Michael Zhao

New York

Senior Writer, The Strategist at New York Magazine

Articles

5 Strategist Staffers Replaced Their Grody Apple iPhone Cases With an Otterbox

2 days ago | nymag.com | Michael Zhao

Photo: Michael Zhao The first thing I did upon unwrapping my new iPhone 16 Pro in November was put it in a case. Specifically, I got Apple’s own Silicone Case because it promised to be precisely engineered to protect this $1,100 brick of glass and titanium, down to the touch-conductive sapphire-glass camera-control-button cover. At $50, it was more than I wanted to spend, but the svelte look and bold blue color swayed me.
André 3000 Wore Glad ForceFlex

1 week ago | nymag.com | Michael Zhao

Photo-Illustration: The Strategist; Photos: Savion Washington/Getty Images, Retailer André 3000 took advantage of his appearance on the steps of last night’s Met Gala to release and promote his latest experimental jazz record, 7 piano sketches. While most commentators focused on his faithful recreation of the album art by wearing a three-quarter-scale baby-grand piano on his back, I couldn’t help but notice the other accessory in his right hand.
Ask the Strategist: Where Can a Guy Buy Some Good Pull-On Pants?

1 week ago | nymag.com | Michael Zhao

Photo-Illustration: The Strategist; Photos: Retailers In our advice column, “Ask the Strategist,” we take your most burning shopping questions and survey friends, call up experts, and draw on our own personal experience to answer them. If you have an online-shopping question of your own, please send it to [email protected] with the subject “Ask the Strategist.” We’re here to help. As someone who works remotely from home, pull-on pants have become a staple of my mullet wardrobe.
Ask the Strategist: Where Can a Guy Buy Some Good Pull-On Pants?

1 week ago | flipboard.com | Michael Zhao

2 hours agoThe Hele Box solves a lot of problems for campers who sleep in their car I remember the first time I saw someone sleeping in their vehicle for fun. It was 1999. I was in Vail, and I hit a parking lot après party with a dude who was sleeping in his Ford Ranger pickup. He had built a plywood sleeping …
LG OLED Evo C4 4K Smart TV Review

1 week ago | nymag.com | Michael Zhao

Photo: Michael Zhao Up until recently, I went half a decade without owning a real TV. This wasn’t because I’m some kind of TV teetotaler. I just didn’t like having a big black rectangle dominate my small living room at all hours of the day, so I used a little projector instead. But having to set it up and focus it with each use was just too much of a hassle. That’s why my first major purchase after closing on my house a couple of years back was a big TV.
Why the Midea U Is Better Than Every Other AC We Tried

2 weeks ago | nymag.com | Michael Zhao

Photo-Illustration: The Strategist; Photo: Michael Zhao For the past several summers, relief from the hot and humid air in my Brooklyn apartment came in the form of a reliable Frigidaire window unit. Even if it was too loud to use while watching TV, it was my favorite out of all the ones I’d tried since arriving from the West Coast in 2015.
Now’s a Good Time to Consider American-Made Furniture

1 month ago | nymag.com | Michael Zhao

I first moved out of my parents’ house at the height of the Great Recession, when American-made mid-century furniture could still be found at most Goodwills for under $30. Despite being subjected to a cross-country relocation and several subsequent moves, these solid wooden relics have outlasted dozens of their newly purchased counterparts. Some of the companies that originally produced these pieces are still around, like Bassett and Thayer Coggin.
How 13 Brands Are Dealing With Tariffs (in Real Time)

1 month ago | nymag.com | Emma Wartzman |Michael Zhao

President Trump’s tariffs (which range from a minimum 10 percent, to, as of a mere hour ago, as high as 125 percent) hit this week. As my colleague Michael Zhao reported, this means the prices of goods are likely to increase across the board, from already-big investments like cars to smaller everyday products like face wash and laundry detergent. I reached out to dozens of brands of different sizes across categories to get a sense of what they are thinking and planning in the wake of this news.
What You Might Want to Buy Before Tariffs Fully Kick in

1 month ago | nymag.com | Michael Zhao

Photo-Illustration: The Strategist; Photos: Retailers The newly announced tariffs are already here, but their effects are still to be determined. Because they only apply to goods that are imported from here on out, the prices for items currently sitting in American warehouses are likely to hold steady for least a few more weeks. So if you’ve been saving up for any major purchases, it’s time to close the deal before the price hikes begin.
My Not-Too-Slim, Not-Too-Wide Pair of Extremely Basic Jeans

2 months ago | nymag.com | Michael Zhao

5 items in this article 2 items on sale! Photo-Illustration: The Strategist; Photos: Retailers Welcome to Jeans Month on the Strategist, where we’re obsessively vetting denim — from trying on every pair at the Gap to asking dozens of stylish people about their favorite fits. For more, head to our Jeans Month hub. Like many young men who came of age toward the end of the great recession, I believed in the value of raw denim.