For as long as gift-giving has been a tradition, there’s also been the inability to come up with good gift ideas. Whether it’s for your mom, dad, sister, brother, partner, friend, colleague, they, them, him, her, cat, dog, secret Santa, or for a White Elephant party, it can often be tricky to select the perfect present for your recipient. Price can also be a huge factor in holiday shopping — whether you have a tight budget and / or a long list of friends and family members to buy gifts for. This season can make things pretty rough on your wallet.
So as the 2017 holidays approach, I have put together a tech gift guide of the many wonderful things that would make great presents for all ages, sizes, genders, and budgets. At the very least, we hope these recommendations spark an idea for what you might gift your loved ones.
Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL
This is Google's second year making their own devices, by designing the hardware and software to work together, which leads to a great experience for the user. The only difference between the two are size (overall and screen) and battery. Both have speakers that fire right at you, water resistant, a rear camera that takes arguable the best photos in any situation to date with a smartphone, and a front facing camera that is top 2 as well. If you want to know what it's like to own an iPhone and get all the latest security updates and software updates, but for Android, first, then this is your choice. Starting at $699
Apple iPhone 8 and 8 Plus
Yes there is the iPhone X this year so why choose any of these. Well, not being comfortable with big change. iPhones have always had small upgrades each year and that is what most people like, a powerful and reliable device even if it's a little boring looking. That is what the 8 and 8 Plus are, powerful and reliable without the change of taking away the home button, which has been with the iPhone since day one. All that said, the 8 and 8 Plus now have wireless charging, still water resistant, operating system you know, and great front and rear cameras. And because Apple makes the hardware and software, you get software and security updates that are up to date, like Google and their Pixel smartphones. The difference in the two are battery, screen, and overall size and the 8 Plus has a second camera for telephoto shots and the new portrait studio mode for shooing pictures mimicking studio lighting. A great upgrade for anyone and lots of deals on them from all major carriers and stores like Target and Best Buy.
Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+
It's the device you hear about every year in the Android world because it's the most popular and safe option, the S line from Samsung. This year is no different. Great screen, great cameras, good speakers, good battery life, and lots of deals if you do a simple Google search. I recommend going directly from Samsung and getting the unlocked version. They even have a trade in deal going on now. With the unlocked if you decide to jump form one major carrier to another in the US, you can take the phone with you. Only difference in the two are screen and battery size. Admittedly with the S8, the screen is big enough for most people that the S8+ size can be daunting. One downside every year with Samsung devices, you get software and security updates, just not as fast as say those coming from Google.
Samsung Galaxy Note 8
We won't talk about the Note 7 but the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 made a huge comeback for the name sake. Big display and overall size (maybe too big for some people), great cameras with 2 rear cameras for wide angle and telephoto shots, easy day and a half battery life, and the S-Pen. Write notes to yourself, others, or even turn the videos you make into Gifs (with a "G" sound you heathens). This thing packs a punch to your everyday life but also your wallet. A very high end smartphone with the same downside of not getting updates at the fastest speeds like it's little brothers the S8 and S8+.
Apple iPhone X
If you love iPhones, wasn't one of the first people to have the original iPhone, and want to try being an early adopter, here you go. The first iPhone with no home button using FaceID to unlocked your device. Beautiful display, arguably top 2 rear and front facing camera(s), send Animoji (emoji's that are animated to the movement of your face) to other iPhone users, 4K resolution at 60fps video recording (normally have to buy a $2000+ camera to do that), and more. This thing is powerful but comes at the cost of no home button and learning to use gestures to operate it. The learning curve is surprisingly low but unlike the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus, it's a big change that hasn't been done in ten years to iPhones. And yes, FaceID unlock is reliable, very reliable at 96 times out of 100. The downside, $999 for the base model, very very limited deals from carriers and stores, and supply is still touch and go. So if you want to order it for a loved one or friend, you have to decide before you finish reading this post. That's the early adopter life, spend the money to be the first to try something new.
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