8 Little-Known Amazon Gadgets Worth Trying For Yourself

Whether it's an ink-less sticker printer or a remote control for doom scrolling, there's a weird Amazon tech gadget you didn't know you wanted. It's hard to draw a distinction between seeing something for the first time and immediately realizing you've always wanted it, versus buying things you only thought you needed, but we're going to walk this line together. While the items selected for this article aren't popular, they're well-liked by those who use them. Most have been around for at least a few years, which means they're not the fad of the moment.

These Amazon gadgets are all fairly cheap or at least reasonable priced. Some, like a smart scale, would be a great unexpected gift for a techie partner or a health enthusiast, while others, like a pixel art Bluetooth speaker, are just neat to have around the house. Most importantly, all the gadgets here, with no exception, are worth trying for yourself if you find them intriguing.

Everyone needs a food scale. If you're looking for a new one, why not improve your kitchen with a smart device that displays the nutritional value of anything placed on it? Of course, the scale doesn't know what it's measuring until you punch in the correct food code or select the ingredient name in the app. In fact, the first step in choosing a smart kitchen scale is deciding whether you want to be tied to an app or not. A device like the Nutrition Scale by Greater Goods has no Wi-Fi or Bluetooth connectivity whatsoever and instead comes with touch-sensitive buttons and a large booklet containing 2,000 types of foods, each with its own code. It even lets you program the nutritional value for custom foods. If cooking is your hobby and you prefer not to manage everything through an app, this is the not-quite-smart scale for you.

Of course, a standalone scale with extra functionality is a far cry from a proper smart scale that can track the food it analyzes, read nutritional values directly from the label, and sync with some of the more popular health apps. The Renpho Food Scale is a good example of this kind of device since it works with Apple Health and its own Renpho Health app on Android devices.

In a hurry but you can't find your keys? The remote wandered off who knows where on its own? Want to keep tabs on your cat even when you can't see it? All those problems have one solution: a Bluetooth tracker. Slap this keychain-sized device on your easily lost item, pair it with your phone, and you're done. The Tile family of Bluetooth finders, all of which boast a battery life measured in years, also allows premium users to set up alerts that notify them whenever they're leaving a Tile behind. You can even set it up so the alarm won't go off when you're in certain locations or at a certain time, for example when leaving your work laptop at home during the evening.

Tile isn't the only company making Bluetooth trackers, but it is one of the best major Bluetooth tracker brands on the market. From the classic Tile Mate keychain to the wallet-sized Tile Wallet Finder, there's a Tile object tracker for every need, all with years of battery life and Bluetooth connectivity. Alternatives to Tile include Apple AirTag, which, of course, only works with Apple devices but relies on the extensive Find My network and not just Bluetooth. The Samsung Galaxy SmartTag 2 is another great option for those that have the compatible device. While it requires a Samsung smartphone to be of any use, the SmartTag 2 can use the Galaxy Find network, potentially expanding its range by a wide margin.

Smart rings are getting better and more popular every day, but they haven't quite caught up to smart watches. Yet, they can be just as useful. The battery life is much longer than their wrist-worn counterpart, making them better sleep trackers. Most can track heart rate and oxygen levels, while the most expensive models, like the Oura Gen 4, boast some additional functions, including increased app integration for sleep tracking and stress measurement functions. However, the most impactful improvements are in battery life and fast charging. These characteristics, along with price, are the most important factors in deciding which smart ring brand is right for you.

The only way to get the most out of a smart ring is to never take it off — except for charging — which is why a long battery life is so important. Tracking sleep patterns, blood oxygen levels, and heart rate can help you (with the help of a specialist) make informed health decisions, but only if there's enough data to draw from. Does your job require you to take off your rings or wear thin gloves all the time? Do you find large, chunky rings comfortable? Do you like wearing rings at all? These are all things to consider before buying a smart ring, lest you find yourself with a very expensive nightstand ornament.

There are loads of people who find it easier to fall asleep with a movie, TV show, or some music playing in the background, and just as many light sleepers that can't stand any noise at night. When those two types end up sharing a house or even a room, it's up to sleep headphones like the Musicozy Headband to save the day. A headband-slash-headphone combo, this gadget can be worn comfortably even by side sleepers and promotes sleepiness by blocking both light and sound. The sound quality obviously can't compare to most regular headphones in the same price range — not like you would notice once you're asleep. Plus, since it's primarily meant to be used during workout, the headphones can be easily removed to machine-wash the headband.

Musicozy also produces a sound sleep mask called Sleep Headphones. Unlike the headband, the Sleep Headphones are designed to only be worn over the eyes. While less flexible, they promise complete blackout darkness, making them ideal for taking a nap or relaxing in noisy environments like long flights. The only thing missing is active noise cancellation, though sleeping with ANC isn't ideal anyway. If that's what you're looking for, you might be better served by a regular sleep mask and affordable noise cancelling earbuds.

It's happened to everyone. You want to scroll through your feed but you're too tired to hold the phone in your hand, or maybe you'd rather keep your arm below a warm blanket. A phone stand fixes half of the problem, but how are you going to swipe it now that the screen is out of reach? That's what the social media scrolling ring is for. This item has many names and comes in many forms, such as a scroll wheel-powered TikTok Scrolling Ring by Kinmates and two-in-one Scroller Ring and Phone Holder with physical buttons, even some dedicated to reading e-books.

Reader rings don't even require a Bluetooth connection, which many old Kindle e-book readers don't support. Instead, those remote page turners physically imitate a human finger clicking on the left or right edge of the screen. Most of them are also multifunctional and Bluetooth compatible, meaning that they can double as social media scrolling remotes. Speaking of multiple functions, while few of those remotes are really programmable, many are set up so that their Bluetooth signal can trigger the shutter while in camera mode. Others allow you to scroll through many different types of apps and even web browsers, since they're only imitating the action of swiping up and down — handy if you're trying to cut back on social media use.

The most basic use for a smart plug is to turn on and off a single appliance by using an app or a virtual assistant, but that's hardly the end of it. There are plenty of creative ways to use smart plugs, turning them from useful but not very exciting members of a smart home to a versatile tech gadget. One handy perk of connecting regular devices through a smart plug is the ability to monitor their energy use, both in terms of energy consumption and energy cycles. How many times do you use your microwave? For how long, and how much does all that consume? All those questions are hard to answer if you don't have an energy-monitoring smart plug like the affordable TP-Link Tapo Plug, which doesn't even require a compatible smart home hub. You could always get a smart device, but changing the plug is usually the cheapest option.

For some electronics, like an air fryer running at partial power, a smart plug is the best way to track energy use — but that's not all it can do. The right smart plug connected to the correct hub can also serve as an advanced parental control system, turning off a "dumb" TV or entertainment center once it's past bedtime. The same principle lets you turn on lamps, light fixtures, a TV, or a radio in the morning, which is especially handy when having to get up while it's dark outside.

Smart speakers are nothing new. Smart clocks that can double as small music speakers are also quite old. But what those don't have is an adorable retro aesthetic that is entirely customizable and can be controlled by (admittedly limited) smart automations. The Divoom TimeBox Evo is an adorable 3.8x3.8 inches smart speaker with a customizable pixel art display of 16x16 pixels. If you have a keen eye for lo-fi design, you'll notice two things. First, that 16x16 pixels isn't much, barely enough for a simple symbol or a cartoony avatar; second, that a nearly 4-inch-wide square screen is a very large surface for very few pixels. If you want something more compact and possibly even more adorable, Divoom's Ditoo Retro is only 2.64 inches wide and looks like an old-fashioned CRT display computer.

If you want something with more details, you'll have to wait for the release of our CES Innovation Award winner, the Govee Gaming Pixel Light, in late 2025. Govee's foray into the niche market of pixel art displays, which double as speakers, will be available in 52x32 and 32x32 pixel versions. Both support 30 FPS GIF animations and are just as customizable as Divoom's devices, if not more. The two features that promise to set the Pixel Light apart from the competition are the custom AI bot that the company promises will be able to create "accurate and aesthetically pleasing lighting effects" and the larger, brighter display.

Most people have a regular old printer in their house. Inkjet or laserjet, black and white or color, chances are, it only supports regular printing paper. Those are great for making a physical copy of your documents to immediately stuff in a drawer or to bring with you, but what if you wanted your prints to stick, like a sticker? To be clear, we're not talking about fancy, colorful, design stickers; a printer for those will set you back $200 or $300. But if you're happy making sticky labels with just words, a couple of emoticons, and maybe a blurry drawing, a Bluetooth mini label printer will suit you just fine.

You won't find any of the major printer brands in the portable printer market, which makes it harder to choose a printer. Thankfully, these devices are cheap enough to justify taking a risk on a little-known manufacturer. That said, Phomemo is a big name in the small market of pocket-sized printers. The Phomemo D30 Label Maker Machine is, as the name suggests, great for printing labels on sticky paper. It's a thermal printer, meaning you don't have to buy ink packs, and supports sticky tape of different sizes and colors. Slightly more expensive but still ink-free, the Phomemo M02 prints larger square stickers, which makes it more versatile. But it doesn't support the rectangular short and wide shape that is ideal for sticky labels.