The best tech for college students – 25 essentials for campus life | Life and style

Sleeping in a new environment can be tough and sleeping in a dorm with other people can feel almost impossible. The Soundcore Sleep A20 buds are tiny. They fit in your ear so that even side-sleepers like me will not feel them. (I didn’t.)

They also have onboard white noise tones you can pick from, or you can stream from your phone. Plus, they can detect when you fall asleep and switch over to the on board sound automatically to save battery so they’ll last all night long.

The Anker Power Strip with 2100J Surge Protector will keep all your tech charged and running. It has 12 nicely-spaced-out power outlets, two USB-A ports and one USB-C port. It comes with a 5ft or 10ft cable, depending on your needs, and can power everything. I have one powering most of my devices at my desk and I liked it so much, I ordered two more for my living room and bedroom.

If you don’t want to keep your music to yourself, the JLab Pop Party is an excellent little speaker with a silicon strap that lets you attach it to a bag, the handlebars of your bike (my preferred use) or somewhere inside your dorm. It has solid bass performance for its size, but it’s small enough that its volume is limited, helping you stay in your neighbors’ good graces. You can usually find it between $20 and $25.

If you are more into note taking than drawing, or prefer something black and white with a long-lasting battery (days, possibly a week or more, depending on your use), the iFlytek AInote Air 2 is an e-ink tablet that’s better for writing and has an in-built AI recorder so you can record a lecture, get a summary of it and take notes at the same time.

If you are an Apple user, it’s hard to go wrong with the iPad Air. The 11in model is the right size for most people. The new M4 processor is blazing fast and the tablet itself is lightweight at under 1kg. In our full iPad Air M4 review, we noted that “the Apple Pencil stylus turns it into a fantastic note-taking device or digital sketch pad”, and if you add a magic keyboard, you basically have a second laptop. #WhatsAComputer

The Gregory Terro backpack is about as versatile as it gets. It has a separate laptop compartment, a big open compartment for larger items and a smaller organization compartment for pens and small notebooks. On the back is a detachable bungee system for gripping items such as a coat or shoes if you’re headed to the gym or sports after class. It’s ready for any situation, which is what college is all about.

Dorm rooms famously lack extra space for a large TV, but the Xgimi Mogo 4 projector can turn any blank space into a TV. It has a built in Google TV for all your streaming services, too. You can set it up and aim it anywhere and the onboard software will help the image stay clear of obstacles and fix your picture with keystone correction. The projector is battery powered (up to 2.5 hrs) or can be plugged in, depending on how permanent your setup is. It even comes with a nifty carrying case.

If you would prefer a “real” TV, that’s fair enough. We’d recommend something from a recognized brand such as Hisense, TCL or Samsung. You can also go with a SmartTV, but it’s not needed. You can upgrade any TV with a Roku Streaming Stick or similar.

A laptop is still the core of every student’s experience. It’s how they research, write papers and fill the hours between classes with games and videos. The Samsung Galaxy Book6 Pro is a luxury laptop with a lovely, spacious screen for research and writing, a powerful Intel processor (that’s also gaming-friendly) and a battery that will last for a full 24-hour day (and long night) of school work.

Recommended minimum specs: 16GB memory, 512GB storage, 14in screen. Samsung.com will allow you to customize and upgrade more easily.

If you don’t need a high-end laptop, check out the Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 514. It’s a Chromebook, not a Windows laptop, so it’s great for doing anything online, including research and writing – especially using Google docs and services. This particular Chromebook has an excellent keyboard. I’ve taken it on a few work trips as my only computer, and it’s been fantastic. The 360-degree hinge is also big plus for watching movies between classes.

Recommended minimum specs: 12GB memory (RAM), 256GB storage, 14in screen

If the Chromebook isn’t to your liking, consider the brand-new MacBook Neo (read our review). It’s a 13-inch laptop powered by Apple’s A18 Pro processor from the iPhone 16 Pro. Our reviewer notes that it’s “highly performant”, and that “it will only start to slow down in the types of tasks that require large amounts of memory or multicore processing performance, which those buying a Neo are highly unlikely to routinely need”. So, as long as that lines up with your major – maybe not film or graphic arts students, then the Neo might do the trick for you – and the same goes for the Chromebook as well. If you plan to multitask a lot, look a Apple’s MacBook Air line.

Recommended minimum specs: 8GB unified memory, 256GB storage, 13in screen

If you have a phone with MagSafe or magnetic wireless charging (or a case that adds it), the Baseus Picogo Air battery pack is great. It’s just a quarter of an inch thick but still has a 5,000mAh battery good for around one full charge of an iPhone 17 Pro Max.

It’s also hard to go wrong with the iPhone 17. The iPhone is a perfect “everything” phone with a powerful processor for gaming, excellent cameras and easy file sharing with other Apple devices for group projects. Google is making strides toward sharing files between Apple and Android, but Airdrop is still the best way to do it. With prices expected to go up on the newer models this fall, this is a good time to buy.

If you are looking at the mid-to-lower end of the smartphone world, the Motorola Moto G Stylus (2026) is a great Android phone you can buy for $500, and it comes with something most phones don’t: a stylus. The stylus works well for taking a few notes in class or jotting down a bit of information quickly. Some people prefer writing with a pen and this allows you to digitize your notes so they’re accessible anywhere.

You might want a bigger computer screen (or a second one) in your dorm room. The MSI MAG 255F E20 is an affordable gaming monitor that’s compact for a dorm where space is limited, but still has a smooth 200Hz refresh rate if you want to get some gaming in.