The Ars Technica ultimate buying guide for your home office setup

Working and schooling from home are part of the new normal. Putting together a home office setup that's pleasant, comfortable, and productive can be tough and time consuming, but lucky for you, we’ve been working from home for years here at Ars.

We're here to tell you remote work doesn't have to feel so remote.

Naturally, as discerning tech connoisseurs, we have some well-curated picks for all the gadgets and furniture you need to make your home office setup cozy and productive. We also threw in a few nice-to-have upgrades for your workspace if you've already got the basics down.

A monitor (or two) goes a long way

Dell UltraSharp 49 U4919DW, Dell UltraSharp 34 U3419W

The UltraSharp 49 is Dell’s big boy monitor and the UltraSharp 34 is its similarly expansive little brother. They measure in at a wide-but-not-overbearing 49 and 34 inches, respectively, measured diagonally. The 49 maxes out at a 5,120 x 1,440 resolution with a 60Hz refresh rate, while the 34 does 3440 x 1440 also at 60Hz.

As you may have noticed, the 49-inch has a 32:9 aspect ratio that makes it wide and narrow, essentially forming two 27-inch QHD (2560 x 1440) displays joined seamlessly into one. In fact, in addition to using this ultrawide as a single, seamless “dual” monitor for one computer, you can use Dell’s Picture-by-Picture feature to split the monitor in half and display two separate computers side-by-side. You can even swap your mouse and keyboard between them via Dell’s built-in KVM function and use hotkeys to trigger the swap on Windows machines.

The 34-inch has this same functionality in its 21:9 aspect ratio, but using two computers on one 49-inch screen is significantly less cramped than on a 34, though this function is quite usable on either display. Both monitors have two HDMI ports, one DisplayPort, at least four USB 3.0 downstream ports (the 49-inch has five), two USB 3.0 upstreams, and USB-C with power delivery to charge your device.

As far as picture quality goes, you won’t be left wanting for your work needs. Colors look plenty accurate and details are crisp. You also have a ton of range to tweak this monitor’s colors for different times of day (or night) or various applications. This flexibility and the simple, intuitive menu and shortcut options make the UltraSharp 49 and 34 easy to live in for long workdays.

They can do for gaming too, though 60Hz is the refresh rate cap in all resolutions, which might not cut it for hardcore players.

If you’re a MacBook user, it seems you’ll have to use a notebook with a non-Intel discrete GPU to properly configure the 49’s resolution to its 5,120 x 1,440 max. Otherwise, you’re stuck at 3,840 x 1,080 which fudges the sharpness a bit, though it’s still entirely usable and easy to get used to. Neither the HP Spectre Elite x360 nor the Dell XPS 13 I tested had these issues, displaying perfectly crisp, full-resolution imagery without any fuss.

Furthermore, with Windows PCs, you can also use Dell’s software to tweak certain things, like setting up hotkeys for the KVM and ensuring that all your open windows arrange just as you had them each time you plug and unplug your computer. While the former function is Windows exclusive, the monitor seemed to remember window arrangements just fine on my Mac without Dell’s Display Manager software.

Still, even with the slightly diminished resolution displayed from my 13-inch MacBook Pro, the extremely usable size of these monitors is a beautiful aid to productivity, while their controls and flexibility are so intuitive and quick that it’s hard for me to imagine going back to a smaller, dual-monitor setup.

Competitors like the Philips Brilliance 499P9H, while also expansive and nice to look at, don’t have the granular controls to adjust this display properly in different lighting scenarios that we so appreciated on the Dells. Furthermore, cable management on this model is poor and the menus are frustratingly unintuitive. It’s been months and I still never click the buttons I intend to, due in part to there being no visual representation on the screen, but the layout does you no favors either.

If you’re in the market for a 49- or 34-inch ultrawide, Dell’s versions won’t let you down.

—Corey Gaskin

The good:

• Ultrawide can do the job of two monitors in one display
• Sharp details with good color representation
• Easily configurable picture for different needs
• Dead-simple menu layout
• KVM functionality and USB-C charging

The bad:

• 60Hz max refresh rate
• 49-inch maxes out at 3840 x 1080 resolution on certain MacBooks

Dell UltraSharp 27 U2720QM, Dell 27 4K UHD Monitor S2721QS

With many of the same features we love from Dell’s 49- and 34-inch curved monitors, the U2720QM offers you all that goodness in a smaller 27-inch flatscreen package. It doesn’t have the “picture-by-picture” mode which allows two separate computer inputs, as the bigger ultrawides do, but at this size that wouldn’t be the greatest experience anyway.

Otherwise you still get similarly intuitive menus, crisp picture quality, and highly customizable color profile, as well as options to display through DisplayPort 1.4, HDMI 2.0, or USB-C with power delivery.

If USB-C capability and charging your device through the monitor aren’t important to you but a PBP mode is, then the latest Dell S2721QS is your next best choice at 27 inches and about $200 less. Thanks to their smaller size, they suit most any desktop area and can also rotate so the screen can be used horizontally on their included stands.

—CG

The good:

• Same solid performance and ease of use as 34- and 49-inch models (see above)

The bad:

• Have to choose between USB-C charging or PBP in different models

Cut the clutter and charge quickly with these USB-C fast chargers and cables

Nekteck 5-Port 111W USB-C Wall Charger, RAVPower RP-PC128, Anker PowerLine II and Nekteck USB-C Cable Series

USB-C is finally the norm among electronic manufacturers—even recent iPhones ship with a USB-C to Lightning cable. Rather than have a bunch of chargers for all your devices clogging up your workspace, it’s best to save that clutter and cable entanglement with an all-in-one desktop charging solution. Of course, in doing so, you don’t want to lose a drop of charging performance.

Nekteck’s 5-Port 111W USB-C Wall Charger is a robust addition here that offers both USB-C and USB-A charging. Its 87W USB-C PD port can charge power-hungry laptops like the latest MacBook Pro or Dell XPS 15 at, or at least close to, maximum speeds, while also topping up most smartphones and tablets at their fastest rates. There are four handy USB-A ports alongside that for charging multiple devices simultaneously, and Nekteck includes a fast-charging USB-C cable in the box. The device is USB-IF certified, too, so you can feel confident that it won’t fry any of your devices. At more than six inches long and about three inches wide, it’s not the smallest desktop charger around, but if you want heavy-duty power at your fingertips, this can supply it.

If you’re all squared away for desktop chargers and would prefer a more mobile wall charger that you can move around the house, consider RAVPower’s RP-PC128. This includes two USB-C PD charging ports that can individually supply up to 90W or split that power when two devices are connected simultaneously. You could charge two lower-power laptops at 45W each, for instance, or have a more powerful device charge at 60W while your phone maxes out at 18W. This charger is not USB-IF certified, but it’s received high feedback around the Web and it comes with an 18-month warranty. It comes paired with a cable, and being a gallium nitride (GaN) charger, it’s nicely compact at 2.5 x 2.5 x 1.2 inches. Best of all, it usually retails for less than $50, making it great value for the performance and versatility it provides.

These are blanket recommendations, but there are plenty other worthwhile fast chargers out there for those who want to spend less time waiting for their devices to refill:

• Nekteck’s 72W 4-Port USB-C Wall Charger is another excellent and USB-IF certified wall charger if you don’t need quite as much power—its USB-C PD port maxes at 60W, which is still enough to refill most mobile devices and many laptops at full speed—and would prefer something smaller and less expensive.
• Aukey’s PA-B3 is a quality dual-port 65W charger if you need a USB-A port. It's another GaN charger, which makes it similarly pocket-sized.
• And if you need more USB-C cables to take advantage of all this power, we can vouch for the durability and safety of Anker’s PowerLine II USB-C to Lightning cables for iOS devices, and Nekteck’s USB-C and Thunderbolt 3 cables for laptops, the Nintendo Switch, and Android devices.

—Jeff Dunn

The good:

• Top charging speeds for iOS and Android devices, Nintendo Switch, and many laptops
• Fast-charging USB-C cable included with each

The bad:

• Nekteck 111W charger isn't the smallest we've used

Detach with a wireless keyboard...

Satechi Compact Backlit Bluetooth Keyboard

When it comes to wireless keyboards, it’s a relatively straightforward formula for success: support a variety of devices, switch between them easily, have a good typing feel, and be backlit. Satechi’s Compact Backlit Bluetooth Keyboard checks all those boxes and does so at a reasonable $80.

Marketed for use with iOS, iPadOS, and macOS devices specifically, we’ve had no trouble using this with Windows and Android devices. Once connected, swapping between up to three devices is as easy as you’d hope; simply hit the dedicated button for one of the three connections, found right above the numpad, and you’re connected in an instant. Arrow keys are squeezed into the main keyboard area, a la the typical MacBook layout, but this didn’t bother us much in our testing.

If you use arrow keys a lot, you might appreciate full layout keyboards like Logitech’s MX Keys wireless keyboard, another option with decent feel, build quality, and backlighting. But it is about $30 more for the luxury of spacious arrow keys. We prefer the Satechi as it strikes a nice balance in size while still offering a numpad and nailing the rest of our asks.

Typing feel on this keyboard is great. It’s springy and responsive, with just enough resistance. It’s a bit more responsive than Apple’s Magic Keyboard, which has a light-yet-satisfying key travel, but still a couple degrees stiffer than what you’d find on a MacBook, with greater key travel. For reference, it's about the level of pressure found on Dell’s XPS 13 laptop, but with a snappier and less mushy feel. Altogether, it’s a satisfying experience that many will likely prefer to a built-in laptop keyboard, or at least come close to it if you're already satisfied with the latter.

Our final favorite feature is the slightly concave keys which help guide your fingers to their targets more accurately. Battery life is also good: I’ve left the keyboard on while not in use and I genuinely can’t remember the last time I charged it, which is about as much as I like to think about these things. There is a USB-C charging port when the time comes, though. The balance of features, feel, and shape of this keyboard should satisfy even the pickiest of key peckers.

—CG

The good:

• Backlit keyboard with numpad
• Can connect to three devices at once
• Satisfying typing feel
• Slim design

The bad:

• Cramped arrow keys

...Or enjoy the satisfying feedback of a good mechanical keyboard

Das Keyboard 4 Professional

The Das Keyboard 4 Professional has been around for a few years now but is still a good buy among full-size mechanical keyboards.

Credit: Jeff Dunn

Taste in mechanical keyboards is famously subjective. There are good and bad models, but what switch feel, size, and layout we like may vary wildly from what you prefer. There’s also a whole market for custom boards for those who like to tinker with their kit. So when we recommend a mechanical keyboard like the Das Keyboard 4 Professional, we’re not saying it’s The Best, just that it’s a strong general-purpose choice for those interested in the tactile benefits of mechanical keyboards as a whole.

While not cheap, this is a full-size keyboard with a high-quality feel. It can be configured with either Cherry MX Blue or Cherry MX Brown switches: the former is loud, clicky, heavy, and aimed at typing enthusiasts, while the latter is a quieter “middle ground” switch that still produces a tactile bump when pressed but doesn’t require as much force. I prefer the MX Brown as a “jack-of-all-trades” option that won’t fatigue your fingers as much over time, but if you never plan on gaming and don’t have any family or housemates to annoy as you clack away, the MX Blue will provide more distinct feedback while you type. In either case, the keys here give that pleasing feel most people look for when buying a mechanical keyboard over a more common membrane, scissor-switch, or membrane option. It’s all nice and satisfying.

The Das Keyboard isn’t perfect: its laser-etched keycaps aren’t the best we’ve tested, as we’ve noticed slight fading on a couple keys’ paint after several months of use, and we’d prefer traditional flip-out legs to angle the keyboard over the magnetic “footbar” that comes in the box. But it’s not a hassle to replace those keycaps if needed, and the aluminum top cover and sturdy construction lend the whole thing a weighty, premium quality. We’ve seen little to suggest this build won’t hold up for several years.

Plus, as the name suggests, this is a professional-looking device. The sharp, black frame has none of the gaudy “gamer” flourishes that look out of place on a device for getting work done. The trade-off is that there’s no built-in backlighting, nor are there any macro keys for reprogramming the board’s layout. However, there is a convenient suite of media controls in the top right corner, including a key for putting your PC to sleep and a large volume knob. Notably, there’s also a built-in USB hub, with two USB 3.0 ports for plugging in flash drives or whatever other USB accessories you may need. And if you're an Apple user, there's a Mac variant as well.

—JD

The good:

• High-quality feel
• Mature, professional look
• USB 3.0 hub built in

The bad:

• No backlighting

A good compact alternative: Obins Anne Pro 2

The Obins Anne Pro 2 is a versatile and smoothly tactile mechanical keyboard for those who want something much more compact. The colored keys come included in the box and can be swapped onto the board easily.

Credit: Jeff Dunn

If you’d like to hop on the mechanical keyboard train but would prefer something wireless or (significantly) smaller, check out the Obins Anne Pro 2. This is a 60% keyboard, meaning it has no number pad, media keys, or dedicated arrow keys. That might make this an immediate no-go for many, but if you’re into it, the Anne Pro 2’s 11.5-inch-wide frame takes up little room on a desk.

Versatility is the key here. The Anne Pro 2 connects over USB-C or Bluetooth, with no discernible lag over the latter. It can pair with up to four different devices, so you can swap to a phone to fire off a text and return to your PC without pairing again. It’s also available with Cherry MX, Gateron, or Kailh Box switches, depending on your preference. Our unit has Kailh Box Brown switches, which usually cost less than their Cherry equivalent but still give a smooth, tactile, and balanced feel that fit well for gaming and cutting down on typing errors, all without making a ton of noise.

In general, this board is well-built: its matte PBT keycaps feel crisp and its chassis never flexes while you’re typing. Its keys are easy to replace and customize if desired, and each one supports individual RGB backlighting, though the effect isn’t particularly bright. There’s also no way to adjust the angle of the keyboard, though its default incline should be comfortable for most.

Accompanying the Anne Pro 2 is a surprisingly deep yet easy-to-grok software suite called ObinsKit. This works across Windows and macOS and lets you remap keys, set macros, and customize the RGB lighting. It makes the transition away from certain physical keys easier to manage—one setting, for instance, turns the shift, control, and two Fn keys in the bottom right corner into arrow key replacements. Obins has done well to support the keyboard and update this app over time.

Again, keyboard preference is a personal thing. Among the other mechanical keyboards we tested and liked:

• Logitech’s G915 TKL has a great low-profile feel and aluminum chassis.
• Cooler Master’s MK730 has cheaper ABS keycaps but lets you customize macros and RGB lighting without requiring software.
• The Tecware Phantom 87 costs $46 with a build that doesn’t feel nearly that cheap.
• And the Topre Realforce R2 PFU is a supremely high-end keyboard with an office-friendly look and springy, quiet Topre switches that are an absolute joy to type on.

—JD

The good:

• Compact and well-built
• Wide range of switch options
• Works over USB-C or Bluetooth
• Excellent software support

The bad:

• 60% design isn't for everyone

Scroll free and easy with a good wireless mouse

Logitech MX Master 3

Logitech's MX Master 3 is currently our favorite wireless mouse.

Credit: Jeff Dunn

If you’re willing to pay for a high-quality wireless mouse, you won’t do better than the Logitech MX Master 3. We recently named it the top pick in our guide to the best wireless mice for providing a comfortable and premium design that’ll fit naturally into most hands, consistent and accurate performance for office work, and legitimately useful software features.

Its electromagnetic scroll wheel may feel strange at first, but it’s quieter than typical wheels. Because it has fewer moving parts, it should prove more durable over time. It also lets you swap between notched and infinite scrolling—which is helpful for those massive Excel sheets—on the fly. With Logitech’s companion app, you can customize the mouse’s inputs on a per-app basis: its horizontal scroll wheel could be set to flip between tabs in Chrome, scroll horizontally in Excel, and zoom in Photoshop, for instance, and the mouse will adjust automatically when you open each app. Logitech includes a number of pre-made app customizations, too, so it’s not totally on you to figure out what’s most convenient.

The whole thing gets around two months on a charge and works over a USB receiver or Bluetooth. It’s not perfect: the mouse can’t work over a cable in a pinch, and there’s no left-handed option. But if you want a mouse that nails the fundamentals and the helpful extras, the MX Master 3 should be worth the premium.

—JD

The good:

• Consistent performance
• Smooth and durable magnetic scroll wheel
• Useful software

The bad:

• Not for lefties

A more affordable alternative: Logitech M720 Triathlon

Logitech's M720 Triathlon is a comfy wireless mouse for those on a budget.

Credit: Jeff Dunn

If you want a dependable wireless mouse that costs less than $50, though, get the Logitech M720 Triathlon. It doesn’t have the nifty software touches or higher-quality build of the MX Master 3—nor is it ambidextrous—but it gets the essentials right.

Its arched back and contoured sides should fit naturally into most hands, and its finish is smooth, soft, and grippy. Its scroll wheel is a clear step down from higher-end mice, but all its buttons are quick and responsive enough, and its sensor is reliable and predictable. It connects over USB and Bluetooth, and while it’s not rechargeable, it gets around two years of life from one AA battery. It also supports up to three device profiles, with a side button that makes it easy to switch between multiple computers and tablets on the fly.

—JD

The good:

• Can connect to three devices simultaneously
• Few performance issues for everyday work
• Soft finish

The bad:

• Scroll wheel could be tighter
• No rechargeable battery

For those beloved macOS gestures: Apple's Magic Trackpad 2

One of the best things about the MacBook experience is the trackpad and gestures it provides. Personally, I can’t multitask half as well without the three-finger swipe for “Mission Control” (a.k.a. app switching) and it’s stymieing to work without it. In a proper work from home setup, though, using your laptop’s keyboard and mouse is often far from the most comfortable experience.

That makes Apple’s Magic Trackpad a boon for many Mac users. It’s a nice, big force-touch-enabled slab you can place anywhere in your setup that’s comfortable for you. It does have a slight upward angle to it, but since it can still be fatiguing to use a trackpad rather than a more ergonomically correct mouse, I’m currently utilizing both in my setup.

On my mouse and keyboard tray I have just that—my mouse and keyboard. Not far away on the desktop above is the Magic Trackpad. In this configuration, I can use my traditional mouse with a wrist rest while I’m typing and doing minimal app switching. But if I need to change over to a multi-app workflow, as in the case of doing research, for instance, I need only reach up a few inches for the trackpad or replace the mouse with it on my tray for more extended periods.

Simply put, if you’re looking to bring that laptop-esque ease of use you've come to rely on to your work from home setup, the Magic Trackpad 2 is a no-brainer.

—CG

The good:

• Laptop ease of use comfortably placed on a desktop
• Gestures a traditional mouse can't replicate
• Big with long-lasting battery

The bad:

• Can be fatiguing on the wrist to use solely

Upgrade the laptop at the heart of your workspace

Many people toiling away in the home office are saddled with a work-issued computer, so recommending a new laptop might be beside the point. But if you can work from your own device—and are in the market for a new PC—here are a few recommendations for notebooks that we’ve tested in recent months.

Of note: with Apple announcing its intention to transition its entire Mac lineup from Intel to ARM-based processors over the next couple of years, we've held off on formally recommending a MacBook below. If you need a macOS machine today, the MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro (provided you buy a 10th-gen Core model) are still quality machines in their own right. If you prefer a mini PC form factor, so is the Mac Mini. Just note that the move to ARM could bring marked changes for Macs as a whole.

Acer Swift 3, Dell XPS 13 (9300), Asus ROG Zephyrus G14, Microsoft Surface Book 3

The Acer Swift 3 is, to quote our review, an “excellent working person’s laptop.” Its build quality won’t wow anyone, its 1080p IPS display is a bit dim, and its battery life is decent-if-not-phenomenal. Still, for a very fair $680, it offers excellent raw performance with its AMD Ryzen 7 4700U processor and fast 512GB NVMe SSD, as well as a keyboard that’s unusually nice for a laptop in this price bracket. Its touchpad is similarly reliable, while the whole chassis is thin, light, and easily portable away from the desk. It also supports the latest Wi-Fi 6 standard. Just note that, for more intensive work, you’re limited to the 8GB of RAM that comes built in. In all, though, this is a good value laptop that doesn’t come off as cheap.

If you’re willing to pay for a more premium laptop with more configuration options, the Dell XPS 13 remains worthwhile. It’s still wonderfully light and compact, fitting a 13.4-inch screen in an 11.5-inch laptop’s body. It has an excellent keyboard and trackpad. Its display is bright, attractive, and flanked by super-slim bezels. It offers strong performance for everyday work, even if it is a step behind notebooks with brawnier AMD chips. Dell has also kept its webcam above the display, where it belongs, instead of having the “beneath-the-nose” cam of XPS 13s past. And so long as you opt a 1080p model over a 4K config, its battery life is still among the best in its class.

We’d like to have a USB-A port—the XPS 13 comes with two Thunderbolt 3 ports and an USB-A adapter instead—and Wi-Fi performance is something of a disappointment without some extra legwork. But it’s a quality all-around Ultrabook all the same. The only caveat is that, if you can afford to wait, it’ll soon be updated with Intel’s 11th-gen processors.

For a notebook with more gaming prowess—for when you’re off the clock, of course—check out the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14. This is a gaming laptop, so it naturally trades some slimness and battery life for raw horsepower. Compared to most of the LED-laden monstrosities in this market, though, the Zephyrus G14 looks downright svelte. At 3.5 pounds and 0.7 inches thin, it’s not a huge burden to lug around, and its 9-10 hours of battery life is solid if you stick to everyday work.

It’s the performance that really makes the Zephyrus G14 shine, though. Its Ryzen 9 4900HS processor is a genuine world-beater, capable of chomping through whatever multitasking and media demands you throw at it. The included GeForce RTX 2060 Max-Q GPU isn’t quite as dominant, so you won’t always see the best possible framerates, but it’s still powerful enough to run most new games at high-ish settings and above 60fps. (Just expect some fan noise.) One notable hangup here is that there’s no integrated webcam, if you don’t have another cam, you’re out of luck for video calls. Still, this is a great mid-range gaming laptop that works well even when you aren’t rummaging through your Steam library.

Finally, though we haven’t formally reviewed it on the site, we’ll give a quick shout to Microsoft’s Surface Book 3. It remains a highly niche device, but if you’re in Microsoft’s target market of people who want a detachable touchscreen display with extensive pen support, nothing else really offers the Surface Book’s flexibility. Because it aims for this half-notebook half-tablet form factor, it settles for a 15W Intel mobile chip that can feel underwhelming for the “power user” work you might expect from a laptop that can be configured up to $3,400. It also lacks any Thunderbolt 3 ports, though it at least has a basic USB-C port.

Still, the magnesium build quality and satisfying keyboard might be the best you can get on a modern notebook, its display is superbly bright and vibrant, and the whole thing comes with a discrete GPU. The 15-inch model in particular can be configured with a GTX 1660 Ti GPU that comfortably runs games like Forza Horizon 4 and Apex Legends in 1080p. Plus, it’s good at delivering the 2-in-1 design it promises: detaching and connecting the display is simple, and the touchscreen is responsive. It’s just a matter of whether you need this form factor in the first place.

—JD

The good:

• Acer Swift 3 is excellent value for its performance levels
• Dell XPS 13 has wonderfully compact design and top-notch battery
• Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 has world-beating Ryzen CPU
• Surface Book 3 gives 2-in-1 flexibility

The bad:

• Best AMD laptops have multithreaded performance advantage over Intel equivalents

Expand your powers with a great dock

CalDigit TS3 Plus

CalDigit’s Thunderbolt 3 dock has topped our list of favorites since its introduction and, especially with sales that have brought its price down from its original $310, it may not be moving any time soon.

It’s a small yet substantial piece of equipment. This 5.15 × 1.57 × 3.87-inch box looks and feels extremely solid and fits into any setup cleanly, with its front- and rear-facing ports and ability to be placed vertically or horizontally on your desk.

As far as ports go, you have a plethora of them. In back are two Thunderbolt 3 ports (one to connect to the PC), four USB-A 3.1 ports, one USB-C 3.1 Gen 2 port, one DisplayPort, one Gigabit Ethernet port, a S/PDIF digital optical audio port, and the DC power port. Up front you have an SD card slot, analog audio in and audio out ports, a USB-C 3.1 Gen 1 port, and another USB-A 3.1 port. Suffice it to say, you won’t be longing for much here.

The front-accessible port array makes quickly swapping peripherals a breeze, but you can also use CalDigit's Docking Station Utility program (macOS only) to disconnect devices via software on a port-by-port basis. This is a great option for external GPUs or other such peripherals you’d like to leave on your desk and disable easily without touching them.

In our testing, read and write speeds with the Samsung T5, our current top pick for portable SSDs, consistently maintained transfers along the upper limits of what the drive is rated for. We also enjoyed 7.5W charging from all USB-A ports, and dual monitors running at 4K 60Hz.

At a reasonable $250 price, you’ll be hard pressed to find another dock with a better combination of ports, features, looks, performance, and build quality.

—CG

The good:

• Wide range of ports
• Small size with heavy-duty feel and build quality
• Dual monitor support
• Facilitates optimum transfer speeds
• Turn off ports via software when not in use

The bad:

• ThunderBolt 3 compatibility only

Another USB-C option: CalDigit Pro Dock

When it comes to universal compatibility, CalDigit’s USB-C Pro Dock is a hard one to beat. With seamless capabilities to work with both USB-C and Thunderbolt 3 devices, multi-monitor functionality, and a myriad of ports, it’s an ideal companion for Windows and macOS devices and even an iPad Pro.

Port-wise, we’re looking at one Thunderbolt 3, one USB-C (3.2, Gen 2), three USB-A (3.2, Gen 1), two DisplayPort 2.1s, an SD card reader, ethernet, and a 3.5mm audio jack. Since it supports both USB-C and Thunderbolt 3, capabilities vary a bit between the two. For instance, plugging up two monitors via Thunderbolt 3 facilitates dual streams of 4K 60Hz, while USB-C will display two 720p streams or one 4K at 30Hz. Likewise, Thunderbolt transfer speeds can reach up to 40Gbps while USB-C connection tops out at 10Gbps. Both support 85W charging, though.

Transfer speeds in our testing were impressive, sometimes even beating our top pick, the TS3 Plus. The Plus does have more ports—including another Thunderbolt 3, a couple more USB-A, and another USB-C port—and crams them into a smaller, more attractive form factor, but if compatibility with non-Thunderbolt 3 computers is necessary then the CalDigit Pro Dock is an easy choice.

It’s a great buy if you need a feature-rich dock today, but are unsure if your computer supports Thunderbolt 3 or have a USB-C device currently and may get a Thunderbolt 3-enabled computer in the future. It will even work with the latest iPad Pros for adding storage or an external monitor.

—CG

The good:

• USB-C and Thunderbolt 3 compatibility
• Solid build quality
• Dual monitor support
• Optimum transfer speeds with Thunderbolt 3
• Turn off ports via software when not in use

The bad:

• Not as many ports as the TS3 Plus
• Less compact than TS3 Plus

A smaller alternative: CalDigit Thunderbolt 3 Mini Dock

If you just need something to hook up dual monitors and maybe add an ethernet connection and a couple USB ports to your computer, CalDigit’s Thunderbolt 3 Mini Dock does the job perfectly at about $100 less. It’s smaller, more portable, and comes in either dual-HDMI or dual-DisplayPort options, compared to the TS3 which only has a DisplayPort and Thunderbolt 3 for connecting to displays.

This little dock offers an additional two USB-A ports (USB 3.0 and USB 2.0) and ethernet, or one USB-A port (USB 3.0) with ethernet in the case of the dual-DisplayPort option. They’re perfect for hooking up two external monitors at up to 4K 60Hz and adding a bit of peripheral extensibility while keeping desk clutter to a minimum.

While it’s only the size of a pocketable travel adapter, the metal construction adds a nice bit of weight to it. This, paired with the rubber-like pads on its underside help keep this dock planted on your desk, making it look and function more like a small desk fixture than a dangling dongle. The ports being placed only on the backside of the device—as opposed to all around, as is the case on many travel adapters—also makes for much cleaner cable management than most of its competitors.

Our only complaint is its lack of a USB-C or Thunderbolt port to replace the one it takes up on your computer. Otherwise CalDigit’s exceptional build quality, support, and slick looks make the CalDigit Mini Dock a great piece for simple setups.

—CG

The good:

• Compact dual-monitor connection
• Solid build quality
• Comes in dual-HDMI or dual-DisplayPort options

The bad:

• Thunderbolt 3 compatibility only

A simpler adapter: Anker PowerExpand Direct 7-in-2 USB-C Adapter

Obviously, these days we're not doing the traveling we used to, but that doesn’t mean something small and portable isn’t exactly what you need to expand your MacBook’s ports.

Anker’s PowerExpand Direct adapter throws several useful ports onto your MacBook. Two USB-A 3.0 ports, one Thunderbolt 3, one USB-C, HDMI, and slots for MicroSD and standard SD cards round out the lineup on this solid-feeling stick.

Through the Thunderbolt 3 port you get 100W pass-through for charging and up to 40Gbps transfer speeds, but in effect, one of the two Thunderbolt ports this adapter occupies is downgraded to USB-C without power delivery. Still, you can display multiple monitors via the HDMI port at up to 4K 30Hz and the Thunderbolt 3 port at up to 5K at 60Hz.

Transfer speeds are highest on the Thunderbolt 3 port, naturally, while USB-C tops out at about 5Gbps. So, while this may not be the workhorse that one of our recommended proper docks can be, it'll work well for more casual use.

—CG

The good:

• Supports most every type of connection
• Dual monitor support (USB-C/TB3 and HDMI)
• Solid build quality

The bad:

• Lacking ethernet
• Downgrades one of your Thunderbolt 3 ports to USB-C

Store things quickly and safely with a portable SSD

CalDigit Tuff Nano

CalDigit’s Tuff Nano first wowed us in our best portable SSD guide and it hasn’t let up since, now adding a 1TB option for $210 in addition to the $100 512GB version we initially crowned as our best overall pick.

In our testing we found the Nano not only putting up consistent read speeds that matched or surpassed the company’s 1088Mb/s claims, but write speeds that did the same. With its ability to sustain these quick transmissions over time and do so with larger files, the Tuff Nano is a great drive to work directly off of. Workflows like video editing that can require interacting with large stored files in real time will benefit from this. Of course, it makes for a speedy dump drive too if you just need to clear some space on your computer quickly.

This USB-C and Thunderbolt-compatible drive is only three inches long by two inches wide at about a half inch thickness. In other words, it’s smaller than a credit card and a few tenths of an inch thinner than a 13-inch MacBook Pro. It also meets IP67 water and dust resistance standards, meaning it can withstand water submersion up to three feet for 30 minutes. The drive’s USB-C port holds its own IPX8 rating, meaning it’s rated for deeper and longer dives in water, but has no protection against dust ingress itself. Fortunately, CalDigit provides a silicone bumper case with a port flap which adds a good bit of protection. It’s also passed military standard drop tests for up to three meters, so your data will be well-protected on here by most measures.

The only level of security missing here is biometrics. This isn’t a dealbreaker for most – you can always use good old-fashioned password encryption—but if that’s important to you we’d recommend the Samsung T7 Touch, which also puts up solid, consistent numbers (albeit a step behind the CalDigit in most markers) in a diminutive package that can be had for the same price at 1TB and offers a 2TB option that the CalDigit doesn’t.

If you’re willing to trade transfer speeds, size, and long-term durability for a better cost-per-gigabyte ratio, though, you could also opt for a more traditional hard drive. Among larger desktop HDDs meant to live at your workspace, WD’s My Book is a solid-enough performer that gets you several TB of data, a three-year warranty, and usable backup software at a good price. The 8TB model, for instance, is currently available for a reasonable $150. For a portable HDD, WD’s My Passport is a similarly decent value for the basics. Either way, take care to backup your essential data regularly—and, if you can, back it up again elsewhere.

—CG & JD

The good:

• Reaches some of the fastest speeds we tested
• Ultra-compact IP-rated design with rubber bumper case
• Competitively priced

The bad:

• 1TB max capacity

Work in peace with a quality pair of headphones

Sony WH-1000XM4

As of this writing, the Sony WH-1000XM4 is the best pair of noise-cancelling headphones you can buy. While it’s largely an iterative improvement over its predecessor—which was an Ars favorite—it still provides a tremendous blend of comfort, convenience, and top-notch active noise cancellation.

The XM4’s handsome design provides ample cushioning and space for the ears, which keeps it agreeable to wear for hours at a time without loosening up their seal and letting too much outside noise seep in. It charges quickly over USB-C and maintains a rock-steady connection over Bluetooth 5. Unlike the XM3, it can also connect to two devices at once, which can be highly convenient if you ever need to quickly swap from work at the desktop to a quick phone call. (Both devices will need to support the AAC audio codec for this to work, but that should be a non-issue for most.) Battery life is solid, if not world-beating, at about 20 hours per charge. A motion sensor located in the left earcup can automatically detect when you put the headphones on or take them off, then pause and play your music accordingly.

While you can certainly find better-sounding headphones for $350—as is typically the case with wireless noise-cancelling cans—the XM4s have a fun, mildly bass-forward sound that packs low-end oomph but doesn’t overdo it to the point of sounding imbalanced or distorted. If you head into Sony’s Headphones Connect app, there is a nifty set of EQ tools and presets that lets you customize the sound as you see fit, which can be genuinely transformative.

The main draw is that active noise cancellation, though. The XM4’s overall noise-cancelling strength is just about neck-and-neck with Bose’s Noise Cancelling Headphones 700, which is to say that it’s virtually best-in-class. It reduces the kind of low-frequency droning you’d hear from a train or nearby air conditioner to barely-audible levels, but it also does well to clamp down on higher-pitch noises like nearby chatter or clacking on a keyboard. It won’t totally mute the latter—no headphone really does—but it’s much better than most.

Besides that, the XM4 have a lovely “ambient sound” mode that blends outside noises with your music if you want to stay better aware of your surroundings. This is customizable as well. A handy “speak to chat” feature, meanwhile, successfully detects when you’re talking and automatically pauses what’s playing, without forcing you to turn on your device and manually stop things yourself.

All of this adds up to make the XM4 the most well-rounded pair of wireless headphones we’ve tested. There are plenty other options for those looking for good over-ear cans, though:

• The aforementioned Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 are just as, if not slightly more, powerful than the XM4 when it comes to active noise cancellation, and those with sensitive ears can customize their noise-cancelling strength on a 10-point scale. They are $50 more expensive, though.
• The Anker Soundcore Life Q20 isn’t nearly as nice-sounding or feature-rich as either of those premium pairs, but it provides high comfort, close to 30 hours of battery life, and at least passable active noise cancellation for $70.
• If you don’t want to deal with Bluetooth at all and just want a great-sounding pair of headphones on the cheap, the old reliable Koss Porta Pro continues to provide wonderfully spacious sound for less than $40. Just note that its retro, on-ear, open-backed design lets in lots of ambient noise, so you’ll want to work in a quiet environment while using them.

—JD

The good:

• Top-tier active noise cancellation
• Plush padding and breathable ear cups that are comfortable for hours at a time
• Useful auto-pausing and transparency modes
• Fun sound quality that's customizable with companion app

The bad:

• Can get better sound quality at this price, albeit without ANC

True wireless alternatives: Jabra Elite 75t, Apple AirPods Pro

Those picks aside, the big trend in headphones lately has been the rise of “true wireless” earbuds, the kind that come with no cables attached whatsoever. We know that headphones are inherently mobile devices for lots of people, so if you’d prefer this form factor, Jabra’s Elite 75t are currently the best of the many true wireless pairs we’ve tested over the past couple of years.

The Elite 75t are more comfortable than most of their peers: their ultra-light and tiny frame puts little pressure on the ear, and their included ear tips are nice and soft. These are earphones—meaning they insert into the ear canal—but they do well to stay secure in place while you’re on the move. While they’re not active noise-cancelling headphones, they create a tight seal that naturally blocks out a good chunk of external noise. And since the earphones are so small, they won’t jut out and call undue attention to themselves whenever you venture outside.

Each earpiece here comes with one large control button. Using a fairly straightforward set of taps and long-presses, you can control volume, pause and skip tracks, answer calls, or access a digital assistant. This can also be used to activate Jabra’s own “HearThrough” ambient sound mode, which, like Sony’s mode mentioned above, helps you stay aware of outside noises without overwhelming your playlist or podcast.

The Elite 75t’s battery life is good for a true wireless pair at seven hours per charge, while the included charging case adds another 20 or so hours on top of that. That case is wonderfully small, making it easy to fit in almost any pants pocket. It also charges over USB-C. While all true wireless earbuds can still have connection issues in crowded environments, the Elite 75t have fewer hiccups than most other pairs we’ve tested. They technically support multipoint connections over Bluetooth 5, too, though we found this to be a bit finicky with some laptops. (This is a problem with many true wireless pairs, however.) Mic quality is decent and shouldn’t be a burden for most phone calls.

Again, you buy true wireless headphones for the freedom of their design; there are several better-sounding traditional headphones out there that cost less. But for what they are, the Elite 75t have above-average audio quality. They pump up the lower-bass and treble a bit by default: the latter can result in some sibilance, but combined this gives the earphones a lively quality that’s especially suited to hip-hop or amped-up EDM. The mids are well-balanced, though, and if you prefer a more neutral sound, Jabra’s Sound+ app has a useful EQ for tuning the sound to your liking. There’s no aptX codec support, unfortunately, but connecting over AAC should sound detailed enough for most.

The Elite 75t have an IP55 sweat and dust resistance rating, but if you plan on putting your earbuds for more intense workouts, note that Jabra sells an Elite Active 75t model with a more water-resistant IP57 rating. Those cost $200, though, and the differences are slight otherwise. Jabra backs both pairs with a two-year warranty, though the base model isn’t covered against sweat damage.

The Elite 75t will serve most people well, but if you want dedicated active noise-cancellation, we’d be remiss not to highlight Apple’s AirPods Pro. They’re pricier than either Jabra pair, and their ANC isn’t as effective as that of the Sony WH-1000XM4, but they still isolate an impressive amount of external noise—again, particularly with low-end and mid-range frequencies—and they’re comfortable to wear for extended periods. While a bit light on bass and not necessarily better than the Elite 75t, they get good detail and should work well for those who want a more neutral sound profile. Apple’s take on the ambient sound transparency mode is excellent as well.

There are downsides: the AirPods Pro’s 5 hours of battery life is mediocre for a true wireless pair, and while the earphones are highly intuitive to pair and use with iOS devices, Android and Windows users are saddled with a more barebones experience. There’s no dedicated companion app for tweaking settings or audio quality on any device. But that ANC is a real selling point, and Apple will soon update the earphones with new features like directional audio and automatic device switching.

—JD

The good:

• Jabra Elite 75t have comfy design, compact case, good battery life, and lively sound
• AirPods Pro are a breeze to use on iOS and have effective ANC

The bad:

• AirPods Pro lose much of their appeal on non-Apple devices

Upgrade your sound setup with a pair of dedicated desktop speakers

Wearing headphones all day can be fatiguing, so investing in a set of dedicated computer speakers might be a more pleasing upgrade from the tinny speakers built into your laptop or monitor.

Audioengine A2+ Wireless, Creative Pebble Plus

We can recommend Audioengine’s A2+ Wireless with confidence here, as they provide quality sound in a desk-friendly design. This is a stereo pair that you’ll have to cable together—speaker wire is included in the box—but the system has 3.5mm, RCA, and microUSB inputs, as well as Bluetooth (with aptX) support for streaming audio from a phone or other secondary device. The speakers themselves are exceedingly well-built and, to my eyes, have a clean, attractive look. My only real complaint with the design is that the volume and power knob is located on the back of the left speaker; a front-panel knob, or even an included remote, would be more convenient.

That’s easy to overlook, though, given the A2+ Wireless’ clear, balanced, and accurate sound. Again, these speakers are only six inches tall with 2.75-inch woofers, so don’t expect house-shaking volume or massive sub-bass. The appeal is in the quality for the size. But taking that into account, its imaging—or, its ability to place a voice, instrument, or effect where it belongs in a mix—is impressive, and what bass is there is handled well. (A subwoofer would just flesh it out further.) There’s no digital signal processing, so it can sound congested or sibilant at the highest volumes, but at normal levels that lack of DSP lends tracks a more natural sense of dynamics and space.

The one catch is that you’ll want to angle the speakers toward you to get the best sound, whether that’s through Audioengine’s official stands or your own DIY solution. As ever, speakers are highly dependent on their location and surroundings.

Though the A2+ Wireless is priced well for a refined pair of small desktop speakers, we realize that not everyone is willing to spend $270 for improved audio. If you just want any sort of upgrade for as little money as possible, consider the Creative Pebble Plus. It only outputs over 3.5mm, it requires a mess of wires to set up, and its sound quality isn’t in the same ballpark as the Audioengines. It comes with a subwoofer that doesn’t really produce deep bass, and it’ll distort at higher volumes.

Still, it’s a 2.1 speaker system for $40, and it’s not terrible. It certainly provides a fuller and more spacious sound than common laptops or monitors, and its cute plastic speakers are naturally angled upward 45 degrees. Having a subwoofer at all does lend it some level of bass response. And once you do get over the nest of wires, actually hooking the system up is as simple as plugging it into a USB port.

—JD

The good:

• Audioengine A2+ Wireless put accurate DSP-free sound in desk-friendly design with Bluetooth support
• Creative Pebble Plus give 2.1 sound system at affordable price

The bad:

• No front-facing volume knob on Audioengine A2+ Wireless
• Creative Pebble Plus distort sound at highest volumes

Sharpen up with a new webcam—once they're back in stock

Logitech C920S Pro

Logitech's C920S is a great general-purpose webcam.

Credit: Logitech

If your laptop’s built-in camera makes you look like a blurry mass on your Zoom conference calls, Logitech’s C920S Pro will clean things right up. It’s a plug-and-play webcam capable of putting out crisp 1080p video at a consistent 30 frames per second, with a 78-degree field of view for capturing multiple people in the frame if needed.

It can clip onto a variety of laptops and monitors stably and with little fuss, and it can be bought with a built-in “privacy shutter” for blocking the lens when you don’t want to be seen (if you can’t just unplug the whole thing yourself). Its autofocus is quick-enough to correct, and its dual mics offer clear-enough quality. You can also adjust contrast, white balance, brightness, and other settings through Logitech’s companion software, though unless you’re in a dimly-lit room its default settings should be fine for most.

Something like the Logitech Brio is a fine option for 4K resolution video if you’re interested in more enthusiast-level streaming, while the Logitech C922 Pro Stream has all the same benefits as the C920S plus the ability to record 720p video at a higher 60fps frame rate if you need that. But for most, the C920S is a simple and relatively accurate upgrade that can typically be had for a reasonable $70.

The hang-up is that virtually no recommendable webcam is currently available. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a massive surge in webcam demand, resulting in stock shortages and hiked-up prices across online retailers. It’s worth keeping an eye out for any of the above picks if you’re in desperate need, but for now, let’s hope laptop manufacturers take note of this trend and improve their videoconferencing quality accordingly.

—JD

The good:

• Crisp 1080p 30fps video
• Built-in privacy shutter

The bad:

• Stock shortages

Stretch out, and customize a new standing desk

Standing while working can be a lifesaver on workdays long or short. Aside from being healthier for you by promoting movement and circulation, it just feels nice to stretch your legs and back while still rolling through your workday. For long-term remote work, it's the type of piece that makes an office more ergonomically appealing. If you're looking for a more short-term solution, check out our options for standing desk converters right after this section.

Our picks below were chosen for their build quality, ease of setup, eco-sustainability, and for some, customizability. None of them have issues to report along those lines, and I set up all of these on my own easily, only requiring a second person to flip over the desks after assembly. Still, each manufacturer has its own draws. So, depending on your space, style, and needs any of these might be a perfect fit for you.

UPLIFT V2 Curved Corner Standing Desk

Our favorite all-round standing desk is the UPLIFT Curved Corner Standing Desk. It’s a rock-solid, spacious option with a myriad of accessories for customization and a reasonable price tag to match. If you have the space for one, you won’t be disappointed.

The first thing that jumps out to you is just how big this desk is, even after doing the requisite measurements. At 72 inches wide with 47 inches being its longest side—the other end is 28 inches due to the return carved out for the user—you’ll need some space to fit this desk, but true to its name it’s an excellent piece for a room corner.

Atop this desk, you can fit the biggest of single- or dual-monitor setups with plenty of room to spare for optional desktop organizers, lighting, or your own tools, trinkets, and devices. Lifting a max weight of 355 pounds, you won’t have to worry about this desk rising under a heavy load. Since it’s using three separate motorized legs, as opposed to two on smaller desks, it is a bit louder when raising than its two-legged cousins, but it’s nothing close to intolerable and lowering is significantly quieter.

At the max height of 48.7 inches, it’s as stable as can be and the Rubberwood solid wood desktop further delivers on this sturdy feel. You can also choose to work on sustainably-sourced bamboo, reclaimed Fir, or one of the eco desktops manufactured from 100% medium density fiberboard (MDF)—a material that’s historically proven tough to recycle.

If you opt for a regular two-legged UPLIFT desk, you can choose from these options, as well as various wood-styled laminate tops, a whiteboard top you can draw on, or a more traditional solid wood top. Among these, only the bamboo and eco tops can be configured with contours in the center for better ergonomics, not to be confused with the return-styled corner desk.

UPLIFT says it puts considerable work into ensuring sustainable and eco-friendly material sourcing for all tops. The company claims all bamboo tops are sourced sustainably, and for every solid wood desktop purchased UPLIFT says it plants five trees. But if none of these are your style, you can simply buy a desk frame alone and mount your own desktop.

The icing on the cake is the myriad of accessories and customizations offered to make remote work easier for you with your own personal touches. The desktop itself can be configured with open or powered grommets, as well as cable management cradles, surge protectors, and different control modules with or without up to four memory settings. It’s a small annoyance that memory-equipped modules don’t come standard, instead adding $30 or $40 to your build, but you can always get a basic up-down keypad at no extra cost.

As far as accessories go, these truly run the gamut. Need some storage space? Add a drawer or a filing cabinet. CPU holder? Check. How about more desktop mounted electrical sockets? That’s an option as well. Have you ever wanted a hammock in your room? Well, UPLIFT offers a hammock accessory you can hang from underneath the desk. While that may tickle the fancy of some, we particularly appreciated the adjustable keyboard tray and the variety of positions it offers to stay comfortable typing throughout the day. The hammock, motion board, desk organizer set, and writing desk pad can all be had for free as options for your two free accessories that come with the desk.

Going beyond desk functionality you can even add a stationary bike or treadmill. Of course, additions like these can get pricey, but I was more than content with the free bamboo standing board accessory that let me rock around and spin my fidgety energy away, which studies have shown can help people be less sedentary during work while also potentially aiding focus and reducing stress. From my experience, it’s at least achieving the former, while the latter seems to be improved, though that may require more robust testing methods.

UPLIFT offers a 10-year warranty on mechanical parts and five years on the desktops, which further inspires our confidence in their highly customizable standing desks. If all of this sounds great but you can't fit the curved corner desk in your office space, you may want to check out UPLIFT's regular Standing Desk.

—CG

The good:

• Highly customizable and sustainable options
• Tons of accessories for personal touches, including two free options
• Excellent build quality
• 10 year warranty on mechanical parts, 5 years on desktops

The bad:

• Higher-tier versions can get expensive

A good alternative: Fully Jarvis Standing Desk

Fully’s standing desks offer another great option with a range of styles, materials, and customizations. There aren't quite as many desk shapes or functionally different form factors as the UPLIFT models, which has a shape for most crevasses and more niche desks like the Adjustable Craft Table, but Fully covers the basics with L-shaped and traditional options.

You’ll find many of the same desktop materials as the UPLIFTs, including sustainably sourced bamboo (with or without a center contour), laminate, natural wood, and whiteboard. Fully makes no tree-planting promises for each natural wood desktop sold, but they do mention that their natural wood tops are also sustainably sourced. You can also choose to buy the frame only and source your own desktop.

Our bamboo countertop did seem to scratch and dent easily though, showing such damage seemingly out of nowhere after using the desk for about a week. When informing Fully of this, they were predictably surprised and asked about the presence of a quality check sticker—which there was not. We received a replacement top which thankfully hasn’t shown the same issues so far. This is a good sign for customer service, but it may behoove bamboo-top buyers to use some sort of rubber mat with this top.

As far as customizations go, Fully doesn’t have quite as many options as UPLIFT, but certain ones UPLIFT doesn’t have may be just what you’re looking for. For instance, we optioned ours with a raised shelf that simply clamps on, looks totally uniform, and provides more desk space for a monitor or other peripherals. There are some fun accessories too, like a bottle opener, as well as more functional, requisite equipment like powered grommets and supplementary plugs, surge protectors, monitor and laptop arms, drawers, CPU holders, slide out keyboards, and lighting. There’s even a treadmill-bundled desk offering, but no stationary bikes like UPLIFT has, if that's your thing.

Like UPLIFT, Fully charges you $35 for a control module with memory settings—up-down controls are standard—and, unfortunately, it’s a touch-sensitive interface. The clunky part of this is that it only lights up and becomes functional after tapping one of the buttons, which you can’t see until it’s lit up, leading to a bit of tapping and fumbling before being able to raise or lower your desk.

You also need to pay $20 for an “extended range” desk frame if you’d like the rangier 24.5-inch to 50-inch capability rather than the standard 29-inch to 48.25-inches. We didn’t opt for the former, and at 6 feet, I had no complaints with the 48.25-inch max height.

These small annoyances aside, the Fully Jarvis is a stylish standing desk option with a decent 7-year warranty on the mechanical frame, with a year of coverage for the desktops. This doesn’t match UPLIFT's 10-year mechanical/five-year desktop warranty, though.

—CG

The good:

• Highly customizable and sustainable options
• Many accessories for personal touches, some UPLIFT doesn't offer
• Excellent build quality
• 7 year warranty on mechanical parts, 1 year on desktops

The bad:

• Less customization options and shorter warranty period than UPLIFT

Also good: Vari Electric Standing Desk

Vari’s standing desks are as straightforward and sturdy as they come. Built with the legs centered between the feet and the desktop in a “T” configuration, you won’t feel an inch of wobble sitting, moving things around on the desk, or standing and leaning on top of it. It’s simply the sturdiest desk on two legs we’ve tested.

There’s no bamboo or solid wood desktops options, though, only laminate. Still, it's nice to not worry about scratching or leaving watermarks, though Vari does provide free coasters with your new desk. Plus, the reclaimed wood color option we choose looks decently deceptive as wood from afar and all-around looks nice in a variety of situations.

A control module with four memory settings comes standard, but following this simple, solid “here’s a desk and it stands” formula, there aren’t a ton of options for accessories as you’ll find with the Fully or UPLIFT desks. There’s no options for a slide out keyboard or drawer, but you do have some monitor arms, cable management, surge protectors, and additional power sources to choose from.

There’s also a few “active mats” for keeping your legs occupied and well-circulated, as well as an LED desk lamp that has four different light temperatures with brightness adjustment and a fast wireless charging pad in the base. It doesn’t hit the top wireless charging speeds you can get with some Android devices like Samsung’s Galaxy S20 or the OnePlus 8 (15 watts and 30 watts, respectively), but it comes close at 10 watts and maxes out the iPhone’s capabilities at 7.5 watts.

Vari standing desks come in two base sizes—48 inches x 30 inches and 60 inches x 30 inches—and offer versions with manual lifts that are slightly more expensive. Regardless, if you like the idea of a firmly planted, no frills, non-wooden desk, look no further than this. These characteristics make it a fine choice for adolescents all the way up to adults.

—CG

The good:

• Sturdiest standing desk on two legs
• Simpler with less options means a lower price
• All non-wood materials
• 5 year warranty on all desktops and mechanical components

The bad:

• Limited options and customizability

Already have a desk? Convert it to a standing one

If you already have a desk you love but you wish you could get in on that sweet, workspace-actuating action, then you need a standing desk converter. These are perfect for laying right on top of your existing desk and transforming it into a more ergonomically friendly workstation.

We checked out electrically powered versions of these, like UPLIFT's E7 Electric Standing Desk Converter, but quickly found that this particular device, although promising judged by looks alone, had way too much wobble in the trays, while the monitor mounts couldn’t hold up any monitor we have, despite being rated to hold 17.6 pounds.

In the end we found that manually lifted converters were easy enough to raise and provided more space for better configurations, making expensive, electrically powered variants much less attractive.

For larger desk spaces: Fully Cooper Standing Desk Converter

If having ample desktop space is the main concern for your standing desk setup, Fully’s Cooper converter should meet your needs well. With a desktop that measures about 21 inches x 35.5 inches, you can comfortably fit a 34-inch monitor alongside your laptop, mouse, and even a speaker or two. All this desk space means you’ll need a fair bit of surface area on your existing desk to fit the Cooper, about 36 inches by 23 inches to be exact.

Hanging just below the desktop is a 12 inches x 30 inches fixed keyboard tray which also provides a spacious place for mice and keyboards. With this overhang, it’s easy to use the Cooper Standing Desk Converter comfortably while sitting down or when it’s raised.

When you do need to stretch the legs, just squeeze in on the right-side lever and pull the desk straight up. Depending what’s on your desk, you can either do this with one or both hands as the motion is smoothly assisted by a hydraulic mechanism on the table's underside. This can be adjusted easily for different tensions, and although I was perfectly content with the stock settings for raising a MacBook, Wi-Fi speaker, and 34-inch monitor on this desktop, it’s a good option to have for different people and setups.

Coming in bamboo and powder-coated black MDF options, it’s not hard to fit this converter into your current office’s look.

—CG

The good:

• Spacious desktop and keyboard tray
• Comfortable to use sitting or standing
• Different styles to suit your existing setup
• Adjustable tension

The bad:

• Requires a fair amount of existing desk space

For smaller desk spaces: UPLIFT Lady Bird Standing Desk Converter

If your desktop space is already pretty limited but you love the Fully Cooper’s form factor, you might want to try UPLIFT's Lady Bird Standing Desk Converter. It’s essentially the same thing but requires less surface area. With its base measuring at 27 inches x 16 inches, the Lady Bird takes up significantly less space and therefore can be a great solution for smaller desks or less-than-ideal desk situations. The keyboard tray does get a little more cramped, though it can still fit a mouse and keyboard, so if you can fit the extra space necessary for the Fully Cooper, we’d recommend that.

—CG

The good:

• Desktop and keyboard tray provide good space for devices
• Comfortable to use sitting or standing
• Adjustable tension
• Smaller footprint requires less existing desk space

The bad:

• Keyboard tray can get a bit cramped with bigger keyboards and mice

For very limited desk spaces: UPLIFT Adapt Mobile Laptop Standing Desk Converter

Uplift's Adapt Mobile Laptop Standing Desk Converter.

Credit: Uplift Desk

If you’re working on a counter, kitchen table, or are otherwise using a workspace that doesn’t accommodate a typical standing desk converter fear not; we have two versatile options for you.

UPLIFT's Mobile Standing Desk Converter is a perfect solution for those who are either looking to preserve desk space or don’t have much of it to begin with. It easily clamps onto desktops, kitchen tables, and countertops with at least three inches of overhang, or it can be permanently mounted anywhere on your desk with the included hardware.

With this flexible placement also comes a wide range of positions for use, including height adjustments from desktop level to 17 inches above, and everywhere in between. Best of all, it’s nearly effortless to move and the tension can be adjusted with an allen key so that it stays put at any given position, whether it’s bearing the weight of your laptop or just a wireless keyboard and mouse. There are also two USB 3.0 ports with corresponding USB 3.0 male ends which essentially function as built-in USB extension cords in this configuration.

You could also use this arm to hold a monitor, ideally 27 inches or smaller. Otherwise, it’s a great option for raising your laptop or keyboard when you need a stretch. Pair this with the right monitor on your desk, particularly one with a decent amount of height adjustment, and you can easily enjoy a comfortable standing or sitting workflow.

—CG

The good:

• Versatile mounting
• Flexible positioning
• Sturdy enough to hold any laptop and some monitors, thanks to adjustable tension
• Built-in USB extension cords

The bad:

• Requires a surface to use for mounting or clamping

A good alternative: Nulaxy C5 Laptop Stand

If you don’t have a good place to clamp or mount a laptop arm, then the Nulaxy C5 Laptop Stand is the next best thing.

Laptop stands come in a variety of shapes and sizes, but Nulaxy’s adjustable stand strikes a great balance, providing the popular brushed aluminum aesthetic but with a bit of useful extensibility. Folding flat to about two inches off your desk, this stand raises up almost an entire foot to reach a 13.8-inch maximum height—plenty tall for a standing workflow, be it your laptop or keyboard atop the stand.

It’s not the easiest apparatus to lift—it’s quite rigid and requires you to take the laptop off before adjusting—but that rigidity means that you can place up to 22 pounds on this stand and it will remain firmly in the position you left it. And with the wide base, you could feasibly place gaming laptops and even monitors on the stand, provided the monitor’s legs have an amenable shape for its 11 x 9.5 platform.

Speaking of the platform, its rubber stoppers are in the perfect position to avoid scraping the bottom of your laptop when moving it to and from the stand. This was as true for a 13-inch MacBook Pro as it was for a 17-inch Razer Blade.

If you’re typing on your laptop’s keyboard while it’s placed on this stand, you'll have a bit of wobble, which makes looking at the laptop screen while typing a little fatiguing, though it’s little bother for the typing experience itself. The wobbling effect is tolerable, but it’s a vastly better experience to either use a separate keyboard or computer monitor.

Of course, if raising your laptop while you work means nothing to you, you can always go with Nulaxy’s fixed laptop stand for $30, which has the same sturdy build quality and rubber placement that make its adjustable cousin feel so solid and secure.

—CG

The good:

• Functions as a typical laptop stand
• Rigid enough to support about 20 pounds
• Enables a standing workflow for less than $80

The bad:

• Too rigid to adjust without removing the device first
• Laptop screen bounces a bit when typing on this stand fully extended

Sink into a comfortable office chair

Steelcase Gesture

The Steelcase Gesture office chair.

Credit: Steelcase

I’ll admit, I was initially highly-skeptical of what a $1,000+ office chair could offer—especially one wrapped in fabric rather than any kind of leather. But after weeks of testing, swapping between my trusty “leather” (it’s not really leather, but it feels soft and leathery) Amazon chair and a handful of other mid-to-high-end chairs, the Steelcase Gesture is the one I return to the most, and I do so happily.

It doesn’t have the type of comfort that you’ll plop into the first time and simply melt. Instead, the Gesture provides support and adjustment in all the right places, leaving you with a variety of sitting positions that feel good and sustainable for hours at a time.

The seat can move forward or backward for longer or shorter legs while the arms are height adjustable and swivel in and out to accommodate different postures and body types. The armrests on top of them can further click inward, outward, forward, and back. They can’t be locked, which is occasionally annoying, and although we’d like the ability to do so, it was rarely a major issue. Lumbar support isn’t adjustable, which I was worried about as someone who has a more pronounced spinal curve, but in all the positions I planted myself in I was never wanting for lumbar support.

You can actually option your chair with additional lumbar support for $22, if you think you’ll need it, as well as wheels that are better for carpet, a wide variety of fabric colors, and even a handful of leather options, though a leather upgrade comes at a hefty premium of $487. Gesture chairs can also be purchased with a headrest, which you’ll find on Amazon for about $100 more than those without, but this model also offers three different ranges for the adjustable seat height if you need it.

The strength of the Gesture is its simplicity, offering adjustments in all the right places. You can change the recline tension from nearly immovable to freely reclinable, and everywhere in between, further bolstering this chair’s wide appeal. There are four lockable positions within this range, as you’ll get on most other chairs, but the tension adjustments make for perfect in-between flexibility.

Compared to the similarly priced Embody Chair by Herman Miller, the Gesture is more comfortable and adjustable in every way. From the seat, to the backrest, and even optional parts like the headrest, the Gesture had the Embody beat in all aspects of comfort and adjustability.

For the widest variation of body types and sitting postures, the Steelcase Gesture provides the best and most comfortable catchall.

—CG

The good:

• Highly adjustable for different body types, postures, and seating positions
• Supportive in all the right areas
• Customizable with headrests, extra lumbar support, various colors, and more

The bad:

• Expensive, and leather options increase cost dramatically

A less expensive alternative: UPLIFT J3 Ergonomic Chair

The UPLIFT J3 Ergonomic Chair.

Credit: UPLIFT

If the Gesture sounds nice, but you just can’t justify the expense, rather than spring for one of Steelcase’s less expensive office chairs, like the Series 1, we’d first suggest the UPLIFT J3 Ergonomic. At a quarter of the price of a Steelcase Gesture, the J3 offers decent comfortability for long periods and an included headrest to boot. It’s also generally more comfortable and often less expensive than Steelcase’s Series 1.

Lumbar support on the mesh back is very good and the curve is well-placed and protrusive enough to support my slightly more pronounced back curvature perfectly. It should satisfy most in this regard, but if you don’t like a lot of lumbar support it may not be for you, as this isn’t adjustable. The leather seat isn’t exactly plush, but neither is the Gesture’s fabric one. Ultimately, they’re both supportive and give me no issues with comfort during long days.

Adjustability is the only area where I have an issue, specifically the seat reclining tension. While there are four locked positions to choose from, the tension adjustment provides virtually no difference between the softest and stiffest settings. That means that if you’d like a bit of play to lean back on without either sitting essentially upright or nearly fully reclined, then you’ll be a bit frustrated with the J3 in this regard.

That aside, the arms adjust up and down easily, but they don’t swivel inward and outward as they do on the Gesture. So, it’s a more “one size (albeit a good size) fits all” affair here, but this truly wasn’t something I missed. Otherwise the J3 offers reliable comfort in the upright and partially-reclined postures I most often found myself sitting in with this chair, especially with the headrest to support your head and neck.

—CG

The good:

• Included headrest provides full body support
• Plenty of lumbar support

The bad:

• Lacks the wide-ranging adjustability of the Steelcase Gesture

Also good: Julyfox Reclining Office Chair w/ Footrest and Removable Lumbar Support

Now, if class-leading ergonomics aren’t quite your thing, that’s understandable, considering the premium you must pay for it. Still, working eight hours a day requires a certain level of comfort in an office chair, and we’d say the Julyfox meets those base needs.

This isn't a name we anticipate anyone to know, but rather it’s the office chair I found on Amazon and have personally used for nearly two years of working from home thus far. In my time with it, I’ve remained thankful for two main things: the comfort and the slide out footrest.

The chair is well padded and hasn’t become mushy or compressed over time; it still feels as cushy and supportive as when I first bought it. It’s also a high-back chair so it provides support all the way up to your head and even has a detachable lumbar pillow that you can move to your liking. The pillow is a little softer than I’d like and, as such, compresses too easily under pressure to provide ideal support for all body types, though it does provide some.

It can’t recline on tension alone like the other chairs, but it can be reclined and locked anywhere from completely upright to laying almost perfectly flat at 170 degrees. The reason for this is the slide-out footrest, which enables you to lie down flat in this convertible chair. Candidly, I’ve never tried this position until now as I have a bed and an actual recliner within feet of my desk. But in testing it out for this purpose, it’s clear that the dimensions and padding can perfectly support my six-foot frame—the lumbar pillow helps here especially—for a comfortable 30-minute or hour-long kickback.

I do, however, use the footrest constantly as support for my legs while sitting either slightly reclined with my legs straight out, or with my knees bent and feet resting directly on the footrest as I sit straight up. These are just my two preferred positions, but the footrest enables much more varied seating and helps tremendously with fighting off fatigue and discomfort.

The armrest height isn’t adjustable, the height adjustment only has three inches of range, and tensioned reclining would be nice, but in my experience, I’ve only missed the last one of those three. Still, it’s a chair that’s given me long-lasting comfort and did so for a much more reasonable price than the others we tested.

—CG

The good:

• High back provides full body support
• Adjustable lumbar pillow
• Soft, supportive cushioning
• Footrest and 170 degree reclining allow for many seating postures
• Comfortable to lay on when extended fully

The bad:

• Extremely small three-inch range for height adjustment
• No tensioned reclining

The "nice to haves": Bring your office setup to the next level

Control multiple computers with a KVM switch

Again, if you recently started working from home, you were more than likely given a computer to go home with. Now the space where you would normally use your home computer has been swiftly appropriated by work. But when the workday is over and you just want to game, watch something, or do some Web browsing, you have to move everything and setup your PC all over again, right?

Wrong.

If you have a KVM switch, just click a button to swap your keyboard, mouse, and monitors instantly to your personal computer.

TESmart Dual Monitor KVM

TESmart’s Dual Monitor KVM is our top pick here for its ease of use, support, reliability, and competitive price. As one of the few KVM manufacturers you’ll find on Amazon with an operations arm based in the US, TESmart delivers good bang for your buck.

The company’s dual-monitor two-port KVM works exactly as intended. It showed a wide range of no-fuss compatibility with devices like a 13-inch MacBook Pro, Dell XPS 13, HP Spectre x360, and MSI gaming desktop. All of these displayed on my two monitors easily at 4K 60Hz.

This does require two display out ports on your computer, so your laptops will need adapters or docks. TESmart sells versions equipped with HDMI and DisplayPort, HDMI and HDMI, or HDMI and VGA for connecting to your computer. The VGA variant will only reach 1920 x 1080 at 60Hz on that particular monitor, as expected, but the others hit the 4K 60Hz maximum and can even up the refresh rate to 144Hz on a 2560 x 1440 resolution with compatible monitors.

There are some compatibility things to note which depend on your setup. While the HDMI and HDMI version worked flawlessly in all of our configurations, we couldn’t get the HDMI and DisplayPort version to work properly with neither of our Windows laptops nor our MacBooks, though it did work fine with my Windows desktop. The HDMI and HDMI version does need to be paired with the right adapters for laptop use, though, for which TESmart does provide a list.

Instead of plugging in multiple adapters to our laptops, we opted to use docks, but be aware that not all docks worked in our laptop-only setups. CalDigit’s Thunderbolt 3 Mini HDMI dock and IOGEAR’s USB-C Travel Dock with Power Delivery worked for us without issue on both our Windows and macOS devices, while Plugable’s Dual 4K HDMI or DisplayPort dock also worked with Windows but not Macs. Unfortunately, TESmart doesn’t yet have a compatible dock list but they do have a 30-day free return period, so there’s minimal risk if you’re unsure of your dock’s compatibility.

If you don’t need dual monitors, then you could always opt for the single-monitor variant for about $50 less and even get a mountable version if you’d like. But we’d say it’s worth the expandability to go straight for the dual-monitor, four-port version since you can always just use what you need from this and add computers or another monitor later.

—CG

The good:

• Simple dual-monitor switching between up to 4 machines
• Works with laptops and desktops
• Multiple ways to swap, including the bundled remote
• US-based support and operations

The bad:

• Dock support can be tricky, especially with MacBooks

The productivity tool you might not know you need: A portable monitor

If you don’t have the space for a monitor (or a second one), you need a portable dual-screen solution, or even if you’re totally happy with your current setup, adding a portable external monitor can up your productivity, portability, and comfort in a major way.

Vissles 15.6-inch Portable Touchscreen Monitor

The Vissles 15.6-inch Portable Touchscreen Monitor was the addition I never knew I needed. Since I work primarily off a MacBook, using Apple Sidecar to utilize an iPad as a secondary display has always been an option. What held me back from doing so was software compatibility—you need to be on the latest version of macOS and my old work computer couldn't be updated—and the lack of a good, adjustable stand to hold the iPad. Sure, I could use Apple’s Smart Keyboard Folio or Magic Keyboard attachments, but not only do they take up usable space on your desk with a (in this case, useless) keyboard, but they offer little flexibility in angling the “monitor." Ultimately, these shortcomings lead me to never use the feature.

With the Vissles monitor, software compatibility isn’t an issue, and neither is the tilt angle. The monitor connects through USB-C or Mini-HDMI to Windows or macOS devices. The attached case doubles as a kickstand, which can be adjusted anywhere between the limits of balance and friction for this tented setup. Rubber stoppers on the bottom of the monitor help ensure it stays upright through a range of tilt angles.

Mini-HDMI and two USB-C ports bolster compatibility, and you can use the second USB-C port as a pass-through port for charging. That way you’re not left having to choose between using the portable monitor or charging your device. As the name suggests, it’s also a touchscreen monitor which you can interact with on Windows devices, but not Macs.

Setup and configuration are dead simple. Plug it in via USB-C and it turns right on to output 1080p at 60Hz. This matte display produces colors and sharpness that are more than adequate. Using the HDMI port, you’ll need to provide power via USB-C but both the Mini-HDMI to HDMI and USB-C cables are provided.

The button functions on the monitor are extremely intuitive and effortless to use. You can adjust brightness by clicking up on the side-mounted switch and adjusting up or down from there, or you can click down on the same switch to adjust the monitor’s volume in the same way. Yes, this does have built-in speakers (and a 3.5mm headphone port), which can work in a pinch, but any laptop speaker will sound much better.

If you press in on the same button it brings up the menu where you can adjust all your typical monitor settings. It’s easy to use and the menus are intuitive to navigate, which is more than I can say for at least a few better-known monitor manufacturers.

I’ve grown dependent on this monitor as my tertiary screen in a setup that includes a 49-inch ultrawide and my laptop’s built-in screen. With this setup, more often than not, I use the Vissles monitor as an email-only screen, with OneNote or Slack open on my laptop, and two browser windows side-by-side on the ultrawide. I essentially have four separate monitors in a totally customizable and manageable format.

Of course, you can also just use this as your second monitor when you’re in bed, on the couch, or at the table. However you use it, you may be surprised by how much you actually do use it.

—CG

The good:

• Plug-and-play ease of use
• Reproduces another USB-C port for charging pass-through
• Easy, intuitive controls
• 15.6-inch matte touchscreen, compatible with Windows devices

The bad:

• Additional USB-C port only charges, doesn't connect other peripherals

Tidy up with a headphone stand

Whether in the office or at home, Zoom calls are here to stay. Especially at home, headphones are crucial. But who wants to take them out of a drawer or leave them laying around on the desk every day? A headphone stand not only solves this problem, but it takes your desk setup to another level of style and organization, and it can do so with added functionalities and good looks.

Satechi Aluminum USB Headphone Stand

If you’re going to spend money on a headphone stand, you might as well make sure it adds some functionality to your setup too. Satechi’s aluminum headphone stand does exactly what it’s supposed to do—look sharp and hold your headphones—but it also doubles as a USB 3.0 hub with three USB-A ports and a 3.5mm headphone jack. This dual functionality makes the idea of paying for a headphone stand much more palatable.

Our only complaint is that the bundled cable is USB-A to USB-A, so if you have a laptop with only USB-C you’ll still need to plug into a dock or adapter to connect this, which can defeat its secondary purpose. Strangely, a USB-A to USB-C cable didn't remedy this for us.

The aluminum finish can be had in either gray, silver, gold, or rose gold, matching up well to Apple's typical MacBook colors. Even without a MacBook, the various brushed aluminum colors can complement your favorite set of headphones or blend in well to your current desk setup. And, if you’re still using wired headphones, the back of the stand has hooks to wrap up your cable for a tidier look.

—CG

The good:

• Tidy brushed aluminum stand with cable management hooks
• Multiple colors help blend it with most decors
• Provides additional USB-A ports

The bad:

• Only connects via USB-A

An RGB alternative: Razer Base Station Chroma

If you’re more partial to the RGB aesthetic, you can’t go wrong with Razer’s Base Station Chroma. As we’ve come to expect from the gaming company, it’s loaded with a customizable spectrum of RGB lighting in its base called Razer Chroma.

When connected to a Windows PC, you have full control over the colors displayed and how they cycle and appear. My personal favorites are the breathing option, which slowly fades your choice of colors in and out, and the wave function that runs a rainbow of colors around the base in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction. You can also pick static colors and a few other configurations, as well. Unfortunately, Mac users will be stuck with the stock color cycling, though that's still pleasing to look at.

Like the Satechi, it also pulls double duty as a USB hub with three USB 3.0 ports and also connects solely through USB-A. So, if you’re connecting your Base Station to a USB-C laptop, you’ll need a dock or adapter.

There are also no hooks on which to wrap up your headphone cables, so if wired headphones are still your jam, the Satechi might be handier there. Otherwise, the Chroma Base Station is a great excuse to add more RGB to your desk.

—CG

The good:

• RGB aesthetic with customizable patterns via Windows PCs
• Provides additional USB-A ports

The bad:

• Only connects via USB-A
• No hooks for cable management

Dock your MacBook like a desktop: Brydge Vertical Dock

For MacBook users looking to get their laptop out of the way of their workspace, Brydge’s vertical dock tucks your Mac away like a svelte desktop computer. Spring loaded plastic holds the MacBook vertically in place within the heavy, metal dock, preventing scratches and facilitating easy disconnection without total removal of your laptop.

These docks are an aesthetic upgrade more than anything else since they don’t expand your port selection, but rather repeat them, allowing you to close your MacBook and stow it away vertically. With the Brydge, an additional dock like CalDigit’s Thunderbolt 3 Plus or the CalDigit Pro Dock makes for a savvy compliment for expanding ports, monitors, and other peripherals, but you can also connect USB-C or Thunderbolt 3 accessories directly to the Brydge dock.

Whatever you choose, you’ll need to make sure power is flowing into one of the ports, as your MacBook won’t wake up in clamshell mode without it. This macOS-based feature can be a bit of a hindrance for those weary of keeping their laptops perpetually charged, but if battery health isn’t of much concern than this may be a nice fit—especially for those looking to hook up their MacBook to a KVM switch.

There are versions for both Touch Bar and non-Touch Bar-equipped 13-inch MacBook Pros, as well as for 15-inch Touch Bar-equipped MacBook Pros only. Vertical docks for the latest MacBook Airs and 16-inch MacBooks should arrive in November and December, respectively.

—CG

The good:

• Unique and seamless dock for your MacBook
• Repeats the two Thunderbolt 3 ports it occupies
• Spring-loaded plastic apparatus prevents scratches

The bad:

• Doesn't add ports and therefore requires a dock or adapters to work

Work where you want with a folding laptop table

Ybj-ake Bamboo Laptop Desk

Sometimes you just need to change things up from the regular desk scenery. Whether for comfort or just a mental change-up, working on the couch, floor, or in bed can be the curveball your workflow needs from time to time.

Our favorite tool for this job is a simple pick from Amazon. There’s a number of products similar to this, under a variety of brands and names, but we chose this one because it hits all the basics properly and, perhaps most importantly, doesn’t present the issue of splinters seen in other options. At $50, it's decent value as well.

The flat black bamboo is finished well enough to avoid this thorny issue, while still offering a range of tilt heights, easy leg extension, a flat area for your mouse or trackpad, and a little storage drawer for pens, dongles, hard drives, or other accessories.

The legs open wide enough to be stable even on a pillowtop bed, and the leg extension helps make this table more versatile for different seating arrangements, like sitting on the ground if that’s your jam.

Our only complaint is an easily remedied one. The lowest tilt height for the laptop area is set at a wildly sharp angle. There’s a bumper to stop your device from sliding off, but it’s not a natural typing position at all, so you may need to carve in or file another notch on the tilt stand to suit your ergonomic needs.

—CG

The good:

• Splinter-free wooden laptop table
• Can raise laptop area on an angle and keep mouse area flat
• Extendable legs for various seating positions

The bad:

• No apparent customer support if something is wrong with the desk
• Non-painted versions sometimes have splinters

Come through clearer with a USB microphone

Blue Yeti Nano

Blue's Yeti Nano is a classy upgrade over your laptop's built-in mic.

Credit: Jeff Dunn

Most people reading this guide won’t need to splurge on a USB microphone. Chances are most colleagues on your group Zoom calls aren’t fretting about the quality of the mic built into your webcam or laptop. But many of those mics are terrible, so if you talk enough to think a dedicated device is worth it—or you plan on doing some recording or voice chatting on the side—the Blue Yeti Nano should get the job done.

The Yeti Nano is, in essence, a smaller and more affordable version of Blue’s popular Yeti microphone. The full-size Yeti is still a good buy if you have the desk space and don’t mind paying $30 extra for fuller, higher-quality audio, but if you just want a nice dedicated mic for casual recording, the Yeti Nano is still an obvious upgrade that’s lighter and won’t chew up as much room. While it lacks the Yeti’s bidirectional and stereo polar pattern support, it still supports cardioid and omnidirectional modes. The former is standard and picks up sounds made directly in front of the mic—ideal for your typical voice calls and podcast recording—while the latter picks up sound from all directions, which can be useful for whenever group recordings become common again.

More to the point, the Yeti Nano delivers crisp audio quality that does especially well to keep vocals and other high and upper-mid frequencies clear. The only major caveat is that, unlike the Yeti, there’s no way to adjust gain on the mic itself. That’s instead controlled through Blue’s Sherpa software, which is at least easy to manage. But the mic’s default levels are free of distortion and should be perfectly fine for most. There’s no automatic DSP here, either, so for those who do want to get into more involved recording, there’s room for a purer sound that’s at least somewhat closer to what you’d get out of a pricier professional-level mic.