Amazon’s store brand makes a lot of great tech, but these are the 10 gadgets actually worth buying
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Since 2009, Amazon has sold a variety of products through its own brand, called AmazonBasics.
Their generic brand covers everything from tech to fitness or even dining supplies. The goal is to give you the most bang for your buck, and while their products might not be as flashy as their competitors', they get the job done.
They're also significantly cheaper, and if you can get a solid product in a major category for less, it's definitely worth it.
I've used some AmazonBasics products before, and in some cases, check if they have something before looking at the rest of the market.
So I've sorted through the handful of AmazonBasics gadgets you can feel comfortable buying for less. None of them will ever be flashy, but, like an imitative box of cereal, they’ll get the job done. You might save some cash along the way, too.
Bluetooth speakers
AmazonWhile it hasn’t made our list of the best budget Bluetooth speakers, the AmazonBasics Portable Bluetooth Speaker is a more exciting value than its bland name suggests. It’s no UE Roll in the design department, but it’s not ugly, and while it doesn’t have the fullest sound around, its bright, mostly clean profile is decidedly solid for a $40 speaker.
Also, it’s $40. That’s very affordable for something this respectable. For only a little more you can get Anker's SoundCore Sport XL, which is the best portable bluetooth speaker we've tested recently. But if budget is your main concern, Amazon's speaker will be just fine.
AmazonBasics Portable Bluetooth Speaker, $39.99
Cables
AmazonIt’s never a bad idea to stock up on spare cables — they have a habit of being misplaced, you see — and much of AmazonBasics’ selection are among the better deals around.
Its sturdy HDMI cables are particularly affordable, as you can grab, among other things, a pair of 10-footers for $6.49. You shouldn’t pay more than a few bucks for these as a rule — just be sure to check out similar offers from other trustworthy cheap cable sellers like Monoprice to ensure you get the best deal for you at a given time.
It’s the same idea with microUSB and Lightning cables. We’ve extolled the virtues of having a lengthier charging cable before, and there’s virtually no reason to splurge $20 or $30 on "name brand" options from Apple and the like.
There are differences in speed and durability among cheap cables, but generally speaking, Amazon’s USB 3.0 to microUSB Cable and (MFi-certified) Lightning to USB Cable are reliable. They might not be the fastest or tightest — we like Anker’s selection, too — but they’re backed by great user reviews, and again, they’re super affordable. If you ever see them marked down, they’re worth jumping on.
AmazonBasics HDMI Cable 2-Pack (9.8 Feet), $6.49
AmazonBasics USB 3.0 to microUSB Cable (6 Feet), $5.99
AmazonBasics Apple Certified Lightning to USB Cable (6 Feet), $7.99
Portable batteries
AmazonSeeing your phone’s battery icon flash red when you know you won’t be home for another few hours is a strange kind of anxiety, but one you can avoid entirely by investing in a portable battery. Thankfully, as is the recurring theme here, you don’t need to pay a ton to get a dependable one.
We’ve previously commended smaller packs from RavPower and larger ones from Anker and Monoprice, but you can toss the AmazonBasics Portable Power Bank right alongside them. Again, we can’t say it’s the absolute fastest around, but any differences won’t be significant to most people, and the whole thing is well-made. It’s about as affordable as our other recommendations, too.
Really it comes down to how you want your battery to look. If you think a flatter, more phone-shaped pack would play nicer with your pockets, by all means, give this a go. We’ve linked to the 16,500mAh model below, which we find to be the best deal of the bunch, but there are other, more compact options.
AmazonBasics Portable Power Bank (16,500mAh), $29.99
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