These days, technology is as much a part of everyday life as brushing your teeth (here’s hoping you brush your teeth every day!). But lifestyle tech accessories can be expensive – especially since you may want to upgrade your tech every few years as new features become available. If you’re on a tight budget, here are some budget devices you can add to cart for under R500.
Xiaomi Redmi Buds 6 Active
R489, Vodacom Store
These buds pack a punch for the price. You get up to seven hours of playing time with active noise cancellation (ANC) on, and up to ten hours on a single charge with ANC switched off. If they do run out of battery, you can do a quick 10-minute charge in the case (provided the case is charged) and you’re good to go. They’re sweat and rainproof – great for outdoor walks – and you can customise the controls and other features in the free Xiaomi Earbuds app. The microphone may take some getting used to, but the sound quality is great for music, videos and gaming.
Polaroid Elite Smartwatch
R459, Takealot.com
When it comes to lifestyle tech accessories, smartwatches tend to be on the pricier end. This budget device offers many of the same functionalities at a fraction of the price. You can get notifications and calls to your wrist, set alarms and even control your music directly from the watch. It has a bunch of fitness and health features too, although users are divided as to their accuracy – so if it’s a sports watch you’re looking for, you may want to pay a bit more for guaranteed readings.
Mobicel S4 Cloud Phone 128MB 4G DS
R249, Vodacom Store
A 4G-enabled phone that costs less than most tech accessories? Yes, really. This compact “smartphone-lite” is a great budget device for anyone who doesn’t need a fully equipped smartphone and is an especially good option for kids (affordable; robust) and older people (simple to use; real buttons). While it doesn’t have WhatsApp, it does come with other apps like YouTube, TikTok, Instagram and Facebook, accessed via the cloud, as well as a camera. It only has 128MB of storage, but you can beef that up with a microSD card. Perk: There’s a charging block and a wired earbud in the box.
Samsung 45W Adaptor
R459, Vodacom Store
If you haven’t upgraded your phone in a while, here’s an important tip: Many manufacturers, including Samsung and Apple, no longer include the charging block with the phone. The charging block is the adaptor you use to plug your phone’s charger wire into the wall socket – so as tech accessories go, it’s a pretty important one. This block gives you fast charging for any USB-C device.
Soundcore Blue Select 4 Go Waterproof Portable Bluetooth Speaker 5W
R499.99, Checkers
If you love music, a portable Bluetooth speaker is one of those tech accessories you just have to get. Sure, you can play music through your phone – but the sound quality just isn’t the same. This speaker delivers way beyond what you’d expect from a budget device. The sound is loud and crisp with adjustable settings available through the Soundcore app. Small and lightweight, yet rugged, it’s the perfect lifestyle tech choice for the outdoors – it’s dustproof, waterproof, and it floats. And with 20-hour battery life, you’d better ramp up your playlist!
If you're looking for more lifestyle accessories or need a new phone, tablet or even laptop, check out the Vodacom shop for some cutting-edge options.
