Home tech

Home and desk tech, chosen by the job it does

Home electronics are decided by three things: where the device sits, what it plugs into, and whether its power supply and its cable are standard parts. This site sorts the useful equipment by that job instead of by brand, so the shortlist is short.

See the shortlist Read the guides

Every pick below is described by what it is good at and what to check before buying. We do not publish prices or ratings: those change, and the retailer's page is the honest place to read them.

Shortlist

Six things worth starting with

All 10 picks

Desk setup

BenQ monitor light bar

A bar that clips on top of the monitor and lights the desk instead of the room.

Best for: Anyone who works after dark in a room without good overhead light.
Watch out for: It depends on the screen bezel and on a USB port that can supply enough current.

Check price and availability

Desk setup

Logitech MX series wireless mouse

A shaped wireless mouse for long sessions, with buttons you can assign per application.

Best for: People who work at a desk for hours and switch between two or three machines.
Watch out for: The shape suits a palm grip and a right hand; it is not a symmetrical travel mouse.

Check price and availability

Monitor on an adjustable arm above a desk

Desk setup

Ergotron LX desk monitor arm

A clamped arm that lifts the screen off the desk and puts it where your neck wants it.

Best for: Anyone whose monitor sits too low, or who wants the desk surface back.
Watch out for: It needs a solid desk edge to clamp to, and the VESA holes on the back of the screen must match.

Check price and availability

USB-C charger plugged into a wall socket

Charging and power

Anker GaN USB-C charger, 65 W

A compact supply that charges a laptop from USB-C without a brick the size of the laptop.

Best for: Anyone who carries a laptop and wants one charger for the laptop, the phone and the tablet.
Watch out for: The 65 W total is shared across ports, so a laptop and a phone on one plug both slow down.

Check price and availability

Charging and power

Anker PowerCore USB-C power bank

A pocket battery sized to refill a phone several times or top up a small laptop once.

Best for: Travel, long days away from a socket, and keeping a phone alive at an event.
Watch out for: Airline rules limit the watt-hour rating allowed in hand luggage, and the label states it.

Check price and availability

Audio and calls

Sony WH series noise cancelling over-ear headphones

Over-ear headphones with active noise cancelling for work and travel.

Best for: Anyone working in a noisy room, or flying and wanting the engine rumble gone.
Watch out for: Noise cancelling is strongest on steady low-frequency noise and much weaker on speech.

Check price and availability

Guides

Before you buy tech for the desk

6 min read

Measuring a desk before buying any equipment

Four measurements that decide which keyboard, mount and light actually fit your desk and your body.

Read the guide

5 min read

Charger watts: what the numbers on the label mean

Total wattage, per-port wattage and the power table on the side of a USB-C charger.

Read the guide

6 min read

Storage and backup: three copies, two kinds of device

How to pick drives, enclosures and network gear so a single failure does not take the work with it.

Read the guide

How this site works

Written by a person, checked against the retailer's own page

We describe categories, trade-offs and the questions that decide a purchase in this niche. Where we link out, the link is marked as an affiliate link and the price is read on the retailer's page — never copied here where it would go stale within days.

If a product stops being worth recommending, it is removed rather than left in place for the click. Nothing on this site is sponsored by a brand, and no brand pays for placement.

How we choose