Short answer: spend your money on noise-cancelling earbuds or a basic smartwatch. Almost everything else on the list people push on you is not worth what it costs.
What people your age actually want
Nobody’s shopping for the best device on earth. They’re shopping for the one that fits the budget and holds up in conversation. Four things drive every decision:
1. It has to be visible. A device nobody can identify does nothing for your Instagram story.
2. It has to last. You replace your phone every three or four years. An accessory tied to an app that stops getting updates is a trap.
3. You have to actually use it. If it won’t be in your hand for a third of the day, skip it.
4. It has to survive a drop. Nobody at twenty wants to go out with a cracked phone.
The gear that earns its price
Noise-cancelling earbuds
This is where the money’s actually well spent. The three most recommended: AirPods Pro, the Sony WF-1000XM5 and the Nothing Ear. AirPods Pro are the most comfortable, the Sonys kill subway noise better, the Nothings run a lot cheaper.
What decides it in the store is the transparency mode: with the earbuds in, you still need to hear when someone talks to you. Skip it and they stay home, no matter how good they sound.
Not a flyer? Plain wired headphones (Koss, Panasonic) sound just as good and never break.
Smartwatches
A smartwatch isn’t a purchase, it’s a way to not look at your phone. It buzzes when someone texts, tells you about the call and wakes you up without your phone alarm. That’s what almost everyone actually uses it for.
The ones that work: Apple Watch (the SE and the Series), Samsung’s Galaxy Watch, and Amazfit. Apple Watch only plays nice with iPhone; on Android, a Galaxy Watch or an Amazfit is sensible. The SE costs a lot less and does nearly everything people care about. For training, Garmin: a week on a charge, but boring.
Phone photography: cameras and stabilizers
The best camera is still the one in your pocket. Test yours at night first: if it comes out noisy, no cheap accessory fixes that.
- Stabilizer (DJI OM or Zhiyun Smooth style) for shooting while walking, skating or traveling. Pointless if you only film static stuff.
- Compact point-and-shoot cameras: the Sony RX100, the Canon PowerShot G7 X, the Fujifilm X100 or the Ricoh GR. Used, the gap against new is enormous.
- Foldable tripod for selfies or time-lapse. Costs almost nothing.
Consoles
The Nintendo Switch is the safest buy: nearly every game in its store runs on all three models, the standard one, the Lite and the OLED.
The PlayStation 5 Slim and the Xbox Series S are the other route. Secondhand is fine as long as they don’t overheat and the disc isn’t scratched.
Into retro? A secondhand Nintendo DS or 3DS is the best way to replay the games you grew up on. Only the battery dies, and it’s replaceable.
Small, boring, useful things
The unglamorous stuff that helps the most:
- 10,000 mAh power bank. Once your phone is three years old, it no longer lasts the day.
- Wireless lavalier mic (Rode Wireless GO, DJI Mic) if you go live, play guitar or make a podcast.
- E-reader (Kobo) if you read more than two books a year.
- Case, screen protector and a spare USB-C cable in your bag.
What isn’t worth it
1. White-label watches. The twenty-five-dollar ones with a huge screen and “calls.” Only buy brands that keep updating their app: Xiaomi, Amazfit, Garmin, Samsung and Apple. The rest abandon it, and the watch becomes junk.
2. Twenty-dollar “better sounding” earbuds. The best-selling accessory and the most useless one. The earbuds that ship with your phone already sound fine.
3. Selfie sticks. Your phone has had that built in for years. They take up half a bag and never get used.
4. Social media viral gadgets. The fog humidifier, the LED light tray, the bluetooth candle, the instant camera you never use. They last weeks and take up space. If you want something because you saw it in a thirty-second video, don’t buy it.
How to shop without getting burned
Secondhand before new. Facebook Marketplace and eBay are full of earbuds, consoles, watches and cameras someone bought a year ago and got bored of. The price gap is usually half. On expensive items, pay through the platform so the money stays held until you confirm it works.
Refurbished is not the same as used. It comes with a warranty, has barely been touched, and costs a lot less than new.
Don’t buy on launch day. The first units fail more, and the fixes land two or three weeks later. Wait a couple of months.
The sale trap: they raise the price first, then drop it. The real discount usually lands at fifteen or twenty percent. The best price shows up when the replacement model launches, not during sale week.
And you have thirty days to return it. Most online platforms let you send it back with no reason given. In January you can try it properly and return it if it isn’t for you.
FAQ
Is it worth upgrading earbuds if mine still sound fine?
Only if you wear them many hours a day, fly often, or take public transit a lot. Noise cancellation makes a real difference where there’s constant background noise. If your current pair works and doesn’t bother you, swapping is throwing money away.
Will a smartwatch drain my phone’s battery?
A smartwatch typically eats thirty minutes to an hour of your phone’s battery a day, and much of that is the constant connection to your phone. You’ll notice it most with large displays. If you’re scraping by, an Amazfit lasts much longer between charges.
Is buying a high-end phone secondhand a good idea?
Yes, if it’s between twelve and eighteen months old. By then the price has come down and the battery isn’t worn out. Skip anything over two years old if the battery is the failing part, and test the screen, charging and camera before you pay.
Are sales the best time to buy tech?
Not necessarily. They’re heavily advertised and the real discount is modest. The best price almost always shows up when the next model gets announced, or secondhand a few days before the new one launches. Take your time.
And you: what’s something you bought that’s still in your hand every day, even the cheapest option? Tell us in the comments, more useful than any list.