Today, I am going to share the 30 best unique gifts and gadgets worth buying this holiday season, either for yourself or for someone you care about. The gadgets recommended in this article range from being pretty cheap up to premium tech that I use daily. I’ve broken down this article into eight categories: desk accessories, portable power, gaming, audio, travel, wearables, camera gear, and stuff for the home.
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How it works.
Here are the 30 best unique gifts and gadgets
Desk Accessories
Let’s discuss one of my favorite desk accessories: the Anker Prime Charging Station. This device is a true powerhouse, delivering 250W of power with four USB-C and two USB-A ports.
Its performance is incredible! It can charge my MacBook Pro from 0 to 50% in just 25 minutes. Plus, it offers instant on-screen feedback, showing the exact wattage delivered to each port. This feature makes it easy to monitor your charging efficiency and power distribution.
If you’re looking for a versatile and high-performing charging solution, the Anker Prime is a game-changer for any desk setup.
Logitech MX Keys mechanical mini
The go-to keyboard at the moment is the Logitech MX Keys mechanical mini. I always go for mini-style keyboards as they save a lot of space for someone like me who doesn’t make use of the number pad often. I have mine in this beautifully designed white color, and each keypress is so satisfying over traditional keyboards. It’s extremely comfortable to use, and a fun bonus at night is it has different smart illumination modes that look cool.
Logitech MX Master 3S
I pair this keyboard with my Logitech MX Master 3S, which is a performance wireless mouse and hands down the best mouse I’ve ever used in my life—that is not an exaggeration.
Each click is extremely satisfying and very quiet—probably the quietest mouse click I’ve ever used. The tracking on this mouse is extremely accurate as well, at 8K DPI, making it perfect to use on literally any surface.
It’s also loaded with additional buttons and scroll wheels, allowing you to customize it to your heart’s content.
Kuxiu X36 Pro Max iPad Stand
If you own or know someone who owns an iPad, you need to consider getting this stand from Kuxiu.
It’s their Kuxiu X36 Pro Max iPad Stand for iPads of all sizes. It’s built tough, looks super sleek, and gives me the ability to wirelessly charge my iPad while it sits on the stand on my desk.
This is extremely convenient—I never charge my iPad any other way now. I’ve been using it a lot with my 13-inch M4 iPad Pro as a second display on my desk while I work.
BenQ ScreenBar Halo
You’ll always need a way to light up your desk, and my go-to right now is the BenQ ScreenBar Halo.
It sits right on your monitor and can fully light your desk while taking up zero space on it. You can make use of the front or back lights, and it comes with a wireless controller puck where you can:
- Adjust the brightness and temperature
- Make use of its auto-dimming settings based on the ambient light already in the space.
Obsbot Tiny2 AI-powered 4K webcam
The final desk accessory recommendation I want to mention is the Obsbot Tiny2 AI-powered 4K webcam, sent to me by my friends at Obsbot, the official partner of today’s video.
This is my go-to recommendation for webcams, especially if you spend a lot of time on Zoom calls like I do.
Key Features
- 4K Video Quality: Thanks to its ultra-large SEMA sensor, the video is sharp and crystal clear—honestly, the best I’ve used to date. It makes a real difference in how professional you look on camera.
- Dual Native ISO: Whether I’m working late at night with just my monitor light or in natural daylight, the Tiny2 automatically adjusts exposure, delivering a clear, balanced image in any lighting condition.
AI Tracking & Hands-Free Controls
- The AI track keeps me centered, even if I shift in my chair or lean in.
- Voice Commands: Activate the camera by saying “Hi Tiny”—it turns on by itself.
- Gesture Controls: Seamlessly adjust zoom and tracking without touching the device.
Obsbot Center App
You get full control of the camera through the Obsbot Center App on Mac. Adjust exposure, focus, filters, and more, giving you customization to always look your best on video.
Design and Portability
- Compact Design: Perfect for saving desk space.
- Magnetic Mount: Easy setup with multiple angles.
- Carrying Case: Great for travel or working from different locations, keeping everything organized and protected.
Privacy Features
- Tilt Down: You can manually tilt the camera or use a voice command to turn it off.
- Perfect for stepping away from calls and ensuring you’re off-screen.
If you’re looking to upgrade your webcam setup or gift someone a premium camera, the Obsbot Tiny2 is worth considering. .
Portable Power
SharGeek 170 Power Bank
My favorite portable power accessory is the SharGeek 170 Power Bank, and I think this is the most unique, sleek-looking, high-capacity power bank I’ve ever used.
Key Features
- Eye-Catching Design: Features a transparent prism silhouette design that stands out.
- Fast Charging:
- 170W Max Output: Supports fast charging for multiple devices.
- 140W Max Input: Allows you to charge the power bank from 0 to 50% in only 20 minutes, which is kind of wild.
- High Capacity: Officially rated at 24,000 mAh, perfect for long usage.
- Durable: It’s IP66 water-resistant, adding durability for outdoor use.
- Smart Display: Includes a cool smart display for extra information.
Charge Flow Mini Portable Charger
Power bank What I love about Sharge is their Flow Mini Portable Charger, which is the perfect second battery for your phone. It’s super tiny and lightweight, making it easy to take with you literally anywhere you go. It supports USB-C and Lightning (if you own an older iPhone) and boasts a 5,000mAh capacity in this tiny little capsule. You can also charge a second device with the USB-C cable attached, or you can have it tucked away and use it as a lanyard.
Snap Battery Pack
If the previous two power banks are not your style, I also love this super sleek vegan leather snap battery pack from my friends over at Mof. It supports MagSafe, so it easily snaps onto the back of your iPhone, and it’s ultra-slim, so it doesn’t add much bulk. The materials feel amazing—the vegan leather looks and feels premium. I’ve never come across a battery pack as sophisticated-looking as this. As a bonus, you can also charge your AirPods on this, which is pretty cool.
Baseus MagPro 2 1 Magnetic Wireless Charger
If you’re looking for the ultimate travel charger, the Baseus MagPro 2 1 Magnetic Wireless Charger stands out. It’s a tiny cube that can charge your iPhone and AirPods. All you need to do is retract the built-in USB-C cable and plug it into a power brick. If you can get a USB-C Apple Watch charging puck, you can also feed power to your Apple Watch, effectively turning this into an ultra-compact 3-in-1 travel charger for all your devices.
Baseus 100W Retractable Cables
the Baseus 100W Retractable Cables. While USB-C cables typically aren’t exciting, these are colorful, fun, and fully retractable, making them compact and mess-free. Perfect for travel, they prevent tangles and keep things organized, especially if you’re prone to disorganized cables like mine. Clean, easy, and convenient—ideal for tossing into a bag on the go.
Gaming Accessories
My go-to gaming headset for 2024 It sounds incredible, especially for someone picky about audio fidelity. Designed to work seamlessly with the PS5 (but also compatible with anything that supports USB-C, like the Nintendo Switch), this headset boasts 24-hour battery life and a Discord-certified microphone with noise cancellation. Comfortable for long sessions and stylish to boot, it’s a no-brainer for gamers.
Backbone One PlayStation Edition Controller
This is a must-have for mobile gaming. Modeled after the PS5 controller, it features thumbsticks, a D-pad, back triggers, and more. Just plug it into your phone’s USB-C port, and you’re good to go. Perfect for remote PS5 play, Xbox Game Pass, or other controller-supported games. It doesn’t require charging and transforms your phone into a portable game console with the dedicated Backbone app.
For something even more immersive, this is the most intense and comfortable mobile gaming controller I’ve used this year. With full-size buttons, analog sticks, and triggers, it offers a zero-compromise design that’s extremely comfortable. The RGB effects and haptic feedback add an extra layer of excitement, especially with supported games on Android or Windows.
Audio
Soundcore Boom 2
My Favorite Audio Tech This Year Starting off with the Soundcore Boom 2: This is for anyone who wants that bass—the heavy, boomy speaker that also has RGB lights on the sides, which look really cool. It has 80 watts of power and 24 hours of battery life on a single charge. It’s IPX7 waterproof, and it can float in the water as well, which is pretty cool, making this my favorite speaker to bring outdoors with me.
Soundcore Motion X600
if you want something less traditional and more sophisticated and upscale-looking, the Soundcore Motion X600 is arguably the cleanest and sleekest portable speaker I’ve ever come across. Don’t let its beautiful design fool you into thinking it doesn’t also pack power. It delivers 50 watts of room-filling sound and has spatial audio built-in that actually transforms the music coming out of the speaker to feel like it’s being delivered all around you—it really does work.
It is also IPX7 waterproof, so you can use this in water, and it will float. It has a total of 12 hours of battery life, which is plenty for most people at home.
Sonos Arc
Theater Enthusiast: My favorite soundbar of 2024 has to be the Sonos Arc. It’s a true Dolby Atmos soundbar that not only looks sleek and intense but also sounds incredible. You have to hear this in person at your local Best Buy or a tech store to truly understand how good and dramatic these speakers sound.
It has been a game changer in my home theater setup. So, if you have some extra money lying around, I wouldn’t hesitate to get this—your ears are going to thank you for it.
HomePod Minis
For something more updated and useful in small rooms around the house, I am still a huge fan of my HomePod Minis. They deliver a really good, punchy sound for their size. It’s definitely louder than it looks, and it’s super easy to connect with your iPhone, along with any other AirPlay-supported speakers in your house, to basically have music playing everywhere.
AirPods
Which is always fun. In terms of earbuds, there’s honestly nothing better than the AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4. Both of these are noise-canceling earbuds, and both sound incredible when you use them with your iPhone. The mic quality on these is really good as well—best in class for phone calls, in my opinion.
I’d recommend getting the Pro 2s if you prefer having an ear tip, but if you like the traditional open-design earbuds, the AirPods 4 are the ones to get, as Apple actually redesigned these to fit better in more people’s ears.
TomToc electronic organizer
In terms of travel: I really like this electronic organizer from TomToc. These tiny, everyday pouches allow you to pack all kinds of tech and gadgets to keep yourself super organized.
If you want something even bigger, I’ve also been loving the TomToc Explorer T21 Sling bag. It comes in a variety of sizes and has an incredible amount of storage and pockets, allowing you to pack so much into something so compact. The materials of this bag are very well made, and it’s water-resistant. I know people in my life who use this exact bag, and I highly recommend it to anyone who wants a sleek, everyday carry for themselves.
LARQ Water Bottle
On the other end of the spectrum of travel tech, staying hydrated is essential. I’ve been using a LARQ Water bottle as my main one for the past year. If you’re not familiar with Lark, it’s a self-cleaning water bottle that uses UV light to remove up to 99% of contaminants in your water, such as E. coli. It keeps my water cold for up to 24 hours and hot for up to 12. When fully charged, the self-cleaning UV tech lasts about a month before needing to be recharged.
Wearables
Meta Wayfarer Ray-Ban Glasses
One of the most exciting things I got my hands on this year has to be the Meta Wayfarer Ray-Ban Glasses. They look, fit, and feel like regular glasses, but the catch is that they have an ultra-wide 12-megapixel camera and microphones, which allow you to record pretty high-quality video from a POV perspective.
You can listen to music and take phone calls with the built-in speakers and mics. In addition, you get access to Meta AI, which uses the cameras to analyze what you’re seeing, allowing you to ask it anything you want. It will do its best to answer your questions.
If you want a taste of the future, these are something to consider , these are really cool.
Ultrahuman Ring Air
The Ultrahuman Ring Air is a sleek smart ring that doesn’t require a subscription to access all kinds of features, like sleep tracking, heart rate monitoring, body temperature tracking, and more. I have mine in Space Silver, and it is super sleek, in my opinion.
These are honestly great for anyone who isn’t a fan of smartwatches but still wants something that can provide a lot of data about their vitals and whatnot.
Apple Watch Series 10
If you do like smartwatches, the Apple Watch Series 10 is my default recommendation for Apple users. It’s the thinnest Apple Watch they’ve ever made, and it comes with a brand-new OLED display that is brighter and looks better at all angles. On top of that, you get everything that makes this watch awesome, including all of its health-tracking features, the ability to talk and work directly with your iPhone, and compatibility with all your other Apple accessories. It’s been my go-to wearable for the last few years.
Galaxy Watch 7
If you are on Android, I have been testing out the Galaxy Watch 7, and this is an incredible smartwatch as well. You get all the health tracking you’d expect and want from a smartwatch, and it features the more traditional circular design if you prefer that over Apple’s more squared-off design.
I’ve actually been testing and using this watch for the last few months, and it’s been fun to see my data within the Health app on my Samsung device. It even goes the extra mile to give you things like an energy score, which is based on the data from your sleep and restfulness.
It’s honestly a really cool gadget for people looking to track their health on Android.
Camera
Sennheiser MK 400
I wanted to recommend my go-to running gun microphone when I’m out shooting in the wild, and that’s the Sennheiser MK 400. It’s super small and compact, yet still, a highly directional shotgun microphone that is able to deliver pretty good audio quality for the price. It’s built like a tank as well, and I appreciate how the mic is mounted—you never have to worry about it dangling or becoming loose on the shock mount, as it’s all housed in this really solid black capsule.
PGYTech Mantis Pod Pro
As for portable tripods, my go-to for the last few years has been the PGYTech Mantis Pod Pro, which gives you so many angles and modes to set up your camera in. On top of it being super sturdy and compact, the killer feature of this is what I think they call Mantis Mode, as it allows you to actually latch this tripod onto a lot of different things, giving you more flexibility with where you want to position your camera while you film out.
Home Tech
In terms of home tech, I am a firm believer that everybody needs some kind of robot vacuum if you can afford one, as they are truly life-changing—especially if you have pets like me. I have two cats, Apollo and Luna, and their hair gets everywhere. When that robot’s not running, the amount of hair accumulating in the house is kind of nuts.
Eufy S1 Pro
My go-to this year has been the Eufy S1 Pro. It can vacuum and mop my house effortlessly. It maps my home within the app, and its killer feature is that it rarely gets stuck on anything because of how good its object avoidance is. Object avoidance is actually what separates a best robot vacuum from really bad ones, and the S1 Pro has been the best at this out of all the ones I’ve tested. It also looks so clean and sleek. I’m a huge fan of the tower it returns to, where it auto-empties itself and cleans the mop.
Philips Hue Smart TV Light
If you’re into RGB and you want to spice up your home theater, I would highly recommend investing in the Philips Hue Smart TV Light and getting yourself, or a family member or friend, a TV light from them. These are one of a kind! I’ve wowed everybody I’ve shown this to, as the quality of the light coming out of here is incredible, and it makes the images you are watching on screen feel even more cinematic with the lights matching the edges of the screen. I also love to use this when I’m playing video games, as it makes the experience so much more fulfilling and fun with how colorful games can get these days.
And there you have it—that is my recommendation for tech this holiday season. Hopefully, you found something for yourself or for a friend or family member
