There are thousands of tech products available to buy online, in stores, and through subscription services. In fact, there are so many choices that it can be overwhelming when trying to decide which gadgets are worth your money and which aren’t. Many people like getting the latest tech and keeping up with the Joneses by buying the latest phones, e-readers, cameras, televisions, or game consoles. But not everyone needs — or wants — every piece of technology that comes onto the market. There may be some tech you should never buy and others where an older version is good enough instead of upgrading to something newer. With that in mind here are 10 pieces of technology you shouldn’t buy…
Smart Speakers
There are few pieces of tech on this list that have made as significant a cultural impact as smart speakers. The Amazon Echo, Google Home, and Apple HomePod have gotten people trying out voice control for the first time and have brought us into a new world of artificial intelligence.
But if you’re looking for a new way to control your music, a smart speaker may not be the best investment. Most people only use their smart speakers for a few minutes each day to control their smart home devices or play music, and that’s not enough to make them cost-effective. Most people don’t need a smart speaker at all and can get the same result from their smartphone.
The Amazon Echo and Google Home are significantly cheaper than the Apple HomePod, but they’re all more expensive than they need to be. If you want to try out the technology but don’t want to spend a lot, there are a few cheap smart speakers like the Amazon Echo Dot or Google Home Mini that you can pick up for less than $50.
E-Readers
There’s a good chance that the last book you read had a cover that was made of paper and was a physical copy. E-readers are the perfect way to save money by buying digital books instead of physical copies when you’re on the go, but you may not need to splash out $100 or more for a dedicated device. You can read digital books on a smartphone or tablet, or you can pick up a cheap Kindle Paperwhite. The Paperwhite is an older model that you can pick up for as little as $60 online, but it’s the perfect device for most people. It has a great screen and performs all the functions needed from an e-reader, but it does them at a fraction of the price of the latest Kindle models.
Windows Phone
Windows phones are still around and are about to get a new update, but you shouldn’t buy one. Microsoft is moving away from Windows Phone completely and is ending support for the platform, including any apps that are still available on it. There is no reason to invest in a Windows phone at this point unless you want something that is more secure than Android. Android is the world’s most popular mobile operating system, and it’s still growing stronger. You could pick up a Windows phone, but you’ll find that the best apps are missing from the platform.
The best Android phones are also the most recent ones, and the latest Apple iPhones are the best iPhone models you can buy. There’s no good reason to buy a Windows phone at this point unless you prefer it over Android or iOS.
Chromebook
New computers come out all the time with ever more powerful processors, better graphics cards, and more storage, but there are still some great older models available. There have been a few occasions when it’s been suggested that you should never buy anything with a particular brand of processor. These include the Intel Celeron processor, the Intel Pentium processor, and the Intel i3 processor. The latest Intel i3 processor is a lot better than the older ones, but the same can be said of the Intel Celeron and Pentium processors.
The Celeron and Pentium chips are used in Chromebooks, which are computers that rely on the cloud for most of their functionality. There’s nothing wrong with owning a Chromebook, but you may not need to spend $1,000 or more on a new one. You could pick up an older model for a fraction of the price.
MP3 Players
The rise of smartphones stole the limelight from MP3 players, and it’s hard to justify spending hundreds of dollars on them when you can get an Apple iPhone 8 or Samsung Galaxy S9 for less than $600. You can find some great older MP3 players on websites like eBay, but you should make sure that they work with modern technology before buying them. The most popular audio file format is MP3, and you’ll find that most players can play this.
If you’re looking to get a new MP3 player, you may want to consider picking up a cheap iPod Nano. Apple’s iconic MP3 player is still made, and you can pick up a Nano with 16GB of storage for as little as $149.
Fitness Trackers
Fitness trackers are incredibly popular, but you may not need to spend hundreds of dollars on a brand-new one. You can find plenty of great new fitness trackers, but you may be able to find older models for less than $50. The best fitness trackers often have a lot of extra features that you probably won’t use, like guided workouts or heart rate monitoring. If you want to pick up a really basic fitness tracker, look for one that has an accelerometer.
You’ll be able to track steps taken, calories burned, and time spent exercising, but it won’t do anything else. You don’t need a new fitness tracker, and you certainly don’t need all the features that come with a more expensive model.
HD Television
Newer TVs are certainly more impressive than their older counterparts, but there’s no need to spend a fortune on a new television. Progressive scanning is a feature of many of the latest TVs, and it’s meant to make images appear clearer. It’s a feature that you’re unlikely to notice during normal viewing, so don’t let it influence your decision when buying a new TV.
If you’re looking for the best TV for your money, the most important thing is to pick the biggest display you can afford to buy. There’s no point in getting a TV that is 43 inches when you could have one that is 55 inches for the same price. You may also want to consider buying a 4K TV, but you don’t have to. It’s likely that you’ll never notice a difference between a 4K TV and a 1080p TV.
Drones
Drones are incredibly fun gadgets that can be used for a wide variety of purposes. They’re great for exploring new places like never before, and they can also be a lot of fun at parties. There are various models available, but if you’re looking to get into drone flying, you may be better off starting with a cheaper model. There are some expensive drones available that come with lots of extra features, but you don’t need them to get started.
You can find cheap drones that are perfect for beginners. They’re light, can be flown indoors, and won’t break the bank. If you want to upgrade to a more expensive drone later, you can do so knowing that you don’t have to worry about breaking your first model.
Smart Watches
There are few pieces of tech that have been as hyped as smartwatches. They’re incredibly useful devices that can track your health and fitness, notify you of messages and emails, or even act as a remote for your tech. But you may not need to spend hundreds of dollars on a brand-new smartwatch. If you’re looking for a new smartwatch, you should pick up one that is running on Android Wear.
You can find plenty of great smartwatches that are running on Android Wear 2.0, and most of them cost less than $200. You may be able to pick up an older model for a fraction of the price, and it will still be able to do everything that the latest models can do.
Conclusion
There are thousands of tech products available to buy online, in stores, and through subscription services. In fact, there are so many choices that it can be overwhelming when trying to decide which gadgets are worth your money and which aren’t.
Many people like getting the latest tech and keeping up with the trends, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that every new product on the market is worth your money. You are better off waiting a few months after a product is released to see how well it’s received by users and reviewers before buying it. This way, you can avoid spending your hard-earned money on a dud.
