State Champ Radio lifestyle
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Boxing fans will be tuned in to Sin City for Cinco de Mayo weekend as Canelo Alvarez and Jamie Munguia take the ring at the Las Vegas T-Mobile Arena on Saturday (May 4).
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Canelo, 33, will defend his undisputed super middleweight title against fellow Mexico native and undefeated junior middleweight champion, Jaime Munguia, 27.
Keep reading for ways to stream live, from anywhere.
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Alvarez vs. Munguía: Fight Card, Where to Watch
Where can you stream the Alvarez vs. Munguía fight? The fight will be available on DAZN, PPV, and Prime Video.
Fight night is scheduled to start at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. But you’ll have to wait a few hours for the main event. Ring walks start at 11 p.m. ET/8 p.m. PT.
How much does the fight cost? The Alvarez vs. Munguía fight is available for $89.99 on DAZN, Prime Video and PPV. For fans streaming internationally, use ExpressVPN to access certain platforms from outside of the U.S. (not including DAZN).
Read on for more viewing details.
How to Watch on Prime Video
Prime Video’s fight coverage will start at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT on Saturday. Click below to order the fight and save to your watchlist to stream live on Saturday.
How to Watch on PPV.com
The fight will stream live on PPV.com at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.
Fight coverage will include an exclusive, live commentary from Jim Lampley, Dan Canobbio, Chris Algieri and Lance Pugmir.
How to Watch on DAZN
The fight will be available to stream in over 200 countries via DAZN PPV.
DAZN offers access to 150+ live boxing matches and MMA fights, in addition to live replays, documentaries and archival fights. You can subscribe for free for the first month.
DAZN is available to stream through the app and online at DAZN.com. The DAZN app is available on Apple TV, Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, Amazon Fire Stick, Android TV, LG TV, Samsung Smart TV, SmartCast, iPhone, iPad, Xbox, PlayStation 5, Roku and more.
Who else is on the fight card for this weekend? The schedule includes Mario Barrios vs. Fabian Maidana, Brandon Figueroa vs. Jessie Magdaleno and Eimantas Stanionis vs. Gabriel Maestre.
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A Coachella love story. Anne Hathaway plays a mom who falls for a boy bander in The Idea of You, premiering Thursday (May 2) on Prime Video.
Based on the bestselling novel, The Idea of You centers on Solène (Hathaway), a 40-year-old mother, who sparks a romance with Hayes Campbell (Nicholas Galitzine), the 24-year-old lead singer of the “hottest boy band on the planet” August Moon. The pair first meet at Coachella and find their way back to each other after the festival, but Hayes’ “superstar status poses unavoidable challenges to their relationship,” according to the film description.
The Idea of You is directed by Michael Showalter. Douglas S. Jones, Jason Babiszewski, Jennifer Westfeldt and Kian Gass are executive producers. The film is produced by Kathy Schulman, Gabrielle Union, Hathaway, Robinne Lee, Eric Hayes, Showalter and Jordana Mollick.
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To celebrate the new movie, jewelry brand Local Eclectic released The Idea of You Gold Charm ($120). Shop it here.
Keep reading for directions on how to stream the movie for free.
How to Watch
The Idea of You is a Prime Video Original streaming exclusively on the platform.
Not subscribed to Prime Video? You can join Amazon Prime under a free trial to watch Prime Video movies and more.
Prime Video offers a seemingly endless selection of exclusive TV series, movies and other must-watch programs, and you can add Prime Channels such as Paramount+, Max, Starz and Showtime, BET+ and AMC+.
Amazon Prime costs $14.99 per month after the free trial (students and EBT/SNAP recipients can join for 50% off). Prime members get access to Prime Video, Prime Music, Prime Gaming and Prime Reading, in addition to free same-day, one-day or two-day delivery and exclusive discounts.
Besides The Idea of You, Prime Video features exclusives like Fallout, Them 2, Invincible, Road House, Reacher, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Citadel, Daisy Jones & The Six, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Swarm, Harlem, The Boys, Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, Fleabag, The Summer I Turned Pretty, The Wheel of Time and The Legend of Vox Machina.
Watch the trailer for The Idea of You below.
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For Mental Health Awareness Month this May, Billboard is teaming with Brandon Holman of the Lazuli Collective on a series of articles focused on mindfulness and the professional development of executives, creatives and artists in the music community.
Today’s conversation is with Nick Maiale, founder/CEO of jump.global, a community-first marketing agency that that specializes in working with music business executives and music companies. Last November, the company launched its debut summit, which prioritizes professional and personal development and will return to Los Angeles later this year (Nov. 17-20). Throughout the year, jump.global hosts various “No Ego” events across major cities, which are open to everyone (translation: no guest list) and focus on interpersonal connections over networking. Maiale previously spent a decade at the Music Business Association and Music Biz Conference and is now driven to “make the music business more human.”
I think before the pandemic, my entire life revolved around work. I very seldom would think about my growth. It was always like, “How can we grow the company? How can we impact the bottom line?” And I quickly watched over the pandemic people losing jobs or people losing sense of self. And that was very disheartening. I was witnessing that for my friends, but I also witnessed that for me. I realized I worked at a company for 10 years and I never did anything to develop my skills and my life outside of maybe selling sponsorships. So I think that was the number one thing that I noticed coming out of the pandemic. And I’d say the one good part about it is that it was a bit of an awakening.
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My mom’s a social worker. And I would often hear her on the phone talking about very human things…things that we often don’t talk about in the music business. We are going to conferences to learn about streaming, distribution, AI. I love all of that stuff, but when was the last time you heard about someone going to a conference to learn about themselves and how they’re going to better themselves in the areas of leadership, effective communication, financial well-being, mental well-being? I wanted to create this environment where executives, not artists, can be seen as human and talk about things like addiction or parenthood. It was a little cheesy but [the conference tagline was], “Make the music business more human.” At the end of the day, it actually resonated with people.
I’m really proud of what we’ve created, but at the end of the day, my job is to let thousands of people into my life every week, which is really, really scary. It’s a beautiful thing, but what I learned was [I] have to figure out how [to] do things for people in a really structured way. I have calls with people all the time [so I now] post about my calls on LinkedIn, tag a couple people and say, “This person is your person now.” I gave that responsibility to my audience or to other people so that I didn’t have to feel that burden or that responsibility. And that little thing has helped my life dramatically. It just became really hard being that person who does everything for everyone. My mind got so overwhelmed with all this information that it started to shut down. My body started to shut down. And I was like, “What am I going to do? I built a business based off of connecting people. And now that’s the thing that’s killing me.” So, I worked with a health coach to fix it. I still want to build community, but now I’m doing it in a much healthier way.
I started working professionally at 19. I’m 32 now. And I started my company almost four years ago. I spent 10 years doing things and connecting people and going to every single event. And yeah, part of me loved it and part of me didn’t. I had to look back and go, “Where am I now?” I realize I’m building a business. I’m building an agency. None of it makes me money at all. The reason I wanted to do this was because people in the music industry don’t often have these opportunities to think about themselves. They’re often thinking about the business. So I wanted to redefine what it meant to be a communications agency. We focus on thought leadership, which is speaking at conferences; communities and trade works, so if you want to get involved with the Recording Academy; academia, we will not work with a client if they do not want to inspire the next generation, if they do not want to speak at schools; and international delegate programs, helping executives speak overseas.
I have so many clients who are about to be on their first panel and they’re so nervous because they’re like, “I don’t know what I’m gonna say,” or “Am I gonna be as cool as some of these other panelists that you know have been doing this for years?” We talk them through it. We watch them on the panel. They kill it. They’re dropping gems. That happens to me daily for my clients. We had a couple other instances where, for example, one of our clients was going to speak at Iceland Airwaves. Normally they would just go, do their panel and leave. But we convinced them to extend their trip and they got to see the Northern Lights and that was always a personal [dream]. It’s little things.
Four years ago I was in a weird place. I really never thought I would be where we are today…We often are doing things to pad other people’s pockets, which is fine, I get it, but I really am feeling fulfilled with what I’m doing right now. And I don’t know if I’d be working in the music industry if I wasn’t doing what I do right now. At the end of the day, the biggest thing I care about is that I want people to know — and jump.global will eventually be this — but I want us to be the professional and personal development company for the music business. I’m a very mindful entrepreneur. I do not hustle. I don’t work until 3 a.m. I’m a hustler, but I’m a good hustler. I’m just like, “We can do it, but still go out and have dinner with our families.”
[I want to see] more people focusing on the business of their first and last names. If we’re going to have professional development, all of your clients better know about it, all of the artists better know about it. [We need] more companies investing in personal equity and more conversations around this type of wellness. Meditation is just as important as putting yourself in an environment where you’re able to speak clearly and be spoken to clearly.
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Lance Bass is kicking off the month of May with a special collaboration. The singer teamed with Marriott Bonvoy for a one-of-a-kind dance experience that *NSYNC fans won’t want to miss.
Announced Wednesday (May 1), the private dance experience is part of Marriott Bonvoy Moments’ 1-Point Drops, where members can use just 1 point to bid on epic experiences.
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“I was excited for this opportunity with Marriott, so I can connect with the fans and do something super exclusive with them and of course, we’re going to do some amazing, fun dancing together,” Bass said in a phone interview with Billboard on Monday. “I won’t tell you exactly the song we’re going to do, but it’s a one-hour dance class where we let go of all our inhibitions, dance like nobody’s watching, and have a really fun time.
“And of course, we’re going to take center stage for a final performance all together,” he added. “It’ll be fun.”
TikTok dance duo Cost n’ Mayor will join Bass for the “nostalgic dance class” set to take place at Heart WeHo in West Hollywood, Calif., on Friday, July 26. The dance experience will include a meet-and-greet and photo opportunities with Bass and Cost n’ Mayor.
Marriott Bonvoy Moments gives members the opportunity to use their points to gain access to unique experiences and other activities offered for set price, auctions, or for just one point. Guests can bid on the 1-Point Drop with Lance Bass and Cost n’ Mayor Dance Experience starting Thursday (May 2) at noon ET.
And fans don’t need previous experience to hit the dance floor. “You’ll be surprised what a choreographer can get you to do within an hour,” Bass said. “So yeah, by the end of this, no one’s going to be nervous. They’re going to have so much fun, they’re going to beg to do it again.”
Bass, who hosts the podcast Frosted Tips, recently returned back to the States from Egypt, where he attended the wedding of billionaire Ankur Jain and former WWE star Erika Hammond and did an impromptu performance of *NSYNC’s “Bye, Bye, Bye.”
“I don’t think there’s been a wedding in the last 25 years that I haven’t just got up onstage, maybe had a couple of drinks beforehand [and performed] ‘Bye, Bye, Bye.’”
The song is still a fan favorite more than 20 years after it was released. “It’s always ‘Bye, Bye, Bye’ that everyone wants at their wedding. Especially at the end,” Bass said. “It’s funny because [‘Bye, Bye, Bye’] wasn’t even our biggest song, but I think it’s one of the most memorable. It’s because you can fit it in to so many different situations. Saying ‘bye, bye, bye’ to anything. It’s also nostalgic [and] I think people are wanting that right now.”
Speaking of nostalgia, Bass and the rest of *NSYNC joined Justin Timberlake for a surprise performance in March, and while no official reunion tour has been announced, Bass will likely attend Timberlake’s Forget Tomorrow World Tour, which launched in Vancouver, B.C., on April 29.
“This summer I’m really going to take some time off, enjoy traveling with the kids,” said Bass, who shares 2-year-old twins with husband Michael Turchin. “Go see the grandparents down in Miami and Mississippi. Go visit my friends in New York City, maybe go see Justin [Timberlake] on a couple of shows because I know he starts the tour [April 29], which we’re super excited for. I just want to eat up every moment I can with the kids these days.”
Benny Blanco knows he’s a lucky guy. While promoting his new cookbook Open Wide on TODAY With Hoda & Jenna Wednesday (May 1), the producer opened up about wooing Selena Gomez through the power of food and emphasized that he still can’t believe he was able to win over the superstar’s heart. “I wake up […]
Selena Gomez is a proud girlfriend. In honor of Benny Blanco‘s new cookbook Open Wide hitting shelves Tuesday (April 30), the singer-actress shared a trio of adorable photos from the producer’s launch party on Instagram. In the first snap, the Rare Beauty founder kneels down to take a bite directly out of a realistic cake […]
All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.
From bags to wallets, shoes and accessories, Coach is a one-stop-shop for Mother’s Day gifts. If you plan on splurging this Mother’s Day, you can do it on a discount at the Coach Outlet.
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Bargain hunters will find a range of must-have shoulder bags, tote bags, backpacks, belt bags and other bags and purses on sale including the Coach Tabby Shoulder Bag and the Teri Bag Shoulder Bag, in addition to lovely accessories and shoes to give as gifts.
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And the deals are even deeper for Mother’s Day. The Coach Outlet is currently offering an extra 20% off Mother’s Day gifts. That means you can shop and save upwards of 70% off on select items.
Place your Coach Outlet order by next Monday, May 6, at 12 p.m. ET to have it delivered by Mother’s Day. For those shopping on the Coach website, your order must be placed by next Wednesday, May 8, at 12 p.m. ET to have your gift delivered by Mother’s Day.
Below, find a list of Coach gifts to buy for Mother’s Day.
Coach
Nolita 19 Bag
$89
$218
59% off
Coach
Amelia Small Saddle Bag
$109
$328
67% off
Coach
Mini Wallet on a Chain
$49
$198
75% off
Coach
Slim Zip Wallet Floral
$127.20
$318
60% off
Coach
North South Phone Crossbody in Signature Canvas
$89
$228
61% off
Coach
Morgan Shoulder Bag
$199
$450
56% off
Coach
C275 Tech Runner Signature Canvas Sneakers
$127.20
$159
20% off
Coach
Harley Sandal in Signature Jacquard
$95.20
$119
20% off
Coach
Eliza Shoulder Bag
$179
$350
49% off
Coach
Pace Belt Bag in Signature Canvas
$83.40
$278
70% off
Coach
Court Backpack in Signature Canvas
$159
$450
65% off
Coach
City Tote Bag in Signature Canvas
$129
$398
68% off
Coach
Andrea Mini Carryall in Signature Canvas
$109
$350
69% off
Bloomingdale’s
Lori Shoulder Bag
$270
$450
40% off
Where else can you find Coach gifts? The brand is available at major retailers such as Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdale’s, Nordstrom, and Amazon.
Amazon Prime membersh get fast and free shipping on Coach bags and tons of other Mother’s Day gifts, and of course, everyday essentials. Click here to launch a free 30-day trial to Prime. The membership includes free delivery, plus access to Prime Video, Amazon Music, and tons of other benefits.
For more gift ideas, check out the Mother’s Day Edition of the Dyson Airwrap, a Mother’s Day pillow that Mean Girls fans will appreciate and a wine tote bag that will get people talking.
All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.
Kobalt’s best-selling pink toolbox is back in stock in time for Mother’s Day. The trendy mini toolbox sold out at Lowes.com earlier this month, but it’s currently available at Walmart and eBay.
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Made from “impact-resistant polymers,” the double-drawer mini toolbox holds up to 5 pounds per drawer and measures 10.83 inches x 5.91 inches. The toolbox is designed to fit perfectly with Kobalt’s lineup of modular storage boxes and accessories.
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Lowe’s
Kobalt Mini 2-Drawer Pink Steel Tool Box Portable Storage System
The Kobalt Mini 2-Drawer Pink Steel Toolbox retails for $19.99, but the resale price is around 10% more than retail, which isn’t that bad considering how much certain items resell for. The toolbox costs 42.99 at Walmart.com but it’s slightly cheaper at eBay with prices starting at $32.99, although you might be able to find it for less than $20 depending on the seller.
Kobalt’s mini toolboxes are available in seven colors including pink, black, red, white, green, blue, gray, and black. The viral tool box is also available in Lowe’s stores.
Looking for a similar toolbox? Check out Amazon’s selection of adorable, pink toolboxes like the one pictured below. The three-drawer, toolbox is on sale for $39.99, but it’s smaller than the Kobalt option as it measures just 8.6-inches wide x 4.8-inches tall.
Amazon
P.I.T. Mini Pink Tool Box, Portable 3 Drawer Steel Tool Box with Magnetic Tab Locking
The P.I.T. Mini Pink Tool Box is made from “high quality Q235 steel” — which is a structural steel used in products — with a powder pink finish and magnetic locking. Looking for pink tools? Click here.
For more gift ideas, see our roundup of Le Creuset cookware, cute mugs to shop and where to get the Dyson Airwrap in ceramic pink and gold before it’s gone for good.
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JoJo Siwa, Chloe Lukasiak, Brooke Hyland, Paige Hyland, Kendall Vertes and Kalani Hilliker are reuniting for Dance Moms: The Reunion, a two-hour special premiering on Lifetime on Wednesday (May 1).
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In addition to the dance cast, moms Jessalynn Siwa, Kelly Hyland, Jill Vertes and Kira Hilliker will be featured in the special.
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Read on for more details on the special and ways to watch and stream live, without cable.
How to Stream the Dance Moms Reunion from Anywhere
Dance Moms: The Reunion premieres Wednesday, May 1, at 8 p.m. ET/PT. The special, presented by Maybelline, will feature interviews with the cast and a look back at memorable moments, plus updates on the cast and the “lasting impact” that the show has had on their entertainment careers, per Lifetime.
Can you watch Lifetime without cable? Of course! And it doesn’t have to cost you anything up front.
Lifetime is available to stream on Philo, DirecTV Stream, Fubo and other platforms that offer access to the cable network such as Hulu + Live TV, SlingTV and Prime Video (use ExpressVPN to stream internationally).
How to Watch Lifetime for Free
You can watch Lifetime for free when you subscribe to a free trial to streamers such as Philo and DirecTV. Both have affordable streaming plans and a free trial for up to a week, but Philo is the cheaper among the two.
Philo is free for the first week, and $25 per month after the free trial ends. The streaming package includes 90+ channels: Lifetime, LMN, Logo, AMC, A&E, ID Network, HGTV, WEtv, BET, CMT, VH1, MTV, Paramount Network, Nickelodeon, OWN and other channels.
DirecTV Stream is good for streaming live TV on a budget. With local channels in addition to cable networks such as CNN, MTV, BET, AMC, A&E, Paramount Network, Logo, ID, WEtv, OWN, FX, CMT, VH1, Bravo, Nickelodeon, E!, ESPN, ESPN2, FS1, HGTV, MSNBC, Hallmark Channel and several other channels, DirecTV’s streaming plans start at $69.99 per month (when you add the Sports Pack).
The Dance Moms reunion will be available to stream MyLifetime.com beginning on Thursday, but you’ll need to log-in through your cable, streaming or satellite provider to watch.
Directly after the reunion, Lifetime will debut a new compilation show, Dance Moms: Epic Showdowns, at 10 p.m. ET/PT. The weekly series, hosted by Christi Lukasiak, will showcase the most “explosive dance battles and jaw-dropping meltdowns from the series” including the moms and dance teacher Abby Lee Miller.
On Monday, the cast of Dance Moms stopped by Good Morning America to talk about the special and their time on the show. “The first word that comes up is legendary,” Siwa said of being on the show. “I feel like everyone on here has had some sort of legendary experience with Dance Moms.”
Centered around Miller’s dance company and a team of young dancers (and their mothers), the Lifetime reality series premiered in 2011 and aired for eight seasons.
Watch the trailer for Dance Moms: The Reunion below.
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Springtime means cooler weather, and for some, overbearing allergies.
Luckily, air purifiers can help the allergy-stricken find some relief. But regardless of whether you have allergies, it’s good to have an air purifier on deck. It’ll help get rid of dust, mold, pet dander, smoke and more.
To get you on the right track, we commissioned the help of Anna Chan, Billboard’s deputy editor on the digital side — and resident cat lover — to test out a few budget air purifiers that you can buy on Amazon and have delivered overnight, if you’re a Prime member (click here to launch your 30-day free trial).
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Below, find our review of the three best air purifiers under $200. The list below includes options that are perfectly giftable for Mother’s Day.
LEVOIT Core Mini Air Purifier
If you’re looking for a smaller, no-frills, plug-and-play air purifier for a cozier room, this could be the winner. Setup takes mere minutes, and the unit – which has three stages of filtration — is streamlined with just one button: The power button.
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It turns the unit on/off and control fan speed, which has low, medium and high options. It also has to displays: fan speed and the “check filter” indicator, which turns red when attention is needed.
Amazon
Best air purifier under $50
LEVOIT Core Mini Air Purifier for Bedroom Home, 3-in-1 Filter Cleaner with Fragrance
Size: 6.5” x 6.5” x 10.4”, 2.2 lbs Smart Controls: No Setup Time: Less than 5 minutes Filter Refill Cost: $24.99
The fan is also pretty quiet, and is practically silent when on the lowest setting. The medium setting is pretty soft and nearly unnoticeable, even for this very light sleeper. The highest setting – for when your air quality isn’t great – is noticeable, but not distracting.
One nice little bonus is the built-in aromatherapy tray. Simply pop it open, and add your essential oils to the little pad as needed. Don’t want or need to use this feature? Pretend it’s not there!
Pros: This small unit fits great on a nightstand or dresser, and barely takes up any space. It’s also very light at barely two pounds, so it’s easy to move around too.
It’s so quiet you won’t know it’s on, making this a great air purifier for bedrooms. It comes with a little aromatherapy drawer/pad built in, so you won’t need a separate aromatherapy machine in the room.
Cons: The lack of smart controls means you can’t turn it on/off, adjust the fan speed or check the air quality of the room remotely. And it’s pretty small, so probably may not be as efficient for anything bigger than a medium-sized bedroom.
Conway’s Airmega True HEPA Air Purifier not only boasts the ability to help purify the air in your home, but does so while looking sleek. (Think super large iPod Shuffle in black or white.) The unit and its three fan speed, four-stage filtration system isn’t huge – though it feels a tad large for a tiny New York City apartment – but it does seem to get the job done with minimal user effort. The control panel features an air-quality indicator (blue = good, purple = moderate, red = unhealthy) and five buttons – power, fan speed, filter change reset, timer and ionizer, though the ionizer isn’t explained in the user manual, so its purpose is unclear to this basic tester.
bang for your buck
Coway Airmega AP-1512HH(W) True HEPA Purifier with Air Quality Monitoring
$159.99
$229.99
30% off
Size: 16.8” x 18.3” x 9.6”, 12.3 lbs. Smart Controls: No Setup Time: Less than 10 minutesFilter Refill Cost: $59.79
The air-quality sensor seems pretty sensitive, and for me, the unit automatically kicked into high gear after a minute of sautéing food in a cast-iron pan, even when the fan in the range hood was on high. Speaking of cooking, the unit boasts the ability to deodorize thanks to the carbon filter, and while it does so a little, it’s no match for someone like me who uses a cast-iron pan daily. Just a little oil and some eggs and hash browns is enough to leave a lingering scent all day in this small apartment despite the unit running the entire time, though it is a little less noticeable than when I didn’t have the Airmega.
To further prove its sensitivity, the Airmega’s fan speed also went from low to medium immediately after I applied some spray hair wax in a nearby room, and completely skipped the medium setting for high alert/max fan speed when I barely cracked my living room window open on the first nice day of spring.
While the max fan speed is quite loud (roughly 53 dB(A), according to Coway), it does have the added bonus of seemingly cooling down the air temperature too, which could be a bonus in the summer months.
Pros: For those of us trying to be cognizant of our electrical use, the unit’s Eco Mode is a great feature. After 30 minutes of the air quality being “good,” the Airmega’s fan switches off automatically to conserve energy. And as soon as it senses a drop in air quality drops, it’s back on.
The air-quality sensor appears to be pretty sensitive, so this could be a good unit for anyone suffering from allergies or other respiratory issues. And it’s pretty!
Cons: The biggest bummer for me was the unit’s lack of smart controls. My apartment may be small, but I’m still sometimes too engrossed in my TV shows (read: lazy) to get up and turn the air purifier down, or off. It’d also be nice to be able to turn the unit on/off from my phone while I’m away from home.
With con No. 1 noted, I should also point out that on max speed, the air purifier gets loud, like, crank the TV volume waaaaaaaay up loud. (It also woke me up one night when the air quality apparently became bad for some unknown reason, and the unit kicked in on max speed. Alas, without smart controls on my phone, I could not turn it back down without getting out of bed. Spoiler alert: I did not get up.)
This unit sure does attract cat hair! While unboxing the Airmega and putting it together, it seemed to summon all of my little black cat’s fur from the living room to its casing, as if it were Magneto grabbing all of my silverware with a wave of his fingers. Unluckily for me, my Airmega is white, and my beloved feline is black.
The user manual is really bare bones, causing minor confusion with the filters during setup, and doesn’t explain how the eco mode or ionizer work. Also, the filter replacement cost is pretty darn high.
Good things do come in smaller packages! The Vital 100S is a nice little unit that not only takes up just a small amount of floor space and is quite light, it seems to do a pretty good job of detecting air quality and improving it with its three-stage filtration system while keeping fan noise pretty low. The 100S detects four levels of air quality and is color-coded on the sleek display on top: very good (blue), good (green), moderate (orange) and bad (red). In terms of sensitivity, this unit kicks in quickly when I start cooking on the stovetop with a cast-iron skillet, and within minutes of me turning on my aromatherapy machine.
air purifier for large rooms
LEVOIT Air Purifiers for Home Large Room Bedroom Up to 1110 Ft²
Size: 12.6” x 6.3” x 16”, 7.26 lbs. Smart Controls: Yes Setup Time: Less than 10 minutes Filter Refill Cost: $31.99
The Vital 100S is also marketed for homes with furry little friends running around. It boasts a Pet mode, which, according to Levoit, “alternates between fan speeds to keep your air clean and virtually odor-free with energy efficiency.” The U-shaped air inlet is also supposed to help capture fur and other larger particles (perhaps human hairs?).
Another highlight is the unit’s VeSync app, which is pretty handy and incredibly easy to set up. Once on your phone, the app allows users to turn the unit on/off remotely, displays the current air quality of your home, and also alerts you when air quality drops and fan speed increases, and vice versa. It also shows you the history of your indoor air quality, as well as filter life, lets you create a schedule and more.
Pros: It’s quite compact, attractive and easy to tuck into homes with limited space. The app is super easy to use and adds a level of convenience that’s worth the extra cost.
It’s a very quiet unit, and when in Sleep Mode, you won’t even know it’s on while you snooze!
Cons: Like the Coway Airmega, the Vital 100S boasts odor control, but neither unit was able to eliminate basic stovetop cooking scents. And while neither was great at this, the Airmega did outperform the Levoit on odor elimination by a smidge.
The app may show you the filter life left, but that can also be a downside. After three weeks of testing, the filter life had already gone down by 5%.
For more product recommendation, see our roundup of sustainable tech gadgets to shop beyond Earth Day.
