Practical Kitchen Gadgets & Smart Home Picks

The Chefman 4-Quart Compact Air Fryer is a small countertop air fryer for quick weeknight cooking without heating a full-size oven. Its 4-quart basket is sized for roughly two to four servings, which suits couples, small families and anyone who mostly reheats leftovers or crisps frozen fries. If you’re curious about air frying but don’t want to give up much counter space, a compact model like this is a low-commitment place to start.

Chefman lists this model with digital touch controls and four one-touch presets, which takes some of the guesswork out of everyday foods. A Hi-Fry mode raises the temperature to 450°F for extra crispness, handy for fries, wings and breaded chicken. The nonstick basket is described as dishwasher safe, which matters if you’d rather not scrub a greasy basket by hand after dinner.

In a typical American kitchen, a 4-quart air fryer handles a side of Brussels sprouts, a couple of chicken thighs or an after-school snack. If you’re feeding more than four people, plan on cooking in batches. The compact footprint is the main draw for apartment and small-kitchen cooks, but check the exact dimensions on the listing before you order.

Key considerations

• Capacity: 4 quarts suits about two to four servings; bigger households will likely cook in batches.
• Controls: The listing mentions a digital touchscreen with four presets. Check which presets are included.
• Cleanup: The basket is described as nonstick and dishwasher safe. Check the care instructions for how to wash it.
• Counter space: Compact, but air fryers need room around the vents. Measure your spot first.

Who it’s for

A good fit if you cook for one to four people, have limited counter space, or want to try air frying before paying for a larger model. If you often feed a crowd or want something that also pressure cooks or slow cooks, compare it with a larger air fryer or a multi-cooker.

Product details come from manufacturer and retailer information we reviewed. Specs and models change, so confirm everything on the Amazon listing.

SPRX lists this as a 10-quart air fryer toaster oven, a countertop appliance that covers air frying and toaster-oven cooking in one footprint. At 10 quarts it’s bigger than a compact basket model, so it makes the most sense for households that cook larger portions and have the counter space.

Check before you buy: Interior size for the pans and dishes you use, which cooking functions the listing includes, counter and clearance space, and how the racks and trays clean up.

The Ninja FO101 is a French-door countertop air fry oven with a listed 20.3-quart capacity, the largest of the three air fryers here. It fits best if you want oven-style cooking on the counter and have room to spare, since size is the main trade-off.

Check before you buy: Exact dimensions and door clearance, rack and pan sizes, which cooking functions it lists, and whether your outlet and counter can handle it.

This single smart plug is listed with energy monitoring plus Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity. Energy monitoring shows how much power a connected device draws, which can be handy for a lamp, fan or small appliance. The listing title doesn’t show a brand name, so look closely at seller and support details.

Check before you buy: The brand and seller, amp and wattage rating, which apps and voice assistants it works with, and whether it blocks the second outlet.

This LoraTap outlet is switched with a remote, and the listing title says it needs no app and no Wi-Fi. That makes it a simple way to turn a lamp or small appliance on and off without getting up. It isn’t a Wi-Fi smart plug, so don’t expect phone control.

Check before you buy: The remote’s listed range, the amp and wattage rating for what you’ll plug in, how many outlets come in the pack, and whether the plug fits your devices.

Tapo’s P110M comes as a 4-pack of 15A smart plugs, listed as Matter compatible with energy monitoring. Matter is meant to let a device work across more than one smart home platform, but results depend on your setup, so confirm which apps and hubs the listing names.

Check before you buy: Which platforms and voice assistants the listing says it supports, whether you need a hub, the 15A and wattage rating, and whether you need all four plugs.

This BLACK+DECKER chopper is electric and has a listed 1.5-cup capacity, so it suits small batches of onion, garlic or herbs better than a big pile of vegetables. It’s a food chopper rather than a mandoline-style slicer.

Check before you buy: Bowl size compared with how much you usually chop, which parts are dishwasher safe, and cord length and storage space.

Mueller lists this as a vegetable chopper and mandoline slicer, so it’s meant for both dicing and slicing. It could suit anyone who preps salads, stir-fries or sides often and would rather own one tool than two.

Check before you buy: Which blades or inserts are included, how it cleans up, how the listing describes hand protection, and how much storage space it takes.

The Mueller Ultimate is listed as a 12-blade vegetable chopper. More blades usually means more cut styles, but the listing will show exactly which blades are included and how you store them between uses.

Check before you buy: What the 12 blades actually are, container size, blade storage, and how easy it is to clean.

BOIFUN lists this as a wireless video doorbell camera with 2K HD video. “Wireless” can mean different things on doorbell listings, such as battery power or a wireless connection to your Wi-Fi, so confirm how it’s powered and whether you need a chime or hub.

Check before you buy: How it’s powered, whether saved video needs a subscription or storage card, Wi-Fi requirements, and whether a chime is included.

SwitchBot lists this doorbell as a 2K camera “with Monitor.” The title doesn’t explain what the monitor is, so read the listing details to see whether it’s an indoor display, how it connects and what it adds over using a phone app.

Check before you buy: What “monitor” means in the listing, how it’s powered and installed, whether saved video needs a subscription, and your Wi-Fi setup.

SimpliSafe’s Series 2 is a wired video doorbell with 2K video. A wired model usually connects to existing doorbell wiring instead of running on a battery, so check that your wiring and transformer match what the listing requires before you order.

Check before you buy: Wiring and transformer requirements, whether features or saved video need a paid plan, and whether it works without a SimpliSafe security system.

Cosori lists this as a 10-cup rice cooker with fuzzy logic and an 18-in-1 design. It’s a rice cooker first, so check the function list on the listing before you count on pressure cooking or slow cooking.

Check before you buy: Whether 10 cups means uncooked or cooked rice, which of the 18 functions you’d actually use, the bowl’s coating and cleaning, and counter space.

Ninja’s MC1001 PossibleCooker PRO is listed as an 8-in-1 cooker with an 8.5-quart capacity. The title doesn’t say whether it pressure cooks, so check the listing’s mode list to see which of the eight functions it covers.

Check before you buy: Which eight functions are included, whether it pressure cooks, how big a batch 8.5 quarts really is for your household, and storage space.

The Instant Pot Pro is an 8-quart, 10-in-1 electric pressure cooker. At that size it’s a bigger multi-cooker, the kind people reach for when they’re cooking soups, stews or meal-prep batches for a full table.

Check before you buy: Which 10 functions the listing includes, whether 8 quarts is more than you need, lid and venting details, and counter and cabinet space.

The Sensi ST55 is a Wi-Fi smart thermostat. With any thermostat, compatibility with your heating and cooling system and wiring comes first, so confirm that on the listing and with the maker’s compatibility information before you order.

Check before you buy: Compatibility with your system type, whether you need a C-wire, which apps and voice assistants it works with, and how scheduling works.

Siterwell lists this as a Wi-Fi programmable smart thermostat. Programmable means you can set heating and cooling schedules, but whether it works with your home depends on your system type and wiring, so check that before anything else.

Check before you buy: Which system types it supports (central HVAC, heat pump or electric heat), wiring requirements, and app and voice assistant support.

The Honeywell Home ElitePro S1200 is listed as a smart thermostat under model THX1200W5/U. Check that exact model number on the listing, and make sure it matches your system and wiring, before you order.

Check before you buy: The full model number, compatibility with your heating and cooling system, whether a C-wire is required, and installation requirements.

This digital food scale is listed with a 3 kg capacity and 0.1 g resolution, and its title shows no brand name. That range covers most home baking and portioning. Because you’ll likely weigh in ounces at times, check which units it supports.

Check before you buy: Which units it switches between, how the listing describes accuracy (resolution isn’t the same thing), what powers it, and the brand and seller.

Listed as a Bluetooth smart nutrition scale with calorie and macro tracking, and its title shows no brand name. Bluetooth scales like this usually pair with an app, so check which app it uses, whether it’s free and which phones it supports.

Check before you buy: The app and its phone compatibility, where the nutrition data comes from, whether the scale works without the app, and the brand and seller.

Maestri House lists the S2 Nano as an espresso coffee scale with a 1 kg capacity and 0.1 g resolution. It’s aimed at weighing coffee doses and shots for home espresso and brewing, not at general cooking.

Check before you buy: Whether it fits on your drip tray or under your portafilter, what the listing says about a timer, how it’s powered, and water resistance.

Listed as a robot vacuum and mop combo with 8000Pa suction and a self-emptying base. The title shows no brand name. Pa figures are manufacturer claims that are hard to compare across brands, so look at floor types, mapping and support too.

Check before you buy: The brand, seller and support, floor and rug suitability, how the self-emptying base works and what it costs to maintain.

Dreame lists the D20 Air Plus as a robot vacuum and mop with 20,000Pa suction. A big suction number alone doesn’t tell you how well it cleans, so read what the listing says about mopping, obstacle handling, the base station and app features.

Check before you buy: How mopping works, whether the listing mentions a base station, floor and rug suitability, app features, and parts and support.

Uninell’s Zenith10 is listed as a robot vacuum and mop with an auto wash dock, a dock meant to wash the mop for you. Check what the dock actually does (washing, drying, emptying), how much space it needs and what upkeep it asks for.

Check before you buy: What the dock handles, its footprint, water tank and upkeep, floor and rug suitability, and support from the seller.