Key Points
-
Gamers use some of the best laptop accessories for 2022.
-
Students make up a large portion of laptop users.
-
Anker creates the best laptop accessories for 2022.
Versatility is the name of the game and laptops accomplish a lot while being one of the most versatile devices available. From banking online to collaborating with business partners to socializing with friends, laptops are powerful little gadgets. It’s like having the world at your fingertips or in your backpack. However, they need a little boost from time to time. The best laptop accessories of 2022 provide exactly that.
Laptops might be able to do a lot, but they seldom accomplish everything a desktop accomplishes. Sometimes they need a little help. However, not all of the best laptop accessories of 2022 try to even the playing field. In fact, some are the same accessories as the ones you want with a desktop. Others are items not needed for a desktop at all.
Accessories for Gamers
Gamers are a separate entity from casual laptop users. This typically means every device they own lights up. However, gaming accessories offer more than pretty lights and sleek designs. They provide customizability and features not found on typical consumer products.
Mouse
A laptop’s trackpad is simply not suitable for gaming. Your aim becomes as inaccurate as a sniper in a hurricane. If your primary task with your laptop is gaming, it’s wise to nab yourself a gaming mouse. Sure, non-gamers benefit from using a mouse over a trackpad too, but it’s not as essential.
A gaming mouse comes equipped with additional keys beyond the left and right buttons. Keys on the side, near your thumb, offer more flexibility and efficiency. Want to talk with your in-game teammates? Assign one of those keys by your thumb as the in-game talking key. Going the budget route and buying a regular, run-of-the-mill mouse also provides better gaming abilities than a laptop’s trackpad.
Why a gaming mouse? The customizability is unmatched and goes beyond mapping additional keys. A gaming mouse allows you to adjust the speed of the mouse pointer. This is controlled by the mouse’s dots per inch (DPI) setting.
DPI adjustment is managed in two places. The mouse itself if it has a button for it or software provided by the mouse’s manufacturer.
Controller
Some people simply prefer a controller over a keyboard. There’s nothing wrong with that. Controllers offer many benefits that a keyboard can’t compete with.
For starters, every key needed in a game is in the palm of your hand. There’s no need to search for the right key or risk accidentally misclicking because the two keys are side-by-side. Controllers are also better suited for certain types of games such as racing and fighting games.
The bottom line, don’t scoff at those who choose to use a controller over a keyboard. Controllers are especially useful if you don’t want to use your laptop’s keyboard but also don’t want to buy a separate keyboard.
Keyboard
Despite a laptop coming equipped with a keyboard, it’s not the most efficient for gaming. Laptop keyboard keys are flat and compact. This makes for easy mistakes when playing a fast-paced shooter like Call of Duty or Halo Infinite. To avoid mistakes, get your hands on a desktop keyboard.
Whether it’s wireless or not, a gaming keyboard’s ergonomics are more responsive and put you on a level playing field with other gamers. Additionally, it’s significantly cheaper to replace an external keyboard than an entire laptop if you wear out the keys. It's no surprise that wile in the midst of a game, gamers become passionate, causing them to be forceful and energetic with button-mashing.
Accessories for Students
Students make up a good chunk of laptop users. According to Pearson's 2015 Student Mobile Device Survey, 87 percent of laptop users are students and they require certain accessories to keep their devices safe. Students are always in a hurry, but they also use their laptops like there’s no tomorrow.
If you’re a student, these are the accessories you need.
Backpack
Laptops are portable and by definition, they need to be transported to and from various places. Whether that’s to school or work, a reliable backpack is necessary. A backpack with a laptop slot is ideal for students. Students lug around papers, folders, binders, notebooks, and other devices beyond just their laptop. A backpack offers plenty of storage space.
Backpacks come in many styles from traditional two-arm straps to a single, across-the-chest strap kind. It comes down to a matter of preference, but the single-strap backpacks don’t have as much storage space as the traditional two-arm strap backpack.
Furthermore, a backpack specifically designed to carry a laptop is necessary. Most backpacks have a slot designated for a laptop or tablet, but if it’s not marketed as a backpack meant to carry electronic devices, padding and protective features are required to keep your device safe. There's nothing worse than opening up your laptop and discovering it's been cracked or damaged.
Laptop backpacks are durable, making it easy to maneuver through crowds without endangering your laptop. Some backpacks go as far as providing water resistance. If you’re a student, you know how helpful that is on a rainy day.
Laptop Case
Not to be confused with a backpack, a laptop case is a simple padded or hard covering that further protects the device. Sometimes students opt to carry their device in one of these cases rather than a backpack. This is not a bad idea if it’s the only item needed for a class or a study group.
Laptop cases protect laptops from dings and scratches that are common during transportation. In some cases they’re safe from harsh impacts as well. It might not survive a freefall from a second-story balcony, but walking away from a dive off a desk is a possibility. Additionally, Laptop cases provide an additional layer of protection from spills as they’re water-resistance. As long as you remember to place your laptop into the case, you don't need to be worried about it.
Laptop Stand
Laptop accessories assist with desk organization as much as functionality. They’re even more helpful when working on a small desk that barely fits a full-sized keyboard. A laptop stand elevates the device above the desk, offering more space for papers, notebooks, and external devices, such as a hard drive. Storing notebooks and research papers underneath a laptop stand keeps notes within arm's reach.
Beyond organization, a laptop stand brings the laptop screen to eye level, reducing the risk of a strained neck and poor posture. All-nighters and staring at a screen for long hours become less difficult with a laptop stand. Furthermore, investing in an external keyboard also helps with carpal tunnel as it’s difficult to type with the built-in keyboard of a laptop when using a stand.
Additionally, a stand provides better ventilation, preventing overheating and overall extending the life of a laptop. There’s nothing worse than having to run out and purchase a new laptop because yours died from overheating. Sometimes a simple fix isn’t possible because when a computer overheats, it fries the entire CPU or motherboard, rendering the device useless.
A laptop stand is a lot easier on the budget than a visit to the chiropractor or a whole new device.
Cooling Pad
Overheating is a common drawback of laptops, forcing manufacturers to create a platform designed to keep them cool. Some laptops reach temperatures hot enough to burn legs.
Cooling pads are designed to dissipate heat generated by laptops, protecting them from overheating and extending their lifespan. They consist of a flat surface with built-in fans that circulate and increase airflow across the device’s undercarriage in order to prevent heat buildup.
Some cooling pads also come with adjustable height settings — much like laptop stands — and built-in ergonomic features such as wrist rests, increasing comfort and reducing the risk of repetitive stress injuries like carpal tunnel. They’re an essential accessory for individuals who use laptops for prolonged periods, as well as gamers who require high performance and stability from their devices.
Cooling pads provide an effective and convenient solution for keeping laptops cool and preventing performance issues caused by overheating.
Lap Desk
If you prefer to work from the comfort of your bed or couch and away from the debilitating confines of a desk, get yourself a lap desk. What’s a lap desk? It’s exactly as the name describes: A flat surface equipped with cushions intended to sit on a person's lap to provide a portable and comfortable platform for writing or working on a laptop.
Some models include built-in wrist rests, storage compartments, and fans to keep the laptop cool, doubling as a cooling pad.
Accessories for All
There’s always going to be some overlap with laptop users. Students oftentimes enjoy gaming as much as non-students. Some use laptops for business purposes and need a peripheral or two that others don’t require. These are the accessories that everyone benefits from owning.
Mouse Pad
A mouse pad might seem like an innocuous object, something not needed for a laptop. It’s a commonly looked-over accessory. Mouse pads aren’t what they used to be when computers first entered the household. While they still make the same little square pads, modern ones have taken on different sizes and shapes.
The type of mouse pad you want comes down to the tasks that need to be executed. If simple word processing and web surfing are all that’s being done, a normal square mouse pad is sufficient. Something a little bigger is needed for graphic designers and those utilizing photo editing software. Gamers opt for large, rectangular mouse pads that occupy an entire desk because of how much they move the mouse.
Nowadays, it’s not difficult to find custom mouse pads that come in any size with any design. Mouse pads are a nice way to individualize your workspace and stand out from your friends.
USB Hub
Laptops are useful little gadgets, but they’re limited in a lot of ways. One limiting feature is the number of inputs they have for USB devices. Desktops have a good jumper of input slots between the rear interface and the front of a computer tower, but laptops aren’t as plentiful. That’s where a USB hub comes in handy.
With all the peripherals out there, it’s easy to run out of space for them. Even wireless devices need to connect somehow and that means occupying a USB slot. A USB hub occupies one slot but adds additional ones for all of your accessories.
The best USB hubs offer more than additional USB slots. They provide inputs for numerous USB types, such as A, B, C, MicroSD slots, and an HDMI slot. This lets you connect your laptop to a bigger monitor or TV and transfer data to different devices.
Portable Battery
Whether you’re on the go or in your home office, laptops are excellent devices to get some work done. However, sometimes the battery life isn’t the greatest and you left your laptop’s charging cables at home because you miscalculated the amount of time you'd be away. That’s why carrying around a portable battery is perfect.
Portable batteries, or power banks, keep your laptop charged when you’re on the move. This is a gadget often used with smartphones, but sometimes you find yourself on the road with a deadline that can’t wait. There’s a variety of models from different manufacturers out there that recharge one device at a time or multiple devices at once.
Headphones
Whether it’s music, TedTalks, or podcasts, audio is an essential function of life. It’s just as essential when using a computer, and people use laptops for a variety of reasons. No matter what you use yours for, you’ve needed to listen to audio on several occasions. Naturally, the best way to do this is with a pair of headphones or earbuds.
Headphones are just as diverse as laptops themselves because there are different pairs for different uses. Do you simply want to listen to music? Are you a gamer and want to hear every footstep from the enemy as they sneak up on you? Wireless or wired? The options are endless.
Gaming headphones have features that enhance the gaming experience such as noise cancelation, negating any background noise that doesn’t come from a video game. They also come with an attached microphone if spending money on an additional peripheral is out of the question.
Audiophiles who notice the difference in sound between a CD and vinyl record want to get their hands on studio-quality headphones. Meanwhile, the physically active want a device that tolerates a little bit of perspiration from sweat but manages to stay in place while they prepare for the Boston Marathon.
Graphics Tablet
For those creative types out there, a digital drawing tablet is as important as oxygen. This isn’t anything like an iPad or tablet PC. It’s much more specialized than that. A graphics tablet is meant to be used in conjunction with a stylus or digital pen for digital illustration.
Graphic artists, designers, and traditional artists use these tablets for their careers because they offer a more fluid and intuitive way to illustrate than a mouse. The stylus used alongside the tablet is pressure-sensitive, offering precision that can’t be achieved any other way in a digital medium.
Portable Monitor
Using multiple monitors is easily the single best thing to do with a desktop computer. It frees up digital clutter when you’re trying to work on an assignment or lets you play a game on one monitor while having a website or two open on the other. This ability used to be exclusive to desktops, but not any longer.
Sure, laptops connect to traditional monitors, but it’s impractical to stuff the monitor in your backpack and carry it wherever your laptop went. Portable monitors are a great way to get the most out of your laptop.
They're lightweight and slim, making them easy to take with you on the go. They come with a variety of features such as High-Def displays, LED backlighting for enhanced image clarity, built-in speakers, and compatibility with both Type-C and HDMI ports. Portable monitors are an affordable and convenient way to expand your laptop's display, giving you more screen space for work or entertainment.
Beneficial Software
There are programs out there that accomplish a great many things. If you want to be productive, there’s an app for that. The beauty of laptops is that every program is ready to be utilized while on the move. Graphic designers use graphic tablets with creative software no matter where they're located. These programs aren’t exclusive to laptops, but they should be downloaded nonetheless.
Ninite
Finding new software to download and install onto your laptop is frustrating. Well, that’s where Ninite comes into play. This simple little program provides a hefty checklist of programs for you to browse. Simply check the applications you want on your computer and voila, Ninite downloads and installs them for you. No need to hunt for each individual program yourself.
Ninite separates all of the programs into different categories to make it easier to find what you want. If you’re a web developer, there’s an entire section of developer tools. Need to find media software to listen to music and watch movies? Ninite has a category for that. Ninite doesn’t give you software you’ve never heard of either. It includes big-name programs like Spotify and iTunes.
Zoom
Working from home is more popular now than ever since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and Zoom was at the forefront of bringing employees to the virtual office, so to speak. Many businesses have maintained their remote options, making Zoom the number one choice.
Zoom is a video conferencing platform that enables remote communication among individuals or groups, regardless of location. It offers a range of features including virtual backgrounds for those who want to individualize themselves and screen sharing for collaborating.
Beyond professional settings, Zoom is great for casual meetups as well. It allows families to join gatherings when they’re otherwise unable to make it in person. Furthermore, friends who have moved out of state are able to join a hangout without spending hundreds of dollars on a plane ticket.
Notion
For those that prefer to remain productive throughout the week, Notion is the app for you. Notion is a productivity platform designed to help individuals manage their work. It offers a range of features including notes, tasks, projects, wikis, and databases all designed to help users increase and maintain productivity.
Notion offers an intuitive drag-and-drop interface, allowing you to create, organize, and manage your tasks easily. Better yet, it integrates with other apps and services, allowing users to access the information they need in one place quickly. Furthermore, Notion syncs with any other device on which you use the program.
Avast
When it comes to antivirus software, ignore Norton and forget about McAfee. They’re unnecessary in a world where developers offer the same products for free. Avast is a well-established cybersecurity software company offering a range of products that protect individuals and businesses from online threats.
Avast provides antivirus software (also called Avast) for Windows and Mac as well as mobile security for Android and iOS. Its comprehensive security suite includes features such as real-time scanning, firewall protection, browser security, and anti-spam filtering. There’s also a range of advanced features for users that includes a password manager and a secure browser.
The company is known for its user-friendly interface, reliable protection, and frequent software updates. Their products have received high marks from industry experts and have been widely adopted by individuals and businesses alike.
The Bottom Line: Accessorize Your Life
Having too many accessories is never the wrong move with laptops. Some boost the productivity of your laptop while others extend the life span of your laptop. When it comes to brands, keep an eye on Anker as it’s the leading brand in the accessory game.
When using the same laptop for years after its life expectancy, keep up with the right accessories and peripherals to transform your device into a powerful productivity machine.
