Getting set for a new school year starts with a laptop that holds up, plus all the stuff that piles up around it. Prime Day runs through June 26, so this is the time to grab that gear before the fall rush and skip full price. I went through the deals and put together the back-to-school kit I'd actually buy: a couple of laptops, a tablet, and the desk stuff that makes them usable. All of these deals are over at Amazon.
Apple MacBook Air M5 13-inch: The default answer for most students
The deal: $949.00, down from $1,099.00 (14% off)
When someone asks me what laptop to get and they don't have a strong opinion, I tell them the MacBook Air. The 2026 M5 model is the current one, so you're not buying something a year out of date. You're looking at 16GB of memory and 512GB of storage here, which handles a messy stack of browser tabs and a few apps without slowing down, and leaves room for four years of files. It runs fanless, so it never makes a sound, and the M5 chip gets you through a full day of lectures on one charge. The $949 price knocks $150 off. It briefly hit $900 in May, so this isn't a record, but laptop prices look set to climb later in the year, and I wouldn't gamble on a deeper cut. If you just want a laptop you can stop thinking about the day you buy it, this is it.
HP OmniBook 5 16-inch: A big-screen Windows laptop with battery to spare
The deal: $749.99, down from $1,099.99 (32% off)
Want Windows and a bigger screen to work on? The OmniBook 5 gives you a 16-inch 2K display, which is a lot more room for two documents side by side than the 13- and 14-inch laptops most students carry around. It's a Copilot+ PC running Qualcomm's Snapdragon X chip, the same efficient kind of design that stretches battery across a full day of classes. You also get 16GB of memory and a 512GB SSD, so it won't bog down with a wall of tabs open or fill up by sophomore year. It is fairly new, with only a handful of reviews so far, so it doesn't have the track record of something like the MacBook. But at $749.99, a third off its $1,099.99 list, you're getting a lot of screen and battery for the money. This one suits a student who'd rather have a roomy display than the lightest laptop in the room.
Apple iPad Pro 13-inch (M4): The tablet for note-takers
The deal: $1,649.99, down from $1,999.99 (18% off)
This is the expensive one, and it only earns a spot for a certain kind of student. If you write notes by hand, mark up readings, or sketch, and you'd rather carry one slab to class, the iPad Pro covers a lot of that ground. The 13-inch Ultra Retina XDR panel is the nicest screen on any tablet, and the M4 chip is fast enough for actual coursework, not just streaming. You also get Apple Intelligence, a LiDAR scanner, Face ID, Wi-Fi 6E, and battery that lasts the day. This is the 1TB model, so you won't be deleting things to make room. Two things to be clear about: the keyboard and Apple Pencil are sold separately, and the M5 version is already out, so you're getting last year's iPad cheaper. I'd steer a creative or a heavy note-taker here, and point everyone else at the 11-inch iPad A16, which is on sale for $299 (usually $349).
Dell 32 Plus 4K (S3225QS): A big, sharp screen that's easy on the eyes
The deal: $284.99, down from $369.99 (23% off)
A 4K monitor under $300 is a lot of screen for the money, and this 32-incher is a real jump up from a laptop display. It's a 31.5-inch VA panel at 3840 by 2160, so text and fine detail look crisp, and it runs up to 120Hz, which keeps scrolling smooth and handles the odd game without smearing. Color is better than I'd expect at this price, covering 99% of sRGB and 95% of DCI-P3, so photos and video look right rather than washed out. The part I'd care about for school is Comfortview, Dell's low-blue-light mode that takes some of the strain out of staring at it past midnight. The Ash White finish is a nice break from the usual black slab, too. If you spend long stretches reading and writing on a screen, the extra size and sharpness earn their desk space.
Anker 10-in-1 USB-C Hub: The dongle that ends the dongle problem
The deal: $59.99, down from $119.99 (50% off)
Thin laptops cut ports to stay thin, and this hub hands them all back at once. You get two 4K HDMI outputs for a dual-monitor setup, four USB-A and USB-C data ports, gigabit ethernet, and an SD card reader, plus up to 100W of pass-through power so the laptop keeps charging while everything's plugged in. I'd pay up for Anker over a no-name hub, because the cheap ones run hot and drop the connection right when you're mid-export. At half off this isn't really paying up, either. Anyone running an external monitor, a wired keyboard, and a card reader off two laptop ports will get a lot of mileage out of it.
NETGEAR Nighthawk RS150: An affordable WiFi 7 router for a dorm or apartment
The deal: $117.59, down from $199.99 (41% off)
If you're in an apartment or house with your own internet, a better router is one of the easier upgrades to make, and the RS150 is a cheap way to get a current one. It runs WiFi 7, the newest standard, which is rare to find at $117.59 since most WiFi 7 routers still cost a good bit more. It's rated BE5000, or up to 5 Gbps, and covers about 2,250 square feet and 80 devices, so it's plenty for a shared place with a few people online at once. There's a 2.5 Gig internet port for faster plans, so the router won't be the bottleneck if your internet is quick. It's dual-band rather than tri-band, which keeps the price down, and in a normal-sized place you won't miss the third band. If you're still running the router your ISP handed you, this is an easy step up.
Kasa Smart Power Strip (KP303): Smart outlets for a tiny dorm desk
The deal: $24.99, down from $29.99 (17% off)
Some of the best dorm upgrades are boring, and this is one of them. The KP303 gives you three outlets you can switch on and off one at a time, plus two USB ports, all from your phone or through Alexa and Google Assistant. There's no hub to buy on top of it. It comes into its own in a cramped room where outlets are scarce and you want a lamp on a timer or a quick way to cut power to whatever you're not using. Don't buy it thinking it will protect your devices from power surges. With a clamping voltage of 1200V, surges can reach damaging levels before the protection activates. If you need a surge protector, check out our picks in our guide to picking out a surge protector.
EarFun Tune Pro: Cheap headphones that block out a noisy hall
The deal: $50.34, down from $69.99 (28% off)
Studying in a loud dorm or a packed library is the whole reason these make the cut. The Tune Pro are over-ear headphones with active noise cancelling, and EarFun packs a lot in for the money: Bluetooth 5.4, five mics for calls, Hi-Res audio, and a custom EQ in the app. Battery is the headline, at up to 120 hours, so you'll go weeks between charges instead of hunting for a cable mid-week. Multipoint keeps them connected to your laptop and phone at the same time. These get you most of the way to quiet focus without spending Sony or Bose money.
HP Smart Tank 5000: A print-scan-copy combo that won't gouge you on ink
The deal: $139.99, down from $189.99 (26% off)
A printer feels optional right up until you need to hand in something physical or scan a form at 11 p.m. The Smart Tank 5000 is an all-in-one, so it prints, scans, and copies over Wi-Fi from a laptop or a phone. The reason I'd pick this over a cheap inkjet is the ink. It uses refillable tanks instead of cartridges, HP throws in two years' worth in the box, and refills cost a fraction of what cartridge ink runs, so you're not getting nickel-and-dimed every semester. The reviews are mixed, to be fair, and it's more workhorse than looker. For a household that actually prints and scans on the regular, the low running cost is what earns it the space.
[Image credit: Apple/ASUS/Dell/Anker/NETGEAR/Kasa/EarFun/HP, cover image generated with Gemini]
