5 tech recommendations to make your flights in 2025 restful and productive

Aura smart Sleep mask

The Aura Smart Eye Mark works with the Aura Dreamscape app, which offers meditation and soothing nature melodies. (Image credit: Aura)

Getting peaceful sleep on a long flight may not be the easiest thing, but for me, eye masks can make a big difference, especially on long-haul flights from Delhi to San Francisco or Los Angeles. Eye masks are one of the most important accessories I never forget when travelling, but they often seem ineffective in delivering truly restorative sleep. However, the Aura Sleep Mask is different—it’s a high-tech smart eye mask designed to help you relax by blocking out distractions and playing soothing sounds or guided meditations through the accompanying Aura Dreamscape app. The mask feels like a cross between a VR headset and a soft sleep mask often provided in airline amenity kits. It is well-padded, lightweight, and comfortable enough to wear for hours. Additionally, the mask functions as a simple Bluetooth audio device, allowing you to play your chosen playlist from Spotify or Apple Music or use another meditation app like Calm. Although the Aura Sleep Mask isn’t cheap at $229, I see it as a sleep aid. It’s comfortable to wear, and the app allows you to create custom meditation and relaxation playlists, including setting alarms for the morning.

Apple Vision Pro

The Apple Vision Pro is hard to describe in words, but it is meant to be experienced. (Image credit: Anuj Bhatia/Indian Express)

The Apple Vision Pro may seem like an unusual gadget to include on this list, but trust me, it’s a phenomenal device to experience during a flight. I have worn Apple’s $3,499 mixed-reality headset multiple times now, and it truly feels like a computer from the future. Sure, the headset isn’t designed for everyone, but once it wraps around your head, obscuring your eyes with what looks like a pair of goggles, there’s so much you can do that regular in-flight entertainment doesn’t offer. From watching movies and playing games on a 100-foot-wide virtual screen to working on an important presentation, the Vision Pro lets you make the most of your time on a long-haul flight. That said, I still find the headset a bit heavy, and the battery life could be better. However, the quality of the experience, along with the seamless transition between virtual reality and augmented reality, is unmatched by any other device currently available.

Backbone One Controller (2nd generation; USB-C supported)

This iPhone controller and its app deliver the next-generation mobile gaming experience. ( Image credit: BackBone)

I am a big gamer, and I make sure to carry my Nintendo Switch or PlayStation Vita with me when I travel. But there are times when I don’t have enough space to pack ‘one more gadget,’ and in those scenarios, I keep a game controller for my iPhone. I love the Backbone One controller ($99). It’s a second-generation controller that is well-built, solid, and made of durable plastic all around. It’s a true physical controller that adds buttons, sticks, and triggers, elevating the gaming experience. A big change is the set of new interchangeable magnetic adapters. With the previous Backbone One, you had to remove your iPhone case to use it. However, with this new version, you get magnetic adapters that can be popped in and out on either side of the controller. With the availability of high-quality games on the iPhone, the Backbone One is an excellent game controller. However, if you are like me and enjoy playing classic games on the iPhone, you definitely need to check out this mobile controller. And who said gaming doesn’t relax your mind? I think they are wrong.

reMarkable Paper Pro

reMarkable Paper Pro writing tablet feels almost like paper. ( Image credit: remarkable)

I am a writer, and I need a lot of alone time. When I am on a flight, I spend a lot of time writing—not necessarily working on tech writing, but working on story drafts or playing with words. I find working on a laptop too exhausting, but the reMarkable Paper Pro seems like a good fit and could help channel my thoughts. It’s a notebook that gives you the feel of writing on paper, without the pile of paper cluttering up your desk. This ultra-slim and portable device comes with a full-size 11.8-inch colour display and has a textured surface that mimics paper, as if you are writing on actual paper. The Paper Pro has an ultra-fast response time from pen to screen, with almost zero lag. I won’t say it’s designed for everyone—and it’s not. This device is made for serious digital note-takers and writers, to be very clear. You could argue that the iPad exists (and you may be right), but nothing comes close to the same level of paper-like feel as the reMarkable. I think the Paper Pro ($629) is the best digital handwriting note-taking device on the market—period.