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As a new school year approaches, parents and students are hunting for the top gear to stay ahead. To take the guesswork out of shopping, Emmy® Award-winning Digital Lifestyle Expert Mario Armstrong and IntheNews.tv teamed up with some great brands to showcase this season’s ultimate “cool for school” must-haves. Mario’s favorite picks include a high-performance laptop, a reliable home printer, colorful activity sets, a feature-packed smartphone and an interactive digital library for kids. From smart tech upgrades to creative everyday supplies, this curated guide features everything students need to boost productivity and start the year with complete confidence!
Whether you’re taking notes in high school homeroom, rushing between back-to-back college lectures, or grinding through late-night study sessions in the library, this ultra-thin, lightweight laptop gives you the freedom to study, create, and stay ahead of your workload wherever student life takes you.
Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i (15, 11)
The IdeaPad Slim 3i is a high-value thin and lightweight Windows laptop for students, families, home offices, and every users. The Lenovo Slim 3i offers great battery life and performance at the price with Intel’s Core also Mil-Spec tested, so users can be assured it is built to last. Some of it’s other key internals includes its Intel Core Ultra 7 processor, 16GB RAM, 512GB Storage, a 50Whr battery, and a solid offering of ports to cover the essentials. Top it all off with a 15” touchscreen in a Cosmic Blue chassis, and you have yourself a well-rounded and good-looking laptop.
- Available for purchase and for more information, visit bestbuy.com.
Designed to get the whole family ready for the school year, this printer delivers cartridge-free printing with high-capacity ink tanks, easy to use features… and reliable performance, making it easy to print every essay, study guide, and last-minute project all year long.
EcoTank® ET-2900 Wireless All-in-One Color Supertank Printer
The EcoTank ET-2900 is the back-to-school tech solution for busy families and students. Its cartridge-free system with high-capacity refillable ink tanks eliminates the hassle of constantly replacing cartridges, so students can print schoolwork, study guides, family photos, and creative projects without worrying about running out of ink. It includes convenient wireless and mobile capabilities, plus a flatbed scanner, 100-sheet paper tray, and a 1.44″ color display for simple navigation, so the whole family can print and scan with ease. Powered by Heat-Free technology, the ET-2900 delivers sharp, high-quality prints for everything the school year brings.
- Available for purchase at Amazon, B&H Photo, Best Buy, epson.com, Brandsmart, MicroCenter, Staples, Office Depot, and WalMart and their correlating websites.
- For more information, visit epson.com/p/C11CL63202.
As the #1 brand trusted by parents and teachers, Crayola helps kids stay prepared for the school year with trusted, high-quality creative supplies that support learning, self-expression, and classroom success. This Back-to-School Guide from Crayola has supplies organized by grade level, creative ideas, and everything needed for the most colorful school year yet.
Crayola Back-to-School Guide
Crayola makes it easy to check off every 2026 back‑to‑school list with trusted, high‑quality tools that spark creativity every day. From Ultra-Clean Washable Markers, Crayons, Colored Pencils, to Paints, Crayola offers safe, nontoxic school supplies designed for kids of all ages.
- Available for purchase at retailers nationwide.
- For more information, visit crayola.com/feature/guides/back-to-school.
For students who need a lightweight, durable device that seamlessly transitions from studying and productivity to entertainment, with a large immersive display, all-day performance, and the portability to keep up wherever campus life takes them.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 is built to help students stay productive in class and entertained on the go. Its expansive, ultra-bright display with Vision Booster and low-reflection technology makes reading, studying and streaming comfortable in virtually any environment, from classrooms to outdoor spaces. Weighing less than half a pound, Samsung’s lightest foldable yet combines a sleek, durable design with powerful performance thanks to the Snapdragon® 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy processor and a long-lasting 4,800mAh battery. Starting at $1,899.99, the Galaxy Z Fold8 is available for preorder now through August 6 on Samsung.com and major carriers and retailers.
- Available for purchase at Samsung.com, Samsung Experience Stores, major carriers and retailers August 7, 2026.
- For more information, visit Samsung.com.
Designed specifically for young learners, the Epic digital library helps kids rediscover the joy of reading by transforming storytime into a fun, engaging adventure that makes building healthy daily reading habits effortless.
Epic Books for Kids
Epic is the leading digital reading platform for kids, trusted by more than 75 million children at home and in the classroom. With a library of over 40,000 high-quality books, audiobooks, Read-To-Me stories, and educational videos from more than 250 leading publishers—including HarperCollins, Macmillan, National Geographic Kids, Sesame Street, Disney, Nickelodeon, Mattel, and Smithsonian—Epic helps children discover stories they love while building essential literacy skills.
Free for educators, Epic is used in more than 2 million classrooms across the U.S., empowering teachers to foster a lifelong love of reading both in school and at home.
- Available for purchase on the App Store (OS), Google Play (Android), and on the web at getepic.com.
- For more information, visit getepic.com.
