Top 10 Superior Tech Products You’ll Never Go Back From

Some upgrades are subjective — like moving from pen and paper to a digital note-taker. Other upgrades, however, change the way you use technology, and make it impossible to go back to the inferior choice. Here are 10 of those things.



Title photo remixed from Oleksiy Mark (Shuterstock), dencg (Shutterstock) and Marcio Jose Bastos Silva (Shutterstock)

The main idea of this list is to find options that are objectively better than their lower-quality counterparts — the kinds of choices the vast majority of people would not give up afterwards. That means most of these products tend to be more expensive, but we’ve added recommendations for the budget-conscious where we can, in case you want to get a big upgrade for a small price.

10. A Quality Pair Of Headphones

High-end headphones are something you don’t think you need until you’ve been spoiled by them (warning: ignorance is bliss). Not only are you likely to find headphones that are more comfortable and last longer, but the sound will just be unlike anything you’ve heard before — and you’ll never be able to go back to those cheap Apple earbuds (or Beats). Photo by Hiroyuki Takeda

9. A Mechanical Keyboard

Membrane keyboards are fine, but mechanical keyboards — like the keyboards of yore — are still kings in terms of durability, feel, and usability (not to mention ergonomics). You’ll still be able to use membrane keyboards after trying a mechanical . . . but you won’t want to. Check out our guide to how they work and our list of the five best to find one that’s right for you.

8. Better Third-Party Apps

Some “default” apps will never be overthrown, but in a lot of cases, you’ll get more features and nicer design with a good third-party app. We’ve made a huge list of the best third-party apps here.

7. A Solid-State Drive

A solid-state drive (or SSD) is essentially a hard drive that is much faster than traditional spinning platter drives. It is the best upgrade you can make to your computer. Seriously. Check out our complete guide to SSDs for everything you need to know about using one. If you’re on a tight budget: SSDs are significantly more expensive than their hard drive counterparts. You could buy a budget-focused SSD (which may not be quite as fast as the fastest, but still good), or you could get a small SSD that holds just your operating system and apps — while keeping your other data on a traditional hard drive. You’ll spend a lot less, and reap most of the benefits.

6. Voice Control

Unlike the other items on this list, you probably already have this one: you just might not be using it to its full potential. Not everything is better with voice, but complicated tasks like setting reminders, converting units, and even performing simple searches are much, much faster with Google Now (or Siri). And if you have a complicated task Google doesn’t support, you can create your own custom command. Once you get used to talking to your phone, you’ll realise how awesome it is — and never make reminders the old way again.

5. A Quality Bag

A bag may not be “technology” in the strictest sense, but it can make lugging your gadgets around a heck of a lot easier, so we’ll cheat a bit with this one. Bags are one area in which you definitely get what you pay for: a truly quality bag will not only come with convenient features but will also last you a lifetime.

4. USB 3.0

Because it’s really, really fast. It’s 10 times faster than USB 2.0. Once you’ve used it for some of those bigger file transfers, USB 2.0 will just feel like molasses.

3. A DSLR Or MILC Camera

The best camera is the one you have with you — but the second best camera is a real, quality DSLR. You’ll be shocked at how much better your pictures are, even without manual controls — and if you know what you’re doing, there’s no picture you can’t snap. After using one, going back to a point-and-shoot will feel like using the camera on your old Motorola RAZR. Alternatively, you can get a smaller, cheaper, but still really great mirrorless interchangeable lens camera. If you’re on a tight budget: The mirrorless cameras are significantly cheaper than DSLRs, but are still substantially better than point-and-shoots. However, they’re still fairly costly, so if you’re on a real budget, you can at least make the best of your point-and-shoot with custom firmware.

2. Inexpensive Cables

OK, so you probably know about this one, and it’s sort of the opposite of the rest of this list: instead of paying more for higher quality, you can pay less for exactly the same. Overpriced cables at Harvey Norman are a waste of your money — head to eBay and save a fortune.

1. A Desktop PC

Now, I know this may be a controversial selection, but hear me out: Desktop PCs do almost everything better than laptops, except travel. A mouse is better than a trackpad, a real keyboard is better than a condensed chiclet keyboard, you can get more powerful parts, use bigger monitors, and benefit from better ergonomics — all at a lower price. So if you have the room in your house, it’s well worth the investment, and hard to give up once you’ve gotten used to it.