7 best last minute back-to-school finds — our top picks on a budget

Studying will be much more enjoyable if you can do it while listening to your favorite tunes. Retailing for just $33, this speaker boasts fantastic and powerful bass response, plus detailed vocals. It also sports reactive LED lighting that’s fun to watch, and IPX7 waterproofing which means it can be used poolside or in the shower.

This insulated water bottle will keep your drinks cold for 24 hours, and hot beverages warm for 12 hours. Plus, you can use it as a stand to hold your phone while listening to music, making FaceTime calls or watching videos.

This 10,000mAh portable charger is the perfect accessory for charging up your phone quickly between classes. We also like how it has a battery status display, so you always know how much juice it has left.

These affordable headphones offer effective noise cancellation for under $100, a comfy fit and up to 40 hours of battery life. And there’s an aware mode so you can still listen to tunes while hearing the world around you.

This is a fun alarm clock from Nintendo. You’ll wake up to sounds and animations from your favorite games! You can snooze the alarm with gestures, and you can set it up so that you need to fully get out of bed to turn it off — thanks to the built-in motion sensor.

This wearable AI device offers automatic transcription and summarization of your class lectures, which is especially useful for students with special needs or those who may have trouble taking notes. It offers 20 hours of battery life.

The MacBook Air M4 is a great thin-and-light laptop to bring to college with a powerful M4 chip, 15 hours of battery life and helpful new Apple Intelligence features. This includes a supercharged Spotlight feature that lets you take quick actions without even opening apps.