Best Tech Gift Ideas for Christmas and New Year (2021)
We have divided this 2021 holiday gift guide into five sections based on the price range of tech products. You can use the table of contents section below to skip to the section that suits your planned budget. With that said, let’s jump right into the list.
Best Tech Gift Ideas Under $50
Wyze Bulb Color
If you know someone who’s getting started on building a smart home ecosystem, Wyze’s smart bulb might just be the practical tech gift that will make their life easier. Other than offering over 16 million colors to choose from, Wyze’s smart bulb is bright enough at 1,100 lumens. You can even set up routines to automatically toggle the light on sunrise and sunset after pairing the bulb with Alexa or Google Assistant. In case your budget is flexible, you could also look at premium offerings such as the Philips Hue White and Color Ambiance bulb ($49.97).
LIFX 40″ Color Zones Lightstrip
Do you know someone who loves visually pleasing background colors? If yes, gifting a smart light strip to help them step up the aesthetics of their TV or gaming setup is perfect for this holiday season. With 8 addressable zones, configurable schedules, and Wi-Fi support without bridge or hub requirement, LIFX’s smart light strip is easily the best smart light strip you can buy right now. That said, those who are deeply invested in the Philips Hue ecosystem should be looking at Philips Hue Bluetooth Smart Lightstrip Plus ($41.00, requires hub) instead.
Echo Show 5
Here’s a tech gift for those who like to stay organized. Echo Show 5 is a compact smart display to stay in the loop with the latest news, your alarms, timers, and more. Powered by the Alexa voice assistant, you can use the Echo Show 5 to view your photos, control Alexa-enabled smart home devices, and perform video calls. Echo Show 5 is an ideal bedside table companion, and you even have the option to close the camera shutter for greater privacy. This could be the perfect holiday gift for your family to use in the kitchen or dining room.
Wyze Smart Plug
Don’t want to splurge on a new smart home device while your existing gadget is working just fine? Wyze’s smart plug has got you covered. With this smart plug, you get the flexibility to control your connected devices remotely. There’s also a convenient ‘vacation mode’ that you can use to randomly switch on devices to keep intruders at bay. Wyze plug doesn’t require a hub and works with Alexa, Google Assistant, and IFTTT.
Apple AirTag
We’ve all misplaced valuable items and spent hours searching for them. If you know a forgetful friend (or you are that friend), it’s time to gift them an AirTag. For the uninitiated, the AirTag is Apple’s smart item tracker to help you keep track of your items and find them if lost. Integrated to Apple’s Find My network, Apple has also released an Android app to detect unknown AirTag devices. If your friend is not in Apple’s ecosystem, Tile Pro is the best AirTag alternative for them.
Mooas Cube Timer
Know someone who would fancy a cute yet minimalistic timer to stay on top of their tasks and deadlines? Gift them Mooas Cube timer. As the name tells, it is a simple cube timer available in Coral, Violet, White, and Yellow color options. The timer runs on 2 AAA batteries, and there are 5, 10, 20, and 30-minute preset time options to choose from.
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate: 3 Month Membership
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is the ultimate holiday tech gift for the gamers you know. Purchasing Game Pass Ultimate membership gives them access to over 100 high-quality games accessible from console, PC, phones, and tablets, along with EA Play membership. Game Pass Ultimate is a no-brainer for Xbox fans and if you know someone who has been eyeing a subscription for a while, make them happy with a subscription gift this Christmas.
Best Tech Gift Ideas Under $100
Echo 4th Gen
Fujifilm Instax Mini 11
Capturing memorable moments is an integral part of celebrations and the Christmas holiday season is no exception. While we usually rely on our smartphones or DSLR cameras for taking photos, you could consider switching to Fujifilm’s Instax Mini 11 camera. It will allow you to instantly print photos your family will treasure for years to come. Starting at $69, the Instax Mini 11 is available in multiple attractive colors, including Lilac Purple.
Fujifilm Instax Square SQ1 Instant Camera
Another instant camera worth considering is Fujifilm’s Instax Square SQ1. The camera captures square images in a 1:1 aspect ratio and is 1.5 times bigger than the mini print. Activated by twisting the lens, Square Q1’s selfie mode lets you capture bigger selfies than the company’s Mini series. Instax Square SQ1 is available to buy in Orange, White, and Blue color variants.
iFixit Pro Tech Toolkit
Created with tinkerers and DIY users in mind, iFixit’s Pro tech toolkit has all the essential equipment you will need to fix your smartphone, computer, or iPad. To be specific, the toolkit includes opening tools, picks, prying spudgers, a screen removal suction cup, an anti-static wristband, tweezers, and a precision driver bit set. If you know someone interested in tearing things apart to know what’s inside, iFixit’s toolkit is likely to put a big smile on their face.
Logitech G502
Often regarded as the best wireless gaming mouse, the Logitech G502 Lightspeed offers you up to 25,600 DPI, a 1 ms response rate, and 11 customizable buttons. G502’s Lightsync RGB tech automatically reacts to your gameplay, audio, and screen color. The mouse lasts up to 60 hours on a single charge, making it an ideal tech gift for your gamer cousins.
Royal Kludge RK84
Royal Kludge’s RK84 is a known name in the mechanical keyboards community, mostly due to the sheer set of features it offers for the money. Featuring TTC switches, the hot-swappable board offers 84 keys and supports Bluetooth 5,0, 2.4GHz dongle, and USB-C for wired mode. Equipped with a 3,750mAh battery, the company promises up to 200 hours on a single charge. Overall, the RK84 is the perfect gift for a beginner mechanical keyboard enthusiast.
Best Tech Gift Ideas Under $250
Sony WH-1000XM4
Sony’s WH-1000XM4 needs no introduction and is often regarded as the best noise-canceling headphones in the market. The key features of the headphone include touch controls, wear detection, adaptive sound control, and more. It even supports a smart listening featrue that automatically balances the noise-canceling levels based on your surroundings. With 30-hour battery life on a single charge, the WH-1000XM4 might be the best tech gift for your frequent flyer relative this holiday season.
Sony WF-1000XM4
Those who prefer the compact nature of AirPods-style truly wireless (TWS) earbuds should look at Sony’s WF-1000XM4 earbuds instead. The Sony WF-1000XM4 uses 6mm drivers and equips Sony’s V1 integrated processor with a QN1e chip. You also get IPX4 water resistance and 8 hours of battery life on a single charge (24 hours with case) on this one. Furthermore, charging the earbuds for 5 minutes gives you up to 60 minutes of playtime.
Samsung T7 Touch 1TB SSD
Those who almost always run out of internal storage should consider investing in an external SSD. If your sibling identifies as one, why not eliminate their storage woes this holiday season with Samsung T7 Touch Portable SSD? Offering up to 1000MB/s write speeds, the T7 Touch also comes equipped with a fingerprint scanner to avoid unauthorized access of sensitive data.
Kindle Paperwhite
Know a bookworm in your family? Gift them a brand-new Kindle Paperwhite to help them access their favorite books on the go. Featuring a 6.8-inch display with adjustable warm light, Kindle Paperwhite lasts up to 10 weeks on a single charge. Although you would save $20 on an ad-supported version of Kindle Paperwhite, I’d recommend going for the ad-free version where you can set book covers as the lockscreen image.
eufy RoboVac 11S
Doing chores is often a redundant and boring task, but it doesn’t have to be. Enter eufy RoboVac 11S, a robot vacuum cleaner that reaches difficult corners and rolls over carpets to do the cleaning for you. Featuring 1300Pa of suction strength, the RoboVac 11s is relatively silent at 55dB noise level. The vacuum cleaner offers 100 minutes of usage on a single charge, making it the ideal gift for parents.
Razer Kiyo Pro
Know a friend who always shows up on video calls with a grainy feed? Consider gifting them a webcam this holiday season. Capable of 1080P 60 FPS and 30FPS HDR footage, Razer’s Kiyo webcam features a 2.9μm sensor with an adjustable field of view and is the perfect holiday season gift for live streaming and video conferencing. You also get a privacy cover to close the camera when not in use.
Best Tech Gift Ideas Under $500
GoPro Hero 10
Travel enthusiasts and vloggers are likely to appreciate GoPro Hero 10 as a Christmas tech gift in 2021. The Hero 10 features a 23MP sensor and is capable of recording 5.3K videos at 60FPS and 4K videos at 120FPS. Alongside HyperSmooth 4.0 stabilization with 45° horizon leveling, you also get 8x slow-motion recording at 2.7K resolution here. You also have the option to use your GoPro as a webcam and live stream 1080p footage.
Oculus Quest 2
If you know someone who’s fascinated by VR technology, Oculus Quest 2 headset is what you should be gifting them. Built on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon XR2 platform, the Quest 2 VR headset has an LCD display with 1,832 x 1,920 pixel resolution per eye and a 72Hz refresh rate. The VR headset doesn’t require a companion PC or console and lasts up to 3 hours on a single charge.
Nintendo Switch OLED
As a long-awaited upgrade, Nintendo released the OLED version of the Switch gaming console earlier this year. Other than the 7-inch 720p OLED display, the Switch OLED comes with 64GB of internal storage and a dock with a wired LAN port. Since the launch, the new Switch OLED has been selling like hotcakes and is guaranteed to make a gamer happy.
Apple Watch Series 7
Apple Watch Series 7 is a substantial upgrade for anyone switching from older Apple Watch models except Series 6. The company has finally added a QWERTY keyboard alongside a larger screen, a brighter always-on display, and 33% faster charging this time around. Needless to say, you won’t go wrong gifting Apple Watch Series 7 to your fitness enthusiast family members.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 Classic
While the Apple Watch is undoubtedly the best option for iPhone users, Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 4 Classic is the best of what the Android world has to offer. Featuring Google’s latest Wear OS 3.0 with Samsung’s One UI on top, the Galaxy Watch 4 also offers body composition measurement among other standard health features like heart rate monitoring and SPO2 blood oxygen monitoring. That said, do keep in mind that the Galaxy Watch 4 won’t work with iPhones.
Best Tech Gifts That Cost Over $500
MacBook Air (13-inch)
Although Apple launched 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros earlier this year, the 13-inch Retina display MacBook Air is still a solid deal. Featuring the Apple M1 chip, you can expect up to 18 hours of battery life on this machine. MacBook Air has Touch ID for authentication, and the base variant with 256GB storage starts at $899. That makes it a great gift for students and working professionals alike during the holiday season.
iPad mini (6th-Gen)
Apple launched the 6th-Gen iPad mini at its California Streaming event earlier this year. Key specifications of the iPad mini include an 8.3-inch Liquid Retina display, A15 Bionic chipset, 12MP wide rear camera, 12MP ultra-wide front camera, Face ID, and 5G connectivity. It is available in attractive color options such as Purple, Starlight, Pink, and Space Gray. The base Wi-Fi variant of iPad mini with 64 GB starts at $494, but you can also opt for the cellular model that costs $630.
Galaxy Z Flip 3
Rather than being just a foldable phone, the convenient Galaxy Z Flip 3 has evolved to be a style statement among the fashion-focused. The device features a 6.7-inch display along with a 1.9-inch cover display. The camera setup consists of a 12MP main camera, 12MP ultra-wide sensor with 10x digital zoom, and a 10MP selfie camera. The 3,300mAh battery on the Z Flip 3 supports 15W fast charging.
Google Pixel 6
After months of anticipation, Google unveiled the Pixel 6 series a couple of months back. Under the hood, the Pixel 6 packs Google’s first in-house Tensor chip. The Mountain View giant finally upgraded the camera setup with a primary 50MP f/1.85 Samsung GN1 sensor and a 12MP f/2.2 Sony IMX386 wide-angle lens. While I think Pixel 6 is better value for money than the Pixel 6 Pro, you can checkour Pixel 6 vs Pixel 6 Pro comparison to make an informed decision based on your needs.
Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio
Launched at this year’s Surface event, you can use Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio as a traditional laptop, a tablet, or unlock a tablet-like experience for drawing using the pull-forward display. Surface Laptop Studio supports Surface Slim Pen 2 and magnetically attaches to the side. Powered by Intel 11th-gen i5-11300H and i7-11370H processors, you get up to 4GB Nvidia RTX 3050 Ti graphics here.
Perfect Tech Gifts for The 202 Holiday Season
With the 2021 holiday season right around the corner, we hope this guide helped you make last-minute gift decisions at ease. Thanks to the ever-evolving nature of technology, gifting tech products will ensure that you don’t end up gifting a clichéd gift to your close ones. So, which of these gifts are you planning to gift? Let us know in the comments.
