5 Tech Products Under £100 That Made My Life Better In 2023
The 2nd one is an unexpected MUST-HAVE!
I still can’t get over how fast 2023 has gone! But I guess that’s the thing with life.
2023 has been an unusually busy year for me, both professionally and personally and I’ve hit many of my goals, particularly with my side hustle, but that’s a story for another day.
Moving on to the actual blog post, I think that saying that something made my life better is a strong statement, however, the tech items that I am listing in this post have definitely had a positive impact on my life.
That’s why, I wanted to share these 5 products, and best of all, all of these items are available for under £100!
1. Soundcore Liberty 4NC
I wanted to start this blog post with the Soundcore Liberty 4 NC earbuds, which Soundcore sent to me to try out earlier this year.
I test many earbuds on my channel, but the Soundcore Liberty 4 NC have had the best impact on me. Not only do they sound great, but they also have some excellent features such as multi-point Bluetooth, which I feel is a must for wireless earbuds, especially the ones over £60.
Before making a review, I test earbuds and headphones in a number of scenarios, including calls, work, commuting via public transport and working in a cafe.
The Soundcore Liberty 4 NC coped well in all of those scenarios, particularly with active noise cancelling. I think that the ANC is so good on these that I took them travelling with me this summer. They coped extremely well with loud trains, buses and even a busy plane.
They are also great for work. With the help of multi-point Bluetooth, I can connect them to 2 devices at the same time. So I can have them connected to my laptop and when a call comes in on my phone, I can simply answer the call without taking out my earbuds or having to reconnect them.
If we combine both of these points and the fact that they sound really good, we have a great pair of everyday earbuds, which I’m currently using as my main earbuds while I write this blog post.
They made my life better as I was able to get on with my day without distraction, especially on public transport. I’ve been using them to listen to music, podcasts, audiobooks, as well as soundscapes, which brings me to my next product.
2. Endel
Endel is the only product in this list that isn’t actually a physical product, but I honestly can’t stop singing its praises as it’s such a good app, especially for those who struggle to sit down and do some work.
Endel is an app that creates personalised soundscapes that match your activities. With the help of AI, the app helps you enhance focus, sleep, relax and power you through activities.
Furthermore, the app reacts to inputs such as the time of day, the weather, heart rate and your location, which I think is really cool.
I’ve been using Endel for a while now for various things such as writing blog posts. As a matter of fact, I’m currently using the app in focus mode with the Pomodoro timer.
I find that the app works great for commuting to work via train, it really does make a difference and sets me up for work really well, especially as journeys by train can be a stressful experience, especially when things don’t go your way.
Speaking about relaxing, I often like to go for a walk during my break, I find it to be a great excuse to get away from the screen and get some steps logged. I usually tend to listen to audiobooks during these walks, but if I have a very busy morning, I also tend to use Endel.
When it comes to walking, the soundscapes respond to my steps which I think is an awesome feature!
Endel is probably the most expensive app on this list, but it doesn’t have to be and I’m including it because there are 1 month, 3 month and 12 month options available. There is also a lifetime option available which is great to see, but that is over £100.
At the time of writing this article, the 1-month option is £8.99 per month, the 3-month option is £26.99, the 12-month version is £48.99 and the lifetime version is £249.99.
3. iBlockCube Travel Adapter
The iBlockCube travel adapter is a great little gadget I purchased for my travels this summer. I think that it is an excellent product that I even use when I am not travelling!
It’s essentially a worldwide travel adapter that allows you to connect your plug when you’re abroad as well as other USB gadgets.
It features a single socket as well as 3 USB-A ports and 2 USB-C ports, one of which offers quick charge.
I found the adapter extremely useful on my travels in Poland this summer as it allowed me to charge all my gear and power/charge things with a UK plug.
I definitely think that it was a good buy as I often have it in my work bag, especially when going on further trips.
I like that it comes with a nice carry case as well as a spare USB-C Cable.
The adapter is certified by FCC, CE, ICE, and ROHOS. It has a fire-proof shell as well as a built-in security door. It’s also a dual fuse.
The adapter has proven to be very valuable, especially when I went to the mountains as the apartment we stayed in didn’t have many plug sockets in the wall.
4. Xiaomi Mi Power Bank 3 Ultra Compact
The 4th product I wanted to talk about is the Xiaomi Mi PowerBank 3 Ultra Compact, which I picked up from the Xiaomi Store when I was travelling in Poland during the summer.
I thought that it would be great to use during my travels as I could easily fit it in my pocket or my bag without having to take my larger and much heavier Energiser power bank with me.
As it turns out, it was a great buy, especially as it has become stable in my tech bag. Whenever I am travelling to the office I take it with me in the event that there are issues on the trains and I need to charge my phone.
So far, the power bank has proven to be extremely useful, particularly with the trains being heavily disrupted last month due to poor weather conditions as well as strikes.
I think that a good power bank is a must-have when travelling long distances on public transport, especially if your tickets are stored on your phone and that’s the only way you have to pay for things.
I mainly like the Xiaomi Power Bank 3 as it’s very compact and it just works really well. On top of that, I am able to charge multiple devices with the two USB-A ports as well as the single USB-C port. The USB-C port has fast charging capabilities, which is a must-have for travel.
The power bank offers 10000 mAh, which is not as big compared to my Energiser UE20011PQ power bank which has 20000 mAh, but considering the size of the device, I think that it’s perfectly understandable.
5. Side by Side Power Packer
The Side by Side Power Packer is a cable organiser which I use for carrying my cables with me to work.
I think that it’s a great accessory to have in your tech backpack, especially when you work with tech like I do. I mean you never know what cable you may need, so why not be organised and bring all of them right?
The Power Packer is a great cable organiser that can actually cram a lot inside. I tend to carry a whole bunch of cables with me including USB-C cables, lightning cables, as well as a whole bunch of other cables that I may need as an IT engineer.
One of the main things I like about it is that instead of having cables loose in my bag, it keeps everything organised in one place.
The actual organiser is the perfect shape to put in most bags too as it doesn’t take up much room.
Final Thoughts
To summarise this blog post, those were the 5 items that have somehow made my life better in 2023.
Whether they’ve helped me mentally or have helped me get out of a sticky situation they have all proven their worth to me in 2023.
But those weren’t the only products that have somehow made my life better. There were many products that I could have picked and included in this list. But personally, I think that these have helped me most in everyday life.
What are 5 products under £100 (or equivalent) that made your life better in 2023? Let us know in the comments!
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Originally published at https://techwithdom.com on January 6, 2024.
