This story is part of Select’s New & Notable column, where we highlight our favorite product launches. We will continuously update this article monthly with new releases we think you should know about.
Top tech launches
Samsung Galaxy S24, S24 Plus, and S24 Ultra
The Samsung Galaxy series is one of the most popular Android phones, and this year’s models bring a few notable changes. All three models have brighter screens, from 1750 to 2600 nits, making the screen easier to read in direct sunlight. Each phone now includes Galaxy AI, a suite of AI-powered software tools including live translation, live transcription, circle to search, advanced photo editing and more. The S24 Ultra, the most premium of the three, also has a new titanium frame.
Amazon Echo Frames (3rd Gen)
You can use these smart glasses to listen to music, take calls and query Amazon Alexa, all using just your voice. Compared to the 2nd generation model, released in 2020, this version is lighter with improved audio quality, longer battery life (up to 6 hours) and more styles available, according to the brand. The frames connect to your phone via Bluetooth and can also be controlled using the two buttons on the right temple plus a volume rocker on the left temple. The new Echo Frames come with either prescription-ready, blue light filtering or sunglass lenses.
Evie Smart Ring
Evie’s health tracker is designed for women’s health with menstrual, sleep, heart rate and activity tracking. Unlike most fitness trackers, it comes with a charging case to easily repower the ring on the go. It offers up to four days of battery life and the charging case adds up to 10 full charges, according to the brand. Currently, the Evie Smart Ring is only compatible with iPhones.
Ikea Vallhorn Motion Sensor
This motion sensor reacts to movement to automatically turn Ikea smart lights on or off. It can connect to up to ten lights simultaneously and be placed inside or outside. It’s powered with two AAA batteries (sold separately) and can be connected to the Ikea Dirigera smart home hub for additional functionality, according to the brand.
Niu Kqi Air Electric Kick Scooter
Niu makes some of our favorite electric scooters, and this model is one of the lightest on the market at 26.3 pounds. Most of the frame is built with carbon fiber, a much lighter material than the aluminum and steel traditionally used in most e-scooters. According to the brand, the Kqi Air has a top speed of 20 miles per hour and a max range of 31 miles. It has front, rear and turn signal lighting built-in and connects via the Niu E-Scooter app.
Jlab Jbuds ANC (3rd Gen)
Jlab makes some of our favorite budget earbuds like the Go Air Sport and Go Air Pop. These wireless earbuds have active noise cancellation and transparency modes. The buds offer up to nine hours of battery life and the case adds an extra 33 hours, according to the brand. Like the brand’s other earbuds, the charging case has a charging cable built into its bottom. The earbuds have a dust and water protection rating of IP55.
Top home launches
Coway Airmega 100
This is the brand’s smallest and lowest-priced air purifier yet. It has a cylindrical design that takes in air from 360 degrees, pushing filtered air out of the top of the machine. Like many of the best air purifiers, it has an automatic mode that changes the filtration speed depending on the air quality detected in your space, according to the brand. Following clean air delivery guidance from AHAM, this purifier is best suited to smaller spaces like bedrooms and offices.
Purple DreamLayer Pillow
You can adjust the height of Purple’s new pillow due to the removable foam layers inside. The GelFlex Grid inside the main part of the pillow helps draw heat away from your body and adapt to your movement, relieving head and neck pressure, according to the brand. The exterior of the pillow is wrapped in a washable knit cover.
Purple sent Malin a DreamLayer Pillow to try and was impressed by how easy it was to add and remove the foam layers. “I typically sleep with a flatter pillow, but if I’m lounging in bed, I like a loftier pillow to place behind my back,” she says. “The DreamLayer Pillow gives me both options in one product and makes it simple to transition between them.”
Brooklinen Waffle Towel Collection
Brooklinen, which makes some of our favorite bath robes, quilts and bed sheets, redesigned its waffle towel collection to make them softer and more shrink-resistant, according to the brand. The lightweight towels are made from 100% Turkish cotton and have a honeycomb texture. The collection includes bath towels, bath sheets, hand towels and washcloths. You can buy each towel size individually or in sets.
Top kitchen launches
Our Place Splendor Blender
In addition to collaborating over a Wok Set with Fly By Jing, one of our favorite AAPI-owned brands, Our Place further expanded its countertop appliances with a new blender. According to the brand, its base is designed with a 1000-watt motor, and its stainless steel blades blend ingredients into smooth mixtures in 45 seconds. The blender comes with a dishwasher-safe vessel you can use as a cup thanks to the included personal drinking lid, and it offers blend and pulse modes. You can buy additional blender accessories separately, like a bundle with a large blender pitcher and a small sauce vessel.
Caraway Glass Lids
These tempered glass lids let you watch cooking progress while trapping heat and steam inside your pans. They are compatible with Caraway’s ceramic and stainless steel cookware, dishwasher-safe and oven-safe up to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. You can buy the lids à la carte depending on your size pans, or buy them in sets of three and four with included storage organizers.
Grove Co. Bottle Wash Pods
Grove’s Bottle Wash Pods make cleaning water bottles, coffee pots, blenders, travel mugs and more quick and easy. Each packet —which resembles a laundry detergent pod — contains plant-based ingredients that wash away stains and get rid of odors. To use them, you fill your container with water, drop a pod in and let it stand for 15 to 30 minutes as the pod fizzes and dissolves. Afterward, you empty, rinse and dry the container. The pods are safe to use on glass, stainless steel and plastic, according to the brand.
Beast Health Mini Blender
Beast Health’s blender is now available in a mini size, allowing you to make small-batch dressings, dips and smoothies without sacrificing countertop space. The new personal blender has a 600-watt motor and is half the size of the original Beast Blender, according to the brand. You can blend beverages and drink them in the same vessel, which holds about 21.6 ounces of liquid and pairs with a leak-resistant straw cap, storage lid and sipping lid. The blender offers two speeds: pulse and blend.
Top beauty and skin care launches
Glossier Full Orbit Eye Cream
Glossier’s new eye cream has a gel-like texture, helping it quickly absorb into the skin. You can apply it day and night around the entire eye area, and it hydrates, de-puffs, smoothes fine lines and reduces dark under-eye circles, according to the brand. The eye cream is formulated with ingredients like hyaluronic acid and niacinamide. Glossier sent Mili Godio, NBC Select updates editor, its eye cream to try, and she says it prevents her under-eye area from drying out during the winter months. “It’s also extremely lightweight, so it sits well under my makeup when I apply it in the morning,” says Godio.
Native Whole Body Deodorant
Available in sticks and sprays, Native’s Whole Body Deodorant offers odor protection for any area you apply it to, like the underarms, chest, thighs, feet and more. It’s made without aluminum, parabens, baking soda and talc and is gentle on sensitive areas, according to the brand. You can buy unscented deodorant or buy it in fragrances like Coconut & Vanilla, Cucumber & Mint and Lilac & White Tea.
Billie Dermaplane Starter Kit
Remove peach fuzz and exfoliate the skin on your face with Billie’s new dermaplaning razor. It comes in a set with a sturdy, ergonomic reusable handle and three stainless steel blades that have built-in guards to help prevent nicks and cuts. Via Billie’s website, you can subscribe to automatic blades shipments depending on how often you dermaplane. The brand recommends replacing your blade after every two shaves.
ZitSticka Slugging Balm
ZitSticka makes some of our favorite pimple patches, and the brand recently debuted its first moisturizer, a non-comedogenic Slugging Balm formulated for acne-prone skin. It has a non-greasy finish and has ingredients like ceramides and hyaluronic acid. You apply the Slugging Balm over moisturized skin to lock hydration in and prevent moisture loss overnight, according to the brand. “During the colder months, I’m desperately looking for products to revive my dry, sensitive skin,” says Malin, who tried the Slugging Balm after the brand sent it to her. “I can visibly see how much softer and moisturized my skin looks the morning after using this, and it feels less raw overall.”
Ouai Hair Gloss
Ouai launched its Hair Gloss to boost shine, prevent color fading, treat damage and provide heat protection up to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Once you use it, the gloss lasts for up to three washes, according to the brand. The hair treatment contains ingredients like hydrating hyaluronic acid and rice water.
Peace Out Skincare Early Stage Acne Dot
These pimple patches can help minimize acne below the skin’s surface if you apply them once you notice a breakout in its early stages, according to Peace Out Skincare. The hydrocolloid dots create a barrier over blemishes to keep dirt and bacteria out, and they’re made with tiny microneedles containing ingredients like salicylic acid and niacinamide, which penetrate and dissolve into the skin’s surface. Each box comes with eight pimple patches, which the brand recommends wearing for at least six hours for the best results.
Ilia The Base Face Milk
Ilia’s The Base Face Milk is part essence, part moisturizer that’s meant to hydrate, soothe and plumpen skin while strengthening its barrier, according to the brand. It has a lightweight feel and you can layer it under makeup, plus use it in the morning and at night. The face milk is made with hyaluronic acid, and it’s non-comedogenic, fragrance-free and suitable for sensitive skin, according to Ilia.
Supergoop! Triple Prep SPF 40 Weightless Multitasking Moisturizer
Iterating on its thick, rich original daily SPF moisturizer, Supergoop! released a more lightweight formula that absorbs into the skin quickly. The cream hydrates skin while protecting it against the sun’s rays, and it’s formulated with ingredients like hyaluronic acid and glycerin. Bianca Alvarez, NBC Select associate reporter, tried the new moisturizer before its launch and says it’s particularly great for people with oily skin since it’s so light and doesn’t feel like it clogs pores.
Top fitness launches
On Running Cloudeclipse
The Cloudeclipse sneaker is On’s most cushioned distance running shoe yet with two layers of soft, bouncy foam that absorbs impact when your feet hit the ground. It has a thick, cushioned midsole, mesh panels for maximum ventilation, and rubber pads on the outsole that help the shoe grip the road when it’s wet. The sneaker’s tongue is also connected to its upper so it stays in place while you’re running. You can purchase the Cloudeclipse in men’s and women’s sizes.
Reebok Nano X4 Training Shoes
Reebok’s Nano X3 sneakers are some of our favorite training shoes, and the brand now offers a new and improved version for men and women. The Nano X4s are just as supportive and comfortable but more lightweight and breathable thanks to a knit upper and mesh ventilation panel. The shoes have a heel stabilizer to keep you grounded while moving in multiple directions and a grippy rubber outsole and light cushioning.
Ikea Dajlein Home Exercise Collection
Ikea debuted a new collection of 23 products designed to make home exercise easier and more aesthetically pleasing. It includes ring weights, exercise mats, a storage bench for fitness gear, a step-up stool that doubles as a laptop stand and more.
Why trust NBC Select?
Zoe Malin and Harry Rabinowitz choose products they think NBC Select readers should know about to round up the best new launches each month. They include products from brand’s Select previously covered, or brands NBC Select staffers recommend. Malin and Rabinowitz also regularly try new product launches to share their experience with items.
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