More people have, through necessity or choice, found themselves doing more work away from the office. However, many parents and students have also been discovering the joys and difficulties of teaching and learning from home, which is something that brings its own unique set of challenges.
There’s no denying that the internet has made remote work and learning much more accessible for millions of people, and no matter what age group you’re teaching (or what age group you belong to if you’re a student), the right equipment can make things even easier. Right now, eBay is having a sale on all sorts of home learning hardware to help teachers and students alike. Below, we’ve rounded up our favorite picks of the lot, but be sure to head over to the sale page to check out everything that’s on offer.
Sennheiser HD 350BT — $120, was $230
Sennheiser is a titan in the world of head-fi, and rightly so. These premium cans can get pretty expensive, though, but eBay’s home learning sale has some worthy deals, such as this one on the Sennheiser HD 350BT. These over-ear headphones utilize Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity for wireless use with your PC or mobile device, but the frame folds down for transport. The HD 350BT is also compatible with Siri and Google Assistant voice controls, and you can pair the headphones with the Sennheiser app to access more detailed equalizer settings and firmware updates. A juicy 47% savings knocks $110 off the price, letting you score the Sennheiser HD 350BT Bluetooth
Apple AirPods (1st Gen) — $176, was $221
Although there’s a lot more competition in the true wireless earbud market than there was even a few years ago, the Apple AirPods are as popular as ever and the first-gen models are still a great buy in 2020 thanks to their great build quality, good sound, solid Bluetooth connectivity, and reliability — exactly the hallmarks we’ve all come to expect from Apple. They’re great for work and study thanks to their comfortable in-ear design, and the built-in mic means you can take calls with them when synced with your smartphone. A nice $45 discount means you can score these brand new Apple AirPods for $176 right now.
HP Notebook 14 Laptop — $330, was $400
No matter what you’re doing, you’re not going to get anywhere in today’s digital age without a good laptop. You don’t have to pay out the nose for a solid Windows 10 workstation, and the HP Notebook 14 laptop is a solid (not to mention cheap) choice for home learning and teaching. It runs on a 2.6Ghz Intel CPU, 4GB RAM, and 64GB of flash storage — basic specs, but perfectly fine for work and study for a laptop at this price point — and its 14-inch HD display is the perfect size to work on comfortably without being too bulky to carry around.
Apple iPad Pro (2017) — $430, was $649
The iPad Pro is Apple’s top-of-the-line tablet, and they carry price tags to match. That’s why it’s not a bad idea to spring for slightly older models that are still packing great hardware, such as the 10.5-inch iPad Pro from 2017. Apple has always put its best technology into the iPad Pro, so this one still offers plenty of horsepower and fantastic all-day battery life along with a gorgeous Retina touchscreen that boasts a super-smooth refresh rate of 120Hz. The iPad Pro is also powerful enough to pull double duty as a light laptop when paired with a compatible wireless keyboard, which is another thing that justifies its (normally) higher price. You don’t have to spend a fortune on this professionally refurbished unit, though, which rings in at just $430 after a $219 discount — just a bit more than the standard iPad.
Apple Macbook Pro (2013) — $540, was $1,000
MacBooks are pricey but they age like wine, and you can save a lot on one by opting for professionally refurbished last-gen models like this still-excellent late 2013 MacBook Pro. This cheap MacBook runs on an Intel Core i5 processor paired with 4GB of RAM, and you’ve also got a 128GB solid-state drive for storage. Its 13-inch Retina display is a great compact size that’s not too small for serious work and has a Quad HD resolution of 2,560 x 1,600, which is incredibly impressive even by 2020 standards. MacBook Pros start at around $1,200 for entry-level models, but by buying refurbished, you can score this late 2013 MacBook Pro for a much more reasonable $540 (down $460 from its regular price).
