College students are coming back to their lecture halls this week or starting out on their third-level studies. If you are an incoming first year, there is plenty to get to grips with, from reading lists and schedules to travel passes and finding your way around the campus.
On top of that, you probably have some extra technology requirements. Perhaps a laptop upgrade is on the cards or you might think of investing in a tablet.
So what are the tech essentials and what are simply nice to have?
Laptops
The laptop is not yet dead, despite some predictions of its demise. In fact, things seem to be going well for the device the tablet was supposed to replace.
RM Block
Picking the right one can be difficult, though; you need to strike a balance between a laptop that will last a few years and not overpaying for technology you don’t actually need. In other words, the top-spec machines are great but they aren’t necessary for everyone.
There are some things to consider before you make your choice. First is the size of the device. If you plan on carrying it around everywhere, something reasonably compact and light is best. Most people find the 13- to 14-inch screens offer the best balance in terms of portability while still giving you enough room to work with.
That should cover you for creating documents, browsing online, editing images and videos, and creating content for your social channels if that is what you are into.
For those who need something with a bit more screen space – for design, perhaps – a 15-inch display might suit better, but will be more clunky to carry around.
Once you have decided on the size, it is time to look at its main components. Think of the processor as the brain of the computer. On a budget, the AMD Ryzen 3 series or Intel Core i3 will be fine for web browsing and word processing.
Moving up the chain, AMD’s Ryzen 5 offers a good balance of performance and efficiency, comparable to the Intel Core i5 chip. For more demanding tasks, the Ryzen 7 or Core i7 chips are worth considering, although they will incur a higher cost.
Then you get into RAM, which will allow your computer to deal with heavier workloads and run more tasks at once without stuttering to a halt. Windows requires a minimum of 4GB. Bumping it to 8GB is sufficient for basic workloads.
To ensure your computer lasts longer, consider upgrading to 16GB if possible. Video editing, photo editing, gaming and other power-hungry applications will need more RAM, so consider your future needs too.
And when it comes to on-board storage, aim for 512GB if you can. You can supplement it with external and cloud storage, but that requires either carrying around a second device – not ideal if you want to stay mobile – or an internet connection, which isn’t always possible.
Mac versus Windows is the ongoing battle, but ChromeOS is also an option for students on a budget, or Linux if you are technically inclined. The decision will ultimately depend on what software you need to run. If you have no specific requirements, then your choices are much wider. Some students will need to run specific software for their course – computer-aided design programmes, for example – that will have minimum system requirements.
Power
If you have a new-ish laptop with a power-efficient chip, you probably won’t run into too many issues with your device’s battery. But occasionally, they take a battering, and when you find your battery dwindling to alarming levels, having some sort of backup is handy.
Doing more with less is a good approach, and these days most devices can be charged over USB-C, thanks to some heavy nudges from the European Commission. In theory, you could carry one charger in your bag and power all your devices at various times throughout the day.
If you need more than one device charged, though, something with multiple USB options is a good idea. Take the Anker GaNPrime 200W Charger (€90, Harvey Norman). Not only does it charge both USB-A and USB-C devices, it can also power up to six devices simultaneously.
It has a total power rating of 200W, which means you can charge two 14-inch MacBook Pro devices in under half an hour or several USB-C-enabled smartphones simultaneously. It also has a built-in protection system to make sure your devices charge safely and at a suitable temperature.
However, there will inevitably be a time when you are away from a power outlet and caught with a low battery. The Chargeasap Flash Pro Plus ($200, chargeasap.com), a graphene 25000mAh battery, cannot only charge your smartphone and Apple Watch, but also your laptop.
Noise-cancelling headphones
If you don’t already own a pair of these, you need to invest in some, asap. Not only can they help you to block out the bus noise on the commute home, they may also save your sanity in the library around exam time. Among the best in the over-ear category are the Sony WH-1000XM6 (€450, Currys).
Apple users may prefer the in-ear AirPods Pro (€279, Apple), but there are plenty of options out there that will cross the platform barrier and work with your laptop too, such as the Bose QuietComfort Active ear buds (€150, Harvey Norman)
If you are just in need of some decent earplugs without any added distraction, however, the Loop Quiet 2 (€20, Loop.eu) will block out enough noise to help you focus.
AI
Artificial intelligence is creeping into our daily lives, from AI-enabled chatbots talking us through customer service nightmares to research assistants that can create podcasts from our documents and debate the finer points of our research topic.
The capabilities out there vary, however. Apple is still trailing slightly on AI integration. although devices such as the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, and newer models, support the handful of Apple Intelligence features that have been launched in Europe. That includes tools to manage your inbox, refine messages and documents, and edit photographs. Broader searches call in ChatGPT.
Samsung and Google have taken it a step further. Gemini, Google’s AI-enabled assistant, has now become the default assistant on your smartphone, with its latest Gemini machine learning models and chatbots integrated into the system.
There are other ways to use AI, however, assuming your college course allows it. Grammarly, for example, will help you polish up college projects and essays, while also keeping an eye out for potential plagiarism, assuming you take out the Pro subscription at €144 for the year. Its verdict on this article, for example, was a resounding “zero copied text”.
[ I have advice for prospective third-level students, and it’s not what you thinkOpens in new window ]
ChatGPT, meanwhile, can help you research a specific topic with its latest GPT-5 model which, according to founder Sam Altman, has “PhD level intelligence”. Whether you buy into that or not, ChatGPT can be a handy research partner. Just remember, as with all AI, to check up on its sources before you believe what it tells you.
The current favourite AI-enabled tool around here though is Google’s NotebookLM. Free to use, you can create notebooks for research topics with up to 50 sources each. The AI will then analyse the sources and explain it to you in bullet points, create an FAQ-style sheet or study guide, or even generate an AI podcast, where two synthetic hosts discuss the topic in detail.
