Unfortunately, unless you’ve got an overbearing mom, heading back to university in the big ’26 requires more effort than just showing up on the day. It’s on you to ensure that your backpack is overflowing with more tech than you know what to do with. Well, not totally on you. That’s where Stuff comes in, lending our expertise to make sure you point that wallet in the right direction before digging back into your studies for the year ahead.
Apple MacBook Air M4 (13in) – R21,500
Most, if not all, of your future success relies on having a trusty laptop to properly power through university, especially one that won’t weigh you down as impromptu cross-country sessions send you all around campus. This MacBook Air, packing an M4 chip, falls into both camps — and is only made more personable for those who own an iPhone. Tasks that once required a far more expensive MacBook Pro can now be easily relegated to Apple’s Air range without much sacrifice. Multitasking is particularly great on the 13in Liquid Retina display, thanks to the processor and 16GB of RAM, and the battery life is impressive everywhere. Trust us.
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Asus Vivobook Go E510 – R6,000
On the other end of the spectrum comes the relatively affordable Asus Vivobook Go, sporting 8GB of RAM, 256GB of storage, and Intel’s Celeron N4500 processor. This isn’t ideal for the wannabe-YouTubers who don’t plan on finishing university, but it’s more than manageable for anyone who plans to keep their head down. A 720p front-facing camera sits atop the 15.6in HD display, making for a decent after-hours Netflix machine. But it’s the R6,000 price that helps Asus’ Celeron budget-beater stand out amongst a sea of Apple products.
VolkanoX Phoenix Wireless Mouse – R600
It’s not quite the ergonomic dream that gamers are forced to leave at home as they head out the front door each day, but this VolkanoX wireless Bluetooth mouse does its best to fill that void. It’s lightweight enough to comfortably fit in a backpack, and affordable enough not to cry over if it gets dinged up. Its biggest advantage is relieving its owner of the curse of a trackpad, offering up to 1,600DPI that’ll cover most bases (even a cheeky round of Balatro when the professor isn’t looking). Most impressive is the six-or-so months of juice the USB-C charging port provides, and 2.4Ghz/Bluetooth connections keep you covered wherever you are.
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Logitech M240 Silent – R290
Silence is golden. And pink. Logitech’s M240 lives up to its name by employing what the company calls SilentTouch technology. We’ll happily vouch for its appropriate title. It doesn’t ditch a comfortable click either, even if the shape does leave something to be desired. Still, it’ll perform, and well, with a maximum DPI of 4,000 and a comfy scroll wheel. It’s let down by a reliance on double-A batteries that will only ever bother you every eighteen months.
Lexar SL200 1TB SSD – R1,700
The 256/512GB of storage typical of a workhorse laptop students are saddled with won’t be enough to cut it long-term. Something portable, perhaps? There are plenty of cheaper external HDDs that’ll serve just as well as a newer SSD, albeit a little slower. If you’ve got burning holes in your pants, or time equals money in your life, then something like Lexar’s Sl200 1TB slots right in to soak up some of the wasted time. Mileage may vary on the chosen 1TB size, depending on your chosen subjects, but more capable storage solutions are available. You just gotta look.
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SanDisk Ultra 256GB USB – R480
While a more compact 256GB solution can work well on its own, this little miracle works best in conjunction with the big terabyte boys we mentioned earlier. It’ll clip onto your car keys, and is only let down by a distinct lack of any USB-C connectivity. Keep a decent hub in your backpack, and the USB-A 3.0 will make up for it with 130MB/s read speeds, ideal for those last-minute assignments.
HP OfficeJet 202 Mobile Colour Inkjet Printer – R6,000
It’s 2026. You probably think you don’t need a printer, but you’d be wrong. There’s just something about tangible mind maps that gets lessons where they need to go in your brain. HP’s OfficeJet 202 can help you there, providing a thermal inkjet solution that’s cute enough to carry around with you, but then you’re that guy in class. There’s nothing wrong with that, especially once you find out just how desperate your own classmates are to get their hands on a sheet of A4 paper. A long-lasting battery means fewer hassles than even your typical printer, made better by being able to print from a tablet, smartphone or laptop — all without a network.
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Fellowes Arc A4 Laminator – R800
Anyone who’s at least somewhat interested in a mobile printer probably needs a laminator in their life. They don’t need us telling them that. What they need from us is a price — R800 — for the Fellowes Arc A4 laminator, which handles A4 sheets and up to 80-micron pouches. Fellowes is confident in its Jam-Free technology, saving students both time and money. Those pouches don’t come cheap. The first round of twenty plastic covers is on Fellowes, here.
Sennheiser HDB630 – R13,000
Arguably more crucial than a laptop — more crucial than the degree itself — is a decent pair of cans. What better headphones to throw your future away over than Sennheiser’s HDB630? First prize, obviously, is completing a university education while being comforted by Sennheiser’s exquisite 42mm transducer that’s more than a match for any playlist you throw its way. It’s a closed-back pair that excels at noise-cancelling, blocking out any distractions, and is improved by lossless listening at up to 24 bit/96 kHz. The best in the biz doesn’t come cheap, though. Sennheiser’s R13,000 ask might prove too hefty for the average student.
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Anker Soundcore Space One – R1,500
If that’s the case, Anker’s Soundcore Space One is an easy choice at R1,500. We were blown away by the Space One’s warm and compelling audio, even if it did need a bit of tuning on the app on the first go-around. A USB-C charge port and a decent selection of tangible buttons can be found around the premium-but-plastic build that proved just a mite too inflexible for our tastes. The Space One Pro puts those worries to bed, though at nearly double the price. We still prefer the cheaper cans’ 60+ hours of battery life and highly competent ANC.
Apple iPad 11th Gen – R7,300
If the thought of actually writing things out like it’s high school all over again disturbs you as much as it does us, then a tablet and pen combo is an essential kit. The 11th Gen iPad’s A16 Bionic chipset is right at the top of the list (or any iPad, for that matter), assuming you fork over the necessary funds for the accompanying Apple Pencil (USB-C, in this case).
It’s that last bit that turns this from a nice-to-have tablet to a vital crutch for note-taking and, when you’re bored, an overqualified doodler. It also fits into a bag nicely. While the 11th Gen serves as a decent jumping-off point, anyone with the funds to go bigger should do just that.
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Magic Keyboard Folio – R6,000
Whichever iPad ends up in your backpack, you can bet Apple’s got a Magic Keyboard Folio to sell you. This is the one to get if you stick with the 11th Gen we linked above, and for anyone whose budget can’t squeeze in a proper MacBook. It’s quicker than the Apple Pencil for most, but suffers from a R6,000+ price that’s difficult to swallow when you think of this as a regular tablet. If it’s replacing a laptop, however, it may be worthy.
Amazon Kindle Scribe (2024) – R13,000
Everyone should have an e-reader. Not everyone should have this e-reader. We’ll be the first to admit that the Kindle Scribe is bordering on ‘overkill’ for a casual reader, but the Scribe has a secret power: note-taking. It’ll reward any university student who can fit the Scribe into their budget with a premium pen that mostly succeeds at mimicking real paper. 16GB of storage and a 10.2in 300 ppi display round out this notebook’s skills.
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Kobo Clara Colour – R3,000
If your note-taking needs are already taken care of, you can forget about the Kindle name and make friends with relative newcomer Kobo, specifically the Kobo Clara Colour. It presents a more manageable 6in Kaleido 3 touchscreen that supplies the colour and makes reading comics a breeze. It’ll hit the 300ppi figure Kobo promises, but only when reading regular black and white e-books, dropping down to 150ppi for comics.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 – R5,500
A R15,000+ Apple Watch Ultra 2 won’t do you any good on a traditional campus, but Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 8 just might at R5,500. It packs in plenty of nice-to-haves — like a 1.34in (40mm) or 1.47in (44mm) Super AMOLED display or the 3nm Exynos W1000 chip that’ll keep things flowing smoothly. Its biggest boon, however, is the 39-40 hours of juice it’ll trickle away while your smartphone hogs the only charger in the room. Pair it with a Discovery Vitality account, and the built-in step-tracker (or one of the many sports trackers that come preloaded) might just reward its owner with a couple of points each month, too. You won’t hear us complaining.
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Xiaomi Redmi Watch 5 Active – R900
Xiaomi’s Redmi Watch 5 Active takes those nice-to-haves and cuts them right down to the essentials at a three-figure price that can be comfortably attained across the board. The 2in LCD makes your acquaintance first, followed shortly by the eighteen days of battery life and 5ATm water resistance, which makes this ideal for the odd dip in the pool. That’s on top of the array of health tracking sensors typical of a fitness-focused wristband like this one, all for less than a grand. For a university student who hasn’t actually made any money yet, it’s a bargain.
ROG Xbox Ally X – R19,000
When we first got our hands on the ROG Xbox Ally X, we almost wished we were back at university just to skip class and spend all day beating Balatro. The future of Xbox is PC-based, and for a first attempt, it’s telling just how good a time we had with the 120Hz-capable 7in FHD IPS-level LCD or the AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme.
It’s that last bit that really matters here, delivering a decent framerate in some of the most demanding games without breaking much of a sweat. The two hours of battery life can be disappointing when you’re really getting into the groove, but maybe it’s for the better. You really do need to get to class.
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ROG Xbox Ally Travel Case – R1,300
It’s not the brightest move to stick a R19,000 piece of technology in any backpack (and you’d better be bright — you’re a varsity student), much less an overcrowded one like the tech-filled university bag we’ve cooked up here. An extra grand or so to keep your investment (it is an investment, mom) safe seems like a fair deal to us. This one will even double as a stand, and keep your SD cards out of harm’s way.
