Wirecutter’s Best New Picks Awards highlight 71 items that stand out as the “best of the best” from the thousands of products evaluated by the publication’s journalists over the past year.
Wirecutter officially launched its inaugural major awards franchise today: the 2026 Best New Picks Awards. This new initiative spotlights 71 products that represent the “best of the best” among the many thousands of items tested by Wirecutter journalists over the past year.
These awards serve as the culmination of the rigorous, thoughtful product testing that defines Wirecutter’s work.
Throughout the year, Wirecutter’s team of more than 170 expert journalists assessed over 10,000 new products across sectors such as tech, home improvement, fashion, and beauty. More than 4,000 of those items underwent hands-on testing—ranging from browning over 140 pounds of meat to identify the top gas grill, to testing 144 body washes, to trekking miles across Maui to evaluate hiking umbrellas—to ensure they are truly worth the time and money of readers.
In total, Wirecutter journalists dedicated 50,000 hours to product testing during this period.
Of the thousands evaluated, nearly 2,900 earned the “Wirecutter Pick” designation, but only the 71 absolute favorites were selected for this new honor. The awards encompass picks from March 1, 2025, through February 28, 2026.
Winners include noise-canceling workout headphones that stay securely in place, a drugstore hair straightener that outperforms much pricier alternatives, a newly released rice cooker that unseated a long-standing top pick, an OLED TV suitable for bright rooms, and a suit priced under $500 that impressed the publication’s discerning menswear writer.
“The Best New Picks Awards allow us to showcase the depth and relevancy of our product recommendation work, giving the best of our newest picks a much-deserved spotlight,” said Leta Shy, Editorial Director, NYT Wirecutter. “To make this list, a product has to be truly outstanding — these are the products we’re constantly recommending to friends and family or buying ourselves. The 71 winners of our Best New Picks Awards are exceptionally useful, delightful, and here to make our readers’ lives a little bit better in many different ways.”
The selection process involved nominations from journalists across the Wirecutter newsroom who independently review and test products. These nominations were then vetted by senior editors—each an expert in their specific field—who also factored in reader feedback and popularity.
The result is a curated list of 71 truly outstanding winners across various price points and categories that are both delightful and exceptionally useful.
