The Best Holiday Tech Shopping Guide 2024

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Erin Lawrence

Erin Lawrence

Holiday tech shopping is trickier than ever before due to the dozens of brands left and right launching new products. But don’t fret because we compiled a comprehensive list of many of our top picks in various categories. With a price range spanning across all budgets, you should surely find that big gift centerpiece for your Christmas tree or perhaps that extra little stocking stuffer.

Best Robot Vacuums

yeedi cube vacuum.The key to finding the best robot vacuum for your household is to analyze its features carefully to see if they match your needs and learn how well the vacuum performs as advertised. After we reviewed numerous vacuums, we narrowed down the list to our three top picks below. We highly recommend checking out our reviews for each pick to make sure any of the vacuums’ weaknesses aren’t deal breakers for you.

Budget Pick: Yeedi Cube

The Yeedi Cube has convinced us that the absolute minimum you should pay for a brand-new robot vacuum is $500 USD. The Yeedi brand isn’t exactly a household name, but it doesn’t carry a heavy brand tax like other products. More importantly, the Yeedi Cube is an all-in-one vacuum that does all the essentials very well from vacuuming dust and pet hair to mopping hardwood floor. The Yeedi Cube has good mapping capabilities and reliable self-cleaning and emptying features.

Check out our Yeedi Cube review to learn more about our budget champ, or find it at Walmart.

Midrange Pick: Roborock S7 max V Ultra

Roborock is a more popular robot vacuum brand with a wee bit too many models to pick from. We reviewed quite a bit of them and decided on crowning the Roborock S7 max V Ultra as our midrange pick. Retailing at about $899 USD, this robot vac-mop boasts a maximum suction power of 5,100Pa and is more adept in avoiding obstacles thanks to its ReactiveAI 2.0 tech.

Learn more about this vacuum’s strengths in our full Roborock S7 max V Ultra review, or find it on Amazon.

Premium Pick: ECOVACS DEEBOT X2 OMNI

This oddly shaped robo vacuum makes more than just a fashion statement; it offers a full suite of premium vacuum features ranging from LIDAR to hot air drying and all the mopping and scrubbing smarts in between.

The $1,499 USD price is quite eye-watering but our in-depth ECOVACS DEEBOT X2 OMNI review could possibly wipe those tears! Find it on Amazon.

Best Over-ear Headphones

Audio Technica ATH-M20xBT headphones reviewFor many products, you get what you pay for. However, when it comes to cheap over-ear headphones, you might not realize that fact if you never listened to a pair of headphones costing more than $70 USD. So, if you know someone still jamming with a pair of wired earbuds that came with the device they’re using, treat them to a better audio quality experience that may involve enhanced bass, subtle instruments popping out more, getting rid of ambient noise, and other niceties. It all depends on how much you’re willing to pay.

Budget Pick: Audio-Technica ATH-M20xBT

Audio-Technica didn’t introduce any budget over-ear headphones models this year leaving the ATH-M20xBT as the priciest pair of wireless headphones under $100. It may look cheap and can feel a bit uncomfortable after medium-term wearing, but it hits some high notes in both audio quality and passive noise isolation. And oh, it has USB-C charging too unlike some past greats!

Come read our Audio-Technica ATH-M20xBT review to learn more, or find it on Amazon.

Midrange Pick: Sennheiser 450 BT

If active noise canceling is a must-have on the menu, the Sennheiser 450 BT is one of the cheapest options to get there as you can find it discounted for around $129 USD. Sennheiser released the 450 BT three years ago, but its specs still hold up with USB-C connectivity along with Bluetooth 5.0 and SBC, AAC, and aptX codec support.

Our detailed Sennheiser 450 BT review explains other things we liked about these cans. You can find them on Amazon.

Premium Pick: Sennheiser Momentum 4 Review

Sennheiser scores another win in our TechGadgets book with the Sennheiser Momentum 4 capturing the $299 price bracket. That price is quite a bit for a lackluster design, but our complaints end here; the rest of the features is a step above many of its competitors. The battery life lasts several days, sound quality is astounding, and its Transparency Mode is a real gift for focusing.

Learn more about its features in our hands-on Sennheiser Momentum 4 Reviews. Find it on Amazon.

Luxury Pick: Bowers & Wilkins P.X. 7 S2e

If you have that special audiophile someone, consider the Bowers & Wilkins PX 7 S2e. Not only does it offer a premium unboxing experience, but it delivers serene audio quality and feels very comfortable.

We reviewed its predecessor, the Bowers & Wilkins PX 7 and it looks like the S2e model improved its active noise canceling which was our main complaint with the original model. The headphones sit at the $399 USD tier, but it had $150 discount not too long ago so wait for Black Friday if this is on your wish list! You can find it on Amazon.

Best Wireless Earbuds

Skullcandy Push Active earbuds with caseWireless earbuds always make for nice little stocking stuffers, and we have a few picks here that can easily multiply the value of an innocent red sock.

Fitness Pick: Skullcandy Push Active Earbuds

Fitness at Skullcandy might look odd in the same sentence but throw in a sub-$80 USD price tag and it certainly got our attention! You won’t get any noise cancellation here but the IP55 sweat-resistant rating combined with good battery life makes the Skullcandy Push Active a great gift for fitness fans.

Just give our Skullcandy Push Active review a read to discover some of its minor weaknesses. But that two-toned charger is quite the looker! You can find it on Amazon.

ANC Pick: Jabra Elite 4

If you want to go the active noise canceling route instead of the fitness route for gifting, the Jabra Elite 4 is a good candidate. Yes, the newer Jabra Elite 5 exists but the Elite 4 continues to sell often dipping below its original $99 price.

Have a look at our Jabra Elite 4 review to learn other neat features this pair of wireless earbuds offers. You can find it on Amazon.

Premium Pick: Bowers & Wilkins Pi7 S2

If the gift calls for top tier audio quality for around $400, consider the Bowers & Wilkins Pi7 S2 in your shortlist. It ticks nearly every box in terms of features except for its IP54 water resistance which translates to “not sweat resistant”. However, it ticks the rest of the boxes with very bold strokes. Lows, mids, and highs all sound vibrant with great noise cancellation and passthrough performance.

Like its over-ear cousin, the Bowers & Wilkins Pi7 S2 model is a refreshed version of the original Bowers & Wilkins Pi7 which we reviewed. The S2 improvements are minor but the company claims they improved the battery life and Bluetooth range. It’s almost like B&W read our Bowers & Wilkins Pi7 review because that was our only main issue with it! You can find it on Amazon.

Best Appliances

Hamilton Beach Alexa Smart kettle reviewThere’s no shortage of great appliances you can gift to your friends and family. So for this year’s holiday tech shopping guide, we’ll focus on some appliances in a few categories that each have a neat little trick that will surely wow him or her.

Kettle Pick: Hamilton Beach Alexa Smart Kettle

What can get really hot, has Alexa integration, and costs under $80? Why a Hamilton Alexa Smart Kettle, of course! But rest assured because asking your trusty Amazon Echo device to boil water for you isn’t as silly as you sound once you try it. Plus, it boils water rather quickly!

Read our hands-on Hamilton Beach Alexa Smart Kettle review or check out our video review to see it in action! You can find it on Amazon.

Blender Pick: Ninja Blast Portable

The Ninja Blast Portable is a small, innocent-looking blender that can crush ice (with a bit of liquid) and make a nice little smoothie good enough for a single person on the go. Not so innovative, right? But here’s the trick up its sleeve; you can charge the blender via USB-C! How cool is that?!

Find out what else we loved about this blender by reading our Ninja Blast Portable review. You can find it on Amazon, Best Buy, or Walmart.

Air Fryer Pick: COSORI 6-quart TurboBlaze

You know anybody who’s not yet onboard the air fryer hype train? This is the year to be that special Santa because COSORI’s trick with its new COSORI 6-quart TurboBlaze Air Fryer is right on its name! The “TurboBlaze” technology is more than just a fancy trademark as the air fryer sports a DC motor which helps make the air fryer work more quietly while speeding up cooking times.

Get the full rundown of this air fryer and why it got a perfect five-star rating in our COSORI 6-quart TurboBlaze review. You can find it on Amazon.

Coffee Pick: Ninja 12 Cup Programmable Coffee Maker

The Ninja 12 Cup Programmable Coffee Maker might be the most boring looking product in our appliance list but don’t let that fool you. For under $70 USD, you get a coffee brewer that not only has a 12-cup water reservoir but is removable as well! This means refills are less of a hassle which is a huge plus for the daily multi-coffee cup lover.

This coffee machine has a few other neat features we liked which you can find in our full Ninja 12 Cup Programmable Coffee Maker review. You can find it on Amazon or Walmart.

Best Wearables

Google Pixel Watch 2 reviewOrdinary wristwatches will never go out of style, but the smartwatches released this 2023 would like to have a word. We heard what they have to say, and it involves some walled gardens. This makes buying a smartwatch easy to buy as a gift because all you need to do is figure out what phone the person uses!

Android Pick: Google Pixel Watch 2

The Google Pixel Watch 2 might only be a second-generation product but it’s the indisputable option for Google Pixel and Android users (unless you use a Samsung phone). It has the health and tracking soul of a Fitbit with an improved chip and larger battery over its predecessor.

Discover what else this Google smartwatch brings to the table in our Google Pixel Watch 2 review. You can find it on Amazon.

Samsung Pick: Samsung Galaxy Watch 6

The Google Pixel Watch 2 should work with any Samsung phone running Android 9.0 or newer but the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 offers deeper integration with Samsung’s services like Samsung Health.

We dedicated a special section in our Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 review highlighting the special features its One UI interface brings. Just be aware of the stricter requirements before considering as the Galaxy Watch 6 only supports Samsung devices with Android 10.0 or newer. You can find it on Amazon.

Apple Pick: Apple Watch Series 9

We have not reviewed the latest Apple Watch but because of Apple’s strict ecosystem, it’s impossible for us to recommend anything else for Apple users! Yes, Apple does sell older models as well as a budget-friendly SE option, but if you are going to gift an Apple product, you might as well gift something that will last multiple years because older and lower-end models will be first on the chopping block for end-of-life support. Always buy the latest model as it comes with the latest internal hardware to support newer WatchOS versions later down the road. You can find it on Amazon.

Best Portable Speakers

JBL Go 3 speaker reviewPortable speakers are great budget options for gifting to just about anyone! When it comes to the current crop of products, looks can be deceiving and here’s a few that caught our eyes and later our ears!

Budget Pick: JBL Go 3

The JBL Go 3 is an excellent gift not just for your average folk but also for kids as it is small, rugged, and comes in various colors. It sounds great for its size and costs only $49 USD / $59 CAD which is just enough to forgive its middling 5-hour battery life.

Find out what else this weatherproof Bluetooth speaker offers in our full JBL Go 3 review. You can find it on Amazon, Canadian Tire, or Walmart.

Spatial Audio Pick: Anker SoundCore Motion X600

The average music streaming lover might be missing out on a third dimension of their favorite songs. This is your chance to be that cool friend or relative by gifting a speaker with spatial audio and the Anker SoundCore Motion X600 offers just that for just $199 USD / $269 CAD. Just prepare the wrapping paper because this speaker is a bit larger yet still portable thanks to its non-foldable handle.

You can read more about its full feature set in our Anker SoundCore Motion X600 review. You can find it on Amazon or Best Buy.

Premium Portable Pick: Marshall Willen

If the JBL Go 3 is too pedestrian for your tastes and you’re willing to spend a bit more than double its price, the Marshall Willen speaker is the one to get. $120 USD / $179 CAD gets you a tiny, but loud speaker that has that classic guitar amp look. It also boasts an IP67 weather-resistant rating and can last about 15 hours from a full charge.

Take a look at our full Marshall Willen review for a deeper dive. You can find it on Amazon or Best Buy.

Best Smart Lighting

amazon basics light bubls with box.When it comes to smart lighting, you might feel tempted to go cheap and settle for the first sponsored listing you see in a typical Amazon search. However, you might end up with a product that works well for a few days and later has issues. Avoid those pitfalls by sticking with some of our tried-and-tested picks here!

Bulb Pick: Amazon Basics Smart Light Bulbs

Have a friend or relative you are frequently in touch with via Amazon Echo? An easy and inexpensive gift idea is to get an Amazon Basics Smart Light bulb as it is easy to set up via the Alexa app. If you feel hesitant with the small packaging or the $13 USD price tag, you can always consider the 4-pack for a bigger gift impact!

To find out what else you can do with this smart light, check out our Amazon Basics Smart Light Bulb review. You can find it on Amazon.

Toilet Pick: IllumiBowl Motion-Activated Toilet Night Light

If you want to hide some hearty laughing gas in your Christmas gift for not much money, the IllumniBowl Motion-Activated Toilet Night Light is a good candidate! A light for your toilet sounds like something you would encounter in TEMU but this $15 USD / $17.50 CAD motion light really works. Just add a trio of AAA batteries, attach the arm with no tools required, and you’re good to go!

If you’re still not convinced, you can check out our photos of the light in action in our full IllumniBowl Motion-Activated Toilet Night Light review. You can find it on Amazon or Walmart.

Table Pick: Ilios Lighting Rechargeable Table Mirror

If you have some money to spare and want to gift a light that will get a lot of use, we recommend the $139 USD Ilios Lighting Rechargeable Table Mirror. With its internal rechargeable battery, you can light up the mirror’s outer bezel away from the outlet. This level of freedom is only something you must experience to appreciate it and Ilios even bundles it with a cool suction cup attachment making it travel-friendly as well.

Want to know more about the lighting specs? Check out our Ilios Lighting Rechargeable Table Mirror review! You can find it on Amazon or Best Buy.

Curtain Pick: Govee Curtain Lights

Another clever way to spend $140-ish USD on smart lighting is to get a bunch of tiny lights that can do all sorts of neat tricks. With the Govee Curtain Lights, you get 520 teardrop-shaped lights specifically! The best part? These lights do not require a smart hub and work with Alexa and Google Assistant.

To find out what you can do with these lights after setting them up, see our full Govee Curtain Lights review. You can find it on Amazon or Walmart.

Best Health Gadgets

usmile y10 pro A health-focused gadget might not be an exciting holiday tech shopping category for some folks, but you never know, a single smart gift could change some habits for the better! Here’s some health gadgets we positively reviewed.

Toothbrush Pick: usmile Y10 PRO Smart Toothbrush

The usmile Y10 PRO Smart Toothbrush is like the modern embodiment of an electric toothbrush. It has a cool digital screen, has 4 brushing modes, and charges via USB-C. Brush head replacements are a bit on the pricey side but at least it comes with two brush heads which is reasonable for the $100 USD asking price.

Our usmile Y10 PRO Smart Toothbrush review breaks down all the features and includes an Amazon US coupon code for getting a cool $15 discount!

You can find it on Amazon or Walmart.

Blood Pressure Monitor Pick: QardioArm Blood Pressure Monitor

Finding a good medical product like a blood pressure monitor requires a bit of extra care because you want something from a reputable brand and has proven to work throughout the years. The QardioArm has over 4,000 positive reviews on Amazon US and offers apps for sharing blood pressure data that continues to get updates and also received positive reviews.

We also have our own QardioArm Blood Pressure Monitor review where you can learn more about our findings after using the product. You can find it on Amazon or Walmart.

Sleep Pick: Philips SmartSleep Connected Sleep and Wake Up Light

Did you know Amazon Echo Show devices have a “Wake-up Lighting” feature that tries to synchronize the display’s brightness and other smart lights with the sunrise? If configured correctly, the feature should help you sleep or wake up, but your results will vary from setup to setup. If you want a product offering real results, you must look back to the past and give the Philips SmartSleep Connect Sleep and Wake Up Light a try. Philips wake-up lights have been around for decades, and this particular model comes with a ton of features.

You’ll have to head to our Philips SmartSleep Connected Sleep and Wake Up Light review to learn more about them. You can find it on Amazon or Best Buy.

Best Beauty Gadgets

Philips Epilator 8000 reviewWhen it comes to beauty gadgets, you won’t find any budget picks in our small list here. You do have to pay a bit of a premium for the best experience and that usually means, minimal to no fuss!

Epilator Pick: Philips Epilator 8000

Pulling hairs by the roots equates to pain but the Philips Epilator 8000 says no to that! The $110 USD package includes several swappable attachments which you can use depending on the area.

The TL;DR version is that it isn’t a pain to use but check out our Philips Epilator 8000 review for our full thoughts or our video review to see it in action. Just take note that this isn’t a product for the face; we have a recommendation for that just below!

You can find it on Amazon or Walmart.

Facial Pick: FOREO LUNA 4

The FOREO LUNA 4 is another product we gave a perfect score to despite its high price because it cleans the face so well. This all-in-one cleansing brush has been around for a bit more than a year and you can currently find it on Amazon for about $180 at the time of writing which is a historical low!

This gadget is packed with too many features to fit here so check out our FOREO LUNA 4 review for the full rundown. You can find it on Amazon or Best Buy.

Hair Styler Pick: Shark FlexStyle

The Dyson Airwrap is a wonderful product but the high price really makes this a gift you want to give to yourself. For other folks, you don’t have to feel guilty in gifting a Shark FlexStyle as it offers tremendous value for the money.

You’ll have to resort to our Shark FlexStyle Multi-styler review to learn more about the attachments and its performance. For a little summary, it’s a powerful blow dryer, feels a bit heavy but compact, and it does hot curling well after a bit of practice. You can find it on Amazon, Best Buy, or Walmart.

Creative Tech Gifts for the Person Who Has Everything

Ember mug 2, review, hot, cupGifting a tech-savvy person who has many of our top picks or worthy competitors to these picks will be a bit more challenging. That’s where this special list comes in as we dug up some hidden gems that might not be for everyone but could serve as fun, clever gifts!

Ember Mug 2

A $150 “smart mug” might give you that visual of spitting out your recent morning sip in shock. But gift this to any coffee or tea connoisseur and you can expect a resounding gesture of gratitude. Preparing the best cup of tea or coffee involves a lot of tinkering with the liquid temperature and one of the Ember Mug 2’s key features is maintaining that temperature to the exact value you can set in the app. Yes, you can control this mug with your phone, and it comes with a few cool smart features like an LED indicator once it reaches your preferred temperature and an auto-sleep function to conserve battery life.

Still curious how this all works? Come and have some tea with our Ember Mug 2 review! You can find it on Amazon or Walmart.

Tineco Smart Toaster

Air fryers? Those are for rookies! Smart toasters are the current buzz… at least in Tineco’s world! Bagging an iF Design Award this year, the Tineco Toasty One is more than just a fancy spaceship-like appliance and certainly got us curious.

After fiddling with the appliance’s touchscreen and dabbling with various toast settings, we gave it top marks. Find out why in our Tineco Toasty One smart toaster review. You can find it on Amazon.

Thermomix TM6

Thought the Tineco Smart Toaster was outworldly? Meet the Thermomix TM6 according to the manufacturer is an “all-in-one kitchen assistant”! Automation is the name of the game with the Thermomix TM6 from food processing to cooking to cleaning itself.

Boasting 20 kitchen functions, you do have to pay $1,500 for that luxury, but our full Thermomix TM6 review explains just how such a high amount is actually great value for the money. And if by rare chance the person you want to gift has one, you can always consider gifting a Thermomix Cutter! YOu can find one on the Theromix website.

BLUETTI Power Station

A good chunk of our picks in this list are useless without a power source. The same can be said with gadgets that run out of battery and have no place to charge if you suddenly experience a power outage. Having a BLUETTI Power Station serves as a second wind for these devices making them perfect gifts for the tech lover. BLUETTI offers a wide range of power stations in different sizes and energy specs to suit various use cases.

Check out our recent BLUETTI post on products to learn more about the different power stations and its uses or read our BLUETTI AC180 review to discover what you can do with 1,800 watts of portable power. You can find it on Amazon or Walmart.

Himiway D5 Zebra

When it comes to shopping for an e-bike, a lot of the usual tech knowledge simply doesn’t apply. Many of the brands in this space are out of the common tech bubble and various models target specific bikers. However, the Himiway D5 Zebra e-bike is a good bike to start with or gift to someone because of its easy assembly, stable ride, and adjustable settings.

Getting used to the bike’s massive 79-pound frame is necessary to appreciate the experience and you can get a glimpse of that from our Himiway D5 Zebra review. You can find it on Amazon.

Have any holiday tech ideas worth sharing? Do comment below! Happy holiday tech shopping!

 

**A note about Affiliate Links: TechGadgetsCanada & TechGadgetsInternational is supported by our readers. Occasionally I will include affiliate links in my reviews. I do this partly for convenience of the reader (since I’ll almost always include a link to the company website or similar anyway) in case you want to read more or purchase, but I also may get a small commission from the click, which helps me keep the blog running. If you choose to use this link I thank you greatly for supporting the blog. There’s no obligation or cost to you for using these links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Erin Lawrence

Erin Lawrence

I'm a journalist, tech blogger, writer, TV producer, silversmith& jewelry designer, foodie and world traveler. I blog, write for publications, and supply freelance writing services to Calgary, and the world.

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