Working from home might seem like a great idea on paper. You can just roll out of bed and get down to work and you don’t even have to worry about commuting, traffic or even putting on pants. However, working from home also comes with the big drawback of having to build out your workstation all by yourself.
Without any provided office chair, desk, mouse and keyboard, or Internet, that’s a lot of gear to buy for just the basics. The good news is we know a thing or two about working from home and the best tech to get you through the day. Read on for the best home office equipment you'll need for working from home.
TL;DR – These are the Best Home Office Equipment
- Logitech MX Master 3
- Keychron K4 V2 Wireless
- Dell UltraSharp U2415
- Eero Pro 6
- WonderWorker Newton
- Gunnar Optiks Enigma
- Mount-It! Turcom AirLight
- Logitech C920S HD Pro Webcam
- Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700
- WD My Passport Wireless Pro 1TB
- Logitech Zone Wireless
- Everlasting Comfort Seat Cushion
- Mind Reader Comfy Rest
- Cubii JR1 Seated Under Desk Elliptical Machine
Logitech MX Master 3
A good mouse is a must for any serious workstation. Trackpads are all well and good, but when you need to do lot of text editing, clicking around, or any sort of click-and-drag, a mouse just does it better. And, for the best work mouse, you'll want the Logitech MX Master 3. Whether you're at your desk using a mousepad, on your couch using your leg or armrest, or in the kitchen using a marble countertop, the MX Master 3 is prepared to keep working with you thanks to its Darkfield sensor.
The MX Master 3 has an adjustable DPI, so you can set it up with the sensitivity level you need to easily mouse around large displays or to carefully select text or points in a video timeline with extreme accuracy. The mouse includes thumb buttons and dual scroll wheels for horizontal and vertical scrolling. A gesture button lets you do even more without needing to constantly take your hand off the mouse. And, thanks to an ergonomic design, you can avoid some of the stress in your forearm that comes from pronating your wrist to use a mouse for hours on end.
Keychron K4 V2 Wireless
Best Keyboard
The best keyboard is one that's ready for all your work needs, and the Keychron K4 V2 Wireless is it. This 100-key keyboard is ready for serious typing with your choice of mechanical Gateron Blue, Red, or Brown switches, so you can get the feel you prefer. It also has a full number pad ready to make pounding out spreadsheets a breeze.
The Keychron K4 V2 Wireless is ready to work with just about whichever machine you need thanks to Bluetooth connectivity and a USB-C wired connection. Keychron also provides swappable keycaps for Mac and Windows. Keep it plugged into your computer during the day, or pack it in a bag and leave the cables at home when you're on a workcation. With a battery that can last up to 72 hours, you'll be able to make it through a full week of 9-to-5 without needing to charge. If you have to work late, you'll benefit from the keyboard backlighting, which comes in either white or RGB depending on the model you choose.
Dell UltraSharp U2415
If you’re trying to get work done, you should have a reliable display to do it on. You might be comfortable with your laptop’s display, but craning your neck all day to see it isn’t ideal. And the extra screen space available on a standalone monitor makes it so much easier to see more at once (whether that’s more of one thing or multiple windows for multi-tasking is up to you) that you’ll likely start to wonder how you ever worked without a larger monitor before.
The Dell UltraSharp U2415 is a strong option to get you started on the right foot. It provides a 24-inch screen with a resolution that’s just a bit above Full HD at 1,920 x 1,200. If you’re wondering why the odd resolution, it’s because the display has a 16:10 aspect ratio to provide more vertical space — something that can come in handy when viewing or editing documents. The monitor is height adjustable to help you with ergonomics, and it also includes a USB hub to let you keep a tidier desk setup.
Eero Pro 6
You can have the most comfortable setup, the best computer, and all the accessories you need to be a productive at-home worker, but nothing puts a damper on all that productivity like slow internet or spotty Wi-Fi. While some of that's going to come down to your ISP, your router is also going to play a part. The Eero Pro 6 mesh Wi-Fi system can get your home blanketed in a strong Wi-Fi signal, giving you a high-bandwidth connection just about anywhere you want to work, even in a larger home.
The Eero Pro 6 system uses a main router and multiple nodes to create multiple overlapping zones of coverage so there are no dead spots in your home. And, since the Eero Pro 6 features Wi-Fi 6 and three Wi-Fi bands, they can offer some serious throughput, ensuring the connections between nodes are super fast to carry everything from video calls, large downloads, and 4K video streams all without a hitch.
WonderWorker Newton
Getting the perfect setup for your computer can be difficult, especially if you don’t have an adjustable desk or office chair to work from. You don’t want to spend the whole day bending your neck at uncomfortable angles just to see what you’re doing. The WonderWorker Newton can help you avoid those ergonomic pitfalls.
This laptop stand uses a simple design to provide some incredible flexibility for your setup. Legs on either side of the laptop tray allow you to fine tune the height of your laptop, letting you lift it just 1.6 inches or go as high as 18.9 inches, and you can go for any height between those two. The aluminum-alloy tray itself supports multiple angles, and it’s ventilated on the bottom to keep your laptop cool. And, with a sturdy build, it can hold up to 33 pounds — hopefully your laptop is lighter than that, though.
Gunnar Optiks Enigma
No matter what staring at screens all day is just not good for you, but getting a pair of Gunnar Optiks is one thing you can do to save your eyes. These computer glasses are designed to reduce the amount of constant bright blue light and glare that can harm your vision. What’s more, these glasses also help reduce any screen flicker you might have noticed otherwise while adding a slight bit of magnification to your vision.
Mount-It! Turcom AirLight
A good desk lamp like the Mount-It! Turcom AirLight is one other great way of helping reduce eye strain while working. It’s always good to have a strong, steady light while you're working. It’s particularly handy on dreary days and when workdays stretch long into the night. One other added benefit you get from the Mount-It! Turcom AirLight is it also has a bladeless fan built-in, so keep cool while you work.
Logitech C920S HD Pro Webcam
Working from means taking a lot of video calls, so you should upgrade from your basic potato-quality laptop web camera to a dedicated one like the Logitech C920S. This webcam records at a much higher quality 1080p resolution and 30 fps with better autofocus and low-light image quality than a dinky laptop web camera.
Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700
Office noise can be annoying but sounds you might hear at home like your radiator going off all the time or your upstairs neighbor walking around in what sounds like high heels at all hours of the day can be downright infuriating. The best way to drown out the world, of course, is a pair of noise-canceling headphones like the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700. They’re wireless and offer a customizable level of noise cancellation.
WD My Passport Wireless Pro 1TB
Hard drives are great for moving your files from device to device, but what if you never had to plug it in and could have it connected to multiple devices at once? That’s exactly what the WD 1TB My Passport Wireless Pro is designed to do. With it, you can seamlessly send files between your laptop, desktop PC, smartphone and tablet.
Sure Google Cloud and Dropbox essentially do the same thing with cloud storage, but the Passport Wireless Pro also has the advantage of being able to produce its own ad hoc network, which comes in handy when there’s a network outage and or you’re in the middle of traveling. Of course, you can also use it as a plain old hard drive for the fastest data transfer speeds and it even doubles as a portable battery pack.
Logitech Zone Wireless
If you take a lot of calls or video chats each workday, it's important that you can hear and be heard. The Logitech Zone Wireless headset is built to handle all your work calls. It connects to your devices over Bluetooth, making it compatible with a wide number of laptops, tablets, and phones. The USB receiver also lets you connect on computers that lack Bluetooth.
The headset is designed with comfort in mind, avoiding too much clamping force and offering plenty of cushion in the earpads. Logitech tops it all off with active noise cancellation, so you can tune out outside distractions and focus on your work. The battery can last for 14 hours with noise cancelling enabled, and it's easy to recharge with support for Qi wireless charging.
Everlasting Comfort Seat Cushion
If you're spending a lot of time sitting in your seat at work, do yourself a favor and make it as comfortable as you can. You could pick up the best office chair, but that might feel wasteful if you've already got a seat available. In that case, you can augment the comfort of your existing seat by throwing on the Everlasting Comfort Seat Cushion.
This cushion adds a thick helping of memory foam to support you and mold to your body's shape. It also features a machine washable cover, making it easier to keep clean than your seat's original surface likely is.
Mind Reader Comfy Rest
Sitting still all day can be made even worse if your legs aren't in a good position. In particular, if your seat is too high, you can cause your body some undue stress. But, a footrest can help you get a more ergonomic position without the need to go out and buy a new chair.
The Mind Reader Comfy Rest is up to the task with three different height levels, so you can dial in just the right position for your feet. It also has bumps all along its surface, letting you give yourself a foot massage while you sit. Even if you're tall enough for your seat, this footrest can let you shift your position from time to time to stay comfortable and keep your blood flowing.
Cubii JR1 Seated Under Desk Elliptical Machine
What are your legs doing while you're sitting at your desk? Your hands are typing and mouseing around. But your legs are probably idle, doing nothing, or maybe fidgeting a little. They could be doing more. The Cubii JR1 is a mini elliptical machine that can sit under your desk, so you can get some pedaling action in with your legs while you work. It's not an intense workout that'll distract you from your work, but it can be enough to keep the blood flowing.
With the Cubii JR1, you can dial in the resistance level you prefer, so you can pedal with ease or set it to a level that'll take a little extra push from your leg muscles. A built-in display will let you see just how much you've done. If you're done working and want to keep moving, you can easily move the Cubii JR1 over to the couch to use while watching TV. And, it's low-profile design makes it easy to tuck away when you're not using it.
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Kevin Lee is IGN's Hardware and Roundups Editor. Follow him on Twitter @baggingspam
