Fall is right around the corner, which means students and families around the world are gearing up to go back to school.
Retailers typically slash prices on products for college students around this time to hoover up business, so our expert editors work hard to keep you abreast of the best back to school sales on offer.
But once you've loaded up on pencils, notebooks and whatever dorm room essentials you need, it's nice to put some thought into what creature comforts will make the academic year ahead a bit more enjoyable.
That's why we asked our top experts across a range of categories to share recommendations on the ultimate dorm room gadget for the 2024 school year.
All of these products are on sale for the U.S. Labor Day, and they all cost $400 or (much) less yet deliver outsized bang for their buck. These are the sorts of things we wouldn't go back to school without if we could help it, and hopefully one or two of these expert recs will be just the thing you (or a lucky student in your life) will need to have the ideal dorm room experience.
Tiny dorm room? I'd go for the best tiny tablet there is
My own dorm room days are long behind me, but if I cast my mind back there's one gadget that would have made all the difference: the iPad mini 6.
I'm a huge fan of Apple's diminutive 8.3-inch tablet for a number of reasons but I'm also convinced it's a great option for school (even if it doesn't make the cut on our best student tablets list). The smaller chassis means it takes up less room in a bag alongside textbooks, notebooks, headphones, Stanley Quenchers and whatever else kids carry these days.
You can pair it with one of the best wireless keyboards (including the NuPhy Halo75 V2 recommended below) when you need to be productive and use the Apple Pencil for annotating documents or utilizing iPadOS features like Math Notes. When it's time to party all you need is a great Bluetooth speaker and you're good to go.
Unfortunately, while it is on sale for Labor Day it doesn't make sense to invest in the iPad mini 6 right now if you want the latest and greatest. That's because the device is three years old at this point and Apple is hotly tipped to be getting the iPad mini 7 ready for launch.
It could boast a number of decent upgrades like more RAM and processing power (for use with Apple Intelligence), larger storage and a better battery life. My own dorm room didn't have much space, so Apple's littlest tablet would have been a game-changer.
Smash out those essays in style, but more importantly in comfort
While my colleague Jason's degree is ancient history, my degree literally was ancient history, and the gadget I wish I'd had when all those 2,000 word essays on Rome were due is a proper productivity keyboard: namely the NuPhy Halo75 V2.
You might think that a keyboard is just a keyboard, but take it from someone who types his fair share (and tests a lot of keyboards to do it) that it really pays to use the most comfortable board you can. And there are few more comfortable than the adorable little Halo.
The main reason this keyboard feels so good for those extended writing stints is the keycap profile used. NuPhy has developed its own profile, which is a hybrid between low and standard profile caps, giving you the speed and accuracy benefits of low keycaps with the looks and ergonomic shaping of higher ones.
Then there's the switches: you can choose the Halo75 V2 with NuPhy's Lemon tactile switches, which are super comfortable to type on, so you can pummel out those word counts without your fingers getting tired.
As the board is hot swappable, you can fit your own switches, or choose silent switches from NuPhy if you think the noise will annoy other people in your dorm. Honestly though, this thocky little keyboard sounds so beautiful and refined that I can't see anyone complaining.
Better yet, the Halo75 V2 looks beautiful, with a case design that casts an RGB halo (hence the name) on your desk. It's super portable in the 75% layout, too, so it'll fit easily into your bag, but any math students out there can choose the 96% version with a num pad instead.
Not sold yet? Check out my NuPhy Halo75 V2 review for the full lowdown.
Keep your devices juiced with a quality USB charger
A quality USB charger that just so happens to be shaped like a robot. Yes, I’m a massive dweeb, and I absolutely own it. When you head off to college, you’re probably going to be taking a lot of gadgets to your dorm. Your phone, tablet and laptop are all going to need regular juice, so a dependable and fast charging block is pretty much a necessity.
That’s what makes the GravaStar 65W USB-C Alpha 65 charger such a hoot to use. Not only does it look like a distant cousin of WALL-E, thanks to its advanced GaN technology, the Alpha 65 can charge a MacBook Air from 0% to 51% in 30 minutes. In the couple of months I’ve owned mine, I’m constantly impressed by how quickly it charges my M4 iPad Pro. Also, look how freakin’ cute it is! Your dorm room needs this awesome USB-C charger.
That’s what makes the GravaStar 65W USB-C Alpha 65 charger such a hoot to use. Not only does it look like a distant cousin of WALL-E, thanks to its advanced GaN technology, the Alpha 65 can charge a MacBook Air from 0% to 51% in 30 minutes. In the couple of months I’ve owned mine, I’m constantly impressed by how quickly it charges my M4 iPad Pro. Also, look how freakin’ cute it is! Your dorm room needs this awesome USB-C charger.
For the sake of your sanity, buy some noise-cancelling headphones
My time at university is ancient history. But even with these memories long over the horizon, one set of traumatic memories will always flood back — all because of how thin the walls are in your average dorms.
Whether it's dorm parties, screaming matches or things that I won't talk about (but chances are you're already thinking it), your room is surrounded by relentless noise that can be a massive distraction to your work at best and a huge ruiner of sleep at worst.
That's why my essential gadget for peaceful dorm living (and one I wish I had) is a good pair of noise cancelling headphones. Specifically, Anker's Soundcore Space Q45s bring impressive ANC and stellar sound quality at a low cost.
In the loud settings I find myself in nowadays, such as the gym, cafes and press events, the adaptive noise cancellation here has been unmatched by similarly-priced competition, and even manages to make the likes of the AirPods Max sweat a little.
Plus, those 40mm drivers bring a pairing of silk and ceramic materials to the table for a lovely balanced sound of warm bass, shiny highs and mids that don't get lost in the mix. You won't want to take them off, which is why that 50-hour battery life with ANC on comes in clutch.
So for those moments you need to focus, or just shut out that one person in the dorm that everyone hates (looking at you, Richard), these are the cans to buy.
Light up your desk but not your entire dorm room
Even though college can be quite fun, sooner or later, you’re going to have to sit down and actually do some work in your dorm room. If you go the same route I did and bring a PC (or Mac) and a monitor to use at your desk, then you might want to consider adding a monitor light bar on top of your display.
Monitor light bars illuminate your keyboard, mouse and the rest of your desk and are perfect for working at night — even when your roommate is sleeping. College dorm rooms are known for their poor lighting conditions with overhead lights that are just too bright.
While you could get some floor lamps, they won’t do nearly as good of a job at lighting up your desk as a monitor light bar would. Plus, they're a whole lot cheaper, last for tens of thousands of hours and you won’t need to worry about buying bulbs.
Right now, you can get the Diirglus monitor light bar with a wireless remote for just $40 at Amazon. However, if you have a bit more to spend and want to add some RGB flair to your side of the room, I highly recommend the Quntis RGB Pro+ one I just reviewed.
It’s more expensive at $60, but it has a better wireless remote that uses standard AA batteries and has RGB backlighting in addition to the light bar on the front. This way, you can light up your desk and cast a colorful glow on the wall behind your monitor. The RGB backlighting is optional though so you can turn it off when it’s time to focus.
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