Nanoleaf Expo Smart LED Display Case Smarter Kit$270$30010% off$270A proper collection deserves a proper showcase, which is where Nanoleaf’s smart LED cases come in. Each reactive, stackable box can display tunable white lighting and up to 16 million hues, allowing you to bathe your shoes, figurines, and other items in whatever colors you see fit. And because it’s Nanoleaf, you’ll even be able to access the same smart features as the company’s bulbs.$270 at Amazon$270 at Nanoleaf$35Who needs a Ruggable or a pricey Tibetan rug when you can get one emblazoned with Sora, Sonic, or a dual-wielding Master Chief? RugsRat’s circular rugs are soft, durable, and pay homage to video game series new and old. That includes classics like Halo 2 and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, as well as newer releases such as Elden Ring and Cyberpunk 2077. Hell, you can even design your own.$35 at RugsRat$60Whether they’re outfitting their dorm room or an apartment, Ikea’s Skådis Pegboard Combination offers grads a sleek, space-saving way to stay organized. The spacious board comes with a set of containers, hooks, clips, and a shelf, all of which are perfect for neatly displaying everything from keys and sticky notes to cables, pens, and other accessories.$60 at Ikea$100Now that the school year is officially over, your giftee likely has a lot more time to binge. For that, we recommend the Google TV Streamer 4K, which boasts onboard Google Assistant, easy-to-use smart home controls, and the best interface of any streaming device available. The set-top box even features a handy button for pinging the remote, giving it an edge over your couch.Apple iPad (11th-gen)$299$34914% off$299With its spacious 11-inch display, Apple’s latest iPad makes it easy to dive into studying or unwind with your favorite TV shows. It delivers snappy performance courtesy of Apple’s A16 chip, letting you off emails, take notes, or binge-watch to your heart’s content. Plus, it has a solid front-facing camera this time, ensuring you can video call and stay in touch with loved ones back home with ease.Beats Pill speaker$100$15033% off$100Portable and powerful, the latest Beats Pill offers good sound and IP67 dust and water resistance, making it ideal for beach days or study sessions. It’s also packed with features geared toward grads on the go, including a speakerphone for hands-free calls and a USB-C port for charging other devices. It even supports Find My / Find My Device support on both iOS and Android, so they won’t have to worry about losing it.Looking Glass Go$299$299If they’re feeling homesick, the 6-inch Looking Glass Go can bring photos of family and friends to life like no ordinary picture frame can. Just upload an image from any iOS or Android device, and the app will transform it into a high-resolution hologram with the help of AI. You can even share your 3D pictures with loved ones, making it a meaningful way to stay connected from afar.$299 at Looking Glass$46A personalized hometown puzzle is the kind of gift that hits the sweet spot in terms of nostalgia. The 400-piece jigsaw puzzles encapsulate a 6 x 4-mile coverage area with a given address at the center, and because they’re based on USGS mapping, each shows roads, waterways, vegetation, transit, and other geographical tidbits your giftee should be all too familiar with.$46 at AmazonAway The Carry-On$234$27515% off$234Whether you intend to use it for work trips or weekend getaways with friends, the Carry-On is a sleek, durable suitcase that makes travel easier. It’s packed with thoughtful touches — including a TSA-approved lock, 360-degree wheels, and a separate laundry bag — and it’s small enough to fit in most overhead bins yet spacious enough that you should have no trouble stowing everything you need for a three-day jaunt.$234 at Away$275 at AmazonAnker Charging Station (7-in-1, 100W)$40$5020% off$40A cluttered desk can make it hard to concentrate, which is why Anker’s 7-in-1 charging station is a great gift for grads. The 100W hub features a pair of USB-C and USB-A ports on the front and three AC outlets on the back, making it easy to power a 16-inch MacBook Pro, table lamp, phone, and other gadgets while keeping a tidy workspace.$40 at Amazon$40 at Anker (with code WS7DV2FFTMLH)Hoto Hand Tool Set$50$6017% off$50Hoto’s electric screwdrivers are a mainstay at The Verge, and the company’s Hand Tool Set is just as eye-catching. All of the included components, from the needlenose pliers and claw hammer to the textured carrying case, showcase a handsome minimalist design that’s far more attractive than the usual white-label fare. It makes for an attractive starter kit, if nothing else.$20Classic team-based games like Codenames offer a good opportunity to break the ice with new schoolmates, whether you’re living with them or just linking up on the quad. The collaborative game charges two so-called “spymasters” with connecting a series of seemingly unrelated cards via a one-word clue, which their teammates must then uncover before the opposing team. It’s simple to learn but tough to master.13-inch MacBook Air (2025)$892$99911% off$892Many high school grads don’t have the budget for a new laptop, which is why gifting them one of the best is something they’ll appreciate. Apple’s M4 MacBook Air deftly balances performance and battery life, culminating in a 13-inch machine that’s as suitable for streaming as it is banging out that first-year composition paper.Cuisinart PerfecTemp Cordless Electric Kettle$100$13023% off$100Cuisinart’s cordless, 1,500W electric kettle lets you dial in the right temperature for whatever you’re drinking, be it coffee, a nice oolong, or a dorm room staple like instant ramen (no judgment here). The speedy stainless-steel kettle is loaded with six preset temps and an auto-shutoff timer, too, rendering it ideal for busy grads who always have to jet.The Last Lecture$11$11The Last Lecture captures the moving wisdom that Randy Pausch, a professor and former computer scientist, shared with his students following his cancer diagnosis cancer in ’06. His inspiring words encourage readers to reflect on what truly matters and the kind of legacy they hope to leave behind, making it a thoughtful guide for any graduate trying to figure out their next steps in life.Anker Laptop Power Bank$115$13515% off$115The Anker Laptop Power Bank is a lifesaver for anyone who works or studies on the go. With an impressive 25,000mAh capacity and 165W total output, it can quickly charge a beefy MacBook Pro to 50 percent capacity in just 30 minutes. Plus, with three USB-C ports and a USB-A port, you can power multiple devices at once, including phones, tablets, and handheld consoles.Apple AirTag$25$2914% off$25Whether they’re planning to take a well-earned vacation or just prone to losing things, an AirTag is a smart, stress-saving gift for any grad. The UWB Bluetooth trackers tap into Apple’s vast Find My network, letting you keep an eye out and quickly recover lost luggage, keys, passports, and other items using little more than a quick glance at your iPhone.Pantone Ceramic Bowls$116$12910% off$116Pantone’s vibrant, color-coded ceramic bowls provide a simple way to brighten up any kitchen cabinet… or bowl of Cap’n Crunch. The six sturdy, 5.75-inch bowls are also dishwasher-safe, making them suitable for everything from soup to messy study snacks.$116 at MoMA Design Store (members)$129 at MoMA Design Store (non-members)Kalita Wave 185 Dripper$21$3946% off$21The Kalita Wave 185 Dripper might be the only thing that gets your college-bound grad through linguistics or ochem. It brews a rich, full cup of pour-over coffee using wave filters and a flat-bottom, three-hold design, which makes it the perfect companion for pulling all-nighters when the nearest cafe is closed.Kobo Elipsa 2E$389$4003% off$389The Kobo Elipsa 2E isn’t just an e-reader — it’s the ideal study companion for grads heading to college or grad school. Its sizable 10.3-inch screen and included stylus makes annotating a breeze, while its ability to convert handwritten notes into typed text and solve math equations renders it an even more valuable tool for studying.$389 at Amazon$400 at Rakuten KoboNintendo Switch 2$449$449The Switch 2 could make for a stellar gift for any grad — that is, if you can manage to preorder one ahead of the console’s arrival on June 5th. Nintendo’s latest hybrid console packs a larger 7.9-inch 1080p display, magnetic Joy-Con controllers, and a host of other minor but welcome improvements that build upon what was already a winning formula.$15If you want to gift your grad a less traditional bouquet, Lovepop’s latest Black-Eyed Susan Bouquet could be a great alternative. The vibrant laser-cut flowers can add a pop of color to any new space and come packaged with a tuck-away card, which you can either fill out at home or personalize at checkout.$15 at Amazon$15 at LovepopSkullcandy Method 360 ANC$100$13023% off$100The Skullcandy Method 360 ANC are basically a pair of Bose earbuds in disguise, which isn’t a bad thing. They offer well-balanced sound, great features, and a comfortable fit that effectively blocks out unwanted noise, much more so than previous Skullcandy offerings. I guess that’s what you get when you license technology and audio tuning from Bose.Lodge Cast Iron Skillet (12-inch)$25$3017% off$25Everyone could use a good pan to cook their meals. With a Lodge skillet, your graduate can sear, sauté, bake, broil, braise, and fry all kinds of foods for years to come. Not only does the hardy 12-inch pan offer terrific heat distribution and retention, but it’s also safe to use in the oven or over an open fire. The included silicone handle is just an added plus that lets you ditch the oven mitts.Cotopaxi Nido Accessory Bag$34$4524% off$34Cotopaxi’s Nido Accessory Bag pairs wonderfully with work trips, road trips, and trips to a shared bathroom (hello, dorm life). The durable Dopp kit is great for holding both toiletries and tech accessories thanks to its zippered pocket and a bevy of small storage compartments, all of which let you store your essentials neatly in place.Circa Leather Discbound Notebook$99$13024% off$99Circa’s leather notebook offers a level of customization few journals can match. Given the pages are secured via a series of discs along the spine, your grad can easily add or remove sheets and organize sections in a way that fits their unique lifestyle and needs. That means they can reorient their thoughts for class, their next job interview, and a variety of other situations.$99 at LevengerF*cking Planner Stickers$6$6F*cking Planner Stickers can provide any grad who is trying to keep their life together (or at least look like they are) with a much-needed dose of humor. Bold, irreverent, and hilariously honest, they turn even the most mundane adulting tasks — from scheduling meetings to paying bills — into something a little less boring and a lot more fun.Black & Decker Furbuster$93$1007% off$93High-end robovacs with auto-empty docks and AI obstacle avoidance are great and all, but sometimes a classic handheld is all you need. Black & Decker’s rechargeable Furbuster is a great option for picking up fur, dirt, and other debris, especially since it offers a surprising amount of suction and an extra-long crevice tool for hitting those hard-to-reach areas.Songmics Bamboo Bed Desk with Tilting Top$36$5028% off$36The Songmics Bamboo Bed Desk is great for sick days, late-night study sessions, and a formidable breakfast in bed. It’s equipped with an adjustable top and legs, along with a small side drawer for storing pens, snacks, and everything needed to stay productive — or unwind — without leaving bed.$36 at Amazon (with on-page coupon)$46 at SongmicsFujifilm Instax Mini 99$180$19910% off$180The Instax Mini 99 is the perfect instant camera for budding photogs who crave a little more control over their shots. It quickly prints credit card-sized photos and features dual shutter buttons, along with a multitude of brightness settings and color effects. It even offers a Sports Mode, allowing you to effortlessly capture shots of subjects who refuse to sit still.RTIC Ultra-Tough Soft Cooler$76$8915% off$76If they plan on celebrating graduation on the road, RTIC’s rugged cooler can keep the La Croix flowing. The cooler’s insulated, waterproof design can keep drinks and other contents cold for up to two days, while a comfortable shoulder strap and end handles help ensure it’s never too difficult to lug from one hang to the next.Glocusent LED Neck Reading Light$20$2931% off$20If your grad is about to move in with a roommate or partner, Glocusent’s LED Neck Reading Light is a particularly useful gift. With adjustable brightness and warmth settings, the wearable neck lamp can help them comfortably pore over textbooks late into the night. It’s also not insanely bright, or at least not enough that it’ll keep their roommate awake.$20 at Amazon (with on-page coupon)

Table of Contents Table of Contents Table of Contents Skullcandy vs. Bose: Sound quality Skullcandy vs. Bose: Noise cancellation Skullcandy vs. Bose: Comfort and design Skullcandy vs. Bose: Battery life Skullcandy vs. Bose: Companion apps and extra features Our winner: Get the Bose earbuds on sale How We Tested Frequently Asked Questions The noise-cancelling earbuds market is not just crowded — it's packed. If a brand wants to stand out with a new release, it faces the difficult task of bringing something new to the table that can outshine the products of the major brands like Sony, Apple, and, of course, Bose. Skullcandy's new earbuds, the Method 360 ANC earbuds, are attempting to do just that by partnering with one of those major brands — Bose. The earbuds come with Bose-powered sound at the very impressive introductory price of $99.99 (Skullcandy will be raising the price to $129.99 at an unspecified date in the future). The cheapest Bose earbuds, on the other hand, are the QuietComfort earbuds, which retail for $179. Though they are considerably more expensive, they do often go on sale for $149 and have reached the record-low price of $129, which made us especially curious to put them head to head with the Skullcandy earbuds.Below, you'll find our breakdown of how the Bose QuietComfort earbuds compare to the Skullcandy Method 360 ANCs. Skullcandy vs. Bose: Sound qualityIn the press release for the Method 360 earbuds, Skullcandy called them its "most advanced audio experience to date." In listening to everything from indie rock, video game soundtracks, and podcasts, I can see why. The Skullcandy earbuds had a balance that matched up easily to other impressive budget earbuds I've tested. Whether I was listening to the Final Fantasy VII soundtrack or a live Daft Punk performance, these earbuds punched above a $100 price point. How does Bose-powered sound compare to the real deal? Credit: Bethany Allard / Mashable However, when listening to them side by side with the Bose earbuds, the Skullcandy earbuds felt muffled and muddier (though I wouldn't describe them as muddy on their own).When listening to Japanese Breakfast's "Savage Good Boy," I could still pick out different parts of the song's instrumentation, but I had to listen harder to pick up the piano past the guitar and vocals than I did with the Bose earbuds. While listening to the "Hush (Still Woozy remix)" by The Marías, the layers of the song were present with the Skullcandy earbuds, but shined with the Boses. Ultimately, the Skullcandys provided a solid listening experience, but the one the Bose earbuds provided was undeniably better. At the same volume, the QuietComfort earbuds sounded warmer, fuller, and generally more powerful. (I say this as someone who doesn't necessarily love bumping the volume super high.) Bose offers five total EQ presets, plus a custom setting. Credit: Screenshot: Bose Compared to Skullcandy's three presets and custom equalizer. Credit: Screenshot: Skullcandy For both, I found their standard mix to be on the bass-heavy side. However, Bose offers five EQ presets and a custom equalizer, compared to Skullcandy's three presets with a custom equalizer.Winner: Bose QuietComfortSkullcandy vs. Bose: Noise cancellationSkullcandy uses four mics to help block out sound, compared to the QuietComforts' three mics.That said, Bose's earbuds literally have the words quiet and comfort in their name. Not to mention, the brand's been a leader in the noise-cancelling space for quite some time. Whether I was working at home with my partner on the other side of the wall, in a cafe, library, or taking a walk, I generally found the Bose earbuds more adept at muting and outright blocking out sounds. That especially came through when I used just the noise cancellation without music to help it.However, the Skullcandy earbuds do offer adjustable ANC via the companion app, which isn't currently available on any pair of Bose earbuds. For their price point, it's not a feature I expected, but one I was pleasantly surprised to encounter. At its highest setting, the noise cancellation only had the slightest hiss. While Bose essentially had none at all in my experience, I was still surprised that the Skullcandy's noise cancellation was comparable at all, considering the price discrepancy. The Skullcandy companion app allows you to adjust the ANC on a sliding scale. Credit: Screenshot: Skullcandy And still, it's worth saying: the Skullcandy earbuds' ANC is very impressive for the price point. While working at the library, I could barely hear the murmurs of a conversation across the room that I could make out word for word without wearing the earbuds. On the Bose buds, the conversation disappeared altogether, giving them the slightest edge. Both earbuds allow you to toggle the ANC on and off and activate a transparency mode. With this last setting, the Bose stood out more effortlessly, amplifying the world around me just enough without overly emphasizing sounds or the room tone. The Skullcandy earbuds, on the other hand, exhibited a stronger background hiss in this mode. It didn't make it unusable by any means, but definitely less pleasant than that of the Bose earbuds.Winner: Bose QuietComfort, by a hair Skullcandy vs. Bose: Comfort and designFor how they fit into the ear, the designs are quite similar on these earbuds, which makes them wear very similarly. In my ears, I found the Bose earbuds to be slightly more comfortable, but both pairs come with three sizes of stability bands and three sizes of ear tips. At the end of the day, fit can be very personal, especially with earbuds. The earbuds have a similar shape, and both come equipped with a similar type of ear tip and stability band. Credit: Bethany Allard / Mashable As for the earbuds themselves, the Skullcandy earbuds actually resembled the Bose QuietComfort Ultra earbuds more, with a slightly elongated stem and exterior touch controls with the perfect level of sensitivity. As someone who far prefers tactile on-ear controls, I was surprised by how well these earbuds distinguished the different types of presses. I think because the earbud has a slight groove where the touch controls are, it's easy to identify where to touch, and to not brush against the surface and activate the controls accidentally.On the other hand, the regular QC earbuds have a flatter, more rounded touch control surface, which, in my testing of these earbuds last fall, I found to err on the side of oversensitivity. While I didn't experience that issue much this time around, it's worth noting that I tested them initially during a time of year I was wearing more hats and hoods. The Skullcandy earbuds perform like the Bose QuietComfort earbuds (pictured left) but look more like the QuietComfort Ultra earbuds (pictured right). Credit: Bethany Allard / Mashable The Skullcandy earbuds might've taken the win in this section, if not for one glaring feature — their case. Unlike most other earbuds cases that merely snap open and closed, this one has a sliding mechanism with an O-ring and a slot for one earbud on either side of the interior case. If the intention was to create something outside of the box, Skullcandy did a great job, but it sacrificed some functionality in the process. This case is super bulky. Credit: Bethany Allard / Mashable As you can see, the case is huge compared to the earbuds, meaning if you're not using the O-ring, it is one of the least travel-friendly pairs of earbuds out there. In their design, Skullcandy seemed to assume that's how most people would use the case, as they placed the earbuds on the opposite side of the case. In other words, when looking at it head-on, the right earbud goes on the left side, and the left earbud goes on the right side. If you have the case clipped onto your belt with the front facing outward, this configuration makes perfect sense. In pretty much every other use case, it makes none.The Bose case, on the other hand, is relatively compact and has a clear spot for each earbud. The Bose earbuds don't have a clip-on ring, but feel marginally more portable. Credit: Bethany Allard / Mashable Both earbuds are IPX4 water-resistant, so they should withstand sweating during workouts just fine.Our winner: TieSkullcandy vs. Bose: Battery lifeThere's not much to say here other than both of these earbuds have excellent battery life. With ANC on, Skullcandy estimates you can get roughly nine hours per charge, with 23 hours of battery life in the case. Bose estimates 8.5 hours, with 31.5 hours in the case. Numbers-wise, Bose is the winner here, but in two work weeks of testing, I only needed to charge up the Skullcandy earbuds once. The Bose app has a feature that lets you easily see the hours breakdown of your remaining battery life, but it's not something I checked on super regularly during testing. Related Stories The Bose app makes it easy to tell how much playtime you have left. Credit: Screenshot: Bose For day-to-day use, I found these earbuds performed very similar in the battery life department.Our winner: TieSkullcandy vs. Bose: Companion apps and extra featuresWhen testing these earbuds side by side, I noticed right away that the Bose-powered element doesn't make itself hidden. Skullcandy adopted the Bose QuietComfort's power-on sound, voice assistant, and tiled app interface. The Skullcandy app. Credit: Screenshot: Skullcandy Versus the Bose app. Credit: Screenshot: Bose While the Bose app has a few more features, including a battery prediction, smart calls, and a voice assistant section, there's also quite a bit of overlap. Both have equalizer settings, touch control customization, low latency modes, and even a remote selfie section.Numbers-wise, Bose simply has more features you can mess around with to truly tailor your earbud experience to what suits you best. Features-wise, Skullcandy has a slight edge with adjustable ANC, but Bose's better ANC overall, alongside the greater customization, its battery prediction screen, and more varied EQ presets help it stand out ahead of the cheaper earbuds.Our winner: Bose QuietComfortOur winner: Get the Bose earbuds on saleThe fact that a pair of Skullcandy earbuds can stand up to Bose earbuds at all is a testament to what the brand has done with the Method 360 ANCs. While overall, I wouldn't call them exactly the same, I would say they're similar enough that you won't be upset to grab them at $100. If they stayed at their introductory price forever, they'd be easy to recommend as the winner of this matchup.However, they will be jumping up to $129.99. Combined with the fact that the Bose earbuds get marked down to $149 frequently enough that these earbuds will sit just $20 apart with some regularity, it's hard not to suggest just springing the extra $20 to get slightly better earbuds with slightly more features. Get the Skullcandy and Bose earbuds Bose QuietComfort earbuds $179.00 at Amazon Skullcandy Method 360 ANC $99.99 at Amazon Still can't decide? Check out our full reviews of the Bose QuietComfort earbuds and the Skullcandy Method 360 ANC earbuds. If you have a bigger budget, we recommend checking out our review of the Bose QuietComfort Ultra earbuds.