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Tech & Gadgets I Actually Use
20
items Everyday tech and gadgets that have earned a permanent spot in my routine — nothing gimmicky, just stuff that's actually worth the money.
Charges my phone multiple times over and has enough output to top up a laptop in a pinch. Lives in my bag permanently.
Anker 737 Power Bank (PowerCore 24K)
Cheap peace of mind. One's on my keys, one's in my backpack. Saved me a panic more than once.
AirTag
Best noise cancelling I've tried — flights feel about half as long. Worth the price if you're on planes or in loud offices a lot.
Sony WH-1000XM5 Wireless Noise Canceling
Got me reading again since it doesn't compete with my phone for attention. Battery lasts weeks, not hours.
Kindle Paperwhite 16 GB | Fastest Kindle E-Reader
I resisted getting a smartwatch for years, but the sleep and heart rate tracking actually changed how I think about my health. Notifications on the wrist also mean my phone stays in my pocket during meetings instead of face-up on the table.
Apple Watch Series 10 GPS 46mm Jet Black
The transparency mode is the feature that sold me, I can leave them in through security lines and boarding announcements without missing anything. Noise cancellation is genuinely strong enough to blank out a loud open office when I need to focus.
Apple AirPods Pro 2 Wireless Earbuds ANC
I moved my entire photo and video library onto one of these after nearly filling up my laptop's internal drive. It's fast enough that I don't notice a difference editing straight off it, and it's small enough to just live in my bag.
Samsung T7 Portable SSD 1TB Titan Gray USB 3.2
The scroll wheel on this thing is almost magnetic, it free-spins through a long spreadsheet in about half a second. I use the same mouse across my laptop and desktop and it switches between them with a single click, which sounds small but saves real ...
Logitech MX Master 3S Wireless Mouse
This sits on my kitchen counter and handles timers, weather checks, and playing music while I cook, which covers 90% of what I actually want from a smart speaker. The sound quality got noticeably better in this generation compared to the older Dots.
2022 Echo Dot 5th Gen Smart Speaker | Charcoal
Package theft was a real problem on my street until I installed this. Now I get a phone alert the moment someone steps onto the porch, and the two-way audio has let me redirect a delivery driver from the front door to the side gate more than once.
Ring Doorbell
This has basically replaced my laptop for anything that isn't actual coding, reading docs, watching conference talks, sketching out architecture diagrams. The M2 chip makes it fast enough that I never feel like I'm waiting on it.
Apple iPad Air 11-inch (M2) Liquid Retina
It learns our schedule well enough that the house is always the right temperature when we're actually in it, and cold when we're not. Our energy bill noticeably dropped the first winter after switching from a dumb thermostat.
ecobee Smart Thermostat Premium WiFi Siri Alexa
I keep this in the kitchen and take it out to the deck in the summer, and the battery genuinely lasts through an entire weekend of use. It's louder and clearer than any other speaker at this price I've tried, no distortion even cranked up outside.
Soundcore Motion 300 Bluetooth Speaker
The gimbal stabilization on this is unreal, I get smooth handheld video walking down stairs that looks like it was shot on a tripod dolly. It's small enough to keep in a jacket pocket, so I actually have it with me instead of leaving a big camera at ...
DJI Osmo Pocket 3 Creator Combo 1'' CMOS 4K
This sits on my desk and charges my phone, watch, and earbuds all at once, so I'm not hunting for three different cables every night. The angle makes it easy to see notifications while it's charging, which is a small thing but I use it constantly.
Belkin 3 In 1 Wireless Charging Station
I take this on every hike and ski trip because it survives drops and water without a case. The stabilization is good enough that I don't even bother with a gimbal for casual clips anymore.
GoPro HERO13 Black Waterproof Action Camera
I set these on a warm dim schedule in the evening and it genuinely helps me wind down instead of staring at a bright white ceiling light. Syncing them with my voice assistant so I never have to get up to turn off the lights is the part that sold me.
Philips Hue Starter Kit
This cut out so much friction from my daily screen recordings and video calls, one button press to switch scenes, mute my mic, or launch an app instead of digging through menus. Worth it just for how much cleaner my streaming setup looks now.
Elgato Stream Deck MK.2 Studio Controller
I set this up on the wall in about a minute for a movie night in the backyard and the picture was way sharper than I expected from something this small. The built-in battery means I'm not running an extension cord across the yard either.
Nebula Capsule 3 Laser Outdoor Mini Smart TV
I run this every morning before work and it empties itself into the base so I only have to deal with the bin once a month or so. It handles the pet hair on my rugs way better than the vacuum I had before it.
roborock Q5+ Robot Vacuum with Self-Empty Dock