74 May/June 2022
With a Grade 1 rating (the highest) from the American National
Standards Institute, Schlage’s Encode is a tech and engineering master-
piece. Its solid metal housings and reinforced deadbolt can withstand
up to 250,000 cycles and 10 door strikes with a hammer. The fact that
the Encode packs tons of fancy features in an easy-to-use application is
just icing on the cake. Via the Schlage Home app, setup, management,
and monitoring of your smart lock is simple. There’s no need for an
external hub or bridge as with a majority of competitors, and the app
integrates nicely with both Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.
BEST SMART SCALE
Renpho Smart Scale $25Renpho’s sleek gadget accurately tracks and analyzes weight changes, muscle mass, and body water levels,
sending the data directly to the accompanying app on your phone. This way you can keep an eye on develop-
ments over time and upload data directly to Apple Health or Google Fit. While it’s reliant on disposable AAA
batteries, our tech editor has used his for three years and only has to replace the batteries every four months.BEST ELECTRIC TOOTHBRUSH
Oral-B iO Series 7 $175
The iO Series 7 offers an effec-
tive way of tracking your oral
health. The smart Bluetooth sys-
tem shows your coverage in real
time while analyzing the pres-
sure and time you’re applying to
provide feedback and viewable
trend data. Plus it gamifies a job
well done with an achievement
system so you can make strides
in your technique. Each brush-
ing from the strong motor feels
almost like going to the dentist
for a thoroughly clean, fresh
mouth each morning and night.
BEST SMARTWATCH
Fitbit Charge 5 $110The Charge 5 excels as a lightweight smartwatch and fitness tracker.
By keeping its controls simple, Fitbit makes it easy to swipe to kick off
an exercise session, scroll through phone notifications, or even tap to
make payments. It rivals smartwatches nearly triple the price, thanks to
an onboard sensor for SP02, EDA, and ECG tracking, which integrates
data directly to your phone so you can monitor vitals and workout
performance. There are sacrifices–you can’t text, call, or use a smart
assistant as with its more expensive siblings or an Apple Watch.