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5 Best Air Purifier Deals: For Big and Small Spaces

5 Best Air Purifier Deals: For Big and Small Spaces

spring means warm sunshine, comfortable temperatures, and later sunsets (thank you, daylight saving time). Unfortunately, it also comes with seasonal allergies. Many of us are plagued with a runny nose, itchy eyes, and constant sneezing, among other irritating symptoms. During these troubling times, I highly recommend investing in an air purifier to help keep your home free of the pesky allergens that seep in from the outside. Below, we’ve gathered great deals on a variety of WIRED-approved air purifiers for spaces big and small.

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Best Air Purifier Deals

Don’t see what you’re looking for? Check out our Best Air Purifiers guide for more options. You can also learn more about how to keep your indoor air quality under control here.

Coway Airmega 200M air purifier

Coway Airmega 200M

Photograph: Conway

Effective in spaces up to 361 feet, the Airmega 200M is our favorite air purifier for small rooms. It’s both compact and attractive, so you won’t have trouble finding a proper place for it in your home. It also comes with an air quality monitor that increases the fan speed whenever it detects particles and turns the device off when it doesn’t detect pollution—a nice way to save energy.

The Pure Fan Auto is a great option if you’re looking for a quiet air purifier—it cycles air five times an hour in a 362-square-foot room. It doubles as a fan too. It’s not strong enough to cool down an uncomfortably hot room, but it feels nice to sit in front of. Light sleepers will also appreciate its Night mode feature, which switches the fan to its lowest setting and shuts off the air quality indicator light. This is the lowest price we’ve tracked to date.

This received an honorable mention in our roundup of Best Air Purifiers. It’s rated for smaller rooms, specifically between 180 and 320 square feet. It packs an H13 HEPA filter, along with support for Google Assistant, Alexa, and HomeKit (which is great if you have an iPhone). It also comes with a handle to carry it from room to room, and it noticeably revs up when there are more particles in the room than usual.

Wynd Plus air purifier and phone displaying app

Wynd Plus

Photograph: Wynd

If you’re taking a well-deserved vacation any time soon, we suggest adding the Wynd Plus to your packing list. As one of the smallest air purifiers on the market, it fits in a cup-holder in the car and on a nightstand. Even though it’s not a HEPA filter, it’s still capable of cleaning particles greater than 0.3 microns within 3 feet. It comes with an air quality sensor, a kickstand, and a microfiber traveling bag as well. It’s dipped as low as $155, but we still think this is a solid deal. 

This deal is only available for Amazon Prime subscribers. If you’re not sure whether you need an air purifier, we recommend getting an air quality monitor. The Temptop M10 not only tracks the total volatile organic compounds (TVOC) and levels of formaldehyde (CH2Ol) but also the general air quality index (which measures particulate matter that is 2.5 micrometers or smaller, such as wildfire smoke). It doesn’t, however, track CO2 or humidity. It dipped lower to $76 last month, but it doesn’t fluctuate in price often. 

Our Favorite Tech for the Home Garden

Our Favorite Tech for the Home Garden

When friends of mine sent a video of their little robotic mower bumping along a long flat lawn, I was skeptical. How could a device the size of a small tire mow a large lawn? Well, Husqvarna makes mowers that can, pretty accurately, and have been for years. While the robot won’t be able to edge succinctly like a weed whacker, you’ll still get well-groomed grass for very little effort. It chops the blades and mulches to save you the work of constantly emptying a storage container.

The limitations involve installing a wire pinned to the lawn’s entire perimeter. Also, automowers are less reliable than push or riding mowers on steeper slopes. And like a robotic vacuum, it can’t remove toys, chairs, and hoses obstructing its path. Obstacles need to be picked up before it departs the charging station. Lastly, separate areas of lawn dissected by a driveway or sidewalk can’t be covered. Otherwise, the device is fairly thorough.

The biggest drawback? Price. For a city yard, the residential Automower 115H (4G) is $700, and to cover a larger suburban lawn, the wider Automower 415X runs $2,000. While other, cheaper brands may suit your needs just fine, Husqvarna has been perfecting landscape tools for decades and has a reputation for being built tough. I’d say it’s worth it, but the key is to find an automower that works for your yard and your budget.

How to Choose a Router (2023): Tips, Technical Terms, and Advice

How to Choose a Router (2023): Tips, Technical Terms, and Advice

Everyone wants reliable and fast internet, and a good router can help. The trick is to work out how the complicated mess of standards, confusing acronyms, and sci-fi-sounding features translate to better Wi-Fi in your home. Join us as we tear back the curtain to reveal the pertinent facts about Wi-Fi, routers, mesh systems, and other jargon. Hopefully, you’ll be better equipped to buy a router by the end.

Updated April 2023: We added information on Ethernet, Wi-Fi 6E, and Wi-Fi 7, updated the latest broadband speeds, upgraded our minimum recommendations, and added an explanation of SSID.

Table of Contents

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Who Is Your Internet Service Provider?

Internet service providers (ISPs) connect your home to the internet, and they usually send you a modem and router (sometimes in a single device). The modem connects your home to the broader internet, the router hooks up to the modem, and you connect all your gadgets—with wires or wirelessly—to the router to access that connectivity. ISPs often charge you a rental fee for this equipment, and their routers are usually basic in terms of performance and features. The good news is that ISPs are by law no longer allowed to force you to use their equipment or charge you to use your own hardware, though you may still have to return their stuff to avoid charges.

We’re largely looking at using your own router in this guide and using your ISP’s modem. By using your own, you can potentially save money in the long term, but you can also enjoy faster Wi-Fi, better coverage, easier configuration, and extra features like parental controls and guest Wi-Fi networks. We will run through your router options, but whatever system you decide to go with, check compatibility with your ISP before buying. You can also search your ISP’s forums to find posts where people discuss using different routers and modems. A little research before you shop can save you a big headache down the line.

What Kind of Router Do You Need?

Netgear Orbi router

Photograph: Netgear

There are various ways to make your Wi-Fi faster, and buying a new router is one of the most obvious. To help you decide on the type of router to go for, calculate the rough square footage of your home before you begin.

Single Router

The simplest solution for most people is to choose a single router or a router and modem combo. Bear in mind that this device will have to plug into your existing socket or modem via Ethernet cable, which restricts where you can place it. The Wi-Fi signal will be strongest near the router and will gradually drop off and slow down the further away you get. If you’re able to, place your router centrally in your home and leave it out in the open.

Routers should always state square footage for coverage, but certain types of construction—thick walls, insulation, and other devices—can interfere with Wi-Fi signals, so don’t expect to enjoy full-speed Wi-Fi at longer distances. Powerful routers with wide coverage are often large devices with multiple external antennas, but they’re usually very expensive.

Mesh Systems

If you have a large home and want solid coverage in your garden, or you have thick walls and specific dead spots with your current setup, then mesh Wi-Fi could be the answer. Mesh systems consist of a central hub, which connects just like a single router, as well as additional satellites or nodes you can place around the home.

Devices connect to the internet through the nearest node, so you can achieve wider Wi-Fi coverage and a more reliable connection in different areas by adding a node. Just bear in mind that each node will need a power outlet. Mesh systems are typically more expensive than single-router setups (though not always), but they enhance coverage and reliability, and they often boast additional features and control options. They also tend to be smaller than regular routers and are typically designed to blend in with your decor.

Most mesh systems are expandable, and some manufacturers allow you to link individual routers to create a mesh, so you can start with a single router and add more as required. Just make sure you understand which devices are compatible. For example, any Asus router that supports AiMesh can work as part of a mesh system, but TP-Link’s OneMesh technology only allows you to add compatible Wi-Fi extenders—you can’t link routers together.

Alternatives to a New Router

ethernet cable

Photograph: Eskay Lim/Getty Images

If your issue is more about coverage and you have a single problem room where you want to improve Wi-Fi, or a particular device that needs a faster connection, you might not need to buy a new router. Try one of these alternatives. They each have their own technical challenges and potential issues. Even when successfully deployed, they won’t come close to matching the convenience of a good mesh system, but they are all much cheaper.

Ethernet Cables

Before Wi-Fi was ubiquitous, we relied on Ethernet cables to connect computers and other devices to routers. Ethernet connections are much faster, more stable, and more secure than Wi-Fi (or any other option we suggest here). The drawback is that the device you want to connect needs to have an Ethernet port, and you have to run cable from your router to the device. If you need to run Ethernet cables to multiple spots, use an Ethernet switch. With a switch you can plug one cable in from your router and run several cables out to various devices. Anyone looking to get the best performance from a mesh system should also consider running Ethernet cables between the main router and nodes to create a wired backhaul that leaves the Wi-Fi bands free for your devices to connect to. 

Power Line Adapters

Sold in pairs, power line adapters pass an internet signal through your electrical wiring. You plug one into a power outlet near your router and connect it with an Ethernet cable, while the other power line adapter plugs into a power outlet in the room where you want faster internet. They can be a good solution if you have a console or smart TV in your living room at the back of the house, but your router is in the front hall, for example. Unfortunately, effectiveness depends heavily on your electrical wiring.

MoCA (Multimedia over Coax Alliance)

If your home already has coaxial cables installed (perhaps for cable TV), you can use them to create a reliable wired network that offers high speeds and low latency compared to Wi-Fi. You can buy routers, network adapters, or Wi-Fi extenders that support the MoCA standard. Much like power line adapters, this can be a great way to pass an internet signal to a smart TV, game console, or desktop that doesn’t get a strong Wi-Fi signal.

Wi-Fi Repeaters

You can use Wi-Fi repeaters to spread the Wi-Fi from a single router a bit further and potentially boost the signal in a dead spot. These devices are a good solution for some people, but they can be inefficient, prone to interference, and often create a secondary network with a different name from your regular Wi-Fi.

Access Points

If you don’t mind a challenge and have a spare old router lying around, you can look into configuring it as an access point or using it as a Wi-Fi extender. This can be particularly effective if you’re able to connect it to your main router via cabling, but configuration can prove tricky.

What Speed Do You Need?

kid sitting at gaming PC

Photograph: Getty Images

There’s plenty to consider when you’re trying to decide how fast your router should be. The maximum speed of your internet is determined by your ISP. Internet speeds are stated in Mbps (megabits per second). The median global fixed broadband speed is 79 Mbps for downloads and 34 Mbps for uploads, according to Ookla’s Speedtest. Most ISPs will state up to a certain speed or give you a range—like 300 Mbps download and 30 Mbps upload—but what you actually get is often lower than the maximum (especially upload speeds), and it must be shared between all of your connected devices. 

11 Best Retro Game Consoles (2023): Evercade, Polymega, Analogue Pocket, and Controllers

11 Best Retro Game Consoles (2023): Evercade, Polymega, Analogue Pocket, and Controllers

It’s a shame that two of the best retro gaming consoles in recent years, the NES Classic Mini and the SNES Classic Mini, have been discontinued. Both feature great designs with a miniaturized look that’s true to the originals, silky performance, and strong game lineups of Nintendo’s greatest hits. You can still buy them online (usually from third-party resellers), but prices are seriously inflated. The SNES Classic Mini, for example, was $80 at launch, but a reseller has it for $300 on Amazon right now. You might have better luck buying one used.

Nintendo fans keen on some classic gaming action might be better served by snagging a Switch and buying a Nintendo Switch Online membership ($20 for a year) to access more than 100 NES and SNES titles (here’s the full list). Add the Expansion Pack ($50 for a year) and you can get these N64 games too. If you’re craving some old-school pocket-sized Nintendo fun, check out the revived Game & Watch ($50) line. They are limited to a couple of games each, but when those games are Super Mario or Zelda titles, that can be enough for hours of fun.

The Analogue Mega SG ($200) (8/10, WIRED Recommends) is expensive, and it doesn’t come with any games or controllers (they cost $25 apiece). But it can play old Sega Genesis cartridges, so it’s a solid choice if you have a box of them in the basement. Thanks to an FPGA chip, this console runs the original games just as you remember them.

There are plenty of classic arcade games available on PlayStation 4 or 5. If you opt for a PS Plus Premium subscription ($18 for a month or $120 for a year), you get the Classics Catalog, packed with old PlayStation games.

The Xbox Series X|S boasts the best backward compatibility, as Microsoft’s newest consoles can play Xbox One, Xbox 360, and original Xbox titles. You can also find classic titles included in our favorite gaming subscription, the excellent Xbox Game Pass Ultimate ($15 per month).

If you have Valve’s Steam Deck, check out the comprehensive EmuDeck to emulate a wide variety of old systems in style.

PC gamers also have an enormous choice of emulators. I like RetroArch because it emulates multiple systems, but if you have a favorite old console and want to get close to that original experience, you can likely find a tailor-made emulator to scratch that itch.

Best Hiking Boots (2023): Walking Shoes, Trails, Backpacking

Best Hiking Boots (2023): Walking Shoes, Trails, Backpacking

In the traditional world of hiking boots, practicality is king, with solid ankle support and a nice bit of leather keeping your feet dry and ankles intact as you head for the hills. Things are changing fast, though, with the modern technology found in running shoes being co-opted into walking boots and trail shoes, helping to reduce weight while increasing comfort, speed, and performance.

As a result, there are now hundreds of pairs to choose from, including tried-and-tested traditional leather clodhoppers, ultralight trail running sneakers, and a whole host of hybrid designs, like approach shoes for scrambling and pillowy soft designs for epic through-hikes and all-year adventures.

For more of WIRED’s outdoor guides, check out our Hiking Gear 101 guide, Best Baselayers, Best Tents, and the Best Rain Jackets.

Special offer for Gear readers: Get a 1-year subscription to WIRED for $5 ($25 off). This includes unlimited access to WIRED.com and our print magazine (if you’d like). Subscriptions help fund the work we do every day.