smaller devices like smartphones, e-readers, and wireless headphones.
• At least one AC outlet compatible with three-prong plugs: Even though not all power cords have the third ground prong, power cords with the brick in the middle generally require it since it’s safer. A three-prong outlet on a portable laptop charger makes it much more versatile since it can power any device, not just ones with two-prong cords.
• A cost of no more than $300: Based on the range of prices we saw, this is what we think someone would reasonably want to spend on a work-related expense.

This left us with the following five models to test:

How we tested

Over the course of a week, we spent 41 hours testing all five portable laptop chargers. As the writer for this guide, I got to know them better than some people I’ve dated. We tested the performance of each charger in key areas, including:

• How many times each charger could recharge a laptop: To test the useful capacity of each charger, we started with a fully dead 2015 13-inch MacBook Air and a fully charged portable laptop charger. Once we plugged the MacBook Air’s wall charger into the AC port of the portable charger and it could power on, we turned the screen brightness all the way up and started playing a loop of Harry Potter movies on iTunes. We let it run until the portable charger died or the laptop became fully charged—whichever came first. If the portable charger died first, we recorded how much the laptop had been charged at that point. If the laptop reached 100 percent before the portable charger died, we shut everything down, fully drained the laptop by streaming hours-long 4K videos on YouTube, then repeated the test with the partially charged portable charger to get a combined number of recharges greater than 100 percent.

• Noise: If you turn on your portable charger in a library or quiet meeting, you don’t want the fans or electrical whine to be so loud as to distract everyone in the room. To test loudness, we placed an RC Professional Decibel Meter next to the cooling fan of each portable charger and used an array of halogen light bulbs to make sure the power draw was high enough for the cooling fans to kick in. We recorded the maximum sound level of each, and we also made subjective notes about which chargers made more noticeable—or more annoying—sounds.

• Maximum power output: If you try to power something that needs more than a portable power outlet can provide, the whole unit will shut down to protect itself. To test the maximum power output of each model, we connected each one to a Kill A Watt power meter and an array of light-bulb sockets. We powered 20-watt halogen bulbs one by one until they overloaded the portable charger and caused it to shut down, then recorded the maximum wattage reading on the power meter.

We carried each portable charger around in backpacks and laptop bags to see if it’d be convenient to carry every day. Photo: Sarah Kobos

• Look and feel: We picked them up, stuffed them into a crammed backpack, and carried them around throughout our testing period to see how well they’d fit into our everyday lives.

• Electrical and inverter quality: We used a BitScope oscilloscope to visualize the electrical waveforms of each charger and make relative comparisons with the help of electrical engineer Lee Johnson. Every charger we tested contains a modified sine-wave inverter that converts the battery’s DC, or direct current, power into AC, or alternating current, power—which is needed to charge most devices. The best modified sine-wave inverters can produce waveforms that are clear and well-defined enough to be used by most devices with a household plug, albeit choppier than the pure sine-wave power that comes from your home outlets. A smoother, clearer waveform represents a consistent flow of power that will allow your devices to run efficiently.

Our pick: Mophie Powerstation AC

Photo: Sarah Kobos

Mophie’s Powerstation AC is the portable laptop charger we’d buy ourselves. With enough power output to keep a 15-inch laptop running, it charged our MacBook Air to nearly full even with the screen brightness up and video playing. But even with the extra power, it’s the smallest we tested and one of the lightest, too. It’s stylish and professional-looking, yet well-protected from dings and scratches, and its slim shape makes it easy to slip into a backpack pocket or briefcase. Plus, it has some surprisingly useful features—from appropriately spaced ports that make it easy to plug in multiple devices at once to a protective rubber flap covering the AC outlet and keeping out lint and crumbs.

Our pick, the Mophie Powerstation AC, charges via a USB-C port. Photo: Sarah Kobos

In our peak power tests, The Powerstation AC got up to 123 watts before shutting down—outperforming all but one model, the Goal Zero Sherpa 100 AC. With that much power, the Powerstation can charge small devices like a phone, wireless headphone, or vaporizer, or larger ones like a high-powered laptop.

When we charged an empty MacBook Air, the Powerstation AC brought it up to 81 percent with the screen at full brightness, Wi-Fi on, and an HD movie streaming. That may not seem ideal, but even the highest-capacity charger we tested—our runner-up pick from RAVPower—only charged the laptop fully once under such conditions, with a little reserve left. When we considered that a power bank like this is primarily used to provide backup power between access to wall outlets, we felt that the extra portability of the Powerstation AC was worth the slightly lower capacity.

The Powerstation measures 4.5 inches wide, 7.5 inches tall, and 1.1 inches thick (about the size of a paperback novel) and it weighs 1.7 pounds, which is a few ounces heavier than the newest iPads. It’s flatter and smaller overall than the Jackery, about three ounces lighter than the RAVPower. It’s encased in a dark gray, twill fabric that looks and feels nicer than plastic. The fabric seems like it would improve durability, too, by protecting the exterior from cracks and scratches.

Of all the chargers we tested, the Powerstation is one of the easiest to use. Its interface is straightforward: You hold down the power button until a little green light turns on to boot up the AC power, and you hold it down again to turn it off. You can also press a smaller button in the corner that contains the three ports—USB-A, USB-C, and AC—to illuminate a row of lights showing how much juice the charger has left.

A waveform from the Mophie’s modified sine-wave inverter.

We especially liked the rubber flap over the AC port, which prevents dust and other debris from getting into the port when getting jostled about in a backpack or laptop bag. A magnet keeps the flap securely in place, which is a nice touch that we didn’t see in any of the other models. The other ports are positioned such that you can fit a fat, three-prong AC plug on one side, plus your USB-C and USB-A cables around the corner, without interference—only the Jackery PowerBar had a layout as generous.

For a modified sine-wave inverter, the Mophie produced a relatively smooth and consistent waveform in our oscilloscope testing. Lee Johnson, the electrical engineer who analyzed the waveforms for us, determined that all of the models performed similarly.

A waveform from the RAVPower’s modified sine-wave inverter had similar performance, with slightly more electrical noise, but our engineer thought it would have little practical effect.

The Powerstation is made by a brand we trust (Mophie has been making power accessories for over a decade) with reliable customer support (we called the main number anonymously and got through to someone within seconds who was happy to answer our questions about the Powerstation), and its two-year warranty is as long as any we found. Plus, it’s widely available from a variety of retailers.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

The Mophie Powerstation AC doesn’t include a wall charger but comes with two USB cables—one of them USB-C–to–USB-C, the other USB-A–to–USB-C. We love that USB charging means you don’t need to carry a bulky wall charger and power brick—any USB port you have handy for other devices can do double duty and charge the Powerstation AC. But if you only have USB-A ports, they might charge painfully slow. If you’re looking for a new USB-C charger for the fastest recharge times, we’d get the Anker PowerPort II PD because it’s small and portable, fairly inexpensive, and allows you to charge at top USB Power Delivery speeds.

While the Powerstation met our minimum requirements (offering at least one USB-A and USB-C port), it was the only model we tested that had one, not two, USB-A ports. It would be great if the Powerstation had more than one of each port. Its cooling fan was the second-noisiest we tested, but the tone wasn’t as bothersome in a quiet room as some others.

Budget pick: RAVPower 27000

Photo: Sarah Kobos

If you don’t want to spend quite as much—and you don’t mind a bulkier, not-so-sleek charger—the RAVPower 27000 is a good option. It has almost the same power output and capacity as our top pick, but it feels a lot larger, and the clunky wall charger and power brick make it cumbersome to pack up for trips. Even though it offers similar utility, we found our top pick was a better experience overall that is worth the price.

The RAVPower’s peak-power performance, 119 watts, was roughly the same as our main pick’s maximum of 123 watts. It was able to charge small devices as well a 15-inch MacBook Pro without a problem. When we tested its capacity, it was able to charge a depleted MacBook Air about once from zero to 100 percent with its screen at max brightness while streaming an HD video.

That was the highest capacity of any we tested, besting the competition by anywhere from 3 percent (basically a rounding error) to about 20 percent.

It’s a little heavier than our main pick—1.9 pounds to the Mophie’s 1.7 pounds. But the larger size and a little bit of extra weight makes it feel much clunkier than our top pick, and it’s just not as stylish overall: The gap splitting the charger into two sections is an odd, visually jarring design choice, as it doesn’t seem to serve a purpose. The rubbery exterior of the RAVPower looks good and feels pleasantly grippy and durable, but it does tend to show fingerprints and oils easily.

Even when the RAVPower’s cooling fan kicked in, it was one of the quietest models we tested. It barely moved the needle on our decibel meter, and we wouldn’t be embarrassed to turn it on in a meeting, lecture hall, or some other place where a noisy fan would be distracting.

The Mophie (top) is slimmer and lighter than RAVPower’s (bottom) portable laptop charger. Photo: Sarah Kobos

The RAVPower has a USB-C port, an AC port, and two 2.4-amp USB-A ports (one more than our main pick), giving you plenty of charging options. You might have trouble using all of them at once, though, especially if your plugs are wide or oddly shaped, since all of the ports are on the same side.

Its warranty (18 months) is slightly shorter than Mophie’s, but RAVPower is a brand we trust in terms of build quality, customer support, and availability.

The RAVPower 27000 has a few major downsides. Our biggest complaint is its size. It’s the second-biggest model we tested (after the Naztech) at 5.31 by 6.89 by 1.38 inches, plus its AC/DC charger is the most unwieldy. It’s nice that it comes with a zip-up hardshell case, but the whole setup is just not as portable as our main pick. Anyone carefully packing their bag to commute on public transit or keeping track of every cubic inch of carry-on space for regular business trips will have a much easier time with our top pick.

The RAVPower 27000 comes with an AC/DC wall charger, two Micro-USB cables, and a hardshell case. Photo: Sarah Kobos

In addition to its extra bulk, the RAVPower offers a slightly worse user experience than our main pick. To get the AC output to turn on, you have to hold down the power button for several seconds, and it turns off quickly if not plugged into something.

The RAVPower comes with two USB-A–to–Micro-USB cables, which is nice, but it’s not much of a bonus. If you’re someone who needs to charge Micro-USB devices, you probably already have plenty of those lying around.

The competition

Renogy Phoenix 100: This charger has the same brick-like shape (and roughly the same size and weight) as the Jackery PowerBar, making it less portable than thinner, book-like options that fit better in laptop bags and backpacks. It also costs about the same as the Jackery and has one fewer USB-A port. It has an additional input option (Micro-USB) that none of the other models we tested offer—but since it’ll charge painfully slow over that port, we don’t think that feature offers much of a benefit.

ChargeTech Portable AC Outlet: This was our runner-up pick in a former version of this guide, but we decided not to consider it for this round of testing because it doesn’t have a USB-C port and it has a low wattage rating (85 watts) for the price.

Goal Zero Sherpa 100 AC: This charger is fairly compact, is enjoyable to use, and has an informative OLED screen. It had the highest peak-power output (160 watts) in our testing, and it charged the MacBook Air 0.95 times on a single charge. But it’s also the most expensive model we tested, retailing for around $300 at the time of this writing. It’s also the heaviest (2 pounds, tied with the Naztech) and noisiest model we tested, and its one-year warranty is the shortest we’ve seen.

Jackery PowerBar 23200: Our former top pick, the Jackery PowerBar 20800, is being discontinued and replaced with the PowerBar 23200. It’s the lightest model we tested (1.5 pounds), its two-year warranty is as good as any we’ve seen, and it’s one of the most inexpensive models we tested. The Jackery looks nice and seems well-built, but its brick-shaped design isn’t as sleek or portable as the others—it’s a lot tougher to slip into a briefcase than the book-shaped ones, and multiple Wirecutter staffers said they’d prefer a slimmer design. Also, its fan wasn’t the absolute loudest we tested, but unlike the others, it becomes audible as soon as you turn on the AC output and was much more distracting in a quiet room.

Naztech Volt Power Station AC Outlet 14149: This charger has one of the best warranties (2 years) and costs the least of those we tested. It shares some aspects of both our picks, with a clean, simple look and good capacity. However, it’s the heaviest charger we tested, along with the Goal Zero, at 2 pounds. It’s also the biggest, measuring 5.3 by 1.4 by 6.9 inches, and its AC/DC charger is a bit bulky. It had the lowest peak-power output (95.1 watts) in our testing, and it’s one of the most finicky ones to control when it comes to turning the power—or even the flashlight—on and off. Lastly, we’ve had little experience with Naztech and the Volt brand, and when we contacted the company’s customer support, it took 17 days to get a response, which doesn’t bode well for customers if something goes wrong.

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Why you should trust me

I’ve been reviewing gadgets and accessories since 2011, and I’ve been at Wirecutter since 2014. During that time I’ve covered similar categories including Bluetooth trackers and pet trackers, so I know what to look for from this kind of device.

Who this is for

A cellular GPS tracker is like a Tile-style Bluetooth tracker but far more powerful. Instead of relying on Bluetooth wireless, which needs a direct connection to your device and has a top range of 400 feet (and typically far less), these trackers use a combination of cellular signal and GPS so that you can locate them from nearly anywhere, as long as they’re within range of cellular service. Whereas a Bluetooth tracker may be a good choice for finding your keys or your wallet around the house or in the office, a cellular GPS tracker is more versatile. If you have a sitter taking care of your child, for example, you could toss one in your kid’s backpack so you can see that the sitter picked them up safely. These trackers have value if you go hiking, biking, or snowboarding and want a guardian angel keeping tabs on your stuff, or you can chuck one in your bag at the lodge so you receive an alert if it moves. Or you might put one in your car when you go to a music festival and park in a big field, and need to navigate back to it when the show is over. Bluetooth trackers aren’t very useful in any of those cases, dedicated kid trackers are meant to be used every day (we hope to address those in the future), and satellite is overkill. There are also pet-centric trackers that we didn’t include in this guide.

Greater capability comes at a higher cost. Compared with a Bluetooth tracker, these trackers are more expensive to buy and require monthly service charges, and their batteries run dry and need recharging in just a few days rather than years.

Tracking devices necessarily raise issues of privacy and security, and these devices in particular, which are small and work anywhere a cell signal exists, could be used by nefarious people to track others. While federal laws on GPS tracking are still ambiguous, state laws vary, and it is generally illegal, not to mention unethical, to track another person without their consent. If you plan to use a tracker to keep tabs on another person, get their permission first.

How we picked and tested

The cellular GPS tracker category is young and in flux. After researching the limited field of competitors available through cellular carriers and independent manufacturers, we identified the most important criteria, which we used to narrow down the list of models we were interested in testing.

• No onerous carrier contracts: All of these trackers connect to a cellular network through a carrier, just as a cell phone does, but some require you to already have service with that provider. Our ideal tracker is carrier-agnostic, and we don’t recommend that anyone change their carrier simply to use a cellular GPS tracker.
• A good cellular network: A good cellular network means that your tracker is more likely to have service when you try to find it. We tested only those trackers whose labeling or specs made it clear what network they use, and we gave preference to those on larger carriers such as Verizon and AT&T.
• Battery life of five-plus days: Unlike Bluetooth trackers, which can run for one to three years before the battery or the tracker itself needs to be replaced, cellular GPS trackers provide only a few days of use per charge, but they are rechargeable. Most trackers advertise at least five days of battery life—anything less than that is just too little to be reliable.
• Geofencing capabilities: Cellular GPS trackers are useful because they can show you where something or someone is, but also because they can alert you when that something or someone is not where they’re supposed to be. The tracker you choose should have a geofence feature, which allows you to set a digital border; when the tracker enters or leaves that area, you get an alert on your phone.
• Live tracking: If the person or things you’re tracking aren’t where you expected them to be, seeing where they’re going can be important. Live tracking allows you to see the path they’re taking on a smartphone app (note that live tracking drains the battery at a faster rate).
• Ring options: Ideally, your phone can find your tracker, and your tracker can find your phone. We prefer a tracker that has a built-in speaker that you can ring from the app as well as a button to trigger an alert on your phone, but none of the top contenders have both features.
• IP67 or higher waterproof rating: Almost every tracker out there offers some degree of weatherproofing, so there’s no reason to choose one that doesn’t. The “6” in the IP67 rating represents the highest level of protection from dust, and the “7” indicates that the tracker will survive under 1 meter of water.
• Price: Although it can be hard to put a dollar figure on the security that tracking can provide, there is a point of diminishing returns. The top three models in our research all cost less than $150 during their first year (that’s the price of the hardware as well as the service plan, which some trackers include for free for a period). Anything higher than that is more than you should be paying, especially since none of the more expensive models promise any additional features or accuracy.

Once we narrowed down our picks to the top two options, we put them to the test, looking to confirm all the promised attributes, evaluate the GPS accuracy, and assess the app performance. I played around with both trackers for a few days before handing the logins off to my editor, stationed in Brooklyn, as I began a trek around nearby Queens and Manhattan. I walked from my apartment to the train, which I then took to the New York Times building in Times Square. (The New York Times is Wirecutter’s parent company.) After wandering around for a few congested blocks, I hopped back on the train, this time to Wirecutter’s Long Island City office. Along the way, my editor confirmed my location in both trackers’ apps at every stop and turned on their live-tracking features to test for accuracy.

Our pick: Samsung SmartThings Tracker (AT&T)

Photo: Michael Murtaugh

Samsung’s SmartThings Tracker (AT&T) is accurate, updates quickly, has about a week’s worth of battery life, and offers the best combination of features among an imperfect group of competitors. Notably, anyone can use the SmartThings Tracker, as Samsung doesn’t require you to have a phone service plan with any specific cellular carrier—a common issue for the other test models we considered. (A Verizon-based version of the Tracker is also available, but it doesn’t come with a free year of cell service like the AT&T model does.) No tracker we know of has features so valuable that it would be worth jumping to a different cell service provider. The SmartThings Tracker uses AT&T’s cellular service for data; judging from our experience, AT&T has a very good network, so there should be few areas where you don’t have service.

The most important thing a tracker can do is tell you where it is, and the SmartThings Tracker does that well. When you go through the app to view the map, you see the tracker’s location, with a circle around it showing the accuracy range (while the center of the circle may not be exactly where the tracker is, the tracker does fall somewhere within the area of the circle). From there, you have several options. You can see where the tracker has been, or you can turn on live tracking, which constantly updates the tracker’s location, as it moves, for a customizable period before turning off; you can select 10 minutes, 30 minutes, one hour, three hours, or five hours, and the more often it updates, the shorter its battery life will be.

The SmartThings app opens to a splash screen (left) you have to tap through before arriving at the map (center). You can also track historical paths to see where the tracker has been (right).

Samsung advertises four to five days per charge on average, up to 10 days depending on how you use it, before the battery needs to be recharged. In our testing, the results were closer to that lower range. A push alert on your phone lets you know when the tracker’s battery is getting low and it needs to be plugged in.

In the SmartThings app, you can set up to five geofenced zones and control how often the location updates.

The SmartThings Tracker also supports geofencing, allowing you to set up to five geographic zones, each with a minimum 700-foot radius. You can choose to receive notifications when the tracker enters that location, exits it, or both. For example, you might set your home as a zone so that you receive an alert when your kid gets home from school. I found the geofencing to work properly, although I traveled a few city blocks before I received the notification that I had left my apartment or the Wirecutter office (by comparison, the Verizon tracker sent an alert a block or two sooner).

Samsung’s SmartThings Tracker measures 1¾ inches square and ½ inch thick; it’s roughly the size of two Tile Pro trackers stacked. Frankly, it’s pretty boring looking, a simple white box with a single LED light, a button on the top, and a Micro-USB charging port on the bottom. This standard charging port means that if you lose the cables that come with the SmartThings Tracker you can easily find a replacement, or you might already have one lying around. Double-pressing the button on the tracker allows you to instantly send its location to the phone app, though there’s no way to ring your phone from the tracker or vice versa, as you can with a Tile (see Flaws but not dealbreakers). The SmartThings Tracker has an IP68 rating, which means it is resistant to damage from dust or water. A small fabric loop is included so you can attach the tracker to a bag or keychain.

Hitting the button on the side of the Samsung SmartThings Tracker sends an instant location update, which you can view in the SmartThings mobile app. Photo: Michael Murtaugh

Samsung offers the first year of AT&T service for free, making the SmartThings Tracker the least expensive to own and use over the course of its first year than anything else in this category. When that time is up, you can pay either $5 a month or $50 a year for continued service. That’s about average compared with what other companies charge.

The SmartThings Tracker is also available on the Verizon network, whether or not you’re already a Verizon customer, but the initial cost of ownership is higher because you have to pay for service for the first year. If you are a Verizon customer already, we think you should choose the Verizon Smart Locator, which provides slightly faster alerts and is more accurate.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

We found Samsung’s app to be less intuitive and more annoying than Verizon’s. For instance, because the SmartThings app is what you need to use to control all of Samsung’s smart-home gear, it opens to a splash screen that you have to tap through, rather than taking you directly to the tracker map as the Verizon app does. In our tests, the Verizon app also tended to be more precise, and it updated the location at a faster rate.

It would be better if the SmartThings Tracker could ring your phone and vice versa, making it a full replacement for a Tile.

Also great: Verizon Smart Locator

Photo: Michael Murtaugh

If you’re already a Verizon Wireless customer, we recommend Verizon’s Smart Locator. In our tests, compared with the SmartThings Tracker, its range was more accurate, its location reports updated a bit faster, and its alerts came faster when we left our preset geofence. But you can use the Smart Locator only if you have a Verizon cell phone plan, and we don’t think it’s worthwhile for anyone to change their cell phone plan just to get this GPS tracker.

Opening the Verizon Smart Locator app takes you right into the map, making it faster to find the tracker’s location than with the Samsung model. From there, you can easily access live tracking and location history. Digging into the settings a bit, you have the option to set location alerts via geofence, as well as a tracking schedule. For example, you might choose to have the Smart Locator check every five minutes between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. on weekdays, when you expect your child to be getting home from school.

Verizon’s Smart Locator app opens right to the map, allows you to set a tracking schedule, and offers location-based alerts.

Rather than display a large radius, the Verizon tracker pinpoints its location in the app much more tightly than the SmartThings Tracker, the key reason you might choose this model over our top pick if you’re a Verizon customer. In our tests, instead of showing a range of a few buildings or even blocks, it showed us the location marked within a few feet.

The Smart Locator’s hardware is very similar to that of the SmartThings Tracker, which is to say, very plain. It’s a simple gray oval, bisected laterally, with a clicky segment on the bottom half. Rather than using a standard charging connector, it requires a less-convenient proprietary magnetic charger that isn’t as easily replaceable as the Samsung’s Micro-USB cable and can more readily disconnect. A built-in keychain loop sits at the top of the device.

The Verizon Smart Locator’s specs are otherwise very similar to those of the Samsung tracker. It gets about five days of battery life, and it’s a little less waterproof than the Samsung model at IP67, meaning it’s rated to survive under only 1 meter of water (that’s still pretty good). You can ring the tracker from the app, something you can’t do with the SmartThings Tracker, but you can’t use the Smart Locator to ring your phone.

At this writing, Verizon includes the first year of the Smart Locator’s service for free, and after that it’s $3 a month, a couple of bucks cheaper than service for the Samsung model.

The competition

Sprint’s Tracker + Safe & Found was the only other tracker we tested for this guide, but between issues with the hardware and software and the inferior network, we don’t recommend it. At the time we began our testing, the tracker was available for use only with a Sprint account; if you don’t use Sprint as your smartphone carrier, the feature set is limited. In our tests, the app regularly logged us out and forced us to log in every time, and it wasn’t particularly intuitive to use. The hardware button on the tracker, which you use for pairing, is difficult to press. You get no live tracking, and no way to ring your phone with the tracker. This model is also relatively expensive, costing almost twice as much during the first year as the Samsung SmartThings Tracker. And finally, we don’t recommend the Sprint network—as our reviewer says, its “coverage consistently ranks fourth in surveys and tests.”

The Trax 4G North America is more expensive than the Samsung and Verizon trackers we recommend. It also has a limited battery life, lasting only two to three days.

The Pod 3 GPS Tracker is more expensive than our picks and relies on inferior 2G and 3G networks.

The Jiobit is by far the most expensive tracker we found, with an up-front cost that’s almost double the hardware and one-year service price of the SmartThings Tracker, plus a $9 to $13 charge per month depending on the length of the service plan you choose. In addition, it’s limited to 2G and 3G networks.

GeoZilla’s Tracker appears to be a generic tracker with branding slapped on it; Trackimo’s hardware looks to be identical. The tracker also has poor battery life of only two to three days and isn’t waterproof.

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