An easy way to start practicing mindfulness
Plus: A great deal on an iPad
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The Recommendation

August 11, 2025

Our new favorite meditation app

An iPhone with a meditation app on the screen surrounded by candles and rocks.
Michael Hession/NYT Wirecutter

Mindfulness meditation can help you feel grounded — which might be especially beneficial as we ease out of summer and back into the hustle of fall. Anyone can practice mindfulness, no app required. But a good app can help people who are new to the practice reframe their mindset and build healthier habits.

After our latest round of testing to find the best apps out there, we have a brand-new recommendation: an app with the largest library of meditations available for free. It has plenty of guided sessions for beginners. And it makes it easy to find a practice that feels like you — whether you want short and simple reflections or prompts that invite you to set daily intentions.

For a little pocket of peace→

We independently review everything we recommend. When you buy through our links, we may earn a commission. Learn more ›

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Your daily deal: This iPad we love is the cheapest we’ve ever seen it

The Apple iPad Air (M3) with an 11-inch liquid Retina display.

This iPad has laptop-level power, so it can handle multitasking across apps, browsing the web, gaming, and watching videos with ease. Plus, it has a solid, bright screen and about a 10-hour battery life. We found it today for $100 off.

Get the deal→

READ THE GUIDE

The iPad is the best tablet→

One last thing: The best yoga mats

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Michael Murtaugh/NYT Wirecutter

Since 2014, we’ve downward-dogged and Savasanaed on nearly 50 yoga mats. We’ve also used them for calisthenic workouts, lugged them around New York City, and drenched them in sweat.

Our favorites include the grippiest mat we’ve ever tested→

Thanks for reading.

You can reach the Wirecutter Newsletters team at newsletters@wirecutter.com. We can’t always respond, but we do love to hear from you.

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