Best Purchases from 243 Engineers in the Past Year

Categories: Life 2026-01-24

Last week, while shopping for New Year’s Eve gifts for my team, I casually asked on X: what’s the most satisfying thing you’ve bought in the past year, or if you had to recommend just one thing, what would it be? Electronics, software, or everyday items—anything goes.

To my surprise, I received 243 responses from friends. The energy was incredible and I absolutely loved this kind of exchange. The comment section was buzzing with conversation. After going through everything several times, I discovered so many great finds—ranging from essential needs to down-to-earth lifestyle products.

I’ve compiled the recommendations based on popularity, preserving everyone’s original feedback while making minor adjustments to punctuation and redundant expressions. Each line starts with the product name, keeping everything authentic. Hopefully this can serve as a reference when you want to buy something but don’t know where to start.

1. Gaideer Floor Drain Core: Bought this after seeing it on Uncle Dou’s tweet. Previous water-seal drains would get clogged with biofilm and hair, draining slower and requiring frequent cleaning. This one has never clogged once—drainage stays smooth. After monitoring it for a while, I replaced all other drains in the house.
2. Heated Towel Rack: Haven’t seen anyone recommend this on X yet. It’s a smartphone-connected towel rack with timer settings. Towels breed bacteria quickly once damp. A rack that heats to 60°C regularly gives towels that sun-dried sanitizing effect, and they’re warm after bathing without the stiff texture of sun-dried towels.
3. E-reader: After buying it, I’ve kept my phone out of bed and read for about an hour before sleep. Looking back after half a year, I’ve read quite a few books and papers. Totally worth it.
4. Tesla Model 3
5. iPhone Air: eSIM is convenient, switching carriers during business trips and travel is hassle-free. Best generation yet, incredibly smooth.
6. iPad mini: One of this year’s top happiness-boosting items. Light, portable, great for reading code or auxiliary development, easy on the eyes with long battery life.
7. Midea Baseboard Heater: Completely silent, auto temperature control, much more comfortable than air conditioning. Voice or WeChat mini-program control. After buying it, clothes stay dry even on humid days.
8. Anki: Started using Anki to learn Swedish. Free, and it’s working great.
9. Dupilumab: If I had to recommend one thing from 2025, it’s not electronics but this injection I got—Dupilumab. It’s mainly for treating rhinitis and asthma. The first few days after the first two shots, nothing happened, but after four or five days, I could suddenly smell things. Smelling coffee for the first time made me so happy.
10. Blumaan Boulevard Lamp: Bought it for my kid initially, but discovered it’s amazing. I use it for home office too. The brightness difference is night and day. High brightness makes work comfortable. Has a night mode with upward lighting that’s not glaring, very convenient for taking care of kids at night.
11. Coconut Powder: Nanguo brand, mix with oatmeal every morning. Tastier than milk, never gets old.
12. Semiconductor ETF: Earned back my basic living expenses.
13. iPad mini, AirPods Pro 3, Anker 10000mAh mini, Mac mini M4, Dove large bowl: If I had to pick items that boosted my happiness most this year, these would be it.
14. 2025 Model Y
15. 41-inch Monitor: The most worthwhile purchase of 2026. Get two and instantly double your brain capacity. Screen size determines brain bandwidth.
16. Samsung T9 Portable SSD 4TB: Installed Ubuntu and Kali on it. Carry it anywhere, plug and go. Linux on the go.
17. Genelec G2 Speakers: Sound so good I could cry. Haven’t worn headphones at home for music or movies since.
18. M4 MacBook Air: Incredible value; light, convenient, elegant. Many apps launch on Apple ecosystem first. AI coded tons of code for me. Super worth it!
19. NS 2: Playing Zelda in high-def high-framerate is mind-blowing.
20. Automatic Cat Litter Box
21. 3-in-1 Foldable Wireless Charger
22. Filipino Maid
23. Disposable Cotton Face Towels: Recommend disposable cotton towels for face washing. Great quality and hygiene. Bath towels straight from the dryer.
24. ARC’TERYX Gamma MX Hoody: Best softshell to buy. Multi-season wear, windproof, waterproof, great elasticity. Olive green is stunning. Downside: expensive.
25. Patagonia Capilene Cool Daily Quick-Dry Base Layer: Excellent wear, quick-drying, odor-resistant, great value.
26. Costco Down Comforter: Winter feels like staying at a hotel. Light, warm, clean, odor-free, amazing value. No downsides so far.
27. Dyson V12: Wake up every day and just vacuum, vacuum, vacuum. Spotlessly clean.
28. iPhone 17: My first phone after starting work. Met the most generous Apple at my most capable age. Also the Pocket 3—shooting vlogs is my hobby 😉
29. Sam’s Club Portable Coffee Machine
30. Trello: Software perfectly solves team project management.
31. Sleep PAP: Lifestyle product that significantly improved sleep quality.
32. Indoor Basketball Hoop: So satisfying. Can shoot hoops and de-stress at home.
33. Sony TV: Bought a Sony TV, climbed the ladder 🪜 installed software, and opened a gateway to the world. Finally seeing the true colors in my games and the real colors and shapes of objects!
34. Gym / Personal Trainer: Joined a gym at 30, started working out. Haven’t gained much muscle but my head doesn’t lean forward anymore, no more hunching, slightly more robust. Really recommend it for anyone with posture issues. Spent around 4000 on a trainer, perfecting every movement.
35. Semaglutide: Obvious weight loss effects, god-tier product.
36. Home Pull-up Bar: Stick to a few sets of pull-ups daily. Convenient home workouts, perfect for office workers to maintain fitness.
37. Stair Climber: Watch videos while climbing stairs, entertainment and exercise combined.
38. Xiaotian Phone Stand: Can use phone in bed without it hitting my face. Incomparable to the ten-dollar ones.
39. K580 Logitech Keyboard
40. Apple TV: Not from the past year or two, but I think Apple’s most valuable product is the Apple TV.
41. Clip-on Earphones: Soundcore AeroClip
42. Overseas iPhone: Once you use eSIM, you can’t go back.
43. Zepbound: Miracle drug
44. HBADA Ergonomic Chair: Incredibly cost-effective, very satisfying purchase.
45. Small Scooter
46. Sony WH-1000XM6 Headphones: Noise cancellation is incredible.
47. Jory 7600 Stand Mixer: Bought it for bread making. Now use it for kneading and making fillings. Saves so much effort and works great.
48. Xiaomi Sunglasses: Got them for driving and beach trips. Feel really good about them.
49. Barley Millet Cakes: From Yunnan, sugar-free. Haha, I’m the least ambitious, but they’re really delicious.
50. Dyson Fan: Blows hot and cold air, year-round use. Perfect for small rooms in regions with big temperature swings.
51. iPhone 16 Pro: Not buying Pro Max because it’s too heavy—dropped my last one. Subscribed to Bubble for following stars, very therapeutic. Immersive translation. A good phone is important.
52. Monitor Arm Mount
53. Washer-Dryer Combo
54. HBADA Ergonomic Chair: Incredible value, very satisfying. Adjustable lumbar support, comfortable for long office hours.
55. Regular House Cleaning: Regularly deep cleaning and organizing the closet made living much more comfortable. Keeping environment tidy improves mood.
56. King Koil Soft Mattress: Finally freed my back. Slept on hard beds my whole life. Medium-firm, improved sleep.
57. Redmi A27U 2026 Edition: Very comfortable to use, amazing. Clear screen with accurate colors, great for office displays.
58. 41-inch Large Screen: Most worthwhile purchase of 2026. Get two, instantly double brain capacity. Screen size determines brain bandwidth. Multi-screen development efficiency multiplied.
59. Robot Vacuum
60. OMX Standing Laptop Stand
61. Cursor: No matter how models change, I have them all. One-stop AI coding solution.
62. Continuous Glucose Monitor: Solved years of sleep troubles.
63. ResMed S11 CPAP Machine: Solved my years of sleep troubles. Can’t say I wake up 100% refreshed, but most likely feel energized.
64. Used Toyota Vellfire: It’s an eight-seater. Spent less than 20,000 AUD. Perfect for carpooling with my New Zealand neighbor.
65. A Good VPN
66. Apple Watch Ultra
67. Large Monitor
68. La-Z-Boy Recliner
69. Belshe Gold Label P-cotton
70. Filco Mechanical Keyboard
71. NS2
72. YouTube Premium
73. OPPO Find Phone: Built-in AI is really good.
74. Anker Charging Protocol Converter Cable, Anker 145W Power Bank
75. Gemini Pro
76. Harman Kardon Crystal Series Speaker: Strong bass, high aesthetic value.
77. Muscle Ant Athletic Pants
78. Victor Super Nano 7 Badminton Racket: 50 bucks, works great. Got 5th place in a Quebec low-level amateur tournament.
79. AirPods Pro Gen 3: Feel secure listening to music, easily enter flow state while reading.
80. Garmin Running Watch
81. iPhone 17 Pro Max and Micron Stock: 17 Pro Max is absolutely the best generation of iPhone.
82. Sleep Mask with Bluetooth Headphone: Rely on this for listening to audiobooks and music before bed.
83. A Good Pillow: Finally understand why the ancients said “high pillow, no worries”—when your neck doesn’t hurt, you really can worry less.
84. SONY WH 1000 XM5
85. Dryer: Huge happiness boost.
86. Spin Mop: Bucket separates clean water, dirty water, and washing area. Ensures mop is always cleaned with fresh water. Worth buying.
87. Smart RF Remote Control
88. Pair of Speakers: Not from the past year, but from the past decade, the most satisfying purchase is a pair of speakers. They let me hear heavenly sounds. Not even a big brand—KEF.
89. 3D Printer: Custom print development prototypes. Great for hardware engineers to experiment and iterate quickly.
90. Hoka Shoes: Wear them every day, feet don’t get tired.
91. Stanley Straw Cup: Convenient for drinking while driving. Foldable, leak-proof. Changed my habit of not drinking enough water.
92. Staub Enamel Pot, Zhangqiu Iron Wok: Incredibly useful.
93. CeraVe Body Lotion: Delicate moisturizing, skin super smooth after use.
94. Zuzumei Foot Soak Powder
95. Windsurf
96. Logitech MX Mouse and Magic Keyboard
97. Diablo 4
98. Air Fryer
99. Electric Pressure Cooker: Bones fall off in 30 minutes. Miracle for soups and stews.
100. Vision Pro: Immersive experience. Put it on and enter another world.
101. PS5 Disc Version: Entertainment beast, game graphics super clear.
102. Dynamic Glucose Monitor
103. Bidet Seat: Toshiba basic model, 5 years and still going strong.
104. JD.com Overhead Light
105. Uniqlo HEATTECH EXTRA WARM Crew Neck T-shirt
106. Kindle E-reader/Kindle Scribe: Very comfortable for reading PDFs. Larger screen improved reading efficiency.
107. Large Capacity Thick Garbage Bags with Handles: No more bags breaking halfway when taking out trash.
108. Fingerprint Lock: No need to carry keys, just fingerprint to open. Easy.
109. Floor Washer
110. SUNO AI: Creating soundtracks for Warhammer novels with incredibly varied styles.
111. MatePad Mini
112. Claude Code
113. Gold
114. Logitech MX Anywhere 3S Mouse
115. Expedition 33
116. OnePlus Ace 5 Phone
117. Terraria Mobile
118. Food Scale: A few dozen bucks. Developed the habit of weighing food, controlling diet most days.
119. Nikon Z502
120. Google One AI Pro
121. ZN6 Chassis
122. PS5
123. Dehumidifier, Micro-pressure Soup Pot
124. Pixel 10 Pro
125. MX Ergo: This mouse significantly improved my mouse hand issues. So good I bought two—one for home, one for office.
126. AirPods 4: This is the first gift I gave myself this year.
127. Plotter A5 Ring Notebook: Rediscovered the joy of writing.
128. Motion Sensor Light: Ten bucks for a motion sensor light installed in the bathroom. So convenient at night—light turns on when I reach the door.
129. AirPods Pro 3: I’ve bought many noise-canceling headphones. This one ranks first.
130. Disposable Cotton Towels: Use and toss, so much more hygienic.
131. Serta iDream Mattress: After buying it, neck and back pain completely gone. Downside is I spend more time in bed.