CNN Underscored is constantly testing products — be those dash cams, water flossers or gaming monitors — to find the absolute best in each respective category. Our testing process is rigorous, starting out by spending hours of research to find the top products in each category. Once we create a testing pool of products, we test and retest each product multiple times in real-world settings over several weeks or even months.
This year, we’ve already tested many dozens of products — from bidets to mesh Wi-Fi routers to workout earbuds — to find the best products you need to make life better. Here are the winning products from October.
Best workout headphones overall
We used the Beats Fit Pro in the gym and all day for work, play and commutes, and found their secure, sweat-resistant design and superb audio make them a perfect fit for anyone’s workout, no matter whether you’re an Apple or Android user.
Best headphones for running and outdoor workouts
The Shokz OpenRun Pro bone conduction headphones don’t sound as good as sealed earbuds like the Beats Fit Pro, but we loved them for running and hiking since they let you hear your surroundings as clearly as you would without wearing headphones at all.
Best bidet attachment
If you’re a bidet beginner and don’t want to spend too much money, the Tushy Classic mounts under your existing toilet seat and gives you a comfortable stream with just enough adjustability.
Best water flosser overall
This full-featured cordless flosser takes up little space on the counter but has a big reservoir that keeps you flossing — plus, it was a pleasure to use in our testing.
Best air fryer overall
Its heavy-duty feel, combined with the reasonable price tag, convenient controls and standout cooking results, made it easy to declare this fryer the best overall.
Software and services
A good third-person action role-playing game for Batman fans
Gotham Knights is a brand-new, open-world, third-person action role-playing game featuring the Batman Family. Despite a myriad of problems we encountered while playing it, ultimately it did more right than wrong. So, buy it if you’re a fan of the Bat Family. Otherwise, wait for it on sale.
Best music streaming service for Apple users
Apple Music is perfect for individuals who are already entrenched in Apple’s hardware and software ecosystem, though it works great on other devices too.
Best music streaming service overall
Spotify is a great all-around music streaming service with an intuitive interface, slick social features and a large selection of music and podcasts.
Best music streaming service for audiophiles
We found Tidal to be the best music streaming platform for serious listeners due to its top-tier audio quality and higher royalty payouts for music artists.
Best dash cam overall
A dual-channel camera that includes front and rear video cameras, this Nextbase unit was the easiest to use and delivered the most impressive image quality in our testing.
Best screenless dash cam
Although it doesn’t have a screen, the budget-friendly Scosche camera has, by far, the easiest mobile app to use, and promises quick and easy video playback whenever you need it.
Best water flosser for travel
A big battery and reservoir, along with fully waterproof construction, make this a perfect travel companion. It’s easy to use and maneuver, and just as easy to pack away.
Best 1080p gaming monitor
For gamers on a budget — especially first-person shooter fans — this small monitor with great color accuracy, HDR support and a fast 360Hz refresh rate really delivers.
Best 4K gaming monitor
Asus’ top-of-the-line 4K monitor has the best picture quality we tested along with incredibly low input lag — it’s expensive, but it’s the best gaming monitor we’ve found, and for serious gamers who can make the investment, it’s the one to get.
Best 1440p gaming monitor
For gamers who don’t have the fanciest systems — and that’s a lot of us — the 27-inch Alienware delivers excellent performance, with a better combination of color accuracy and fast response time than any other monitor we tested.
Best ultrawide gaming monitor
With an incredible picture and speedy performance, this ultrawide OLED from Dell delivered the fastest response times in our testing and should satisfy any gamer looking for an immersive experience.
Best mesh Wi-Fi router overall
Eero continues to master making Wi-Fi easier and better for the masses with a streamlined setup, wide-ranging coverage, high speeds and affordability combined with easy-to-manage parental controls, ad blocking and network security.
Best noise-canceling earbuds
With the best noise cancellation we’ve heard from a pair of earbuds, the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds 2 are our choice for discreetly shutting out airplane cabin noise and office chatter.
Best noise-canceling over-ear headphones
Perfect for commuting, the office, long flights or just around the house, the Bose 700 combines Bose’s industry-leading ANC with great sound and a new, more comfortable and stylish slimmed-down design.
Best wireless over-ear headphones overall
The Sony WH-1000XM5 improve on the XM4, with a slimmer design and refined noise-canceling microphones — it’s the best over-ear Bluetooth headphones you can buy. XM4 owners can wait to upgrade, but for anybody else, the XM5 are the high-end headphones to get.
