The best gadgets make life easier and more enjoyable. The issue is, for every incredible device or awesome innovation, there’s a thousand junky knockoffs waiting to feast on your hard-earned money. This holiday, we want to help you out. This is a collection of the best tech gifts to give this year. Everything listed below gets our stamp of approval and should be warmly received by any gadget fiend on your list.
Leica Sofort Instant Film Camera
Say hello to the first Leica that won’t make you decide whether or not you really need to send your kids to college. At $300, the Sofort is basically free compared to other Leica models. The instant camera, which accepts Fujifilm Instax Mini instant film, is so much better than every instant camera we’ve ever played with it’s kinda funny. Packed with a variety of modes, a 60mm f/12.7 lens, and a 3-zone manual focus, the camera feels far more Leica than old Polaroid.
$299
Walabot
Some basic tools and a bit of sweat are the only requirements for most home improvements. That said, a little bit of clever tech can go a long way in helping you. That’s why we recommend Walabot, an Android-friendly device that allows you to see inside your walls. Yes, you’ll need an Android phone (an Apple version is in the works), but Walabot gives you the ability to see up to 4 inches in concrete and drywall. Installing a fixture or a heavy painting? Walabot takes out all the guesswork and makes extra holes a thing of the past. For the handy guy on your list too proud to show he could use a bit of help, get him this smart device.
$249
Amazon Echo Dot (2nd Generation)
While you might turn to Siri for info on the go, when you’re home, your robotic assistant of choice should be Alexa, and the simplest way to add her to your home is Amazon’s latest version of the Echo Dot. The affordable hockey puck is a voice-controlled unit that allows you to ask questions and get answers, play music, control smart home devices, set alarms, and more. If the person you are shopping for doesn’t already have a Bluetooth speaker in their pad, you can choose to upgrade and go with the Amazon Echo. Both are really solid options this holiday season.
$50
Cinebody
If you have an iPhone-toting film lover on your list, consider giving them Cinebody, a clever iPhone “case” that transforms the Apple smartphone into a film camera. Not only can they mount lights and handles with the integrated cold shoe, but thanks to Cinebody’s ergonomic design, they won’t get hand cramps filming all day. They’ll gain control over exposure, frame rate, and focus so they can create a far more polished movie than an iPhone alone would allow.
$199
Roku Ultra
The latest Roku release is their finest yet. Not only does the Roku Ultra make streaming as simple and clean as the Roku devices before it, but it comes with an emphasis on stunning 4K. That’s right, if you know someone with a 4K TV (they’re not so rare these days), they’ll love this gift. The Roku 4K Spotlight channel helps viewers find content that will dazzle their eyeballs, and thanks to a powerful quad-core processor, everything flies. There’s also voice search, a lost remote finder, and a mobile experience that’s second to none.
$130
DOCK+ Lightning Marble Edition
Most charging stations are plastic eyesores. They jive with nothing in your room and look like they belong in a bin with old powerstrips. Not the case with Native Union’s latest. The DOCK+ Lightning Marble Edition is a solid marble charging dock with a braided Lightning cable to juice an iPhone. It’s the charging dock you won’t need to unplug when guests come over.
$130
Oppo HA-2SE Portable Headphone Amplifier
If you know a music junkie who’s never without a pair of headphones, consider giving him this portable headphone amp from Oppo. Engineered to enhance music playback by re-digitizing the audio, the Oppo HA-2SE delivers a bass boost and a volume boost to unsuspecting cans. The truth is, without some sort of standalone amplifier, the audio quality coming from our handheld devices is just not that good. This solves that problem.
$299
Sony DualShock 4 USB Wireless Adaptor
Let’s say you have a gamer on your list whose console of choice is the Sony Playstation. Cool. There will come a time, however, when Sony won’t offer a title they really want to play. It’s available for PC but not their precious PS4. What are they to do? Well, if you get them this affordable adaptor, they can buy the game for their PC and use the PS4 controller they are used to. Now there’s no need for a new controller or learning how to use the alphabet to move a character around.
$22
Plume Pods
Want to give the gift of better WiFi? Then you want to give Plume. Plume is a collection of clever pods that improve WiFi in a user’s home in just two minutes. By sprinkling the pods around a house, the owner will allow his WiFi to to hit every corner and skip through walls with ease. Even better, Plume knows how to manage different needs, so if someone is downloading a 4K video upstairs, it won’t hurt the Skype call going on downstairs. It’s the smarter, better WiFi they’ve probably been craving.
$234
HP Sprocket Portable Photo Printer
At some point, that person on your list with an iPhone full of photos will want to take a few of those photos and toss them on the wall or put them on display. Problem is, as we’ve transitioned further and further from hard copies of things, producing something you can hold has gotten trickier and trickier. Help them skip the hoops with this HP Sprocket Portable Photo Printer, which connects via Bluetooth to allow them to print all those Instagram photos, Facebook pics, and images they want to frame. Just don’t forget some paper.
$130
Felix Gray Computer Glasses
While these aren’t technically a piece of tech, they will be loved by anyone who surrounds themselves with screens 24/7. Felix Gray makes glasses designed to ease the strain of computer screens on your eyes. They do this by increasing magnification, reducing glare, and filtering colors that cause those mid-afternoon headaches. It’s crazy to think about how long the average person spends in front of a screen these days. These glasses make it all a little better.
$95
Microsoft Surface Ergonomic Keyboard
Giving someone a keyboard seems like an odd choice, seeing as how every computer comes with one. Here’s the thing though, that keyboard that came with their PC is not the Surface Ergonomic Keyboard. Designed for productivity and comfort, this Bluetooth keyboard eliminates the cramped hands and sore wrists that come with punching keys all day. Once they experience it, they’ll wonder how they lived with a regular keyboard for years.
$130
Como Audio Solo Speaker
Not every piece of tech has to be clad in cold, black plastic. This speaker from Como Audio fits perfectly in even the most raw and wooden spaces. But don’t let its warm look fool you; the Solo speaker is a little workhorse. You can connect it to Spotify to stream your playlists or play tracks off your phone. It delivers impressive audio without being an eyesore on your study’s bookshelf.
$299
