Updated on November 28, 2024
Students younger and older have specific needs. They want tech to assist in their education as well as entertain during downtime. We have curated this list of tech gifts for students of all ages, and you’ll find additional suggestions in our Holiday Gift Guide for Teens and Tweens.
Nextbase Piqo 2K Dashcam
Help keep students safe on the road, especially ones who just got their driver’s license, with a dashcam like the Nextbase Piqo 2K. Available for $180, it’s so small, it’s easy to forget it isn’t there and it isn’t as noticeable to other drivers. It click mounts in place and you can access footage from the app. All footage is captured in 1,080p or 1,440p and it includes safety emergency SOS features as well, able to detect a crash. You can choose to lock certain videos in a protected file to ensure that incidents captured are never lost. It captures an up to 145° view and has a night vision mode as well. The solo plan that includes features like smart parking, voice control, and 30 days of cloud storage is free, or you can upgrade them with a Protect plan for $5/mo. to extend storage to 180 days, add emergency SOS, and an additional two-year warranty. It supports a memory card up to 256GB in size, and you’ll have to buy it separately.
Bose QuietComfort Earbuds
You’re probably familiar with Bose QuietComfort over-ear headphones. There are QuietComfort Earbuds, too! These new buds, launched this Fall, include Bose’s fabulous noise cancellation with Aware mode along with customizable tap controls and seamless voice commands to take calls. Get three mics in each bud that work together for noise cancellation and voice pick-up. They meet an IPX4 rating for water resistance and come with three eartips option to ensure a snug and secure fit. Boasting advanced Bluetooth 5.3, they have touch controls so you can tap the buds to skip songs, adjust volume, pause/play, adjust noise cancellation, and more. You can also control them using the Bose QC Earbuds app, which you can also use to customize the touch controls for single, double, and triple tap as well as press and hold actions. Use the five-band EQ settings in the app to adjust playback to your liking as well. There’s even a cool remote selfie feature students will love, as you can use the buds as a camera trigger for your connected phone. They afford up to 8.5 hours of playtime per charge with the include charging case offering 2.5 more charges. Charge for 20 minutes to get another three hours. Available in Black, White Smoke, or Chilled Lilac, they sell for $219.
PNY Attaché X Flash Drive
A great way for students to back up important files like study notes or reports in progress is via a flash drive. Even with the cloud, this provides a physical back-up they can keep off site or in a secure spot. The PNY Attaché X flash drive affords up to 130MB/s read and up to 10 times faster transfer speeds than USB 2.0. A USB 3.2 drive, it allows for easily storing and quickly transferring all your large documents, high-resolution photos, HD videos, and more. It has a sleek capless design and comes in capacities from 32GB to 512GB. The Type-A connector and USB 3.2 Gen 1 interface allow for greater compatibility with most USB 3.2 Gen 1/USB 3.0 laptop and desktop computers and is backwards compatible with USB 2.0. They sell for US$22 for a five-pack of 32GB drives, US$28 (five-pack 64GB), US$28 (three-pack 128GB), US$20 (256GB), and US$35 (512GB).
Marshall Monitor III ANC Wireless Headphones
Help them throwback to the ‘90s grunge era with the Marshall Monitor III ANC wireless headphones, which are launching in partnership with Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong. The spatial audio headphones feature 70 hours of active noise-cancelling playtime and 100 hours without. They are tuned for “thunderous bass” and “screaming highs,” music to a young student’s ears. They also feature Marshall’s Soundstage spatial audio technology that includes a new Adaptive Loudness feature that adjusts the sound based on your environment. Employing a premium lightweight and foldable design, the hard case comes with red velvet inside resembling a guitar case, a nod to Marshall’s rich musical heritage and the famous frontman that has joined in this launch. A customisable M-button can be used for navigating EQ settings, Spotify and voice assistants. The microphones dramatically reduce wind noise so you can enjoy the ANC experience and crystal-clear call quality without that common annoying whistle. Monitor III A.N.C. are available in Canada exclusively from Erikson Consumer for $499.98.
Apple Mac mini M4
The Apple Mac mini M4 includes all the latest Apple Intelligence features that students will love to leverage for their studies. Powered by the M4 chip, and redesigned around Apple silicon to pack powerful performance into a 5 by 5-inch chassis, which is less than half the size of the previous generation version. With M4, Mac mini delivers up to 1.8 times faster CPU performance and 2.2 times faster GPU performance over the M1 model. M4 Pro takes the advanced technologies in M4 and scales them up to tackle even more demanding workloads. There are ports on the front and back for easy access and versatile connectivity, and it comes standard with Gigabit Ethernet, configurable up to 10Gb Ethernet for faster networking speeds, along with an HDMI port for easy connection to a TV or HDMI display without an adapter. Along with being built for Apple Intelligence, kids will appreciate that Mac mini is Apple’s first carbon neutral Mac with an over 80% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions across its materials, manufacturing, transportation, and customer use. It starts at just $799.
Life360 Tile Bluetooth Tracker
Life360 acquired Tile back in 2021 and recently launched new versions of the popular Tile Bluetooth trackers. They boast longer range, louder rings, better designs, and Life360 app integration. With the free Life360 SOS service, students can press it three times in rapid succession if they feel unsafe to alert family members, friends, or caregivers. Use the app to locate and ring a Tiled item or ring a connected cell phone to help find either. Options include the Tile Pro (U$35) that comes with a built-in keyring, ideal for valuable items like a camera, purse, or keys; Tile Mate (US$25) that has a non-replaceable battery and is great for keys, school backpacks, and purses; Tile Slim (US$30) credit card-style device with a non-replaceable battery for wallets and luggage; and the Tile Sticker (US$25) that adheres to items through adhesive, like the underside of a bicycle seat, skateboard, TV remote, or eyeglasses case. They won’t lose, misplace, or forget an item again!
ArmorSiren Portable Alarm Security System (PASS)
Use the ArmorSiren portable alarm security system (PASS) for personal belongings, in a dorm, even in a locker. It instantly triggers a loud 120dB siren (volume is adjustable) when movement of the device is detected thanks to proprietary, patent-pending movement sensing technology. It does this through an algorithm that interprets data from acceleration, tilting, shaking, and other motions. Attach it to a door or window to detect intrusion attempts or place ArmorSiren in a purse, bag, or luggage. It can attach to metal surfaces through a strong magnet on the back of its case and comes with a lanyard for attaching to door handles, backpacks, and other items. There are other mounting options available as well. You can adjust the sensitivity of the alarm as well to help minimize false alarms. Powered by a rechargeable lithium battery, it recharges via USB-C. One charge can last for over four weeks, depending on usage and alarm events. It connects via Bluetooth to the ArmorSiren app on iPhone with a range of up to 80 feet. Use the app to customize settings and preferences, receive instant text notifications when there’s an alarm trigger, set and manage security PIN codes, and more. US$200
UGreen 10,000mAh Magnetic Power Bank
I reviewed this magnetic power bank earlier this year and while it might not charge a newer phone as quickly as you like, it has its benefits. First, it connects to a MagSafe iPhone via strong magnets so you don’t need to worry about bringing along charging cables, or even using an integrated one. It has some heft to it but it’s still a convenient way to ensure back-up charging when you need it. This is great for students who might need to recharge their phone during class before taking the bus home. Selling for US$50, it also has a USB-C port for recharging a second device, like a pair of headphones or earbuds for the walk home. It’s a perfect stocking stuffer for the student who has their own iPhone.
Samsung Galaxy Watch FE
For an affordable smartwatch kids can use to keep on top of notifications, deadline, class schedules, messages, and their activity right from their wrist, the Samsung Galaxy Watch FE is a good option. It comes in a 40mm size and in black, pink gold, or silver with new watch bands that have blue and orange stitching. The watch is durable, protected against scratches during day-to-day use. Equipped with Samsung’s advanced BioActive Sensor, there are a variety of advanced sleep features as well, including monitoring sleep patterns and sleep coaching. There are also heart health monitoring features, including blood pressure monitoring and ECG (be mindful of using these for kids under the age of 18). Track more than 100 different workouts and see progress right from your wrist. As with every Galaxy Watch series, the FE offers seamless connected experiences between Samsung Galaxy devices. Galaxy Watch FE supports Samsung Wallet, meaning you can pay for purchases as well as access identification cards such as driver’s license or student ID on the smartwatch. It’s just $280.
Sennheiser Accentum True Wireless Earbuds
The Sennheiser Accentum True Wireless earbuds have proprietary 7mm dynamic True Response Transducers that reproduce “powerful and engaging bass, natural mids, and crisp treble–handling,” says Sennheiser. Developed in collaboration with hearing aid manufacturer Sonova, these earbuds come with four sizes of ear tips to ensure a great seal for impactful low-frequency response and effective hybrid noise cancellation. When combined with the discreet beamforming mic array, the ANC reduces droning low-frequency distractions like airplane cabin noise, humming appliances, nearby traffic, and bustling coffee shops or student centres. Listen to ambient surroundings on-demand via tap gestures or the free Sennheiser Smart Control app.
With the app, select the amount of transparency while further tailoring sound using the five-band equalizer. There are user-definable touch controls for managing media, phone calls, and voice assistants. Battery life is up to eight hours per charge and 28 hours total with the case, with quick charging giving you an extra hour after 10 minutes. The earbuds support both USB-C wired charging and Qi wireless charging available in the compact case. A USB-A to type C cable is included and they sell for US$200.
Skyworth P100 Portable TV
Great for filming drone videos in the park, watching in their room, or for a dorm, the Skyworth P100 portable TV, which John Thomson reviewed earlier this year, is the perfect mini TV that moves with you. It is battery operated with a decent-sized 24-inch screen with Google’s smart TV platform built in. It’s great for that second screen experience as well, John found, whereby students can still hang out with siblings or roommates in the same room while one person watches what they want on the Skyworth TV (one person wearing headphones, of course – it has a 3.5mm headphone port) and the other studies or engages in another activity. The TV costs a cool $500.
Samsung Galaxy S24 Smartphone
Opt for the entry-level yet still premium model in the new line of Samsung phones with the Galaxy S24. Students can make full use of the AI features like Live Translate, Chat Assist, Transcript Assist, and Note Assist in the Samsung Notes app. Use Circle to Search to instantly get more information about items in photos or videos and enjoy taking great photos with the cameras. There are lots of cool photo editing features as well, all leveraging AI, like Edit Suggestion, Generative Edit, and more. It’s durable, sleek, and will make any Android user student happy. It comes in Onyx Black, Marble Gray, Cobalt Violet, and Amber Yellow, as well as Jade Green, Sapphire Blue, and Sandstone Orange exclusively from Samsung, for $1,100 (128GB) and $1,180 (256GB).
Targus’ 16-inch Transit Rolling Laptop Case
Students who have to lug around a lot of materials, like those studying in a lab or who travel often, will appreciate the Targus 16-inch Transit 4-Wheel Rolling Laptop Case. The durable and lightweight four-wheel roller provides ample space for bringing along your laptop and other essentials while keeping all your gear sufficiently protected. It’s easy to maneuver thanks to the smooth, four-wheel rolling design. It features a large main compartment for garments, files, or books and a secondary compartment with a padded sleeve to store and protect a 15-16” laptop. It has other travel-friendly features, as well, like a top quick-access pocket for small essentials, front pocket with organization panel, and hideaway telescopic handle that stores neatly away. Get it for $150.
Kanto Audio ORA4 Desktop Speakers
Perfect for the student’s desk at home or in the dorm, the Kanto Audio ORA4 desktop speakers, coming to Canada in mid-November through Gemsen, build on the success of the ORA desktop speakers, which we reviewed last year. They push bass extension to deeper levels, says Kanto, while “maintaining the same, great, reference-quality sound.” Available in matte black and matte white and sold in pairs for $500, the Kanto Audio ORA4 features Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity, analogue line-in, and a USB-C input that supports audio up to 24-bit/96kHz. The USB Type-C port allows you to connect a host of audio sources, including the latest iPhone and Android devices, digital audio players, PC, Mac, and more. As a powerful desktop speaker, these speakers are ideal for listening to music, gaming, or for use as a home or remote recording studio monitor. They feature separate Class D amplifiers for the woofers/tweeters, delivering a dynamic audio presentation with a smooth, accurate frequency response, says the company. There’s a subwoofer output with a built-in automatic crossover at 80 Hz that high-passes the speakers and low-passes the sub-out, enabling seamless integration with a powered subwoofer, like the Kanto Audio SUB8. Gaming or background tunes while getting homework done never sounded so good.
HP Envy 6555e All-in-One Printer
Even though students are submitting assignments online nowadays, there’s still a need for printing, whether it’s to review their work, make copies for a study group, or impress the teacher with a hard copy as well. The HP Envy 6555e all-in-one printer comes with high-tech features students will appreciate, including a 2.4-inch colour touchscreen with touch-to-screen technology. Able to print double sides and borderless as well, including photos, it uses HP’s sustainable EvoMore ink cartridges, which allows you to print twice as much with a lower carbon footprint. Students who are particularly concerned about the environment will appreciate this, along with HP’s partnership with Arbor Day Foundation to plant five trees when you purchase and register your first EvoMore original ink cartridge. Once done with the cartridge, return it in the mail-back envelope or drop it off at a collection site for responsible recycling. The best part? It’s only $210.
Amazon Prime Subscription
It’s no secret that just about everyone shops through Amazon Prime every now and then, whether it’s for items they can’t find anywhere else, during big sales days, or for something they need quickly and don’t have time to take a trip out to get. A student, especially in college or university, will appreciate a subscription they can use to order without paying for delivery or waiting days for the item to arrive. Amazon Prime offers a special student subscription option for a discounted rate so they can get printer ink cartridge replacements or other items they need now and can’t find at the campus book store. It’s just $4.99/mo. or 50% for students and they get a six-month free trial. A subscription includes free two-day delivery, exclusive offers, and access to Twitch Prime gaming as well as Amazon Prime Video content. You’ll just need their student credentials to sign them up, or get them a gift card they can use towards it.