THE ULTIMATE CHRISTMAS GIFT GUIDE
Festive gift ideas to help Santa deliver something special this holiday season
Written by Alex Blake
We’re hoping that this year’s Christmas is filled with festive cheer, and the fun and food is in full flow. At the very least, we hope our readers get time to relax with friends and family.
Of course, it’s also a time to send and receive gifts! If you’re looking for something to treat the tech lover in your life, then look no further. Our Christmas gift guide is chock-full of seasonal surprises that will make for perfect presents.
From thoughtful stocking fillers and gadgets to Mac add-ons and devices that will spruce up your smart home, our guide is packed with great tech ideas. So, whether you’re shopping for gifts or planning to leave this guide open (bedecked in subtle pointers), we’re hoping it will help you have a very merry Christmas!
Stocking fillers
Little treats for Christmas morning
1 Braun Digital Wireless Charging Alarm Clock
> £99>
braun-clocks.com
>Aside from classy looks, Braun’s offering serves up a handy extra to its clock and alarm function, in the form of wireless charging. Plonk your iPhone behind the clock and it’ll juice up overnight.
2 iFixit Essential Electronics Toolkit
> £21.99 >
ifixit.com
> Fancy getting your hands dirty when things go wrong? This nifty toolkit from repair masters iFixit has everything you need to fix your devices and make them good as new. Just follow the firm’s repair guides to make do and mend.
3 OWC USB-C Travel Dock E
> £75.99
owcdigital.com
> Most MacBooks (though now not all!) are USB-C only, so if you need plenty of ports when you travel, this dock is perfect. It has Ethernet, 2x USB-A, USB-C, HDMI 2.0, and an SD card reader.
4 Peak Design Tech Pouch
> £44.29 >
peakdesign.com
> More devices mean more cables, dongles, and adaptors. But throwing them in a bag results in a rats’ nest of chaos. This pouch, however, provides a ton of pockets and holders to keep everything neatly organised.
5 RAVPower PD Pioneer 65W 2-Port
> £38.99
taotronics.com
> This little 65W charger – it’s about 30% smaller than most rivals – packs in a USB-C Power Delivery port and a USB-A slot, plus clever charge splitting that sends power where it’s needed most.
Mac add-ons
Your Mac will love these great devices
1 Brydge Stone Pro Thunderbolt 3 Hub
> £249.99 >
brydge.co.uk
> Simply put, this is one of the best docks you can get for your Mac. It comes with 11 ports and 87W of passthrough power, all wrapped up in a sleek space grey package. Ditch your other dongles, because this is your new desktop doyen.
2 Brydge Vertical Dock
> £149.99>
brydge.co.uk
> When you’ve hooked up your MacBook to an external monitor, you don’t want to waste precious desk space with your laptop. This charging dock mounts MacBooks vertically, shifting them out of the way while keeping ports accessible.