HotHardware Staff Picks: Ho-Ho-Hot Tech Gifts Everyone Will Love
When it comes to technology, there's rarely a one-size-fits-all solution. Some people have a penchant for AMD chips, while others prefer Intel. The wider the net, the more diverse the options become, especially as you venture beyond the realm of core processing hardware and into the enormous field of consumer gadgets. So with that in mind, we decided that this year's holiday gift guide should represent personalized selections from each of us here at HotHardware.
The task was simple: each writer was asked to select one or two geek gift ideas that they either love, or would love to have. Some of us have been tinkering with computers and tech for decades, others for shorter periods of time. But one thing we all have in common is a passion for technology. We also have a pulse on what's ho-ho-hot, and what's not. So if you're looking for a gift idea for a tech-loving family member or friend, you've come to the right place!
Some of the recommendations are on sale, but a discounted price wasn't a requirement for this guide. Instead, we're collectively focused on cool gadgets and hardware that are sure to delight fellow tech enthusiasts. That all said, let's get into it!
Marshall Action III Bluetooth Home Speaker - $179.99 (40% Off)
I play a little bit of guitar. Well, at least I try to on occasion, but I deeply enjoy music, and more importantly great tone. Great tone is what the rock and blues heavyweights dial in on a regular basis – Jimmy Page, John Mayer, Jack White, Chris Stapleton, you get the idea. And no more signature tone has been pushed through an amplifier than the brand name Marshall, which also happens to offer a line of Bluetooth speakers. I have one of these and it cranks. The separation of highs and lows, the reproduction of instruments the way they’re supposed to sound individually. You have to plug it in, but so what. That’s the price you pay for great, natural tone. Fire up the Marshall Acton III at your backyard barbecue or house party and watch the heads turn. Damn, that sounds good, and looks like a guitar amp. What is that? Yeah, you’re welcome! - Dave Altavilla
ASUS RT-BE88U Dual-Band Wi-Fi 7 AiMesh Extendable Router - $279.99 (20% Off)
Ubiquitous connectivity is a gift too often overlooked. Wi-Fi 7 technology has big advantages all its own in terms of device connection capacity, signal reach, and overall throughput. However, ASUS has without question carved itself out a piece of the market with Wi-Fi routers that few manufacturers consistently compete with. This here is the ASUS RT-BE88U Dual-Band Wi-Fi 7 router. HotHardware’s Managing Editor Marco Chiappetta and I both have it in our home offices and swear by its dependable, high performance, long reach and quality. It’s a no fuss no muss, you need coverage, you got it solution. Plug it in and light up your domicile. - Dave Altavilla
OM System M.Zuiko Digital ED 50-200mm F2.8 IS PRO - $3,699.99
When I’m not head down benchmarking, editing, or writing articles, I like to pretend I’m a decent photographer in my downtime. I’ve been a fan of OM System (formerly Olympus) gear for many years and have amassed quite a collection of camera bodies and lenses, dating back to the older DSLR and point-and-shoot days. OM System’s most recent lens release – the M.Zuiko 50–200mm F2.8 IS PRO – is giving me some serious G.A.S. (that’s Gear Acquisition Syndrome – get your mind out of the gutter).
The M.Zuiko 50–200mm F2.8 IS PRO is unique in a number of ways. It’s the world’s only fully weather-sealed, 100–400mm equivalent super-telephoto zoom, with a constant F2.8 aperture. It’s only 2.37lb and offers sync IS with my current camera body, which means the lens stabilization works in conjunction with the IBIS (In-Body Image Stabilization) in the camera body for super-stable, gimble-like video and crisp, handheld shots, even when fully zoomed and using longer shutter speeds. The lens has a relatively close (about 30-inch) minimum focus distance too, which makes this bad boy ideal for everything from pseudo-macro photos to wildlife.
The OM System M.Zuiko 50–200mm F2.8 IS PRO costs a pretty penny, though, and I’m not quite sure I’m high-enough on the nice list this year to get one. - Marco Chiappetta
R36MAX Retro Handheld Game Console - $69.99 After Coupon (30% Off)
There’s probably questions about the legality of this one, but you can buy it (and many others like it) on Amazon, so some sort of loophole must exist. Disclaimer aside, the R36MAX is a gaming handheld that comes packed with thousands of retro games, from numerous retro game consoles of yesteryear. The device has a Gameboy-like form factor and design, with a 4-inch IPS color display and multiple trigger buttons. The R36MAX is powered by a quad-core Rockchip RK3326 Arm-based processor, paired to 1GB of RAM, and storage comes by way of dual microSD cards.
Sometimes I just want to sit back and enjoy games from a simpler time and the R36MAX is just the right size to do that, whether on the couch or on an airplane. It’s currently on-sale, too. For right around 70 bucks, the R36MAX is cheap enough that you’ll have bail money left over should you get thrown in the clink for owning one (kidding?). - Marco Chiappetta
Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition - $159.99 (20% off)
If you or your gift recipient is an avid reader, I highly recommend a Kindle. Yes, I know—there's nothing like the feel of leather-bound books in an apartment that smells of rich mahogany, as the great Ron Burgundy can attest. But there's also nothing like loading up a lightweight e-reader with a boatload of books and being able to take them anywhere without the bulk and heft of actual dead tree remnants. I personally own the base Kindle and that's still a fine, affordable choice (on sale for $89.99, 17% off). But if I were to buy one today, I'd opt for either the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition with a few extra bells and whistles, or the Kindle Colorsoft ($189.99, 24% off) for its color display. - Paul Lilly
Ninja Detect Power Blender Pro TB301 w/ Two 24 Oz. Cups - $139.99 (22% off)
As with my Kindle recommendation, I own an older (much older) version of Ninja's blender and use it daily to make smoothies. What's great about this one is that it comes with two 24-ounce to-go cups and a blade attachment that lets you blend fruits and other contents directly into them. This makes cleanup a breeze—I don't have to rinse and scrub the main 72-ounce pitcher every morning. I also like that this is a powerful 1,800-watt model.
The other selling point is the BlendSense technology that senses fresh and frozen contents, and adjusts the blade speed accordingly. I fill mine with a cup of frozen fruit, a cup of almond milk, a dash of honey (to sweeten things up a touch), and a scoop of protein powder (sometimes chocolate, sometimes unflavored). Yum! - Paul Lilly
Kinesis Gaming Freestyle Edge RGB Split Mechanical Keyboard - $149 (29% Off)
I own three of these things and he won't shut up about them. [Editor's Note: Seriously, he won't.] The Freestyle Edge RGB is a split ergonomic keyboard with a 20-inch cable connecting the two halves; this design offers superior ergonomics for both typing and gaming. It has 10 macro keys,10 fully programmable layouts, it supports macros, and you can do all of those things without janky Windows-only software by editing text files stored on the keyboard. This model was $279 when it came out; it's down to just $149 now and that's a hell of a deal. - Zak Killian
27-Inch LG UltraGear Dual Mode 4K/360Hz Gaming Monitor - $299.99
The LG Ultragear 4K (27G810A-B) is a dual-mode display that supports 180Hz operation at 4K resolution, or for hardcore competitive gaming, you can drop it down to 1080p for a blistering 360Hz refresh. This is an IPS LCD with great response times and support for both NVIDIA G-SYNC and AMD FreeSync Premium for buttery-smooth, tear-free gaming. At $299.99, it's an almost unbeatable value for the hardcore gamer that plays a wide variety of genres. - Zak Killian
CyberPower ST900U 500W UPS - $119.95 (14% off)
For extra peace of mind and protection from unexpected shutdowns, especially in areas with poor electrical infrastructure, a solid CyberPower UPS is one of my staple tech purchases. 500W should cover most entry and mid-range PCs and monitors just fine, but be sure to consider a higher-wattage alternative if your PC demands it. - Chris Harper
Gunnar Optiks Amber Max - $38.99 (44% off)
Another favorite tech purchase of mine is actually Gunnar Optiks, especially the Amber Max lenses. While they do give something of a red tint to surroundings, the wider color spectrum remains strikingly vibrant on my LG 27GL850 and these work well for preventing blue light-induced eyestrain. - Chris Harper
ThermoPro TP605 Instant Read Digital Thermometer - $12.99 (35% off)
An absolute favorite gadget of mine—an instant-read meat thermometer. I've been sure to never go without these since 2020, when I studied the works of J. Kenji Lopez-Alt and other pro cooks to learn the boons of reverse-searing steak. This gizmo also comes in handy when you want to tackle cooking large birds and roasts, not just steaks, and should keep you confident whether you're a beginner home cook or an expert chef in your own right. - Chris Harper
13-Inch Apple MacBook Air With M4 - $749 (25% off)
I absolutely LOVE my MacBook Air and feel like it offers the ultimate portable computing experience. It has a gorgeous display, expansive trackpad, and a keyboard that’s a joy to use every day. Now that Apple equips its laptops by default with 16GB of RAM, the MacBook Air is a super-easy recommendation, especially with the current discounted pricing.
If you want a larger display, the 15-inch MacBook Air with Apple's custom M4 silicon inside is on sale too, now priced at $949 (21% off). - Alan Velasco
Alienware 18 Area-51 Gaming Laptop - $3,359.99
While not on sale currently, one can only expect PC prices will increase in the near future and who knows how long it will be until things return to normal. This Alienware laptop (similar to the config we reviewed) is outfitted with enough high-end specs to weather the storm, including an Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX Arrow Lake processor (24C, up to 5.4GHz, 36MB L3 cache), NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080, 32GB (2x16GB) DDR5-6400 RAM, 2TB of PCIe 4.0 SSD storage, and a big and bold 18-inch display with a 2560x1600 resolution, 300Hz refresh rate, and G-SYNC support. Yeah, you won't be needing to upgrade for quite some time. - Tim Sweezy
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7 - $1,719.99 (19% Off)
As foldable smartphones continue to improve, evolve, and grow in number (even Apple is rumored to be getting in on the action soon), Samsung has led the charge with its Galaxy Z Fold devices and I have been wanting to get my hands on one for a while now. The Galaxy Z Fold7 comes packed with a Snapdragon 8 Elite processor, 512GB of storage, a 4,400MaH battery, and a large 8-inch screen when unfolded. It is truly a small tablet you can put in your pocket. - Tim Sweezy
Sennheiser HDB 630 Wireless Over-Ear Headphones - $499.95
Portable audio gear has never been so varied, fun, and powerful. One notable set of headphones that caught my ears (and eyes) is Sennheiser's HDB 630, which has created a rift between enthusiasts: many love it, just as many call it overhyped, but you can't deny how Sennheiser has brought a level of audio customization never really seen before in a portable headphone. It helps that it has good bones, too. - Aaron Leong
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) - $399 (11% Off)
Now, for the best ANC in the business. go for the Bose QuietComfort Ultra 2 Headphones (2nd Gen). Sound quality has skewed slightly away from consumer-friendly towards enthusiast-level, which I prefer. It feels light on your head and has one of the quicker UX among the trio I'm recommending for this guide. It also helps that Bose now offers more colorways rather than the drab black or white models that your dad used to own. - Aaron Leong
Sony WH-MX10006 Headphones - $398 (13% Off)
IMHO, the 'older' Sony WH-1000XM6 straddles a comfortable middle ground between the Bose and Sennheiser selections. For the same money as the QuietComfort Ultra 2 Headphones (2nd Gen), you get arguably superior sound quality, very good ANC just behind the Bose, more customization options within the app, fantastic phone call quality, and slightly more consistent response times for controls and gestures (which I credit the QN3 chipset for). - Aaron Leong
Anbernic RG40XX V Gaming Handheld - $79.99
Sometimes you just need to get away from the family and hunker down with some old-school games, but the price of fancy Ayaneo 9-inch handhelds isn't an option for everyone. That's exactly what Anbernic's RG40XX V can do for you. It's not going to emulate Switch games or play anything that runs on Android, but it delivers a focused experience with a huge variety of retro consoles from the PlayStation 1 and older. I have this system sitting on the table next to my bed, and the RG40XX V delivers a great pick-up-and-play experience.
While not the most powerful thing on the planet, you get a bright 640x480 display that fits retro content with vertical integer scaling quite well. The controls are comfortable and responsive, and the vertical format with a single speaker will transport you back in time to 1989 playing Tetris on a Game Boy. While it can be found cheaper on Ali Express, the $80 asking price makes the RG40XX V a solid stocking stuffer. - Ben Funk
Retro Fighters Brawler64 Controller - $39.95
Did you score a shiny new Analogue 64 only to weep when you found out it didn't ship with a controller? Fret not, as modern improvements on Nintendo's oddball trident controller abound. The Retro Fighters Brawler64 is my top pick for a wired Nintendo 64 controller that's responsive and comfortable in the hand.
This version happens to be wired for N64 consoles, which means it's a perfect fit for the Analogue 64 as well. However, if you need to go wireless, there's a wireless version of the Brawler64 ($49.45) that can connect to a controller port dongle, as well. - Ben Funk
Is there a product you want, love, or NEED that isn't on this list? Feel free to let us and other readers know in the comments below! And with that, we at HotHardware would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
