Stuck for Christmas gift ideas for that techie in your life? Well there aren’t many shopping days left until Christmas so you’d better get a move on!
With so many different tech gadgets available it’s hard to find that perfect gift. To try and help out we’ve put together a rather varied list of ideas so that there should be something for everyone of all ages and interests, so hopefully there’s something here to inspire you.
Check out our other Christmas Gift Guides for more ideas.
ADX Gaming Range
The ADX gaming range is exclusive to Currys PC World and features a variety of products perfect for that gamer in your life. The affordable range includes gaming mice pads, mice, headsets, keyboards and even gaming chairs. A complete coincidence is that they are styled in black and orange, just like Entertainment Focus!
Our favourites are:
- ADX H0317 7.1 Gaming Headset – featuring virtual 7.1 surround sound, an adjustable headband, microphone and memory foam ear cups. It comes with both USB and audio jack connections.
- ADX LM0417 Laser Gaming Mouse – The ADX LM0417 Laser Gaming Mouse delivers an incredibly fast response time, giving a competitive edge over opponents. There’s also four switchable DPI levels, five modes and 12 programmable buttons. The weight of the mouse can also be adjusted, while programmable light effects let you create a unique gaming experience.
- ADX Firebase: C01 Gaming Chair – Black & Orange – Game in comfort with a decent gaming chair that can be tilted between 1 – 15 degrees to find the most comfortable angle. Both the main height of the chair and the height of the arm rests can be adjusted. The chair is easy to assemble and capable of holding a maximum weight of 110 kg.
- ADX MK0217 Mechanical Gaming Keyboard – Featuring mechanical red switches, the ADX MK0217 Mechanical Gaming Keyboard is ergonomically designed to make gaming comfortable, with a palm rest that provides additional support. The multi-coloured keyboard lighting looks great and means you can keep track of every key even when your room is dark. It also features anti-ghosting technology to make sure it picks up all your keystrokes and eight media keys.
From £7.99 – £199.99
Check out the Currys website to see the full ADX range and for more information.
Anki Overdrive & Supertrucks expansion
One of our favourite tech toys makes this year’s list. Anki Overdrive brings videogame racing to life with robotic cars and physical tracks. It’s Scalextric but updated with all the latest technology. A huge variety of tracks can be created in seconds thanks to the magnetic track pieces. More complex tracks are also possible by adding extra packs to your starter kit. Watching the cars race around tracks you have created is mesmerising. Best of all is that you can use your smart phone or tablet to control the speed, track position and weapons to do battle with the AI cars and other players. There’s also a Fast and Furious edition which is based on the film.
Check out our Anki Overdrive review and Anki Overdrive Supertrucks review to see what we thought.
£149.99 for the Starter Kit, £49.99 each for extra cars. £59.99 each for Supertrucks. Expansion packs cost £19.99 – £29.99.
Buy Anki Overdrive on Amazon UK
Anki Vector
Anki Cozmo completely blew us away when we tested it last year. This year Anki have released a new more advanced version called Vector. At first glance Vector just looks like a black version of Cozmo but while there are many similarities between the two robots, you’ll find that Vector is packed with the latest tech. New additions include a built-in infrared laser scanner that allows Vector to avoid obstacles more easily, a higher quality screen and Wi-Fi connection. There’s also a four-microphone array that allows Vector to listen for your voice commands. More advanced users can even take advantage of the Vector SDK and write scripts in Python to allow more advanced interactions. Requires a compatible iOS or Android device and the free Vector app.
£249.99
Apple Watch 4
This year Apple released the new Apple Watch 4 and it’s become our favourite wearable. It features the largest display yet for an Apple Watch, a new electrical heart sensor, a re-engineered Digital Crown with haptic feedback and a whole host of other improvements. It’s a perfect companion for anyone with an iPhone and can really help towards those New Year health and fitness goals.
£429
Buy Apple Watch 4 on Amazon UK
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EiI5_-7liQ
Apple iPhone XR
Our favourite of this year’s Apple iPhones is actually the cheapest of their new handsets. The iPhone XR is packed full of the same tech as their more expensive XS handsets. New features include a gorgeous Liquid Retina display, faster FaceID, and the intelligent A12 Bionic chip – the most powerful chip to feature in a smartphone. The handset is available in a variety of colours and storage sizes.
£749
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tG7vx7-3sl0
Hercules DJControl Inpulse 300
Learn to DJ and mix with the new flagship Hercules controller, the ultimate piece of kit to get you started. Train your ears and manually beatmatch with easy to use dynamic light guides Follow the DJ Academy tutorials integrated into DJUCED, Hercules’ own DJ software designed to guide you through your first mix.
£199.99
Buy Hercules DJ Control Inpulse 300 on Amazon UK
Hercules DJControl Starlight
Hercules has teamed up with Serato, the most powerful and reliable DJ software in the world, to launch a new portable DJ controller with a unique backlighting feature to get started DJing. This ultra-compact, ultra-light and ultra-practical device packs all the features needed to mix and scratch with Serato DJ Lite. Add colours to your mix with clear, strong RGB strobe effect backlighting underneath the base.
£79.99
Buy Hercules DJControl Starlight on Amazon UK
littleBits
littleBits is a system of electronic building blocks that snap together magnetically to turn ideas into inventions. With kits to suit all kinds of interests there’s something for everyone, including Music, Space, Coding and even Star Wars and Superheroes. Primarily aimed at the 8-13 age group, the kits are designed to help teach kids about STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Maths). Find your kid’s perfect kit on the official littleBits website.
£30-£150
Buy littleBits Kits at Amazon UK
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImEj53XTebk
Mophie Powerstation XXL
There’s nothing worse than being away from a power source and one of your gadgets running out of juice. The Mophie powerstation XXL features an advanced 19,500mAh rechargeable battery that you can take with you. It’s possible to charge multiple devices at once and they support everything from smartphones to tablets and even laptops. Expect to keep your mobile phone running for an extra 65+ hours, 27+ hours for a tablet and even 14+ hours for a MacBook. Just be sure to order one with the correct connectors for your devices.
Check out the official Mophie website for more details.
£69.99-£149.99
Buy Mophie Powerstation XXL on Amazon UK
NOW TV Smart Stick
Give a gift of entertainment this year with the NOW TV Smart Stick and variety of passes. With unmissable shows, the biggest blockbusters, exclusive sport and the best kids TV, there’s a pass to suit everyone. Best of all it’s contract free so it’s fine to change passes or cancel at any time.
The NOW TV Smart Stick is a perfect stocking filler and features all your favourite catch up TV apps including BBC iPlayer and ITV Hub, Sky Store, UKTV Play and YouTube. All you need to use it is a TV with HDMI and a Wi-Fi connection. It’s also small enough to take away with you.
From £14.99
Find out more on the NOW TV website.
OnePlus 6T
If you’re looking to buy a smartphone for an Android fan this Christmas then we highly recommend the OnePlus 6T. It’s an absolutely brilliant mobile that is packed with premium features yet surprisingly affordable. Key features include 16 + 20 MP Dual Camera, Screen Unlock fingerprint technology, a gorgeous 6.41 inch Optic AMOLED display and fast charging giving a whole day’s use with 30 mins charge. It’s powered by the latest Android Pie and OxygenOS.
The OnePlus 6T is available in a variety of colours including Midnight Black, Mirror Black and the stunning new Thunder Purple. Check out the official OnePlus website for more information.
£499
Philips Hue Starter Kit
Hue is a personal wireless lighting system, combining brilliant and energy-efficient LED light with intuitive technology. It will forever change the way you control and experience light. Simply put the Hue bulbs into your existing fittings, download the app, set up the bridge and follow the instructions to set brightness, create times, change colours, sync with your TV, email, social channels… it can easily fit in to any smart home set up and syncs with both Google Home & Amazon Alexa. Make sure you buy with the correct style bulbs for your fittings.
£129.99-£169.99 for Starter Kits
Buy Philips Hue Starter Kit on Amazon UK
Raspberry Pi
The Raspberry Pi is a credit-card-sized computer that plugs into a TV/Monitor and a keyboard. It is a capable little computer which can be used in electronics projects, and for many of the things that a desktop PC does, like spreadsheets, word processing, browsing the internet and playing games. With a little imagination the possibilities are endless. A great gift for anyone interested in technology, computing or engineering. Check out Pimoroni for a range of devices, starter kits and add-on boards.
Raspberry Pi prices range from £4-£32.
Roku Express & Streaming Stick+
Great gift choices for TV fans are these two streaming devices from Roku. The Roku Express is 5x more powerful than it’s predecessor and lets you stream in HD from a huge range of services including Netflix, YouTube, Amazon Video, BBC iPlayer, All4, Sky News, ITV Player, 5 on Demand and NowTV.
The Streaming Stick+ is its big brother and is packed with more advanced tech. This incldues 4x the wireless range, HD, 4K and 4K HDR support up to 60fps. All the features of the Express are included plus a new 4K Spotlight Channel to make it easy to find 4K content.
£29.99-£79.99
Buy the Roku Express and Roku Streaming Stick+ from Amazon UK
Sky Q
Sky Q is Sky’s next-generation TV platform, bringing Sky TV to multiple rooms, screens and devices for a “fluid viewing” experience – complete with 4K Ultra HD content. If your family watch a lot of TV then a new Sky Q subscription might be an ideal choice for Christmas. It’s the best TV viewing experience around as you can start watching in one room then continue in another. You can even transfer what you’re watching to a compatible smart device to watch on the go. The 2TB box lets you store over 1000 hours of TV and you can now record six shows at the same time while watching a seventh. Also new this year is a voice control feature allowing you to talk to the Sky Q touch remote to change channel, watch a recording and more.
Prices start around £12 a month (for 18 months) for the basic package.
Vype x House of Holland ePen 3
If you’re hunting around for a gift for a loved one who is looking to give up smoking then it’s worth considering a vaping device. We were impressed by the Vype ePen 3 when we tested it out earlier this year. It’s lightweight, small, discreet and incredibly simple to use. There’s a variety of flavours on offer and thanks to a collaboration with House of Holland there are five limited edition designs to choose from.
£39.99
Read our review of the Vype ePen 3.
You can buy the ePen 3 from the official Vype page.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90fAv810zQM
