11 Pieces Of Tech Every First-Time Apartment Renter Should Know About

Moving into your own apartment is a big step for anyone. No matter how independent you’ve been in the past, living alone — or perhaps as a room-renter living with housemates — brings quite a bit of change. For one thing, people living in their first apartment will need to adjust to budgeting realities unlike those of home living. Renters need to organize utilities like electricity and Wi-Fi connections (you might even need to tackle Wi-Fi signal boosting if you live in a brick building, among other complicating factors). Those residing in apartments also have to deal with personalization and customization aspects.

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Everyone will want their living space to reflect their own sense of style and unique quality of life needs. For most, this means integrating technology upgrades and decorative inclusions that don’t substantially alter the layout of the property. Renters have far less flexibility when it comes to drilling holes and adding plugs or lights, among other features. This means that the gear a renter brings into their living area has to be flexible in its own right, be easy to install and use, and potentially serve multiple functions or take up a small amount of space. Apartments tend to be on the smaller side when compared to full-sized houses, so functionality and space saving features are prized among the gear that apartment renters will be interested in. These options pack in a lot of value and can help a new renter make the most of their living space.

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Smart light bulbs can tremendously impact the mood of your home. No matter the kind of place you lay your head, smart lightbulbs like those from Kasa are quickly able to make drastic improvements to the environment and ambiance. Hub-free connection and dimmable, these bulbs are easy to install and make a huge impact right out of the box. The range offers massive variety in color and features 800-Lumen and 1,000-Lumen options along with a textural range between 2500K and 6500K (and up to 9000K in the 1,000-Lumen bulbs) from warm to cool white shades.

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The bulbs feature controls found in a phone app, allowing you to customize the shades that best complement your apartment’s natural lighting and chosen color palate. The bulbs can also be voice controlled and set to automatically adjust throughout the day to deliver a perfect pairing for the natural light pattern of the environment outside your windows. Users can set timers and pre-set schedules for light activation and dialed in color, warmth, and brightness for the perfect atmosphere at any time. They also feature energy monitoring tools to help you understand how your usage affects the electricity bill.

Ninja is renowned for its huge (and constantly growing) catalog of goodies. The brand makes blenders, vacuums, hair dryers, and of course, cooking gear like the DoubleStack Air Fryer. The whole range of fryers are great for homeowners and renters alike. They speed along the cooking process and make dinner prep more streamlined. One of the brand’s newest additions is perhaps uniquely suited to new renters, however. The DoubleStack air fryer offers two frying compartments, allowing a user to prepare as many a four unique food items at the same time. Cooking vegetables, other sides, and a primary meat element all in the same unit creates less cleanup and it makes the task of putting together a complete meal simple.

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Renters in tight apartment kitchens can really get value out of this configuration. Rather than laying out the cooking compartments next to each other, as is the case with previous models, this air fryer stacks them to create massive space saving ergonomics. The DoubleStack fryer can be pushed into tight corners when not in use and takes up far less counter space when active, allowing for other cutting, plating, or preparation activities to take place around the cooking device. The stacked layout along with the sheer utility of the Ninja air fryer lineup on the whole combine to give renters a wonderful and technology-driven tool. The fryer also comes with an optional thermometer attachment, giving you perfect control over the cook every time.

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A smart TV is a must in any modern, tech-infused apartment. These televisions bring together all your favorite streaming services in a centralized hub, adding in additional apps that make the viewing experience more pleasant. Smart TVs often have some of the best picture quality on the market — after all, you wouldn’t want a do-it-all TV that sports lousy graphics or lackluster black tones, creating abysmal image contrast. In your first apartment, you might not have space (or cash) for a massive screen. The Samsung Q60 QLED Smart TV offers screens up to 85 inches and as small as a 32 inches screen. It’s a reasonably priced unit, too, with a 32-inch variant selling for $400 with sizes between that and 55 inches in the $400 to $500 range.

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The TV features Samsung’s SmartThings connectivity, allowing you to pair it with your standard Samsung devices easily, and the screen naturally exhibits 4K resolution for crystal clear viewing, even on a smaller screen. Enhanced with Samsung’s Quantum Dot technology, the TV is capable of creating striking visuals at any brightness level for a massively enjoyable viewing experience. The previous generation of the Q60 lineup was among SlashGear’s standout selections for the best Smart TVs available in 2023, and it looks to still be holding strong in its new iteration among some of the market’s best performers.

Many new apartment renters won’t be in the market for a high-end TV and other expensive electronics. Even with budget-friendly options available, the first few months after you move might be all about finding your footing and tightening your belt. You might bring an old TV from home or invest in a cheap television to get you by for the time being. If you find yourself placing priority elsewhere, a Roku Streaming Stick 4K is a great option to give you all the enhanced functionality of a smart TV without the costly price tag.

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The dongle and remote that will elevate your viewing experience cost just $50 ($70 if you opt for the voice-control tools in the 4K Plus model instead of the standard 4K Stick), a far cry from even the moderate price tags of the cheapest smart TVs available. Moreover, on Amazon the Streaming Stick is often on sale for around $30. The tech-infused video streaming tool is a fantastic replacement (or addition) when seeking to get the most out of your viewing experience.

A digital photo frame is no longer a novel feature in a techy household. These photo display gadgets allow you to load up tons of pictures that will cycle and give you a heaping dose of nostalgia and memories in any room. In an apartment, this is a great addition because it allows you to display all your favorite pictures without having to invest in frames and non-marring hanging solutions.

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The Frameo Smart WiFi Digital Photo Frame takes this a step farther, though. The digital frame features 32GB of memory built directly into the device. This internal storage forms a partnership with app and wireless connectivity that allows users to upload photos to the frame from anywhere they might find themselves. As a result, the frame makes for a great present for loved ones, too, adding a gift to the living room that continuously gives more. Whether you’re an avid traveler or frequently take pictures with friends, adding them to your digital display is easy and provides a consistently novel experience in a stylish frame that will elevate your apartment.

Renters living in apartment complexes are likely to find that they need a bit of ingenuity to fully realize their lifestyle needs. The median age of American home stock (owner-occupied) is 39, with lots of pre-war construction in east coast urban hubs like New York and newer builds exhibiting an outsized share of stock in other regions. While not a definitive correlation in all instances, older properties often provide better rent prices to prospective tenants. However, older buildings are less energy efficient than newer constructions. They also provide a greater disparity between modern, functional living and the design choices incorporated into the structure. An older apartment that was constructed before homes routinely incorporated televisions won’t have sockets in a place that’s easily accessible for a device mounted to the wall, unless the owner undertook the necessary renovations. 

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These gaps between building norms of the time and the connectivity demands of modern living are where tools like power strips come into play. Belkin makes some of the market’s most reliable extension cords and power strips. A Belkin 12-Outlet Power Strip with surge protection and an 8-foot flat plug provides a great starting point. This tool gives you plenty of reach to connect numerous electronic devices. Belkin’s 6-Outlet Power Strip instead features a 6-foot cord and a rotating plug for any kind of strange geometry you mighty encounter. Belkin power strips are reliable, offer significant surge protection, and sell at a reasonable price. There’s a lot to love.

A security camera is a great digital asset to bring into your apartment. Anyone concerned with the security of their space should invest in a quality camera. Today, they’re cheap and cheerful, inexpensive to buy and incredibly easy to install and operate. One of the most versatile options is the Blink Mini 2 Security Camera. The device is tiny, allowing it to be secured anywhere in your apartment with a command strip or similar, non-permanent fastening tools. The ability to quickly remove the camera is great for those renting their abode, eliminating any concerns over fixing holes (or avoiding them altogether) after you eventually decide to move out and find someplace new.

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The camera from Blink utilizes a built-in spotlight and color night view technology to keep the picture crystal clear, even in tough surveillance conditions. When paired with a weather resistant adapter, the camera can be installed outside, too. Person detection and two-way talk functionality make it useful as a guest-vetting system at the front door when possible, as well. A security camera is a great tool to have at home for personal security, and it’s a good option for those with pets, too. Checking in on your dog or cat and even voicing words of reassurance if they start getting anxious can improve your living space in an instant.

Lighting candles or initiating the burner by hand on a gas stove requires a flame source of some variety. Many apartments will have matches or lighters somewhere in their kitchen drawers for just this task. While smoking in apartments might not often be permitted, and plenty of people these days have given up or never started with the habit (rates have been dropping steadily since 2000), this is only one of many reasons to have a lighter on hand.

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Instead of working with disposable lighters or keeping track of flimsy match boxes, a rechargeable lighter is an elegant, tech-driven, and immensely useful solution to numerous usage areas. The USB Rechargeable Electric Plasma Arc Lighter (available on Amazon) recharges through an included USB cable for fast functionality and promises to act as a replacement for the power of roughly 350 disposable lighters. This makes it an environmentally friendly alternative that looks great, costs around the same as a pack of disposables, and delivers windproof and smoke free plasma lighting technology.

In the same way that apartment dwellers will often want to find power strip solutions to expand access to powered electrical equipment (from gadgets for the home office to hair styling products), they’ll also need better lighting options for many areas of the home. Standard lighting in your apartment is often basic, sometimes lacking in coverage, and never fully optimized for your personal needs. This is to be expected, but it’s not something that you just have to live with. Instead, introducing easily installed strip lighting to areas of your home that need additional coverage the most can transform your apartment.

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One area that this can often start in is the kitchen. Under Cabinet Rechargeable Strip Lights (available on Amazon) feature adhesive tape installation for a quick affix to the underside of your kitchen cabinets. They also feature magnetic inclusions for rapid use all around the house without a second thought. Once you’ve stuck your lights in place, they can be set to constant on or turn on when motion is detected, giving you light when you need it and turning it off automatically when you walk away. These are cost-effective and easy to install, immediately bringing additional illumination to your closet, food preparation schedule, or adding a sort of back lighting feature to stylize your living space.

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Anyone sensitive to pollen and other irritants in the air will likely be familiar with the concept of the air purifier. These filtration tools pull in air from your interior environment and capture pollen, pet dander, and even the remnants of smoke from the kitchen or otherwise. Many create a considerable amount of noise when operating, however, reducing their effectiveness at night or in conditions when concentration is critical.

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The Levoit Core 300S Air Purifier is a different sort of tool, though. The purifier is a step up from the brand’s smallest offering, making it portable and lightweight, while also giving it enough muscle to manage the needs of a whole apartment. The 300S model sports an effective coverage area of 1,095 square meters, more than enough to clean up the air quality in your apartment’s living space. The device weighs just six pounds, too. It features a sleep mode that turns off all the display lights and reduces noise down to 22dB, quieter than a typical library setting. The ability to run your purifier through the night or setting it to Auto Mode so that it kicks in when additional particles are sensed in the air can make for a refreshing night’s sleep and a morning routine helping you tackle everything else that’s to come throughout the day. The air purifier features a full slate of onboard buttons, and it pairs up with a mobile app for easy setting adjustments and user friendly control.

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Both Apple users and Android afficionados will be familiar with the value a charging station brings to daily life. This 5-in-1 Wireless/Wired Charging Station from Gauoln is optimized for Apple products, featuring wireless docks for an Apple Watch, iPhone, and AirPods, but it can be used with other phones too (wireless-compatible watches aren’t likely to work, but earbuds may, depending on the contact geometry of their wireless charging functionality). The charging station also features two USB ports near the back, a standard USB and a fast, USB-C port for additional juicing up beyond the primary wireless areas.

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A charging station helps declutter your living space, and it’s a particularly useful feature in an apartment. You might consider adding one of these to your bedroom nightstand or placing one in the kitchen or on your desk. Wherever you find most of your devices plugged in, swapping out tons of loose wires for a compact charging station with built-in dividers to help enhance organization is a game changer.