Best Ergonomics
- ApexDesk Elite
Best Lighting
- Masdio Light of Tree Plus
Best Wi-Fi System
- Amazon eero 6 dual-band mesh Wi-Fi 6 system
With the COVID19 pandemic, remote working became the new normal for most office workers. This necessitated finding a way to work well from home. For many, this involved setting up a dedicated work area, a home office. While the arrangement may have been temporary at first, many people find that they can continue working remotely from home. If you’re using your home office in the long term, it’s an excellent idea to add some things to it that will help improve your work experience.
To help you out, we’ve drawn up our list of the best high-spec tech gadgets for the home office in 2022.
Key Features
- USB-C 3.1 Gen 2 10Mbps speeds
- Dual USB-A 3.1 Gen 2 10Mbps speeds
- HDMI out port
Specifications
- 21″(L) × 9″(W) × 2.5″(H)
- Keyboard Stowing Capacity: 16.5″(L) × 8.2″(W) × 1.6″(H)
- Can support up to 33lbs
The MONITORMATE ProBASE Gen2 is a Monitor/laptop stand designed to provide a lot of high-speed connectivity. With a single USB-C 3.1 Gen 2 10Gbps connection from your laptop/computer, it can offer another USB-C 3.1 Gen 2 10Gbps port, two USB-A 3.1 Gen 2 10Gbps ports, an SD and MicroSD card reader, a gigabit ethernet port, and an HDMI output.
Of course, when you’re using multiple of these, the overall bandwidth is limited by the single connection to the computer. While it may be evident to most people that the USB ports would run at reduced speeds if you’re using multiple ports, it may be less obvious that the use of the HDMI port would slow down the USB ports.
The slim aluminium design cleverly hides a tray that can be used to store small things, however, it doesn’t have any sort of stop preventing it from falling out. The stand itself is sturdy enough to hold a heavy laptop or monitor, however, it is made of very thin aluminium and has a fair it of flex to it. It supports USB-C power delivery passthrough from the wall to the laptop at up to 100W. It’s also important to note that the cable to connect to your laptop is quite short and may struggle to reach if your laptop is anywhere other than on top of, or directly in front of the stand. This may especially be an issue for desktop computers.
- SD and MicroSD port
- Gigabit Ethernet port
- Up to 100W USB PD passthrough
- Storage tray
- USB-C cable to your device is relatively short
- Can’t use full capabilities of everything at once
- No stopper for the storage tray
- Very thin aluminium
Key Features
- Ergonomic tabletop shape
- Multiple colour/design/size options on a solid steel frame
- 1.5”/second movement speed
Specifications
- 27″D x 60″W x 48.7″H
- 29” to 49” adjustable height range
- 235lbs weight capacity
Suppose you’re working at a computer all day. In that case, sitting can get uncomfortable, and even with an ergonomic chair, it’s not great for your back. An electric standing desk allows you to sit when you want as well as stand while working. The surface of this desk has been shaped ergonomically and provides excellent working space and access.
With standing desks, weight capacity is a concern especially if you’re planning to put a heavy desktop computer on the desk surface. With a weight capacity of 235lbs, this desk is strong enough to handle most loads. Stability is also an important issue and is something that always decreases the closer you get to the maximum height of a desk, so it’s worth checking that the desk can rise more than high enough for your needs. Assembly is also nice and quick so you’ll face minimal downtime.
- Bevelled edges with a regular section in the middle are ideal for C-clamp mounts
- Fixed crossbar with locking leg levers makes the desk extremely fast to assemble
- Parts can be replaced without complete disassembly
- A little pricy for the features
- Some color options (red apple top, for example) offer slightly different stats, such as a lower minimum height that other options don’t have
Key Features
- Stylish design
- Integrated wireless fast charger
- Integrated Bluetooth speaker
Specifications
- 200 lumens peak brightness
- 5W speaker
- 3000K colour temperature
The Masdio Light of Tree Plus is a stylish desk light with a small integrated speaker and wireless charging pad. The lamp itself is smoothly dimmable up to 200 lumens and has a 3000K white temperature. The integrated speaker isn’t particularly strong and won’t be suitable for audiophiles, but if you’re just wanting to listen to some music while working it will do ok.
The wireless charging pad can charge any Qi-compatible device at up to 10W. The lamp doesn’t have to be turned on for the charging pad to work, and there is a small indicator LED to show that a device is charging. Overall the whole thing only draws 20W of power, making it nice and energy-efficient too.
- Stepless dimming
- 10W wireless charging
- Low power, only draws 20W
- It may not be bright enough for everyone
- It may be too warm a white for some
Key Features
- Wi-Fi 6 mesh system
- Automatically configuring
- Simple to setup and use
Specifications
- Supports Wi-Fi speeds up to 500Mbps
- One usable ethernet port
- One router and two repeaters
The Amazon eero 6 dual-band mesh Wi-Fi 6 system is a mesh router system designed to ensure that you have a strong Wi-Fi signal throughout your home for the best internet speeds. To work, you simply need to plug the router in and connect it via an ethernet cable to your modem, then plug in the two Wi-Fi extenders. You will need a smartphone app to configure the network but most of the process is automatic.
It’s important to make sure you place the repeaters where they have a strong signal, even if that means that your connection to them isn’t quite as strong as if you plugged it in right next to your laptop. Placing it too far from the router means that they can’t transmit data at the maximum speeds between each other, essentially causing a bottleneck.
They have a ZigBee hub integrated and Alexa support. They have enough processing power to support Wi-Fi speeds of up to 500Mbps. There is a Pro version that supports Gigabit Wi-Fi if your network speed is fast enough to use it, though the price is much higher.
While the simplification is helpful to non-technical users, it does mean you simply can’t do some technical things like manually selecting whether a device connects to 2.4GHz or 5Ghz as this is controlled automatically. There are some security features that some users may like including content filters, and privacy tools, however, they are subscription-based.
- Soe security potentially useful features
- Integrated ZigBee hub
- Can connect up to 75 devices
- Overly simplified
- Security features are subscription based
- Only one usable ethernet port
That was our roundup of the best high-spec tech gadgets for the home office in 2022. Have you recently bought a high-spec tech gadget for your home office? What sold you on it and what has your experience been with it so far? Let us know down below.