Like it or not, 2020 has made the home office a bigger concern than ever. And so is what you put on your desk. Here are some of the best gadgets to come out this gear that you should consider giving a little bit of that precious real estate.
Samsung Smart Monitor M7
It can be hard to justify having both a nice, big TV and a nice, big monitor -- espeically if you have a small living space. That's why Samsung's Smart Monitor M7 combines the two, offering smart TV functionality in a monitor form factor.
Price: $230+
Nomad Base Station Charger
With the Base Station Pro, Nomad has accomplished something few brands dare to dream of: succeeding where Apple failed. This hefty leather-and-metal wireless charger is more than a pretty face, it's the futuristic, frictionless wireless-charging future Apple's ill-fated AirPower never delivered. Able to charge three devices placed any which way across its entire surface, the Base Station Pro builds on the well-established charging technology in a way that could scale to entire desk and table surfaces. For now, the single pad is magical in its own right — if you can afford it.
Price: $200
Mac Mini
The new Mac Mini looks very similar to the one that Apple has been selling for the last two years. It has two USB-C ports and two USB-A ports, along with a headphone jack and an ethernet port. Apple claims that it's able to support two external monitors or Apple's fancy (and huge) Pro Display XDR. You can purchase it with 8GB of memory and 256GB of SSD or 8GB of memory with a 512GB SSD. The more hearty configuration costs an extra $200.
Price: $699+
Orbitkey Desk Mat
Like it or not, 2020 was the year of the home office, and a good desk mat is an important part of any setup. The Orbitkey Desk Mat not only protects your surface, but helps to organize your cables and provides storage space for a few important documents as well.
Price: $65+
Grovemade Wood iPad Stand
An iPad stand is a great way to add screen real-estate to your work from home setup -- and even an extra monitor if you're using Apple's Sidecar functionality. And there's no nicer stand that Grovemade's wooden one. Yes, it's a little pricey, but it's built to last.
Price: $80
Schiit Magnius
Built in California, like all of Schiit's offerings, the Magnius is a terrific all-purpose headphone amp that can bring the best out of a nice pair of headphones for a price that's much more affordable than comparable alternatives.
Price: $199
Logitech Ergo M575 Trackball
If you're looking to save some space on your desk, look no further than the Logitech Ergo M575 Trackball. With a tiny footprint and thumb-ball design that limits the need to move your wrist, it can fit into half the space your mouse requires. It'll take a little getting used to, but it's worth it.
Price: $50
Mophie UV Sanitizer with Wireless Charging
The Mophie UV sanitizer ($80) uses UV-C technology to kill 99.99% of germs and harmful bacteria that are on your smartphone and also has an integrated 10-watt wireless charging pad. It can't simultaneously clean and wirelessly charge your smartphone as the wireless charging pad is located on top of the UV sanitizer and not on the inside. But it'll still be doing double duty for the deskspace it requires.
Price: $80
