For better or worse, most of our lives are ruled by technology. New devices are constantly making our lives easier, more efficient, and more entertaining. Today though, we’re not examining the season’s must-have supertech, we’re giving you a list of more obscure pieces of technology that you may never have even considered buying. Why? Because our community of tech lovers told us that these were the pieces of technology that changed their lives for the better: real product recommendations from real people who explain the real benefits of owning them. So if you’re in the mood to treat yourself, forget the instagram ads for automatic onion dicers, and read on!

Noise-cancelling earbuds: for those averse to loud noises

‘Earbuds, that’s not such a random piece of tech?’ we hear you, but what makes the Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro 2 stand out according to Horror and Cats isn’t their audio quality, comfort, or compactness, it’s their sound-cancellation quality. Or, more specifically, their yelp-cancellation quality.

“Whenever my puppy gets excited, she lets out an extremely high-pitched bark. If we’re in the closed confines of a car, it blows my ears out. So whenever I’m in the car, I use the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 because they cancel out loud noises. It’s a bit like having decibel cutoff ear-protection headphones at a gun range, which stop loud, sharp noises without blocking out all the other sounds going on around you. They’ve been a real life eardrum saver.”   

As a BBC-style act of brand impartiality, we should note that other noise-cancelling earbuds are available too, like the AirPods recommended by Dean as well as MargotCandy. Alternatively, you can choose to block it all out with full over-ear noise-cancelling headphones like the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2e recommended by Kane Carnifex. 

Below is Samsung's promotional video for Horror and Cats earbuds of choice. Note that Just About believes in product reviews that you can trust and isn't engaged in any affiliate schemes or partnerships with any products or brands mentioned in this article:

An MMO mouse: for gamers who always need more buttons

If you’re into MMORPGs and other PC games in which you can never have enough buttons, an MMO mouse will be your new best friend. It’s like having an additional mini keyboard on the side of your mouse. After a little customisation, you’ll never have to choose between hotbarring your health potions and firebolts again. Our resident Final Fantasy XIV superfan Lanah Tyra has learned just how useful those extra buttons can be: 

“I never thought I’d need one until I got one, and now I’d never go back! As someone with small hands, if I have to use WASD for moving, there’s only a limited number of keys I can reach on my keyboard. For a game like FFXIV, it’s never quite enough. It’s not just the 12 extra buttons; I map the mouse wheel tilt to CTRL and ALT to give myself even more options. It’s probably the best gaming tech purchase I’ve made.”

Paul adds: “I love them! They’re useful for lots of other games too!”

PC foot pedals: for an edge in gaming and streaming  

So you still need more buttons? As any drummer knows, no matter how fast your hands work, you’ll have to use your feet too if you don’t want to miss a beat. Using PC foot pedals for work, streaming, or gaming becomes intuitive more quickly than you’d think. Damien Mason found out as much and quickly upgraded to a high-quality pair: 

“Throughout 2022 and 2023, I became obsessed with foot pedals and their ability to expand what we do in games. Why use an MMO mouse with a cluster of easily fumbled buttons when you could use a limb that would otherwise sit there useless?

“I started with a cheaper Lemo 1640835 from Amazon before upgrading to an Elgato Stream Deck Pedal (pictured below), and now use two MSI Liberators linked together. Only the Liberators have good latency, so the others aren’t the best for quick in-game actions. They are all, however, brilliant as a push-to-talk option in Discord, keeping comms clean without distracting your hands in the middle of a firefight.”

You can consider Makster converted, “I never knew these were a thing, but now that you suggest them, that’s awesome. I remember playing Counter Strike: Source in the ‘00s and having to press ‘Q’ for voice and not being able to strafe left because of it!”

If you want to try a pair without breaking the bank, Damien recommends starting with the Lemos: “the software looks like it’s been made by a basement-dwelling 16 year old, but they do the job.”

Bone conduction headphones: for listening while listening out

Makster also has a random tech recommendation of his own: bone conduction headphones. ‘Why listen to music through your ears when you can listen to it through your skull?’ said no one. And yet bone conduction headphones actually offer some considerable advantages. Chiefly, they’re much safer, because unlike traditional earphones and headphones, your ears are free to listen out for dangers.  

“While you tend to lose out a bit on audio quality, bone conduction headphones are amazing when it comes to environmental awareness while listening to music. I love my earbuds if I’m walking around, but they don’t have an ambient option. If I’m biking or skating around a park or town, bone conduction headphones are far superior.”

Horror and Cats agrees, “Aftershokz are awesome for safety in public spaces. When I lived in a city and walked my dog afterdark, I’d still want to listen to music, but I definitely felt safer not having anything in my ears.”

A backlit e-reader: for reading in the dark

Be it dead of night or once-a-century solar eclipse, good books demand to be read when they demand to be read, and who are we mere mortals to stand in their way? As Stella explains, turning on a lamp isn’t always an option, but a backlit Kindle is:

“It helps so much if you’re sharing a room with someone or you’re on a plane. Plus, the backlight isn’t as bright as a phone screen and doesn’t disturb my sleep.” 

Of course, Kindles aren’t for everyone. If you have a strong view on them - or you want to read others’ compelling arguments for and against them - check out this thread weighing their merits against books and audiobooks.

A multicooker: for the ‘rushed’ chef 

Whether you want to cook a roast dinner or mystery meat-wrapped Nukalurk, you can up your kitchen game and easily transform yourself into a culinary god with a multicooker. Are we exaggerating slightly? Probably. But it worked for Sturmer: 

“As someone who often seeks the fastest cooking route due to a busy - or admittedly sometimes lazy - lifestyle, my dishes used to be quite basic. However, with the arrival of the multicooker in my kitchen, my culinary skills have transformed. I now find myself creating more complex and delightful dishes, seemingly with the finesse of a Michelin-grade chef. The beauty of it lies in achieving these more elaborate meals without exerting much effort.”

Milk frothers: for the stay-at-home cappuccino lover 

No matter the shininess of your cafetiere, the promised notes of vanilla grapefruit in your gourmet beans, or the Hattori Hanzō sharpened blades of your grinder, it’s hard to beat that first sip of coffee-shop froth on an autumn morning. Sure, you can get an at-home coffee machine with a milk spout, but they’re cumbersome, a pain to clean, and liable to make a mess. Emilia has the solution: 

“At-home milk frothers have changed my life completely. I’m not even joking. You don’t need to leave the house to get a coffee when you can use this silly little machine to do it yourself and make a perfect frothy coffee. It’ll change your coffee game forever. I’m saving to buy one for my uni house; coffee is so expensive so I’m treating it as an investment.”

A throwback gaming controller: for old-school gamers in the modern era

The convenience of gaming in 2024 combined with the nostalgic appeal of the golden years? Count us in. There are plenty of similar controllers covering everyone’s cup of retro tea, but Paul has nominated his tried and tested 8BitDo SNES controller; this is why: 

“On top of being a cool-looking retro controller, I can easily connect it to my phone, PC, and Switch. It’s lightweight and easy to carry, so it’s practical too. As well as the face buttons, it has R1, R2, L1, and L2, so I can play nearly all games with it.” 

A portable power bank: for the tech enthusiast on the go

One problem with all these great gizmos and gadgets is that they all require power; more specifically, they all require their owners to remember to insert said power into them before leaving their homes. Enter the power bank: favoured friend of the forgetful, the frequent flyer, and the festival goer. Here’s EveOnlineTutorials's nomination, as displayed by his glamorous assistant, Master Chief: 

“I carry around my iPhone, Apple Watch, and my Kindle. Charging them always used to be a pain in the *ss. So I bought this mobile power bank, which can charge multiple devices without dying. I used it for around a year-and-a-half, and the only reason I’ve stopped is because I’ve upgraded to its big brother.”

As for those big brothers and sisters? Sturmer has seen some giants: “There are power banks on Kickstarter with 100W in and out, meaning you can pump the whole pack for about ten minutes then get that juice straight into your devices.” 

While we’re on the topic of power, James speaks of the wonders of wireless chargers. We didn’t think it quite merited its own entry, but if you’re fed up with wires all over your home, they’re a sleek solution.

A smart thermostat: for home-heating heroics 

Smart thermostats not only grant more control of your homes but their adaptive learning will allow you to make efficiency savings on your energy bills. They can be controlled remotely too, meaning you’ll never have that sinking ‘have we left the heating on?’ panic as you fly off on your winter holidays. Josh B describes them as a “game changer”: 

“We were stuck on an old-school manual thermostat in our last house, which was a pain compared to our new smart system. It learns our heating patterns, and it’s a godsend when we go away and forget to take the heating off the timer. Now all we need is our phone, and with the press of a button, we can switch it to ‘away mode’ until we return. It saves on energy bills and makes life so much more convenient. You can even link it to Alexa and simply ask her to turn the heating on or off.” 

360-degree cameras: for moments you can get lost in

The days of sitting around begrudgingly looking through your aunt’s Marbella holiday snaps on a poorly made PowerPoint presentation are thankfully behind us. The snazzy, high-tech replacement comes in the form of 360-degree recordings, which create immersive experiences with the ability to transport the viewer while still in the comfort of their homes. As Asim notes, that transportation goes beyond just places, but back to cherished moments in time: 

“Have you ever wanted to relive a memory? Have you ever thought about an old birthday party or holiday you loved and wished you could revisit it? You can. The future is now, people! My Insta360 camera has changed my life. I initially wanted to buy it a couple of years ago to record a video of my grandad before he passes, but kept putting it off because of the price. In the end, I took the plunge after my wedding video was bulldozed, and got the video with my grandad two weeks ago on his 80th birthday!

“It’s a small camera - about the size of an iPhone - that records in 360 degrees. Hence the name. It allows the viewer to choose where they want to look, either through a VR headset or by swiping at the corners of the screens on other devices. I bought a selfie stick for it, and I’ve started recording holidays, birthday parties, and other generally cool moments.

“When I upload the videos to YouTube, I rewatch and re-experience the moment in virtual reality. It’s like reliving a memory whenever and wherever I want. It’s honestly surreal, similar to how the characters experience others’ memories with the Pensieve in Harry Potter. The absolute craziest thing is that anyone in the world can watch it on their VR headsets. Which basically means, you can relive other people’s memories too! What a crazy world we live in.” 

If you’re converted to the 360 camera format, we’ve got you covered for editing software in our best free and paid video editing software breakdown. 

What random or obscure pieces of tech have changed your life for the better? Let us know in the comments! Some text has been amended for brevity, you can find the original wording at the bounty post. Image credit, in order:  Onur Binay, Ady TeenagerInRO, Razer, Elgato, Aftershokz, felipepelaquim, Tefal, Lavazza, 8bido, EveOnlineTutorials, geralt, bobyhart.