The holidays are here, and that only means one thing: gifting season!
Skip the gift cards, ugly sweaters you found at Goodwill, or slapped-together macaroni photo frame, and get your friends and family some tech that they’ll actually appreciate. We’ve looked far and wide for gifts we hope will truly delight. From budgets under $50 all the way up to over $1,000 (if you’ve got the money to splurge), Gizmodo has you covered.
At the very least, we hope our selection of gifts will inspire you to be thoughtful about gifting. Remember: you don’t need to spend a lot of money on a gadget. You just need to find the right gift for the right person!
Gifts Under $50
Oda SD Card Holder for Wallet
Whenever your camera’s memory card fills up or becomes corrupted, you’ll always have a few spare ones tucked in your wallet with this slim sleeve from Oda.
Anker SoundSync
As great as wired audio is, sometimes you can’t beat the convenience of Bluetooth. Anker’s dongle, with a 3.5mm jack, can connect to old monitors and imbue them with the power of wireless audio.
Maclock
When it comes to desk clocks, the Maclock has a lot of charm. Shaped like the original Macintosh, the alarm clock can display the time, date, day, and temperature, and also comes with a tiny floppy disk that boots it up.
Satechi FindAll Card
Losing your wallet sucks. But if Satechi’s FindAll Card is inside it, your iPhone’s Find My app can aid the search effort.
Nékojita FuFu
Whether you’re drinking a steaming hot chocolate or a hot toddy, this little bear with a built-in fan will cool your cup with little blasts from its windpipe. The Nékojita Fufu sits on any mug or bowl to chill your beverage or soup, and it looks cute doing it.
Gifts Under $100
JBL Grip
Portability might not be everyone’s top priority in a Bluetooth speaker, but if it’s yours, JBL’s Grip is your buy. It may be small, but it’s mighty in volume.
Retroid Pocket Classic
The Retroid Pocket Classic offers a return to retro gaming with a better AMOLED screen than the classic Game Boy offers. You can go with a six-button layout for classic Sega games or the traditional four-button model.
Genki Shadowcast 2 Pro
For any loved ones with dreams of becoming streamers, the light and portable Genki Shadowcast 2 Pro is a great place to start. The 4K capture card can record or stream your activities on any console (including the Switch 2) or PC.
OnePlus Buds 4
There are lots of great wireless earbuds in this price range, but the OnePlus Buds 4 nail the essentials, sporting a healthy dose of bass, solid active noise cancellation, and a great personalized audio feature that EQs the device to your hearing.
Lego Game Boy
This nearly 1:1 replica of the 1989 Game Boy is guaranteed to make any weekend more fun. Lego went to great lengths to make the buttons pressable, include swappable Game Paks, and offer interchangeable lenticular game screens.
Buy at Amazon
Buy at Lego
Gifts Under $300
Casio G-Shock Nano DW-5600
Smart rings may be all the rage, but may we introduce you to a watch ring? This G-Shock device, resembling Casio’s classic DW-5600, is sure to catch people’s eyes.
Govee RGBICWW Floor Lamp Pro
Govee is known for delivering incredible value when it comes to smart lights, and this floor lamp is no exception. The Floor Lamp Pro is slim and sleek, with 300 degrees of rotation to light large swaths of your living room.
Nomad Stratos Band
Metal smartwatch bands are stylish but not the most comfortable, especially while working out. The titanium Stratos band pairs perfectly with the Apple Watch Ultra and provides flexibility during exercise.
Teenage Engineering EP-133 K.O. II
Nothing will delight the hipster in your life more than a gadget from Teenage Engineering. This multipurpose sampler and sequencer does it all and is perfect for musicians in your life (especially electronic ones) with a soft spot for hardware.
Buy at Teenage Engineering
Razer Iskur V2 X
When it comes to ergonomics, there are few better-value gaming chairs than Razer’s Iskur V2 X. You don’t have to be a gamer to enjoy Iskur’s smooth-rolling action and back support.
Gifts Under $500
Ray-Ban Meta Gen 2
The Ray-Ban Meta Gen 2 may lack a display, but they improve on the previous screenless generation in almost every way, bringing doubled battery life and the ability to record 3K video.
GoPro Max2
If you can’t be bothered to rig up several GoPros for multiple angles, the Max2 is the one-stop-shop 360 camera you need. Shoot in 8K and recompose shots from any POV after capture.
Lomography MC-A
Shooting film isn’t a cheap hobby, but if you want to get into 35mm, the Lomo MC-A is an easy way to start. The camera has a 32mm lens, apertures from f/2.8 up to f/16, and a built-in flash.
Nothing Phone 3
Some people think it’s ugly. Others see the Nothing Phone 3 as challenging the status quo of boring mobile designs. Gimmick or not, the round Glyph Matrix screen on the back is a fun feature that competitors don’t have.
Roli Piano
Learning to play music is hard, but Roli’s light-up keyboard uses color coding to make the process just a little bit easier. Even if you’re not a beginner, the RGB still looks pretty rad.
Gifts Over $500
MacBook Air (13-Inch, M4)
Apple’s entry-level MacBook is easily one of its best deals for those who want tons of performance in a thin and light clamshell design. The MacBook Air is fast enough for regular browsing as well as more intense activities like photo and video editing.
Lego Death Star
The Lego Game Boy not enough of a challenge? Maybe this massive set with 9,023 pieces will give you enough blisters to appreciate the process of connecting plastic bricks.
Framework Laptop 13
A Framework laptop is a gift that keeps on giving, so long as the recipient is willing to open it up and learn what makes it tick. The Framework Laptop 13 can come as both a prebuilt system and a DIY kit, so anybody who’s good with their hands can enjoy putting this laptop together.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7
Book-style foldables have been thick and heavy—until now. Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 7 is as thin and light as a regular flagship and brings a freshly slim vibe to its maturing category.
Buy at Amazon
Buy at Samsung
Sony Bravia 9
Sony’s Bravia 9 4K TV is still pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with an ultra-high-end screen. The company’s flagship mini LED display offers brilliant picture quality and easy access to your favorite apps through Google TV.
