THE BEST PRODUCTS OF 2021

You need only one list this holiday season when you’re buying tech gifts. Here’s PCMag’s annual collection of the 101 most exceptional products tested and rated by our experts in the past year.

Another unusual year is almost at an end. Our New York City–based testing lab remained mostly closed in 2021 because of the pandemic, with our analysts and editors making the occasional brave foray into the city to use our specialized testing equipment. But for the most part, we’ve hunkered down at home, testing laptops, phones, graphics cards, cameras, and dozens of other kinds of products.

Now it’s time for our toughest job. The problem with reviewing so many products—over 2,000 each year—is trying to choose the absolute best. This year, after much deliberation, we whittled down the list to 101 top products and services across 15 categories.

You’ll find a few new subcategories in growing areas. For one, we expanded last year’s new category of smart home gym equipment to include smart treadmills, smart stationary bikes, and smart rowing machines. We eliminated others because they’re dying breeds (so long, compact cameras). But the categories are primarily the same ones you’ve read about here every year since 2013.

This list takes into consideration every product we reviewed from November 1, 2020, through the first week of November 2021. Across the 101 products, five earned a perfect rating of five, and 88 earned our Editors’ Choice award. The rest earned ratings of at least four— excellent.

One final note: Remember to shop early this season. The chip shortage and shipping backlog are going to make holiday shopping even more stressful than usual. To reduce some angst, keep this story close by as you shop, whether online or in brick-and-mortar stores. It’s the perfect way to find an amazing tech gift for your loved ones—or yourself.

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