Best Budget Tech Gadgets: 4 Picks That Are Actually Worth It

The budget earbuds that embarrassed the "cheap earbuds" category: real ANC, LDAC, and a 42-hour total battery.

Best for: Android users and anyone who wants very good earbuds at less than half the price of the flagship.

• 12mm dynamic drivers; LDAC support; up to 45dB active noise cancellation
• Up to 10 hours per charge, 42 hours with the case
• IP54 dust and water resistance; Bluetooth 6.0 with multipoint

What you give up: weaker noise cancellation; no Apple ecosystem features (no live translation, no hearing-aid mode); no wireless charging; and a bass-heavy default tuning you'll want to fix in the EQ app.

It reads the same books, from the same library, with the same battery-life superpower. The screen is where the $50 goes.

Best for: Casual readers who read indoors and want the cheapest way into the Kindle library.

• 6-inch 300ppi glare-free display with front light
• 16GB storage; USB-C charging
• Up to 6 weeks of battery per charge

What you give up: a smaller 6-inch screen; no adjustable warm light for night reading; no waterproofing; and a shorter quoted battery life.

A genuinely pleasant little keyboard for the price of a takeout dinner — and it jumps between three devices like its big brother.

Best for: Tablet and laptop users who want a cheap, portable second keyboard.

• Compact multi-device Bluetooth keyboard (three devices, Easy-Switch)
• Low-profile round keys; works with Windows, macOS, iOS, Android
• 2-year battery life from two AAA batteries

What you give up: no numpad; no backlighting at all; smaller round keys with a very different typing feel; and AAA batteries instead of a USB-C rechargeable battery.

All of Alexa in a sphere the size of a grapefruit — perfect for anywhere you need a voice assistant more than a music speaker.

Best for: Bedrooms, kitchens, and offices where you mostly need Alexa, not music.

• Compact spherical design with improved audio over the 4th-gen Dot
• Temperature sensor; doubles as an Eero Wi-Fi extender
• Full Alexa voice control; mic-off button

What you give up: a much smaller driver — noticeably less bass and room-filling sound; no Zigbee smart-home hub; and it's not a satisfying primary music speaker.