17 Things From Amazon Launchpad That'll Make 2019 So Much Easier

Some easy purchases to make the coming year a little less terrible.

Launchpad is a section on Amazon featuring cool tech gadgets, interesting foods and drinks, and other innovative products created by startups. Here are some of the things you can find there right now that'll totally upgrade your life.

1. A smart dog feeder that'll allow you to feed your pup right from your smartphone and even check in to make sure they've actually eaten the food via a built-in HD camera.

amazon.com

Promising review: "This is such a useful product! It does everything I need it to and more. I have a schedule set for it to fill the dish twice a day, morning and night. When it's running low on food it alerts me and gives me the option to automatically order more from Amazon. My dog hears the little ring notifying that the food dish has been refilled and he happily goes to the feeder and eats his meal. With life being so busy, especially for me at 37 weeks pregnant, this is especially useful. It has been tiring bending down to fill up his dish so much and soon enough I will have a lot more to deal with than just feeding the dog. I have been getting concerned about taking care of my dog when the baby arrives and if there will be a period of time where he will be alone before someone can get to him when we are at the hospital but now I am comforted that at least he will have his food." —Elena Wiener

Price: $199

2. A compact, portable espresso machine even coffee snobs can get behind it.

amazon.com

Promising review: "I just need to express how obsessed I am with this espresso machine. I was so sick of either buying terrible coffee at Dunkin or Starbucks or overpaying at local coffee shops. This has saved me from late nights, early mornings, and midday sleepies at work. I recommend this to anyone who is a bit of a coffee snob or just doesn't feel like paying for overpriced joe every day. This would also just be a cool gift for a coffee lover." —Amazon Customer

Price: $49.90

3. A long-lasting TubShroom that'll catch all your hairs — more than you knew were on your body, even — and save you the nightmare of having to snake your drain.

amazon.com

Promising review: "Can't say enough good things about this product. I have a family of four and would frequently have to snake our shower drain. It appears I won't be having that problem ever again. I even give my dog baths and this collects the hair. It does not seem to slow down the flow of water down the drain significantly. I'm very impressed, having used this around a month. You don't know how much hair you wash down your drain until you use this!" —Aaron Morlock

Price: $12.99 (available in six colors)

4. A universal remote with voice control to consolidate and simplify all of your streaming devices that have gotten truly out of control.

amazon.com

Promising review: "I didn't think I'd ever really need a universal remote with my setup but the Caavo proved me wrong. It's probably the best universal remote I've ever used. We usually have a lot of people over and with the Caavo it's easy for anyone to grab the remote and do whatever they need to do or find whatever. The best part is the voice search for YouTube. I can just watch anything from my living room and I don't have to type out the whole title." —Fadi AbuZaineh

Price: $99.95

5. A rapid egg cooker that not only cooks up to six eggs "rapidly" but also perfectly every! single! time! (That includes poached eggs, my friends.)

amazon.com

Promising review: "Oh my god, how did I ever live without this thing?! It's such a time saver and seriously cute to boot! The packaging for this product is great: — several informative booklets and gorgeous design all around. The product itself is tiny — about half the size of my rice cooker — and takes up no counter space at all. It almost reminds me of Japanese design, for its simplicity and efficiency." —Michelle Salemka

Price: $14.99 (available in black, white, red, yellow, and aqua)

6. A durable silicone spatula (that comes in many colorways, including "bacon") so you can stop scraping the bottom of the barrel, and instead do it with this premium utensil that doesn't leave a mark.

amazon.com

Promising review: "Great spatula! Withstands high heat while cooking, can bend and get into the curves of my pots and pans, and cleans up easily. I mainly use wood spoons and spatulas when I cook, in order to avoid scratching the insides of my pots and pans. But I didn't like how the wood would absorb color and odors if left for more than several minutes. And I hated having to oil my wooden utensils (my cat loved it and would often run his head all over them at night...not very sanitary). But these GIR spatulas are wonderful. I got all white ones, and so far they haven't stained or melted. They hold their shape extremely well, do a great job scraping all the tasty bits off the bottom of a pan when deglazing, and are great when I have to fold in ingredients when I bake." —Happy Mommy

Price: $12.95+ (available in four sizes and 13 colors)

7. An HD home security camera with a 112-degree field of view (and night vision!) that'll send you security alerts if it detects movement from people and large objects when you're away.

amazon.com

Promising review: "It has all the things you'd want in a high-end camera —particularly two-way talk and siren — and it's really beautiful and well made. The live view is absolutely crystal clear (it's 1080P like other cameras I've owned) but somehow this picture seems clearer." —MP Mom

Price: $282.76.

8. A sous-vide precision cooker so you can live in a world where perfectly cooked meats and veggies are possible with every at-home meal.

amazon.com

Promising review: "Picked this up as a gift for my wife and we've already had two chicken dinners with it. It's easy to set up over Bluetooth and Wi-Fi — just download the app from your device's app store, turn on the sous vide, and follow the prompts on the app. Within seconds we were heating up the water and were notified about an hour later via the app when the water reached the desired temperature. Once the cooking began, we again used the app's timer function and went about our business until alerted that cooking was complete. Very simple to use and certainly takes a lot of the guesswork out of managing temperatures for cooking protein! —Jon

Price: $129

9. An infinity travel pillow for anyone who's always traveling (and complaining about never getting a wink of sleep).

amazon.com

Promising review: "I am a person who has a hard time getting comfortable when sleeping on a plane, and traditional U-shaped pillows did not give me the support or comfort I needed. Because I was going on a 13-hour flight to Europe (with one stop) I went to a travel website to research pillows as I wanted to ward off jet-lag. Once I double-wrapped the infinity design over my neck I was in heaven! When sleeping on planes my head tends to tilt to the side or forward, putting a strain on my neck. No matter the angle, my head was supported with the right amount of firmness. I took it off to support my back while eating and propped it against the window so I could lie on it. It helped to cancel out white noise and kept me cozy during a chilly flight. I love this pillow so much that when I realized that the pillow in my hotel room was inadequate I augmented it with the Huzi." —RacerX CDG

Price: $35.99 (available in grey, tan, burgundy, and navy)

And check out our picks for the best travel pillows on BuzzFeed Reviews.

10. A Wi-Fi-enabled LED light bulb, so you can say goodbye to all of the harsh overhead lighting in your apartment and welcome a new warm glow.

amazon.com

Promising review: "This Wi-Fi bulb is well made and easy to connect with via the app on your smartphone. I purchased three of them to control all of the lighting in our bedroom. They are easy to control both as a group and individually. You have a wide array of colors that are very adjustable as to hue and intensity. They require no hub and are compatible with Apple HomeKit. They are easily controlled by multiple people in the house with their individual smartphones. They are the best I have used and have not lost their Wi-Fi connection since installation." —Stephen C. Anderson

Price: $24.99

11. A water-resistant laptop bag with a non-bulky, minimalist look (except, surprise, it is actually very extra and has a hidden USB port for on-the-go charging!).

amazon.com, amazon.com

Promising review: "I was looking for a low-profile light backpack to safely store my 13-inch flip notebook, extra phone charger, wallet, all sorts of small electronics and accessories, water bottle, and snacks, and still have enough room left to shove a sweater or an extra layer of clothing inside. This little backpack is amazing. It looks great, is made out of very handsome and upscale-looking outer shell material, and provides enough pockets to keep everything I can possibly need neatly organized." —Schlemazl Beerbaum

Price: $29.89+ (available in six colors)

And check out our picks for the best laptop backpacks on BuzzFeed Reviews.

12. A sleek double-edged safety razor, so you can finally end your search for the perfect razor.

amazon.com

Promising review: "Without a doubt one of the best razors I’ve ever used! The fit and finish is top-notch and everything about it screams German precision. Blade angle is achieved easily and smoothly with a twist of the handle. The razor itself is not super heavy, nor is it a feather weight. It has some weight to it, which IMO is actually a good thing. Feels nice and solid in your hand. Blade changes are quick and easy and do not require any special procedures, gizmos, or tools. It’s not a cheap product but it also won’t break the bank if you consider it’ll probably be the last razor you’ll buy." —John K

Price: $62.50

13. A hand-powered food processor that'll actually make you feel very handy in the kitchen.

amazon.com

Promising review: This is a fast and effective chopper/mincer that really works great. You can make a tuna, chicken, or egg salad in a flash right in the little container if you want. It's also easy to clean. You can't put the top in the dishwasher, but it's easy to rinse off or wipe off manually. It is well designed with a rubber ring on the bottom to give stability on the counter. You just place one hand on the top to hold the unit it steady and pull on the handle to spin the blade. Amazing how well it works. Highly recommended." —C.G. King

Price: $59.95

14. A pair of ultra-thin folding reading glasses for the person who hates lugging around a bulky case with them.

amazon.com, amazon.com

Promising review: "These are well worth the price just for the convenience. I must have 10 pairs of reading glasses sitting around but often find myself without them, particularly in a restaurant. These stick to the back of my iPhone and are unnoticeable." —StitchyWoman

Price: $19.95 (available in four sizes and 12 colors)

15. A premium hardcover notebook with dot-gridded pages and indentation-rule pages so you can doodle and make productive lists all in one.

amazon.com

Promising review: "This notebook is super high quality. I love the idea of one side having a dot grid and one side being ruled so that you can keep track of all your notes — whether they're stream-of -onsciousness chaos or detailed and organized." —perrierrocher

Price: $19.99 (available in gray and white)

16. A pair of men's jogger pants that work to rapidly remove sweat and eliminate odor (so nothing stands between you and your runner's high).

amazon.com

Promising review: "These are really nice workout pants. I like the high-performance vaporactive technology and think these workout pants are very nice. They are comfortable and are lightweight, soft, and easy to move in. They are also heavy enough to feel comfortable wearing them out in public. They have an elastic waist and drawstring and two convenient pockets." —Mike Wallace

Price: $16.64+ (available in sizes S-XXL and in four colors)

17. And a peeler with a swiveling carbon steel blade so you can eat potato meals until the day you die (customers say this thing truly lasts forever!).

amazon.com

Promising review: "I've now had these peelers for a little over two years. After a while, using them almost daily, I decided to try putting one of them in the dishwasher. I figured that they were cheap enough that even if one was destroyed I could get another. There were NO problems at all with washing these in the dishwasher. I put them in the silverware basket, which is in the bottom rack, and there is no difference that I can discern. All three of them are still as sharp as the day I bought them, and without any sign of rust. I'm 72 and I'll probably be able to will these to someone! You simply cannot go wrong with these peelers." —Marion Paquin

Price: $5 (available in seven colors)

Some reviews have been edited for length and/or clarity.

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